7 Books that introduces one to Russia

 7 Famous Russian Books that will introduce one to Russia and its mind. 

1.
"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, 1869

A must read four volume epic for everyone who want to Know and understand Russia. 30 plus prominent characters representing the various dimensions of the Russian Society - Andrei Bolkonsky, Pierre BezulKov, Natasha Rostova are some of the most interesting characters through whom Tolstoy tells the story of life - Love, death, faith and the lack of it.

2.
"The Brothers of Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1879

Dostoevsky's last novel which examines the Russian soul deeply. Dilemmas of his time, the task of surviving in the world, the Christian way of life, should one follow ones emotions, logic or faith..

3.
"Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin, 1833

Popularly considered to be a humorous book, it tells the story of Onegin who on the course of his pursuit of life destroys many lives and finally ending up with nothing. The irony and the wit that structure the story is very thought provoking.
Walter W Arndt's English translation captures the feel of the original very well.

4.
"The Cherry Orchard" by Anton Chekov, 1909

Chekov's a century old  beautiful play continue to be staged even today. It beautifully tells the story of the change from the old world to the new world, how the old generation of the writer's time failed to change with the time and clang to its aristocratic and feudal memories.

5.
"Lower Depths" by Maxim Gorky, 1903

Bolshevik's most prominent writer discusses the concept of what is more important in life "truth or hope" through the life and thoughts of drunkards, prostitutes and others who have fallen to the depth of social life amazing the readers with the versatile 'Russian mind' to discuss and debate on philosophical thoughts even at that lowest of communal level.

6.
"Doctor Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak, 1957

The story of a noble Dr. Yuri Zhivago who losses everything in the war and revolution except his dignity and Christian kindness. A wonderful novel which tells us the life and times during the Revolution.

7.
"The master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov

A peek into the lives in Russia during the time of  Joseph Stalin, the narration is so ably crafted with the characters  like the Devil himself  coming to Visit Moscow, the events and incidences giving us a first hand experience of life and mishaps of the time and that too very amusingly. Unfortunately, Mikhail did not lived long enough to see the huge success of his own book which was published 27 years after it was written, long after his death.

Farm Tourism

The classes for the semester was over before the summer got fiercely hot. Last week even the bed in the hostel room was warm like a loaf of bread. Inspite of the summer worries The knowledge sharing experience at tourism and other colleges is something that keeps me motivated. While at Nellore, I tried organizing a student itinerary for American university students who come to India to study the public health system in developing countries. The talks are on in that way, fortunately the Indian charm continues to be in her villages and our Nellore and her villages are very suitable for student tourism in the field of public health, village economy, culture etc..

Golagamudi

Check out the life at the small village at this site. 

Last week, we came to know from our sources in Kerala home stays association that a tourism director from AP tourism has visited the home stays of Kerala as part of their Homes Stays study tour. I was very happy to hear that as we did farm tourism prospects in AP as a semester project for the final year under graduate students. Some of our students have their own farms, some big some small but each with very interesting activities that are unique to the area. I am sure if the students will take it forward they will definitely get the state support. 

Seeing is believing, they say, the students have to visit well run home stays in the farms to understand its scope and reach. Once they understand and become aware I am sure they will involve themselves more enthusiastically to bring a different life and activities to their farms.

The 18 hour bus ride back to Kochi and Kerala is always a delight for me even though the trains could be easier, cheaper and would reach in 12 hours.

Though there was a bit of problem with the long distance bus service from Kerala, the quality of the service, the facilities at the stopovers during the journey has improved tremendously. A fact that make every Indian proud. Slow but steady we are moving forward.

Ugadi - The New Year

The New Year day for the Telugu and Kannada communities falls on the first new moon after the spring Equinox and the next day is celebrated as the first day of the new year based on the lunar calendar depending on the position of the moon, the calculation tradition goes as far back as the 12th century.

On the special day everyone wakes up before the sunrise, takes an oil bath, goes to temple, decorate their houses beautifully with columns (muggulu) mango leaves decorations (toranalu) and treat themselves and everyone with special dishes. Some of the special dishes are;

Bevu Bella & Pachadi

A mix of all flavours - sweet, sour, bitter, salty -  prepared from Jaggery paste, neem buds, tamarind and raw mangoes. 

It symbolizes the fact that life is a mixed bag and prepares one to expect everything in the days to come.

Kolamulu (Muggulu)

The preparation for the festival begins atleast a week in advance and will include, cleaning of the houses and premises, buying of new clothes etc..
It's a public holiday in the states of Andhra, Telengana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharastra where it is known as "Gudi Padawa". 

Pattur, a weaving town

 When the invitation to join Prof. Vinodan of the tourism college at Golagmudi in Nellore and their Project Associate Sree Ansh Mishra for a tour to Pattur village came my way, I was extremely delighted. Ever since a tourism student had told me about the village a few days ago and had shared her experience of visiting the old weaving town of Nellore in pictures, I was hoping to go there at the earliest. I was sure it would make an interesting activity in our Nellore Tourism Itinerary, a day tour from the tourism hub of Chennai. 

The days are hot in Nellore, so Professor suggested to visit the village in the afternoon. From Atmakur bus-stand we took an auto to Pattur which was about 40 minutes away from town. The very knowledgeable auto driver took us through the beautiful winding roads of the village of Kovur to the weaving town on Pattur.

The afternoon was fine with sun calming down, round about 4pm and we started walking down the street from where the auto driver dropped us which was in the Shops Street, where all the fashionable shops selling Pattur sarees were. The first impression that we got as we started walk around was how clean and neat the Pattur streets are. They are used to visitors and shoppers who come to the village to buy their famous weaves.

