THE KING'S SPEECH !!!

‘What’s he saying?’ ‘I don’t know, but he must be saying it around the world.’ ‘God save our King!’ ‘I am going to record your voice and play it back to you on the same machine.’ ‘Happy Christmas! God bless you!’ ‘Your darling brother, the future King appears to be interested in invariably a wife of another.’ ‘You are the Head of the Church!’ ‘You are a common man on what basis?’ ‘We need a King for whom we can stand behind united.’ ‘A few hours ago, I discharged my last duties as a King of the Empire.’ ‘My job was to give them face in their own voice. I am not a Doctor.’ ‘Everything I know; I know from experience and that war was really some experience.’ ‘Get up! You can’t sit there. That is St. Edward’s Chair. That is the Stone of Scone.’ ‘This country is at war with Germany.’ ‘Congratulations! Your Highness! It was a true broadcasting.’ ‘King George VI made Lionel Logue; a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1944.’

In which year, who was ordered by whom to give the closing speech at the Empire Exhibition in Wembley of London City and why? Why Elizabeth went to meet an Australian Doctor? The patient got a new name, ‘Bertie’! Elocution of Shakespeare’s famous ‘To be or not to be’ dialogue with background music was not so bad. King George V suggested something to Duke of York! Albert heard the recording and got some confidence. The doctor prescribed his patient to do some physical exercises everyday! King George V died. Who succeeded King George V? Have you heard the name of Adolf Hitler? Why was Winston Churchill so worried? Why Edward RI stepped down on 10^th December 1936? Why the new King felt humiliated in front of so many people? On 3^rd September 1939, Germany declared a war. Did the people of all the states of England remain united with each other to fight back against Germany after hearing “THE KING’S SPEECH”?

KANCHENJUNGHA !!!

‘Aapni asben toh?’ ‘Amar naam Monika noy kintu!’ Shri Indranath Chowdhuri Raybahadur, the Chariman of 5 big companies in Kolkata went for a tour to Darjeeling for a few days with his wife, brother-in-law, son, son-in-law, daughters and granddaughter.  Jagadish, the brother of Labanya was fond of birds, rather he started having this new hobby after becoming a widower. ‘Boli roast kore khaowa jaaye? Tahole o pakhi teh amar kono interest nei.’ Anil, the son of Indranath was fond of beautiful girls who look like models. It is not clear even to Anil about his primary hobby as he liked both photography and flirting with beautiful girls. ‘Sorry! Sorry! Maamu! Sorry!’ ‘Oto taara kiser?’ ‘Oi chobigulo aante hobe, o dokaan toh abar bandha hoye jaabe.’

Indranath wanted Banerjee to become his youngest son-in-law. ‘Oke ki propose koreche?’ ‘Bechari Manisha!’ Shankar, the son-in-law of Indranath gave some suggestions to Manisha, the youngest daughter of Indranath. ‘Prem e naa pore biye korish naa.’ Shiv Shankar Roy, the private tutor of Anil also went to Darjeeling for a tour with his nephew, Sekhar Roy.  Shiv Shankar Roy introduced Sekhar Roy to Indranath Chowdhury. ‘Aapnara thakben katodin?’ Aamra kaal ee chole jaabo.’ Manisha found something interesting in Sekhar! Sekhar’s subject was History in Bangabashi College and Manisha is yet to graduate with English subject from Presidency College. ‘Ami Bangla o portaam.’ ‘Ami sunechi Kabi Guru konodin taar kaajer table jaanlaar saamne rakhten naa.’

Lily and Anil is expert in flirting. No one was ready to share their history with each other. ‘O ke?’ ‘O holo Bunty Chatterjee. Amader hotel e thake.’ Who always used to write letters to Anima, the eldest daughter of Indranath? Mr. Banerjee was trying to impress Manisha to win the final lap of the race, but, alas, a new contender stepped in slowly in that racing track. ‘Ki khabor? Aapni ekaa je? Aapnaar pahar bhalo laage na? Aapnaar maa r ki asukh?’ The style of asking the momentary questions by the woman triggered something inside the gentleman’s heart. ‘Lily! I can do anything for you! Anything!’ ‘Thank you! Bye! Bye!’ Out of sight, out of mind! When Lily went out of sight, Anil focussed his heart and camera lens towards another beautiful girl. What a Playboy Anil is!

