Mark 11:24 from the New Testament translated into Marathi by R H Kelkar

हो हो मला आवडतात टॅग हुएर ची वॉचस पण ही पोस्ट त्यासाठी नाही अनुक्षरे ने खो दिला म्हणून हा माझा टॅग..खूप मज्जा येतेय ह्या चेन पोस्ट वाचून. लेट्स सी मला कसा जमतय…

1.Where is your cell phone?

जीन्स च्या पॉकेट मध्येच..आयला विसरलो काढायचा लेट मी चेक किती miss कॉल आणि SMS आलेत.

2.Your hair?

थॅंक्स टू Dr. Batras aani Richfeel अजुन आहेत

3.Your mother?

छबू (तिला गावाला ह्याच नावाने ओळखतात)

4.Your father?

माय डॅडी Strongest

5.Your favorite food?

पुरण पोळी, उकडीचे मोदक आणि मसाले भात (फक्ता आईने बनवलेला)

6.Your dream last night?

दिवसा पडला होता..रायगड ट्रेकचा..ह्या वर्षी ट्रेक राहिला..I missed it

7.Your favorite drink?

Coffee

8. Your dream/goal?

Want be master in networking field…work in progress

9. What room are you in?

My Bedroom

10. Your hobby?

नवीन मित्र बनवणे आणि ट्रेकिंग (ट्रेकिंग सध्या बंद आहे ऑफीस मुळे श्या)

11.Your fear?

Water (ह्याचा अर्थ असा नाही की आंघोळीची गोळी घेतो..मला पोहता येत नाही म्हणून मी घाबरतो बस…)

12.Where do you want to be in 6 years?

भिंती वरचा फोटो सोडून कुठेही

13.Where were you last night?

नाइट शिफ्ट करून ऑफीसमधून डाइरेक्ट मूवीला मग वॉक ला मित्रान बरोबर आणि ९ लाच झोपून गेलो

14.Something that you aren’t?

Diplomatic – Everyone feels but..

15.Muffins?

Anything..but specially from Parsi bakery Andheri aani Brownie

16.Wish list item?

मस्त फार्म हाउस, शेत, गोठा, सारवलेला अंगण, छान झोपाळा आणि त्यात मी लॅपटॉप घेऊन connected wireless with the  world

17.Where did you grow up?

मुंबई

18.Last thing you did?

मला आणि आईला कॉफी करून दिली

19.What are you wearing?

शर्ट अँड थ्री फोर्र्थ

20.Your TV?

न्यूज़, स्पोर्ट्स आणि डिस्कवरी बस..

21.Your pets?

मला खूप हौस आहे पण आमच्या मातोश्रीमुळे मन मारुन घेतल

22.Friends?

चिक्कार आहेत आणि सगळेच खास आहेत कारण ते माझे फ्रेंड्स आहेत

23.Your life?

Its going on and on and on…

24.Your mood?

सध्या खूप फ्रस्ट्ररेटेड आहे..hope to get on track soon

25.Missing someone?

हो..खूप बॅड्ली

26.Vehicle?

BEST बस, Bajaj ऑटो रिक, भारतीय रेल, ऑफीसची इडिका आणि very soon मेट्रो train

27.Something you’re not wearing?

हातातला कड..टाइप करताना नाही घालत

28.Your favorite store?

सिद्धिविनायक जनरल स्टोर (आमचा किराणावाला), बिग बझार, शोपेर्स स्टॉप, पन्तलून्स, स्पेन्सर्स, स्पीनेच..

29 Your favorite color?

ब्लू आणि ब्लॅक

30 When was the last time you laughed?

आतच न्यू यियर चा SMS वाचून मित्राचा..नॉन वेज होता एवढाच सांगेन

31.Last time you cried?

Last Sunday

32 Your best friend?

अमित, आनिश, प्रसन्ना, तृप्ती, वैशु, भाग्या, सोना, इम्रान..खूप आहेत यार can’t list them all..Please don mind

33 One place that you go to over and over?

वरळी सी फेस

34 One person who emails me regularly?

स्वराज्य आणि मनसे (Google Groups)

35. Favorite place to eat?

कुठेही..

Hussh…दमलो…..मी माझ्या सगळ्या ब्लॉग्गेर् मित्राना टॅग करतो :p

Mark 11:22-23 from the New Testament translated into Marathi by R H Kelkar

Kalo Xristougenna!

Merry Christmas from Glenn + Rose Steiner, and the Greek Island Workshops in Photography!

Afrikaans :  Geseënde Kersfees

Afrikander :  Een Plesierige Kerfees

African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja :  Rehus-Beal-Ledeats

Albanian : Gezur Krislinjden

Arabic :  Milad Majid

Argentine :  Feliz Navidad

Armenian :  Shenoraavor Nor Dari yev Pari Gaghand

Azeri :  Tezze Iliniz Yahsi Olsun

Bahasa Malaysia :  Selamat Hari Natal

Basque :  Zorionak eta Urte Berri On!

Bengali :  Shuvo Naba Barsha

Bohemian :  Vesele Vanoce

Brazilian :  Feliz Natal

Breton :  Nedeleg laouen na bloavezh mat

Bulgarian :  Tchestita Koleda; Tchestito Rojdestvo Hristovo

Catalan :  Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!

Chile :  Feliz Navidad

Chinese :  (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Chinese :  (Mandarin) Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan (Catonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun

Choctaw :  Yukpa, Nitak Hollo Chito

Columbia :  Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo

Cornish :  Nadelik looan na looan blethen noweth

Corsian :  Pace e salute

Crazanian :  Rot Yikji Dol La Roo

Cree :  Mitho Makosi Kesikansi

Croatian :  Sretan Bozic

Czech :  Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok

Danish :  Glædelig Jul

Duri :  Christmas-e- Shoma Mobarak

Dutch :  Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! or Zalig Kerstfeast

English :  Merry Christmas

Eskimo :  (inupik) Jutdlime pivdluarit ukiortame pivdluaritlo!

Esperanto :  Gajan Kristnaskon

Estonian :  Ruumsaid juulup|hi

Ethiopian :  (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal

Faeroese :  Gledhilig jol og eydnurikt nyggjar!

Farsi :  Cristmas-e-shoma mobarak bashad

Finnish :  Hyvaa joulua

Flemish :  Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig nieuw jaar

French :  Joyeux Noel

Frisian :  Noflike Krystdagen en in protte Lok en Seine yn it Nije Jier!

Galician :  Bo Nada

Gaelic :  Nollaig chridheil agus Bliadhna mhath ùr!

German :  Fröhliche Weihnachten

Greek :  Kala Christouyenna!

Haiti :  (Creole) Jwaye Nowel or to Jesus Edo Bri’cho o Rish D’Shato Brichto

Hausa :  Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaiian :  Mele Kalikimaka

Hebrew :  Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova

Hindi :  Shub Naya Baras

Hausa :  Barka da Kirsimatikuma Barka da Sabuwar Shekara!

Hawaian :  Mele Kalikimaka ame Hauoli Makahiki Hou!

Hungarian :  Kellemes Karacsonyi unnepeket

Icelandic :  Gledileg Jol

Indonesian :  Selamat Hari Natal

Iraqi :  Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah

Irish :  Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat

Iroquois :  Ojenyunyat Sungwiyadeson honungradon nagwutut. Ojenyunyat osrasay.

Italian :  Buone Feste Natalizie

Japanese :  Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto

Jiberish :  Mithag Crithagsigathmithags

Korean :  Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Lao :  souksan van Christmas

Latin :  Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Latvian :  Prieci’gus Ziemsve’tkus un Laimi’gu Jauno Gadu!

Lausitzian : Wjesole hody a strowe nowe leto

Lettish :  Priecigus Ziemassvetkus

Lithuanian :  Linksmu Kaledu

Low Saxon :  Heughliche Winachten un ‘n moi Nijaar

Macedonian :  Sreken Bozhik

Maltese :  IL-Milied It-tajjeb

Manx :  Nollick ghennal as blein vie noa

Maori :  Meri Kirihimete

Marathi :  Shub Naya Varsh

Navajo :  Merry Keshmish

Norwegian :  God Jul, or Gledelig Jul

Occitan :  Pulit nadal e bona annado

Papiamento :  Bon Pasco

Papua New Guinea :  Bikpela hamamas blong dispela Krismas na Nupela yia i go long yu

Pennsylvania German :  En frehlicher Grischtdaag un en hallich Nei Yaahr!

