Pyramid Mysteries!!

Once the tallest structure till the early 13^th century, the Egyptian pyramids were once part of the 7 wonders of the world. They have awed every visitor, kings (like Alexander and Napolean) and commoners alike with their structural beauty.

They also have intrigued many archaeologist and conspiracy theorist alike with their hidden mysteries which we seem to be finding everyday. The Giza pyramids are amongst the most well-known of all the 118 pyramids in Egypt and attract millions of tourists each year and pyramids come in various sizes, shapes and forms (bent pyramids/stepped pyramids).

Spectacular Pyramids

·         Unlike the common perceptions, the pyramids do not house any remains of any pharaoh nor do they contain any hieroglyphics (Language of the early Egyptians). All the mummied corpses are housed in valley of the dead and all the hieroglyphics are found in various temples (like Temple of Luxor).

·         If we just take the Kafre Pyramid, named after Pharaoh Kafre (who supposed built it), it supposedly contains 2.3 million stones with each stone weighing an estimated 10 to 20 tonnes. Add another 2 million stones that makes up the base of the structure, we have a extensive overlay of stones just for that one pyramid.

·         Inside the pyramid are two chambers (King and Queen) made entire of absolutely tight-fitting granite stones which contain a huge sarcophagus (Grantie Box with a lid). Till today, nobody truly knows what was contained in it. A narrow shaft leads from each of these rooms and points to Orion Belt of stars. Also, the three pyramids of Giza are aligned exactly like the 3 stars of the Orion Belt.

·         They way to each of these chambers is through a long narrow passage called the ‘Great Gallery’, which is truly spectacular as it contains of stepped stone ceiling, that have brunt the weight of all the stones and allowed safe passage inside the structure for many centuries.

·         But truly making the pyramids mind boggling are its dimensions. It is just 3.4 degrees off of true North and its dimensions match up to Earth’s dimensions (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TpkhqQ54guA). Even more amazing, is the fact that, The pyramids are 8 sided and not the usually 4 sided ones that we have come to understand. Each side is bent a little inwards at the center, which is only revealed at the spring and autumn/fall equinox days.

·         The pyramids stones are supposed brought from Aswan valley, which is about 500 miles away. There are non concrete theories on how the stones are transported, with many suggesting that raft over Nile river. Even by today’s technology moving stones over by rafts and skating them over wooden logs is next to impossible. The cracked and unfinished obelisk at Aswan and the Sphinx requires another blog post in itself.

·         Given these and many more structural amazements, there has been many conspiracies ranging from alien construction to usage of sound vibration technology to lift the stones debarring gravity.

 

Extrapolating the pyramid theology, we have found them on every continents, with pyramids being found in Mexico (Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan), Cambodia, Indonesia, eastern Europe and many countless places. All the pyramids seem to connected by what is called a ‘Power Grid’ that runs across our planet. Using this, explorers were even able to find a underwater pyramid near the coast of Japan.

Even though we have scratched the surface of this masterpiece of technology, we may truly never be able to understand the real significance of the pyramids. The Kafre Pyramid, with a Golden crown and limestone covered surface must have a quite an awesome sight for every person in its heyday.

Do let me know your thoughts and comments on how and why you think Pyramids and other olden man-made structures were created.

Chandrayaan - 3!!

With less than 100 hours for the countdown to land on the lunar south pole of the Moon, India’s most ambitious space program has come a full circle. The space mission has come a long way from rockets transported on bicycles to now, where it is propelled by the LVM3 M4 rocket and consists of a lander ‘Vikram’ and a rover ‘Pragyan’ along with a propulsion module that acts a orbiter. 

Our only satellite, Moon, has been the subject of many explorations half a century ago and provided a new perspective to our human history with July 20^th 1969 etched in our memories for ages. The Moon is unlike any of the million satellites that orbit the many planets. 

Here’s why.

·         The Moon is 400 times less than the size of the sun and exactly 400 times closer to Earth than sun, thereby providing us with the most spectacular solar eclipse with the Moon barely swallowing up our sun for a few minutes nearly every year. This phenomenon is unparalleled and happens only on our planet.

