I-Day 2022 – India’s Tryst with Destiny completes 75 years!

Independence Day 2022 – India’s Tryst with Destiny completes 75 years!

I am back… I had stopped writing for some reason for the last 100+ days. Never planned to restart writing anytime soon, but then today being the 75th Independence Day, I was pushed from within to get back to writing.

Of course, I will be writing about the mega event that is India’s 75 years of freedom. Several freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to earn freedom for India. We know about a few of them like Gandhiji, Netaji, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Jhansi Laxmi Bai, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Gokhale, BR Ambedkar, Chandra Shekar Azad, Sarojini Naidu, Tagore and many more…

While these are known and still the list is incomplete, there are many untold stories. Slowly but surely destiny will extract and reveal the stories of India’s leaders…

Independence Day 2021: Rare Photos of Indian Freedom Fighters

I have picked up a passage from the speech of India’s first Prime Minister Shri Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The passage is as follows…

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history when we step out from the old to new when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance… – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Independence Day 2022 | 'At The Stroke Of The Midnight Hour...', Watch, Read Jawaharlal Nehru's 'Tryst with Destiny' Speech

At the stroke of Midnight…

That line ‘At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom’ gives goosebumps and fills our hearts with pride. India has a history that dates longer than 1947, 1857, the 1600s and way beyond. The farther we travel in time, we learn the richer India’s history. Having said that, what counts now is the 75 years. It was like a rebirth for India in 1947.

The year 1947 gave us the license and the freedom to conquer the World. But then, every Indian’s dream on the eve of Independence is to live a life. That’s because we were looted, robbed, dismantled, and damaged by our rulers. While in the modern world it’s okay to forgive and move on because we are a liberalised and global society. Logically, it must be that way. What our ancestors had done is never in our hands and we are not bound by their mistakes. We learn from history and do not repeat those mistakes.

Although the Britishers left us with nothing much left to survive, we came back stronger. India rose to the challenge and we the people of India have shown the World our character. But then, even though we have seen great moments, triumphs, and achievements in the last 75 years, they were like small drops of water. Because India was always capable of more.

We were at once contributing more than 50% to World’s GDP and today the share is 7.19% (PPP). Something that we have achieved before is never an impossible task. We can achieve the same with much more vigour, provided the willingness to work for the nation and help India grow stronger.

The GDP Numbers of the Top Countries are given in the chart below.

Over 2,000 Years of Economic History in One Chart

With a belief and optimism that India will become a superpower one day, I wish every Indian 75 years of India’s Independence. The next 25 years are the most precious years for India and the World. I have not picked anything from today’s I-Day Speech by PM Modi. But I would want to just pick one line from what he spoke today. PM Modi said, “We do not need to copy others but instead we will stand up on our strength and fulfil our goals”.

Taking a cue from this, I want to tell that, a superpower doesn’t mean Infrastructure or the $trillions of GDP, but it means the power to control and show other countries the path towards the right way of living and survival.  

India in its rich history was never hungry for money or power. India always wanted harmony, development, and a good life for its citizens. Somehow the era of colonialism and warfare had taken away the ‘Real Idea of India’. Remember, India may or may not cross the GDP of the USA or China.

But India will certainly become the true Vishwa guru. The leaders will be born in India and will rule the World. Not for anything other than the Unity and Strength of the World. For that to happen, all of us must work together and towards our individual goals. We are all small bricks, and we don’t have enough time, we all must act and become super powerful to help our Mother India.

In the end… Mother India’s dream is to spread harmony and show her kids the right way of living…

I also urge every Indian to be connected to their roots and understand the worth of this nation. This is only possible by travelling to the depth of India. These are not my words, but the words of every great personality. Travelling deepens our thinking and increases awareness. You learn so much… thus I intend to explore India and enrich my knowledge along with my partner.

Mother India - Let Us All Work For the Greatness Of India

Oh, My India… My mother India…

You are truly an inspiration like nobody else. I wish to pledge that I will travel 75 places in the next 750 days. This is my way of celebrating our country’s 75 years of Independence. Just not this, I aim to make the maximum contribution to the needy citizens of this country!

See you on the other side of my first travel journey in the 750 days journey…

Bharat Matha ki Jai… Jai Hind…Vande Mataram…

World’s richest ‘Elon Musk’ buys out Twitter in all Cash Deal.

