National seminar on “Minor Deities in Indian Art,” held at the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research, Chennai on March 28th and 29th 2024 (2).

National seminar on “Minor Deities in Indian Art,” held at the C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research, Chennai on March 28^th and 29^th 2024 (2).

Technical session – Aarti presenting paper

The second day proceedings started with  special lectures by the invited scholars and they delivered their papers. The abstract of their papers were already included in the “Abstract” booklet circulated. As the gods or goddesses taken by each scholar pertains to a state and area, the people of other states or areas may not be knowing, but, the forms may differ, the concept, precept and evolution of such deities overlap, match and even tally with others. As people require such deities near to their places, they were started so with a low profile and small structure. If the popularity increases, then, devotees donate and start constructing a big temple. In due course of time even that temple bigger accommodating other gods and goddesses and also facilities for the vising devotees.

Technical session – audience

29-03-2024: The Special Lectures II were delivered by the following on the topics mentioned against each:

1. Prof. Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal[1] Art historian, UNESCO Fellow and  Tagore National Fellow, Bengaluru.  – “Significant Dynamism of Minor Deities in the Regions of Karnataka”  – After delving oupn philosophy, panchamahabhutas etc., she mentioned about Subramanya, Chamundesvari, Veerabadra, Dandina maramma, Kalabhairava, Narasimha, Cheluvanarayana, Channakesava, Nanjundesvara, Manjunatha, Dharmaraya, Draupati, Yantrodhara Pranavadevuru (Anjaneya) and Bhuta worship
2. Dr. T. Satyamurthy[2], Former Director of Archaeology, Kerala – “Minor Deities in Kerala Art” – Ayyappa shrines and Karpa kavus are there, besides there are a large number of minor shrines of dur-moorthies (evil spirits) like Kuttichattan, Karikkutti, Maranakutti, Kalladimuttan, Bhairavan, Vishnumaya and Chattan, who are important deities in a large number of temples. Added to these deities, in recent years, worship of Thiruvalluvar the author of Tamil work Tirukkural, is found in some rural areas. The deity is purely rural one, in contrast to the agamic Thiruvalluvar worshipped in Mylapore. .
3. Dr. Sudipa Ray Bandyopadhyay[3], Professor, Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, Kolkata – “The Iconography of Jvara” – she traces that the deity of Jvara to early 9^th cent.CE. Jvara ( ज्वर, Jvaram, lit. ’fever’), also called Jvarasura, is the personification of fever in Hindu tradition. He is the consort, and sometimes the attendant, of the pox-goddess, Shitala. The cult of Shitala-Jvarasura is widely popular in Bengali culture. Incidentally, in Bengali, Oriya and Hindi languages, fever is referred to as Jvara.[5] and Asura means demon. The name Jvarasura is combination of these two words – Jvara (meaning fever) and Asura (meaning demon) – Jvarasura. Thus, Jvarasura means the demon of fever. Jvarasura is disguised as a young servant. Shitala, the consort of Jvarasura is widely worshipped by village folk in whole of North India, as a protector of pox and fever diseases. In Buddhist tradition, Jvarasura is depicted sometimes as consort of Paranasabari, the Buddhist goddess of diseases. In some images, these deities are shown as flying away, to escape from wrath of Vajrayogini, the Buddhist goddess and destroyer of diseases.

Then, technical sessions were started as follows and held parallel also, as there were many papers to be presented.

Technical session – paper reading – audience

29-03-2024 3 to 4 pm: The Technical Session – IV was chaired by Dr. Sudipa Ray Bandyopadhyay, Professor, Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta, Kolkata and the following papers were presented:

1. Dr. Aarti Iyer[4]  – “Transformation of a Hunter’s Son into a Warrior Deity: Understanding the Significance of Vettaikkorumakan” – Vettakkoru Makan (വേട്ടക്കൊരുമകന്‍) is a Hindu deity worshipped in parts of Northern Kerala. This deity is alternately referred as Kiratha-Sunu (son of Kirata) in Sanskrit. Vettakkorumakan is believed to be the son of Shiva by his consort Parvati, born when he assumed the form of a Kirata (hunter) to deliver a weapon known as Pashupatastra to Arjuna. He is mostly and exclusively worshipped in Malabar region of Kerala. The most famous temple of this deity is the Balussery-Kotta Vettakkorumakan temple about 25 km from Calicut. This was once the fort of the Rajas of Kurumbranad. Other prominent temples are at Ramanthali, Nileshwar, Kottakkal, Nilambur, Karaparamba and various places in Kannur district and Kasargod district. He is the family deity of the Rajas of Chirakkal, Nileshwar, Kottakkal, Nilambur Kovilakam, Kalathil Kartha’s, Aluva, Amarambalam Kovilakam and Randu Illam Vargam Nambiars. Those families among the nobility of Malabar who have Vettakkorumakan as their family deity are connected in one way or other incidentally to either Balussery Fort or Kurumbranad.Later he moved to Kottanachery temple in Vellur, Payyanur in North Malabar. A special type of firecracker called “Kathina” was his favourite.

Aerial view of the temple…

The deity inside….

the white colour-leaves neem tree and the devi inside….

1. Dr. V. Preethi[5],  – “Two specific forms of Māriamman in Tamil Nadu” – Neem Tree with white colored leaves is considered as Amman and worshipped by the people to get the desired from the deity. Thiruvavaduthurai is located next to Kutthalam in Mayiladuthurai district which is famous for the ancient White Vampu Mariamman temple. This temple is also considered as guardian and family deity of the people of the region. Also, it is believed by the devotees that the goddess would give the desired boon to the devotees, if they repent and surrender to her totally. She went on to claim that the temple was 2000 years old and so on. She relies upon what the Pujari said about the antiquity of the temple. Though faith is different from historicity and historical evidence, it is better that researchers verify the facts and present papers.

1. Dr. V. Sandhiyalakshmi[6] – “Navagrahā in Icons” – she pointed out that the Indians copied the concept of grihas from the Greeks. From the beginning of the 6^th cent.CE onwards, the iconographic innovation arose and developed. The concept days, weeks, the deities of presiding over days and weeks and related astronomical aspects are confused with the astrology. The seven-day week was known in India by the 6th century, referenced in the Pañcasiddhāntikā. The Garga Samhita, dated to 1^st century BCE or CE, as a possible earlier reference to a seven-day week in India. Of course, there are works Surya Siddhanta and Vedanga Jyotisha (dated to c.1250 BCE). She could not date the “Navagruhas” or the astronomical background of the “Navagruhas”. Though, she was referring to Rig Veda and other astronomical works, she did not mention Surya Siddhanta and Vedanga Jyotisha (dated to c.1350 BCE).

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29-03-2024 4 to 5 pm: On 29-03-2024 afternoon, after lunch, Technical Session – V was held at the Main Hall in parallel and chaired by Dr. T. Satyamurthy , Former Director of Archaeology, Kerala and the following papers were presented:

T. Sathyamurthy chaired the session

1. Mr. Sohom Banerjee[7] “Panchananda: A lesser-known Minor Deity of Bengal”
2. Mr. Sanjay S[8] – “Guardian of the Sacred: Understanding the Role of Bhairava as Ksetrapala in South Indian Temples from 10th to 13th century C.E.” – Kṣetrapāla (क्षेत्रपाल).—Kṣetrapāla is consecrated on the South East corner of the temple, for protecting the villages and cities. This is a large image with three eyes. There are figures which are Sāttvika, Rājasa and Tāmasa (having the attributes goodness, ostentatiousness and sloth)[9]. In some places figures having two or four or eight hands are seen. It is presumed that this deity is a portion of Śiva. It is stated in Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 51 that Kṣetrapālas should be figures having trident in the hand. Bhairava is often quite directly the ‘Kshetrapala’ – the Protector (‘Pala’) of the Space or Place (‘Kshetra’) – that is hailed to do exactly this for many a Temple. Indeed, one reads of the Bhairava Murti being directly entrusted with the keys to the Temple and the Night’s solemn vigil after all others have gone home. In Varanasi, There, Bhairava is hailed as the ‘Kotwal’ (‘Castellan’ – although interestingly also translated as ‘Chief of Police’) ; something taken rather literally as applies the police station immediately near to Bhairava’s main Mandir within the city, where the physical position of station commandant is, quite literally, held by a depiction of Bhairava.
3. Dr. J. Sumathi[10]  – “The worship of the nine river deities in Mahamaham festival”
4. Mrs. N. Ushadevi[11] – “Representation of Dasa-Maha-Vidya in Madhubani painting”
5.  Dr. Sivakumar Challa[12]  – “The Legends, Rituals and Worship of Minor Hindu Deities in the Combined Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh”

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

30-03-2024.

Sanjay presenting paper

Sanjay prsenting paper audience…

Sanjay presentig paper – audience – LHS

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[1] Abstracts, sl.no. 2; p.8.

[2] Abstracts, sl.no. 8; p.18.

[3] Abstracts, sl.no. 9; p.20.

[4] Abstracts, sl.no. 10; p.21.

[5] Abstracts, sl.no. 21; p.37.

[6] Abstracts, sl.no. 25; p.42.

[7] Abstracts, sl.no. 30; p.48.

[8] Abstracts, sl.no. 26; p.43.

[9]  Kṣetrapāla (क्षेत्रपाल) – https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kshetrapala

[10] Abstracts, sl.no. 31; p.50.

