Sons-in-law, the harassed lot

There are stories and jokes about sons-in-law who live with their parents- in-law and do the household chores uncomplainingly. If the parents-in-law do not have a male issue, they expect their son-in-law to live with them. They approve of only such alliances who will agree to that condition in arranged marriages. The story of Bharavi, the great Sanskrit poet who wrote Kiratarjuneeyam is a good example of it. Bharavi was an erudite in Sanskrit grammar and poetics. He was greatly honoured by many kings. Whenever he said that he won great laurels from this king or that king, his father made light of him and observed that he had to improve a lot. Bharavi, unable to bear the insults, wanted to kill his own father. On a dark night, he lurked behind the door of his father's bedroom, with a sword in hand. Oblivious of his presence, his mother said to her husband angrily, "dear, our son is sad because you always belittle his achievements. Could you please explain?" Bharavi's father, retiring to his bed, said,"dear, it is not that I am not happy with what our son has achieved so far. But, listen to me, if I praise his accomplishments, he will become complacent which will stunt his growth as a great poet. Hence I pretend to be unhappy, so that he will put more and more efforts into what he learns." Bharavi, who overheard the conversation between his father and mother, was repentant. He threw away the sword and begged his father's pardon, confessing to his evil intention to kill his father. He asked his father to punish him severely. The father patted Bharavi's head affectionately and ordered him to go and live with his parents-in-law for one year. Bharavi could not understand the purport of his father's order. He thought that it was a blessing in disguise but not a punishment. Accordingly, he left for his father-in-law's house with minimum paraphernalia. He was greatly welcomed by his in-laws. Sumptuous meals and refreshments were arranged for a week. But when there were no signs of his leaving, he was given simple meals and refreshments. At the end of second week, the refreshments were stopped. Three months passed and Bharavi did not leave his in-laws house. The cowherd was dismissed and he was asked to graze the cows in the fields. Another three months passed and the washerman and the maid servant were dismissed and Bharavi was asked to wash the clothes and scrub the vessels. Just before the expiry of one year, he was even ordered to make beds for his parent-in-law and brothers-in-law. Now Bharavi fully realized the inner meaning of his father's order. If this were the plight of an India son-in-law for over staying with his in-laws, his western counterparts do not lag behind.

In an English county a mother-in-law was gored to death by her domestic bull. All the sons-in-law of the village flocked to her funeral. It was not that they revered her. It was because they vied with each other to buy the bull, hoping that the bull would do a similar job to their mothers-in-law! Hubert in Dick Wingert cartoons is a hapless son-in-law. Once his mother-in-law orders him to fetch a doormat, which he forgets. Then she wipes her legs with his neatly pressed coat. Poor Hubert puts up with the insult. He doesn't dare question her act. When a poor husband returns home after strenuous work at the office, his beaming wife breaks the news that they were shortly going to become three. When the hubby thinks that his wife is expecting a baby to make them three, she says that her mother would be going over there to live with them permanently. The instant result - the husband collapses on the chair. So, beware of cantankerous mothers-in-law. When you try to find out whether the bride you choose will make you happy or not, please ascertain whether your would be mother-in-law is a good one or an evil one!

Worn out Words

Anything wears out by long use and words are no exception to this general law. As we fix new parts to a vehicle when the old ones are worn out, we ought to fit the vehicle of language also with new words, dumping the old ones. Only then language flourishes and it would not be tedious to use certain words. Let us first do away with the euphemistic words like Preventive Detention Law, which had crept into the legal jargon and stuck. When we mean by Preventive Detention Act that bad people can be arrested, why can't we rename the act as Anticipatory Crimes Act and make the language spicier? This fresh coinage also makes the same sense as the old ones. When a cop sniffs that so and so is bad enough to stab a person or rape a woman or steal the dupatta of a damsel and may threaten the peace of the locality, such person is put behind the bars. Hence the word Anticipatory Crimes Act fits well in such cases, as spectacles fit your nose. Similarly, The Divorce Act may be renamed as Couples Falling Apart Act, which is easier to understand than the Latin word divorce. In science also insipid words like gravitational law may be changed into apple falling law and theory of relativity may be rewritten as kitchen tongs law. Newton was inspired to formulate the gravitational law on seeing an apple falling from the tree and Einstein was encouraged to develop his theory of relativity only on seeing a pair of tongs. Just imagine how pleasing these new coinages will be to the ears, only if we accept them. But the nostalgic attachment of the oldies to worn out words comes in the way of welcoming the fresh coinages. So, if the young ones take the lead, the grandpas may follow suit, of course with a grumble. No doubt, these new coinages will make English language richer.

