Henry The 2nd, Dirty Harry and IPL

I was feeling bit dizzy this weekend so i thought to waste my time watching movies and IPL.

1. Becket (1964)
This movie is the reflection of the fight between the Church of England and the Norman King of England Henry the 2nd. Thomas Becket, an Anglo Saxon and a close friend of Henry 2nd suddenly found his duties when he was christened the Archbishop of Canterbury and thus starts a fight between the Church and the king. Eventually Becket was murdered by the king's men inside the church. He is now venerated as a saint and a martyr to the cause of the Church. Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton both acted brilliantly in this movie. 8/10.

2. Lion in winter (1968)
Its a 24 hr story about the family/political crisis that frustrated the Norman king of England Henry the 2nd in his old age. Peter O'Toole again played the role of Henry the 2nd while Katherine Hepburn played the role of his queen. Anthony Hopkins played Richard the lionheart in this movie. 6.5/10

3. Dirty Harry (1971)
This is the 6th Clint Eastwood movie that i enjoyed upto hilt. Its a movie of a San Francisco Police officer who take his job way seriously and believe in deleting the crime as well as the criminal. 7/10

4. The Great Silence (1968)
Its is again a western movie with lot of bandits, bounty hunters and a hero with few (muffled) words. This movie has everything but it has ice desert of Utah instead of the sandy deserts of Clint Eastwood. Quite a time pass. 6/10.

IPL (2009)
The greatest cricket extravaganza of the year has started but yet again i have to miss almost all the matches like last year because of my travel requirements. This year Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challengers are looking good to me. Delhi Daredevils, Kings 11 Punjab and Chennai will contend for remaining two spots. Rajasthan Royals can surprise any body while Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders will fight for the 7th place.

Dev D, Khoya Khoya Chand and Bad day at black rock

Not many movies i watched in last 10 days or so. Still, have some thing to write and will always have before i resign from the human race.

1. Dev D (2009)
Bollywood often underestimates Abhay deol. He is like a silent assassin and he did few very entertaining movies in last 2-3 years. His Ek Chalis ki local was as good as any A grade movie. Dev D is phenomenal in first half although second half graduates to become "Emotional Atyachar". Mahie Gill looked good. Overall a very good time pass. 7/10.

2. Khoya Khoya Chand (2007)
Yet another masterpeice by Sudhir Mishra. After Hazarao Khwahishe Aisi i became a convert to his cult. Khoya Khoya Chand is very fresh in a way that it uses Urdu phrase regularly and in a very genuine way. Its a story of various aspects of Indian cinema or rather precursor of Page 3 in a layman sense. 7/10.

3. Bad day at Black Rock (1955)
A slow western thriller. Its a story about a man who embarks in a ghost town only to find enemies, in search of his inalienable pursuit. 6/10.

Adios Amigos, till i write again.

Book Review [17] : Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani

Imagining India is a book you can not leave unread and i finished it in less than 24 hours. Its a book about the failure of Nehru's Fabian policy and evolution of brand India, about the problems and challenges that India has to face in order to become a develop nation in coming decades and finally its a book about the young Indians who without any significant help from Indian government created a much publicized and best selling brand "India".

Nandan Nilekani talks in details about the initial economic policies of India regarding creating a state controlled industries in order to create a true socialist state. These all policies although were very romantic but all got punctured during during two oil crisis of 1973 and 1991. The depleting foreign exchange reserves forced India to open up its market in 1991 and from then onwards Indian has never looked back. A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

No one has believed in 1960 that India could do that better, in those desolate years India had to rely on foreign aids even for food and India used to consume 1/4th of the US food grain production. In these last 40 years we have made a great progress in almost all the sectors of modern civilization.

This book along with my other favourite Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat is in a way a tribute to Indianess. In 18th century our contribution in world trade was 20% and we were the most open market in the world. Time has come to take back that seat :).

I dont want to sign off as Cassandra but my favourite lines "Miles to go before we sleep".