India Post. 524137 Pincode

The Iconic Indian post box. The remains of a colonial Era too. 

We walked all the way uptill the temple where the villagers were loading their harvest to tractors to take them to the town. Subramaniam who runs the specialized tea shop served us his best which was very good. I wanted to have one more, but though the sun was slanting, it was hot for another cup of hot tea.

Subramaniam serves the best tea in Pattur. They seems to have a division of offering among the shop keepers one selling tea and the other selling snacks. 

The far end of the Pattur street, the temple adjacent to that is Subramaniam's tea shop. 

The time of the year where every single field in the district of Andhra Pradesh is just about reaching the harvest phase. Here the villagers are loading up their sack full of rice to be taken to the town. 

As we started walking back the street, the friendly villagers helped us with the details and information about the shops and weavers. We wanted to visit a hand loom and the weavers at their production center. We came across this friendly elderly gentlemen who offered us to take to the loom but we never thought he ran a loom himself. We were lucky because his son Siva Kumar is one of the best weaver in the village and gave us the whole information about the process, demonstrated the weave. It was obvious that they are used to getting visitors and know how to share information very well.

Siva Kumar posing in the pit of his loom. Friendly and knowledgeable, this hard working young man keep standing all day in his workstation. 

The mechanics of the loom, the front cover of the fan is removed to keep Siva cool through the hot summer day. 

A saree may take a day and a half to weave, Siva says, if he puts in some extra hours and work fast he may finish one in a day. 

 Nageshawar, on the way back, took us to Vijayalakshmi who runs a snack shop on the Pattur street. Her vadas and idilis were as good as the best we could get anywhere but what added to it was the village charm and warmth. 

Finger bitingly delicious Lentil Vadas

I was taking Siva Kumar's picture when Professor struck up a conversation with a couple who runs a shop further down the street.

SreeAnsh Mishra with SivaKumar and his friend. Siva came all dressed up after a long day at his handloom. He says he needs a break after the long hard day working at the loom standing in pit all the while. 

Nagendra and Kamakshi are the third generation of weavers of the weaving community of Pattur, the living end of a long line of weavers who are spread all around South India. Kamakshi was very informative and she explained all aspect the weave, the raw materials and the techniques. Both the Professor and his young colleague bought saris for their families, picturing them and sharing them  through their phones even asking the choice of those who were miles  away before buying them.

The sari collection at Kamakshi's shop.

Nagendra is an Electronics Engineer, Kamakshi a diploma holder in engineering, they now successfully run a shop at Pattur, selling its famous silk and cotton saris. 

Unfortunately there was no ATM at Pattur so Nagendra offered to come along with us to Kovur where they had one. Since we were not expecting to shop and they do not accept credit cards we had to come to an ATM in a shared Auto taxi. We were happy that we could give them some business. 

The wayside Ganapathi Kovil at Pattur

As soon as we finished we finished paying, a bus to RTC was ready and we got to town in a bus which was easy and convenient.

*** Buses are available from RTC Nellore or at Atmakur to Pattur. Every twenty minutes. Since they are not run by APSRTC but operated privately, we have to wait outside the bus station.

Sri Venkaiah Swamy of Golagamudi

Saturdays at Golagamudi, a village near Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of India,  comes alive with hundreds of devotees visiting the temple abode of their saint, Sri Venkaiah Swamy. They come and spent the night over at the samadhi (tomb) of the saint in gratitude for the favours received and in supplementation.

Devotees making their dance offering on Saturday night. They come from all over Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states. 

The saint died on August 24th, 1982 but his memory and the "Kundam" (the fire worship) is kept alive by his devotees. The trust that looks after the temple shrine continues the "Anna Dhaanam" (free food) and runs an excellent school which imparts quality education to the children of the village free of cost.

Devotional items. The shops selling them are busy on the weekends. 

A visit to Golagamudi is an excellent opportunity to understand and experience the spiritual, social and cultural lives of the Incredible Villages of India. 

Summer

As the tourist season is coming to it's close our summer is getting hotter and hotter everyday. Picture from Sullurpetta bus stand near Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.  Tapioca makes a good onroad snack though it keep the  fingers sticky for a while but that discomfort is nothing when compared to the man's who is in the sun from morning selling his freshly steamed tapioca. I liked mine very much.

Deepavali

Deepavali, the festival of lights,  is one of the oldest festival celebrated in India. It comes 18  days after Dusserah (another oldest festival) and immediately after the harvests. It falls towards the end of October and beginning of November.
The references to this festival can be seen even in the oldest Sanskrit texts like Padma Purana, Skanda Purana and in the grave writings of 11th century Arab traveller Al Burni, 15th Century Italian traveller Nicolo Conti, 16th century Portuguese traveller Domigo Paes, 18th century British scholar like  Sir William Jones etc...

The five day festival starts with Dhanatreya, then the Narak Chathurthi on the second day, the magnificent Diwali in the third day, Govardhan Puja or Diwali Paduva on the fourth  and the Bhai Dhuj on the fifth day.
Everyday has its own cultural and and ritual significance. Diwali falling on the third day of celebrations is on the new moon or Amavasi which is the darkest night of Autumn. All the houses, buildings, every village and towns are lit with oil lamps traditionally, now also with electric lamps. Different varieties of special Diwali sweets, new clothes, new jewellery etc. are the speciality of these days.

Different regions of India has different stories associated with Diwali depending on the type of Lunisolar calendar they are using. The most popular of the stories associated with Diwali is the return of Prince Rama from an unfair exile into the forests for 14 years along with his wife and brother. Upon his return the people of his kingdom welcomed him by lighting oil lamps all over the kingdom. 

Wish you all a very happy Diwali