No Entry for Marathi movies in Mumbai theatres

With all the talk of Marathi Cinema undergoing a renaissance… 3M was surprised to see that Theatre owners are protesting against a 1968 Maharashtra Government order which makes it compulsory for all cinema halls to exhibit Marathi movies for 4 weeks in a year. Authorities had actually never verified whether the theatrewallas are complying with the order. Now when the government has tightened the screws by threatening to cancel the license of the non-compliers, Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association has started protesting.

3M is reminded of the ‘Marathi Patya’ issue which raged 6 months ago… Be rest assured that MNS will soon jump in the fray to convert ‘non-compliers’ into ‘compliers’!

More FSI for shrines?

With elections around the corner, Maharashtra Government has increased the FSI for religious shrines… initially when 3M saw the news on TV, he thought this was a misplaced sop… who would want a 10 storied temple or church?

The press reports later clarified that the real beneficiaries will be mosques which are unable to accommodate the faithful during namaz… but ‘secular principles’ have forced the current government to extend it to all religious structures.

Get ready for ‘holy skyscrapers’!

NCP targets Gandhis

As Pawar sets the agenda to ‘break the Coalition Dharma’ in his quest for PMship, his party mouthpiece launches a tirade against the arrogant behaviour of the Gandhi Family towards its coalition partners… but soon Pawar backtrack and distances himself from the controversy… Classic Sharadrao!

3M wonders as to why are people surprised by this move… wasn’t ‘anti-Sonia sentiments’ the ‘founding principles’ of NCP?

Surati Marathi Manoos ko gussa kyon aata hai?

After Shivaji and Ambedkar images are defiled in Surat in Gujarat, the local Marathi speaking community protested in a violent manner… but politicians across party lines were quick to join the protest and quell the anger!

3M Trivia - Incidentally Shivaji looted Surat in 1664 & 1670 to support his war against Mughals as well as the Deccan Sultanates!

‘Slumdog Americans’

Check out this interesting article in Indian Express.

‘I saved Modi’ says Thackeray Sr

BJP has appointed Narendra Modi as the Maharashtra incharge during the Lok Sabha elections… Local BJP satraps are running to Ahmedabad for support as Shiv Sena in warming up to NCP’s overtures. Recently, Munde tried to ‘advise’ Shiv Sena not to cozy up with Pawar as he is a ‘dangerous man’.

Balasaheb Thackeray lashed back at BJP in Samna, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, saying that it was his intervention that saved Modi’s job after Godhra Riots and so they should not try to preach any lessons!

‘PM in waiting’ kept waiting

L K Advani was in Mumbai to accept a cheque of 11 crores that the city BJP unit had collected for his forthcoming Lok Sabha campaign. A senior BJP leader tried to arrange for a meeting with Balasaheb Thackeray… but got snubbed in return! A Sena spokesperson said that Supremo’s schedule is fixed in advance and last minute changes are not welcome. As the news spread in the media circle BJP tried a face saver by saying that such a meeting was not requested by them in the first place.

So will Sena ditch ‘Lotus’ for ‘Clock’ before the Lok Sabha elections? What will Thackeray choose… Marathi Asmita or Hindutva?

Now you have a ‘Marathi Day’!

Did you know that 27th Feb is मराठी भाषा दिवस (Marathi Bhasha Diwas) or ‘Marathi Day’?

No?

3M wont blame you for your poor general knowledge… this is a new invention by Shiv Sena in the run up to the forthcoming elections! Don't you wish they remember the language for rest of the 364 days of the year?

Two time Guinness record holder Laxman Deshpande passes away

Laxman Deshpande, ex Head of Dramatics of Marathwada University, passed away yesterday. His one man show “Varhad Nighalaya Londonla” has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for completing 2971 performances across the globe. The same show got him another Guinness record for playing the most number of characters in a single play… 52 numbers including women and children!

May his soul rest in peace…

Ticketless Terrorist

One of the offences listed in the 26/11 chargesheet filed against Kasab is entry into CST Station without a ticket!

What Heritage?

Most Indian politicians and bureaucrats have scant regard for architectural heritage… but Jairaj Pathak takes the cake! He has made the most ridiculous statement on ‘Heritage Buildings’… “What use is a heritage building if not even 10 people visit it?” Mr. Pathak… you are better off joining Taliban, the Bamiyan Buddha Destroyers!

Crawford Market (Designed by Rudyard Kipling’s father) is one of the enduring legacies of Mumbai and some stupid bureaucrat can’t just ruin it to suit the interests of the builder lobby. 3M requests each and every Mumbaikar to protest against this decision... Thankfully the local MP (Milind Deora) has voiced his support for conservation of this heritage structure!

