The Faithful Departed

Prayers to the families who have lost their members in the most wicked, cruel and dastardly act of all times. My condolences to the families of the Faithful Departed.

CRAP-FEST

Judged even by the yardstick of a ‘leave-your-brains-behind’ entertainer, Son of Sardaar falls considerably short, particularly because it wants to be too many things all at once. Dhir mines the premise for its comic potential, offering us some moments of inspired lunacy. But this is equally an action film, and the cartoonish set pieces fail to impress because they rely too heavily on tacky special effects. In one sequence, Dutt’s crony, pursuing Devgan on a motorbike, rams into onward traffic, and next thing you know, he’s riding the bike upside down mid-air. The same scene might have worked in a film directed by Rohit Shetty, who brings skill and a lightness of touch to comic-book action, but here such moments have little impact.

The performance of Sanjay dutt will draw the spirits out your bodies so much that watching a nonstop 72000 hour marathon telecast of Balika Vadhu or Godh Bharai would have brought more pleasure than to the one having had the misfortune of seeing Son of Sardar. That Sonakshi is one hotness impaired chick!!!!

I seriously think Indian Cinema has now reached whole new unseen level of sucking. That’s right , SUCKING!!!! I must congratulate the director of this movie for being the pioneers in achieving the threshold ram gopal verma never knew even existed.Sonakshi looks like 2nd adorable girl on planet…..first most beautiful women on planet …..first being Srimati Godavari Dhondiba Sarasambe , mukkam post  Chikhalthana age 75 years old can perform better than you did…….. Looking at her even Farah Khan arouses me.

Sugggestion to Sonakshi:-

IF YOU CONTINUE TO APPLY YOUR ACTING SKILLS NO MATTER HOW LIMITED THEY ARE IN THE FIRST PLACE IN LETHARGIC OVERRATED NONSENSE INFESTED PARASITIC MEGA ESSAYS OF STUPIDITY AND PSEUDO COOLNESS WITH LOTS OF WEIGHT THAT YOU CARRY  THEN YOUR CAREER IN A FEW YEARS IS GOING TO BE REDUCED TO SPOTS ON REALITY SHOWS LIKE BIGG BOSS.

I am not going to say a word about ajay devgan………….

THAT’S HOW ULTRA LAME AND SUPER MORONIC YOU AND THE OTHER TOTS IN THIS CLUSTERFU*K OF A FILM ACTUALLY ARE.

 This seriously was soul sucking crapfest. I want 30 minutes of my life back!!!!!!

The Expedition!

What do I do when I am not in not working? Well, then am at my apartment hanging out with my roomies or my friends but that happens seldom. What happens more often is that I am left stranded with my laptop. It is such a place where there is something in for everybody. If u are a geek , u get documentaries if u are movie junkie you get lotoso movies but for a whimsical guy that I am you also get TV serials. The good thing about it you don’t have to invest 3 hours and there is no such thing of disappointment  of investing 30 minutes a day. So this is what I do , perhaps I used to do!!!!!

The first encounter was friends , I still watch its season on random basis. When in college mass bunk was a tradition. Life was so much simple when there was no laptop. In those times,I had actual friends now I have the database. So when there was mass bunk , friends used to hangout & I used to hangout with FRIENDS!!!! All this while I was in search of perfect set of Ross, Phoebe and Chandler. There is only one first time and this was hell awesome. So that is how the interest was generated. If you don’t have anything to do and u don’t want to watch a movie, opt out for the serial. This paradigm helped me out till June of this year and then there was replacement. 

Serial watching spree was subdued by an Expedition! I had just finished watching Lost. Good serial. I will write of it in some other place. But necessity is the mother of inventions. And I invented such a thing that would amalgamate two longtime interests of mine History & Video Gaming. This was the deadly combination and the influence of one such cocktail hounds me as I write this blog. Video Games they always have my interest. Before June of this  year Age Of Empires 3 was the best I had but a new brick is  now added to my wall. Perhaps I have new wall entirely !!!!

The phenomenon is Assassin Creed!!!!

Tenants of the Creed.

