Ye Kali Kali Ankhein : 90s Pop Culture Reincarnated to Perfection!!

Kudos to the supremely talented Director “Sidharth SenGupta”, for delivering a perfect entertainer, stellar performances by Aanchal Singh and Saurabh Shukla, and Tahir, well, what he lacked in the looks, he makes up with his acting, but the showstoppers for me are the father and daughter duo of Akhiraj and Purva, and the pervert but funny and pragmatic sidekick Golden.

Indian cinema is no stranger to the femme fatale. From Madhubala in Howrah Bridge to Aishwarya Rai in Khakee, we have seen a wide range of top actresses play the charming seductress to perfection. What the new Netflix show Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein does differently is that it brings the said femme fatale to a small UP town, surrounded by the politics and violence of the hinterland.

An excellent Tahir Raj Bhasin plays the hapless engineer Vikrant, who wants nothing more than to live the life that he has mapped out for himself. After getting an entry-level job at a steel plant, he’ll marry his sweetheart Shikha, and perhaps get an MBA degree some years later. He’ll shoot the breeze with his childhood buddy, a buffoon nicknamed Golden, and most importantly, he’ll stay far away from the shady man his father has spent his entire life working for.

But as fate would have it, Vikrant is sucked into the seedy world of UP politics when he crosses paths with the infatuated daughter of a fearsome local ‘vidhayak’ named Akheraj, played by Saurabh Shukla in proper Ramadhir Singh mode. The woman, Purva, has spent the prime of her youth obsessing over Vikrant, whom she went to school with. She puts in an unsolicited good word for him when his father forces him to interview for a position in Akheraj’s posse of ‘gundas’.

Played by Anchal Singh, Purva is a real femme fatale, straight out of the Manohar Kahaniyan that the show has such a palpable fondness for. The moment he first laid eyes on her as a kid, Vikrant knew she meant trouble. This is perhaps as much as you should know about Purva and her plans; revealing the rest would be spoiling your experience.

If you don’t apply your brain much and if you have an inkling for Mirzapur and Patallok, Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein is a perfect appetiser for you, the end of the season one was very cleaver, as a viewer you are bound to wait for the release of the second season, Vikrant is doomed as we know it, but the way first season has unfolded, its open for every one’s imagination.

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UNKNOWN MANIBEN & an ungrateful Country

Maniben Patel was Sardar’s only daughter. When only 16 she switched to Khadi and worked in Gandhi Ashram!
When 17 she put all her gold bangles, earrings Gold Wrist Watch and all ornaments & jewelleries in a bundle of cloth and obtaining her Father’s nod, deposited them in Gandhi Ashram, for the cause of freedom.
All the garments Sardar used to wear after 1921 were woven out of the yarn made by Maniben.
Unlike Nehru’s daughter Indira, Maniben was a freedom fighter, who actively participated in the non-cooperation movement.
In 1928, in the Bardoli Satyagraha she helped out Satyagrahis in Camps.
She was arrested and Jailed in 1930 in the Salt Satyagraha!
Thereafter, she was arrested and jailed on several occasions.
Defying ban in Bardauli, arrested in 1932 again re-arrested for defying ban in Kheda and Sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, for arousing people in villages of Rajkot arrested in 1938!
Gandhiji complimented the girl that he had not seen another daughter like Maniben!
Under Gandhiji’s selective disobedience, Maniben was arrested in 1940 and was released from Belgaum jail in May 1941. When she again wanted to court arrest Gandhiji had prevented this frail girl for ill-health!
She got arrested during Quit India 1942 with
Kasturba Gandhi and released in March 1944 and again re-arrested in May 1944 in Bardauli and was sent to Surat Jail & then to Yervada jail!
She didn’t marry and served her father till
Sardar Died in 1950!

Here is a shocking episode relating to Maniben based on various sources, specifically Dr Kurien’s autobiography: ‘I too had a dream’!