‘Tomay toh thik chini ne bapu. Urhe ese jurhe bosecho.’ Jagadish Chatterjee decided to explore this new bird. Many a times, the hilly weather is not so ‘misti’ (sweet) but ‘misty’ (thrilling). Human life is sometimes like that misty hilly weather only. Hilly boys have good observation powers. A hilly boy was observing them while they were walking on the hilly road and at the end the hilly boy came to the conclusion that love is a complex English word indeed. Jagadish sometimes fear that too much research on nuclear science may become too harmful for migratory birds. Don’t underestimate the brains of migratory birds. Shankar knew everything about those letters. Was it painful for Anima to destroy those letters? Tuklu became a crucial factor for the married couple?

Indians who got the title of ‘Roybahadur’ from the British people were very egoistic. Indranath was not an exception. When Sekhar refused the job offer, Indranath felt humiliated. But, Sekhar got some mental satisfaction after refusing that job offer. Labanya wanted Manisha to fly like a free bird rather than to stay as a bird of a cage by obeying all the orders of Indranath. Jagadish understood the message of his sister. Mr. Banerjee has a good secured job; he is sincere and honest; he is a wealthy guy. But, still, something was missing in him to impress Manisha. Maybe, Manisha was searching for a person whose heart will be full of romance, innocence and simplicity.

Economic statuses sometimes create barriers!  ‘Ei roudra, ei megh, ei kuasha; sab jano abaastab! Ami jano Hero, ekta giant, beparowa, kauke care kori naa.’ Yes, it is true that the mysterious and wonderful scenic beauty of any hilly area gives you the courage to come out of your cowardice shell to enjoy your life in a carefree manner. ‘Ei erokom jayega e ele sahos tahos sab bere jaaye, na?’ Mr. Banerjee was mature enough to understand the succumbing heart of Manisha. So, Mr. Banerjee allowed freedom to Manisha. ‘Amar emni tei biye korar khub ekta taara chilo na. Ekhon, you are free!’ For a girl, which is important, Love or Security? Why the little hilly boy was singing with joy? Finally, did Jagadish succeed in spotting the perfect Love Birds in “KANCHENJUNGHA”?

MILLION DOLLAR ARM !!!

‘What do you know about Pittsburgh Pirates?’ ‘Baseball should not be all about business, it should have fun.’ ‘What is he doing now?’ ‘He is having fun’.’That sounded good.’ ‘Ok! Do you know what we call that?’ ‘We call it JUICE.’ Let us go back to the year of 2008. For getting a better job in a better company with a good salary package, you have job agents or consultants for the jobseekers. Similarly, for getting selected in a reputed sports club with a decent pay package, you have sports agents or consultants for the sportspersons. The deal with Popo failed. The Sports Agency Firm was looking for some fresh talented players to invest on them to make a contract with some sports team. J.B.Bernstein, a sports agent opened up a firm with a joint partnership with two businessmen; one was Ash Vasudevan and another one was Will Chang. Theresa was the Secretary of that firm. In 2008, which nation was still the untapped market to get some new sportspersons? ‘Cricket is a great game. A billion people play this game.’ Brenda was the neighbour of J.B. Bernstein. ‘Backyard hottie! Stay away from that because she is not a model and she is smart. That’s terrible.’ Ash was also feeling frustrated as in their 3 years of partnerships, they did not find any new big client to invest upon. On that night, J.B. Bernstein was switching from one TV Channel to the other with the help of a remote control device. The program of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and the ‘Natwest Trophy’ series between India and England Cricket Team helped J.B. Bernstein to have a new idea of investment.

‘They don’t play baseball in India.’ ‘You do it in 1 year.’ Chang accepted the proposal. The talent hunt began. Tom House, the baseball coach was of the opinion that it is impossible to get some talented baseball players in India because majority of Indians play cricket only and the styles of throwing and pitching the ball in baseball and cricket are entirely different. Brenda’s washing machine malfunctioned. So, J.B. Bernstein gave the keys to Brenda to use his washing machine. Welcome to India, J.B. Sir! The talent hunt began. ‘Boom, shaka laka boom.’ Welcome to Mumbai. Vivek, the tour operator and the event manager of the talent hunt program told J.B.Bernstein about bypassing the system. The age old tradition of bribes still exists within the system of customs. ‘Indians love honking and bypassing the system.’ Amit Rohan, a youngster who taught baseball in Navi Mumbai also joined in the talent hunt program as a free secretary of J.B.Bernstein. Advertisements were done. Two persons will be selected out of all the participants on the basis of speed and accuracy of the baseball throwing. The prize money is One Million Dollar and the winners will get a free trip to USA. ‘Don’t worry, J.B., Indians are very good in spreading the words.’ Ray Poitevint, a famous baseball player became the judge of this talent hunt. The talent hunt team conducted the baseball throwing auditions at Nasik, Jaipur, Delhi, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bangalore and Goa. The final selection will be done in the audition at Mumbai.