Of Mustaches And Beards

Majority of the men today seem to be up in arms when they confront a person with imposing mustache and impressive beard. Now the trend is, every man wants to have a clear upper lip. If you ask him why it is so, he may not find a ready made answer. Even if he finds, he may be a little reluctant to answer. Man has a feeling (may be a wrong notion) that women prefer a male to have a clean upper upper lip without any hair so that it will not hinder the romantic mood during bedtime.

 But actually it is the other way round. Any woman would agree that imposing mustache would add heroic look to her man. Yet he is a victim of media brain washing. There is an international conspiracy against sub nasal carpeting with mustache. To boost up their market sales of blades and razors, the multi-national companies show on the small screen of the idiot box ` young men with clean shaven faces. To add to this, beautiful female models are shown running their well manicured and smooth fingers over the young man's face. The MNCs do this with the connivance of the government. And the gullible young man is hypnotized into believing that beautiful women like the

models in the media, like men with marble face without a trace of hair. And the young brides are brainwashed into believing that men look handsome only when their sub nasal area is as smooth as a Belgium glass. Most of the American presidents have a tacit approval of this conspiracy; that is why they do not have mustaches and beard. But men around the globe are gradually realizing that they look better with a rich crop of hair on their sub nasal part. In many countries, including the United States a movement has started in this direction where young men are asked to take pride in their mustache and beard. No young man need feel that Venus would not cast her romantic look on his visage if he has a hairy upper lip or a good beard on his chin. In fact a woman is hit by Cupid's arrows, at a man's well trimmed mustache or beard or both.

  In India the Hindi movie heroes like Anil Kapoor and the South Indian stars like Nagarjuna and Balakrishna and many others  sport impressive mustache on the silver screen. The famous TV and movie star of yesteryears Kabir Bedi was more remembered for his impressive beard.

Even today there are mustached men who compete in balancing lemons on the ends of their mustaches. Kanumuri Bapiraju, a well known political figure of Andhra Pradesh is liked by many for his huge crop of mustache.

 Only one has to delve deep into Indian mythology and one finds numerous references to mustaches and beards. When Rukmi tried to take back his sister by force, Lord Krishna, her newly wed consort, took out his dagger and denuded his foe's upper lip. The denudation of one's mustache was considered worse than showing one's back in the battle field. In Mahabharata, when the prince Saidhava covets Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, Bheema shaves off his (Saindhava's) mustache along with his hair. Saindhava, unable to bear this insult, ontemplates suicide. In the medieval period even riddles were given about mustache. Once a king posed the challenging riddle "The queen's nose-stud hid in the bushy mustache of the king" to his court poets. A poet solved the riddle in a beautiful poem which says that the queen's nose-stud found its way into the king's mustache during their romantic moment.
 Though Sri Krishna Devaraya, emperor of Vijayanagar was known for his military exploits, statesmanship and poetic gifts, he was also remembered for his winsome handle bar mustache.

 The heroes of Ramayana and Mahabharatha must have had imposing mustache since they were formidable warriors. But unfortunately, the artist Raja Ravi Varma painted their images without mustache and the later artists have been condemned to follow suit. That is why these two God heads appear in plays and movies without a trace of hair follicle on their upper lip.

 Today it is disturbing to note that majority of young men grow half an inch hair on their face in place of mustache and beard. But I hope that it is a passing phase.

Considering the glory of mustache, young men are advised to select the best type of mustache according to the shape of their upper lip. Only they have to twirl at their mustache and the girls of their choice would fall after being shot at by the arrows of the god of love.

Exploitation - Home Style

Communists often attack capitalists that they exploit the labour for their selfish ends. The capitalists also do not lag behind. They say that the word "proletarianism" which is the watch word of communists, is in fact a myth.

 I complain against both the communists and the capitalist. The two groups which practice divergent political theories forget the exploitation of labour at home. Home is the place where all the political theories converge when it comes to exploitation of labour at home. At home it is often the lady of the domestic empire who exploits the poor man who bravely calls himself the "master of the home" of course in the lady's absence.

 The exploitation of labour is subtle and an iota of evidence could not be found to prove it in the International Court of Justice at Prague!
 While I leave for office, my wife orders me, "Dear, fetch me a good book on recipes from Lata when you return."

