Why were old movies like "Mahal" of Ashok Kumar - Madhubala, "Ghumnam" of Manoj Kr. Nanda, "Wo Kaun Thi", "Mera Saya" of Sunil Dutt-Sadhna so big iconic films?

 Sorry for the long answer.

Everything right from the story, screenplay, dialogues, cinematography, music are par excellence.

Besides this, it's also the conviction which acts as a driving factor backed by immense talent.

Mahal: Kamal Amrohi's first film. Who can forget the stunning effects of Josef Wirsching's atmospheric lighting and Kamal Amrohi's tracking shots, the sheer beauty of Ashok Kumar-Madhubala, the sound design and the dialogues.

A perfect example of combination of idea and execution. Just watch how the few lines before the song Aayega Aanewala are shot.

The juggling between lights and shadows is par excellence.

The vision of Amrohi's romantic obsession is perfectly brought to life by German cinematographer Josef Wirsching.

Gumnaam: Directed by Raja Nawathe (who had worked as an assistant director with Raj Kapoor) is loosely based on the novel, “And then there were none”. Raja Nawathe was successful in transforming it into a typical bollywood murder mystery. The driving factor of Gumnaam is its tight script and screenplay. The screenplay is written very tactfully and leaves no clue of the murderer till the end.

The film holds the grip throughout the movie and keeps the audience at the verge of their seat.

Murder mysteries have always remained a fantasy for bollywood lovers and Gumnaam is known for its anonymity that is missing in most of the murder mysteries today as they put an effort to make the plot complicated.

Woh Kaun Thi? - Raj Khosla started his career as an assistant director to Guru Dutt and Woh Kaun Thi was the beginning of his trilogy followed by Mera Saaya and Anita. Again a gripping story intrigued with twists and turns which makes the viewers keep guessing about the haunting lady's true identity.

The opening heavy rainfall scene is so impressive that the viewer gets compelled to watch the entire movie.

One of the best opening scene of an Indian suspense-thriller.

The film is shot in black and white which make the characters appear more mysterious than they actually are.

Mera Saaya: Mera Saaya, yet another engaging thriller by Raj Khosla which featured Saadhna in a double role.

The film is a spellbinding suspense which has an engrossing courtroom drama with hilarious comedy and can be called a perfect entertainer. It has atmospheric cinematography and skillful use of lighting.

Raj Khosla is successful in creating a dark and mysterious ambience and succeeds in capturing the tension and suspense of the story.

A collective mention for outstanding performances and melodious music in all the above mentioned films.

The above films are an example of teamwork where each one of them have contributed to the vision of the director.

The director is known as the captain of the ship and when the vision of the director is clear as to what he wants to make, then we get classic films like the ones mentioned above.

Last image: Director Kamal Amrohi.

Image(s) Courtesy: Google

What was the effect of the British rule on the old zamindars?

 Obviously there were new changes which happened during the British rule like the introduction of Permanent Settlement of Bengal in 1793 which was an agreement between the British and the zamindars on the land revenue.The zamindars got exclusive rights on their lands and could collect taxes and give a share of it to the government.

But another major change was the compromise on various traditions to cater to the needs of the British. Beef and Ham dishes from the Wilson’s Hotel(Kolkata) were served to the British men who attended the famous Shovabazar Durga pujo.

Shovabazar Durga puja was started by Maharaja Naba Krishna Deb at his rajbari in 1757. This guy along with Mir Jafar,Amir Beg and Ramchand Roy were responsible for the downfall of Siraj Ud Daulah. So Mir Jafar was not the only traitor,there were many more including Naba Krishna Deb.

All these ministers were given about 8 crore from the treasury of Murshidabad and were given lands to rule.Naba Krishna Deb got the region of Sutanuti,Shovabazar(Sutanuti was one of the three villages which formed Kolkata).He built his rajbari in Shovabazar(named after Shobaram Basak who was among the “Seths and Basaks” of Saptagram,these were Jain(seth) and bengali(basak) traders from the earlier port Saptagram which was abandoned once Kolkata was founded because of changing river course of Saraswati).

Naba Krishna Deb used the wealth given to him after the Battle of PLassey to build his rajbari,a few streets in Shobhabazar(Naba Krishna street),a few temples like the Lal Mondir and to celebrate the famous Durga puja festival.

Robert Clive attending the Durga pujo of Shovabazar rajbari-it became a tradition for the British to visit this pujo after Robert Clive

This Durga puja became a fashion and status symbol for the merchant class of Kolkata and compromised on many traditions. It was made into a party with muslim nautch girls dancing.The British men in these parties were offered beef and ham which were completely against Hindu traditions.

Lord Kartikeyar was dressed in European breeches instead of his traditional dhuti-churidar.Interestingly the worship of Lord Ganesha along with the other deities in Shovabazar Durga puja was popularised by the marwari traders of the lineage of Jagat Seth. The Durga idol was dressed with jewellery of the Mughals and Nawabs of oudh.

Worship of Ganesha in Shovabazar Durga Puja(lower left corner)-popularised by the marwari traders of Bengal

This was just one zamindar family.There were plenty of changes brought with time.Making a religious festival into a grand European party was one of them.