Twitter, once started as an online communication channel for smaller groups is today the widely used social media networking platform. From just 50,000 users in 2007 to 390+ million users in 2022 has been a tremendous and amazing journey for Twitter.

Jack Dorsey, the founder held the top post for the highest period in the 16 years journey of Twitter. He was the CEO for 9 years otherwise he held the chairman post. Jack Dorsey gave up the role of CEO and went away from the company’s board in 2021. Indian origin Parag Agarwal took the helm in December 2021. Surely, he would’ve never expected life would be the same and take a sea of change in just 5 months into the office.

Right now, the Twitter company headquartered in the USA with a turnover of $5 billion or ₹37,500 crores is being sold to Elon Musk. The richest man on the planet has taken over the giant social media networking platform for a whopping $44 billion or ₹3.3 lakh crore. At the current rate of revenue earning capacity of Twitter, Elon Musk can turn his investments into profits in just 5-7 years. That too considering fundamental returns which are revenue.

But, it’s never about the money. It is never about the profits. Elon Musk has always stressed the word ‘Free Speech’. From ordinary Twitter users to celebrities have put out their extreme opinions. While most of them welcome this move, there is a good number of people who aren’t happy with the deal. The former CEO & Founder of Twitter himself is not happy with the deal. But he does seem to accept the reality and said he heartfully believes in Elon Musk. While what actually will be the outcome is for the time to tell, there are fears of free speech bringing in bigotry, too much negativity and a free hand for everyone to speak to anything.

Will free speech create more problems or help society? For sure all those banned and suspended accounts will be back in the business. That itself will create a buzz and increase a share of the revenue. But in the end, is it a move that’s ideologically driven? I personally think no. Elon Musk cannot think of creating a media channel with a weightage towards either right-wing or left-wing. Rather, the motto of this move is to bring in higher inclusivity and make things easy for people to communicate their opinions.

Elon Musk secures $46.5bn to fund possible hostile bid for Twitter | Twitter  | The Guardian

Having said that, it is to note that, Twitter is now Elon Musk’s Company. Every shareholder will lose their shares and this will all happen by end of this year. People may be given the option to buy shares, this is in the hands of Elon Musk. Now that also means, Twitter will be delisted very soon.

Finally, every rich man is bound to make mistakes. Elon Musk has been outstanding in his thoughts with regard to space travel and the brand Tesla. It’s not always going to work out that way. Will twitter increase his revenue or pull him down is something we need to carefully watch. So, a new era of social media networking is now begun. #twitter

IPL 2022 Midseason review – 20th April 2022

The first half of IPL 2020, the 15th edition of India’s grand T20 tournament is approaching. It has been a supercharged, enthralling and outstanding action in the city of Mumbai and Pune. Multiple records were broken in the ongoing edition. Two records were made in the last match itself. Yuzvinder Chahal took 5 wickets and as well scored a hattrick. There are numerous occasions of scores above 200, both while setting the target and chasing the target. The successful run chases have been tremendous with the game of Cricket winning the ultimate battle.

IPL 2022: Fixture of league matches from 26 March to 3 April - Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Top-notch performances are usual practice in the IPL. This year has not been any different. There are several close matches. Surprisingly, the defending champions Chennai Super Kings and the most successful team ‘Mumbai Indians’ have suffered the highest defeats in the tournament. Almost all the teams have played 6 or more matches. The only team to have played less than 6 is Delhi Capitals. When I first wrote the post on IPL 2022, I made my predictions on the top four.

That day I said, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Gujarat Titans will make it to the top four. Things haven’t been in favour of my predictions since then. Both the new teams Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans have been amazing in their campaign so far. So I will try my luck this time to see if I can be right to predict the top 4 by the end of all the league matches. Let us first look at the team-wise performance for the matches so far.

Gujarat Titans: The new entrant under the leadership of Hardik Pandya have been amazing in all the departments. Both the batting and bowling are balanced for the team. Currently the table toppers, Gujurat Titans need just 3 more wins to be able to qualify for the playoffs. Which in all certainty the Younger Pandya will assure. I look forward to Rashid Khan’s all-around performance and Shubman Gill’s consistent batting efforts.