[11] Abstracts, sl.no. 32; p.51.

[12] Abstracts, sl.no. 27; p.44

Culture at cross-roads? – the International conference held at the University of Madras on March 14th and 15th 2024 (2)

Culture at cross-roads? – the International conference held at the University of Madras on March 14^th and 15^th 2024 (2)

14-03-2024 afternoon session[1]: The afternoon’s session (3 pm to 5:30 pm) commenced with a special lecture by Dr. Ananta Kumar Giri, who talked about what lies beyond cross cultures.  It was followed by the 1^st technical session from, where Assistant Professors of Post Graduate and Research Department of Historical Studies of Government Arts College for Men, Dr. M. Palani and Dr. J. Sadayamuthu preceded as the Chair and Co-chair respectively.  There were six presentations in this session. All the presenters focused on how various ideas, disciplines, concepts and issues overlap with cultures.  

Simultaneously, competition and cultural exhibitions were held where participants took part in Poster making, Crafts and Culinary exhibitions on the theme “Cultural diversity”. The judges for the competition were Ms. Arokiya Anbazhagi, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Women’s Christian College and Dr. Sasikala, Head of the Department of Counseling Psychology, University of Madras. The first day of the International Conference concluded with a talk by the chairperson Dr. M Palani.

15-03-2024 – the second day of proceedings:  The second day was held on 15^th March 2024. It started with the 2^nd technical session from 9:15 – 10:30 am with 8 presenters who presented a large variety of disciplines that interact with culture from street art to food, from uniform civil code to globalization.  This session was chaired by Dr. M.P. Damodaran – Head of the Department of Anthropology.  

It was followed by the 3rd technical session from 10:45am – 1pm chaired by Dr. Pareshwar Sahoo – Assistant professor in the Department of History at Utkal University and co-chaired by Dr. T Kausalyakumari– Head of the department of History – Ethiraj College. There were 7 presenters who focused on the topics such as women’s participation in politics, menstrual hygiene, archaeology, culture in early Madras and cultural identity vs intellectual property rights.

The student-paper presenters, generally had dealt with the topics taken for the purpose.

The paper presenter delved upon the topic of “theatre hall” and went on to list out all such auditoriums, halls, theatres, lecture halls etc., making sweeping remarks, before the establishment of such halls by the British, there was no culture (perhaps theatre culture) in Madras!

Audience- students

The paper presented on “menstrual hygienic”: The topic dealt with “menstrual hygienic” has been limited, but, making conclusions universal. Already many has researched in this topic[2]. It has been a favourite topic for many[3]. In Tamilnadu itself, there have been many studies covering Salem[4]. She conducted a survey with an English questionnaire, where, the subjects do not know English. This type of research has to be careful, as with the few samples, it cannot decide the fate of an entire state or country. Just by surveying the conditions of 100 persons, one cannot conclude the conditions of 100 crores population. She was stressing as if such “taboo” has been peculiar in India, without mentioning such taboo prevalent in other countries, perhaps, throughout the world. The Google Scholar shows thousands of books and papers on the topic[5] and therefore, it is better the paper presenter avoid bias and interpret the data restricting to her chosen area.

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Students audience- backside

Intellectual property rights of the indigenous people: The Indian tribes, traditional knowledge etc., have been also a favourite topic[6]. The indigenous and tribals have many skills in science and technology, but they pass on them to their progeny from generation to generation[7]. They are not registering their cultural heritage and hence, others are copying and using it. Actually, in India, the Vanavasis (forest-dwelling people) were never disturbed and they continued to live with their facilities.  Even today, few islands of Andaman & Nicobar are not disturbed, as the indigenous tribes living there for millions of years never want to mix with others. Food, medicine and other requirements are provided periodically, some persons come and take them away, but, none are allowed to enter their islands.

Dr Pareswar Sahoo heading the session

Audience…….

Culture at crossroads – how it affects the Acts and Rules applicable to Indian women in 21st century: K. V. Ramakrishna Rao  – Culture at crossroads – how it affects the Acts and Rules applicable to Indian women in the 21st century. After discussing about many case laws, he concluded as follows: As it has been mentioned as “crossroads,” what the roads crossing each other has to be mentioned specifically, as it cannot be hypothetical. When people or peoples meet at the “crossroads,” i.e, the place of intersection of two or more roads, the action, interaction and counteraction among them have to be studied.  Thus, the judiciary, judicial judgments and Acts applicable to civil society have to be secularized completely.

• Utopian concepts of egalitarianism in all spheres of Indians can be achieved only by true and complete secularization of Indian society leading to Social Justice.
• Therefore, religion should definitely be treated as personal concept instead of putting it on national agenda.
• As the ideals of Social Justice can be materialized by actual commitment, keeping reality in mind, all efforts should be taken to have uniform civil and criminal laws in the Indian context.
• If the secularization process is completed in true spirit, then there will not be any objection to such uniform civil code. For this broad-minded, educated and liberal scholars of secular but religious personalities should be consulted without any discrimination on any factor. As the UCC Bill introduced in 2019 has been still pending even in 2024, Indians may have to wait and see.
• In such process, not only the Indian Constitution, but also all Acts and rules can be secularized to the satisfaction of all sections of Indian society.
• But, unless all Indians follow them strictly, the ideals may not be implemented.
• Therefore, the people should not only be taught about their rights, but also others should sincerely help them to get their rights with responsibility.
• Thus, it is believed that Indians would achieve Social Justice through secular principles.

Archaeology, Processural archaeology and Cultural archaeology – are they at loggerheads or crossroads?: J. Soundaraajan and K. V. Ramakrishna Rao discussed about Archaeology, Processural archaeology and Cultural archaeology in the context of culture. After discussing the issues, he concluded as follows:

• As historical and archaeological chronologies have been different, they have to be correlated, corroborated and corresponded for the purpose.
• How the prehistoric (archaeological) dates and historic (written) evidences could be brought together at a meeting point has to be considered.
• Whether historical and archaeological cultures could be fit into such chronology or not- should be decided with the eras, dates and chronograms appearing in the inscriptions.
• Now archaeo-astronomical evidences and datings are not accepted by the field-archaeologists, but, they are used by others in the multi-disciplinary approach, even in the megalithic sites.
• The study of cultural change in the countries like India, is very difficult. As the vast country with the largest coastal areas had been interacting with many other cultures, the cross-cultural, cultural influence and related processes would vary during every 50-100 years, yet, the culture exhibited show some commonness.
• The 2500 years old sculptural evidences prove orderliness of the Indian art and architecture.
• The 3500-2500 years old literature and other non-material culture also show such uniqueness with less variance.
• All such consistencies are noted even in 21^st century proves that processural archaeology also works in India. 
• Thus, coming to the question – Archaeology, Processural archaeology and Cultural archaeology – are they at loggerheads or crossroads? – answer can be given – Yes.

The following papers were also presented:

Ganesan – Lambadis

Venkatesan – Tirukkural

Ramesh – Rock art of Tamilnadu

Vibin – Temples in Kanyakumari

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

Note: I was expecting inputs from our friends and waiting. As I could not get it, I posted this second part with the available material.

19-03-2024

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[1]  Based on the report received from the one of the convenors Dr Vamana Praphu Kumari.

[2] Sinha, Rabindra Nath, and Bobby Paul. “Menstrual hygiene management in India: The concerns.” Indian journal of public health 62.2 (2018): 71-74.

[3] Kamath, R., et al. “A study on knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among rural and urban adolescent girls in Udupi Taluk, Manipal, India.” Global journal of medicine and public health 2.4 (2013): 1-9.

[4] Balamurugan, S. Sangeetha, S. Shilpa, and Sheethal Shaji. “A community based study on menstrual hygiene among reproductive age group women in a rural area, Tamil Nadu.” Journal of Basic and Clinical Reproductive Sciences 3.2 (2014): 83-87.

[5] Van Eijk, A. M., Sivakami, M., Thakkar, M. B., Bauman, A., Laserson, K. F., Coates, S., & Phillips-Howard, P. A. (2016). Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ open, 6(3), e010290.

[6] Munzer, Stephen R., and Kal Raustiala. “The uneasy case for intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge.” Cardozo Arts & Ent. LJ 27 (2009): 37.

[7] Bengwayan, Michael A. Intellectual and cultural property rights of indigenous and tribal peoples in Asia. London: Minority Rights Group International, 2003.

