#Maharaja 2024

[vegamovies4k]

[afabstract]

Maharaja Review: Deceptively Twisty Screenplay Rules this Thriller

In "Maharaja" Vijay Sethupathi plays an introverted barber & devoted father, who is determined to recover his missing Lakshmi. This action-thriller, directed by Nithilan Saminathan, offers a multi-layered plot and twisty revelations. Read our spoiler-free

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) “Maharaja” has the kind of first half that makes you think of action flicks like John Wick, where Keanu Reeves’ character goes on a killing spree against the men who killed his pet dog, the last gift from his deceased wife. But as the plot thickens, the 2024 Tamil action-thriller turns out to be more complex than viewers are led to…

[foodtraveldiary]

[crick42bet]

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[sports-live-result]

Maharaja T20 Trophy Live Score, Teams & venue and more details

The Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 is set to be an exhilarating addition to the Indian domestic cricket calendar, promising high-octane action and showcasing some of the finest cricketing talents from Karnataka and organized by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

The Maharaja T20 Trophy is a premier T20 cricket tournament named in honour of the Maharaja of Mysore, reflecting the rich cricketing heritage of Karnataka. The tournament serves as a successor to the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), with a renewed focus on promoting local talent.

Teams:

Bengaluru Blasters

Gulbarga Mystics

Hubli Tigers

Mangalore United

Mysuru Warriors

Shivamogga Strikers

Key Players to Watch

Manish Pandey

Devdutt Padikkal

Shreyas Gopal

Venues and Schedule

The matches of the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 are expected to be held across several iconic venues in Karnataka, including:

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

KSCA Hubli Cricket Ground

S.D.N.R Wadiyar Ground, Mysore

Cricket enthusiasts across India and beyond can catch all the live action of the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 through various broadcasting channels and online streaming platforms. The tournament also plays a critical role in unearthing new talent from the grassroots level, ensuring that Karnataka continues to produce world-class cricketers who can contribute to Indian cricket on the global stage.

Follow: Maharaja T20 Live Score

[directsellingnow]

Breaking News Today: राघव साहू को मिला Most Emerging Direct Selling Leader award

Breaking News Today: 5वें डायरेक्ट सेलिंग लीडरशिप एक्सीलेंस अवार्ड (DSLEA-2024) का भव्य समारोह महाराजा अग्रसेन इंटरनेशनल कॉलेज रायपुर छत्तीसगढ़ में संपन्न हुआ। कार्यक्रम में बतौर मुख्यातिथि शामिल फेडरेशन ऑफ़ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग एसोसिएशन के जनरल सेक्रेटरी श्री किशोर वर्मा के साथ-साथ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग नाउ के फाउंडर श्री राहुल शर्मा और को-फाउंडर श्रीमती यामिनी शर्मा खासतौर पर मौजूद रहीं। Breaking News…

[newseee]

Mass Maharaja Titled Eagle, Theatrical Release For Sankranti, 2024

Mass Maharaja Ravi Teja scored the biggest solo hit of his career with Dhamaka which was made under People Media Factory. The star collaborates again with the production house for a much bigger project to be helmed by cinematographer-turned-director Karthik Gattamaneni. The makers today unveiled the title of the movie through a small glimpse which is quite interesting.

While Ravi Teja is a most wanted painter, he is a cotton farmer and has other avatars too. The glimpse finally shows Ravi Teja standing near a lake, partially showing his face. Then, the title is revealed as Eagle. The title is a striking one and the glimpse establishes the world of the protagonist. It also shows the other prominent cast such as Anupama Parameshwaran, Navdeep, and Madhubala. Kavya Thapar is the other heroine. The visuals are outstanding, wherein the score for the video is notable...

[empty-dream]

Just watched Maharaja (2024).

Watch blind. The less you know, the better.