Sardar Patel had no bank balance or property!
Even though he had substantial earnings as a very Successful Lawyer, he gave up everything after plunging into the Freedom movement.
He used to say: THOSE IN POLITICS SHOULD NOT HOLD PROPERTY, AND I HOLD NONE!
(Today Everybody in India may think Sardar a Big Fool)

When Sardar died, he kept nothing for his daughter!
With Sardar no more she had to vacate the house!
With no roof over her head and no money
Maniben had to fend for herself!
Obeying Sardar’s parting instruction, Maniben had gone to Nehru to hand over a bag and a book!
Dutifully, she took an appointment with PM Nehru, she handed over the bag and the book to Nehru in person!
The book was an Account Book!
The bag contained rupees Thirty Five Lakhs! (It was 1950)!
After delivering both to Nehru, she waited a while!
Nehru did not thank her!
Nehru didn’t enquire what she would do!
Nehru didn’t ask where she would stay!
Nehru didn’t ask if she had any money on her!
Nehru didn’t ask if she was in need of any assistance or help!
Nehru didn’t ask, if he could do anything for her!
Nehru, not to speak of sympathy, had shown absolutely no interest in her!
For him, after receiving the huge sum of Rupees 35 lakhs Maniben didn’t exist!

Maniben went back to Ahmedabad to stay with a cousin the rest of her life, forgotten by an Ungrateful Country !

Via.. Dr. Gour Mohanty

The Afghan Betrayal

It’s incredible to watch how fast the USA can forget the biggest attack on its soil, once again  turning its back on the dark world the AFPAK region,  and my fear is that whenever (not if ever) islamists attack the USA, it won’t be as simple and medieval as the 9 “11”.

Islam is the most violent religion in the universe, it advocates and justifies killing innocents in the name of God , they glorify revenge and allows pedophilia. Taliban, ISIS, and Al Qaeda are the true disciples of the Islam, they are blood thirsty monsters who want to destroy life on earth, the monstrosity they manifested on the innocent women and children in Afghanistan, would put the most dreaded historical monsters to shame.

Exit of USA is like a surgeon leaving the patient in the middle of surgery, within a week of the exodus of US forces, Taliban baked by Pakistan, has started wracking havoc on Afghanistan, they have already conquered 2 provinces and it will be only a matter of time, when Taliban will have the country and millions of men, women and children, under there bloody claws.

Reeling under popular political pressure, Joe Biden made the decision of abruptly leaving Afghanistan, no prise for guessing, who would be the first country the Taliban would come after, they are unabashedly supported by nuclear armed Pakistan, in fact they are proxies of the Pakistan Army.

Last time the US turned its back on Afghanistan, was right after the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of USSR, it resulted in 9’11, once again they are leaving the country in an even precarious situation, in the hands of Taliban, Pakistan and China.

In the last 20 years of US occupation, the various US administrations were concerned only about achieving the military objectives, they never tried to uplift the average Afghani, they spent billions on bombs and missiles, pounding Taliban and afghans in general, but not a single dollar was spent on education or health care which the Afghans needed so badly, its a deja vu, USA did exactly the same in the 80s when they supported Afghan uprising against the USSR.

I won’t be surprised that the next attack on the US soil would dwarf all earlier terrorist attacks, including 9’11, and it would for sure emanate from Afghanistan.

 

 

Emergency In India “Decoded”

How Emergency imposed by ex – PM Indira Gandhi in 1975 changed Indian politics forever 

Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader and grandson of late PM Indira Gandhi said that Emergency                    was a ‘mistake’ and what happened in that period was ‘wrong’.

On June 26,1975, former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Proclaimed a national emergency across India, Under the directions of the then Prime minister of India Indira Gandhi- which lasted for 21 months. During this time elections were suspended and civil liberties curbed.

After 46 years, on Tuesday, Rahul Gandhi- Congress leader and grandson of late PM Indira Gandhi, said at an event that the emergency was a mistake and what happened in that period was “Wrong”. Rahul Gandhi also said the emergency during which time constitutional rights and civil liberties were suspended, the media was severely restricted and many opposition leaders were jailed, was “fundamentally different from the current scenario.'”I think that was a mistake. Absolutely, that was a mistake. And my grandmother (Mrs Gandhi) said as much. (But) the congress at no point attempted to capture India’s institutional framework…frankly, it does not even have that capability,” Rahul Gandhi said in a conversation with renowned economist Kaushik Basu.

But what is Emergency and how did it came into effect and how it changed the entire political dynamics of this nation – is something this generation may not know. So here we bring you in simple words on what happened in 1975, which can be easily be termed as the biggest political blunder of independent India.

 

The Justification for Emergency

The reasons given for the emergency in the country was to control “internal disturbance”, for which the constitutional rights suspended and freedom of speech and the press withdrawn. Former PM Indira Gandhi gave three reasons to justify the extreme step- first, India’s security and democracy was in danger owing to the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.