Frankly put I am not fond of open world gaming. Neither using a sword instead of Magnum Sniper 615 is not my type. I hated Prince of Persia due the same thing. You play in the block with your sword. Why would anybody play that, was what I thought. But something was different in Assassin Creed. Its has got two story lines. One story line is in 2012 and that progresses as the story progresses and another storyline is in historic times. As mentioned in earlier blog I have an appetite for history. This game has the mix of it in the such great proportions that I got carried away in I-don't-have-anything-to-do kinda way. Whatever be the game in the series the plot remains the same. You are led upfront to the Assassin vs Templar war. The war is waged to posses a artifact. The artifact is called Apple of Eden. Once you have it you become the source of unlimited power. Speaking of time line. There is second timeline to this game. You experience it by going into machine called Animus!!!! The people at Abstergo Industries claim that human DNA not only has the memories of oneself but also of his ancestors. They also are modern day templars. So what they do is capture a guy called Desmond Miles , who has DNA of an assassin. They make him go in the Animus to experience the genetic memories of his ancestors. That’s all!!!!

Altair-Ibn-Lahad

Journey was begun. At first you are Altair-ibn-Lahad, the assassin during third crusade. You don’t feel so badly about the guy. But what really drives your gaming experience is the story. Story of an arrogant Assassin who had to lose it all to gain everything all over again. You have 9 memories to complete. The experience of newness , and open world gaming in 11th century made me tour deep into game. The game as such was simple. After having the basic skill of fighting , Running from rooftops to rooftops , Combating and throwing knives you have everything you need to excel in game. But for me that was not it. The question that drives my psyche is "Why we do what we do" apart  from  " how to do it?" and so I took the topic of assassination quiet seriously. A couple of my friends who have earlier played the game helped me set my perspective on this subject and then I transgressed at pace. Swords started to feel ecstatic , ridding a horse felt more dear than driving a car. Hidden Blade is now my most favorite weapon which even overshadows other weapons of mass destruction. As a player you travel to the cities Jerusalem, Acre, Damascus, Maysaf. I finished the game only to find me 

desperate to wait for next installment in the series.

Enter Ezio Auditore Da Firenze!!!!!

Ezio Auditore Da Firenze

After having experienced the best of Assassin Creed I bought the next game Assassin Creed II. The genetic memories take you into Renaissance. If story was the ace feature in the earlier version , Presentation was the crux in this. When the people like Leonardo da Vinci are ur friends who design the spectacular gadgets that is when you know you have got yourself a treat .This protagonist is actually the object of why am writing this blog. I am utterly obliged by the virtual reality by living the life and times of the guy-turned man-turned master Assassin. Now we are talking. The guys life falls in pieces when he loses his family to treachery. When the elder brother , father and younger  brother are hanged in public. I would be lying if I say that didn't hurt. All I could think for the next couple of days is now what? The expedition of 

revenge lands you in Tuscany, Forli and Vatican.

Ezio's family lost to treachery

You are so furious after this cut scene that you wanna bring all your Assassin skills back. This is what you acquire step by step but presentation in such a game is Period specific. Clothing, Architecture and most important part Economics. . The protagonist in earlier game was driven by duty, but the one in this game is driven by revenge. But as the story progresses and he starts getting the answers about the origin that is when you start enjoying. Because there comes a stage where u neither are the assassin nor a nobleman. Transition phase is the toughest in ACII. But when you are on the other side of the river that is when you get the taste of assassination. I don’t know why the antagonist was spared but still each and every part of the game was thrilling. Adventurous and thrilling ride with leonardo da vinci just paid off.Assassin Creed II is a prolonged series which has two further installments.   Brotherhood and Revelation.

Ezio in Colosseum Memory 8 Seqence 2 

Lucreiza Borgia

ROME, is the first of 16 places , I want to visit before I die. GOD answered my prayers in form of AC brotherhood.  In this installment you don’t have to travel from cities to cities the entire game is set in ROMA.Rome is beautifully designed and there were only some parts that were annoying for having to go all the way round the cliffy areas. Once you accept that things will often "pop" onto the horizon as you approach, it does look good and play well. The cut scenes are great apart from some weaknesses in the facial animation, which put it a step behind some other games where it looks better and has better lip synch. The characters remain engaging as well, although I missed some of the humour from AC2 – Leonardo in particular was such fun in 2 but here he seems too drab and a little dull compared to who he was originally. Ezio remains a great character to play while the modern characters are also stronger and more fun. Most of the landmarks are tailor made to its actual detailing architecture. Also the makers of the game have not messed with the history too much. The characters in the game Ceasre Borgia , his on-my-my sister Lucrezia are real and complicated relationship that they share is real fun. The game also has got the flashbacks of the love stories of Ezio and Cristina Sforza. Man this game is totally like a hindi movie in 80's. This has got everything(gana hai , bajana hai , emotion hai) the modern gamer is looking for and I fell like being lucky to have been blessed with such a beautiful game.

