October 2011

CHIDAMBARA RAHASYAM by Brahma Sri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma

TASA Vaartha Non-Profit

Tax ID# 36-4528443 www.tasatexas,org

info@tasatexas.org

అధయక్షుని సందశేం (President's Message) మూరతి పటమళ్ళ నమస్ారం ! ియమ ైన ళన్ ఆంటోనియో తెలుగు లరందరతకీ, తాస్ సభ్ుయలకు విజయదశమి(దసర) మరతయు దపీవళి శుభాకంక్షలు. ఉగద ి తరులత, హరతకథ మరతయు "చిదంబర రహసయము" ిలచనము జరతగతనా, మళ్ళళ అకటో బర్ 7న దసర లేడుకలు సందరభముగ మనమందరము కలిసే అవకసము లభంచింది. లేసవి సలెవలు,ఇండియా టరిపలు, వగ ైర వగ ైర తరులత ఈ దసర ండగ జరుపకొనుటకు సదదముగ వపనానరని తలుసుి నానను. ముటోముదట, కొొతిగ ఊఱళళకి వచిిన తెలుగు లరతకీ తాస్ ఘనస్ఴగతము. అకటో బర్ 7న జరతగే దసర లేడుకలకి,మీరందరు విచ్ేి స జయిదం చ్ేయాలని మా కటరతక మరతయు పిరథన.ఈ కరయకమొములో మన తెలుగుబడి లలలు పల్గ ంటునానరు. మన ఊరత "కలేరత నాటయ యోగ" కఱాళల అధినేత డా.శ్రొధర గరు,తానే సఴయముగ నృతయ ిదరసన చ్ేయడం ఒక తిేయకత. ఈ కరయకమొ నిమితిము భారతదేశము నుండి వచిిన ిసదధ గయకురలు "సంహ-బంగరు కొండ, శివమని, ఆంధిలలా, దశేముదురు, ఇడయిట్," శ్రొమతి.కౌశలయ గరు మరతయు "మగధరీ-ంచధార బొ మాా" గయకుడు శ్రొ.అనూజ్ ఇంకట ితేయకత. ఈ ఇరువపరు గయకులు మన ళన్ ఆంటోనియో తెలుగు లరతని రంజం చ్ేయనునానరు. రండి, ండగ భోజనము చ్ేస,కరయకమొము తిలకించి,హాయగ పటలు విని ఆనందించండి. తాస్ నిరఴహిసుి నన తలెుగుబడ,ి మీ సహకరంతో విజయవంతముగ స్గుతోంది. ఈ సెెో ంబర్ నుండి కొతిగ ెదద లల లకు, దెదలకు తెలుగు పటాలు చ్ెడము ముదలు ెటాో రు. ఇంక లేద గణితం(Vedic

Math) నేరుతునానరు. తెలుగు గంొధాలయం(Library) కుడా ముదలు టెాో రు. మీరు తిికలు, పసికలు, నవలలు, CDs, Videos ఇంక ఎననననో చ్ెకౌాట్(Checkout) చ్ేసుకటవచుి.

మన కరయకమొముల నిరఴహాణల్ ఎనోన విధములగ సహాయం చ్ేస, అరతధకముగ అనినలేళ్ల ఆధుకొని, మన తాస్ కి తోడడని పొ షకధాతలకు కృతజఞతలు. మీ సహాయం అనినలేళ్ల అందిసూి మన తాస్ సంసథ కి చ్ెదోడులదోడుగ ఉంటారని ఆశిసుి నానను. సరేఴజనాసుఖినోభ్వంతు!

Upcoming Events

Vegesna Fundraising Concert

20th November, 2011

Sunday

San Antonio residents were treated to highly accomplished Harikatha performances by the eminent Bhagavatharini, Smt. Jayanti Savithri, on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 and Monday, May 23rd, 2011. The performance on Sunday was conducted at the Hindu Temple of San Antonio (HTSA) by the Telugu Association of San Antonio (TASA) and garnered an audience of about 60. Smt. Jayanti’s inspired rendition of Sri Annamacharya’s life story moved the audience. As she explained it, Harikatha is a fusion of mastery in poetry, literature, dance, drama, and music, all presented entertainingly and with great presence of mind. The kids enjoyed the Harikatha and sat enraptured throughout with little fidgeting – testimonial to the immensely enjoyable performance. The afternoon ended with felicitations of the artist, presenting shawl

by HTSA Trustee Raj Goud. The next evening, Smt. Jayanti Savithri presented the Rukmini Kaly-

anam Harikatha at Sri Madhava Rao’s residence.