Peru :  Feliz Navidad y un Venturoso Año Nuevo

Philipines :  Maligayan Pasko!

Polish :  Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie

Portuguese : Feliz Natal

Pushto :  Christmas Aao Ne-way Kaal Mo Mobarak Sha

Rapa-Nui (Easter Island): Mata-Ki-Te-Rangi. Te-Pito-O-Te-Henua

Rhetian :  Bellas festas da nadal e bun onn

Romanche :  (sursilvan dialect): Legreivlas fiastas da Nadal e bien niev onn!

Rumanian :  Sarbatori vesele or Craciun fericit

Russian :  Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom

Sami :  Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan :  La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Sardinian :  Bonu nadale e prosperu annu nou

Serbian :  Hristos se rodi

Slovakian: Sretan Bozic or Vesele vianoce

Sami: Buorrit Juovllat

Samoan :  La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou

Scots Gaelic :  Nollaig chridheil huibh

Serbian: Hristos se rodi.

Singhalese :  Subha nath thalak Vewa. Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa

Slovak :  Vesele Vianoce. A stastlivy Novy Rok

Slovene :  Vesele Bozicne Praznike Srecno Novo Leto or Vesel Bozic in srecno Novo leto

Spanish :  Feliz Navidad

Swedish :  God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År

Tagalog : Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon

Tami :  Nathar Puthu Varuda Valthukkal

Trukeese: (Micronesian) Neekiriisimas annim oo iyer seefe feyiyeech!

Thai :  Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas

Turkish :  Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun

Ukrainian :  Srozhdestvom Kristovym or Z RIZDVOM HRYSTOVYM

Urdu :  Naya Saal Mubarak Ho

Vietnamese :  Chuc Mung Giang Sinh

Welsh :  Nadolig Llawen

Yoruba :  E ku odun, e ku iye’dun!

*************************************

In ancient Greece, this was the time when the lonely Hades stole the beautiful Persephone, one of ancient Greece’s fertility goddesses, down to his underworld domain to keep him warm.  Demeter, the goddess of the harvest and Persephone’s mother, searched relentlessly for her daugher.  The fields on Earth went fallow.  Zeus, upon hearing about Demeter’s woes from all-seeing Helios the sun, sent his messenger Hermes down to the Underworld to secure her release.  Hades agreed.  Ironically, before she could leave, Hades gave Persephone a final present: a pomegranate.  Unfortunately, upon eating a single seed from the pomegranate, Persephone became bound to the Underworld for three months a year.  The rest of the year, Persephone was free to return to the Earth, to visit her mother Demeter and the other Gods.  Demeter decreed that nothing would henceforth grow during the time that Persephone must spend in the Underworld.  And so goes the explanation of old, of the changing of the seasons and the yearly coming of the time of winter for the ancient Greeks.

This past June during the long days of summer, Rose and I had the shared pleasure of touring the Dodecanese islands with Janet Parrish of Philadelphia aboard a 55 foot sailing yacht.    Here’s what Janet had to say about the experience: 

 ”It’s taken me until this snowy blizzardy day (I think we’re getting 15 inches of snow by later tonight) to finally get the time to pull together some pix to send you for posting on the blog.  This past year was hugely busy for me — one thing after the next.  But one thing that still stands out like a shining jewel was the wonderful experience of STWDS.  I am still raving about the entire experience — the additional photographic knowledge and experience I gained, the patience and friendship you and Rose showed us, the way you fostered a congenial “team” atmosphere, and the emphasis on trying to experience the “real Greece” while we were at it (including the all-important food, drink, etc.).  I seriously hope to return for another workshop with you — whether it’s the Santorini one, or perhaps coming back to the Dodakanesa in the fall if you do that again.”

Together with our class “Sail The Wine Dark Sea,”  Janet, my wife Rose, five other students and I explored and sailed to many of the fabled Dodekanesa islands:  Kos with its crusader castle, Leros with its many harbors and quirky islanders, Kalymnos the sponge island, Lipsi with its two-hundred blue domed churches, holy Patmos of St.John the Theologian and his Cave of Revelations, and little out-of-the-way tiny Marathi where the goats outnumber the islanders at least fifty to one. 

Here are some of Janet’s photos from that magical week during the longest days of the year. 

-Glenn Steiner (instructor)

Old Woman, Kalymnos

Two Goats, White Church, Kalymnos

Fishing Boats, Kalymnos

Lone Gull, At Sail, Marathi

Solo Goat, Patmos

Pigeons Flying from Cross, Patmos

Greek Fisherman + Friend, Patmos

Greek Woman at Rest, Athens

At Sea, Dragon's Teeth, near Patmos

IndiansMatri.com is a Best matrimonial portal for all Community people across India and abroad. The portal is the India’s Best all Community matrimonial

portal, which has Best Brides and Grooms who belongs to all Community and is interested in matrimonial services. call 9843767636

Register with our website : http://www.indiansmatri.com

Matrimonial Feature Details
Our offer:
To develop a search engine friendly, navigationally optimized and graphically user-friendlyEcommerce and shopping value added matrimony portal. The detail scope is as below.
Navigations:
• My Home• About Us• Payment Options• Contact Us• Live Help• Feedback• Advertise with us• Events• Community Search• FAQ• Search Tags• Privacy Policy• Terms and Conditions• Easy Access• Tell a friend• Feed back• FAQs• Live Chat (Sales/Support)• Contact Us• Features
Guest Module:-
• Member registration (paid or free)• Browse categories that are sorted by region, community,• Religion Basic search on homepage• Advanced search with additional parameters• Non-members can see results of listings but with limited info• Members have unrestricted access to the complete profile• Featured profile listings on homepage along with thumbnail images• Static information pages Members Module :-• Membership Info• Manage membership account info• Email Alert Configuration• Change partner profile• Edit own profile• Upgrade Profile• Upload Photos (multiple)• Protect Photo• Upload Horoscope• Family Info – Father, Mother name, status, etc.• Partner Preference• Contact Profiles• Hobbies• View Details of Members Search Module• Quick or Smart Search• Advanced Search• Search by Profile ID• Search by City/ State
Contact Members Module:-
• Show or Express Interest• List of members whom I have accepted• List of members who have accepted me• List of members who have contacted me• List of members whom I have contacted• Listing of all incoming messages• Listing of all sent messages• Forward the profile to a friend• Send Personalized Messages• Bookmark Profile• Print Profile• Admin Module
1.Site Configurationset the url details of the website and tilt, description of the siteyou can edit the admin password2.Members Approvalapprove new profiles as profile will not come in search results till theyapprove by adminupgrade membership of members from free to paid3.Horoscope Approvalapprove the horoscope uploaded by members4.Renewal Membershiprenew membership of expired membersreport of members who are going to expire5.Members Reportsee the inactive memberssee the active memberssee the paid members6. Delete Membersdelete the inactive membersdelete the active membersdelete the paid members7.Castemanage the cast and religion8.Edit Membership Plansedit membership plan9. Members Photo Approvalapprove the photo of members as until you approve members photo it will not seeonline10.Successstory Approvalapprove success story uploaded by membersyou can unapproved or delete success stories11.Assured Contact Allocationyou can set/reset the no. of contacts for paid and unpaid members12. Members Reportyou can download members in excel formatyou can see the sales report of paid members, when they become paid members and howthey payvia report of all members13.News Letteryou can send the news letter to all members, single member or group of memberssms messaging – disable as it requite API integration14. Database Checkupcheck up database connectivity and functionality15 Payment Features Module
• Payment Entry Form• Sales Invoices• Sales Receipts• Consolidated Accounts Summary• Renewal for Paid Members• ‘Paypal’ Payment Gateway Integration• Credit Card Support• Reporting Features Admin Module• Inactive Members Report• Free/Active Members Report• Paid Members Report• Members Report by Reference• Customized Export to Excel Format• View Reports of users by City / Gender / Country• View Profiles by Religion• Edit Member Details• ADMIN Quick Search profiles• Reports in Excel Format.• Mailing Features Admin Module• Newsletter• Membership Expiry Reminder Notices• Additional available features• banner management• classified management• RSS• audio/video chat module• toolbar• wedding shop(complete cms application integrated)• SMS API installation• hosting solution
New Features: -
• My Matches• Favorites• Members I am Looking for• Members Looking for me• Who visited my profile• Profiles viewed by me• Search• Who is online• Special Cases• Preference based Search• Massaging for paid members• Inbox• Sent mail• Draft mail• Compose• Trash• Message from admin• SMS message• Profile Management• My Account• Alert Manager• Certified Profiles• Validations for Mobile• Validations for Email• Trusted/featured/latest profiles• Profiles with icons• Verification code/ mail• Admin have control on cast and sub cast• Admin can edit and add data in any profiles• Profile of the week• Success story• Country/city/state search• Manage partner profile• Manage my search in member panel• Massage compose/draft/sent/trash/inbox in member panel• Massage by admin in member panel• Database backup at a click (both in server/system)

