Aiyengar/Iyengar Lingo The “Iyengar Lingo or paribhashai” for food is different from others . Samayal is “Thaligai to Iyengars.”. In general, the term “Amudhu” (Amirtham or Nectar) is added after all basic dishes. Iyengars add “Tiru” (meaning auspicious or sacred), to all words and payasam is said as Tiru kannan amudhu. sathaumudhu, karamudhu and kannamudhu.…
Tagore’s Poem–& Annotation (on the vocabulary words and major themes). by Vengrai Parthasarathy I –Where The Mind Is Without Fear–By Rabindranath Tagore Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls Where words come…
TWELVE HALLOWED NAMES OF THE LORD Vengrai Parthasarathy (The Dwādashnāma Panjara -a stotra in Sanskrit is often recited as a corollary to the Vishnu Sahasra Nāma Stotra . Citing the twelve names of Sri NarayaNa, the devotee prays for the Lord’s protection from all directions of the compass and to be ensconced, as it were,…
IDLI-DOSA SHOOTOUT By Vengrai Parthasarathy The Egmore Friends met again, as they usually do on Sunday mornings, at the Udupi Pankaja . They had their cosy corner where they expatiated on their pet themes and peeves. This time the subject was ,” Idli or Dosa? Thimmappa, a Dosa aficionado, spoke first. What he said in praise…
CONSOLATION PRIZE by Vengrai Parthasarathy Harikrishna had come up in life the hard way. By the time he was thirty he knew that he had made good only through the goodwill and help of friends. He wanted to give something back to society as he had much to give by way of service. As a…
When the Chips are Down… By Vengrai Parthasarathy Even in the bustle and buzz of the airport scene, life has a funny way of imparting new lessons. I learned mine, the other day. The idea that one has to ‘let go’ and not grump about life’s little pin-pricks had got into my system after listening…
AND NOW TOMORRROW By Vengrai Parthasarathy The guide at the San Diego Wild Animal Park was in an expansive mood as all tour guides are. He was introducing the bird EMU,a large, flightless bird of Australian origin. –somewhat like the ostrich. He wanted to say something special about the habits and habitat of this bird…
People Helping People By Vengrai Parthasarathy People helping people is not something new. Every religion commends it. While dropping a Rupee in a beggar’s bowl is a good gesture, surely one can do more than that . Here in USA there are no beggars like we have in India, but there are quite a few…
LESSON LEARNT Vengrai Parthsarthy Life is one long saga of learning. Some lessons, we learn from ourparents, some from our teachers and most in the school of hard knocks.A friend told me of the lesson of his life he had learnt from from an old lady. Here is his story in his own words: “I…
Lucky Strike Vengrai Parthasaraathy During one of her shopping expeditions in the Moore Bazaar, Suchitra saw an antique painting of Baby Krishna, a plump and cuddly, wonder. He and Balarama were stealing butter from a glut of overflowing pots. The picture, for all its years, was still charming . Suchitra was clean bowled by it.…