Celebration of 50th wedding anniversary - Videos

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Challenge - The future is not in the hands of fate but in ours.

Smiling is a wonderful way to get a boost of happiness. 

The next time life presents you with a challenging situation, take a deep breath and smile.

Life is a gift, accept it, enjoy it, and be happy with it. Life is a challenge, but challenges can always be overcome

·       The brain needs to be regularly challenged in order to attain its uttermost performance.

·       People do not only talk about successes, they talk about people who overcame their challenges or disabilities. Others are inspired when you are able to overcome your challenges. 

·       Your character is formed by the challenges you face and overcome.

·       Those who recognize problems as a human condition and don't measure happiness by an absence of problems are the most intelligent kind of humans we know; also, the most rare.

·       Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character. Author Unknown, Be Thankful 

·       Gradually I learned to cease looking upon challenges as difficulties and began to see tense situations as opportunities to put my growing love to use.

·       Understand that it is ok to be scared or uncertain, however right beyond those barriers ultimately lies your dreams.

·       A life filled with vicissitudes, uncertainty and hard lessons provides us with skills to better approach new challenges that come along.

·       Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don't give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life's problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works.

·       Expect obstacles and face them head on. They are going to come up so the way you handle them is what makes all the difference.

·       When faced with a challenge, look for a way, not a way out.

·       Life requires overcoming challenges and obstacles of many types. Battling our struggles and fears determines who we are.

·       Challenges are an opportunity to test you and rise to the next level. 

·       A comfort zone is the most dangerous area anyone can stay in. It is a place of no growth and no challenges.

·       To accept the challenge of the unknown, in spite of all fears, is courage. The fears are there, but if you go on accepting the challenge again and again, slowly those fears disappear.

·       There isn't a person on this planet that hasn't experienced a few bumps along the way to achieving the level of success that they desire.

·       Real difficulties can be overcome; it is the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.

·       More important, our lack of patience creates difficulties because the more complex of life's challenges - illness, relationship conflicts, job crises, parenting issues, to name a few - require that we practice patience in order not merely to cope, but to grow in love and wisdom.

·       Courage comes while we are facing challenges and because we are facing challenges! Courage takes our hand as we step up.

·       What the life of Nelson Mandela teaches us is that life is full of challenges, hardships and misfortunes and we must forever strengthen our resolve to forge ahead and achieve our dreams in spite of the road blocks erected on our paths.

Optimists enrich the present, enhance the future, challenge the improbable and attain the impossible.

Remember all the challenges that you have overcome in the past and take pride in your success. You are a fighter and you know it. This will give you more faith that you can handle whatever is yet to come.

Loving Greetings and Message from Sailaja Raghuram

Dear Uncle and Aunty,

How are you? Hope you are enjoying spring in Seattle with Ajay's family. Thanks for welcoming to spring by sharing a beautiful picture with flowers.

Hearty congratulations and very happy 50 the Wedding anniversary celebrations.

You and Aunty are a great role model for a wonderful couple and parents and grandparents.

It is very amazing to me how you give respect to aunty and children too and for their thoughts and listen to them. Because of you, I have got wonderful friends who are like a family.

You both make such an amazing couple, you are ideal for us in every aspect of life. The way you lead relation is just fabulous and the way you are connected with your children every day.

We all wish we are together on this happy occasion to celebrate and feel sorry not being there with you personally but always we think of you. Very glad to know that my brothers family will be part of this happy celebration of this occasion.  Hope to meet you soon at Vikram's happiest occasion of the graduation ceremony. 

We wish to have always your blessings to lead a successful like you.

Wishing you many more happy returns of wedding anniversary.

Best regards,

Sailaja

Raghuram

Ananthu and Adi.

About my dear grandma

Pragathi’s presentation during her Grandparents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations on May 5^th, 2018 in Redmond, Washington.

My dear grandma was born on January 7, 1948 in Telangana, India. Laxmikantharao and Padmabai were her parents.

My grandma has a large family. She has 6 brothers and 3 sisters, for a total of 10 children. J My grandma is the second of sisters, 6^th overall.

My grandma’s dad was an Engineer. He worked in the development of large irrigation projects including Nagarjunasagar and Pochampad.

My grandma’s mother took care of the entire family and focused on the upbringing up of the children.

My grandma studied until Higher Secondary School in those days. She remembers her teachers well, they were very nice but strict.

After marriage, my grandma moved from the city of Nizamabad to live with my grandpa in rural villages in Warangal. While she lost some material comforts, she did not complain and embraced the new life. Together they focused on education of their three children – my dear aunts Aparna and Anupama and my dad Ajay. They also guided the school children and had a happy life.

Apart from taking care of all family, my grandma’s hobbies include – knitting, reading and especially preparing delicious treats 😊

About my grandpa's family - Pragathi

My dear grandpa was born on June 19, 1940 in Telangana, India. This was 7 years before India got Independence.

He was born into an agricultural family.  Ramayya and Devamma were his parents. He had 2 brothers and 3 sisters. He was second youngest in the family.

My grandpa's family was deeply involved in the struggle for Indian Independence and in the resistance to the bad Nizam rule. His elder brother Sri Kasani Narayana and Brother-in-law Sri Neelarapu Yerraiah led the area in this resistance. So, their family and village were targets of attack by the Nizam's private army. In this struggle, my grandpa lost his relatives, and their house was burnt. In 1947, India got independence and soon Telangana got freedom from Nizam rule.

My grandpa did his education in Bachelor of Arts - English literature, and Bachelor of Education. He worked as a school teacher for 33 years after that. He encouraged his school children to be brave, dream big, focus on learning.

After his retirement, my grandparents moved to North America to be closer to us, the grandchildren and children. We are very glad you moved here, grandpa😊.

Here in North America, my grandpa pursued his learning. He joined institutes, learnt courses and met many wonderful friends. He has been actively part of volunteer organizations (Ankur Multicultural Organization, Edmonton Telugu Cultural Association and more) and political parties (New Democratic Party in Canada; and Democratic Party in USA).

My grandpa loves children the most. He loves me, and my cousins - Vikram, Vinod and Prabhat. But he also loves all children and believes that children will lead our world to its best. Thank you for your love and confidence in me, dear Grandpa 💓😊.

When we first met

On the invitation of Smt & Sri Bandari Laxmikantha Rao, I made my first visit to their home in Nizamabad accompanying a close relative & friend.

We got down the bus, after six and half hours of our journey. In those days phones, were not much in use. We could not make any phone call to them before we started. Simply we could exchange letters by means of postal department.

We took a rickshaw and asked him to drop us near Town No 2 police station, near their home. I took out the paper, given to me by my elder brother from my shirt pocket and saw the door number in front of us. It tallied with the one on the door.

My companion suspected the home for a school, as a large number of boys and girls were playing in their school uniform. However he made an inquiry. He was not correct. That was not a school, but the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Bandari LaxmiKantha Rao.

Before we entered into their gate, I just had a glance at the children playing Char Pattar. There are a   couple of girls playing char patter about the 18 or 20 years old. And others are quite younger to them. Perhaps they are encouraging them by participating in the game, we don`t know? Later we came to know the girl wearing that Green sari with white blouse was no one else, but the girl for whom we went there all the way from Warangal, to meet and greet. Her name is Vijayalakshmi. Now, my loving wife for the last 50 years 😊