Chennai Super Kings: Defending champions started on a shocking note with MSD quitting captaincy. Though he played one of his best innings as a Chennai Player, CSK hasn’t been on the winning side for most of the matches. They are 9th in the table and need nothing less than a miracle to make it to the playoffs. Will they make it to the playoffs? My feeling is No. But, CSK should at least aim to create a squad that will take forward its legacy.

Mumbai Indians: Mumbai Indians are the most successful team. But this time, they are the least successful team with not a single win from six matches. Except for being big players on the paper and with buy price, none of the players was playing match-winning knocks. The senior pros are not up to the mark. The only saving grace has been SKY’s performances and the youngsters Dewald Brevis and Tilak Verma.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: E sala cup namde… Not going to voice out if this can come true. But the RCB team is looking confident to make it to the playoffs. Virat Kohli had given up the captaincy and that made way to experience Faf Du Plessis. All the RCB fans must be enjoying the way the Reds have played so far. With 5 wins from 7 matches, RCB is the favourite to make it to the qualifiers.

Rajasthan Royals: Rajasthan has had a brilliant tournament so far. Won 4 out of the 6 matches played so far, Rajasthan team is playing a different brand of cricket. Something that Shane Warne would be happy about. Just like the Gujarat Titans, the Rajasthan team also has a good balance. Buttler is merciless when it comes to batting. He has scored two centuries, Chahal has 17 wickets and a hattrick. Rajasthan Royals have been upsetting good teams. They have a good chance of making it to the playoffs.

Lucknow Super Giants: Under the captaincy of KL Rahul, the new team LSG has taken the experienced teams by surprise. They have found heroes in both young players and experienced players. Ayush Badoni, KL Rahul and Quinton De Cock have played decent innings to win the matches for their team. Not completely safe, but LSG is in a better position to make it to the top 4.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Sunrisers Hyderabad has not started its campaign well. But they have made a great come back. After losing the first two matches, the Hyderabad team won four successive matches.  Another team wherein the young players are making their mark. Suddenly from a team with no confidence, SRH is having full confidence. They have great chances of making it to the playoffs.

Delhi Capitals: Delhi Capitals haven’t had the best start. Ricky Ponting would’ve loved better performances from the top players. Even though the top two have played outstandingly well, the rest of the week wasn’t keeping up their efforts. Shaw and Warner played good innings in the matches. But just not enough team performance to win the games. With COVID also affecting their team, it is a bit hard on DC now.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Kolkata has not been their best always. Rather the performances by the KKR’s Shreyas Iyer were also a mixed bag. KKR have won 3 out of 7 matches. There have been close encounters that didn’t go their way. Pat Cummins and Iyer have found the form. But will that help them reach the qualifiers? I feel no.

Punjab Kings: Another season of immediate success and immediate failure for Punjab. Initially, the Mayank Agarwal’s Punjab has played well but with have failed badly in the last few matches. This kind of inconsistency in a tournament like IPL will not help any team. Unfortunately, this season also could be an offseason for Punjab.

Finally here are the top four as per my predictions…

  • Gujarat Titans
  • Royal Challengers Banglore
  • Delhi Capitals
  • Rajasthan Royals

IPL – 15th Edition of the World’s grand cricket tournament kicks off with many surprises…

The 15th Edition of the World’s grand cricket tournament kicks off with many surprises…

Disclaimer: IPL is not just cricket. It is business. It is for entertainment. Entertainment with wholesome money to all. That’s why it makes sense to start with valuations. As per various marketing and brand valuation agencies, the IPL Brand Valuation is in the range of $6.2 to $6.5 billion, which is close to 47,500 crore Indian rupees. With a new five-year broadcasting rights contract and the 10 team edition, the IPL Brand valuation will jump above 60,000 crores this year.

A new year, a new edition and new teams. Everything seems new about this edition’s IPL which is the 15th edition of India’s glamorous cricket league. Starting in the year 2008 after India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, IPL never looked back. There were changes in the management. It has been a roller coaster ride for the organisers due to match-fixing issues and the banning of two teams. Pandemic tried to play spoilsport in the two editions of the IPL, still, things didn’t go out of control. BCCI was somehow able to successfully finish the tournament without losing much revenue. Of the last three editions including this one, IPL 2022 seems to be the most profitable both for fans and the BCCI.