The second reason cited was that Indira in 1971- In parliamentary elections, Indira Gandhi had defeated Raj Narain from the Rae Bareli constituency, who subsequently had filed a petition in the Allahabad High court accusing Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractices.

January 1974- Students in Gujarat protested against raising prices of food grains and other essential commodities and corruption in the state government. Major opposition parties joined the protests, this led to the imposition of the president’s rule in the state.Demands for fresh elections became intense. subsequently elections were held in Gujarat in June 1975, which the congress lost.

1974- Students in Bihar started a movement to protest against the same issues. Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up active politics and was involved in social work, lead the movement. This took the issue to a national level.

June 12, 1975- Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha found the Prime Minister guilty of misuse of the government machinery during her election campaign and declared her election null and void and also barred her from contesting an election for the next 6 years. The court, however gave the congress 20 days to find a replacement to Gandhi as PM. Indira Gandhi moved the Supreme Court against the verdict.

June 24, 1975 – The Supreme Court granted her a partial stay on the High court order till her appeal was decided and that she could remain an MP but could not take part in proceedings of the Lok Sabha.

June 25, 1975- JP Narayan led a huge political rally in Delhi’s Ramlila ground where he announced a nationwide Satyagraha for Indira Gandhi’s resignation. The employees of the railways too called for a nationwide strike, led by George Fernandes.

June 25, 1975- This fateful night a state of emergency was declared as a government response to the June 25 Strike. All the powers were concentrated in the hands of the Union Government. The Government restricted the fundamental rights of the citizens during the period. All elections were suspended  and civil liberties curbed.

Most political opponents were imprisoned. Press was censored. All newspapers needed to get prior approval for the articles to be published. Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the Jamait-e-Islami were banned. Constitution was amended in an autocratic manner, particularly in the 42nd amendment.

An amendment was made declaring that elections of Prime Minister, President and Vice- President could not be challenged in the court. Sanjay Gandhi, who did not hold any official position at the time gained control over the administration. The period saw the symbolic forced mass sterilisation campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi.

sun salutation (Surya Namaskar)12 poses highly effective for weight loss

Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) For weight loss.

Sun Salutation is said to be the complete body workout for weight loss. Yoga experts say that doing 12 sets of Sun Salutation translates into doing 288 powerful yoga poses in a span of 12 to 15 minutes! Sun Salutation is another example of how good things came in small packages.

Sun Salutation: Wholesome yoga workout for “busy bee” to loos weight

Face a time crunch? Want to feel fit but don’t know how? welcome to the world of Surya namaskar. Literally translated as Sun Salutation , Surya Namaskar comprises of 12 yoga postures, The best part about sun salutation is that it works well for those super busy people who often complain about not being able to do yoga because of a time crunch. Doing at least 12 sets salutation, preferable at sunrise, at a fast pace provides a good cardiovascular workout. If done at a slow pace, these postures help tone the muscles and can be relaxing and meditative. Moreover it allows you to enjoy the stretch and feel the body getting flexible.

Though pretty much an exercise in itself, Sun Salutation forms an excellent link between worm ups and intense yoga postures. Start your early morning yoga routine with some worm up stretches to ease out body stiffness. You can then do a few rounds of sun salutation to help increase body flexibility and also prepare the body to stretch more during the intense yoga posture sequence.

Why Sun Salutation is good for you?

But that’s not all. Regular practice of sun salutation offers a lot of interesting benefits for every part of the body.These yoga poses have a great impact on the heart, liver,intestine, stomach, chest, throat and legs- the whole body from top to bottom. It purifies the blood and improves blood circulation throughout the body, and ensure proper functioning of the stomach, bowels and nervous centres. Practicing Sun Salutation practicing daily helps balance three constituents – Vata, Pitta, and Kapha – that the body is made of.

More on benefits of Sun Salutation.

288 yoga poses in 12 minutes!

One round of Sun Salutation consists of 12 yoga poses, one set consists of two rounds of Sun Salutation: First stretching the right side of your body and then the left side. So when yo do 12 sets of Sun Salutations you are completing 12 sets * 2 rounds in each set * 12 yoga poses in each = 288 yoga poses in 12 to 15 minutes.

Surya Namaskar calorie calculation:

One round of Surya Namaskar burns upto 13.9 calories for an average weighing person. you can now set the target for yourself. Slowly you can increase the number of rounds of surya namaskar to 108. By the time you reach this number, you will find a leaner you.