Brenda kept in touch with J.B.Bernstein through Skype. The minimum benchmark was to throw the baseball at the target at a speed of 83 miles per hour. Brenda was having a date with some other guy! Anyway, J.B. Bernstein was busy in his work. ‘Aah! This is Lucknow. It has a very fine reputation.’ Welcome to the Lucknow Sports Academy. The boys of Lucknow Sports Academy impressed everyone by throwing the baseball at an average speed of at least 77 miles/hour. Out of all the participants from Lucknow, Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh got selected for the final round. Amit got the job of a translator and he is also going to USA alongwith the 2 winners. The final round began in Mumbai. Dinesh Patel impressed everyone with his throws and was at the top of the chart. Now it was time for Rinku Singh to throw the baseball. ‘It is the lefty.’ ‘We call him the Flamingo.’ Rinku Singh topped the chart by surpassing Dinesh Patel. Rinku Singh came first to win the 1 Million Dollar prize money and Dinesh Patel became the Runners-up. Vivek requested J.B. Bernstein to take special care and responsibility of these two boys in USA as these two village boys never ever went out of their village. ‘Yes! Of course! We will have a great time out there. That’s fun.’  Welcome to United States of America. Point to be noted that Rinku Singh loved to play javelin and Dinesh Patel loved to play field hockey. Amit Rohan loved baseball. So, the conclusion is that the majority of Indians love to play Cricket but not all the Indians love to play Cricket. 

‘Aah! I told you that they can’t stay on their own.’ The Hotel Manager was fed up of those boys. J.B. Bernstein allowed those boys to stay in his own house. ‘J.B. Sir! Where is your family?’ ‘No family, man, just me.’ Amit, the translator also got a new role as a video photographer. The baseball training of Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel started at USC under Tom House, the baseball coach. Tom understood that these two Indian kids must have some fun to keep themselves refreshed and energized for the game of baseball. Did J.B. Bernstein commit a blunder by taking them to a party? Brenda broke up with Mark. Brenda told J.B. Bernstein that those kids are far away from their home and they are missing their Indian culture here. So, to motivate them, they must also feel and enjoy the sweetness of a mini Indian culture here in USA. ‘They just need to see that you care.’ Slowly and steadily, Brenda and J.B. Bernstein were falling in love with each other. ‘Did you kiss Miss Brenda?’ ‘No! She kissed me!’ Chang wanted to hold the baseball trial in front of the sports journalists of various Sports Channels and owners of the Baseball Clubs after 2 weeks. Tom House, the baseball coach became furious on J.B. Bernstein as J.B. Bernstein was trying to take those kids out of their comfort zone to participate in a media circus.

Why Rinku had some minor stitching on his finger? Some heated arguments took place between Brenda and J.B. Bernstein. Those two Indians failed to deliver in the trial. Chang decided that he is not going to invest any more money on these two kids. J.B. Bernstein decided to go for another trial. Chang approved it but on the condition that if these kids fail to deliver again in the trial then he may go out of this loss making partnership business. J.B. Bernstein met the officials of so many baseball clubs but no one responded to attend the next trial. Ray Poitevint came to rescue J.B. Bernstein! ‘You don’t know Walter! You don’t know Walter Shapiro, the Head Scout for the Pirates, who was not there for your exhibition. Now, you know him but he doesn’t know you. Thank you for lunch.’ ‘Thank you, Ray!’ Those Indian boys celebrated the festival of Diwali in USA. ‘Welcome to India, J.B. Sir.’ ‘Please have a seat for your date.’ Brenda was looking more gorgeous in a traditional Indian dress. Those Indian boys cooked Indian foods. During the prayer time of Diwali festival, J.B. Bernstein got a call at his mobile number from Walter Shapiro. Walter asked about the exact date of the next trial after 2 weeks. Will Chang was also present there at USC to see their 2^nd trial. After all, Chang also wanted those kids to succeed though a businessman should not be too emotional. J.B. Bernstein gave the responsibility to Amit to act as a coach and give those kids the desired vocal inspiration. ‘1,2,3...India. Hey brothers! I am seeing my dream in both of you. Your victory! My victory!’ Did Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel succeed in that trial to prove that both of them possess a “MILLION DOLLAR ARM”?

RAMAYANA - THE LEGEND OF PRINCE RAMA !!!