Even to this day,we make a lot of compromises to celebrate Durga puja in Kolkata like revealing faces of the idols before Sasthi or making various “themed” puja pandals because it has now become a status symbol.This is often disliked by the more traditional people of Bengal,Assam and Odisha.

GANESH CHATURTHI CELEBRATIONS

Celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi by the Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal at Belagavi,Karnataka in the presence of Lokmanya Tilak in 1905

Ganesh Chaturthi was an important event promoted by marathi freedom fighters like Tilak to promote Nationalism for Bharat and also Hindu nationalism

Belagavi celebrations in 1960

Ganesh Chaturthi at Bombay,1946

a video of the Grand Procession of Ganpati Murti in Bombay,1946(British Pathe)

ಕ್ಷೀರಪಥವು ಎಷ್ಟು ಹಳೆಯದು? ಎಷ್ಟು ವಯಸ್ಸಾಯಿತು?

 ಕ್ಷೀರಪಥವು 1361 ಕೋಟಿ ವರ್ಷ ಹಳೆಯದು ಎಂದು ಗೂಗಲ್ ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ನಮ್ಮ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಾಂಡದಷ್ಟು ಹಳೆಯದು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

ಅಂತೆಯೇ ಸೂರ್ಯ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು 460ಕೋಟಿ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ.

ಕ್ಷೀರಪಥದ ಮೇಲ್ಕಂಡ ಚಿತ್ರ, ಕ್ಷೀರ ಸಾಗರವನ್ನು ಮಂಥಿಸುವ ಪುರಾಣದ ಟಿವಿ ಸೀರಿಯಲ್ ದೃಶ್ಯವನ್ನು ನೆನಪಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.

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ಭೂಮಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು ಸುಮಾರು 454 ಕೋಟಿ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ.

ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಹಳೆಯ ಗ್ರಹ ಎಂದು ಗುರುವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಬಹುದು. ಸೌರಮಂಡಲ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಮೂವತ್ತು ಲಕ್ಷ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ನಂತರ ಗುರು ಹುಟ್ಟಿತು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

ಮೊದಲ ಜೀವಿ ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು 350 ಕೋಟಿ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ.

ಮನುಷ್ಯರು ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದು 6 ದಶಲಕ್ಷ ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ.

ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ 7 ಅದ್ಬುತಗಳು ಯಾವುವು?

 ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಏಳು ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳ ಎರಡು ಗುಂಪುಗಳಿವೆ. ಅವುಗಳು ಯಾವುದೆಂದರೆ ಏಳು ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಏಳು ಆಧುನಿಕ ಯುಗದ ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳು.

ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಏಳು ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳು-

• ಗೀಜಾ಼ದ ಮಹಾನ್ ಪಿರಮಿಡ್​​ಗಳು, ಈಜಿಪ್ಟ್-

• ಬ್ಯಾಬಿಲೋನಿಯಾದ ನೇತಾಡುವ ತೋಟಗಳು-

• ಎಫಿಸಸ್‌ನ ಆರ್ಟೆಮಿಸ್ ದೇವಾಲಯ-

• ಒಲಿಂಪಿಯಾದ ಜಿ಼ಯುಸ್ ಪ್ರತಿಮೆ-

• ಹೆಲಿಕಾರ್ನಸಸ್ ಸಮಾಧಿ-

• ಅಲೆಗ್ಸ್ಯಾಂಡ್ರಿಯಾದ ದೀಪಸ್ತಂಭ-

• ಕೊಲೊಸಸ್ ಆಫ಼್ ರೋಡ್ಸ್-

ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಗೀಜಾ಼ದ ಪಿರಮಿಡ್​​ಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರ ಇನ್ನೂ ಇಳಿದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಬೆರೆಯೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಭೂಕಂಪ, ಯುದ್ಧ, ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಅವಘಡಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಶವಾಗಿದೆ.

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ಆಧುನಿಕ ಯುಗದ ಏಳು ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳು-

• ತಾಜ್ ಮಹಲ್, ಆಗ್ರಾ, ಭಾರತ-

• ಚೀನಾದ ಮಹಾ ಗೋಡೆ-

• ಚಿಚೆನ್ ಇಟ್ಜಾ, ಮೆಕ್ಸಿಕೊ-

• ಕ್ರೈಸ್ಟ್ ದಿ ರಿಡೀಮರ್, ರಿಯೋ ಡಿ ಜನೈರೊ, ಬ್ರಜಿ಼ಲ್-

• ಕೊಲೊಸಿಯಮ್, ರೋಮ್, ಇಟಲಿ-

• ಮಾಚು ಪಿಚ್ಚು, ಪೆರು-

• ಪೆಟ್ರಾ, ಜಾರ್ಡನ್-


ಇವಲ್ಲದೆ ಪ್ರಾಚೀನ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಏಳು ಅದ್ಭುತಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದುಕೊಂಡಿರುವ ಈಜಿಪ್ಟಿನ ಗೀಜಾ಼ದ ಪಿರಮಿಡ್​​ ಅನ್ನು ಎಂಟನೇಯ ಅದ್ಭುತವಾಗಿ ಗೌರವಾನ್ವಿತ ಸ್ಥಾನ ಹೊಂದಿದೆ.

ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಮೂಲ: ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