History, Science and Technology of South Asian Ceramics – The Proceedings of the Third International Conference in Commemoration of Iravatham Mahadevan 2024 (3)

History, Science and Technology of South Asian Ceramics – The Proceedings of the Third International Conference in Commemoration of Iravatham Mahadevan 2024 (3)

07.01.2024, Sunday

Museum (DakshinaChitra Heritage) and Field (Mamallapuram [Mahabalipuram]) Visits

08.30 AM Tour starts from IIT Madras

10.00 AM Arrival at Dakshina Chitra  – Traditional welcome and briefing

10.30-12.30 Noon Museum tour

12.30-1.00 PM Heritage Museum Bazaar

1.00-1.30 PM Lunch in Kanali Hall

1.30 PM Departure from Dakshina Chitra

2.30 PM Arrival at Mamallapuram

2.30-3.00 PM Welcome Refreshment

3.00-6.00 PM Guided Tour of Mamallapuram – Dr. Dayalan Duraiswamy

6.00-7.00 PM Sunset at the beach

7.00-8.00 PM Dinner at Tamil Nadu State Tourism Hotel

8.00 PM Depart from Mamallapuram

9.30 PM Arrival at IIT Madras

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

07-01-2024

What historians and archaeologists could learn from the installation of 108 feet high Adi Shankara statue at Omkareshwar (1)

What historians and archaeologists could learn from the installation of 108 feet high Adi Shankara statue at Omkareshwar (1)

About the 108 feet high Adi Sankara statue: About the construction of the religious complex and the installation of Adi Shankara statue, there had been news coverage for the last one year from July 2022 onwards when the work was entrusted to L&T. However, the people movement started in 2018 itself for the collection of “Astadhatu” for the construction of the statue. The Construction had started on a 108-feet statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Madhya Pradesh’s Omkareshwar, one of the most revered Jyotirlingas in the country, and was likely to be completed by September when it would be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just ahead of Assembly elections in the state. The news reports carried the story in their own way. Thus, one daily characteristically reported that “….it is believed that Adi Shankaracharya travelled to Omkareshwar in the heart of India as a child from his birthplace Kerala and attained knowledge at the sacred place. The statue will likely reflect this stage of his life. Checking up on the status of the project, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan travelled to the site in Omkareshwar along with his family members to welcome Swami Chidanand Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan Haridwar, Anandmurti Gurumaa along with Manoj Muntashir, Advaita Kala, Markand Paranjape and others.” Thus, here also, one has to keep politics, ideology and biased reporting aside and look into historicity, historiography and related subjects for the benefit of the students of history and archaeology.

Adi Shankara sojourn to be researched historically and archaeologically: How a boy or youth could have travelled to different parts of India learning under Gurus, debating philosophers with others, establishing mutts and settling down to depart away at the age of 33, should also to be thought of in historical perspective. Travelling by foot, bullock cart, horse etc., covering thousands of kms, staying at different places, carrying out daily routines, but following his austerities strictly are also to be studied. Incidentally, “Advaita” is studied, discussed and debated even today, not only in India, but also in many world universities. It is well known that philosophy had been part and parcel of Indian wisdom acknowledged by all world philosophers. In fact, several Greek philosophers reportedly sojourned to India to learn philosophy. Of course, one Indian philosopher reportedly self-immolated during a debate to prove that his spirit lives forever, but, only his body was destroyed. Therefore, the influence of Adi Shankara can be felt in the philosophical, logical, religious, ethical and moral arenas.  The Buddhists had been so envious, resentful and spiteful enough to dub him as “Praccanna Buddha” (the masqueraded Buddhist).

The Ekatma Dham project: Apart from the statue, named the ‘Statue of Oneness’, the project includes an Ekatma Dham. In total, the project will cost the Madhya Pradesh government more than Rs 2,000 crore, out of which the statue is worth Rs 200 crore. While the entire project will be completed by 2026, the statue is expected to be ready by August / September this year, 2023. The Ekatma Dham, to be made on Onkar Parvat, will include a state-of-the-art grand ‘Advaita Lok’ museum, which will show the life journey of Adi Shankaracharya. A public information centre, Nauka Vihar and Vedic Gurukul will also be part of the Ekatma Dham. Once the project is complete, around 3,000 people will be able to attend laser and sound shows through the ‘Shriyantra’. A ‘Sharda Peeth’ will also be designed and materials for the same will be brought in from Kashmir. The teachings of Guru Adi Shankaracharya will also be taught here.

L&T received order for the construction of Adi Shankara statue and the complex – July 2022[1]: Larsen & Toubro, which completed the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, is working on the ‘Statue of Oneness’ as well[2]. It has also been allotted the construction work of the Ram Temple in UP’s Ayodhya[3]. Their press release declared[4], “Further, the Business has secured an order for the Engineering, Procurement & Construction of the ‘Statue of Oneness’ –

• The Statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar in District Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh from the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Ltd[5].
• The Statue will be bronze cladded and will be placed on a lotus petal base made of stone, which will be placed over a RCC pedestal[6].
• The sole height of statue from base i.e., from the paduka till the apex will be 108 feet[7]. The project is scheduled to be completed in 15 months.”[8]
• The statue and the Shankar Museum will be set up on an area of 7.5 hectares on the Mandhata mountain. A gurukulam will be developed on the other side of the Narmada River in a 5-hectare area and Acharya Shankar International Advaita Vedanta Sansthan will be developed in a 10-hectare area[9].
• The Buildings and Factories (B&F) business of L&T Construction had secured an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) order from the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation Limited to construct a statue of Adi Shankaracharya[10].

Spiritual tourism complex: L&T Project Director MV Satish told News18 that 70% concrete work has been completed and the remaining will be completed at the earliest. The concrete base of the statue will be around 28 metres with heavy use of steel and bronze. The design and architectural work has been allotted to Delhi-based firm CP Kukreja. “The project is so sacred that it has changed the way we work. I have seen the positive changes as soon as I got on board with ‘Ekatma Dham’,” said Dikshu Kukreja, chief designer of the project. Officials say that after the Mahakaal Lok in Ujjain, the project in Omkareshwar should also be seen as a mega investment project which will yield good returns. While the project is being completed, the state government will also work to connect Ujjain, Omkareshwar and nearby cities into one spiritual tourism circuit. As per further details, the portrait of Adi Shankaracharya has been made by renowned painter Vasudev Kamat and the sculpting has been done by accomplished sculptor Bhagwan Rampure.

How the prototype was prepared, metals contributed for the statue etc: The selection appropriate picture with which the prototype was prepared has been carried on meticulously engaged with experts from the respective fields:

• Sample statues of Adi Shankaracharya prepared by artists from Mumbai, Gujarat and some other states have also arrived at the Acharya Shankar Cultural Unity Trust’s office located in the Tribal Museum of Bhopal[11].
• The Trust had assigned the task of making sample statues to 20 artists, out of which 10 had made the statues and presented to the Trust[12]. 
• The statue had been prepared on the basis of the picture of Adi Shankaracharya made by the Trust. 
• One of these sample images has been selected and the 108 feet statue built accordingly.
• The statue has been made of Ashtadhatu, a mixture of copper, tin, zinc, lead and other metals 85:5:5:5 collected from 23 thousand panchayats of the state[13]. 
• Weighing 100 ton statue with 50 feet artistic based statue has been installed, facing the south direction i.e. towards Omkareshwar Jyotirling and Narmada[14].
• Famous painter Vasudev Kamat prepaed a picture of the child of 11 year old Shankaracharya.
• Well-known sculptor Bhagwan Rampure is preparing the idol under his guidance.

Thus, every step has been taken care of, to get the best out the contributors.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

22-09-2023

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[1] News18, Work on 108-Feet Tall Adi Shankaracharya Statute Begins at Omkareshwar; PM Modi Likely to Inaugurate in Sept, Reported By: Nikhil LakhwaniCNN-News18, Last Updated: MAY 08, 2023, 10:38 IST,New Delhi, India

[2] https://www.news18.com/india/work-on-108-feet-tall-adi-shankaracharya-statute-begins-at-omkareshwar-pm-modi-likely-to-inaugurate-in-sept-7748239.html

[3] L&T Press Release, L&T Construction awarded (Significant*) contracts for its Buildings & Factories Business, July 2022.

[4]  https://corpwebstorage.blob.core.windows.net/media/46897/2022-07-11-lt-construction-awarded-significant-contracts-for-its-buildings-factories-business.pdf

[5] Economic Times, L&T bags contracts for data center construction, ET Online, Last Updated: Jul 11, 2022, 11:06 AM IST.

[6] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/lt-construction-bags-contracts-for-data-center-service-providers/articleshow/92795745.cms?from=mdr

[7] Business Standard, L&T Construction wins order under its buildings and factories biz, Last Updated : Jul 11 2022 | 2:32 PM IST

[8] https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-cm/l-t-construction-wins-orders-under-its-buildings-and-factories-biz-122071100261_1.html

[9] Free Press Journal, Indore: Assembling of parts of the Idol will begin soon, Staff Reporter, Updated: Thursday, January 19, 2023, 01:16 AM IST

[10] https://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/indore-assembling-of-parts-of-the-idol-will-begin-soon

[11] Bhaskar, Special preparations for the statue to be installed in Omkareshwar: 10 sample statues of Adi Shankaracharya made by artists of Mumbai and Gujarat came to Bhopal, out of these 3 were selected, Bhopal, 2021, Author: Rahul Sharma

[12] https://www.bhaskar.com/local/mp/bhopal/news/108-feet-statue-to-be-installed-in-omkareshwar-10-sample-statues-of-adi-shankaracharya-made-by-artists-from-mumbai-gujarat-came-to-bhopal-out-of-which-3-were-selected-129106415.html

[13] Bhaskar, 108 feet tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya: The statue, weighing 100 tons, will be installed at a height of 50 feet, Uday Mandloi Khandva, 2022.

[14] https://www.bhaskar.com/local/mp/khandwa/news/100-ton-statue-will-stand-on-50-feet-high-base-130449982.html

Buried temple found during sand mining and digging, which was reportedly covered by the sand dunes due to the change of Pennar River course!

Buried temple found during sand mining and digging, that was reportedly covered by the sand dunes due to the change of Pennar River course!