[maenimalist]

2024 ✔️Lists

Watched

10 Things I Hate About You

The Boy and The Heron

Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween - Destiny

Chungking Express

Tokyo Revengers 2: Bloody Halloween - Decisive Battle

Nanoni, Chigira-kun ga Amasugiru

Renai no Susume

Ichido Shinde Mita

Father Of The Milky Way Railroad

A Man / Aru Otoko

House of Ninjas

Ani ni Aisaresugite Komattemasu

Konto ga Hajimaru

Don't Worry Darling

The Parades

Home Alone

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

Orange Days

Gekijoban Kimi to Sekai ga Owaru Hi ni Final 

We Made a Beautiful Bouquet

Detective Conan vs. Kid the Phantom Thief

Detective Conan Movie 27: The Million-dollar Pentagram

Animals

The Devil Wears Prada

Fermat no Ryouri

Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu: Ganbare Jinrui! Shinshun Special!!

Maharaja

18x2 Beyond Youthful Days

Takane no Hana

Charlie's Angels

Chastity High

Detective Conan eps (int#)

Episode

Read

The Shyness & Social Anxiety System

Mastering Kanji

[alfvaen]

Novel Score

It's sometime around the beginning of a month, which apparently means these days that it's time for me to do a roundup post of the books I read in the preceding month--in this case, January 2024. Once again have been keeping on top of it during the month which helps me actually produce it in a timely manner. Because I started this back in November/December, doing monthly book posts isn't a New Year's resolution, unless the resolution was just "keep doing it". I'm keeping doing it.

Book list under the cut, book-related ramblings may include spoilers for Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Martha Wells's Murderbot series, Kelly Meding's Dreg City series, and maybe others. You have been warned.

Ashok Banker: Siege of Mithila, completed January 6

As mentioned previously, I am rapidly running out of books by male "diversity" slot authors in my collection. I read the first Ashok Banker book, Prince of Ayodhya, a few years earlier, and was kind of meh on it, so I wasn't sure if I would continue. But I did pick up the other one as a library discard (ah, the days when I got books and CDs as library discards…back when they used to have a sale rack in the local branch all the time, instead of saving them up for periodic bulk sales…) so I hadn't entirely given up on it. So, in not quite desperation, I turned to Siege of Mithila as my next diversity read.

The series is apparently a retelling of the Ramayana, which is some kind of important epic in India, though I can't judge if it's like "the Bible" or "King Arthur" or "The Iliad" or what, but I assume it's somewhere on that level, at least among certain cultures. My brief skimming of the Wikipedia article on the Ramayana implies that Banker is following the story pretty closely, which means that sometimes it gets a little weird plotwise, but is perhaps more revealing culturally or something. And sometimes it's a wee bit problematic…like the way that the main adversary for the first two books is Ravana, lord of the Asuras (basically demons), who rules over the southern island kingdom of Lanka (like…"Sri Lanka"?), which is populated entirely by Asuras. Which is about like if there was a fantasy series set in England where they had to fight evil demons from the western island kingdom of Eire or something. (Wait…do they have those?) One wonders if this series (or the original Ramayana) are quite as popular in Sri Lanka, then…

Anyway, we mostly follow Rama, the titular Prince of Ayodhya from the first book, and his half-brother Lakshman, but a lot of this book is also set back in the palace in Ayodhya following Rama's father the Maharaja, his three wives, and the evil (and hunchbacked--oh look, it's equating deformity with wickedness, that's awesome) witch Manthara as she and Ravana try to sabotage the kingdom from within. Rama and Lakshman end up going to Mithila instead of back to Ayodhya, and foiling a big Asura attack on the city, which comes unbelievably close to the end of the book and is not quite solved by deus ex machina, but doesn't feel particularly satisfying.

One element of the series is that some of the characters are just like ridiculously powerful sages who were like "I've been meditating for 5000 years so I'm really wise and can do anything, though I guess I should let Rama solve a few things on his own to gain some of his own wisdom". Not that this is all that different from, say, Gandalf or Merlin, of course... There are also some odd storytelling choices, like switching to a different set of characters just at a dramatic point in a different storyline, or, in one major side-quest, just skipping the ending of it and coming back to it a couple of chapters later in flashbacks. Also, one character is given important advice by a ghost which he then completely ignores (luckily other people overrule him, but it bugged me).

