Contributions are Appealed from Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris

Dear Dasaris, Please let me know about the temples in which Mala Dasaris are performing as priests. I have discovered some like Chennakesava Swamy Temple in Uppuluru of West Godavari District, Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple in Rudrangi of Karimnagar District. The following are in Kurnool District: Hanuman Mandir was built in 1946 by a Mala Dasari alone with his money in Kurnool Town (the upper caste people are trying to grab the temple from the Mala Dasari and he has been threatened from all sources; suggestions are invited to protect the temple, create awareness, make our community people visit the temple, make it a successful temple and create history)Chintala Muni Swami Temple in Tangadadana,Gonegandla Mandal, Chintala Muni Swami Temple in Kallur Estate; Tikka Lakshmi Amma Devalayam's diety herself is a Mala Dasari, of course the priest is a Brahmin. Whatever information you give will be part of our history book on Mala Dasari. Do contribute and it will be greatly acknowledged. Dr.D.Murali Manohar, Associate Professor, Dept. of English, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad.

Teaching without a coursebook

Teaching without a coursebook

National Seminar on "Narratives of Mala Dasaris"

Department of English
University of Hyderabad
Hyderabad

A Two-Day
National Seminar on
"Narratives of Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris"
(in Honour of Professor Alladi Uma)
27-28 October 2011

Mala Dasaris are categorized as one of the sub-castes of Scheduled Castes according to the Constitution of India. Mala Dasaris have been the native / aboriginal priests (Thurston 1907) in India especially in the states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Maharashtra. Even today these Dasaris have been holding, managing, owning temples in which Lord Chennakesava Swami, Lord Venkateswara, Lord Hanuman, Lord Rama and other deities.

The intention of the seminar is to pool up, collate and consolidate the narrations of the Dasaris’ life style, performance, culture, social status, occupation, livelihood, ownership of temples, authenticity of practices etc.

The questions that the seminar would like to raise and deliberate on are the following:

*Ramanujism and Hinduism
*Vaishnava Dasus and Mala Dasaris
*Are Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris Brahmins/Untouchables?
*How can a Vishnava/Mala Dasari be an Untouchable?
*Are Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris marginalized Priests?
*Vaishnavite Dasaris, Shavite and other Dalit Hindus
*Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris as Christian Priests/Pastors/Bishops
*Are Mala Dasaris practising other religions apart from Christianity?
*Deconstructing Dalit Status to Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris
*Re-writing of Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris’ Social Status
*Mala/Vaishnava Dasaris as temple owners and advocates of Hinduism

Call for Papers

Papers are invited from teachers, research scholars and post-graduate students and any body who has knowledge about / heard about / read about / seen them / lived with them to come, participate and share their views on the theme of the seminar. It is a promise to all the paper readers that the papers presented will be brought out in the form of a book. Hence, paper readers are requested to send full-length papers and not a rough or a working paper. It is difficult to manage to put them together after the seminar.


Submission of Abstracts

Contributors are requested to submit their detailed outlines and abstract of the paper in about 500 words to Dr. D. Murali Manohar, Department of English, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500 046 on or before September 30, 2011. The selected participants will be intimated by e-mail and post.


Deadline for submitting the full paper


Participants are requested to send their full paper in Times New Roman, 12 point size in MS Word to the Coordinator either by post to the following address Dr. D. Murali Manohar, Department of English, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad-500 046 or by email on dmmsh@uohyd.ernet.in or dmbm_vs@yahoo.co.in or dmmpsh@gmail.com before October 15, 20011 Contact Numbers: 09908569272 (M), 040-23133406 (O).

Photo

Personal Photo

Kamala Das: Treatment of Love in her Poetry

This book is available witht the author. The price of this book is Rs. 180/- only. Please contact for the book and obtain as early as possible. Very few copies are available. Those scholars who are working on Kamala Das' poetry can not afford to miss reading this book with twenty page of bibliography besides notes.

Address:

Dr.D.Murali Manohar
Associate Professor
Department of English
University of Hyderabad
Hyderabad-500 046
09908569272

International/National Seminar on History of Mala Dasari

Dear Friends,
I am glad to inform you that I will be organizing an international seminar depending on the participants coming from all over the world. I am sure Mala Dasaris are spread all over the world. I hope all the Mala Dasaris are willing to participate and come over to Hyderabad. Only then I could hold this international seminar. Purely it depends how many Mala Dasari friends would express their desire to be the participants and contribute in re-writing our history be it as priests, astrologers, medicants etc.

