From the editor's desk                                     THULIKA.NET TURNS TEN!   Ten years ago today I launched this website. In the past ten years, I have learned plenty not only about running a site or translating stories but also about the history of Telugu literature and history of Telugu fiction. As a part of looking for materials, I have found and read books I never even knew existed. That is a great feeling. I was also happy about the way the website took off on its own possibly because this is the only site in English devoted exclusively to introduce Telugu literature to foreign audience. I am pleased to note that scholars of Telugu literature across the globe have been visiting my website and quoting from my articles. A few of my articles have been re-posted on other sites or forums. I am thankful to all those who find the stories and articles on this site helpful for their studies. Also, there are readers of Indian origin and Telugu origin, who are following this site zealously. Some of them read these translations since they are interested in Telugu literature but do not have the reading skills in Telugu. Some of them read these stories since the originals in Telugu are not available to them. In short, the readership is comprised of a wide range of readers from various walks of life. As for the statistics, I do not have the exact numbers because the site builder deletes the numbers for posts not opened for some time. Also some posts got corrupted over time and so had been deleted. Thus, I can take only a wild guess and say it would be close to two hundred thousand. The number is big, considering the narrowness of the subject covered here. The site devoted exclusively to modern Telugu fiction. A few translations of poetry have been published, minimally though. Basically my interest lies only in stories. So far more than one hundred and twenty stories, forty informative articles and reviews have been published on this site. Twenty of the translations are done by other translators. Dr. Sharada (Australia) deserves special mention for her contribution. She has translated ten stories. I am grateful to all the contributors. Of the forty articles, fifteen were written by other writers. Only one article by Dr. Vaidehi Sasidhar on Dr. Nayani Krishna kumari's poetry has been written exclusively for thulika.net. Thanks Vaidehi. Some of the stories published on this site have been quoted by other scholars across the globe and a few reposted on their sites. Once again, I consider a validation of the work being done on this site. I appreciate considering this site useful for their work. Fifty one translations have been published in three anthologies by reputable publishers, namely, Jaico Publishing House (Mumbai), Central Sahitya Akademi (Bangalore), and Lekhini Mahila Chaitanya Sahiti (Hyderabad).  I consider it a validation of the work being done through this site. Please, refer to the books page for details.   While I was focused on presenting the best stories which described our culture, I was also keen on presenting various styles of storytelling prevalent in our culture. I agree some of the stories published here have fallen short of my expectations yet I published them. I would rather not go into details but I intend to be more cautious in future. The posts in the current issue may be considered typical of selections. First, the article on Nori Narasimha Sastry is highly relevant to my own preferences. We need to look back and understand our history and our culture well in order to catch up with the best in the world. Progress does not mean blind worship of everything foreign. Secondly, his explanation of historical novel is also relevant in the sense it tells how to incorporate history (which is culture in this case) into fiction. The story “Andallu and onions” describes a few events in our everyday lives in Telugu homes— the interaction between husbands and wives, daughters and mothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and neighbors. The story fills the minute details that are not often given in the stories pushing for an ideology.   The second story, “Bug” depicts the curious bond a woman develops with a bug that accidentally flies into her apartment. Once again, this is a commonplace theme that is converted into a philosophical reflection on a small incident in our everyday lives. In Telugu, the story is entitled velugu meaning light. In the translation however, I was not happy with the word “light” and so changed it to “Bug”, the creature being an important character in the story. This is also an example of judgment call a translator makes during the process of translation. To writers and translators: I have discussed at length what I expect in terms of both selection and translation for Thulika.net. However, I thought I should emphasize once again my goals for this site. In general, my goal is to provide a comprehensive well-balanced view of our culture, which means stories describing all aspects, not just women’s issues or the atrocities committed by high and mighty. Since some such stories have been published, I am looking for stories depicting other aspects in our daily lives. For instance, stories may include minute details of our customs, habits, and games we play, clothes we wear, and the food we eat—there are so many things peculiar to our culture—which set us apart from others. I want those stories. In other words, consider this site as a site others may learn something valuable about our social history as illustrated in our fiction. Therefore, I sincerely urge writers and translators: Please read the stories published on this site and send me the stories that meet my goal. Thanks for your cooperation. To the readers of my Telugu stories on this site: The statistics show that my stories in Telugu on this site are being accessed regularly by 30 to 50 readers any given day. That is flattering. Thank you. Secondly, I understand that Mac computers do not open the Telugu files on my Telugu blog. For all these reasons, I decided to put my stories and other articles together in the form e-Books including the posts on my Telugu blog, tethulika.wordpress.com soon. Once again, thank you all for your encouragement support! Malathi Nidadavolu June 1, 2011.