Balkadu Trailer बाळकडू एक झलक

Watched the trailer of Balkadu... and it certainly does not look like movie "based on the life of Balasaheb Thackeray" as was being touted... but more on the "asmita" instilled in Marathi Manoos by him. Let's hope it is not just a rabble rouser but in the league of "Mee Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy" that helped 3Ms to introspect why have they reached this situation!

3Mpedia for the uninitiated: 'Balkadu' is a traditional ayurvedic medicine given to toddlers to improve their digestion. It is also an metaphor in Marathi for values instilled in your formative years. Here it is an intended pun as "Bal" also refers to Balasaheb!

Maharaj gets a birthday scrub!

Few days before Shivajayanti, Alibag municipality ensures that the statue is squeaky clean!

Shivaji... just a Maharashtrian Hero???

3M gets irritated when Chhatrapati Shivaji is referred to as “Marathi/ Mahrashtrian Hero”. We have to realise that his impact was far wider and that his embryonic Maratha Empire went on to dismantle the centuries old Mughal Empire in less than half a century from his death.

But it is interesting to know that even at its peak, Shivaji's kingdom covered less that 20% of current day state of Maharashtra... essentially hugging the Sahyadri mountain range! Post coronation, he realised that his fledgling kingdom will require strategic depth in case of an all out Mughal attack. So he embarked on a southern conquest which is popularly known as “Dakshin Digvijay”. This foresighted action ensured that the Maratha capital was shifted to Gingee in Tamil Nadu by his son Rajaram during Aurangzeb’s ‘War of 27 Years’!

The above map shows that Shivaji’s kingdom (Hindavi Swaraj) was spread in current day states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Tamil Nadu... and you still look upon Shivaji as "just a Maharashtrian Hero”???

Jyotirling Darshan on Mahashivaratri

Maharashtra is lucky to have 5 out of the 12 Jyotirlings of Lord Shiva. But most of us might not be aware of their location. So 3M has created a map giving the exact locations!

Aundha Nagnath in Hingoli District
Bhimashankar in Pune District
Grushneshwar in Aurangabad District
Parali Vaijanath in Beed District
Trimbakeshwar in Nashik District

View 5 Jyotirlings in Maharashtra in a larger map

3M TRIVIA: Most people are aware that most of the temples destroyed by Muslims were rebuilt by Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the dowager Maratha queen of Indore which includes Jyotrilings outside Maharashtra like Kashi Vishweshwar, Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Kedarnath etc. But very few people are aware that one of the Gopurams of Srisailam Jyotirling was built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during his "Dakshin Digvijay" (Southern Conquests). Sadly this gopuram is in very poor condition currently!

Shivaji by Mario Miranda

American Shivaji

Any guesses where is this beautiful statue of Shivaji Maharaj located? 

San Jose, California, USA!

This is the only statue of the Great Maratha outside our country.

Image Courtesy: महाराष्ट्राची दुर्गसंपत्ती

Iconic Tower @ Wadala

London has ‘Gherkin’… Dubai has ‘Burj’… Taiwan has ‘Taipei 101’… Tumhare paas kya hai?... Mere paas ‘Wadala Tower’ Hai!

Civil Aviation ministry has finally given a go-ahead to MMRDA for an iconic tower at Wadala in Mumbai… But MMRDA seems to have misplaced priorities… should it not be investing in developing infrastructure? Can we finish the simple metro and monorail projects before we take this flight of fancy? Even pothole-free road will do for a change!

3M wonders if the name of this tower will be CST – Chhatrapati Shivaji Tower?

Shivaji’s descendants swap parties in quest for power

Brand Shivaji is so powerful that every party in Maharashtra tries to get a rub off from it in the election time… now his descendants are playing KhoKho between Congress and NCP to ensure that they get the ticket for the forthcoming Lok Sabha Elections.

3M is pained that Brand Shivaji is used in letter and not in spirit!

मी शिवाजीराजे भोसले बोलतोय - Me Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy

“Mumbai is located in Maharashtra… but very little of Maharashtra is left in Mumbai” claims Satosh Manjrekar (Mahesh Manjrekar's brother) in his new Marathi Movie - Mi Shivajiraje Bhosale Boltoy.

The plot revolves around Dinkar Maruti Bhosale… a 4M – Middle-aged Middle-class Marathi Manoos… who keeps on grumbling about being sidelined in Mumbai for being Marathi! So he curses his 500 generations for his bad luck – the fact that he was born a Marathi… Shivaji’s sprit hears this and ‘marches’ into Mumbai to tell Marathi Manoos that he himself is responsible for the current state of affairs… ‘You have to command respect… not demand it!’

Sachin Khedekar looks perfect in the role of 4M… but Mahesh Manjrekar looks too tired and puffy to play Shivaji! 3M is amused that the movie is being released on 3rd April... just in time for LS elections… Art or Propaganda? Certainly looks less jingoistic than ‘Mumbai Aamchich’! Also Manjrekar is leaving no stone unturned to promote this movie... Google ads has been effectively used to ensure that the banner pops on all news related to 'Marathi', 'Maharashtra', 'Mumbai', 'Thackeray' etc... probably a first for any Marathi Movie!

TRAILER OF THE MOVIE

Psst... Psst... the music was launched by RajT last week... Hmm...

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Architects not keen on Shivaji Memorial

One of the grandest promises in the Congress-NCP Election Manifesto for the last assembly elections was to erect a memorial dedicated to Shivaji that is ‘taller than the Statue of Liberty’. The government slept on this initiative for 3 years and in the run up to this election has revived the proposal. According to the plan the memorial will be built in the sea off Marine Drive and will have a museum, amphitheatre etc.

Last year, they invited proposal from leading architects around the world for this memorial, with a few lac rupees as the first, second and third prize. The government was expecting 50 to 60 entries. Surprisingly, only three architects have come forward to participate in this ‘contest’… now all are assured of a prize even if they submit shoddy designs!

I come from an anti-national family!

My family hails from a tiny village in coastal Maharashtra called Gothos गोठोस (Not to be mistaken with the Planet Gothos in Star Wars!). The village was given as an Inam (Fiefdom) by the Raja of Sawantwadi to my ancestors when they migrated here to avoid the Portuguese Inquisition in Goa. Had heard this story as a child from elders in the family. Obviously, the royal family of Sawantwadi was regarded in high esteem by our entire clan and for me as a child they were the “good guys”. The Sawantwadi Palace gates were part of our summer vacation itinerary when we went to our “native place”.

The Sawantwadi Throne

Even though, Balbharti made very boring history textbooks, history was my favourite subject in school… Thanks to Sushila Raghavan, our history teacher who made the subject lively for us. These textbooks emphasised and reemphasised that Ch. Shivaji was our “national hero”… something that I did not understand clearly way back then. I knew that our army jawans who protected us from the “evil” Pakistani army were “National Heros”… So Ch. Shivaji must have fought against all the “anti-national elements” to get this title!

Class 6… history lessons… about Ch. Shivaji’s fight with the Portuguese… lovely! Nice to know that Ch. Shivaji gave a “bloody nose” to these guys who had persecuted my ancestors… I started liking Ch. Shivaji even more!

The iconic image from my history book painted by Raja Ravi Verma

And then came the heart wrenching part in the history book. In the war between Ch. Shivaji and the Portuguese, the Raja of Sawantwadi allied with the later. Oh………… my……… god! The Raja of Sawantwadi was an “anti-national” and my family sustained under his family's tutelage for 3 centuries… which means, I belong to an anti-national family!

It took my dad 2 days of reasoning to get me out of the “shock”!