I am pleased to inform you that I have been sanctioned a Major Research Project by the University Grants Commission, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. New Delhi. It commences from 1st April 2011 and will last on 31st March 2015.

With out all the Mala Dasaris support, I will not able to complete this prioject. Do help in elevating ourselves in the new avatar of Mala Dasaris. The seminar dates would be decided based on the response and number.

Most Important: Please spread this information to all our friends.

Do contact to make our history, please.

Dr. D.Murali Manohar
M.A.; B.Ed.; M.Phil.;Ph. D
Associate Professor
Department of English
University of Hyderabad
Hyderabad-500 046
Mobile: 09908569272
Office: 040-23133406
email: dmbm_vs@yahoo.co.in
dmmsh@uohyd.ernet.in
dmmpsh@gmail.com

Seminar Proceedings of Phonetics and Spoken English

Watch out for it soon. The Atlantic publisher is bringing it out. Final proof is being made and it will be out in one month's time, hopefully.

Introduction to Linguistics and Phonetics

This is a dream that come true. I am happy to receive comments on this book. If you want to buy this book please contact me.

మాలలు ఎవరు?

మాల అనే కులం సృష్టించబడింది కానీ అది అసలు లేనేలేదు. కవి కుసుమ ధర్మాన్న (నీలిజెండ ౪.౧,౨ (౨౦౧౧) )గారి ప్రకారం నిజాంపరిపాలనలో ఆది హిందువులని మరియు ఆంద్ర ప్రాంతంలో వారిని ఆది హిందువులని పిలిచేవారు. మరి ఈ మాల అనే కులం అంటగట్టింది తప్పితే ఇది ఒక కులం కానే కాదు. ఈ బ్రాహ్మణులూ మరియు ఇతర కులస్త్తులు మనల్ని ఈ సమాజం నుంచి దూరం చేస్తూ మన లో ఉన్న కష్టపడే గుణాల్ని గుర్తించి మనల్ని సమజానికి దూరంగా ఉంచి అంటరాని వాళ్ళుగా గుర్తింపచేసారు. కావున మాల లందరూ ఈ బలవంతపు కులానికి బయపడకుండా మనము చాల ధైర్యంతో ముందుకు పోవాలని కోరుతున్నాను. ముక్యంగా మనలో ఈ అభద్రతాభావాన్ని పోగొట్టుకొని మనము ఎవరికీ తక్కువ కాదు అని తల పైకి ఎత్తి నిర్భయంగా జీవితం గడపాలని ఒక పరిశోకడుడిగా, అధ్యాపకుడిగా మాల లందరినీ విన్నవించుకుంటున్నాను.

ప్రస్తుతmu nenu మాల దాసరుల మీద పరిశోదన చేస్తున్నాను కావున మీ సహాయ సహకారాలు కోరుతున్నాను. వైష్ణవులకు ముందు malaలని చేర్చారు. మీ దగ్గర ఏ సమాచారము వున్నా నాకు అందియ వలసిందిగా కోరుతున్నాను.
డీ.మురళి మనోహర్
రీడర్
ఆంగ్ల శాఖా
హైదరాబాద్ విశ్వవిద్యాలయం
హైదరాబాద్

An Earnest Appeal to Fulfil the Dream

Dear Dalit Friends,

It is my earnest appeal to all Dalit friends to create our own literature. How long should we depend on translations? I have a dream. What is that dream? The dream is that Dalit Literature should become compulsory course in Departments of English like Indian Writing in English. There are many Dalit faculty who have been in Universities working on temporary/permanent basis. 

I am sure all of us have faced many problems in coming to the present position. This does not exclude the Dalits who are in other professions. They too are welcome to create our own literature in the Global language.

Nothing is impossible.

Best,

Dr.D.Murali Manohar 

Origin of Priesthood

Priesthood belongs to Vaishnava Dasu

but pushed into the corner ruthlessly 

for the selfish false status in conspired Hindu society.

I affirm now and negate my untouchable status

and call myself a highly respected priest with human touch.

I deconstruct and rewrite my priesthood and include

other castes to follow me.

I was the nature worshipper and not a low person unlike the imposed status.

I warn you not to call me with any other name.

I am the original worshipper of Lord Vishnu.

I am the disciplined devotee and as equal as any other fame.

I am in temple,  

I am the priest in sanctum sanctorum, 

offer my obeisances, 

pray for well being of all. 

I throw an open challenge to the Brahmins and others to prevent 

in reciting the shlokas.

You can not, Can you?

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Can you, you cannot? 

Time changes the fate.

Time replaces late.

It is now my date.

-Dr. D. Murali Manohar