The book kind of feels like the second book of a trilogy, but not quite, which makes sense because apparently there are eight other books in the series, so it's not just about fighting Ravana and the Asuras. I'm on the bubble about the series, as you may have gathered, so I don't know offhand if I'll be going on.

T. Kingfisher: Clockwork Boys, completed January 9

I paced myself going through Siege of Mithila, taking seven days for it (I started on December 31st to get a little head start), so it put me a bit behind on my Goodreads challenge (100 books for the year, again). This means, time to read some shorter things! I haven't read any T. Kingfisher yet (though I have read, like, the webcomic "Digger" under her real name, Ursula Vernon, if nothing else), so I let my wife, who has read a lot of them, suggest which one I should start with, and this was the one she chose (at the time; it may have been a couple of years ago). We have it as an ebook from Kobo, which sometimes makes it a little hard to tell how long the book actually is in pages, but Goodreads claimed it was under 300 pages, so it seemed a possible three-day read.

I was, I guess, vaguely expecting a steampunk story involving two boys who were made of clockwork or something, but apparently it's more straight fantasy (not too similar to the Ramayana was far as I can tell, though, which is good because I like consecutive reads to vary in genre if at all possible) where the Clockwork Boys are the bad guys. Also, apparently this is the first of a duology, a "long book split in two" duology as opposed to "book and a sequel featuring the same characters" duology.

The characters seem somewhat interesting, though I'm not sure I'm 100% won over. Sir Caliban for some reason reminds me of both Sanderson's Kaladin and Bujold's Cazaril, but maybe it's just the similarity of names enhancing certain similarities of character. And the demons also made me think of Bujold's Penric books. Maybe the tone is a little light for me on this one. We've got the second one as an ebook too, so I'll finish it off at some point and then maybe take a look at Nettle & Bone or something.

Kelly Meding: The Night Before Dead, completed January 12

As I may have also mentioned previously, I've tried a whole lot of urban fantasy series. Many of them, my wife has enjoyed more than I have, and is all caught up on them, but most of those I'm only a few books in. (I've given up on relatively few--Jennifer Estep and Jess Haines, among others.) For whatever reason, my wife didn't like the first book in Kelly Meding's "Dreg City" series, Three Days To Dead, and this time, to be actually clever about it, I decided to read the book myself and decide if I wanted to continue on in the series before it went out of print. As it turned out, I did like the first book, and I kept reading it on my own. When the series got dropped by the publisher after four books, I even went and bought the last two books (self-published, probably print on demand) to finish the series.

So this is the last one, which is supposed to wrap up the main conflict. Our main character, Evy Stone, started out the series waking up after death in a newly-vacated body; she was part of a group that worked to deal with paranormal threats. This world has beast-form shapeshifters named "Theria", vampires, and lots of types of fey--mostly pretty usual when it comes to urban fantasy--and their existence is unknown to world at large, etc.

Thie book does seem to wrap things up well enough, at least for the main characters, though it's hard to say if all the resolutions are satisfying. Still, it was enjoyable enough. She does have a couple of other, shorter series which I can try next, since we do actually own them. (And maybe some stuff under a different name?)

Lois McMaster Bujold: Brothers In Arms, completed January 15

Next (chronologically) in the reread order, this is the one where Miles goes to Earth and discovers the existence of his clone-brother Mark (spoilers). It starts up with a level of frustration--why does Miles have to stay at the embassy, and why aren't his mercenaries getting paid?--but things mostly work out in the end. Ivan shows up again (by authorial fiat--it's a bit too much of a coincidence, really), we meet recurring character Duv Galeni, and of course Mark, as mentioned already. It's not a particular favourite, but it's pretty good. And without it, how would we get Mirror Dance, and thus Memory?