Demo:- http://www.indiansmatri.com

Visit us at:- http://www.indiansmatri.com

You can EMAIL and chat with me:- ganesh_engr@yahoo.co.in
Matriweb@in.com
Regards,
Er.S.Ganesh BE

Maxweb Info

mobile -9843767636

Epilogue:

For centuries , the mountains and valleys, towns and villages of Deccan had gotten used to be a pawn in the game of power. They changed hands as kingdoms warred with each other. They paid taxes whoever was in a position to extract them. For the most part they remained in a sleepy slumber, just turning and twisting in their bed.
Once in a while they sent their sons to fight in battles without ever asking why exactly the war is being launched. Other times they fought amongst themselves. They were divided, confused and did not have high hopes about their future.
This was the condition of Deccan when Shivaji launched his first expedition of fort Torana in 1645. By the time of his death mere 35 years later, he had transformed Deccan from a sleepy terrain to a thundering volcano.

Finally, here was a man whose vision went far beyond himself and his appointed officers and was shared by a large general audience. Thus it was birth of first Indian nation-state. Perhaps the most important factor that distinguishes Shivaji’s vision from the rest is that it went far beyond creating an empire for himself in Maharashtra. It included a building confederacy of states against what he thought were foreign invaders. He was trying to build an Alliance of Hindu kingdoms. He went out of his way to convince Mirza-Raje Jaisingh to leave Aurangzeb. He established relations with the dethroned royal family of Vijaynagar for whom he had tremendous respect. He attempted to unify the sparring Hindu power centers.

And many responded. Sikhs, Rajputs, helped in the 27 years war in indirect ways. Nayaks in Karnataka, rulers of Mysore, the royal family of Vijaynagar were of valuable help to Shivaji and later to Marathas. It was certainly a step towards a nation getting its soul back.

While he was creating a political voice for Hindus, Muslims never faced persecution in his rule. Several Muslims served at high posts in his court and army. His personal body guard on his Agra visit was Muslim. His Naval officer, Siddi Hilal was Muslim. Thus Shivaji’s rule was not meant to challenge Islam as a personal religion, but it was a response to Political Islam.

Last but not the least, we must give due respect to one more thing. The seeds of every political revolution can be traced back to a spiritual one and this was no exception. The “Bhakti” movement in Maharashtra that began with 12th Century saint Dnyaneshwar and spearheaded by saint Tukaram (who was contemporary of Shivaji), played a role of social catalyst of immense effect. It created a forum, a pool in society where everyone was welcome. The shackles of cast system were not broken, but were certainly loosened. Once people were on the same page spiritually, it was easier for Shivaji to get them on the same page politically.

It’s tempting for a Maharashtrian to claim the root of success of Marathas solely be in Maharashtra. But at the height of it’s peak, only 20% of Shivaji’s kingdom was part of Maharashtra. When Marathas launched northern campaigns in 18th century, it was even more less. Thus limiting Marathas to Maharashtra is mostly a conclusion of a politician. Shivaji received a lot of support from various rulers and common people from all over India. It must be noted that the roots of Maharashtra culture can be traced to both ancient Karnataka and Northern India. In this sense, he was Indian king more than a Maratha king.

Dear readers, here ends the story of an epic war. I hope this saga gives you a sense of realistic hope and a sense of humble pride. All you might be doing today is sitting in a cubicle for the day ,typing on keyboard. But remember that the same blood runs in our fingers that long long time ago displayed unparalleled courage and bravery, the same spirit resides within us that can once soured sky high upon the call of freedom.

Jai Hind !!

—–

References:

“History of Mahrattas” by James Duff –   http://www.archive.org/details/ahistorymahratt05duffgoog

“Shivaji and His Times” by Jadunath Sarkar – http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024056750

“A History Of Maratha People” by Charles Kincaid – http://www.archive.org/details/historyofmaratha02kincuoft

“Background of Maratha Renaissance” by N. K. Behere – http://www.archive.org/details/backgroundofmara035242mbp

“Rise of The Maratha Power” by Mahadev Govind Ranade – http://www.archive.org/details/RiseOfTheMarathapower

“Maratha History” by S R Sharma – http://www.archive.org/details/marathahistory035360mbp

(visit the links to download the full books in PDF form free)

It was not Shivaji’s personality but his vision and his values was what Deccan fought for. They imbibed that vision and made it their own. After that, they were not fighting for their hero, they were fighting for themselves. The secret of why people simply refused to surrender to Mughal power can be found not in Shivaji’s heroics, but somewhere else. The secret lies in the reforms he brought.

During the short span of his governance, Shivaji brought a manifold of reforms. For the purpose of discussion, I will divide them into four categories. Governance reforms, political reforms, defense reforms and social reforms.

Governance reforms deserve first attention. After the coronation, Shivaji put in place fully functioning governance consisting of Ashta-Pradhan (eight ministers). These eight men were noted statesmen in their era. They laid foundation of formal economic policy, foreign policy and other functions of government.

One key aspect differentiated Shivaji’s governance through ministers from the prevailing “watan and jahagir” type of governance – division of work based on function rather than geography. To put in management terms, this was “horizontal decentralization” where each minister was responsible for only one function, say judiciary branch, but was responsible for the entire empire. This was much better than vertical decentralization of “watan” system, where one person would be named in charge of all affairs of a small region. Horizontal decentralization helped keep uniformity across the whole empire and made it easy for people to migrate, do business, and remain one political entity. Also when divided this way, different branches of government keep check on each other and stop each other from running amok. These ministers kept military focused on the military objectives. They checked personal rivalries between individual commanders. In addition these ministers provided a crucial diplomatic support complementing the military ventures.

Second, Defense strategy reforms. The combined choice of Guerrilla warfare as tactics, the reliance on light infantry and and a solid line of more than 300 strengthened forts represents Shivaji’s coherent defense strategy. Unlike Rajputs, who stuck to their code of warriors even as Mughal and Persian invaders broke every possible rule of ethics, Marathas retaliated in tit-for-tat way. They preferred guerrilla warfare for defense and engaged in open field battles only when necessary. They never disrespected the women like Khilji and Ghori did, so they were certainly ethical minded. But they never shied from attacking their enemies at night if required. They were more committed to the political objective than the personal objective of bravery.

Additionally Shivaji launched Navy. Though the Maratha ships were smaller and the weapons inferior in technology, they gave Marathas capabilities to open a sea front. This sea front played a big role in the 27 year war by blocking Aurangzeb’s supply chains from Surat.

Several social reforms were introduced as well. It is largely this statesmanship of Shivaji that laid the foundation of indefatigable Maratha resistance.  Common people fought because ,for them, going back to the horrors of previous governance was simply not an option.

On the economic front, there was a taxation reform. The previous empires had followed a system of taxation that was predatory or at times outright cruel. They had appointed Jameen-dars that collected tax on their behalf. The amount that was to be deposited in the royal treasury was fixed, but the amount that was to be collected from the peasants was left to Jameen-dars. These jameen-dars exploited this opportunity to fill their treasures, driving the farmers to bankruptcy. Over the years these Jameen-dars had built big castles, had their own armies, their own courts and they enjoyed being mini-kings.
Shivaji scrapped this system of taxation and introduced taxes where the amount that was to be collected from the peasants was fixed. The appointed officers were given only limited mandate and authority to carry out their duty – to collect taxes. They were often transferred, preventing them from developing too strong local ties. If in any year it did not rain and the farmers lost their crops, the taxes were waived.