·         We at Earth, see the same face of the Moon because the Moon’s revolution matches its rotation. In other words, Moon’s year is the same as its day. This is because its position is interlocked with Earth’s and its own gravity. This causes the bright side of the moon to have a blistering temperature of nearly 250 Fahrenheit and the dark side of the moon to plunge to a staggering negative 387 Fahrenheit.

·         The Earth and Moon exerting gravitational pull cause the oceans to bulge out and thereby creating high and low tides and also lock in Earth’s axial tilt to a manageable 23.5 degrees.

·         With all these reason’s many speculate that Moon is artificial satellite set up by a unknown force of nature or otherwise to monitor the people of earth.

·         Infact, there was a top-secret project ‘A119’ to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the moon to answer some of the mysteries and anomalies of the moon.

Whatever the reason maybe, our dear Moon has always enthralled and enchanted the space-explorers in us and the many poets describing its beauty through the ages. With the recent failure of Russia’s Luna-3 project, high hopes rest on our country to lead the way to successfully attempt to land the first rover on the south side of the Moon and set up a base for human exploration project. 

This would be first step in our superhuman effort for exploration of Mars, other planets all the way up to Nibiru/Planet X as shown in the countless Sci-Fi movies. Please join me in wishing our country all the very best for this and any future endeavors.

P.S: A big shout out to my all my friends and family for taking time to asking for and reading my blogs regularly.

Thalaivar’s HUKUM!!

With the least expectation of all Thalaivar’s movie (because of the disastrous last outing), my friends and I ventured into the world of ‘Tiger Muthuvel Pandian’ and his HUKUM in Rajni’s latest movie release ‘Jailer’. 

The movie directed by Nelson boasts a star-studded cast of Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Shiva Rajkumar, Ramya Krishnan, Tamannaah, Yogi Babu and host of other actors.

Pros

• Music by dedicated fan-boy ANIRUDH is a blast with ‘Kaavala’ ruling the airwaves from the time it hit the market. The movie’s BGM is one among the BEST, and I doubt if Anirudh can push himself beyond this.

• The story and screenplay in the first half of the movie is delightfully fast-paced, entertaining with as many twists and turns as you think off.

• Shiva Rajkumar climax entry is as whistle worthy as much as every frame Rajni is captured upon. Each of the mass scenes along with rollicking BGM are sure to erupt all the theatres.

• Last but not least is beast of this man, our very own lovable SUPERSTAR RAJNIKANTH, (73 years old and ruling the industry like no one) sparkling in each scene whether it be mass or performance.

CONS

• The second half of the movie lags to start with and then seems to take confusing twist and turns, till it reaches an interesting climax. Logic takes a back-seat in any mass masala movie, but black-hole sized loopholes is taking it a little too far.

• All the stars of each industry (Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada) sparkle is limited capacity and perhaps is a effort to make the movie pan-India.

• The supporting cast and crew are under-utilized and could have been used better which is also true for the flashback portion of the movie.

• The cinematography deserves quite a praise for some good shots, but some really out of focus scenes disrupted the flow of the movie with some of wondering about our eyesight.

Great directors set up the movie in the first half and reveal/take forward the actual story in the second half while others exhaust everything in the first half with not much to carry forward. Even though the movie was quite entertaining, it definitely could be written/executed better.

In totality, the movie is well summarized by the director Nelson, who once said in his promo view, “I expected one thing and you provided me something else”. 

Do share your comments and thoughts on the movie.

Ela Veezha Poonchira!!

If you are a movie buff like me, you would have waited for that one movie; that would have twisted your mind completely with that one piece in the story’s puzzle revealed in the climax. The impact of the movie would be felt for a couple of days. If you are that person, you are in a ride.

Ela Veezha Poonchira (based on an actual location) is a murder mystery thriller associated with a dismembered body with pieces strewn across the hilltop. The location is famous for quick cloud formation and subsequent lighting as well as a very remote location and this characteristic has been woven superbly into the movie.