Buried temple found during the sand mining activities at Pennar River bed: An ancient temple of Sri Nageswara Swamy, constructed approximately 200 years ago and remained buried under the sand of Penna river, at Perumallapadu of Chejarala Mandal of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh, for almost 80 years now, has been unearthed. While it remains debated whether or not the temple is 200 or 300 years old, a few things are certain. According to Ancient Origins, the temple is dedicated to Lord Nageswara, an avatar of the God Shiva. The temple, which according to the legend was consecrated by Lord Parasurama, an avatara of Lord Vishnu, got buried over a long period of time as the river Penna changed its course[1]. The brick structure may have got submerged in sand dunes probably after the 1850 floods, Archaeology Assistant Director Ramasubba Reddy felt[2]. He said the higher officials would inspect the site soon and decide on the excavation and preservation works. The officials of the Archaeology and Endowments departments said they would work out a plan to restore the temple respecting the sentiments of the villagers. Thus, the change of course of Penna River has been an important event in the history of geology or geoarchaeology for study. The related experts could have gone there to study, but, nothing appeared thereafter.

Another version reported that the youth of the village started digging to find the buried temple: In June 2020, this was the news and many were interestingly observing as to what would happen next. The villagers claimed, because of the pandemic, they were spending time at their homes, but some youth had gone to search for the buried temple and started digging[3]. The temple saw the light of the day during sand excavations carried out by villagers of Perumallapadu of Chejarala Mandal of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh[4]. According to reports, the villagers became curious after some locals stumbled on a few small structures of the temple when they took up digging recently in sand reaches[5]. But, it was actually, the sand mining workers suddenly came across the structure, while they were removing sand with earth-moving equipments. Of course, the sand mining activities have been going on for many years, as this has been a crores-producing profitable business. As they kept digging deep, they could unearth an entire temple of ancient times[6]. So whether the temple reappeared due to the intentional digging of the village youth or the sand mining, the fact remains about the buried temple.

Pennar River changed course and the temple was buried to disappear: Amused by their discovery, the local residents made enquiries in the surrounding villages about the historical significance of this temple. During their research, some village elders confirmed the existence of the temple on the river bed several decades back. The temple was well known two-three generations ago. It was filled up by the sand almost 80 years ago, locals said[7]. Some enthusiastic villagers collected money and started searching for this temple. It took almost one day to find out the pinnacle of the temple[8]. But it got gradually covered under a sheet of sand which used to get deposited every time Penna river received floods during the rainy season[9]. And that explained how the existence of the ancient temple was completely erased. That is during the course of time, probably after three generations, even history is forgotten. Nowadays, none is able to remember their great-grand fathers and mothers, except some old people might remember. Under such circumstances, it is important that we should record the memories of our elders, particularly, who have been above 70 to 100, as they could give first-hand information about the events that happened from 1900 to 1960. Nowadays, it has to be noted that even the near-past events are interpreted differently, ccording to the whims and fancies of the ideologists.

What villagers of  Perumallapadu in Chejarla Mandal said: “Along with the Sri Nageswara Swamy temple, two other temples — Kotiteertham temple and Sangam Sivalayam — in the district were constructed at the same time[10]. Thus, they say that 108 temples were built by Parasurama and so on. All the temple rituals including daily pooja to the deity used to be performed at Sri Nageswara Swamy temple 200 years ago[11]. But it gradually got covered under sand and completely vanished[12]. Now, some youngsters dug up the sand only to accidentally rediscover the temple. We have plans to refurbish the temple to renew daily pooja rituals. We have already contacted priests and based on their advice, we will take a decision,” villagers of  Perumallapadu in Chejarla Mandal said[13]. “Then one day, a man Galipala Sudarsan initiated to bring this temple out. The sanctum sanctorum is much deeper and the area in which it was found is Mukha Mantapam. We are now planning to re-construct the temple but where it should be made is the dilemma. We have to check the condition and status of Lord Shiva’s idol. We will seek advice from the elders and the priests,” he added[14].

Now again the temple has been forgotten: As the news of the Nageswara Swamy temple being unearthed in Perumallapadu village spread like wildfire, people from many neighbouring villages flocked to the area to catch a glimpse of it and began offering prayers. However, as the news shot up and started getting the attention of many, in the same way, some vested interested groups wanted to huss up and silence the issue. First, the ASI and state Archaeological authorities might get into problems, as they could not give any permission  for such activities taking place near to the sites at a distance of 100 kms. Note that the Archaeology Assistant Director Ramasubba Reddy said the higher officials would inspect the site soon and decide on the excavation and preservation works. The officials of the Archaeology and Endowments departments said they would work out a plan to restore the temple respecting the sentiments of the villagers. But, what happened thereafter is not known and there has not been any report by the archaeological department. Therefore, the local authorities, immediately sprung into action and started stopping the people going there, doing pujas etc., they also stopped youth and others by collecting funds and initiative to renovate the temple.

Historians, archaeologists and related experts can take action to know the follow-up proceedings?: Moreover, it is also claimed that some trust own the area that has been subjected to sand mining. In other words, others cannot come there, enter or encroach to carry out such activities. Moreover, news is spread, even if renovation is done, because of the depth, the temple would be again buried under the sands. Yet, some other argued that the temple itself own many lands and therefore, none need to give any funds, if the authorities, properly implement legal procedure, everything would be carried out peacefully, as the local village people assert. But, the news has now forgotten and none talks about the temple. Above all, it is not known what the historians, archaeologists and other experts who used make a hue and cry about the losing importance of history, have done in this regard.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

16-04-2023

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[1] The Hindu, Historical temple unearthed in Nellore, S  Murali, June 16, 2020 11:25 pm | Updated June 18, 2020 02:11 pm IST.

[2] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/historic-temple-unearthed-in-nellore/article31846032.ece

[3] Sakshi Post, 200-Year-Old Temple Buried In Penna River Bed Unearthed, Sakshi Post, 17 Jun, 2020 18:48 IST|

[4] https://m.sakshipost.com/news/andhrapradesh/villagers-ap-unearth-200-year-old-temple-buried-penna-sand-120302

[5] News18.com, Ancient Lord Shiva Temple Found During Sand Mining in Andhra’s Nellore, Last Updated: JUNE 17, 2020, 16:04 IST.

[6] https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/ancient-lord-shiva-temple-found-during-sand-mining-in-andhras-nellore-2674173.html

[7] ANI, Ancient Lord Nageswara temple unearthed in Nellore, | Updated: Jun 17, 2020 09:48 IST.

[8] https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ancient-lord-nageswara-temple-unearthed-in-nellore20200617094851/

[9] Republic World, Ancient Lord Nageswara Temple Unearthed In Andhra Pradesh’ Nellore District During Mining, City News, Written By Pritesh Kamath. Last Updated: 17th June, 2020 15:40 IST.

[10] https://www.republicworld.com/india-news/city-news/nageswara-temple-shiva-temple-nellore-andhra-pradesh-chejarla-mandal.html

[11] Archaeology-network, Historical Shiva temple found during sand mining in Andhra Pradesh\s Nellore District, Tann, 2020-06-20.

[12] https://archaeonewsnet.com/2020/06/historical-shiva-temple-found-during.html

[13] The hitavada, Ancient Lord Nageswara temple unearthed in Nellore, Date :18-Jun-2020.

[14] https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2020/6/18/Ancient-Lord-Nageswara-temple-unearthed-in-Nellore.html

The proceedings of the National seminar Buddhism and Sectarian Religious faith in India or Buddha and Anti-caste Bhakti Saints held at Acharya Nagarjuna University on March 1st and 2nd 2023 (3)

The proceedings of the National seminar Buddhism and Sectarian Religious faith in India or Buddha and Anti-caste Bhakti Saints held at Acharya Nagarjuna University on March 1^st and 2^nd 2023 (3)

01-03-2023 (Wednesday) – afternoon session: Afternoon, the second session, the following papers were presented:

Speaker / paper presenter	Title of the paper	Page no.
P. D. Satya Paul[1]	Title – not known, not listed / included in the “Abstracts” He spoke twice for nearly two hours….	?
K. V. Ramakrishna Rao[2]	The Sectarian encounters between the Buddhist and Jain faiths during the Medieval period for commercialization and communalization	34-35

P. D. Satya Paul delved upon the communal Hinduism criticizing P.V. Kane who carried on the Maxmueller’s project, Dr S. Radhakrishan for his opinion about Buddha (Buddha’s movement was a protestant type of reformative Hinduism) and Swami Vivekananda for perpetuating caste. He was suggesting about a “proto-sramanic” tradition before IVC, based on which, the Buddhism could have been evolved.

Getting ready for power-point…..