Once upon a time in northern part of ancient India, King Dasharath was the ruler of Kosala Kingdom. King Dasharath was a very benevolent and liberal ruler. On the other hand, King Ravan was the ruler of a small island kingdom, Lanka. Lanka kingdom was at the south of the southern part of ancient India. King Ravan was a very cruel and evil King. Ayodhya was the capital city of Kosala kingdom. King Dasharath had three wives; Kaushalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Despite having three wives, King Dasharath had no children. That was the biggest cause of concern for King Dasharath. Hermit Vashistha, the Royal Priest of Kosala Kingdom suggested King Dasharath to perform a Putrakameshti yajna with the help of Rishishringa Muni. In that Putrakameshti yajna; Agnidev, the Lord of Fire gave two plates of divine dessert to King Dasharath. Those two plates of divine dessert were shared by three queens. Sumitra tasted the divine dessert from both the plates. Kaushalya gave birth to Ram. Sumitra gave birth to Lakshman and Shatrughna. Kaikeyi gave birth to Bharat.

Whenever there had been a crisis in the Universe; Vishnudev, the Lord of Peace and Preservation took birth in the Planet Earth as an avatar. Vishnudev has ten avatars, i.e. Dashavatars. Ram was the seventh avatar of Vishnudev. When Ram was at his age of fifteen years, King Ravan was at its peak of supremacy all over the world. Marich, Subhayu and Kaikesi were the children of Taraka, a demoness. Kaikesi seduced Hermit Vishrava, the father of Lord Kuber. Later on, Hermit Vishrava left his first wife and got married to Kaikesi. Kaikesi gave birth to Ravan, Bibhishan, Kumbhakarna and Surpanakha. Hermit Viswamitra used to perform yajna in a nearby forest of Ayodhya city, but, everyday, Taraka and her son, Marich used to interrupt in that yajna. Hermit Viswamitra requested for help from Lord Vishnu to get rid of Taraka demoness. Vishnudev told him to take help from the eldest Prince of Ayodhya city. The King of Suryavanshi dynasty gave the permission to Ram to help Hermit Viswamitra. Lakshman accompanied his elder brother. Hermit Viswamitra taught some mantras to Ram and Lakshman to save themselves in the times of danger. Those mantras started its actions by creating some pains in the heart of Taraka demoness. Taraka attacked them. ‘Ram mantra japo.’ Ram killed Taraka. Hermit Viswamitra gifted some divine weapons to Ram as a reward. ‘Ab yeh tumhare, inse sadaa dharam ki raksha karna.’

King Janak was the ruler of Videha Kingdom. Mithila City was the capital of Videha Kingdom. The announcement was made throughout ancient India about the Swayamvar Sabha of Sita, the daughter of King Janak. The task was to lift the bow of Lord Shiva and string it. Ram succeeded in lifting that bow of Lord Shiva but he broke that bow while trying to string it up. ‘Vivah ke liye badhai ho Shri Ram.’ Ram and Sita got married to each other. King Dasharath was growing old and that’s why he decided to crown Ram as the next King of Ayodhya. Manthara, the maid poisoned Kaikeyi’s mentality about Kaushalya and Ram. Few years back, Kaikeyi saved the life of King Dasharath and at that juncture, King Dasharath requested Kaikeyi to ask for two boons. At that time, Kaikeyi didn’t ask for those two boons, but, now, she requested for those two boons. The first boon was to make Bharat as the King of Ayodhya. The second boon was to send Ram to Vanaprastha for 14 years. Lakshman and Sita accompanied Ram. The people of Ayodhya City started weeping. ‘Shri Ram, humein chorh ke naa jaaiye. Aap hee hamare Raja hain.’ Ram, Lakshman and Sita started their journey of Vanaprastha. ‘Raghukul Reeti sadaa chali aaye, pran jaaye par bachan na jaaye. Dharam desh jyoti ki raksha, Ram naam se kar le bhai.’ After six months, King Dasharath took his last breath. ‘Yeh sansarik peerayon aur saari dukhon se mukt ho gaye.’ Bharat returned to Ayodhya from Kekeya. After hearing the entire incident, Bharat became furious on Manthara and Kaikeyi, though he forgave both of them. Bharat met Ram in the forest to give the sad news of King Dasharath’s death. Bharat requested Ram to return back to Ayodhya to become the King of Ayodhya. Ram didn’t return. Bharat took Ram’s golden padukas and kept those padukas on the throne to rule the Kosala Kingdom for fourteen years on behalf of Ram.

