Date:18/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/18/stories/2008111858480300.htm

‘Kartika maasam’ is said to be auspicious for worshipping both Siva and Vishnu. Devotees in north Andhra observe fast, particularly on Mondays. Textile baron Mavuri Venkata Ramana of Chandana Bros lives on a strict fruit diet during the entire month. “I was doing this when I visited Sabarimala to offer worship for Lord Ayyappa there. Now, although I am not going there, I still continue worship and observe fast,” he says.

For one rolling in money, he still refuses to touch rice and has just a few slices of peeled papaya, apple, orange and cucumber for lunch and repeats the same diet for dinner.

Different from routine

Scribes, who attended the media conference of Mayor P. Janardana Rao, had a different experience on Monday. The media conference was called to condemn the comments of CPI secretary K. Narayana against their community (fishermen) leader and Minister for Ports M. Venkataramana.

Instead of the Mayor addressing the media, there were emotional and angry harangues by half a dozen leaders. Apparently, they took umbrage at the comments of the CPI leader against their only representative in the Cabinet from their community. But the media conference turned out to be a public meeting platform of sorts where one leader after the other spoke at length. The grievances of the speakers who included the Mayor, who was the last speaker incidentally, may be genuine, but then it was not something that the scribes bargained for.

It’s a misadventure

For children to be adventurous is welcome. But the spirit of adventure has to be guided lest it should go awry and become a misadventure. Six city students ‘disappearing’ from a school giving sleepless nights to their parents ended on a happy note with police tracing them at Dwarapudi. But, the runaway children returned home poorer, that is one of them who took Rs.1 lakh from home.

For high school students handling big money is no easy task. It’s smart and somewhat lucky on the part of the children that they returned home without any harm. They could have fallen prey to those on the prowl for such opportunities. But big money, like some harmful substances, should be kept out of the reach of children. Otherwise, they appear to be in a mood to buy a one-way ticket to trouble.

(Prabhakkar Sharma, R. Jagadeeswara Rao and G.V. Prasada Sarma)