30 -minutes workout calorie meter

Sun Salutation : Gratitude wit Yoga

Remember those school lessons on how the sun makes life possible on this planet? As a kid, we all learnt about the indispensable role of this glowing yellow ball, plays in our life, casting away darkness, breathing life into the creation. Now its our turn to say thank you to our closest star. Surya Namaskar gives up this opportunity . Sun salutation is a great way to exercise the whole body while feeling grateful to our revered life force, the Sun.

Eager to try out Sun Salutation for weight loss? Follow these simple steps on how to do Sun Salutation. All you need to do is get onto the yoga mat , flow gracefully from one yoga pose into another , keep smiling and enjoy the stretches. Add a dollop of gratefulness to the sun and make your sun salutation practice more scared and rewarding. You are now trending your way to a disease – free body and a relaxed mind.

 

Choose Your Friends wisely!

It is said that the people you spend maximum time with; your friends, colleagues, relatives etc, your personality, your ideology and even your life is a summation of the average qualities of all these people. Our friend circle which we build later influence our life to such an extent that it transforms us, it makes us like them (the friend circle)

At times I think what should be the basic qualities of my friend? how to choose friends, and who should I trust a person as a friend? the person whom I like and I would share the most precious thing in my life, “my time”.

The most important quality a friend should have, is likemindedness, you may have different aspirations or goals in life but your values should be same, please don’t get me wrong, you and your friends can and should have difference of opinion but your moral values should be same, that will be the foundation of your friendship.

Second important criterion is the trust, in one life time a person would be called very lucky if he or she has more than two real good friends, in real sense a person with whom you can trust your life with, is truly your friend.

Your friend can be someone who compliments you, or rather he may have qualities which you lack, for example you are an introvert wherein your friend can be a person who is quite outspoken.

Friendship has to pass the test of time, you may find people who would swear to be your friends but would chicken out on the first hint of you being in trouble, so as I said, time will tell who your real friend is.

The person with above qualities will be your true friend, he or she would be the one you can trust your secrets with, needless to say you must reciprocate, rest of the people are mob nothing more, you shouldn’t be paying any attention to them, but keep your true friend very close to you and stand by him/her as he/she would in the hour of need.

Undoing Lincoln

America is a great nation, a nation built by the free, immigrants from all parts and ethnicities of the world, came together with diverse cultures and Gods, challenged the set orthodox norms of the medieval era, created a marvel of humanity, where a person is worth what he could become and achieve in a free and fair climate, where every and any one can challenge the mightiest, and no one is above the constitution, which guarantee absolute freedom and equality.

Lincoln was probably the most unique Leader world has ever seen, he was white, a men of so called superior race, fought for the freedom of the Blacks, raised arms for them fought for equality and eventually paid the ultimate prise for his dream of building a country free for all.

True disciples of Lord Krishna, working on there Karma and the believing in the inner strengths of the people, a country built on the blood and sweat of the men and women, unlike my country the birthplace of lord Krishna, which ironically still embraces the medieval monstrosity of casteism and religious hegemony, mixed with socialism, bigotry still used to pull the crowds and Win elections, people more interested in freebies, people instead of focussing on innovation, focus more on how to manipulate and extract the most for themselves and there families.

And then came Donald Trump and his tirade against the ethos of his own country,

I have followed Trump since the Republican primaries in 2015, he was the most flawed politician I had ever seen on a podium like this, his message was clear, he was not Barak Obama, he was anti immigration, racist, fearless(shameless), corrupt to the core, promised his supporters that he will save America from being overrun by illegal immigrants, openly supported the white supremacists “Stand back and Stand by” is what he said to the Proud Boys.

Lincoln ironically also was a republican must be twisting and turning in his grave when he saw a mob of bums attacking and ransacking the Capitol instigated by none other then the president of America him self, I was also dismayed to see Senators defending Trump and even after ransacking of the capital.

The senators along with Trump screamed on top of there voice that the elections which made them the senator and Trump president, were rigged, there conduct would shame even the most corrupt Indian politicians, under there watch there temple of democracy was defaced but they were so unabashedly adamant that they couldn’t see that they have reduced there country to a laughing stock in front of the whole world.

It also shows the fragility of the US democracy, it exposes the flaws of its democratic system, which is the extraordinary powers entrusted to the President, they must dilute the powers of the White House to ensure that the Capital Hill event is never repeated in future.

