Sunday, August 09, 2009

Ashes Aussie's Advantage

England have foiled it afresh, ceding their leverage which they had fought so hard for, after romping in the second test match at lords and managing to draw the first one at Cardiff, though Ricky Ponting had alleged that England had cozened it at Cardiff. Whatever the case maybe, Aussies have struck, and they have struck hard this time. With Rain and and bad light playing the spoil sport at Headingly in the third test which was also a draw,Australia have subjugated Englang by winning the fourth one convincingly by an innings and 80 runs.

The stage is equipoise with England & Australia marching in for the fifth and final test at Oval on 20th August with 1-1 score line, getting ready for the humdinger,the most exhilarating test match ever played.

England got the better of Australia in 2005 crushing them 2-1, But they were routed in 2007 5-0,Apart from that win in 2005 England haven't managed to hold the Ashes since 1987. This is the best shot that England have, to hold the coveted urn, because Australia are no longer the team that they used to be 3 years back with the likes of Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Glenn Mcgrath, Damien Martyn retiring in 2007-08.

Also, next time England too would probably lose their stars like Flintoff, Strauss, Collingwood.But,the irony is that Australia just need a draw in the last test to retain the Ashes whereas England need a win. It may seem like a daunting and mammoth task for English but they are undeniably adept and at the back of their mind they too know that this win would not be just another win, It would be the final nail in the coffin of the "great" Australian Cricket team,who have had a bad run of late.A defeat in the last test would push them further down the abyss and would also subside them to third spot in the rankings,thus terminating the kangaroo monopoly over the cricketing world.


Friday, August 07, 2009

My Favourite Story: Trees that wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.

Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

-Anonymous



Monday, August 03, 2009

Movie Review: Love Aaj Kal

A movie for all those who love ............

Love has a sweet charm, an eerie captivating feeling that sweeps you of your feet. Generations may change but the feeling never changes.

This is a central theme of the movie Love Aaj Kal *ing Saif Ali Khan in double role (Veer Singh of 1965, Jai of present generation), Deepika Padukone as Meera Pandit, Rishi Kapoor as present day Veer Singh and Brazilian Model Giselle Monterio as Harleen Kaur who plays the role of Veer Singh's love interest.

Love Aaj Kal might not be that great film that you have seen like DDLJ, Dil Chahta Hai for that matter.But there are resons you should definately watch it,

1. It is a film which hits upon reality for most of its part and hits it hard.There are hardly any romantic flicks which do that but Love Aaj Kal does it so in a great good way.
This Movie would inspire the present day Happy Go Lucky Mod couples for whom Break ups and Link ups come as easy as the morning newspaper. Also, It would potray them the hardships that Lovers in that era of non communication faced just to catch a glimpse of each other. You may just realise the love that you have for your gf/bf where you were previously labelling it as just another sixer on the pitch of love.

2. Critics are complaining about Deepika's acting, Ya I agree she might not be Madhuri or Kajol for that matter, But she has delivered her career best performance in potraying a girl who belongs to the present generation and is unable to recede to the demands of her too confused present day Boyfriend Saif Ali Khan. In the scenes at the end of the break up party where she hugs Saif, when she sees the mirror and tries to smile, in chor bazari song, in the climax scene where she turns around and cries, She potrays the role with such an elan that you yourself want to root for her.

3. Even the other characters in the film potray the role as the character demands it, they do not go OTT and behave like actors but potray it according to the character be it Saif Ali Khan, Rishi Kapoor or the Brazilian Model Giselle as Harleen who for not a single frame appears a foreiner.Actually she approached Imtiaz for the role of Saif's GF Jo but eventually got to play the role of Harleen Kaur. She hasn't much to speak but does it all through her eyes.

4.Critics are complaining about the chemistry of Saif and Deepika, but if they are doing so I must sadly say that they have missed on the real beauty of the film which is its USP, some pairs do not need to shout their on-screen chemistries out, through the movie, but it should be seen by engaging your heart passionately with its characters.

5.The clever dialogue and the humour has been Imtiaz's forte for long but this time he hits an all time on high emotional quotient too. Agreed that characters apart from the main protagonist aren't fully developed but after seeing the movie you'll realise that they don't needed to.