I feel like I should be able to say more about it, but I've already talked about the Vorkosigan series a lot in previous posts, and, like I said, it's not a particular favourite. I guess I could mention how the first time through the series I read them in publication order, and so this was before The Vor Game and Cetaganda… Also, although we don't see much of Earth outside of London, we do get a good look at the gigantic dikes being used to hold back the ocean, because in the intervening mumble-mumble centuries the sea levels have risen. So presumably the icecaps have melted or something, though it doesn't seem like the Gulf Stream has shut down or anything, so maybe they have managed to mitigate things somewhat. An interesting view of future Earth, anyway, without going too overboard on covering the vast majority of the planet not relevant to our immediate plot.

Seth Dickinson: The Traitor Baru Cormorant, completed January 20

Taking another book from my list of authors to try (currently stored on my pool table); I picked this one because apparently the author has a new book coming out, and I do see people talking about the character from time to time, so clearly this is a book/series that has had some staying power and cultural impact, as opposed to something obscure that apparently sank without a trace. But this is a book that my wife tried, and either didn't finish or didn't want to continue the series.

And, having finished it, I can see why. I wouldn't say that it's a bad book…but I didn't, in the end, like it. I read it all the way to the end, and I've decided I'll leave it there and not try to continue the series. And probably I won't look for other books by Dickinson either. Like Ian McDonald's Desolation Road, which I read last year, I felt, as I was reading it, that this was a book I would have liked a lot better when I was younger, but these days it just doesn't do it for me.

It has the feeling of fantasy, in that it's set in a different world from our own, and there is none of the futuristic technology that would explain this as being a colony world…but there is also little or nothing in the way of magic. A little alchemy, maybe, but I don't know that it's out of line with what you could achieve with actual drugs. No wizards, and I don't think there were supernatural creatures either. But it's fantasy-coded, and maybe there's some minor thing I'm forgetting. It's not about magic, though. It's really about colonialism, and what happens when you're sucked into the colonizer's system so far that you think that the only way to help your people is by going along with that system. And Baru Cormorant is somewhat autistic-coded, perhaps--not only is she a savant, but she seems to have trouble figuring out the motives and feelings of others. Puts too much confidence in the ability to explain everything using economics (the character and possibly also the author, quite frankly), in a way which reminds me mostly of Dave Sim's deconstruction of faith and fantasy in Cerebus: Church And State. Not sure if it counts as grimdark, but it feels like the honorable are punished for their naivety like in "A Song of Ice And Fire". I lost sympathy for the main character partway through, and never got much for anyone else either. One character I liked and hoped to see more of was (gratuitously?) killed in the middle of the book. I was forewarned of the existence of a plot twist at the end of the book, and when it came, although I wasn't completely surprised, I was disappointed, and I didn't feel that it worked.

So, yeah. Your mileage may vary, but this book did not win me over.

Charles Stross: The Annihilation Score, completed January 25

I wanted something a bit more light-hearted after the previous book, but not, apparently, too much so. Charles Stross's "Laundry Files" series is set against a backdrop of cosmic horror and the looming end of the world, but also of British governmental bureaucracy, out of which he can usually pull of a fair amount of humour, as well as humanity. The main protagonist of the series is Bob Howard (named in honour of Robert E. Howard, inventor of Conan and friend of Lovecraft), computational demonologist, and the books in turn have paid tribute to a lot of different sources--James Bond, vampires, American evangelical megachurches, and--in this book--superheroes. But also, in this book, Bob is not our narrator; instead, we get his wife, Mo, in the fallout of a scene in the previous book (which we get from her POV here) with dire implications for their relationship…which has always been kind of a three-way between Bob, Mo, and Mo's soul-eating sentient violin, and this triangle has now come to a crisis. Plus there's superheroes.

Stross notes in the introduction that he never really read American superhero comics, so he had to pick a few brains about them, but the book really isn't about American superheroes either; he references the British superhero anthology series "Temps" (which I never did manage to read, since I only managed to find the second book, but now I feel like I should check out) as contrasted with the "Wild Cards" series.