Shivaji’s fiscal policies were conservative. Thus no magnificent monuments like Taj Mahal or Royal Mughal gardens were built by Shivaji. But it was him for whom his nation was ready to die. This fiscal conservative bend shows a striking resemblance to another visionary leader. After the American revolutionary war, Thomas Jefferson refused to pay for the extravagant ballroom maintained by British Viceroy in Virginia colonies noting that ” such mansions represent colossal waste of taxpayer money”.
By contrast, Deccan Sultanates and Mughals had shown little interest in welfare of people. During the 22 years that took to build Taj Mahal, three times there was severe draught and hundreds of thousands of people died. But Shahjahan focused all the money and efforts on building a tomb for his wife.

It’s indeed an irony that that Taj Mahal has become symbol of India while the forts that cradled the first “swaraj”, first rule of people, languish in desolation.

(continued…)

This is original actual happen incident in peak hours of local train in Mumbai. Reason to share this is to show unity among the diversity in Mumbaikar. Though they are not belonging from same race but always ready to help each other whenever require. Although some of party is always misbehave to others state people and always try to humiliate them but they come forward to help local people even they are humiliated by same local people.. I hope you understand what I am saying and to whom I am targeting.

This is actual incident happen in Borivali Railway station at 8.20 pm on 11th December 2009. This sweet incident shows the unity among the all Mumbaikar and tendency to help any one. It shows the helping nature of Mumbaikar though few of local people (Marathi) are always opposing and claiming that they are actual Mumbaikar. It shows that politic party who are trying to remove all other state people are wrong, even they abusing other outsider, who is not Maharashtrian, especially to Uttar Pradesh people then also these outsider are helping the Marathi people.

I catch the Virar train from Andheri at 8:10 pm. Train was already full, but I mange to get in. Train takes halt in next station Borivali. Usually nobody try to get in Virar train as is overcrowded and no place to get in a single person. And, they have other better option to take trains from Borivali itself. Though they try to catch then also passenger of train not provide space to them, reason train is already packed and not have a single space to take a man inside.

Many people occupy the gate and manage all those rush. One guy standing on gate saw the Maharashtrian family standing on station and seeking place to get inside but they unable to get in. The person is Bhaiya (UP guy), who help all of them to get in and request insider to make place for five people – one women one old lady one boy and girl; and a man with a heavy language – two bags and one handbag respectively. The Bhaiya guy takes all of them inside and stops other to come. One Gujarati Bhai also helps that Bhaiya guy. Somehow I also manage to provide some space to that family. Even all coach passengers help Marathi family and make a comfortable space for five people and help them to put their luggage to upper deck.

As Mira Road pass, people come out to get down at Bhayandar station. Another Bhaiya guy who is seated is get up and provide space to sit that old lady and also ask his friend to get up and provide sit to other lady and the girl and boy. He also suggests that Marathi man not to catch the Virar local in peak hour as it is full and over crowded. He advice him to catch Borivali bound Virar local which is less crowded and easy to get in. Finally Marathi family easily gets space into the crowded Virar local and manages to have a sit to old lady and young children.

Here one Bhaiya and Guju guy help the Marathi family to get inside the train and also provide a seat to sit. Though few political parties are always teasing these U.P. Bhaiya and beating them and always try to remove them from the state. If these Bhaiya will keep all these in mind then they never help that Marathi family to get inside. But here they help them and even provide space to sit.

This show that one single party never breaks the unity of the Mumbaikar and though they try to kick some of us or show some Gundagiri then also we Mumbaikar are stay in unity and never follow these political party. We know that they come seconds and gone in seconds, which not bother us. They can do all Gundagiri but cannot do one single good thing to improve society and never contribute to society.

Only single aim to share the story is to spread peace in Mumbai and show the unity among all the people who live here though they come from outside. India is free and Indians are free to travel and earn any part of the country. This is basic fundamental rights which is enjoy by all the Indian. I believe in constitution, but these political party..- I don’t think so they believe.

Yeha Kisi ke Baap ka Raj nahi chalatha, yeh Mumbai hai kisi ke jeb ka rumaal nahi jho kisi ka b ho jaye.

Reflection: Strategical Analysis:

In this war, Aurangzeb’s army totaled more than 500,000 in number (compared to total Maratha army in the ballpark of 150,000). With him he carried huge artillery, cavalry, muskettes, ammunition and giant wealth from royal treasuries to support this quest. This war by no means a fair game when numbers are considered.

The main features of Aurangzeb’s strategy were :-

Use of overwhelming force to demoralize the enemy – This tactic had proved successful in Aurangzeb’s other missions. Thus he used this even in Maharashtra. On several occasions giant Mughal contigents were used to lay siege to a fort or capture a town.

Meticulously planned sieges to the forts – Aurangzeb knew that the forts in Sahyadri formed backbone of Maratha defense. His calculation was to simply lay tight siege to the fort, demoralizing and starving the people inside and finally making them surrender the fort.

Fork or pincer movements using large columns of infantry and cavalry – With large number of infantry and cavalry, pincer could have proved effective and almost fatal against Marathas

Marathas had one advantage on their side, geography. They milked this advantage to the last bit. Their military activities were planned considering the terrain and the weather.

The main features of Maratha strategy were :-

Combined offensive-defensive strategy – Throughout the war, Marathas never stopped their offensive. This served two purposes. The facts that Maratha army was carrying out offensive attacks in Mughal land suddenly made them psychologically equals to Mughals launching attack in Maratha land, even though Mughals were a much bigger force. This took negative toll on Mughal morale and boosted morale of their own men. Secondly, these offensive attacks in terms of quick raids often heavily damaged enemy supply chains taking toll on Mughal army.
The forts formed backbone of Maratha defense. Thanks to Shivaji, the every fort had provision of fresh water. The total forts numbered almost 300 and this large number proved major headache to Aurangzeb.

Defense of forts till onset of Monsoon – Forts are an asset in rest of the year, but are a liability in monsoon as it costs a lot to carry food and supplies up. Also the monsoon in coasts and ghats is severe in nature and no major military movement is possible. Thus Marathas often fought till Monsoon and surrendered the fort just before Monsoon. Before surrendering they burned all the food inside. Thus making it a proposition of loss in every way. Often times Marathas surrendered the fort empty, but later soon won it back filled with food and water. These events demoralized the enemy.

Offensive attacks in terms of evasive raids – Marathas mostly launched offensive attacks in the region when Mughal army was away. They rarely engaged Mughal army in open fields till later part of the war. If situation seemed dire, they would retreat and disperse and thus conserve most of their men and arms for another day.
The rivers Bhima, Krishna , Godavari and the mountains of Sahyadri, divide entire Maharashtra region is in several North- South corridors. When Mughal army traveled South through one corridor, Marathas would travel North through another and launch attacks there. This went on changing gradually and in the end, Maratha forces started engaging Mughals head on.

A noted historian Jadunath Sarkar makes an interesting observation. In his own words, “Aurangzeb won battle after battles, but in the end he lost the war. As the war prolonged, it transformed from war of weapons to war of spirits, and Aurangzeb was never able to break Maratha spirit.”

What Marathas did was an classic example of assymetric defensive warfare. The statement above by Mr. Sarkar hides one interesting fact about this assymetric defense. Is it really possible to lose most of the battles and still win the war?

The answer is yes, and explanation is a statistical phenomena called “Simpson’s paradox.”. According to Simpsons paradox, several micro-trends can lead to one conclusion, however a mega-trend combining all the micro-trends can lead to an exact opposite conclusion. Explanation is as follows.

Say two forces go on war, force A with 100 soldiers and force B with 40 soldiers. Now say in every battle between A and B, the following happens.

If A loses, they lose 80% of the soldiers fighting.
If B loses, they only lose 10% of the soldiers fighting.
If A wins, they lose 50% of the solders fighting.
If B wins, they lose only 10% of the soldiers fighting.

In the case above, the ratio of (resource drain of A / resource drain of B ) is higher than (initial number of A soldiers / initial number of B soldiers). So even if A wins battle more than 50% of the time, they will lose their resources faster and, in the end, will lose the war. All B has to do is keep the morale and keep the consistency.