6.Moving on to the script and the story which is proclaimed to be cliched, contrived and worn out.Agreed that the plot is very simple and waferline but the manner in which Imtiaz develops it is a pleasure to see as there is not a single dull frame in movie.

7.The music and the picturisation of songs is awesome spanning Delhi, San Fransisco,London and Kolkata.Except for one or two songs all carry the story forward.

Sure, it might not be Jab We Met and Socha Na Tha which were ahead of Love Aaj Kal on humorous qoutient but Love Aaj Kal beats both of them on the Emotional Note. As Saif refers to Mango ppl (aam aadmi), this sure is a film for mango ppl of today but they should be mature enough to enjoy the sheer beauty of the movie and "feel the love" between the Saif in both his roles and the leading lady Deepika and Harleen Kaur.
Engage your heart with it and you sure would find a Jai or Veer Singh hidden in you clinging on for the perfect soulmate.

Ratings: 7.5/10


Monday, July 27, 2009

Taj Mahal was a HINDU TEMPLE!!!


No one has ever challenged it except Prof. P.N.Oak, who believes the whole world has been duped. In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, Oak says, the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz's tomb but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya ).

In the course of his research Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh. In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama,Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai SIngh for Mumtaz's burial .

The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur still retains in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for surrendering the Taj building. Using captured temples and mansions, as a burial place for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers. For example, Humayun,Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions.
Oak's inquiries began with the name of Taj Mahal. He says the term "Mahal " has never been used for a building in any Muslim countries
from Afghanisthan to Algeria . "The unusual explanation that the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal was illogical in atleast two respects.
Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but Mumtaz-ul-Zamani ," he writes.
Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters 'Mum' from a woman's
name to derive the remainder as the name for the building."Taj Mahal, he
claims, is a corrupt version of Tejo Mahalaya, or Lord Shiva's Palace . Oak also says the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists . Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates the love story.

Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era, and was a temple dedicated to Shiva, worshipped by Rajputs of Agra city. For example, Prof. Marvin Miller of New York took a few samples from the riverside doorway of the Taj. Carbon dating tests revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European traveler Johan Albert Mandelslo,who visited Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of the city in his memoirs. But he makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of Mumtaz's death, also suggest the Taj was a noteworthy building well before Shah Jahan's time.

Prof. Oak points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies
that support the belief of the Taj Mahal being a typical Hindu temple
rather than a mausoleum. Many rooms in the Taj ! Mahal have remained sealed since Shah Jahan's time and are still inaccessible to the public. Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Lord Shiva and other objects
commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples .. Fearing political
backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Prof. Oak's book
withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition dire consequences .
There is only one way to discredit or validate Oak's research.
The current government should open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal under U.N. supervision, and let international experts investigate.

Do circulate this to all you know and let them know about this reality.....

References:



911 Mysteries-Truth or Reality


Truth is often stranger than fiction, what our eyes see and what is shown to us is far beyond the reality.
The September 11, 2001 attacks on twin towers are regarded as the biggest ever terrorist attack on any nation and they hold the status of Japan bombing the Pearl harbour or America dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
But are the things really that simple or is there a hidden mystery which if proved true might blot the face of United States for times to come.
A variety of conspiracy theories question the mainstream account of the September 11 attacks in the US. These theories assert that the official report on the events is not sufficiently forthright, truthful. Critics allege that government of the United States might have done attacks themselves. The common suspected motives were the use of attacks as a pretext to justify overseas wars and facilitate increased military spending.
Many of the theories have been voiced by the members of the 9/11 truth movement.
They claim that collapse of World Trade Centre was as a result of controlled demolition and not due to plane striking.
1. The world trade centre was entirely made of steel and they were the strongest steel structures in the world. It was made to resist the impact of Boeing 747 plane with full fuel capacity. But, the plane that actually struck the tower was Boeing 767 with very little fuel which was consumed with the initial fireballs and following few minutes of fire. So it rules out the official story which states that fire caused by the collapse of 47 column steel core, 236 exterior columns and 1000’s of trusses at the same time
2. We can see smoke coming out of the building, smoke indicates that fires were not burning successfully and that rules out the possibility of fire causing the collapse. Fires have burned the steel buildings for as long as 20 hours and yet the cores of the buildings have remained standing. The world trade centre was hit by fire in 1975 which was much larger than this fires but still the tower remained standing.
3. Melting point of steel is 1500 C or higher but fire of WTC was not hotter than 650 C; steel stoves don’t melt even if they are used for months. Even if the outer columns fall on one another even then the outer columns should have remained standing.
4. Metal and concrete is hurled away from the building sideways; a 270 ton piece of steel was hurled 120 meters into the neighbouring building, which indicates explosion not implosion.
5. The towers fell than 10 seconds which is less than free fall speed but it is possible only if the top storeys did not face any obstruction from lower storeys. A building so tall should have fallen in at least 136 if it were in a natural way.
6. If we see the video then we hear the sound of explosion first and then the structure starts to fall but it should have been the other way.
7. World trade centre complex had 7 buildings, Two were the twin towers and 5 other smaller buildings but only 1, 2, 7 collapse not 3,4,5,6 despite the fact that they had equally strong fires.
8. All the concrete and the building material (100000 tons) were pulverized into a very fine dust. Phenomena that require an enormous amount of energy that could not be produced by gravitational alone, it was only possible through a series for internal explosions.
9. Many videos show people who have reported blasts in the buildings, the morning videos of 9/11 show the interior covered with dust which indicates that some sort of construction work was going which clearly indicate explosives being planted.
10. Now you may be curious to know why they got the towers destroyed themselves. WTC was given on a private lease in 2001 for the first time. A man named Larry Silverstein was its owner; he had invested 15 million dollars in that. The WTC was covered with asbestos to make it fire proof and asbestos was banned by U.S.A in 1980’s So it was required of him to get it removed, which would have coasted him over a billion dollars, so he choose to go this way as WTC’s were big money losers and through this way he got 7 billion dollars through insurance company 300 times of what he had invested.
This theory states that lease owner of WTC himself had caused the collapse.
There are other theories which state the President Bush was responsible for the same as he wanted to say Iraq and Afghanistan for their oil reserves and it will give them a reason to do so.
Whatever the reason might be the truth will never come out as the American Institutes are testing it and they would never want to blot their own country’s image and also their might be high government pressure. But even that cannot rule out sadness that over a thousand people who died that day left for their families.

References:



InspireYourself


Thomas Edison once said “Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration”. But, still that 1% of inspiration is sole requirement for converting that 99% to success.

Have you ever wondered that a pencil, a small pencil which you thought was just writing instrument can teach so many things?
1. It tells us that everything you do leaves a mark, weather you do good or bad it will surely leave a positive or a negative impression on others.
2. It tells us that important thing is how we are from inside not outside which means that our quality and virtues leave a lasting impression on others and not our outside beauty.
3. Moreover it tells us that in life we will go painful sharpening which will make us better. The difficult times are always there to make us stronger.
4. It tells us that we can always correct our mistakes, so never be afraid to take risk, we should take challenges, accept difficulties because even if we fall there’s always a next time.
5. Last and the best it says “Allow yourself to be guided and held by the hand which holds you”, so if we allow ourselves to be guided and held by God’s hand we can surely achieve success in life.

Have you heard the story of the ugly elephant, well if not I tell you. In a forest there was a very ugly baby elephant called “Jumbo”. No other animal in the jungle used to play with him and he was always downtrodden and embarrassed by other animals.
The duck used to say to him “Look at you elephant you are so ugly and black, with a long pipe like trunk hanging, I am so white and beautiful.
The monkey used to tease him by saying “Look at me I can jump from one tree to another can you do so?
Poor little elephant would have nothing to say in these matters.
On a hot summer afternoon when all the animals were sleeping the whole jungle was caught in a mighty fire. All animals began to panic, but our brave little elephant shouted on top of his voice and called all other elephants and they all filled their trunks with water and within minutes the whole fire was extinguished.
Jumbo became a hero and every other animal felt ashamed that they used to tease him and now he has saved their life.
Thorough this story I just want you people to understand that we should never underestimate others. We all have this habit of passing comments on people on fat people, on thin people, on short, on dark and physically deformed and so on.