 Lata was my colleague's wife and their house is just half mile away. My wife can herself walk to Lata's and get any book she wanted. Since the road was recently declared one way traffic, I had to take a circuitous route while returning home to do my wife's bidding. Isn't it a clear case of exploitation of labour at home?

 Now a days the children are very intelligent. When they see the empress of the house order me about as if I were her page, they will take the cue. My two sons are the first and second in command to her.

 On any evening if I happen to return home early and recline on the easy chair, with the evening daily in hand, either of them command, "dad, could you please go to "uncle Murthy's and get me Sravan's algebra text book?" Before I could reply, the younger one joins in, "dad, tomorrow I have unit test in English, Don't forget to get Kishan's English reader." I pooled up some courage and asked them, "sons, can't you yourselves go and get the books you want?" Before my sons replied, the queen of the house yells from the kitchen," our children are busy with their lessons. So you better go and get the books they wanted. Your news paper can wait."

 During the cold war in the 1970s, America was afraid of the small country Cuba because the giant Soviet Union was behind her. So I have to think twice before I could venture a 'no' to my chidren's command.

 Unfortunately, this exploitation of labour does not stop at home. It spreads to neighbourhood too. On a Sunday morning, when I start for the wholesale vegetable market, my neighbour greets me with a broad grin, "Raju," he says, his grin becoming even broader, "it seems you're going to buy vegetable, would you mind getting me five kilos of potatoes, two kilos of onions and one kilo of garlic?" Before I could utter any word either in the affirmative or in the negative, he thrusts a big bag into my hands.

 Wise men say that if something is unavoidable, it must be loved so that it gradually appears to be normal and good. Though I did not observe any penance at Gaya under the shade of a peepul tree as Buddha the great had done, yet, wisdom dawned on me; I began to love 'home work,' I mean 'exploitation of work - home style. And now, with a light heart, I am  ever ready to do any bidding by not only my wife, but by any neighbour. It is up to them to summon me.

Marriages Made in Heaven, Solemnized on Earth

 A Telugu Bride

The heart of the Hindu marriage vows are Dharmecha, Arthecha, Kamecha, Mokshecha nati Charami. This means that the man will not leave the woman in dharma, money, desire, and attainment of the Ultimate. This the bridegroom swears on the five elements of nature and calls upon them to be the witnesses of their union.

  The fact that about thirty couples in the U.S tied the nuptial knot according to Hindu marriage rites speaks volumes of the everlasting nature and the sanctity of Vedic marriage rituals.

 Though the institution of marriage is common in various societies of different countries, the uniqueness of Hindu marriage is significant.

 The essential rituals of Hindu marriage are the same from kashmir to Kanyakumari, yet there are local variations. They add rich colour to the unity in diversity, that is Mera Bharath Mahan. On the day of the wedding or one or two days before the wedding, the bride groom takes oil bath and wears traditional, white robes. Then Snathakam  (convocation) is performed. This ritual is expiating the sins committed by the bridegroom during his student days at hermitage in the woods, knowingly or unknowingly. During this ritual, the bridegroom feigns that he would go Kashi to study Vedas and other holy scriptures.  Then the bride's brother feigns to implore the groom to change his stance, marry his sister and settle down. During the process he washes the groom's feet and offers him a piece of jaggery. At last the bridegroom relents.

The bride offering Gowri pooja.

 At the bride's house, she  is also given oil bath and dressed in bridal saree and blouse. Then she worships Gowri, the consort of Lord Siva as the priest chants the mantras. When this pooja is over, the bride's mater uncle carries her in a beautifully decorated basket to the place where the wedding is to be performed. This act is symbolic of the filial love of the maternal uncle for the bride

The cardinal rite in the marriage is placing the mash of jeera and jaggery on the bride's head  by the bride-groom and on the groom's head by the bride. This signifies that the bridegroom and the bride have become man and wife. This is performed on an auspicious time set to hours, minutes and seconds, which is called muhurtham (the auspicious moment). After this, some other less important rites will follow. Then the sacred yellow string or mangal sutra is tied round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. The bride-groom makes three knots. The gods in the skies bless the couple thrice. That is the symbolic gesture of the three knots. This is performed before the durmurtham or inauspicious time enters.

Bride carried by her maternal uncles.