Karnataka looses key border row strategist

The force behind Karnataka’s committee on Belgaum Border Dispute was actually a Marathi Manoos – H B Datar! His passing away has severely impacted the working of the committee… So will Maharashtra’s designs succeed with a weakened ‘enemy camp’?

Suspicious Boat

Local fisherman at Satpati near Palghar spotted a suspicious boat in the sea with “unindian men”… a 26/11 redux? Luckily it was a naval expedition!

3M hopes that the vigilance does not die out in the days to come.

कशाला उद्याची बात Kashala udyachi baat

First Multilingual song in Indian film industry where the heroine sings the song in 5 languages in addition to Marathi… clearly shows Maharashtra hosting many communities even 70 years ago.

Arya Ambekar’s version in SaReGaMaPa

Too many ‘रडत राउत’s in Maharashtra Congress

3M had earlier mentioned that NCP is gaining strength over Congress due to internal fighting… this week after the cabinet reshuffle, a lot of congresswallas were upset...

Wadettiwar is upset because Rane did not get urban development portfolio…

Deshmukh is upset that Rane has been reinstated…

Rane is upset that Wadettiwar is not inducted…

Adhik is upset that Vikhe-Patil was preferred over him…

Raut is upset that he has been left with Rural home portfolio while Nasim Khan will be in charge of the urban part…

The list goes on and on… Ms. Gandhi resolve the mess before it’s too late!

Marathi Manoos in ‘Amchi Karachi’!

Loksatta carried an amazing article by Umesh Karandikar about Karachi making MNS look stupid about its ‘Karachi Sweets’ protests!

For those who cannot read Marathi, here are some interesting points…

• Karachi had about 25000 Marathi speaking people before independence as it was a part of Bombay Province.
• Even today a sizeable population of Marathi speaking people – both Hindu and Bene Israeli Jews exists in that city.
• Ganapati Festival is still celebrated there in traditional Marathi style with Ukadiche Modak.
• The oldest school in Karachi (Narayan Jaggannath School) was started by a Marathi Manoos and is named after him!

Before reading this article, 3M thought that Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar was the only Marathi Manoos in Karachi!

Marathi in Primary

3M supports the idea of making Marathi compulsory for all students in Maharashtra… but should we load our kids with 4 languages in the formative age? Having no text books can actually compound the problem for parents!

The first Indian Oscar recipient is Marathi

The countdown has begun for 81st Academy Awards as 2 Indians have been nominated – A R Rehman and Resul Pookutty for the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Deccan Herald carried an interesting article on Bhanu Athaiya, the first Indian recipient of an Oscar Award. She had won the award for costume designing for the movie ‘Gandhi’.

3M is sure that very few people know that Bhanu is Marathi! Her maiden name was Bhanumati Rajopadhye and was born and brought up in Kolhapur.

Shiv Jayanti marred by violence

Sambhaji Brigade, one of the Maratha organizations demanding reservation for the community, had threatened to prevent Ashok Chavan from coming to Shivneri fort for the Shiv Jayanti celebration.

Even though the administration tried to ensure that law and order situation was in control, members of the ‘brigade' were able to reach the venue and disrupt the celebrations by pelting stones at a ministerial chopper.

After the incident Chavan declares that the Maratha reservation issue will be resolved within a week! Mr. Chavan… please show us you magic wand and say ‘abracdabra’…

Thackeray- Pawar dating secretly?

Even as NCP officially denounces the Shiv Vada Pav… its legislator has applied for the scheme… and his concoction was adjudged to be 4th best in Mumbai…

At a broader level, Shiv Sena clearly says that it will support ‘Marathi Manoos’ Pawar in his bid to be the next PM… Those in the know are speculating that Uddhav and Pawar are using backdoor channels to stitch up an electoral tie up for the Lok Sabha! Do dil mil rahe hai… magar chupke chupke…

3M wonders if ‘secular’ Pawar can be in the same bed as ‘communal’ Thackeray? If this actually happens, the alliance can potentially sweep the state as the national parties will be totally weakened…

Mrs. Karkare takes a U-turn

After making the ‘Forgive Kasab’ pitch, Kavita Karkare makes a u turn and demands ‘Kasab should be hanged’… 3M wonders if she is shooting from the hip… or as Mr. Vijapurkar says… the lady has something up her sleeve!