TATA IPL 2022 - Indian Premier League 2022 Tickets - BookMyShow

Indian Premier League 2022 has begun last Saturday. Like always, all the cricketing fans are excited to witness their favourite players and teams. But this time, there have been some really interesting changes. First, all is the new roster for teams after the mega auction in February. Not just the players, two new franchises are added to the IPL. Now we have 10 teams, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants are the two new teams. With the addition of these two teams, the dynamics are changing. The number of matches has increased from 60 to 74 matches. That’s an increase of 7-10 more days of IPL action in the Summer of 2022. BCCI has properly worked out the plans to earn back whatever was lost in the last two editions due to shifting and date changes.

New rules and new format for the IPL 2022

New Format: As said earlier, in the previous editions, IPL had a maximum of 60 games between 8 teams. But now things will change, the number of games is going upwards to 74. Unlike the previous editions, the teams will be divided into two groups. Each group will have five teams. These groups are only virtual and there is no separate points table. This is only done to keep the number of matches per team at 14. Following are the groups:

IPL 2022 Schedule, Time Table, Match List, Team List, Start Date, Points  Table, Teams

Group A: Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants

Group B: Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans

New Rules: There are interesting rule changes from this edition of IPL.
  • Till last year’s IPL, each team was awarded one DRS, from now, each team will be given two DRS referrals per innings.
  • BCCI has decided to be sensitive toward COVID19 cases. Thus, if any teams fail to field a team of XI on any match day, the BCCI will attempt to reschedule the match. There won’t be any forfeiture till the BCCI decides and if it’s forfeited then the opponent team will be awarded the 2 points.
  • For so long, for the catch dismissal, a non-striker would cross over the striker and gets eligible to take strike. But from this edition, the rule is reversed. There is no more option of crossover. The incoming batsman will only be taking the strike.
  • BCCI has strictly committed to the timings. The game time per innings is set at 90 mins at the end of the 19th over, any delay will result in a fine. Rohit Sharma became the first captain to be issued a fine of 12 lakhs for slow over-rate.
  • Connected to that, if the Super Over or Super overs are not completed within the permitted time limit, then IPL will declare the team with a higher rank in the points table as the winner of the match.

These are some interesting changes in the IPL 2022. While these are the changes in the rules, the surprising changes are the captaincies. There are as many as 6 new captains in this edition of IPL. It was only five new captains, but then MS Dhoni decided 2 days before the first match to step down and hand it over to Ravindra Jadeja. That makes 6 new captains in the IPL 2022.

The new rules, new teams and new teams have completely changed the dimensions. It has become bigger, better or not only time will decide. It is not easy to predict the top four teams.

But I will take the chance and go with my gut feeling to predict the top four.
  • Delhi Capitals
  • Gujarat Titans
  • Chennai Super Kings
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore

Will revisit after the first half to see how many of these four teams will be in the top four… Till then let’s enjoy the grand cricketing tournament in the World. The highest valued cricket league ever in the world!

Kashmir Files – The movie that unites or divides India? #KashmirFiles

Kashmir Files – The movie that unites or divides India?

Firstly, this isn’t a movie review or a preview. Not a review because I haven’t watched the movie. Not a preview because I am not writing what one should expect from the movie. Rather I am writing what the people, industry and everyone else is talking about. Factually on the box office front, this will end up being the movie that will be remembered for a long time. Made on a budget of 25 crores, the movie has already made close to 200 crores in just 10 days. A feat that nobody could even predict. Not even the director and the movie makers. But yes, it’s happening and it’s not stopping yet. Probably Kashmir Files will become the movie with the highest rate of return.

MP cops to get leave to watch 'The Kashmir Files'; Goa to arrange maximum  possible shows for Vivek A- The New Indian Express

This is all about the box office action. Then there is another angle to the Kashmir files movie. There have been strong voices and critics. On one side, people have come out in large numbers to support the movie. On the other side, a certain group of people have vehemently opposed the movie. There have been protests on banning the movie. People even barged into the theatres and tried to block the screening of The Kashmir Files. Two opinions are strongly emerging out of all this. They are based on ideology. Let me try to pen them…

Right-Wing – The Government view on The Kashmir Files

To start with, the Government of India’s highest representative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come out open and asked people to watch the movie. PM Modi also attacked the opposition and the negative critics asking them to find out the facts and have some courage to take it. The right-wing is expecting people to watch in full numbers to understand the pain, agony and the unthinkable act that was committed on Kashmiri Pundits. Director Vivek Agnihotri was vocal and took on the questions from different media houses. The moot point from the right-wing ideology is to go and watch the movie. Not just PM Modi, Amit Shah and many other celebrities are in favour of movies. All that they want is, ‘Don’t question the freedom of expression of someone, go and watch the movie to know the real truth’.