Washing of the bridegroom's feet with water in a brass plate by the bride's father precedes this ritual, which is called Kanyadanam (gifting away of the bride). This signifies that the bride's father is giving away his daughter in marriage to the boy.

 The rest of the rituals are mostly symbolic. To signify that the bride is the apple of the eye of the family and that they brought her up preciously, the maternal uncle brings the bride in a huge basket on to the wedding planks. To signify the togetherness of the bride and the bridegroom, they are made to cook food, generally rice, which is called sthalipakam.

Mash of Jeera and Jaggery, placing on each others heads.

 To increase the camaraderie between the new-weds, a game called Bantulata is organised in which the bride and the bridegroom throw balls of flowers at each other.

 Sending the bride to her mother-in-law's house signifies the closing of the wedding ceremony. It is wrought with extreme emotions and everybody who is present cannot help wiping tears. The bride's hands are immersed in milk in a platter. Then she touches the hands of each and every in-law with her wet hands.

Groom tying mangalsutra.

 As soon as the ceremonies were over at the bride's residence or at the wedding hall, then she heads for the home of her husband. There the in-laws who reached the home earlier, gives her warm welcome. The bride is forced to shed her shyness and utter the bridegroom's name aloud. Then the bridegroom is asked to say, "Myself and my wife have come. Please open the door for us." Only then the couple will be let in.

 At the bridegroom's home Satyanarayana pooja (a ritual of Lord Vishnu to bless the couple with children and prosperity for seven generations) will be performed by the young couple. With this, the marriage ceremony will be concluded.

 In Hindu marriages the bride's father bears all the wedding expenses. Hence the grandeur of the wedding depends on the fat content of the wallet of the performer.

 In good olden days, wedding ceremonies lasted for four tofive days, though the essential rituals lasted for a few hours only on the first day. Every day there used to be a procession in which the bride and the bridegroom were seated in a splendidly decorated palanquin. Such processions provided a grand opportunity for women of both and bride and bridegroom side to display their pomp and splendour. There were musical programs and divine discourses too.

 But now a days a marriage is performed just for a single day. Perhaps gthe commecialization of marriage and paucity of leisure may be cited as reasons for this.

 An old timer's heart bleeds as he notices the gradual crumbling down of the institution of marriage today due to growth of materialism. Divorce was a rare occurrence five decades ago. Today divorce has become very common, chiefly due to clash of egos. Sound financial independence sans love and bondage is leading to the break-up of families. Since family is a powerful unit, a sgtrong family make a strong country. Hence divorce should be treated as a rare of the rarest necessity. Narada, Parasara and Yajnavalkya also maintained the same opinion in their codes on marriage and divorce.

 There is a humorous story which every new-wed should mind seriously. The story is - once a new-wed couple couple was about to enjoy its nuptial night.. Suddenly there was a cyclone and the window panes began to beat furiously. The man asked his wife to shut the window. The wife argued that he (the man) was on the side of the window on the bed, it would be convenient for him to shut the window panes. But the man was wary. He thought that he would be wise to discipline his wife on the first night of their wedding itself. Hence he insisted that she should do his bidding. But she was also equally cautious. She thought that her man would make a slave of her if she obeyed him meekly. Hence she refused to do his bidding. The net result was that they found themselves in a court of law the next-day for divorce.

  As has been said above, the HIndu marriage is highly symbolic. The bridegroom is regarded as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu and offered a little money as dakshina (offering) to God. Perhaps this pious practice may have led to dowry evil in later ages.

 As greed for money turns a man into a beast, all self-respecting men should treat dowry as something which is offered by the bride's father according to his capacity as a token of love. When this attitude takes deep roots, it underplays the monetary value of dowry which makes the bride's father happy. Then no father will be sorry for having given birth to a girl child. Now it is heartening to note now a days many a youth is coming forward to marry the girl of his choice without dowry. Of course, this may be due to the fall in the population of girls. This good practice should continue even if the population of the weaker sex outnumber that of boys.

  If anybody wants to keep his/her marriage intact for a hundred years, let him/her always see the positive side of their married life. When the wife wants to ake her man angry by giving him only half a cup of coffee, let the man compliment her by saying that she has given him half full cup of coffee!

 A Telugu lyric says that the purpose of the mantras of marriage is the unification of two minds into a wedlock.  As such is the profundity of Hindu marriage, let every person try his best to preserve the sanctity of it in every respect. Let the man and woman think of themselves as a single whole of two halves. Only then, divorce will be something foreign to the institution of Hindu marriage.