Reema ani Reema

Reema Lagoo is experimenting with a new concept in Marathi theatre… Double role... not Seeta-aur-Geeta variety... One Reema will be on the stage and the other Reema will be projected on the screen from a prerecorded audio visual. The key to this experiment is timing as real and virtual characters interact with each other.

Knowing Ms. Lagoo’s acting skills this one is sure going to be a treat for Marathi Manoos! 3M wishes her all the best for her new venture.

Marathi-German-Russian Dictionary published

Usually Indians have to have a reasonably sound knowledge of English if they have to learn other foreign languages. But now Pune University has made it easy for Marathi Manoos to learn German and Russian by releasing a Marathi-German-Russian Dictionary.

3M lauds the effort but feels that in the new world order Chinese (Mandarin), Spanish and Arabic will have more importance than French and German… but our educationist are still trapped in the Gora-centric world!

PC gets a taste of ‘Chavan’prash

Using the unveiling of the Shahu Maharaj Statue in Delhi as an opportunity, Ashok Chavan led a multi-party delegation to meet P Chidambaram and discuss the Belgaum Dispute. Chavan’s statement after the meeting… "The Marathi-speaking people are subjected to harassment in Karnataka. They are being arrested, their voice is being suppressed."

Chavansaheb... too little... too late

Pink-slip-proof House

One of the sectors that have been badly hit due to economic slowdown is Real Estate. Innovation is the key to survival for most firms in these trying times… from ‘Nano houses’ to EMI starting after possession and from Mercedes free to House-on-house we have seen one trick after another. But all these gimmicks don’t work when “layoffs” and “closure” have become a part of every conversation… obviously those in “shaken up” industries like software, automobile and travel have postponed the decision of buying their dream home.

Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP) has come up with an innovative idea… a Pink-slip-proof house! So if you buy a house in Pune and also loose your job in course of time, the builder will pay 3 EMIs. Even after that you are not able to get a job then the bank will accept delayed payment for a limited period of time.

Puneri Innovation indeed!

Rajsri Shahu Maharaj’s statue unveiled

Pratibha Patil unvield the statue of Rajsri Shahu Maharaj in the Lok Sabha. The late Maharaja of Kolhapur pioneered a lot of welfare concept more than a century ago when they were unheard of in many parts of the world… from widow remarriage and inter-caste marriage and from free education to challenging the Brahmin supremacy in religious rites! But what actually set him apart was the fact that he reserved 50% of the government jobs for the oppressed classes… 80 years before Mandal Commission suggested 'affirmative action'!

No wonder Shahu Maharaj has become a poster boy for Mayawati… she has renamed the Kanpur University and one district after him… an honour that his home state has also not given him!

3M Trivia - Shahu Maharaj is the 3rd Marathi Manoos after Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar whose statue has been installed in the Lok Sabha. Incidently all 3 have contributed immensely in uplifting the downtrodden in India.

Pu La's views on Belgaum Dispute

After reading my post on Belgaum Dispute, Gaurav Sabnis shared Pu La Deshpande’s speech during a Kannada Sahitya Sabha in Pune. His thoughts are quite humbling… “Maharashtra and Karnataka are political entities while Marathi and Kannadiga are cultural entities… you have meeting lines in the later case and borders in the former… one welcomes each other… the other say don’t enter!”

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3M salutes Pu La for making such a profound statement with such ease… and laced with this characteristic humour!

Cycle comes to Pawar’s support

As Sharad Pawar prepares ground for becoming the next PM, cracks start appearing in the ruling coalition. Now Samajwadi Party has come out in his support!

Time will tell if the Maratha Strongman will succeed in his intentions.

हा सागरी किनारा Ha Sagari Kinara

Now 90th Marathi Natya Sammelan in America

As San Jose (USA) hosts the first International Marathi Sahitya Sammelan on Valentine’s Day, another equally important event is taking place in Beed in Maharashtra… 89th Marathi Natya Sammelan. Mohan Joshi, noted Marathi actor, is presiding over the event. He revealed that the next Natya Sammelan will be in New Jersey.

Though the response to the event is phenomenal, the culture enthusiasts are miffed with the fact that the venue is being used by all the political parties to campaign for the forthcoming elections.

More trains from 'Cow Belt'

Raj Thackeray criticized Lalu Yadav for starting 2 more trains from UP and Bihar to Maharashtra… when we already have 17 trains plying between Mumbai and Bihar!

3M remembers that few years back Goans had fought tooth and nail to cancel a proposed train from Bihar to Madgaon... but Lalu's might prevailed!