Ceasre Borgia

As before the game plays really smoothly and with a decent amount of variety. Naturally everything involves going somewhere, doing something and then going somewhere else, but the missions are well constructed and the challenged to do them "100% Synch" by achieving additional challenges makes them more interesting and essentially increases the difficulty for those that wish to try it. Around the main narrative though there is loads to be done. I really liked the addition of the Borgia towers to be cleared, the war machines and the many smaller missions for thieves, mercenaries etc that are scattered around. The collectables are still in place but this time the ability to unlock and buy maps makes this so much less of a chore. Developing the Assassins is a nice idea – not nearly as deep as it could have been but quite good and handy for calling them and earning money. Redeveloping Rome is quite easy to do – a bit pointless considering it surprisingly leads to no achievement but not having to go to one place to do it or get money (the Villa in AC2 was a "once an hour" chore). The little challenges from the various guilds are a nice idea as well and a good example of just how many little things there are to do if you want to do them; none of them will extend the game forever but I enjoyed doing all these things in between story missions – sometimes I would play for a couple of evenings without advancing the story at all. Getting out of the animus is also a nice addition even if it isn't particularly meaningful till the end.

What kept me engaging is that you feel like a batman doing the missions. Be it any version this has kept me engaging like a book and now AC Revelation is being in the backyard as I write this blog. Totally , looking forward to playing that one. The series was such a success that they have now launched AC 3 with totally new hero. I am afraid as the people wont feel so dearly about Connor as they feel about Ezio !! The Expedition was quiet glorifying till now which is about to get even better.

Long Live The Creed!!!!!

The Jinxed Prince Of Indian Cricket

English people are the best in inventing things , and the gracious people that they are , they let the world get better at it. One such invention is Cricket!!!! The longest running soap in Indian entertainment history. The inventory required for playing such a sport is just minimal. All you require is a wooden plank and a rubber and BAM!!!! You can engage in a game anywhere anytime. That is the beauty.  "What's Cricket in India ?"   is actually a stupid question in like of  " What's India without cricket?". The advent of limited over cricket lies in the fact that you don’t always have 5 days to get those prolonging results. So limited say 100 overs on a sunny day are enough to fix a clear winner and clear loser.


 Accident!!!! The word most loved by Indian Cricket. In India we don’t make things happen , accident happens and we are at right place at right time, sometimes. One such example is 1983 world cup , who would have imagined underdogs to defeat world champions who had the likes of Viv Richards and company. But we did it unexpectedly and it was the most cherish able moment in India. Twenty years after that we landed in a same situation. At Johannesburg India vs Australia. They say history repeats itself. But for it to do so some parameters also should be unchanged. Legend has it that a Captains knock is the only knock  which sets the game in your favor. In 1983 it was Kapil Dev.1987 Allan Border who even was the man of the series then. 1992 final belonged only to one man Imran Khan. Who could forget his speech after having the cup in his hand. He truly went on to define that modesty is the only virtue sportsman should have. 1996 , Arjuna Ranatunaga, do I need to say anything?, and finally Steve Waugh. You are not a cricket frantic if you dare forget semifinal between Australia and South Africa. One od the best matches in history of world cricket.  


A common thing in all those legends is even when they were blessed with world class players in there team (kapil had mohindar amarnath, border had taylor & waugh, Imran had javed,wasim and debuttante Inzamam, Ranatunga had Desilva & Jayasurya, Steve Waugh had the likes of the best players in world)  , they as themselves were world-class in every aspect of the game including leading form upfront.


The year is 2003. Australia is led by Ricky Pointing while India by Saurav Ganguly. Both the captains had best players on globe in there team. Ricky has Gilchrest, Hayden ,  Warne, McGrath while Saurav has Sachin, Rahul, Shewag, Srinath. Australia while batting first posted massive 359 on board.  Thanks to Ricky and Martyn both scored centuries. Seriously they were on song that day. To neutralize this achievement  someone should pull atleast half of what Ricky or Damien Martyn pulled off. The popular criticism that Saurav had to go through is that he would land India in finals of the tournament but could never win one. In his captaincy India was the best number two and WC 2003 Final was not an exception either. We ended up as runners up.