Highlights

• The movie’s story has been written by two police officers who actually served duty time on the hilltop. This story as a core idea is one of the best I have come across.
• The cinematography by Manesh Madhavan deserves special mention as it not easy to shot in a real location with limited space. The shooting on the sets merges perfectly with the natural location and adds a flavor to the movie.
• The music by Anil Johnson and editing by Kiran Das highlight the tension as it builds up as a crescendo in the movie’s climax.
• Sudhi Koppa and Jude Anathany Joseph have played their parts adequately as the additional police constable.
• However, the highlight of the movie is ‘Soubin Shahir’ who’s stupendous performance as Police constable Madhu, brilliantly comes to the fore in the movie’s climax. He displays nearly all the human emotions subtly and carries the movie brilliantly on his shoulders.
• No praise is however worthy for the movie’s director, Shahi Kabir, who has crafted a superb movie. Mystery thriller can be quite tricky to pull off and full credit to the director for fantastically revealing each twist in the story at the appropriate time with a huge twist in the movie’s climax.

If you have time and the patience to sit through a nearly boring first 20 minutes of this movie and have the stomach for a twisted climax oriented story, this movie is highly recommended (not during lunch or dinner time).

Do let me know your thoughts on the movie.

There is also historical importance to the actual location with Pandavas resting there during the incognito time. Another attraction is the ancient temple of Krishna, established by Panjali herself. It is believed that Panjali's Akshayapatra, an inexhaustible vessel of food, is concealed here and guarded by Agastya. There is also another legend connected to the Ramayana, as it is commonly believed that Lord Rama lived here with Lakshmana for a few months during his vanavasa.

Por Thozhil!!

The first scene of any crime thriller movie pretty much tells you what’s in store. Por Thozhil’s first scene is an ordinary interaction between a police driver and a inspector ending up on ghastly note, pretty much summarizes what a absolute cracker of a ride this movie would be.

The movie’s takes us through a brutal killings of young women, bound and murdered, in particular fashion. The case is led by an experienced crime branch cop, expertly played by Sarath Kumar and a newbie, Ashok Selvan, who with a bookish knowledge is the anti-thesis to his superior.

Highlights

• The story and screenplay are woven very tightly and you never feel any lag in the movie, which is quite a must in a crime thriller movie. Full credit to the writers Alfred Prakash and Vignesh Raja to keep us on the edge of our seats.
• The cinematography by Kalaiselvan Sivaji catches every frame of the movie prudently and keeps us invested in this thriller. The grey shades towards the climax nearly goosebumps us into a supernatural thriller mode.
• The most crucial piece of the thriller movies is its editing. Sreejith Sarang has done a wonderful job in this regard, keeping the most engaging parts in this movies stitched seamlessly.
• Jakes Bejoy’ music combines the eerie silence and required decibels for this thriller and lifts up the movie, especially in the scenes, where each of the dead bodies are recovered.
• Sunil Sukhada, has done a fabulous job (will not reveal his character). He provides his characters with enough depth in the few scenes he comes in the movie.
• Nikhila Vimal has aptly conveyed her part and its related emotions quite well.
• Ashok Selvan has done a fabulous job as an under-study cop in this movie. His vulnerability as well the character’s brilliance has been aptly portrayed and this is his sweet success after ‘Thegidi’.
• But the true pillars of the story are the two ‘Saraths'. Sarath Kumar has played the senior grumpy intelligent cop to perfection and so has Sarath Babu as the repentant antagonist brilliantly. His interactions with Sarath Kumar and Ashok Selvan’s characters provide us with heart-beating moments in the second half of the movie. Wish Sarath Kumar plays more character based roles in future.

However, the success of this movie truly belongs to the captain of the ship, the director Vignesh Raja. The individual characterizations, the set-up of each of the scenes along with the usage of scientific technology (like the thermometer scene) elevates this movie to one among the best Tamil crime thriller movies and aptly conveys a crucial social message to us along as well. The movie ends with space for a sequel and we are definitely waiting for it.

Do let me know your thoughts on this movie.

Social Satire – Kat-Hal!!

From time to time, serious (like Sherni) as well as comedic social/political satires (like ‘Peepli Live’) adorn the Indian movie landscape. The latest to join this list is ‘Kat-Hal’ directed by Yashowardhan Mishra starring Sanya Malhotra (of Dangal fame), Vijay Raaz and a host of other actors.

The movie’s story revolves around two cases: one of a serious nature involving a missing teenage girl and other involving a missing (kat-hal or jackfruit) from the tree in the front yard of a local MLA in a small town. Brave Inspector Mahima, played superbly by a emotive Sanya Malhotra is assigned to the missing jackfruit case and is under lot of pressure to crack it. How the inspector decided to pursue both the cases and solved it makes the rest of the story.