A Tribute To Veturi

 

 Many have written and many more would be writing about the great poetic qualities of Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy. When compared to their writings on this great poet, my humble tribute     will pale into insignificance. I know it. Yet I do attempt because he touched the chords of my heart with his lyrics, which were taut till then. Veturi can well stand in comparison to the epic Mahabharata. As Mahabharata is the embodiment of the four Vedas and was called Panchama Veda, Veturi embodies the poetic qualities of great film lyricists. He is Malladi Ramakrishna Sastri in his choice of chaste Tanjurian Telugu words, Devulapalli in romanticism, Acharya Athreya in sentiment and Arudra in clarity of images. This way he represents the finer qualities of his comtempories. Among his great movie lyrics which can well be compared to the lyrics of any Indian and Western poet in rich imagination is Kokilamma Pelliki Konantha Pandiri. I attempt to translate the same into English.

 A huge canopy for the wedding of nightingale 

The air from the festoons of Sprouting leaves form the wind pipes 

 The woods are in a festive mood As the god of spring is the bridegroom 

 The talambras form the flowers On the nuptial night, a full moon day 

The girl who wandered about like a bumble bee till Yester day, 

Now assumes bridal looks 

 When all thoughts embody love,

 the lover casts radiant smiles like arrows 

 The pollen stirred by the breeze on flowers 

 Become the parani of the bride's feet 

 The song of the parrot and the dance of the peacock

  Together form the dance of the courtsans 

  All women are guests for this beautiful wedding 

  All the streams of the woods rise in waves of joy 

 The meeting of the lover's eyes and the grasp Of the virgin's mind become the tale of love 

  The beauty in the cheeks colours the shyness, 

 It makes the budding love flower into marriage 

 Two hearts in one body and two bodies in one wedlock,

  The love thoughts in the mind become the bed of jas mines 

 The togetherness of hundred years and the dream of a thousand years 

  The mangala sutra makes the hearts flowery bowers 

                                             ***********

  Talambralu : rice mixed in turmeric and ghee. The bride pours the rice on the bride groom's head and the bride groom follows suit. Parani : A paste of turmaric and lime, smeared on the feet of the bride and the bride groom, ward off evil influence.

                                                 ***********

His pen moved deftly when he extolled the greatness of the tribals. Look at the lyric.

 When effort is placed, man becomes a saint, a great person 

 They become undying light of inspiration 

 Look!, he is Valmiki, a hunter and bandit

 Who turned a sage and author of Ramayana

 Look! he is Ekalavya, the great archer 

 Though wronged by Drona and lost his thumb

 He persevered and learnt archery

 Look! the frail, old woman, she is Sabari, a great devotee of Rama 

 They are tribals, you should be proud of

                                         ****************

When Veturi penned a teasing lyric, he embodied the lady love who laments (in a lighter vein) the loss of her saree. He sings in the lady love.

 I tried to dry my saree, but lost it, alas! 

 The mountain breeze stole my saree 

 Now your mischievous look, oh God,! What can I say

                                         ******************

 In a lyric the hero asks his lady whether she heard the musical notes of sa ri ga ma when the stringed instrument Veena became the flute. The lyric was set to a sweet tune and was an all time hit. But a friend of mine was seized with a doubt as to how Veena could become a flute. When he happended to meet Veturi at a wedding function, he raised his doubt. He asked whether it was misnomer. Veturi replied that what he wrote was quite correct and he would explain it in detail if my friend visited him at his residence. But, unfortunately Veturi passed away before the meeting took place. Veturi's unfulfilled desire was to have a cottage on the banks of river Krishna at Peda Kallepalli, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh. May be, if he lived longer and fulfilled his desire, great lyrics on mother river Krishna would have emerged on the lines of Kinnerasani Patalu (Songs on the stream of Kinnerasani) by Viswanatha Satyanarayana, the great icon of Telugu literature. All of Veturi's lyrics are gems. Only one has to dive deep into the fathomless ocean to get the gems out and enjoy them to one's heart's content.

Cell and Driving - Curse or Boon?