Shiv Sena’s anti-Valentine stand hurts Marathi Manoos

IBN Lokmat carried an interesting story yesterday… Due to anti-Valentine protests by Shiv Sena, the flower vendors in Mumbai are non committal about stocking red roses. Usually the prices of roses shoot up on Valentines… and the farmer and vendor (Most are Marathi) make a tidy sum! Something that is unlikely to happen this year. And Uddhav speaks of understanding farmers' woes...

शिवसेनेची लाथ मराठी पोटावर?

Warkaris are miffed again

After making Dow Chemicals eat a humble pie, Warkaris have took on the might of a Sahitya Akademi Winner. Anand Yadav released his new work – Sant Surya Tukaram on the life and times of Saint Tukaram. But passages which described that Tukaram used to get pleasure out of having small talk with his neighbour’s daughter have irked this pious set from rural areas of Pune District… they are demanding that the author should show the “Research Material” to authenticate his point. Finally giving into the pressures Yadav has tendered an unconditional apology and withdrew the book.

3M agrees that the author should have adequate backup to make such 'revelations'… but why are Indians so obsessed with de-sexing their historical characters?

Saffron Brigade to peddle ‘Cow Cola’

Those who thought Hindu Jagran Manch was using weird logic to oppose Valentine’s… be ready to drink Cow Cola.

But before you think this is humbug, 3M would like to assure that such a product is available on the Indian shelves!

Why you should not be celebrating Valentine's Day!

11 Simple reasons...

1. There is no scientific, cultural base to this day.
2. The saint himself was involved in the anti-national acts at his time, then how one can get any good result by celebrating the day on his name ?
3. On this day young girls and boys come together at pubs, sea shores, hotels, colleges etc and indulge in indecent acts. A common person finds it difficult to even go around such places at this time. Some organisations organize such programs where the young boys and girls can stay together.
4. The young students of schools and colleges are falling prey to such culture and express their love to each other by way of exchanging greeting cards. But actually speaking it is not love but only a attraction to the opposite sex at a tender and immature age.
5. There are several examples of such mentally ill patients with psychiatrist who have stuck to their mental illness by 'proposing' on 'Valentine day'.
6. It has long lasting bad effect on any youth's career and also on society.
7. The seeds are planted on this day to grow up and cause the destabilization of society through fall in morality.
8. We can know direct attack of any outside but cultural invasion is very difficult to notice and even some times difficult to defend ourselves from its evil results.
9. Cultural derailment always leads the society towards destruction which we are experiencing today in our Bharat (India).
10. Many western countries not celebrate this day. Calendar of Roman Catholic Saints' was prepared in 1969, 'Valentine Day' was omitted from the general Roman calendar. If this is so then why we should value this day in our Hindustan?
11. The western custom put the parents in 'old age home' and then celebrate showy Mother's Day' and Father's Day' for one day ! Same is the case of 'Valentine day' Is the real love showy and limited to just one day? In Indian culture we have numbers of festivals to express love towards each other and also it is part of our lifestyle.

In case you think that 3M has gone bonkers... hold your horses! This is the hilarious logic of Hindu Jagruti Manch.... for more entertainment please click here. BTW has HJM taken copyright from Pramod Muthalik on such views?

“You can’t survive in Maharashtra without learning Marathi”

This article in Bangalore edition of Indian Express claims that “if we go to Maharashtra we cannot survive without learning Marathi”… 3M almost choked laughing after reading this line!

It is the only state in India where you can survive and flourish without knowing the local language… when locals are more than eager to speak your tongue why should migrants learn it?

MCX Stock Exchange website now in Marathi

As Marathi Manoos shuns his shyness of dancing with the Bulls and Bears, MCX Stock Exchange opens a website in Marathi. This will certainly go a long way in attracting investors from mofussil towns in Maharashtra. MCX-SX already offers this service in Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil & Malayalam.

Click on this link to see the website.

Opposition to Shiv Vada Pav

As Shiv Sena gears up to introduce Shiv Vada Pav to the world, NCP is not amused. They feel that Maharashtrian sentiments have been hurt by linking Shivaji’s name to this humble dish.

But NCP is not only one to oppose this much loved snack… Dietary experts have dubbed Vada Pav as “Heart Attack Food”!

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan - American Style

With for 4 days to go for the “First International Marathi Sahitya Sammelan”, the Marathi community in San Jose, California is buzzing with activity. With renowned people from the film and music community agreeing to join the event, this will be an event that Marathi Manoos in America will cherish for a long time to come.