Left-Wing – The Opposition’s view on The Kashmir Files

The opposition and the leftists have different opinions. The majority of them feel the movie is made fully to propagate hate and is indulging in false narratives. Starting with the congress politicians who have directly opposed the movie and are portraying BJP as the real culprit. The exodus which we called it to date and now the director wants to be called as Genocide happened in the 1990s. At that, the government in power at the centre was VP Singh from Janata Dal. BJP was the supporting party and in Jammu & Kashmir, just before the massacre had started, President’s rule was imposed. This has been the Congress’s point, a whataboutery…

Another section from the opposing gang is shooting different questions at BJP. Why was the movie Parzania banned from releasing? Parzania is a movie based on the Gujarat 2002 riots and is now being promoted by the leftists.

Not the left, not the right but My view…

Having said about the two views on the movie that is making history, The Kashmir Files is a must-watch movie for anyone interested in the History of Contemporary India. Not always movies are made on such subjects and one has to watch it to understand the point that the director is trying to make. You always don’t have to hate it or love it but can always be neutral on the subject. Freedom of expression which is the key component for any screenplay needs to be respected. But yes, some movies were banned in history and there will be movies that will be banned in the future too. People know which movies will be banned or maybe boycotted.

Whitewashing a crime - how exodus of Kashmiri Pandits is being blamed on  Hindus instead of on Islamists

BJP as a political party and the party in power with a perceived nationalist tag will not lose on these chances. Multiple state governments have already made the movie tax free and most of them are from BJP ruled states. Whereas Tamil Nadu has been mostly silent but slowly is not allowing the high number of shows. The Kashmir Files is touching the bigger chunk of the audience and that is Hindus. On the commercial success front, many Hindus are wanting to watch the movie. If any research is done on the religious viewership of the movie, the result won’t be a shocker. There is a motive behind this movie that BJP understands well. The opposition also understands it and so do the leftists who oppose the Government.

One learning from this mega movie saga is clear, with this movie the dynamics of the country have changed. It is not the policy, but a movie made with no big stars, low budget and no great promotions is doing wonders. It has strengthened Government and weakened the opposition. Finally, the reality is the country is polarised and it will remain like this from now on…

BJP scripts history by winning four states and retaining power with the full majority!

BJP scripts history by winning four states and retaining power with the full majority!

Winning an election in India is no simple feat. Apart from the money spent by the leaders which are mostly unofficial, the arithmetic and the chemistry with the voters is key. We had witnessed history being made by the saffron party on 10th March. 5 days ago, on the counting day for the five state elections, BJP came out as a winner in four states. BJP did face a big defeat in Punjab but that was all on expected lines…

Uttar Pradesh – A win that has broken 37-year-old jinx!

Never in the last 37 years, has any party come back to power after ruling for 5 years. 2022 is the outlier that has seen BJP under the leadership of Yogi Aditayanath has come to power. It was SP’s election to lose. But the planning and the connection which is very important for winning was missing with Akhilesh. The ‘MY’ combination couldn’t help the Samajwadi Party. Congress got completely wiped out. With this win, Yogi Adityanath has created a special place in the leadership of BJP. 2022 is done. Who knows what’s in the store for 2027?

UP Dy CM KP Maurya Loses in Sirathu in Close Fight; Saffron Wave Sweeps  State

Uttarakhand – Similar story to that of Uttar Pradesh!

Why Uttarakhand election may be an uphill task for Congress despite dharam  sansad row - Elections News

Uttarakhand did see BJP coming back to power. In a way, BJP was much keener to win the Devbhoomi. The party changed three chief ministers in the 5-year term and was in trouble. Sensing this, PM Modi got himself into the action for the Uttarakhand polls. He took all the responsibilities and it was his goodwill that won the elections for BJP. Interestingly both BJP and Congress CM candidates lost in the election. More than the anger on BJP’s non-performance, people believed in PM Modi and voted BJP to power.