HARIKATHA by Smt. Jayanthi Savithri

Brahmasri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma garu is a well known scholarly authority on Vedic scriptures

and practice of Sanaatana Dharma (Eternal Truth). His daily spiritual discourses on various aspects of Hindu phi-

losophy; interpretation of Vedic scriptures, scientific explanation and clarifications are eagerly enjoyed by millions

of Telugu speaking people all around the world. Sri Samavedam Garu is a profound speaker and blessed with won-

derful oratory skills on our Sastras , Puranas, Itihasas and Vedas. Sree Samavedam garu started his spiritual journey

around 12 years back with the aim of protecting the Veda Parampara and also sharing the wealth of knowledge

that was gifted to us by our ancient sages and “Rushis” through his discourses. Some of his discourses includes –

Siva Puranam, RudhraBhashyam, Siva Leela Vilasam, Sree Krishna Tathvam, Narayaneeyam, Lalitha Sahasra Nama

Vybhavam, Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Stotra Bhasyamu, Soundharya Lahari and Bhagavatha Sapthaham and the list

goes on.

The Pravachanam (27th June) on "Chidambara Rahasyam" at the Saraswathi Hall, HTSA was well at-

tended and everyone enjoyed learning what it really means. TASA is very happy to bring this to our community.

Sankranthi Sambaralu

14th January , 2012

Saturday

This news letter is

sponsored by:

Dr. Sudhir Gogu

Stone Oak Urgent

Care/Family Practice

115 Gallery Circle Ste. 102S

an Antonio, TX 78258 US

TASA UGADI 2011 REPORT

The Telugu Association of San

Antonio (TASA) continued its 2011 cultural activities with a well-attended and well-

organized Ugadi Vedukalu at the Mahalak-shmi Hall on Saturday, April 9th, 2011. As

people came in, they were greeted with

Ugadi wishes and Ugadi Pachadi.

The evening started with a deli-cious Pandaga Bhojanam with Bobbatlu,

Gulabjamoon and Rasmalai accompanying a sumptuous feast. The cultural program started with the invocation song “Ekadantaaya

Vakratundaaya”, sung by visiting singer Sri Viswa Mohan Ammula, which struck a chord with the audience and set the mood for the

night. The classical Thyagaraja pancharatna krithi, “Sadhinchene O Manasa”, sung by Mr. Vamsi Eevani, a visiting music student from

Vermont, captivated the audience and drew appreciative applause.

This was followed by the Fashion Show with participants

Meghana, Nir-jarapriya, Adithya, Akshit, Siddarth, Vamsikrishna, Mahas-

vin, Srijan, Sujay, Unnati, Mithil, Jahnavi, Mounika, Siri, Gayatri, Kushi, Veda, Varsha, and Samyatha representing

a wide range of ages.

Panchanga Sravanam by HTSA Priest Sri. Rama-

linga Sastry garu highlighted the rashi phalaalu for the year 2011. After felicitations to Sri Sastry garu, the pro-

g r a m moved on to presentation of TASA scholarship to stu-

dents for the UTSA-ISA scholarship fund. TASA presi-dent Sri Murthy Patamalla presented a check to the In-

dian Students Association president Mr. Puraskar. This was followed by felicitations to Sri. T. Venkateshwar

(Raj) Goud on the occasion of his receiving the “Hind Rattan Award” presented by NRI Welfare Society of

India, New Delhi for his charitable activities in the healthcare and educational fields. TASA presented flow-

ers, shawl and a plaque to Smt. Geetha Goud and Sri Raj

Goud.

The highlight event of the evening was a grand musical program

(live singing) by Sri Viswa Mohan Am-mula from Kansas and Smt. Sarada

Akunuri from Houston. Both singers are familiar to San Antonio but they

sure brought a breath of fresh air with a mix of old and new melodies, fast

beat and a few classic songs. Sri Viswa Mohan’s energy was contagious; at

one point, he even jumped off the stage to mingle with the audience while singing. His dance moves on

stage to song tunes were a treat to watch.