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao presented his paper, “The Sectarian encounters between the Buddhist and Jain faiths during the Medieval period for commercialization and communalization,” based on the medieval inscriptions, sculptures, paintings and literature. The question of “Himsa and Ahimsa” (violence and non-violence), karma, atma, rebirth etc., the following issues were discussed:

• Why Jainism and Buddhism flourished before and after the “golden period” of the Guptas?:
• What happened between the Arab / Mohammedan invasion and European intrusion during the 12^th to 16^th centuries?:
• The impact of the Europeans on the Jains and Buddhists during the medieval period
• The psychology of Non-violence and violence
• A Dispute between the Mahayana Buddhists and Digambar Jains over Mt Girnar (Gujarat), where all sectarian groups had encounters
• Internal and inherent factors are also responsible for the decline of Jainism and Buddhism
• Transition of faiths in Andhradesa and clash of faiths
• The Jaina-Buddhist conflicts in Karnataka and Tamilagam
• Ahimsavadis – Jains and Buddhists eating flesh
• Vegetarianism, non-vegetarianism and Jaina-Buddha dynasties
• Rivalry among the Business men and Priests
• Dynasties following sectarian faiths and their transition
• Sectarian faiths made talented workers to loose their identity
• Rivalry Among the Jains and Saivites or Sculptors and Agriculturalists?:
• Brahmins versus non-Brahmins
• Sectarian conflicts recorded in the inscriptions
• Oil, oil-mill and their euphemism in Jainism
• Was there any nexus between Jains and extremist groups like Kapalika, Kalamuka etc?:
• Syncretism, eclectism and inculturation
• In-lieu of conclusion – Commercialization and communalization of sectarianism

The Jaina monks that were defeated in the debates were punished based on their agreed condition……

This type of sculptures are found in many temples…….

Then, the following conclusions were drawn:

It could be noted in the most of the sectarian encounters of whatever nature, whether it was philosophical debate, theological polemics, right over property, manufacture and production of goods and services, imports and exports, monopoly of trade route and related issues. Thus, the following features could easily be noted working:

• Commercialization and communalization of sectarianism had been the hallmark of medieval inland and oversea trade and commerce.
• As more and more goods and services had to be manufactured and produced, more labourers, workers and technicians were required for carrying out various assembly, fabrication and construction activities.
• Such experts had to be trained, organized and made to work according the exigencies, emergencies and requirements at national and international obligations.
• Thus, such experts had to be faithful, loyal and obedient to the authority, rulers and government.
• Here, the merchant guilds, trade groups and commercialized communal organizations worked effectively aiding and abetting the rulers.
• Accordingly, most of them had to be polyglots, dubashis, sailors, warriors, pirates and profiteers also.
• Under such compulsions, complexities and commitments, social, political, commercial and maritime set-up, the moral, ethic and code of conduct were relegated to background, operated selectively and sectarianism ruled roost.
• The violators of their own imposed acts and rules were punished, prosecuted and even killed without any mercy, but, all carried on in the name of faith and religion only.
• Finally, syncretism had taken place to accommodate all deities, idols or the defied symbols in the places of worship.

Such depiction is found in the Buddhist paintings also…..

There was a discussion and questions by the Chair and Satya Paul and the paper presenter clarified. They questioned about the mentioning of Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara and Asoka as grandfather, father and son, but, I do not find any chronological or historical issue in the lineage.

Then, the former HOD of the department, who presided over the session, was facilitated.

Former HOD of the Mahayana Buddhism centre was facilitated.

02-03-2023 (Thursday) – second day proceedings:

Speaker / paper presenter	Title of the paper	Page no.
Yadhava Raghu[3]	Dasa movement and its impact on Telugu villages bordering Karnataka: a case of Pyalakurthy village, Kurnool district[4].	37-38 46
John Weasley[5]	Siddha cults in South India.	57
Sugandha[6]	The Buddhist perspective of social sratification	5 8
N. Kanakaratnam[7]	Caste revenge on adigas and Malas.	60
Eluri Harshavardhan[8]	Egalitarian ideals of Buddhism: A repository of counter discourse in Andhradesa	49

About dasa, dasari, dasari caste etc: Dasari is a Vaishnava mendicant caste in Telangana region and Andhra Pradesh, India. They are involved in various business, trades, poojas, marriage rituals, plays and agriculture. Their traditional work is in temple service. They perform death rites in burial grounds as their main occupation. Some of them work as day laborers. They are landless. Some of the Dasari Mala work in business and agriculture. They use both modern and traditional medicines. They are not vegetarians and eat rice as a staple food. The Dasari Mala prefer marriage between cousins. The bereaved and divorced can marry again. The dead are buried rather than cremated like most Hindus. On the death of the father, sons inherit the property with the oldest son taking charge of the family estate. They observe birth and marriage rituals. They are also known as Poosala Balija, Bukka Dasari, and Krishna Balija in different areas of their habitation. However, in Karnataka, how castes with similar sounding names can be mistaken can be noted. In Karnataka, the Dasari caste comes under Category-1 whereas Channa Dasar is SC. Similarly, Bhoyi is Category-1, but Bhovi is SC. Jangama comes under the general category, but Beda Jangama is SC. Therefore, just with the word, “Dasari,” one cannot come to any conclusion. Moreover, the paper readers started with Kanakadasa story and then switched over to the Pyalakurthy village, Kurnool Dist., to claim that the “Dasari caste” people there could be connected with the “dasaris” of Karnataka. Obviously, he is confused with “dasa” of Madhwa tradition, “Dasari” caste and other “Dasari” tradition (being obedient servant / slave.)

These are some of the Tamil Siddhar as found on the temple pillars etc., dated to later medieval and modern periods….

About Siddha, Siddhi, Cittam etc: The seminar brochure claims, “Siddha Tradition in South India was evolved out of Buddhist school of Vajrayana was more prevalent among the lower strata, strived to attain equality in religious sphere. Many Siddha cult centres of present Andhra and Telangana states including Siddhavatam, Siddeswaram, Siddula Guttalu etc. are the live examples for this phenomenon. The medieval text (14-15^th CE) in couplet form ‘Navanadha Charitra’ written by Gourana also mentioned about the Siddhas.” It is not known what is the proof to claim that “Siddha Tradition in South India was evolved out of Buddhist school of Vajrayana..,” as the Tamil Siddha tradition has nothing to do with any Buddhism.  Taking the word “Siddha”( సిద్ధ), the Telugu scholars, researchers and even historians try to link them with “Siddhar, Siddha medicine” and so on, whereas, the Tamil Siddha (சித்த, சித்தர்) nothing to do with. In the process it attempts to narrate the relationship of places like Mahendragiri (of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh) with sage Agastya (one of the very important Siddhars of Siddha medicine) and possible origins of very old common religion (Siva Siddhanla) propagated by Dakshinamurti, through his four disciples from this place. names like Siddha, Sangam, Nandi which are still used in the same sense as they were used from time immemorial. Without knowing the fundamentals, Tamil language and reading the texts of Tamil Siddhas, they misinterpret taking the words. Many list of the places, cities etc., with “సిద్ధ” in Telugu, go on interpret that all such places are connected with Siddhas since immemorial. Of course, they take the Agastya myth also for strengthening their argument.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

05-03-2023

These are imaginary pictures of 18- Tamil Siddhars…

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[1] Department of Anthropology, Andhra University – Visakhapatnam – appears to be involved in Dalit, Christian and related studies.

[2] Guest faculty, University of Madras and Visiting faculty for Annamalai University, Research Scholar, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Madras, Chennai.

[3] Asst.Prof, History Dept, Sathya SaiUniversity for Human Excellence, Kalaburagi, Karnataka.

[4] His paper has been printed twice as shown – this shows the mechanical way of preparation of “Abstracts” without going into the details.

[5] Research scholar, Centre for Mahayana Buddhist Studies, ANU, AP.

[6] Research scholar, Centre for Mahayana Buddhist Studies, ANU, AP.

[7]  Professor, History, Kakatiya University, Warangal, Telangana.

[8] Dept. of History and Archaeology, Dravidian University, Kuppam, AP.

The proceedings of the National seminar Buddhism and Sectarian Religious faith in India or Buddha and Anti-caste Bhakti Saints held at Acharya Nagarjuna University on March 1st and 2nd 2023 (2)

The proceedings of the National seminar Buddhism and Sectarian Religious faith in India or Buddha and Anti-caste Bhakti Saints held at Acharya Nagarjuna University on March 1^st and 2^nd 2023 (2)

Objectives of the Seminar: There are serious studies available purely either on Buddhism or Bhakti movement and anti-caste traditions. But, it is noticed that deliberations on continuity of non- Vedic and anti-caste intellectual tradition, initiated by Buddha in another forms and their variations are absent. In view of absence of comparative studies on Buddha and other anti-caste philosophers during lhe subsequent period, present seminar is proposed. Present Two Day National Seminar is aimed at serious deliberations on the impact Buddhist egalitarianism on other sectarian religious faiths after the defeat of Buddhism in India. And it is also intended to identify the basic differences and resemblances of all anti-caste sectarian religious movements.