Highlights

• Vijay Raaz plays the role of a local politician to perfection, whether it be threating the law enforcement or his son-in-law into submission and bending the political system to suit his needs.
• Rajpal Yadav like Vijay Raaz is a amazing fit into this movie as a no-holds barred risk-taking news reporter, who drives the story forward and adapts quite well to the new age of ‘breaking news’.
• Gurpal Singh, Neha saraf and a host of the supporting actors play their part to perfection in providing a realistic setting to this movie.
• No words can be enough for Sanya Malhotra, who single handedly carries the movie on her shoulders acting to perfection in each and every scene. Her performance in Dangal and Menakshi Sundareshwar were splendid and we look forward to many such enthralling performances.
• But the real show-stealer is Anant V Joshi, who through stellar underplayed role of constable Saurabh Dwivedi, who is also in love with the inspector, brings quite a refreshing honesty and realism into the character, albeit in a muddled way.
• The story by Ashok Mishra, music by Ram Sampath and strong editing by Prerna Saigal (running under 2 hours) lend quite a strong support to the movie.

However, the icing on the cake is director ‘Yashowardhan Mishra’ who splendidly handles every department and delivers an absolute masterpiece. This light hearted comedy that delivers quite a strong message on gender equality, caste discrimination and governmental system in general is a must watch and is available on Netflix with sub-titles.

Do let me know your thoughts on the movie.

CSK – YELLOVE!!

 As my friends and me huddled around for the final over of the 2007 world cup, we knew there was something special around the corner. As we celebrated fanatically Misbah’s miscued scoop shot which rested in Sreesanth’s palms, I knew that T20 was here to stay.

As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won their first IPL title in 2010, me and my friends in our Masters held out our own small march in our university campus to celebrate the victory. Through the years, CSK has gone through many ups and downs, with them being banned for 2 years, to them not qualifying for playoffs on certain seasons and them even being quipped ‘Dad’s Army’ for the above average age of their players. Every time they have come out stronger and better to win the IPL championship 4 times.

The past weekend was perhaps the best of all IPL matches and my destiny helped me watch the match as it got postponed for a day, due to heavy rain. As the batsman of Gujrat Titans took CSK bowlers to cleaners, I had lost all of hope of a championship win. The rain, which had been playing spoilsport, returned with vengeance once again and it seemed like the match would be abandoned. However, destiny had other plans and the match started with reduced overs with a new target based on the infamous DLS system, which definitely needs to be looked at.

CSK made a brisk start during the powerplay overs, with both openers getting a move on. However, the middle over batting was a revelation, wherein even with loss of wickets at regular intervals each of the batsman (Dube, Rayadu, Rahane) kept going for their shots and it eventually boiled down to 10 runs of 2 balls, an improbable situation considering that they were up against the best death bowler of the tournament, former CSKian, Mohit Sharma (who’s story this IPL has literally been a phoenix rising from the ashes).

All through last year, Ravindra Jadeja career had been under immense pressure. Made the captain of CSK last year, he failed to lead them to play-offs eventually giving it up to Dhoni once again. A freak injury saw him lose out of T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. Coming into IPL, Jadeja had long conversations with Dhoni leading upto some twitter posts which speculated the rift between him and his captain.

As Jaddu decided to swing for the mountains, he somehow connected the first the 2 remaining balls and it sailed over long-on for a six. With 4 runs needed off the last ball, it reminded me of the infamous 2019 finals, where CSK lost to Mumbai Indians by just a run, setting up quite a heart break. However, Jaddu flicked the last balls of his legs for a boundary and even before the ball reached the boundary, frantically ran through the grounds and into the hands of his captain, Dhoni, who bear hugged and lifted his champion to provide us with one of the most iconic picture of this IPL.

 

Dhoni and CSK had done it again; with a failing knee, rookie bowlers and ageing batsman, pulled not just a rabbit out of a hat but the championship from everyone’s grasp. The icing on the cake was however, was Dhoni’s intention to perhaps return to play next year for his last IPL, for he has promised us that his last match would be in Chepauk, for the people who have loving adored their Thala.