Highly Recommended (8/10)

Book Review [16] : Islam - The story of the fastest growing religion in the world

Just finished, Islam a short history by Karen Armstrong . It talks about with divine neutrality the evolution of Islam and Islam centric culture. Islam means "surrender" i.e. surrender to the will of God.

During the days of holy Ramadan in 610, holy Quraan was revealed to the Prophet in a cave on the summit of mount Hira, close to Mecca. Islam was born that day. 630 AD, Islam was firmly established in the Arabia. Prophet died in 632 AD in Mecca. The Prophet was followed by 4 Khalifas or Caliphs (meaning deputy) namely Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali. Last three Caliphs were assassinated. The assassinations of Uthmans and Ali and later murder of Imman Hussain at Karbala in 680 AD divided the Ummah (Muslim society) into Shiities and non-Shiities (later known as Sunnis).

Medieval period saw the rise of three Islamic superpowers the Mughals in India, the Safavids in Iran and Ottoman Turks in Turkey. Turks even captured Serbia by defeating Prince Lazar at Kosovo in 1389. They even reached at the gates of Vienna in 1530 under the reign of Suleiman the magnificent. Mehmed the 2nd captured Constantinople in 1453. Thus in 16th Century Ottoman Turks were the greatest power.

Advent of renaissance in Europe coincided with the decline of these three great empires and thus led to the colonization of India and middle east by the European superpowers. However it took another 100 years to dismantle Ottoman empire. The great Muslims states were defeated by the western states.

Muslim states are still in process of reconciliation. Overall this book is a good read to know real history of Islam than to follow blindly the media created stereotypes.

Highly Recommended (8/10)

Medieval India From Sultanat To The Mughals, Mughal Empire (1526 - 1748)

Finally i made it after a hell of a time. This book Medieval India From Sultanat To The Mughals Mughal Empire (1526 - 1748) Part 2 by Satish Chandra is a history of India from the first battle of Panipat fought between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi in 1526 to the last battle of Panipat fought between Ahmed Shah Abdali and the Marathas in 1761. Indian forces suffered humiliating defeats in both the battles and reasons are almost the same i.e. the slow moving Indian army against the agile Afghans (earlier Turks).

This book tells in details about the founding factors of the Mughal empire, acceptance of the Mughal Suzarainty by the fiercely independent Rajputs (although with notable exceptions like the Rana of Mewar, Bundi, Kalinjar, Gondwana etc) , foundation of the inclusive Hindustani culture, demolition of temples by Alamgir, disintegration of empire within a decade after the death of Aurangzeb and finally the rise of last Indian power i.e. the Marathas only to be defeated by the Afghans at a crucial moment when they were almost in a position to oust Britishers from India.
The last great Indian power was defeated in Jan 1761 (Two pearls have been dissolved, 27 gold coins have been lost and of the silver and copper the total cannot be cast up. This was the cryptic message sent to Peshwa) and from that day onwards till 1947, the history of India is the story of gloom and darkness with the light of either few kings or few Mahatamas.

I am a Rajput and a Bundelkhandi (Bundelkhand is an area defined by districts of Jhansi, Gwalior, Jalaun, Khajurao, Lalitpur etc) ,there is a a very popular anecdote in Bundelkhand about Raja Chhatrasaal of Bundelkhand. When he was surrounded by the Mughal noble, he appealed to Peshwa Baji rao for help in 1728. He wrote to him "Baji laaj Bundel ki, Baki rakho Baji Rao". Peshwa within a day or so moved from Poona to Bundelkhand and defeated the mughal noble. Chhatrasal declared Baji rao as his 4th son and gave him 1/4th of his kingdom. The remnants of Maratha occupancy can be found on the highway connecting Kanpur to Auraiya in few minarets standing at the interval every kos (i think 1 kos is 3-4 kms). People call these as "Kos Minar". My learned this history from my Father.

I will rate this book 8 out of 10.