Sub- themes: The subthemes and others are also listed out for illustrative purpose:

1. Buddhism — Buddhist anti- caste Philosophy

2. Vajrayana/ Siddha cults in South India

3. Sectarianism — Medieval Bhakti movements and anti-casse philosophy

4. Virasaivism- Basaveswara, Akkamahadevi, Panditaradhya

5. Vaishnavism —Ramanuja, Brahmanaidu

6. Pothuluri Virabrahmam- Vemana

7. Nasarayya- Dunna Iddasu- Yadla Ramadasu

8. Sufi saints

9. Tukaram- Sant Ravidas- Chokkamela

10. Meerabai- Kabir- Bhima Boi

11. Any other relevant theme Submission of Papers

01-03-2023 (Wednesday): The seminar was inaugurated with a prayer to Buddha sung by the Buddhist students followed by the prayer song of the University invoking Acharya Nagarjuna. The seminar convener Ch. Swaroopa Rani invited the dignitaries, the guests and delegates, introducing the Mahayana Buddhist centre and explaining the theme of the seminar. Prof Rajasekar, VC, talked about the theme with examples. Then, P. D. Satya Paul delved upon the communal Hinduism criticizing P.V. Kane who carried on the Maxmueller’s project, Dr S. Radhakrishan for his opinion about Buddha (Buddha’s movement was a protestant type of reformative Hinduism) and Swami Vivekananda for perpetuating caste. He was suggesting about a “proto-sramanic” tradition before IVC, based on which, the Buddhism could have been evolved. Dr Ramabhadra Kumar pointed out delving upon some books that caste problem has been spread to all other countries, now working in 33 major countries. He emphasized the consolidation of caste, annihilation of caste and dissolution of caste. K. S. Chalam, the key-note speaker spoke about many issues and they have been printed in the “abstract” booklet. K. S. Chalam was sarcastically talking about “Brahminical virus” / brahmin diaspora virus spreading in the “Diaspora” countries throughout the world, it is more dangerous than Carona virus and so on.

Brahmin  diaspora virus – S.K. Chalam: First, Ramabadhrakumar was telling that caste has been there in 33 countries of the world and then, S. K. Chalam mentioned about “Brahmin diaspora virus,” affecting and it is more dangerous than Carona virus. Incidentally, such idea has been floated by the left-oriented media in the internet[1]. The Wire came out with a story[2] that “Communal Virus Injected into Diaspora, and the Culture is Growing” and claimed that it was published originally somewhere[3], giving a link. That link contains another story[4], “Supreme Court Pulls Up Union Govt & TV For Allowing Hate Speech; Communal Virus Injected Into Diaspora And The Culture Is Growing.” So they could find virus suddenly comparing it with caste. S. K. Chalam directly christened it as “Brahmin diaspora virus”! As usual, it is not known, why “Khastriya diaspora virus,” “Vaisyha diaspora virus,” and “Sudra  diaspora virus,” are not found or located in their narratives and discourses. Talking about “hate speech,” they are producing more “hate speech” and it is not known as to whether they understand or not.

“Abstracts” of papers: The “Abstracts” contain 35 papers and full papers of key-note and valedictory addresses.

Speaker / paper presenter	Title of the paper	Page no.
K. S. Chalam, Key-note address	Impact of Buddhism on Anti-caste Egalitarian movements in India[5] (Key note address)	1-19
M. Koteswara Rao	Buddhism:  a philosophy of social transformation.	25
Pannasami	Caste system in Theravada Buddhist perspective.	26
M.M. Vinodini	Akkammadevi’s literature that called for women’s emancipation
P. D. Satya Paul	Title – not known, not listed / included in the “Abstracts” He spoke twice for nearly two hours….
K. V. Ramakrishna Rao	The Sectarian encounters between the Buddhist and Jain faiths during the Medieval period for commercialization and communalization	34-35
Yadhava Raghu	Dasa movement and its impact on Telugu villages bordering Karnataka: a case of Pyalakurthy village, Kurnool district[6].	37-38 46
John Weasley	Siddha cults in South India.	57
Sugandha	The Buddhist perspective of social sratification	5 8
N. Kanakaratnam	Caste frevenge on adigas and Malas.	60
Eluri Harshavardhan	Egalitarian ideals of Buddhism: A repository of counter discourse in Andhradesa
E. Sudha Rani, Valedictory address	Women Bhakti saints’ voices: the radical anti-caste movements in medieval India.	20-24

Afternoon first session, the following papers  were presented:

Speaker / paper presenter	Title of the paper	Page no.
K. S. Chalam[7], Key-note address	Impact of Buddhism on Anti-caste Egalitarian movements in India[8] (Key note address)	1-19
M. Koteswara Rao[9]	Buddhism:  a philosophy of social transformation.	25
Pannasami[10]	Caste system in Theravada Buddhist perspective.	26
M.M. Vinodini[11]	Akkammadevi’s literature that called for women’s emancipation

M. Koteswara Rao was talking about caste, case system, Ambedkar etc., in a general manner and explaining the contemporary conditions. He was stressing that the process of thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis should take place.

Pannasami’s paper perplexed some audience because, he was explaining about, “Caste system in Theravada Buddhist perspective,” while the seminar was about how Buddhism could pave way for anti-caste movement. That is Buddhism could not have any type of social discrimination, when it was against caste system.

The last paper presenter was virtually speaking as if she was giving a literary discourse (like pattimanram in the Tamil context) and spoke for one hour explaining the poetic nuances in Telugu, repeating points again and again. Though, he was narrating other stories, she  did not mention that according to legends, she was a beautiful woman with long tresses and Kaushika, the Jain ruler of the region, fell in love with her. However, some accounts suggest that despite Kaushika’s proposal to marry Akka, the latter not only refused, but when forced, renounced her family, discarded her clothes and left the village covered only in her long tresses. Thus, here also, the Jaina-Saiva conflict is known. In other versions, it is claimed that the wedding did actually take place but on the conditions that the king would neither touch Akka without her permission nor hinder her worship. However, when Kaushika failed to honour the agreement, Akka left his palace leaving behind all his presents, including her clothes and acknowledged Lord Chennamallikarjuna as her sole husband.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

05-03-2023

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[1] The Wire, Communal Virus Injected into Diaspora, and the Culture is Growing, Sidharth Bhatia, 23-09-2022.

[2] https://thewire.in/communalism/communal-virus-leicester

[3] Pratik Kanjilal, Supreme Court Pulls Up Union Govt & TV For Allowing Hate Speech; Communal Virus Injected Into Diaspora And The Culture Is Growing, September 22, 2022

[4] https://www.theindiacable.com/p/supreme-court-pulls-up-union-govt?utm_source=email

[5]  Though his paper has been printed in about 20 pagers, it is not complete and of course, he accepted that it was only “abstract,” and he would send his full paper.

[6] His paper has been printed twice as shown – this shows the mechanical way of preparation of “Abstracts” without going into the details.

[7] Prof. Chalam held the position of –

• Vice- Chancellor, Dravidian University, Kuppam (AP) (2005);
• Member, Planning Board, Govt. of M.P., (2002-04);
• Founder Director, UGC Academic Staff College, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam (1987-2005);
•  Director, Swamy Ramananda Tirtha Rural Institute, Pochampally, Hyderabad (1997-98);
• Professor of Economics, Andhra University (1990-2005).
• He is on several Committees as Hon’ble Chairman, Member such as UGC, NCRI, A.U etc.
• He was Search Committee Member for selection of Vice- Chancellor for Telugu and Telangana Universities in Andhra Pradesh.

[8]  Though his paper has been printed in about 20 pagers, it is not complete and of course, he accepted that it was only “abstract,” and he would send his full paper.

[9] Associate Professor, Department of English – Krishna University, Andhra Pradesh.

[10]  Research scholar, Centre for Mahayana Buddhist Studies, ANU, AP.

[11] Associate Professor, Department of Telugu, Yogi Vemana University, Kadapa-516005., Andhra Pradesh

The Conference on Culture, Heritage and Nation Building held at the University of Madras on February 1st and 2nd 2023 (2)

The Conference on Culture, Heritage and Nation Building held at the University of Madras on February 1^st and 2^nd 2023 (2)

01-02-2023 inauguration: Inaugurating the seminar, the registrar of the university S. Elummalai said[1]: “Our country has a long tradition and great culture in the world. Ancestors did not capture any country by war. They fought and protected our country against those who came to capture it. It is not our tradition to quarrel with anyone. Tamils mostly used variety of grains other than rice in their diet. This year has been declared as the Year of Small Grains, a tribute to our heritage. Youngsters should know the pros and cons of processed food before consuming it. Traditional food, dress and culture are what give us pride and security”.  M.P. Damodaran, Head of Department of Anthropology, Chennai University, talked about Indian culture, how culture helped to get freedom and its importance in nation-building process.

India got freedom because of its inherent culture and heritage: Popular Carnatic singer Sirkazhi Sivachidambaram said: “During the Corona period, the entire world has been made aware of cleanliness of hands, feet and clothes. But it is already there in our tradition. In our country, music and folk songs spread health-related ideas. There are many similarities among culture, heritage and nation-building….they are interlinked and enhancing each other. We in India should be proud of our Motherland. Culture –fighting without war, the battle of freedom was fought without sword and blood, as Namakkal Kavinjar pointed out. Satyagraha, alone brought freedom. We know only kings and others, but, we do not read about the masses in history who contributed music. India is the only country that has rich culture, cultural heritage…..what we are today is the what we inherited from our forefathers. History of the patient gives the diagnosis of the patient. Publication is importance for recording history. There is difference between wrought and right information. A nation without culture is considered as a nation with importance.” Then, he sang a song of Bharathidasan about the importance of education. As per the request, he song another song “Temmangu,” a folk-song from a Malayalam film.

01-02-2023 – morning session: After honouring the guests, the special lecture was given by Dr Shaji Baby and he delved upon many issues of climate change, global response etc. With the vote of thanks, the morning session was would up. M. P. Damodaran,  Head of Department of Anthropology, Chennai University, K. Parimurugan, Vanamma Gnanprasuna, Bullaran, Founder of Vanamma Art, Culture and Education Foundation and Prabhukumari Vanamma, Head of Department of History, Bharathi Women’s University participated in the event. Thereafter, the paper presentation started. The afternoon session was held after lunch from 2 to 5 pm with the paper presentation by the participants on various topics. Some were reading their papers for more than half-an-hour.