One of the most famous warrior in ancient Indian history seems to agree with the conclusion above. In “Bhishma- perva” of Mahabharata, pitamah Bhishma begins the war-advice to king Yudhisthira with a famous quote -
“The strength of an army is not in its numbers”

(continued…)

Mughals were bleeding heavily from treasuries. But  Aurangzeb kept pressing the war on.  When Tarabai took charge, Aurangzeb had laid siege to the fort of Parli (Sajjangad). Parshuram Trimbak defended the fort until mansooon and retreated quietly at the break of monsoon.The mughal army was dealt heavy loss by flash floods in the rivers around. These same tactics were followed by Marathas at the next stop of Aurangzeb, Panhala. Similar tactic was followed even for Vishalgad.

By 1704, Aurangzeb had Torana and Rajgad. He had won only a handful forts in this offensive, but he had spent several precious years. It was slowly dawning to him that after 24 years of constant war, he was no closer to defeating Marathas than he was the day he began.

The final Maratha counter offensive gathered momentum in North. Tarabai proved to be a valiant leader once again. One after another Mughal provinces fell in north. They were not in position to defend as the royal treasuries had been sucked dry and no armies were left in town. In 1705, two Maratha army factions crossed Narmada. One under leadership of Nemaji Shinde hit as deep North as Bhopal. Second under the leadership of Dabhade struck Bharoch and West. Dabhade with his eight thousand men,attacked and defeated Mahomed khan’s forces numbering almost fourteen thousand. This left entire Gujarat coast wide open for Marathas.

In Maharashtra, Aurangzeb grew despondent. He started negotiations with Marathas, but cut abruptly and marched on a small kingdom called Wakinara. Naiks at Wakinara had sided with Marathas. Dhanaji marched into Sahyadris and won almost all the major forts back in short time. Satara and Parali forts were taken by Parshuram Timbak. Shankar Narayan took Sinhgad. Dhanaji then turned around and took his division to Wakinara. He helped the Naiks at wakinara to sustain the fight. Naiks fought very bravely. Finally Wakinara fell, but the royal family of Naiks successfully escaped with least damage.

Aurangzeb had now given up all hopes and was now planning retreat to Burhanpur. Dhanaji Jadhav again fell on him and in swift and ferocious attack and dismantled the rear guard of his imperial army. Zulfikar Khan rescued the emperor and they successfully reached Burhanpur.

Aurangzeb witnessed bitter fights among his sons in his last days. Alone, lost, depressed, bankrupt, far away from home, he died sad death on 3rd March 1707. “I hope god will forgive me one day for my disastrous sins”, were his last words.

Thus ended a prolonged and grueling period in history of India. The Mughal kingdom fragmented and disintegrated soon after. And Deccan saw rise of a new sun, the Maratha empire.

(continued…)

27 Years War TimeLine – Marathas under King Rajaram (1689 to 1700)

For Aurangzeb, the Marathas seemed all but dead. But this would prove to be almost a fatal blunder. In March 1990, the Maratha commanders, under the leadership of Santaji Ghorpade launched the single most daring attack on mughal army. They not only attacked the army, but sacked the tent where the Aurangzeb himself slept. Luckily Aurangzeb was elsewhere but his private force and many of his bodyguards were killed.

This positive development was followed by a negative one for Marathas. Raigad fell to treachery of Suryaji Pisal. Sambhaji’s queen, Yesubai and their son, Shahu, were captured.

Mughal forces, led by Zulfikar Khan, continued this offensive further South. They attacked fort Panhala. The Maratha killedar of Panhala gallantly defended the fort and inflicted heavy losses on Mughal army. Finally Aurangzeb himself had to come. Panhala surrendered.

Maratha ministers had foreseen the next Mughal move on Vishalgad. They made Rajaram leave Vishalgad for Jinji, which would be his home for next seven years. Rajaram disguised as pilgrim travelled South. The queen of Bidnur, who was fed up with Mughals, gave him a free passage and escort.  Harji Mahadik’s division met them near Jinji and guarded them to the fort. Jinji became new capital of Marathas. This breathed new life in Maratha army.

Aurangzeb was frustrated with Rajaram’s successful escape. His next move was to keep most of his force in Maharashtra and dispatch a small force to keep Rajaram in check. But the two Maratha generals, Santaji ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav would prove more than match to him.

They first attacked and destroyed the force sent by Aurangzeb to keep check on Rajaram, thus relieving the immediate danger. Then they joined Ramchandra Bavadekar in Deccan who, with Vithoji Bhosale and Raghuji Chavan had reorganized most of the Maratha army.

In late 1691, Bavdekar , Santaji ,Dhanaji and Maratha sardars met in Maval region and they reformed the strategy. Aurangzeb was sending Zulfikar khan to subdue the fort Jinji. So according to new Maratha plan, Santaji and Dhanaji would launch offensives in the East to keep rest of the Mughal forces scattered. Others would focus in Maharashtra and would attack a series of forts around Southern Maharashtra and Northern Karnataka to divide Mughal won territories in two, thereby posing significant challenge to enemy supply chains. Thanks to Shivaji’s vision of building a navy, Marathas could now extend this divide into the sea, checking any supply routes from Surat to South.

The execution began. In early 1692 Shankar Narayan and Parshuram Trimbak recaptured Rajgad and Panhala. In early 1693 Shankar Narayan and Bhosale captured Rohida. Sidhoji Gujar took Vijaydurg. Soon Parshuram Trimbak took Vishalgad. Kanhoji Angre, a young Maratha Naval officer that time, took fort Kolaba.

While this was in work, Santaji and Dhanaji were launching swift raids on Mughal armies on East front. This came as a bit of surprise to Aurangzeb. In spite of losing one King and having second king driven away, Marathas were undaunted and actually were on offensive. From Khandesh, Ahmednagar to Bijapur to Konkan and Southern Karnataka, Santaji and Dhanaji wrecked havoc. Dhanaji Jadhav attacked Ismail Khan and defeated him near Kokar. Santaji Ghorpade attacked Ali Mardan Khan at the base of Jinji and captured him. With flanks cleared, both joined hands and laid a second siege around the Mughal siege at Jinji.

Julfikar khan, who was orchestrating Jinji siege, left the siege on Aurangzeb’s orders and marched back. Santaji followed him to North, but was defeated by Julfikar Khan. Santaji then diverted his forces to Bijapur. Aurangzeb sent another general Kasim Khan to tackle Santaji. But Santaji attacked him with a brilliant military maneuver near Chitaldurg and forced him take refuge in Dunderi fort. The fort was quickly sieged by Santaji and the siege only ended when most of the Mughal soldiers starved and Kasim Khan committed suicide. Aurangzeb sent Himmat Khan to reinforce Kasim Khan. Santaji lured his forces in a trap in Dunderi forest. A sudden, ambush style attack on Mughals was followed by a fierce battle. The battle ended when when Himmat Khan was shot in head and died. All his forces routed and Santaji confiscated a big cache of weapons and ammunition.

By now, Aurangzeb had the grim realization that the war he began was much more serious than he thought. He consolidated his forces and rethought his strategy. He sent an ultimatum to Zulfikar khan to finish Jinji business or be stripped of the titles. Julfikar khan tightened the Siege. But Rajaram fled and was safely escorted to Deccan by Dhanaji Jadhav and  Shirke brothers. Haraji Mahadik’s son took the charge of Jinji and bravely defended Jinji against Julfikar khan and Daud khan till January of 1698. This gave Rajaram ample of time to reach Vishalgad.

Jinji fell, but it did a big damage to the Mughal empire. The losses incurred in taking Jinji far outweighed the gains. The fort had done its work. For seven years it had kept a large contigent of mughal forces occupied. It had eaten a deep hole into Mughal resources. Not only at Jinji, but the royal treasury was bleeding everywhere and was already under strain.

Marathas would soon witness an unpleasant development, all of their own making. Dhanaji Jadhav and Santaji Ghorpade had a simmering rivalry, which was kept in check by the councilman Pralhad Niraji. But after Niraji’s death, Dhanaji grew bold and attacked Santaji. Nagoji Mane, one of Dhanaji’s men, killed Santaji. The news of Santaji’s death greatly encouraged Aurangzeb and Mughal army.