This event seems to have cleared a lot of hurdles. If you recall, this sammelan was planned against stiff opposition from a section of “Marathi Literati”… but eventually the ‘backlash’ seems to have melted away! Then came the rumours of recession hitting the event… and 2 days back Dr. Gangadhar Pantavane, the chairperson, voiced his displeasure on Zee 24 Taas about the “uncouth correspondence” by the organizing committee.

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3M hopes that in the final lap the sammelan itself will take place without any glitches!

Political parties to play cupid!

Congress has been trying to woo the younger voters by projecting Rahul Gandhi and other young scions as leaders… But Srirama Sene and Shiv Sena have got it all wrong by opposing valentine’s day. No wonder Muthalik is getting loads of PINK CHADDIS!

Raj Thackeray incidentally has tuned into his TG (Target Group) correctly by supporting Valentine’s day… but King Pawar’s men have gone a step forward… these wannabe cupids are selling valentine’s greetings @ Thane station!

Shinde as PM?

As NCP prepares to project Sharad Pawar as the future PM, another Marathi name is doing the rounds of the Delhi rumour mills… Sushilkumar Shinde! In case, the new allies “don’t like” Manmohan Singh after the Lok Sabha elections… a Marathi Manoos may finally make it to the Delhi Throne!

कारे दुरावा, कारे अबोला Kare Durava, Kare Abola?

अट्या पाट्या 11: ‘Bombay is now Mumbai’ Patya

Two hotels… one in up market Phoenix Mills and the other in down market Dharavi continue to use “Bombay” in English but “Mumbai” in Marathi…

अट्या पाट्या 10: ‘What Marathi?’ Patya

A set of shops and establishments are still defiant and refuse to have even a miniscule touch of Marathi on their shopboards…

Surprisingly a management college run by a Marathi institution shuns Marathi to look “international”… Wellingkar trying to look like “Wellington”!

अट्या पाट्या 9: ‘Do I know this brand?’ Patya

Some brands look really funny in Marathi…

Mr. Pathak... please spare us the torture of seeing these phunni Patya!

Marathi Pamphlet

One Sunday this pamphlet landed in our morning stack of newspapers…

3M was amused to see a ‘Marathi only’ pamphlet in Mumbai after decades…

MMW took 20 mins to read it…

A Marathi neighbour thought that the vegetable vendor was naïve enough to give a Marathi pamphlet…

But our ‘North Indian’ neighbour saw this as an ‘MNS conspiracy’!

One pamphlet… multiple reactions!

अट्या पाट्या 8: ‘Confused’ Patya

Some shops are so confused as to how they should put up a Marathi signboard that they end up making a fool of themselves… This Bata shop is a classic example!

Marathi Film Industry in top gear

Year started on a good note for the Marathi Film Industry, with phenomenal success of Ek Dav Dhobipachchad. As the industry undergoes a renaissance, big corporates (Reliance, ABCL, Mukta Arts and Zee) are falling over each other to grab a share of the pie.

Incidentally, Jaya Bachchan who seems to be ‘allergic to all things Marathi’ is producing Umesh Kulkarni’s Vihir… Wot sayz Raj?

अट्या पाट्या 7: ‘Central Sarkari’ Patya

Sarkari and semi Sarkari signboards have always stuck to bilingual and trilingual formats…

Mind you... ‘Hindi Falak’ is not same as ‘Marathi Patya’… don’t be led into believing that the EC signboard is in Marathi!

Microsoft in Marathi

Microsoft introduces Language Interface Packs for 12 indian languages including Marathi… so now you can use e-mail, Instant Messenger, online storage, photo gallery, social networking, calendar, online storage, personal home page, and more in your mother tongue… Good, no?

अट्या पाट्या 6: ‘Honey, I painted it myself’ Patya

Looks like this kanjoos shopkeeper has not changed his signboard since 1950s… and did not want to spend on a painter either… so he seems to have tackily painted the Marathi part himself!

12 new frog species found in the Sahyadris

Since time immemorial, Sahyadris (Wrongly called ‘western Ghats’ by the Anglicised Janta) has been the cultural, historical and ecological backbone of peninsular India. Spread over 5 states this ancient mountain range never ceases to fascinate 3M… from ancient cave temples to forgotten forts and from innumerable birds to fascinating animals. The area is one of the world’s ten "Hottest biodiversity hotspots" and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats.

Recently, a team of biologists has discovered 12 new species of frogs in this region. This discovery once again exposes the crying need for a joint policy across these 5 states to conserve the biodiversity of this endangered region.