Nation-building traditional and modern approach: Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state in modern context, but for countries with rich tradition, such condition is not required. Then, it is emphasized that nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. For people living together in a geographical boundary for thousands of years, again such exigency does not arise. The rule of and by majority and such other theories are also not applicable, where, people groups have been getting along with some form of democratic society. The importance given to “power” leads to military, arms and such type of martial setups and they are also not required for the traditional democratic societies. Yet, military is continued to be stressed. Nation builders are those members of a state who take the initiative to develop the national community through government programs, including military conscription and national content mass schooling. Nation-building can involve the use of propaganda or major infrastructure development to foster social harmony and economic growth. When the economy is managed by the people without depending upon the government, such society continues to live and “nation-building” principles become redundant.

Afternoon 2.00 to 5.00 pm – academic session: Starting with matriarchy, one paper presenter ended up with Khasi tribes. A paper presented on “Yazh” (stringed instrument, like harp) contains no new information, as all details are available in many books. She started examples of different periods. The Karanthai Tamil Sangam has already brought out one book, “Yazh Nul” (a book on Yazh, the stringed instrument) written by Swami Vibulantha Swamigal. She even did not whisper his name during her presentation. A generalized extempore speech was made by one lady and she covered the position of women from ancient times to modern times without any specifics or data[2]. The person[3] who delved upon Vatican Council and inculturation was talking in general without pointing out the controversies involved in it, particularly in Chennai and Mylapore context. He pointed out how the “Mylapore diocese” evolved and divided into two in 2022 and so on. When questioned by the audience, she could not respond. This type of totally “generalized” extempore speeches can be avoided. Without preparation of paper, simply coming and trying to speak what one knows is not paper presentation at all.

02-02-2023- the second-day session: The second-day session started with academic proceedings of paper presentation by 10.30 am, though they planned to start by 10 am. In fact, the sectional presidents did not come. There were only six persons to listen to the paper. I presented my paper, “Ancient Indian coins of tribes, tribals and Folks –  A critical analysis in the context of diversity and nation-building,” with PPT. As only seven minutes were given, I had to cut short my paper. The current ideologized students have been moulded with certain predetermined ideas settled in their minds. In spite of being the students of anthropology, it is intriguing that they believe in race, racism and racialism operating consciously in their minds. They also confuse race, caste, class, social group, varna, ethnicity, tribe, people group and such other concepts theoretically and in practice. Opposing and supporting caste has always been noted in many narratives, discourses and theorization.

Utopian, egalitarian and excessive equality status and reality: Most of the paper presenters in their enthusiastic approach to many factors dealing with race, ethnicity, ethnos, language, matriarchy, patriarchy, female, male, right, privilege, duty, responsibility, accountability, liability, faith, religion, inculturation, out-culturation and host of related and other issues have drifted away from the “Nation building.”

• In fact, the extremities of such tendencies have now engaged in “nation-breaking” processes.
• Of course, India is not a nation to be manufactured, produced, fabricated, need to be put together or assembled. Yet, the concept “nation in making” has been haunting and daunting Indian minds, irrespective the Indian role in the global scenario.
• Myth, legend, fable, fiction, narrative, story, parable, allegory and such other concepts are not understood properly. Application of them to only a particular religion is noted and such narratives continued with verbose and verbatim.
• Dealing with utopian, egalitarian and excessive equality status, they have gone to the extremities forgetting the social reality, political actuality and democratic realism.
• Realism and idealism are opposite concepts and not equating precepts interpreting imaginary democratic authenticities that are not realizable. Drinking and teetotalism, debauchery and virtuosity, poverty and richness may continue in any society and where no stereotypes, typecasts, photocopies, or Xerox copies can be avoided, removed and eliminated permanently.
• The papers that delved upon the “Dravidian movement” and related topics repeated the well-known narratives and discourses made very often and they had been of more political overtones than academic nature.
• When questions were asked, the paper presenters confessed that they relied upon only secondary sources and personally, they did not know about the issues, implications and reality.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

03-02-2023

valedictory……

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[1]First day inaugural session speeches – YouTube·spotlight MDU ·01-Feb-2023, https://www.google.com/search?q=Vanamaa+Art+Educational+and+Cultural+Trust&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXgI-ZlPj8AhVG5HMBHXS7BZEQ_AUoAHoECAEQCg&biw=1366&bih=657&dpr=1 – fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4b0c8da6,vid:0-Hz-OtYHxw

[2]  In fact, thousands of books and papers are available on  “The Position of Women in India” published during the last 200 years starting with the colonial discourses.

[3] she was doing this second time doing that – i.e, presenting second paper, extempore, that too, when serious issues of  “inculturation” were talked about in the context of “nation building”.

The HSSF 2020 held at Sri Gurunanak College, Velacherry from January 28th to February 2020!

The HSSF 2020 held at Sri Gurunanak College, Velacherry from January 28^th to February 2020!

Why Hindu Spiritual and Services Fair?: “Services” means, generally, it would be attributed to others and Hindus are not thought of. However, Hindus have been doing service daily without any publicity. The idea of the fairs, besides showcasing the service activities of Hindu organisations, whether small or big, has been to encourage more and more such organisations to undertake service to the public[1]. The service activities undertaken by the Hindu spiritual and community organisations is not for any mean purpose of converting anyone from one’s belief system but founded on the belief that good deeds lead to be noble even afterlife. The theme of the HSS Fairs is founded on the Rig Vedic dictum “Athmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitayacha” meaning Service to Humanity as the Way to Attain Moksha.

The Fair-Theme for 2020 – “Revering Womanhood”, Respect and Honour the Womanhood: The fair has rightly showcased the charitable works rendered by Hindu spiritual organizations. Apart from that, the themes of the fair would educate the people about the importance of preserving forests and ecology for sustainable environment, promoting patriotism, and respecting parents, teachers and women. Significantly, this year, the Fair was inaugurated by Mata Amritanandamayi;  Kannagi, the first women revolutionary activist in Tamil Hindu history was the centre of attraction. For all the communities, Mother Goddess has been unique and worshipped by crores of Hindus. They have chosen the important theme in the right perspective, bringing out the positive talents of women. Many women attended exhibited their talents in inspiring youngsters.

Tables with some materials taken away by unknown persons!

Preparing for HSSF 2020: As usual, I received an e-mail from the HSSF organizers two days before the starting of the event, and I had to hurry up with the available materials[2]. Every year since 2017, I wanted to prepare some mathematical and geometrical models that cover the entire fundamentals of both the subjects. However, it involves money and space required to keep, so that they could be used for the subsequent years and other fairs also. But, now, I have been managing with the printed charts and posters on Indian history, chronology, science and technology and the research on Saraswati River Civilization. For “Saraswati River Civilization,” Dr S. Kalyanaraman[3] has given enough materials to display and explain. For me, the practical problem has been none to help, when I was alone, as I could not go to answer natural calls or drink water or take lunch. I used to sit there in the stall hours together, till my friends come. Of course, they too have their family and other obligations.

Preparing for SIHC held at Chidambaram: Last year [2019], actually, I did not want to attend IHC, as its standards have been coming down with its involvement with politics and other un-academic activities. As our friend, T. Mahendran[4] had been so enthusiastic and insisting, for Kannur – IHC[5], we, M.J. Nagarajan[6], T. Mahendran and I decided to go. Then, for SIHC also initially, we wanted to go together in car, so I did not book tickets. Then, I attended Andhra Pradesh History Congress[7] at Kurnool [first weekend] and Telangana History Congress at Nadigudem[8] [second weekend]. Meanwhile, I had to arrange and attend the HSSF 2020 at the Gurunanak College, Velacherry Chennai. Thus, one stage, I was in a dilemma to attend SIHC or not. As usual, Mahendran was contacting me daily about the booking tickets to Chidambaram. As Nagarajan backed out [to come to Chidambaram], I had to book tickets thereafter and hence, we could get railway reservation for onwards journey, but for return. Meanwhile, A Vijayakumar[9] from Madurai also assured to come and participate with his material, but, suddenly backed out, as his mother was hospitalized. For my absence at HSSF 2020, Nagarajan would take care of, thus, we planned.

January 28^th 2020, Tuesday – the stall was set-up: On January 28^th 2020, I kept the materials required for the fair. T. Mahendran came by 8.15 am and first, we went to CarrersGPS, as they wanted to provide stands and some distribution materials. After collecting the materials, we proceeded to Gurunanak College and we reached by 8.45 am. We got an allotment of two stalls nos. E2 and E3 i.e, 20’ x 10’ space. This, we have been receiving since 2017. We started slowly arranging the materials. By 10.00 am M.J.Nagarajan also came. Thus, within two hours, we could set up our stall with the exhibition materials. I left LHS for Vijayakumar, but, he did not respond, whenever, I tried his number. We took lunch there itself and it was good. But, I had to walk a long distance to go near to the college canteen, where a pandal was set up, where the food was supplied. We returned back to the stall to monitor the condition. We understood that the fair would be officially inaugurated only tomorrow. By 5.30 pm, we left for home. It was inaugurated on 28^thJanuary 2020 at Gurunanak College, by Her Holiness Maatha Amrithanandamayi.