Door prizes were awarded intermittently throughout the program. Both artists were pre-

sented with memento trophies as a token of sin-cere appreciation of their talents and for giving us a

memorable performance. This was followed by vote of thanks by the Secretary, Phani Atluri, and

the final medley song by the artists brought every-one to their heels, completing the evening’s cele-

brations on a high note.

Page 2 TASA Vaartha

ళన్ ఆంటోనియో తలెుగు సంఘం కరయవరగ సభ్ుయలు

President

Murthy Patamalla

(210)497-1333

President-Elect

Sreeram Padala

(210)364-4148

Secretary

Phani Atluri

(210)497-2573

Joint Secretary

Usha Avula

(210)490-8742

Treasurer

Bapiraju Surampudi

(210)696-4120

EC Members

Ravi Botla

(210)669-7124

Srinivas Reddy Gosala

(210)885-0481

Ram Joolukuntla

(210)379-2244

Mohan Penta

(507)261-8115

Raghava Vennam

(210)544-3991

Editor: Raghava Vennam

TASA acknowledges the sup-

port for Ugadi program by:

Food sponsored by: Mustafa Inc

Food Volunteers: Nagamani

Aunty, Bala Yakkalla, Anasuya Surumpudi, Rama Goli, Pad-maja Ginna, Usha Avula, Shanti Sree Ram, Savitri Kola-parthi, Sharada Padarthi, Jyothi Konda, Lata Penta,

Vijaya Gosala, Pallavi Padala, Anupama Atluri, Rama

Dodda, Shoba Donthula

Door Prizes Sponsored by: Mustafa Inc., 4081 Medical Drive,

SAT, TX 78229

TASA THANKS IT’S LIFE MEMBERS

Page 3 TASA Vaartha తాస్ లరి

All I know about Ugadi – By MOUNIKA VENNAM

Ugadi is the Telugu New Year, and it’s the time of the year when everyone enjoys Ugadi.

The day of Ugadi for many Telugu people begins with ritual showers followed by prayers, and then

enjoying Ugadi pachadi.

Ugadi pachadi is six different flavors that symbolizes that life is a mixture of different feelings,

such as sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, and surprise. The pachadi consists of different ingredients

that make the pachadi taste the way it does.

In Andra Pradesh, people of the cities and villages create special dishes on the day of Ugadi,

Bhakshyalu or Bobbatlu. Later, they gather to listen to recitation of the religious Panchangam of

the new year, and the general forecast of the year to come. This is called the Panchanga Sravanam,

which is an informal social function. Also, there’s poetry recitations and recitals of Carnatic music and

dance in the evening. It’s an enjoyable day for everybody.

When you meet any Telugu person, you say “Ugadi Shubhakankshalu”. Ugadi is one of the

most honored Indian holidays there is, and it makes me feel proud to be an Indian.

Thank you for taking the time to read my essay.

First Name Last Name

Venkatesh ADIVI

Bhaktavatsalam ATHREYA

Phani ATLURI

Rajendra BOPPANA

Ravi BOTLA

Greg BOYS

Sesha C CHARY

Kiran CHERUKU

Seshagiri Rao DEVAGUPTAPU

Raju G.V.S

Mahesh GAMPALA

Mallikarjun GANJI

Sudhir GOGU

Srinivasa Reddy GOSALA

Venkateswar (Raj) GOUD

Madhavrao GOVINDARAJU

S Surya GUNDLAPALLI

Vijay GUNUGANTI

Ramakrishna JOOLUKUNTLA

Narasimha Rao KAMMA

Srinivas Reddy KARLA

Tataiah KONERU

Suresh KONERU

Venugopal KOTA

Ashok KUMAR

Bhujanga Rao (Baabu) LANKIPALLI

KrishnaMohan MANTRAVADI

C.S.Reddy MEKA

Srinivas MULAMREDDY

Prakash NANCHERLA

Sreeram PADALA

Aditya PANWAR

Murthy PATAMALLA

Seetharamulu PEDDAIAHGARI

Narasimha Rao PEMMARAJU

Jagadeeswaran PUDUR

Vijaya Kishore RASAMALLU

Bapiraju SURAMPUDI

Shankara Rao TAMTAM

Rajeshwar Rao TEKMAL

Praveen THANGADA

Bal Reddy TUMMETI

Ratna K VADLAMUDI

L Prasad VEMULAPALLI

Ram VENIGALLA

Raghava Reddy VENNAM

Udayabhaskara Rao YAKKALA

Ugadi in South Texas By VARUN PATAMALLA Ugadi is celebrated to signify the start of the New Year. It falls at the onset of spring on