Goa – the state which was a complete surprise for many!

Everyone knows what happened in the last assembly elections in Goa. BJP was the second largest party with 13 seats. The majority mark was 21 seats, Congress won 17 and still, BJP formed the government with the help of local parties. Manohar Parikar’s legacy was in danger but thanks to PM Modi’s campaigning, BJP came to power. This time the party won 20 seats and needed just one seat support. The outgoing CM Pramod Sawant who held the office for the last 3 years also played a significant role.

How to get Goa Assembly elections 2022 vote counting LIVE updates on  Election Commission of India website - Hindustan Times

Punjab – the tide of change meant AAP was the choice!

Punjab is one state where the BJP would want to make inroads by the next assembly elections. For a long time, the Punjab people had to decide between Shirmoni Akali Dal and Congress. Congress as usual dug its own grave after an unnecessary duel with Captain Amrinder. The main leadership had to believe in the words of Sidhu and he lost the elections. Not BJP, not Congress but a party from Delhi, AAP shocked everyone by winning 75% seats.

Kejriwal to announce AAP CM candidate for Punjab Assembly Election at 12  today

Manipur – the state that remained unnoticed just like the other seven sisters!

Indian mainstream media and the politicians to an extent had always ignored the northeastern states. Neither the leaders nor any top bureaucrats were interested in them. Hemanta Biswa Sharma, a former Congress leader had high dreams for northeastern states. But his dreams weren’t the vision of his former leader Rahul Gandhi, instead, Rahul Gandhi insulted him. Sharma’s immediate decision was to resign and join BJP. His first target was Mission Assam which he achieved and now he is delivering on Mission Northeast. Manipur for the first time voted BJP to power with a full majority. None other than Himata Biswa Sharma takes the entire credits for this…

Manipur Assembly Election 2022 Highlights: First phase polling marred by  stray incidents of violence - The Economic Times

What next in the never stopping elections in India?

The next stop for all the parties concerning elections is in November-December. Two important states, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat will be going for fresh assembly elections. With the way, things have gone till now, not Congress but Aam Aadmi Party will try to counter BJP at every step. Congress is the party to lose in both the states. Slowly the elections in state assemblies are turning out to be two cornered contests or one-sided winners. Will Congress remain as opposition, win two crucial elections or give way to the Aam Aadmi party will be something to look at. Whereas BJP will field all its horses to retain the state of Gujarat, the home of PM Narendra Modi. Let us see how things unfold in the coming days…

 

Equating a Man and a Woman is the biggest mistake that one can commit…

Equating a Man and a Woman is the biggest mistake that one can commit…

Yes, you read it right and I have no second thoughts about it. Why would one even dare to equate Man and Woman? Never do that, because by doing that, you are bringing together two unequal. No, it’s not that Men are a level above Women, but Women are levels higher than Men. A woman’s contribution to everything is always higher than the Man. It all starts with the birth of a child. While a Man’s contribution is till the moment a woman gets pregnant. A woman is all on her own to carry the baby for 9 months, go through an emotional period and deliver the baby with unbearable pain. But some of us are unfortunately trying to equate her with him. Isn’t it injustice?

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Today, we are celebrating International Women’s Day. A day specially dedicated to the ‘Shakti’. We all get together with an intent to remember the women’s achievements across the world on this day. Women are blessed with special natural traits. One of them is to see things from different dimensions and have attention to detail. This is exactly what makes the woman multitalented and multi-skilled. Men have a habit of forgetting things but women have a habit of remembering. Like this, I can go on and write hundreds of words on the positives of the woman. Remember we address ‘nature’ as a mother.

In Indian Vedas, we address the rivers as ‘matha’.

There are tremendous achievements by women. Jumping into the Vedas, there are unbelievable characters like ‘Arundhathi, Sita, Renuka and Anasuya’. All these women from the Vedic history of India are remembered even today for multiple reasons. In the contemporary and the modern world, we have the personalities like Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, Jhansi Rani and others who have transformed the lives of women forever.