 When Star players succumb under pressure it requires someone special to turn the attack. To be blessed with key players is the call of fortune , but to perform as a player individually that totally is the call of one's own mettle and mental strength. Saurav's team was the team which could any team in the eye, but to make them pay was not always possible on biggies. India had to wait sometime more to call themselves world champions. Even in corporate life they say manager is first the team member, then a team leader and finally then a manager. 



Saurav was one of the best hitters of cricket ball & also one of the great Captain India has produced. The irony he could not be both at the same time. In his early days looking at big sixes in Sharjah was literally glorifying, he also has scored a century on his debut in 1996 , he was spectacular player. In his captaincy he even washed off the tag of India being overseas losers. He built a team that could sustain the pressure and we won a lot of overseas matches.
But when captaincy chipped in , India performing better under Capt. Ganguly overshadowed a non performing player Saurav Ganguly. To me he is like jinxed king who won every battle but lost the war. So the crux was answered. India required a performing captain. The one who is not a manager but a team player. And by now we all know what do both stand for.


Saurav was born fighter. Even when he was out of the team his didn't give up training. He made his way back in national squad retained it for a few days. We can't help but admire the strength of potent of his supernatural spirit. 


Hail DADA!!!!!!!

Maratha & the art of Solid Defence!!!!

I ,so much, wanted a platform to express the feelings I contained and with "test run" successful there is no looking back. To move things forward let me start with the topic that appeals to me the most. History!!!!!!

My blog is not the place where you get historical info of some sort , but u will notice my take on a particular subject. When in school I always topped History class owing to one basic reason , I had an appetite for it. But the education system in India has restricted the study circle only to Indian history. I am  not getting into the topic of education , at least in this blog. But what I always felt  is the quest  to study medieval history. India is the country which has not invaded any other country in past 10,000 years. Neither was it good in defending itself from Mughals, Dutch , Portuguese but best of them all British!!!!If we take in consideration span of rule Dutch were close to British , but Englishmen occupied  every nook and corner , so I say they were the best. Written History always has favored the winners and that’s why history of Englishmen is much more glorified than a freedom fighting Indian.

Mahatma Gandhi credited as the father of nation is remembered as the only fighter who tackled the britishers. Though the man was right , the same could not be said about his ways. His methods finally ended up in anarchy and blood bath of the native Indians , more than what aggressive congress thought of spilling the blood of Englishmen. So the object of writing this blog is to make you familiar with warriors , gladiators ,aristocrats , diplomats , cavalry leaders , bureaucrats and above all "Heroes " of the republic who fought with vigor to force the enemy troops beyond the Indian mainland.  

Shivaji Maharaj laid the foundation of "swaraj " a true aristocrat who planted the seed of "स्वराज्य ". When the great man was counting his last breath there was anarchy in kingdom. The kingdom built by blood and sand of people like you & me. This was the first time that anybody succeed in conquering the self land in Maratha empire. But as they say if there is first time for high , there always is first time for low. What Maratha empire experienced a golden time during shivaji maharaj rule was all set to experience the ruins. The cycle of misery kept on repeating itself. His son Sambhaji  possibly defended the empire to the best he could. But what he didn’t get is the support of other Marathi soldiers. Shivaji was brave but his son was even braver.  

To sum all that up after Shivaji died there was no sense of unity among Bhosle clan. The paradigm of dichotomy had set in the minds of two brother. Sambhaji always had the potential to run the kingdom and expand it twice to what it actually was. But the crux was the Marathi cabinet didn't favor  the prince as much as they would. This led to division among two brothers. While Sambhaji took the responsibility of the whole Kindom his step brother (Rajaram)was not man enough to understand the machinations of either battle or politics. This guy was born inverted , empathizing he would invert mughal rule but destiny had different plans. Sambhji the defender , fought mughals to the best he cold. But his death left entire Marathi Kingdom in conundrum. Maratha had lost the heart of there attack. Sambhaji was dead and his family , son Shahu and wife yesubai, were taken a hostage and sent to delhi.

When Sambhaji had fallen the mughals were guaranteed that victory is now eminent. But what stood in there was the daughter in law of Shivaji , Tararani saheb. It was due to her spectacular defence of more than 19 years that Mughals could not conquer the Marathi Kingdom. But when ennui steps in the attack is toothless and the defense is pointless. It was like mughals conquer something , Marathas reconquer it back. This cycle of hatred , misery kept on repeating itself. Because mughals led by Aurangzeb were not successful in getting handful of territories , neither did Maratha did anything different from defending itself. 

Thus was the historic defense of Marathas.