Chaitra suddha padhyami. The trees start to blossom and the air is filled with the nice aroma of fra-grances of the flowers. All of us start the New Year with new hopes and resolutions. We pray God

that our wishes should come true. It reminds me of the song: “Nava vasanthuni venta goni Ela nadachi vachenu Ugadi

Navya vatsara divya kanthula sogasula suma sourabhalatho” My mother makes Ugadi pachadi. The new crop from the sugarcane is used to make jaggery.

Ugadi pachadi is made from the new flowers from the neem tree, the new crop of mangoes, jaggery, and tamarind. It depicts all the tastes i.e., bitter, sour, salt and sweet symbolizing all the good and bad

things in life. I don’t like the bitterness in the pachadi like I don’t like the bad things in my life. My mother makes other savories like garellu, bobbatlu, and pulihora. We listen to the predictions of the

year on the T.V. by priests. For the South Texans, we can associate Ugadi to the Poteet Strawberry Festival, which is celebrated for the onset of the new strawberry crop.

UGADI By SUMA GANJI Ugadi is the first festival of the Lunar year, also known as the TELUGU new year. The name

was originally YUGADI, Yuga meaning Kali Yuga and Adi meaning beginning. Most of our festivals are birthdays, and Ugadi, like the others, can be understood as the birthday of the Kali Yuga, which began

in the year 3102 B.C. When Ugadi comes to mind, many think of the Ugadi pachadi first. It’s made up of six tastes

"shadruchulu.” Ingredients added include fresh neem flowers for bitterness, raw mango for tang, tama-rind juice for sourness, peppers for spice, jaggery for sweetness, and salt for saltiness. Another dish of

the festival or “pandaga” is bhakshalu (Bobbatlu), they’re chapathis filled with sweet jaggery. Because Ugadi is the New Year, a new panchangam is read by the priest. In India, everyone

goes to the temple in the evening to hear the new panchangam, a forecast about how the upcoming year will be, in various aspects of life.

Like the panchangam, Raasi Phalalu is also a forecast of the year, but for each zodiac sign. It is ex-plained every year here in San Antonio by Sri Raamalinga Shastri Garu.

Results of UGADI Essay Competition: 1st Place – Mounika Vennam, 2nd Place – Varun Patamalla, 3rd Place – Suma Ganji

TASA Thanks and welcomes our new LIFE Members:

Kiran CHERUKU

Mallikarjun GANJI

Raghava Reddy VENNAM

Achievement Aamuktha Karla participated in nation-wide singing competitions, Dhim-TANA and Telugu American Idol, sponsored by TV9 & TANA and TORI & NATS respectively, this year. Dhim-TANA competitions were aired on TV9 and the Telugu Americn Idol episodes were broadcast on TORI. She made it to finals in both the competitions. She chose to compete in Dhim-TANA finals held at the TANA conference 2011 in Santa Clara, California where she won 1st place in classical music and 2nd place in film category. It was a great achievement by her. Currently, she is taking part in a talent-show called 'Our Part of the Town', organized by the city of San Antonio. She is quaified and competing in semi-finals to be held in October. Aamuktha is an 8th Grader studying at Keystone School and proud daughter of Rajani and Srinivas Reddy Karla. TASA congratulates Aamuktha on behalf of local telugu community and wishes her all the best in her future endeavors.

TASA

P.O.Box:781853

San Antonio, TX

78278

We welcome you with your family and friends to

TASA Dasara Celebrations

on Friday, October 7th, 2011

at Mahalakshmi Hall, Hindu Temple of San Antonio 18518 Bandera Road (Highway 16 N), San Antonio, TX 78023

Time: 7:00 PM – 10.30 PM

Delicious Dinner will be served between 7:00 PM – 7.30 PM

Followed by Cultural Program

TASA General Body Meeting (GBM) will be held at 7:30 PM*

PROGRAM AND DINNER ONLY — (MEMBERS): $10 per person

(Non-MEMBERS): $12 per person

(Students): $ 5 per person (with valid ID)

*There is no fee to attend the GBM Free for children below 12 years of age

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