But by this time Mughals were no longer the army they were feared before. Aurangzeb, against advise of several of his experienced generals, kept the war on. It was much like Alexander on the borders of Taxila.

The Marathas again consolidated and the new Maratha counter offensive began. Rajaram made Dhanaji the next commander in chief. Maratha army was divided in three divisions. Dhanaji would himself lead the first division. Parshuram Timbak lead the second and Shankar Narayan lead the third. Dhanaji Jadhav defeated a large mughal force near Pandharpur. Shankar Narayan defeated Sarja Khan in Pune. Khanderao Dabhade, who lead a division under Dhanaji, took Baglan and Nashik. Nemaji Shinde, another commander with Shankar Narayan, scored a major victory at Nandurbar.

Enraged at this defeats, Aurangzeb himself took charge and launched another counter offensive. He laid siege to Panhala and attacked the fort of Satara. The seasoned commander, Prayagji Prabhu defended Satara for a good six months, but surrendered in April of 1700, just before onset of Monsoon. This foiled Aurangzeb’s strategy to clear as many forts before monsoon as possible.

In March of 1700, another bad news followed Marathas. Rajaram took his last breath. His queen Tarabai, who was also daughter of the gallant Maratha commander in Chief Hambeerrao Mohite, took charge of Maratha army. Daughter of a braveheart, Tarabai proved her true mettle for the next seven years. She carried the struggle on with equal valor. Thus began the phase 3, the last phase of the prolonged war, with Marathas under the leadership of Tarabai.

The signs of strains were showing in Mughal camp in late 1701. Asad Khan, Julfikar Khan’s father, counselled Aurangzeb to end the war and turn around. This expedition had already taken a giant toll, much larger than originally thought, on Mughal empire. And serious signs were emerging that the 200 years old Mughal empire was crumbling and was in the middle of a war that was not winnable.

(continued...)

Timeline – Marathas under King Sambhaji (1680 to 1689):

After the death of Shivaji in 1680, a brief power struggle ensued in the royal family. Finally Sambhaji became the king. By this time Aurangzeb had finished his North missions and was pondering a final push in Deccan to conquer all of the India.

In 1681 sambhaji attacked Janjira, but his first attempt failed. In the same time one of the Aurangzeb’s generals, Hussein Ali Khan , attacked Northern Konkan. Sambhaji left janjira and attacked Hussein Ali Khan and pushed him back to Ahmednagar. By this time mansoon of 1682 had started. Both sides halted their major military operations. But Aurangzeb was not sitting idle. He tried to sign a deal with Portughese to allow mughal ships to harbor in Goa. This would have allowed him to open another supply route to Deccan via sea. The news reached sambhaji. He attacked Portughese territories and pushed deep inside Goa. But Voiceroy Alvor was able to defend Portughese headquarters.

By this time massive Mughal army had started gathering on the borders of Deccan. It was clear that southern India was headed for one big conflict.

Sambhaji had to leave Portughese expedition and turn around. In late 1683, Aurangzeb moved to Ahmednagar. He divided his forces in two and put his two princes, Shah Alam and Azam Shah, in charge of each division. Shah alam was to attack South Konkan via Karnataka border while Azam Shah would attack Khandesh and northern Maratha territory. Using pincer strategy, these two divisions planned to circle Marathas from South and North and isolate them.

The beginning went quite well. Shah Alam crossed Krishna river and enterd Belgaum. From there he entered Goa and started marching north via Konkan. As he pushed further,he was continuously harassed by Marathas. They ransacked his supply chains and reduced his forces to starvation. Finally Aurangzeb sent Ruhulla Khan for his rescue and brought him back to Ahmednagar. The first pincer attempt failed.

After 1684 monsoon, Aurangzeb’s another general Sahabuddin Khan directly attacked the Maratha capital, fort Raygad. Maratha commanders successfully defended Raygad. Aurangzeb sent Khan Jehan for help, but Hambeerrao Mohite, Commander-in-Chief of Maratha army, defeated him in a fierce battle at Patadi. Second division of Maratha army attacked Sahabuddin Khan at Pachad, inflicting heavy losses on Mughal army.

In early 1685, Shah Alam attacked South again via Gokak- Dharwar route. But Sambhaji’s forces harassed him continuously on the way and finally he had to give up and thus failed to close the loop second time.

In april 1685 Aurangzeb rehashed his strategy. He planned to consolidate his power in the South by taking expediations to Goalkonda and Bijapur. Both were Shia muslim rulers and Aurangzeb was no fond of them. He broke his treaties with both empires and attacked them. Taking this opportunity Marathas launched offensive on North coast and attacked Bharuch. They were able to evade the mughal army sent their way and came back with minimum damage.

On Aurangzeb’s new Southern front, things were proceeding rather smoothly. Bijapur fell in September 1686. King Sikandar Shah was captured and imprisoned. Goalkonda agreed to pay huge ransom. But after receiving the money, Aurangzeb attacked them in blatant treachery. Soon Goalkonda fell as well. King Abu Hussein of Goalkonda was captured and met the same fate as Sikandar Shah.

Marathas had tried to win mysore through diplomacy. Kesopant Pingle, (Moropant Pingle’s brother) was running negotiations, but the fall of Bijapur to mughals turned the tides and Mysore was reluctant to join Marathas. Still Sambhaji successfully courted several Bijapur sardars to join Maratha army.

After fall of Bijapur and Goalkonda, Aurangzeb turned his attention again to his main target – Marathas. First few attempts proved unsuccessful to make a major dent. But in Dec 1688 he had his biggest jackpot. Sambhaji was captured at Sangmeshwar. It was in part his own carelessness and in part because of treachery. Aurangzeb gave him option of converting to Islam, which he refused. Upon refusal, Aurangzeb, blinded by his victories, gave Sambhaji the worst treatment he could ever give to anyone. Sambhaji was pareded on donkey. His tounge was cut, eyes were gorged out. His body was cut into pieces and fed to dogs.

There were many people who did not like Sambhaji and thus were sympathetic to Mughals. But this barbaric treatment made everyone angry. Maratha generals gathered on Raygad. The decision was unanimous. All peace offers were to be withdrawn. Mughals would be repelled at all costs. Rajaram succeeded as the next king. He began his reign by a valiant speech on Raygad. All Maratha generals and councilmen united under the flag of new king, and thus began the second phase of the epic war.

(continued…)

the topic of national language have always been a raging topic especially here in south for the past century or so.the imposition of an alien language or a culture is always detested by those on whom it is imposed . the world outside the hindi heart land is no exception. hindi which is our national language is spoken by 40% of the population,which again is of different dialects and sub languages.hindi in its present form is one of the youngest languages and in literary content one of the least developed,but many of the regional languages like Tamil or Bengali is rich both historically and in language.even the youngest of the regional languages – Malayalam had evolved into its standard form centuries before Devanagari was adopted for Urdu. the imposition of such a language over these well established ones was one of the greatest mistakes done by the post independent india.hindi after splitting from Urdu started to adopt words from Sanskrit so that it can mask its persianness .but the hindi used in daily life was more or less same as Urdu which is alien to most parts of the country.

english on the other hand is the language of the world.every one needs to study that to succeed in life,its like the modern persian. but the adoption of english as the national language will affect india’s future position as a global power. our use of english as a medium can only make us inferior to the Anglo saxon power block. their  attitude towards india is more evident in the british media and legalization of english can only legitimize their colonial mentality.

in this scenario i would like to propose the use of Sanskrit as the link language between the indian populace .it is the bed rock of all languages including the three of the four southern languages.moreover every one need to learn a second language and there will be a level playing field for all.even tamil have 20-30% of its words from Sanskrit.the use of an indigenous language can act as an advantage when india develops and can act as its soft power as english is doing for america.the use of sanskrit can decrease the fear of extinction or inferiority that may languages face as they can flourish in their own ways.

the religious tone of Sanskrit is the main disadvantage of the language. this can be overcome by developing the language in the secular front , new secular literature can be written in Sanskrit or many of the best secular literature of other languages could be translated to it. this can give an added advantage as people in different parts of the country can get to know about each other. think about this – parts of thirukural being studied in a school in Punjab  or geetanjali taught in Kerala, that too  in Sanskrit.

there will be oppositions to my view but adoption of english can only make us colonial puppets and that of hindi will be a crime done to other  languages which have a huge literary history.