 You are driving at break-neck speed on the highway. The hand of the speedometer on the control panel has already crossed 90 miles. You're perspiring on your forehead. You've to get to your office on the dot and the decision you'll make in the board of directors meeting is going to bring hundreds of thousands of dollars of profits if it clicks or heavy losses if it doesn't. Hence you're tense while driving. Suddenly the cell phone in your coat pocket hums your favourite caller tune. It's an impatient call from your directors. They're worried that you are getting late to the meeting. When you pick up the instrument to assure them that you're on way, the traffic signal turns red. A long line of cars were there before yours and your car came to a screeching halt. you heave a sigh of relief.

 One moment! Think back and forth. You realize that your presence of mind saved you from a fatal accident. But all days are not yours and an error in judgment of traffic around you while blurting out something in your cell phone may involve you in an accident. That it is bad manners if you don't pick up the receiver within four or five rings, may not apply to the cell phone. As soon as the cell phone starts ringing, you can pull your car to the side of the road and answer the call.

 It is alarming to note that road accidents due to cell phone talk while driving are on the increase.

 Recently, about a thousand cases of motor vehicle collisions in the States, wherein the drivers were engaged in cell phone talk have been studied. Each person's cellular telephone calls on the day of the collision and during the previous week were analyzed through the use of detailed billing records. The risk of a collision when using a cell phone was four times higher than the risk when a cell phone was not being used.

 Calls close to the time of the collision were particularly considered hazardous. Thirty nine percent of the drivers called for emergency services after the collision, suggesting that having a cell phone may have had advantages of the aftermath of an accident. Hence decisions about regulations of such telephones need to take into account the benefits the technology and the role of individual responsibility.

 The driving performance of fifteen subjects in a simulated road environment has been studied both with and without a hands-free telephone conversation. The performance indicators used were choice reactions time, braking profile, lateral position, speed, and situation awareness. Significant differences were, however found specially in the beginning stages of the telephone conversation and, in situation awareness. The subjects reacted considerably slower to an unexpected event in the first two minutes of the cell phone conversation and were, for a large part of the conversation on cell phone, unaware of traffic movement around them.

 Major cities in India also impose heavy fines, if caught cell talking while driving. But the corrupt traffic police are yet to be strict. In many cases a deal is struck with the traffic cop and the offender is let off with a mild warning.

 The protagonists of cell phones round the globe argue that if this instrument causes driving distraction then a naughty or whimpering child in the back seat of the car also is equally a potential source of distraction. They also point out that about a hundred years ago when cars were making their virgin appearance on the roads, the windshield wiper and fifty years back the car radio were fiercely resisted by the authorities who thought that they would make the driver sleepy and cause accidents.

 But - whether cell talking while driving should be forbidden or not, one should bear in mind that every day millions of emergency calls are made throughout the world on cell phones only!

Books by J.L. Narasimha Rao

Books by
J.L. Narasimha Rao

1. An Absorbing Account of MACHILIPATNAM
2. Puranas and Epics Through Questions and Answers
3. SEETHA
4. Guru Paramanand and His Disciples

An Absorbing Account of
MACHILIPATNAM

This small book deals with the                             
origin of this South Indian town
through the puranic and historical        

ages and its rule under the
Muslims, French and the English
and its struggle for freedom from
the British.
32 Pages - Price Rs.20/-



Puranas and Epics Through Questions and
Answers

This book provides valuable
information of Vedas, Puranas,
Mahabharata, Bhagavata,                                              

Ramayana and Uttara Ramayana
through the form of questions
and answers. This book provides
basic knowledge of Hindu
scriptures and prepares one to
attend to any quiz competitions
in the scriptures.
56 pages - price Rs.40/-



SEETHA

This is Ramayana told from
Seetha's perspective. It begins
with the birth of Vedavati. It
continues through the rebirth
of Vedavati as Seetha, her
marriage with Rama, her
self-imposed exile into the
forest with Rama, her                              

abduction by the demon king
Ravana, her brief happiness
with Rama in Ayodhya, again
her banishment into the forest
due to the loose tongued
statement of a washer man,
her giving birth to Lava and
Kusa, handing them over to
Rama and ends with her
merger with the earth from
where she has come.
64 pages - Price Rs.45
 

Guru Paramanand and His Disciples
(Humorous Stories)
This book contains folk
tales of seven idiotic
disciples (by the curse of
a celestial woman) of
Guru Paramanand whose
foolish deeds ultimately
turn to the good of the
Guru or the society in
general. There are ten
small tales told in a
humorous way.
32 pages - Price Rs.30

(Note: All the books are priced inclusive of
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anywhere in India.)
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