Like Arudhanti was as talented as great Rishi Vashishta, every woman has the power and right to be achieve something. We shouldn’t equate the success of a Woman to the success of a Man. A woman is way beyond the reach of Man’s day to day activities. Of course, there are negatives. Like there is saying that ‘for every war, the woman is the reason. This is because women think possessively and are protective of their people. Due to this characteristic of theirs, there are chances of disturbances. This is completely natural.

Whereas by trying to bring in the slogans of gender equality, the organisations are doing more damage than good to society. There has been an attempt made by a set of people to demean the job of a woman. They say a woman cannot be stuck for her whole life doing household chores. This is such a derogatory statement. Nobody will stop a woman from doing whatever she wants. She wants to study, let her.

If she wants to fly a plane, let her. She wants to fight elections, let her. Can a Man manage a house like a woman? 99% of men cannot. This is the ultimate truth. But by bringing in the argument of ‘stuck in four walls, we are equating the most difficult job in the world to ‘nothing’. Not wanting to sound very negative, but this concept of celebrating a day for women is again a western concept. Otherwise, in the Indian Vedic system, the mother and the female is celebrated on every occasion. Navratri is the oldest Vedic tradition where we celebrate feminine energy. Another example is the festival of Raksha Bandhan.

Women & Power - The New York Times

We have some organizations and bodies which bat for Gender Equality. Who are we to bring equality when mother nature herself crafted inequalities? Can the United Nations and other organisations which run on the donated money change the script? Impossible…

The best thing is to leave the women to their choices.

By repeatedly telling the women that they are being shown the back door and Men are given the first preference, society is activating the negative side of the woman. Yes, there are negatives in the Men as well. But to derogate Men, put down Women, provoking them is not the right solution.

A wiser solution is to create awareness in the woman but not propagate the concept of equality. Simply educate the girls and leave the rest of things to themselves…

Happy Women’s Day to every Man and Woman who believes that ‘Women’ are stronger, more powerful and worthier than ‘Gender Equality’!!!

Gangubai Kathiawadi – Alia has never played a more challenging role than this one…

Bollywood can finally congratulate someone without spending much on the PR!

Bollywood was feeling the heat like no other movie industry in India for almost 2 years. The movies from Mumbai’s grand industry didn’t win the hearts of fans as much as the South Indian movies did. There were several movies slated to be released during January month but the Omicron threat put a break on theatre releases. Whatever movies released during the pandemic didn’t get the HIT status for Hindi. All the eyes were on Bollywood’s top actress Alia Bhatt. My first impression is she has brought back much-needed repute to ‘Bollywood’.

Casting of Gangubai Kathiawadi:
  • Director – Sanjay Leela Bhansali
  • Alia Bhatt as Gangubai
  • Shantanu as Afsaan
  • Vijay Raaz as Raziabai
  • Ajay Devgan as Rahim (Karim) Lala
  • Jim Sarbh as Journalist Faizi
The story of a Sex worker and a Mafia Don!

Gangubai Kathiawadi is a story of a sex worker who once dreamt of becoming a Bollywood actress and acting along with Dev Anand. Like many who get into this profession, Gangubai alias Ganga was cheated by her boyfriend Ramnik Lal. Born in a rich Gujrati Kathiawad family, Ganga never expected her life to change upside down. At the tender age of 16, Ganga fell in love with Ramnik and expected him to help her in becoming an actress. Instead, Ramnik Lal sells Ganga to a brothel in ‘Kamathipura’. She had no other option but to accept fate. Ganga took the bold decision and changed herself to ‘Gangubai’. This conscious acceptance of her fate made Gangubai strong and unregretful of the events that have happened with her.

While fulfilling her role as a sex worker, Gangubai wanted to bring changes in the treatment of the sex workers. She was a strong woman with the views like none other. Not a single-sex worker would stand up and ask for their rights. But, Gangubai was the first one to put up requests, demands and orders as per the need and requirement. She faced hardships as part of her profession and to deal with one such instance, she meets Rahim Lala. Rahim Lala was the mafia don who supported her after one of his gang members attacked her. Since then, Rahim Lala takes great care of Gangubai, not the usual style but just like the mafia-style. The connection with Rahim Lala took Gangubai places. She was able to win the area elections and became the president of Kamathipura. That way Gangubai got the power to do whatever she wanted and she got respect from the sex workers. She made sure the children of those in prostitution get equal respect and admission into schools.