January 29^th 2020, Wednesday –  the fair was inaugurated: We all the three reached the venue from our respective destinations. M.J.Nagarajan was there already. To my surprise and shock that all the four tables arranged on LHS and LHS in “L” shape with some display materials were missing i.e, somebody has taken away! As I could notice Sri Seshadri was standing nearby, I went to him and informed. He said he would take necessary action and provide the tables. When I asked the persons sitting in the next and opposite stalls, they could not tell. When went through that side, there had been new stalls occupied with similar tables. And some of such newly put up stalls had more than four tables. For one 10 x 10 stall, two ables and two chairs were available, but they were having 14 tables and many chairs, particularly, the last stall on our side. When I asked how they could have more, he was responding adamantly. He was telling let Seshadri talk with him! Then, Nagarajan brought four wooden tables and again we arranged them. As I brought the designed cloth, I covered the tables with them and then arranged the “Saraswati River Civilization,” laminated pictures.

Lemongrass evoked response just to get it!

January 30^th 2020 to February 2020: M. J. Nagarajan managed the stall. As usual, only subject-knowing, history-interested and similar persons visited our stalls to go through, even take photograph and discuss the issues involved. Most of them were just passing on and some of them, even not looking at our side. On Sunday, Sri Chandrasekhara Reddy was there. Sri T. Gopalan came and went away, as he was looking after “Reach” stall also. For the last three years, after observing many, I understood the following:

1. In the stall, some sound should be there, either mantra recited, song played or display of TV and so on. This year, two-three persons came asking whether we requirement of TV for rent for the purpose. So, indirectly, business is promoted in this way!
2. Some God or Goddess idol, picture, portrait etc., should be there with kumkum / vibuthi with such other paraphernalia, of course with the promise of getting something in return.
3. One should look like a Samiyar, Sanyasi or at least wear such coloured dress, then only, people look at us!
4. Something should be given free, as otherwise, they do not care for your stall. Or they may leave the materials of others in your stall.
5. Some printed paper, notice,… such publicity material or otherwise should be given, otherwise, you would be looked down with scorned looks.
6. The stall should be colourful with decoration, more people with movements, activities etc. they always go and come back, here and there.

Kali devotee……

Selling handbags, decoratives, lamp covers, all spiritual…….

The fair has been with other odd items also………..they were selling odd items, whether spiritual or otherwise…..

Selling rudrakhas, its malas, accessories etc………

Deer skin, etc., to convert into Sanayasi?…………………………..

Selling murals, paintings…………

Murals……….devotees difficult to buy…….

Come here immediately, we can buy………………………….

For her talking is important…..

The Minister of Tamil Development, Culture and Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu, Sri K. Pandia Rajan visited the stall of BISS on 03-02-2020 and noted the activities of the members taking place in historical research. As a token of respect, the book of Dr S. Kalyanaraman was given to him. Sri K. Pandia Rajan has B.E. (Hons.,), M.B.A (XLRI) degrees and highly professional to become Minister.

February 3^rd 2020 – Monday  Last Day: 9.30 am reached the venue. Nagarajn came and went away by 12.30 noon. I find one table and one chair were missing and the loth tied were also torn. In other words, somebody had again done such an act of aggression and taking away[10]. Only selected visitors, of course, VIPs[11]. Happy to note that the candidates[12] preparing for Civil Services had been so eager to go through all charts, take photographs and discuss. One of the organizers and brain behind, Sri S. Gurumurthhy came, smiled and went away, with his characteristic way. Then, Smt Rajalakshmi, Seshadri and others came to enquire. I responded that everything was nice and going on well. The Minister of Tamil Development, Culture and Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu, Sri K. Pandia Rajan visited the stall of BISS on 03-02-2020 and noted the activities of the members taking place in historical research. As a token of respect, the book of Dr S. Kalyanaraman was given to him. Sri K. Pandia Rajan has B.E. (Hons.,), M.B.A (XLRI) degrees and highly professional to become Minister. The right person for the right post! By 7.30 pm, I wound up. My friends Gopalan[13] and Ramu (Chandrasekhara Reddy’s friend) helped me to remove the charts.

My observations on the conduct of HSSF: The participants should be responsible, co-operative and mutually respecting the rights of other participants. Here, there has not been any race or competition or duel or battle to win over others by any means. Therefore, there is nothing to worry, as the stalls are given free. In fact, the persons, volunteers and others of nearby stalls can help each other, to carry on their daily routines in a better way.  The organizers cannot solve the problems of individuals.

1. The HSSF has become part of Chennai’s festival celebrations and lakhs of people involved in it.
2. For millions, it has become a symbol and opportunity of exhibiting their services done to society.
3. Free share auto service has made it convenient for the public to come to the exhibition and return to their location after visiting the exhibition. Share auto can be availed from 16 places including Guindy, Saidapet, Velachery, Perungudi and Ashok Nagar.
4. Thus, if December has been the month for music, dance and similar artistic talents, January has become the month of services and spirituality to showcase such skills and capabilities.
5. The organizers of the HSSF have been doing excellent services to the participants, visitors and the hundreds/thousands of workers involved.
6. The huge tent erected accommodating hundreds of stalls with lights and fans have been unique in all respects.
7. They provide place, food and wages for all workers, cleaning staff etc. Feeding lakhs of people for one week is a great work and they have been carrying on this for 11 years serving food in a typical traditional Indian way.
8. They provided water and other provisions at convenient places.
9. Every evening, there had been music, bhajan and other programs conducted in the halls nearby. Apart from this, on Wednesday, there were special performances by Karnataka Folk Arts, Gujarati community, Alap music academy, and a thematic homam by students of Arya Samaj Educational trust. One of the highlights was a stall set up by the Postal department, displaying different stamps celebrating women.
10. Last day, there was “Srinivasa Kalyanam” by TTD.

One should thank everyone behind such service and utilize the opportunity given. As this has been a collective effort, all should work consciously for further growth and participation to reach all parts of India.

© K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

07-02-2020

[1] http://hssf.in/concepts-of-the-fairs

[2] I requested the organizers to give time at least one week, so that I could be ready with the prepared models etc., but, only one or two days notice was given for confirming the allotment of the stall.

[3]  Dr S. Kalyanaraman has been working and specializing o the “Saraswati river” for more than 30 years. He has written many books on it and uploading hundreds of research papers, daily, even today in the internet like academician.edu etc.

[4] Retired real Estate consultant and explorer. He has visited many prehistoric sites and discovered rock paintings etc., his reports have appeared in the vernacular media like Dinamalar etc. His papers have also been published.

[5] The 80^th session of Indian History Congress held at Kannur University – were the organizers not ready or decided to proceed in that way? In four parts –

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/09/the-80th-session-of-indian-history-congress-held-at-kannur-university-were-the-organizers-not-ready-or-decided-to-proceed-in-that-way/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/10/the-80th-session-of-indian-history-congress-held-at-kannur-university-the-financial-transactions-are-worse-or-doubtful-2/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/10/the-80th-session-of-indian-history-congress-held-at-kannur-university-can-historians-misbehave-students-disrespect-authority-and-women-delegates-violate-the-law-3/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/the-80th-session-of-indian-history-congress-held-at-kannur-university-without-the-list-of-papers-the-paper-reading-sections-conducted-arbitrarily-and-without-any-order-4/

[6]  Retired LIC officer, interested in medicinal plants, came with me to attend two conferences and presented papers on the mss of the traditional medicinal system a Bangalore. His video talk has been in on the internet.

[7] The Proceedings of the 44^th session of Andhra Pradesh History Congress was held at KVR Government College for Women, Kurnool, on January 4^th and 5^th 2020.

https://aphistorycongress.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/the-proceedings-of-the-44th-session-of-andhra-pradesh-history-congress-was-held-at-kvr-government-college-for-women-kurnool-on-january-4th-and-5th-2020/

[8] https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/the-fifth-telangana-history-congress-held-at-nadigudem-suryapet-telangana-on-january-19th-and-20th-2020-1/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/21/the-fifth-telangana-history-congress-held-at-nadigudem-suryapet-telangana-on-january-19th-and-20th-2020-dacri-overtook-thc-2/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/the-fifth-telangana-history-congress-held-at-nadigudem-suryapet-telangana-on-january-19th-and-20th-2020-after-dacri-thc-started-3/

https://kvramakrishnarao.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/the-fifth-telangana-history-congress-held-at-nadigudem-suryapet-telangana-on-january-19th-and-20th-2020-concluded-4/

[9]  He attended the first participation in the HSSF in 2017 and of course, his friend Smt Sathyabhama. However, they did not come for subsequent years.

[10] Now I felt a feeling to think about the nature of such persons, as it was happening for the second time. Many people were there, CCTV and onlookers were there, yet, they could do such acts. What made them to get emboldened to do so? Were they far superior to others or above every norms, rules and regulation?

[11] Since 2017, Dr R. Nagasamy, T. Sathamurthy, Kumari Ananthan, Sri Suryanarayana Rao, Smt Sushila Gopalakrishnan MLC and others have visited our stall.

[12] They are also attending coaching classes at Saidai Duraisamy Institute.

[13] P. Gopalan has been a retired Assistant Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, an active member of REACH associated with the renovation of old temples.