All the hermits started to return back to Dandakaranya as they were having confidence on the strength of Ram. Ravan got this message while sitting inside the Nikumbhila Cave. Surpanakha decided to meet Ram, the handsome prince of Ayodhya in Dandakaranya. Panchavati was the most beautiful region of Dandakaranya. ‘Panchavati mann bhavan upavan, jish upavan mein mann ko mohe Shri Raghuvar ki chitvan, mohak chitvan, sundar chitvan.’ Surpanakha came to Panchavati and gave the marriage offer to Ram. Ram declined her offer. Lakshman also declined Surpanakha’s marriage offer. Surpanakha felt frustrated. Out of jealousy, Surpanakha tried to kill Sita. Lakshman cut off Surpanakha’s nose and she ran away. Surpanakha complained about Ram to Ravan. Ravan ordered his soldiers to wake up Kumbhakarna but they failed to do so as Kumbhakarna was on a sleep for another six months. Now, Surpanakha applied another trick. Surpanakha told Ravan that Sita is the most beautiful woman of the world. ‘Kya itni khubsoorat hain woh!’ Ravan got provoked by the flattery of Surpanakha about Sita. Ravan decided to take the revenge of his younger sister’s wounded nose by kidnapping Sita.  

Marich, the maternal uncle of Ram took the disguise of a golden coloured deer. Sita requested her husband to get that golden coloured deer for her. Ram chased that golden coloured deer. Ram understood the trick. ‘Woh toh yeh rakshas hain!’ Before dying, Marich also played a trick by doing the perfect mimicry of Ram. ‘Lakshman, Sita, meri sahayta karo.’ Lakshman understood that someone is playing a trick, but, Sita ordered Lakshman to go and protect Ram. Lakshman made a line outside their house and told Sita to stay inside that line. ‘Sita maayia, ish rekha ke ush paar aap mat jaaiye.’ Ravan took the disguise of a hermit. The hermit played his trick and Sita came out of that Lakshman Rekha. Ravan kidnapped Sita and his chariot started its journey towards Lanka. Jatayu, the King of Vultures tried to rescue Sita but Ravan detached one wing of Jatayu from Jatayu’s body. While on her way to Lanka, Sita threw away all her ornaments in the jungles of South India. The monkeys of the jungles collected all those ornaments. Jatayu died due to severe injuries. Ram and Lakshman started their journey to find Sita. A heavenly creature was cursed to an ugly demon. That heavenly creature suggested Ram to find Sugriv. Hanuman, the minister of King Sugriv welcomed Ram and Lakshman at Rishyamukha Hill. Sugriv used to rule in Rishyamukha Hill, but his brother Bali snatched away all his powers. Sugriv made an agreement with Ram. Ram promised to kill Bali and Sugriv promised to help Ram in finding Sita with his monkey soldiers. Bali got killed by Ram while Bali was wrestling with Sugriv. Sugriv became the Monkey King and ordered his monkey soldiers to search for Sita in four directions. Hanuman, Jambhuban and his soldiers met Sampaati in Rameswaram. Sampaati told them that Ravan took Sita to Lanka, the island across the sea waters. Jambhuban unlocked the divine powers of Lord Hanuman to help Hanuman to cross the sea. Hanuman killed the sea monster, Sindhika while on his way to Lanka. Hanuman met the weeping Sita inside Lanka to give some information. ‘Janani main Ram doot Hanuman, charan kamal mein sath sath bandan, kar do maa kalyan, milaa hain absaar aaj mahaan.’ Ravan ordered his soldiers to light up fire on Hanuman’s tail. Hanuman burned down Lanka with the fire at his tail.

Bibhishan joined Ram’s camp as Ravan kicked out Bibhishan from Lanka. Bibhishan suggested Ram to take the help of Sea God. ‘Shri Ram ne 7 din aur 7 raatein samudra devtaa ki puja ki.’ On the 8^th day, Sea God told Ram to create a Ram Setu from Rameshwaram to Lanka with stones. In every stone, the letters ‘Shri Ram’ to be written in Devnagari Script to ensure that those stones will remain floated on the sea water forever. Also, all the creatures will help Ram to construct that Ram Setu. ‘Shri Raghuvar ki vanar sena setu baandh rahi.’ Ram and his soldiers entered Lanka through that Ram Setu. The battle started in Lanka. What happened to Kumbha and Nikhumbha? Did Kumbhakarna wake up from his long sleep? Why Hanuman carried the entire Gandhamadhan Parvat to Lanka? Who killed Indrajit, the son of 10-headed Ravan? Who won the battle of Lanka? What reward was given to Bibhishan? Did Ram succeed in rescuing Sita from Lanka to end the story of “RAMAYANA –THE LEGEND OF PRINCE RAMA”?