My take on the movie and the issue:

Much of the issues about prostitution and the respect for sex workers was achieved by the Gangubai Kathiawadi. While she was alive, she didn’t let things go wrong and even now she is worshipped as the leader for those living in Kamathipura. But not everything is fine. The government did bring the concept of legalising prostitution and have allocated red light areas. But due to various reasons, some people get involved in prostitution without getting licenses. Those people are raided and that’s what we see on the news channels.

Alia Bhatt was exceptional in her acting. I felt she might not be the right choice for the role of Gangubai. She proved me and many of the critics wrong with her acting display. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for movies with the historic theme and this time once again it paid off. Surely the ‘Dholida’ song will be top grosser in this year’s Navaratri celebrations.

Gangubai Kathiawadi Trailer Review: Alia Bhatt Rules Her World With Glory  As Sanjay Leela Bhansali Brings Alive His Magnum Opus

While these are the pluses of the movie. The minuses are the topic itself. During and after the movie, there are chances for a person to feel low and down. Sex workers’ problems are plenty and showing it on the main screen means a challenging task. While it is a treat to watch Alia’s performance, people will expect more from her in the ‘RRR’ movie.

On the box office front, the movie is doing exceedingly well. Made at a budget of 160+ crore, the movie has made around 40+ crore in 4 days. Not many movies are going to hit the Hindi market till March 11th. Radhe Shyam and Kashmir Files will be released on the 11th. So, there is still a room of 10 days for Alia’s Gangubai Kathiawadi to make money.

To conclude, Alia has brought back the charm and magic of Hindi cinema to an extent. All thanks to Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It will be interesting to see the future of Hindi cinema from here…

The Crisis between Ukraine and Russia explained in simple words…

USSR to Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan…

Soviet Union Map/Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) | Mappr

The ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine is not new. It is decades old crisis that began back in 1991. Nothing much changed for many years between Russia and Ukraine. The War is between two independent nations, Russia and Ukraine. It is a geopolitical war, maybe similar to India and Pakistan. In the case of Indo-Pak, the war is for a province called ‘Kashmir’. Whereas, the battle between Russia and Ukraine is much larger in scope.

It was in the year 1991, one of the largest groups of states called as USSR – Union of Soviet Socialists Republics got dismantled and disintegrated. USSR was an active country in the world that promoted the socialist ideology and was purely against the American capitalistic and free-market economy. Russians who had the major rule in the USSR were powerful. USSR was the richest in the world. No one could think of bringing an end to USSR. But the inevitable did happen due to the USSR rebels. The USSR rebels which included today’s Ukraine took the help of the United States and other European nations to split from USSR.

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Come 2014, Ukraine had its rebels who wanted to join Russia. Luhansk and Donetsk are the top regions that rebelled against Ukraine. It was Luhansk that created unrest in the entire Ukraine in 2014 and the same region took the lead in the current crisis too. Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognised Luhansk and Donetsk as two independent nations. He also called Ukrainian Nationalism is as ‘Flawed’.

What has led to today’s unnoticed and sudden war events?

It is completely understood that the roots of the current tensions grew from Ukraine’s separation from the Soviet Union. More than that, the Russian President didn’t like the closer relations of Ukraine with the West. Once the USSR got dissolved, the Part of European Nations have together and formed a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and more which were firstly part of the Soviet Union, went on and joined NATO.

This pushed Ukraine also to dream of complete freedom. NATO turned out to be more damaging to Russia than the dissolution of the USSR. Ukraine made all the plans to join NATO, and if that gets underway, it is a big failure for Putin. Putin’s aggressiveness and his support from the socialist nations across the world will not allow him to do that. He had made his plans and saw the right taken to attack the Ukraine Provinces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin feels the movement of Ukraine and NATO is a direct threat to Russia’s power in the eastern part of the country. This is the major reason behind Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. Now, this won’t stop here. The world is aware of how the current president of Russia Vladimir Putin came to power. Putin is ruthless and at the same time very intelligent. Though it’s not easy to conquer the other provinces which broke away from USSR, it is his dream and goal to bring back the lost USSR. Will he be successful in achieving it or not only time will tell!