The name ‘Chandamama’ itself is so sweet. For all children, the Moon is like their lovely maternal uncle. This attractive word, although appears to be in the language of children, is originally a Sanskrit word. It is well-known that the Moon is commonly called ‘Chanda’ and someone close is often called ‘Mama’ in Sanskrit. It is seen that the same word is used in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, and so on. This publication, titled ‘Chandamama’ in the Sanskrit version was called ‘Ambulimama’ in Tamil and Sinhalese and ‘Chandoba’ in Marathi.
In 1922, the Kannaḍa Sāhitya Sammeḻana[1] was held at Davanagere. That year, Mysore’s Vṛddha Pitāmaha[2] Sri. M. Venkatakrishnayya presided over the conference. The service he rendered to the Mysore region at large and to Kannada language and literature is widely known. Sixty to seventy years of his ceaseless, multidimensional service to society, is remembered as a virtuous life[3] in our state’s history.
Typically if you ask a middle-aged person—or even someone in their thirties—who is a connoisseur and from a middle-class family, to describe a few sweet memories from his childhood, among the many things he would mention, without fail, you will hear the name of the periodical Chandamama, isn’t it? My tender and unforgettable sweet memories were formed by reading Chandamama. It is true that like me, billions of Indians have experienced joy from reading it. Personally speaking, Chandamama was among the cultural media that shaped my artistic taste.
ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಆಟವೆಂಬುದನ್ನು ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೇ ಮೀಸಲಾಗಿಸುವುದುಂಟು. ದೊಡ್ಡವರು ಆಟವಾಡಬಾರದೆಂದೇನೂ ನಿಯಮವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ದೊಡ್ಡವರ “ಆಟ”ಗಳೂ ಬಲುಬಗೆಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆಂಬುದು ಬೇರೆಯ ಮಾತು! ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕದು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅಪ್ರಸ್ತುತ, ಅಸ್ತುತವೂ ಹೌದು. ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ, “ಬಾಲಸ್ತಾವತ್ ಕ್ರೀಡಾಸಕ್ತಃ” ಎಂದು ಚರ್ಪಟಪಂಜರಿಕಾಸ್ತೋತ್ರವು ಹೇಳುವಂತೆ ಬಾಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬಗೆಬಗೆಯ ಖೇಲನವಿನೋದಗಳಿಂದಲೇ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸುವುದು ಸಹಜ, ಯುಕ್ತ.
On the arrival of the spring, trees shed their old leaves and sprout all over and the extreme climate gives way to a pleasant one. Trees grow prosperous with fragrant flowers and attract flocks of excited birds and insects. Spring implies ‘love is in the air’ for all. Many animals and birds flock and breed at this time. Spring is most suitable for travel, outings and outdoor celebrations.
[This paper was submitted to the Swadeshi Indology Conference held in Chennai (December 2017)]
[This paper was submitted to the Swadeshi Indology Conference held in Chennai (December 2017)]
It was this enduring, prosperous and robust temple ecosystem that the first wave of alien Muslim armies encountered when they knocked on the doors of Bharatavarsha. The incisive historian and scholar, Sita Ram Goel describes[i] this encounter vividly:
The conception, origin, evolution, and development of temples as physical, architectural structures is perhaps as old as the dawn of human civilisation as we know it. Temples represent one of the finest, deepest, grandest, and most profound expressions of the Human Spirit of awe, wonderment, and a timeless yearning for spirituality, philosophy, art and creativity etched in stone, wood, and other mediums.