Schoolchildren in India learn a very specific blend of Indian history. This school version of history is stripped of all the vigor and pride. The story of Indian civilization spans thousands of years. However for the most part the schoolbook version dwells on the freedom struggle against British and important role played in there by the Indian National Congress. We learn each and every movement of Gandhi and Nehru, but not even a passing reference is made to hundreds of other important people and events.

My objection is not to the persons Gandhi or Nehru. They were great men. However the attention they get and the exposure their political views and ideology gets is rather disproportionate.

And thus it comes no surprise to me that rarely we talk about an epic war that significantly altered the face of Indian subcontinent. The war that can be described the mother of all wars in India. Considering the average life expectancy that time was around 30 years, this war of 27 years lasted almost the lifespan of an entire generation. The total number of battles fought was in hundreds. It occurred over vast geographical expanse spanning four biggest states of modern India- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. For time, expanse and human and material cost, this  war has no match in Indian history.

It started in 1681 with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s invasion of Maratha empire. It ended in 1707 with Aurangzeb’s death. Aurangzeb threw everything he had in this war. He lost it all.

It’s tempting to jump into the stories of heroics, but what makes the study of war more interesting is the understanding of politics behind it. Every war is driven by politics. Rather war is just one of the means to do politics. This war was not an exception.

Shivaji’s tireless work for most of his life had shown fruits by the last quarter of seventeenth century. He had firmly established Marathas as power in Deccan. He built hundreds of forts in Konkan and Sahyadris and thus created a defense backbone. He also established strong naval presence and controlled most of the Western ports barring few on end of Indian peninsula. Thus tightening the grip on trade routes of Deccan sultanates, he strangled their  weapons import from Europe and horses import from Arabian traders.  These Sultanates launched several campaigns against Shivaji, but failed to stop him.

On the Northern front, several Rajput kings had accepted to be the vassals of Mughals. Aurangzeb had succeeded to the throne after brutal killing of his brothers and imprisonment of his father. With Rajput resistance mostly subsided and the southern sultanates weakened, it was only matter of time before Marathas were in his cross-hair.

At the time of Shivaji’s death in 1680, Maratha empire spanned an area far more than the current state of Maharashtra and had taken firm roots. But it was surrounded by enemies from all sides.  Portuguese on northern Coast and Goa, British in Mumbai, Siddies in Konkan and remaining Deccan sultenates in Karnataka posed limited challenge each, but none of them was capable of taking down the Marathas alone. Mughal empire with Aurangzeb at its helm was the most formidable foe.

For the most part, Aurangzeb was a religious fanatic. He had distanced Sikhs and Rajputs because of his intolerant policies against Hindus. After his succession to the throne, he had made life living hell for Hindus in his kingdom. Taxes like Jizya tax were imposed on Hindus. No Hindu could ride in Palanquin. Hindu temples were destroyed and abundant forcible conversions took place. Auragzeb unsuccessfully tried to impose Sharia, the Islamic law. This disillusioned Rajputs and Sikhs resulting in their giving cold shoulder to Aurangzeb in his Deccan campaign.

Thus in September of  1681, after settling his dispute with the royal house of Mewar, Aurangzeb began his journey to Deccan to kill the Maratha confederacy that was not even 50 years old. On his side, the Mughal king had enormous army numbering half a million soldiers, a number more than three times that of the Maratha army. He had plentiful support of artillery, horses, elephants. He also brought huge wealth in royal treasuries. Teaming up with Portughese, British ,Siddis, Golkonda and Bijapur Sultanates he planned to encapsulate Marathas from all sides and to form a deadly death trap. To an outsider, it would seem no-brainer to predict the outcome of such vastly one sided war. It seemed like the perfect storm headed towards Maratha confederacy.

Enormous death and destruction followed in Deccan for what seemed like eternity. But what happened at the end would defy all imaginations and prove every logic wrong. Despite lagging in resources on all fronts, it would be the Marathas who triumphed. And at the expense of all his treasure, army, power and life, it would be the invading emperor who learned a very costly lesson, that the will of people to fight for their freedom should never be underestimated.

( continued…)

काय करतु आय बे. बेक्कारच बोर हुई राह्यल. मंग वीकएण्ड ले काय केल. तुमच काय आय भो. मोठे लोकाय तुम्ही. मी? काही नाही यार, तेच आपल. कर्‍याले काय असत आजकाल. पिक्चर पाहिले १-२ अन् फिरायले गेलतो. ‘पा’ पाहिला शुक्कारवारे. तूले सांगतो, अमिता बच्चन सारखा हीरो कुठेच भेटणार नि तूले. इतका सही केलाय त्याने तो ‘बुड्या’ पोराचा रोल की तूले वाटतच नी की बच्चन आय तो. पाहिला नशिन त पाही घे. सकाळी जायच , बेक्कार सस्त पडत. मंग ‘पा’ पाहिला अन् शनवारे दिल्या टांगा लंब्या करून. फक्त संध्याकाळे खराडि ले गेलतो रिलाइयन्स मॉलमधे. मॉल काय रे भो, सगडे सारखेच. पन आडि गर्दी कमी असते अन् माल बी चांगला र्‍हातो. थोडासा किराणा आणि साबण सुबन घेतले. झाल … १ दिवस सम्पी बी गेला.

दुसर्‍या दिवशी फिर्‍याले जायच होत. तूल त माहीतच आय की आपली फोटोग्रफी जोरात असते आजकाल. पण भेंडी हे जायाच कुठे प्रत्येक वेळी हाच प्रश्न पडतो. मंग ते तुळापूर नाही का. तेच ना बे , ते संभाजी महाराजाइले मारल नव्हत का. तडी गेलो मंग. सकाळी सकाळी गेलो मंग बाइक वर. थोडेफार फोटो घेतले भो अन् आलो परत १२ वाजे पर्यंत. मजा आली पन. च्या बही. सकाळी त लय थंडी होती अन् दुपारे बेक्कार उन पडल. मंग घरेच बसलो. म्हटला वीकएण्ड तर सम्पी चाललाय, आणखी एक पिक्चर टाकी देऊ. प्रभातचे शो वगैरे चेक केले पन तडी तो मकरंदचा पिक्चर लागेल होता. आपल्या ले त फक्त क्रिटिक-बीटिक चेच पिक्चर आवडता. मंग सिटी प्राइड ले ‘एक कप च्या’ पाहायले गेलो. पाहय भो. रियलिस्टिक पिक्चर आवडत असतीन न तरच पाहय हा पिक्चर. मस्त कोंकण दाखवलाय. अन् बस कंडक्टर सारख्या गरीब माणसाची स्टोरी आय. पिक्चर पाहून काय म. समपल सगळ. बही हे वीक एण्ड बी ३ दिवस पाहिजेल होते.

तू त काही बोलातच नाही आय. मले माहिती आय तूल टाइम नि भेटत. पन येत जाय मह्यासारख्या गरीबासोबत बी. चाल मंग. पुढच्या वीक एण्ड ले भेटू जमल त.

आजकाल ते नेहमीच येतात..
कधी बंदुका तर कधी आर्.डी.एक्स. आणतात
मंदीरं, रस्ते आणि पंचतारांकित हॉटेलं…
कधी शुटींग-शुटींग तर कधी लपा-छपी खेळतात..;
रेल्वे स्टेशन्स आणि संसदेसारख्या…
बिनमहत्वाच्या जागाही त्यांना आवडतात…
त्यात काय मोठंसं…….?

हं…पण एक गोष्ट मात्र कॉमन…
या खेळात नेहमी शोधणारेच बाद होतात !
बाद होणारे कधी शिंदे तर कधी ओंबाळे असतात…
कधी साळसकर, करकरे तर कधी कामते असतात..,
आम्ही सुन्न होतो, श्रद्धांजली वाहतो, मेणबत्त्याही लावतो…
कधी आझाद मैदानावर एकत्र येवुन आसवे ढाळतो…,
त्यात काय मोठंसं……?