 

 

26/11 “Travesty of Justice”

26/11 Attack on Mumbai was designed and executed by the Pakistani intelligence agency and its Army, two Pakistani army majors, Major Pasha and Iqbal orchestrated the attacks in which 170 innocent civilians lost there lives, India refrained from using military option fearing backlash against its muslim minority, at least that’s what Ex PM Manmohan Singh told Barak Obama, however the message resonated was that you can get away easily after committing an act of horror against the civilians and innocents of India.

Now however India has started hitting the terrorists back, by doing so India has curtailed the acts of terror but the problem is far from over.

But what’s really disturbing are the news in the media that in Pakistan, people paid there respect to the terrorists killed in Mumbai…

Even after 12 years not even a single perpetrator is brought to justice.

An old Thug, A conman and the POTUS

The POTUS is a broke man, he is probably the worst nightmare of the policy makers in the US, they are coming to terms to the fact that the systems built and the powers bestowed to the POTUS are just enormous and now they know what happens if a morally debouched man like Trump comes to the throne, it costs lives and decades of hard work, diplomatic web shattered and alliances put to test.

World is quickly moving on and the leadership vacuums made by US will not last long, EU for instance is now realising its strength and they know they can’t depend on US anymore against the Russia, the unpredictable USA will need decades to clean the mess created by Trump that too if he doesn’t win another term in the office, because if he dose, he will make USA irrelevant again.

A debt of 450million dollars, just imagine how desperate he would be, in the debate with Joe Biden, he reached out to the white supremacist groups in front of the whole world, and world watched in dismay the unabashed embrace of one of the most evil and barbaric ideology “Racism”.

But if you look deeper, you will understand this is a dire effort from a desperate man who is sunk deep in debt, responsible for the deaths of 2 hundred thousand Americans and desperate for support to stage a comeback, even if it comes from the most deplorable low lives of the planet.

I feel strange when I see educated and affluent people in support of Trump, he can easily put Indian politicians to shame, with what he says and what he tweets, its funny to see so much power in the hands of one man and he has shamelessly distributed it to his family and his incompetent loyalists.

 

 

Tears of Durga

On there own, defenceless and at the mercy of the Demons, this is the situation of the Poor and Oppressed of Uttar-Pradesh, what happened in Hathras was so diabolic that it will put demons to shame, what is particularly disturbing is the action of the state government which is actively trying to hush away every one including the victim’s family, they are working overnight to roll this case under the carpet, this is not a tragedy isolated to the victim’s family but its the sorry state of our country which is so agonising that I a mother of two daughters, am sacred and furious and I want retribution, for the Girl who is no longer with us but for every girl and women of this country.

I feel defenceless in my country and the institutions meant to protect us have not only failed us but the only purpose of their existence is to serve their political masters, they can go to any length to make sure that the image of there masters is protected at call cost, In Hathras Police cremated the body of the victim sneakily like thugs at 1:30 AM in the night, they overpowered victim’s family and did it forcefully.

The District Megistrate of Hathras warned the family, to either shut up or to face the consequences….

They stopped the media from entering the village as they were trying to meet the family of the deceased girl, if fact they were detained, taken and released beyond the city limits.

Uttar Pradesh has become a land of Asuras or Demons, where ordinary man and women of every age is susceptible to inhuman and horrific crimes, in the entire state women don’t dare to leave there homes past dusk, they stop going to school and collage because of the eve teasers, they live and die in constant fear, they can’t go to the police or to the Netas because the crimes and criminals flourish under their patronage, Police has become worse then the criminals and most of the times act as the middlemen and cover the dirty works of there political masters.

Justice in the demon land has became the mistress of the corrupt and powerful.

Nirbhaya Tragedy has left an ugly scar on our minds and hearts, and the pursuit for justice took another 17 years, her mother and father fought a very hard and painful battle against a rotten legal system which was hell bent on upholding the human rights of those who murdered a young girl in the most gruesome way, she died a very painful death whereas her murderers lived for another 17 years, this was a unique case where the media had put so much pressure on the judiciary and the state that the victim’s family at last got the justice, but we know how difficult it is for a poor and ordinary person to get justice in India, In India Crime really pays.

The second forensic report claims that the victim was not Raped, the intention of the forceful cremation was to botch the investigation, if there was any, to sell the narrative that the girl was never raped and I won’t be surprised if they prove that the victim in fact committed suicide and no one killed her.

I pray for the victim’s soul, hope she finds peace in the afterlife and will never reincarnate as girl in India and certainly not in the state of Utter Pradesh.