All posts in Uncategorized

Indian Express– Sept. 2011 THE TRAMS RIDES OF A DIFFERENT ERA Vengrai Parthasarathy Those were the days which only Chennaites in their seventies will remember. In the Thirties and Forties the rumblings of trams were heard in all the main arteries of Madras. Those were leisurely days when no one was in a hurry. People…

In the Ewarts School (CEZ Mission) Madras, Remembrance Day was observed on 11 November as in most Commonwealth countries. This was done to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” I recall we…

Sacred Tulasi Vengrai Parthasarathy “Patram Pushpam Phalam Toyam Yo Me Bhaktya Prayacchati; Tadaham Bhaktyupahritamasanami Prayatatmanah” (Meaning: I accept, even a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water if offered with sincere devotion ” says Sri KrishNa in the Bhagavath Gita). The inner message : It is not necessary to offer gold, silver and costly items.…

Subject: Pun-fun with Dunn Vengrai Parthasarathy Here is an interesting episode, a report on which I had preserved among archives. An elderly lady of Los Angeles had lost touch with her son who had gone to New Jersey. “He had not written or called. Will you be kind enough to contact him and ask him…

A Remembrance Sri Mandayam Natampalli Singalachar (Shamanna to his friends and family) was born on June 13, 1912 in a village near Tumkur. He was the only son of Smt. and Sri M.N.Venkatachar and was married to his niece Smt.Sreerangoo in 1937. He was the beating heart of the family of two sons and a…

AND NOW TOMORROW–AT FANTASY LAND 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…

FIVE FORMS/MANIFESTS/MODES OF LORD VISHNU According to Sri VaishNaVa Agamas, Lord Vishnu has five forms (aspects or modes).They are Para, Vyuha, Vibhava, Archavatara and Antaryami. The deity absolute, Parabrahman, manifests in five possible aspects 1) PARA: ParA is the highest form of Vishnu found only in Sri Vaikuntha also called Nityavibhuti or Moksha. The Lord…

LES MISERABLES Vengrai Parthasarathy The Matunga Railway station in Bombay, India was seething with people. Shankar hop-scotched his way through the thicket of passengers, visitors, hawkers and idlers. As the train was about to leave, a beggar maid with a woebegone aspect made her way into the compartment and stood in a corner, impervious to…

A profile of Vengrai Parthasarathy (from Sahitya Akademi): Mr.V.V. Parthasarathy (Vengrai) the author is 88+ years old.He graduated from the Madras University and stayed on to complete his Law degree in the same Uiversity. Again in that University, he did a two-year course in International Law and Constitutional Law under late Professor C.H.Alexandrowicz. He had…

Tamil Nadu’s Iyengars of Cricket (Author’s Note: As an Iyengar I am proud to write about Iyengar cricketers who have made a mark in this prince of games. This brief article is in no way intended to downsize others who have represented Madras/Tamil Nadu and India with distinction Many of the latter day Iyengars have…