मनातली सगळी अस्वस्थता लपवून…
राहुन राहुन डोके वर काढणारी भीती दाबून…
पुन्हा लोकल्सची वाट पकडतो…
भीतीपेक्षा पोट खुप मोठं असतं हे लक्षात ठेवतो…
सगळी अगतिकता मनातला मनात दडवून…
खोटं खोटं हसत धडधडत्या काळजानं आमचं स्पिरीट दाखवतो…
त्यात काय मोठंसं……..?

मोठ्या शहरातल्या छोट्या गोष्टींकडे दुर्लक्ष करा म्हणणारे…
ताठ मानेने पुन्हा आम्हाला सुरक्षा पुरवायला येतात..,
छातीचा कोट करणार्‍यांची सदोष चिलखतं हरवतात..;
आम्ही त्याकडे दुर्लक्ष करतो आणि…
वादग्रस्त वास्तु कुणी पाडली यावर मिळून वाद घालतो,
मराठी की हिंदी यावरुन गळे पकडण्यात धन्यता मानतो…
त्यात काय मोठंसं…….?

हे असंच चालणार….
ते येत राहणार….., आम्ही बाद होत राहणार !
कधी शोकसंदेश तर कधी निषेधखलिते पाठवणार…
कधी आपलीच खाजवण्यासाठी खरमरीत इशारे देणार…
पुनश्च हरिओम.. असं म्हणत आम्ही …
“स्पिरीट” दाखवण्यासाठी नाईलाजाने कामाला लागणार !
त्यात काय मोठंसं…………?

–
शशि गराडे

(Email Forward..Thanxx)

Hindi is possibly most spoken language in India with approximately 40-42% population of India speaking Hindi. I don’t think it has reached to that mass by forcing people to speak Hindi and by force I literally mean force i.e. violence!

I am not sure why people argue over what language must be spoken and by whom. While I respect all the regional languages of India and their contribution to our rich culture and literature but isn’t everyone should be entitled to their own preference on what language to use for communication? I don’t think the regional languages like Marathi or Tamil are facing extinction or any threat from Hindi because the same people have adopted English wholeheartedly.

I come from a Hindi speaking part of India and speak Hindi and English. If I meet someone from other part of India or world, I will talk to them in our link language (mutually known if any). I have known Marathi people who would prefer to talk to me in English rather than Hindi which they can speak fluently. It is widely known English is quite popular and used as a link language in Tamilnadu.

While I appreciate that people should learn the local language of their region. It’s like “When you are in Rome, do as Romans do”. I have lived with Marathi, Tamil and Telegu people in my student life. While as flat mates they had to use Hindi with me but when in similar groups they totally ignored me as an outsider not speaking in their language. I obviously understand a person feel most comfortable in his or her mother tongue. But aren’t we all supposed to belong from same country and should find a way to talk to each other?

I guess India has got lot more problems to concentrate rather than trivial issues such as my language in my state. Mumbai didn’t reach to this stage of being the financial capital of India by being fussy about who will speak what. Hyderabad and Bangalaru didn’t simply become IT hubs by not welcoming people from other parts of India.

So are north Indians more tolerant than people from other parts of India or it is just that they don’t have any rich regional language to boast about? Are people from Hindi resisting states really think that their language is facing a threat from Hindi or they simply hate it? Or is it Aryans versus Dravidians thing?

Just my 2 pence worth of thoughts!

Folks, back with an interesting composition.Once again in Marathi.Hope you will like it.The title is “Mrudgandhacha Shraap” meaning “A Curse in form of Scent of the Earthh”

(Mrudgandh = Scent of Earth, Shraap = Curse)

I would like to mention here that I really adore the scent of earth and find it inexplicably invigorating.But the concept of this perfume as curse just triggered a storm of ideas that got violent and violent until this composition was delivered ( Call about pressure of delivery )

The composition goes something like this:

सावलीच्या सोबतीला कधी सहवासाचा ध्यास असतो ,

श्वासांमधल्या अगतिकतेला आठवणींचा भास असतो,

खरचटलेल्या प्रेमात माझ्या जगण्याचाही संताप असतो ,

कोरड्या अश्रूत माझ्या मृदगंधाचा श्राप असतो ..

Translation

The shadow sometimes is in pursuit of a company(of somebody) ,

The uneasiness of breath gives an illusion of a memory,

My wounded love is frustrated with life(OR rather it’s existence)

My dry tears have got a Curse in form of Scent of Earth.

Seems sadistic? confused? frustrated? full of demise? full of anger?

Let me give it a try to explain more about it(Rather it’s beauty )..

My interpretation starts with the last line which mentions about “Curse in form of Scent of Earth”

The line is : “My dry tears have got a curse in form of Scent of the earth”

“कोरड्या अश्रूत माझ्या मृदगंधाचा श्राप असतो …”

The eyes have shed so much tears that there is dryness in eyes and if at all, the tears come … They are spreading a perfume of soil( Kind of smell you get when drop of rain water falls on a dry soil) Now the message/expression here I want to convey is, the tears are so much shed that eyes are dry and looking like layer of dry soil(If u can imagine)And the tear coming thereafter is spreading a perfume of soil. This perfume is considered good by others, but for me it is a curse because it is bringing back a memory…The memory again, is forcing me to cry.Through dry eyes again,tear drops roll. Hope this little explanation gives you an idea of “A curse in form of scent of earth”.

The third line of the poem needs a special mention here as it got some good reviews from my friends.I got a completely different perspective thanks to Shivesh.The third line:

My wounded love is frustrated with life(OR rather it’s existence)

खरचटलेल्या प्रेमात माझ्या जगण्याचाही संताप असतो

The wounded love is very much frustrated with life.The bleeding love is angry with the life and it’s strange ways.But with shivesh’s explanation,the interpretation goes like this. The love is actually frustrated over it’s own existence.What is the need for the existence of love when it is so much depleted and defeated in life. Kudos to Shivesh for this out-of-box thinking. I think this is also a good explanation for the third line.

Feeling too distraught? Getting bored ? Let me add some more to your agony and “try” to explain 2nd line and then the first line.You can skip the further explanation if you want to.Even I am going through the motions while writing this. Seeing your own composition through different glasses is indeed interesting. And putting it in front of the world is indeed a difficult task I must say !!

Now moving onto our next explanation for line 2 :

श्वासांमधल्या अगतिकतेला आठवणींचा भास असतो,

The uneasiness of breath gives a false notion of remembering somebody

What should I say? The line is a bit confusing you can say! The uneasiness of the breath you experience sometimes, I want to associate memories with that.The word भास् means a mirage/illusion in Marathi.So, the illusion of memories you get when you are feeling uneasy is a striking concept I can say   Did it struck you ??  Please let me know!!

Just wanted to quote a nice anecdote for this line:

यादें, कभी महफ़िल में तन्हा छोड़ जाती हैं

कभी तन्हाई में महफ़िल सजा देती हैं ..

Hope that sums up all whatever I want to say..

Now, let’s finally get into the line 1.Line 1 goes something like this:

सावलीच्या सोबतीला कधी सहवासाचा ध्यास असतो ,

The shadow sometimes is in pursuit of a company(of somebody),

To put it straight, Shadow is in pursuit of a company.But the beauty is accentuated when I say that even my shadow does not need my company.It is in pursuit of somebody else!And to add to the agony, Shadow is having a hope !! (Even when I don’t have any)

Ahhhh.. That’s it folks!! Thanks for being with me till this point.You may feel I have gone overboard in describing the pain,agony,sadness of a totally lost person.But I must say I really enjoyed thinking on these lines.The feeling of ecstasy I enjoyed while writing expressions for “Curse in form of scent of earth” is still unfathomable for me.I tried to put in my maximum for  translating this prose and explain my point of view to you.Really don’t know how much I have succeeded.Would like to know more from you…

P.S:  Nowhere I intend to say I am a failed lover.I am just putting in my words.Nowhere these are my real life experiences.This is work of  my imagination and feelings.Please don’t attach any tag to me(Lover, Majnu, Lute hue ashiq, blah blah blah ) You are free to attach tags to this poem!!

Do put me a mail at mandarisunique@indiatimes.com if some explanation is needed.

Keep Reading.Keep Blogging.Keep Smiling.