Even if we not pass comments many of us just think something ill about them. We should understand that God has created each of us equal and we should learn to respect each other and do not laugh or tease others.

Blacks were always ill treated in America!! Now can you think how much foolish it is to just discriminate on basis of colour of a person Are we civilized or not.......But now even they have set an example by choosing a black president Obama.

Be at your best,
And leave the rest,
Joys and sorrows come and go,
And surely you have to pass thorough,
Life is a struggle but,
Crossing all barriers,
You make your way,
Think you can do it,
Don’t be idle and sit,
Because,
In the end the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

There was once a man who had four wives.

He loved his fourth wife the most, fed her with delicacies and gave her the most beautiful clothes.

He loved his third wife too as she was very beautiful, He always feared that she might run away with someone.

Whenever he had problems he went for help to his second wife and she took good care of him and sorted out his problems.

But he always neglected his first wife although she loved him.

When one fateful day arrived he was diagnosed with cancer and doctor fold that he would die soon.

He got very sad as he thought he would be alone now. So he asked his fourth wife if she would die with him, she clearly replied no. His third wife had already run away with someone else on hearing about his cancer. He then went to his second wife, she said that she always helped him but now she cannot die with him. Disappointed, he went to his wife first wife but to his surprise she readily agreed to die with him. The man was deeply moved and thought only one thing that if would have been much better if he had taken good care of her. Now like the man we all have four wives.
Our fourth wife is our body whom we love the most feed it with good dishes, decorate with beautiful clothes but when we die it doesn’t goes with us.
Our third wife is the possession, property that we have which always to go to someone else when we die and we do not take it with us.
Our second wife is our friends and family. However they might solve our problems during our lives they will not go with us.
Our first wife is our soul whom we neglect throughout our lives never caring about it but our soul always goes with us when we die. So we should do some soul seeking in our lives and care for it and not just run after materialistic pleasures. This is the only way to become better persons and thus we would have no unsettled issues when we die.
When you were born you cried and everyone rejoiced, live your life in such a way that when you die you rejoice and the whole world cries.
Because life is not measured by the number of breaths that we take but by the number of moments that take our breath away.



Sunday, July 26, 2009

Movie Review: Kambakkht Ishq

A Rotten Piece of work by all measures

I am dissapointed that the first movie which I have to Review for posting in my blog is Kambakht Ishq because it is such a substandard typical Akshay Kumar starrer that you feel all the time that you see it to run away from it but it excels in one department to make you inquisitive as to how vulgur this movie can get.
This movie shows the battle fo sexes,but what could have been an interesting and a fairly engrossing premise is wasted in mere abuses like 'dog' and 'bitch', the humour is mere slapstick and the comedy absolute rotten bunch of PJ's held together through loose thread of the storyline so absurd that you wish to say O' Akshay give us a break!!!
The leading lady Kareena Kapoor who is a medical student ,a part time model cum anti men loud over the top seductress( see the bike scene in Italy if you don't belive me) leaves her Musical Chanting watch in Akshay 's Tummy while performing her first surgery , This watch breaks into musical chants after every hour and our poor poor protagonist is clueless about the same.
Kareena Kapoor hasn't delivered a single good performance after Jab We Met and what can be said about Akshay Kumar, he is definately the KING of nonsensical cinema after Singh Is Kingg, Welcome,CC2C. His last decent work was Namastey London.
No Comments about Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora,They themselves are the victim of their lousy acting. Javed Jaffery is endearing in few scenes, Boman Irani's sheer talent is wasted in Gay jokes.
The music marks the return of Anu Malik, The songs are fairly decent and shot beautifully at Italy and Hollywood, Bebo is an offensive song by many means.See its lyrics...Bebo main Bebo....Dil mera le lo....le lo jio le lo....Such Crap.
Overall Kambakht Ishq dissapoints.It also marks the first onscreen kiss of Akshay Kumar, But he seemed to cover up for all the previous losses in this with almost 10 kisses, and mind you they are at the sequences where they were least required.Sylvestor Stallone and Denise Richards prove no icing for the cake which is too rotten to digest.

Rating: 1/10