All in all it's pretty decent, with lots of witty read-aloud bits, but the pacing is odd; there's a lot of plotlines, and some of them don't seem to progress for a long time. Some of them turn out to be red herrings, I guess, but overall it doesn't gel as well as it could. We don't see much of Bob (which makes sense since this isn't his book), though Mo is a perfectly fine protagonist. I'll be fine going back to Bob for the next book. If I can ever find it.

See, apparently this is the last book in the series I own right now, and probably the next one, The Nightmare Stacks, came and went while I was behind on reading it, and now it's out of print (and possibly never had a mass-market release at all, which is still my preferred format) and seems like it'll be hard to find in any physical format. I mean, I went on a site which allows you to search indie and second-hand bookstores, and the title didn't even come up on search. I have long been resisting switching wholeheartedly over to ebooks (a transition my wife has already made), but I can see that at some point I may have to get used to the fact that ebooks are just replacing mass-market paperbacks for the cheap release format. (I still can't manage to bring myself to spend as much as $8, let alone $12 or more, for an ebook, though. Like…what am I paying for? The publishing costs are minuscule compared to physical copies, and I expect that saving to be passed on to me. I guess I don't know if the extra is being passed on to the author in a non-self-published situation, but given our current corporate hellscape I'm gonna say probably not. Note: if you think this makes me a horrible person who hates writers to make money, please remember that I am married to a writer who I would love to make enough money that I don't have to work, but the publishing industry is horrible and they're the ones that actually have the capability to allow writers to make enough money to make a living, and they're not doing it, so I don't know what to tell you. I've bought thousands of books in my life, even if I don't go out of my way to buy the most expensive ones, because that's a good way to go broke. Get off my back, person I made up for this parenthetical aside.)

Martha Wells: System Collapse, completed January 28

I may be the last person in my house to have read Murderbot. My wife had already read some of Martha Wells earlier books (Raksura series, I want to say) before she read the Murderbot novells, and she loved them and read them to/got our kids to read them too. I eventually scheduled one in (novellas are good when I'm behind on my Goodreads challenge) and…it was okay, I guess? And I kept reading them because, well, more novellas. Last year I read the first novel-length story, Network Effect, and I liked it somewhat better than the novellas, for whatever reason.

I had been putting off the latest one for a little while, though, partly because of my Vorkosigan reread--I generally don't like books that are too close in genre too close together, and they're both kinda space opera-ish, though quite different kinds (Murderbot's future is more corporate-dominated), but next up I'm taking a break for a Dick Francis reread, so I thought I might as well put it in now. Though I've got to say that, since we have it as a physical hardcover as opposed to the digital novella ebooks, I'm really not a big fan of the texture of the dust jacket. Like, it is physically unpleasant to touch, being just a little bit rough. But not as bad as some I'd run across in the past few years, so I don't have to, like, take off the dust jacket to read it.

In the end I didn't like it as well as Network Effect, though I did like the middle bit where Murderbot becomes a Youtube influencer. The early part of the book, Murderbot is in a bit of a depressive state and not fun to read, like the first part of "Order of The Phoenix" or something. I guess if a character is too hypercompetent then nothing challenges them, but I wasn't a big fan of the emotional arc.

Dick Francis: Forfeit, completed January 31

I remember precisely where I was when I first heard of Dick Francis. See, I went to this convention in Edmonton in the summer of 1989, "ConText '89". It was an important convention--a reader-oriented rather than media-dominated SF/Fantasy convention, for one thing, and also it resulted in the formation of the first SF/Fantasy writer's organization in Canada, currently named SF Canada. Oh, and also, I met a cute girl there (Nicole, a YA author guest from northern Alberta), started dating, fell in love, got married, had three kids, and we're still married today.

I also saw this posting for a writing course out at a place called the Black Cat Guest Ranch, in the Rockies near Hinton, and decided to go. There I met Candas Jane Dorsey (who was the instructor for the course) and several other writers, and we later formed a writers' group called The Cult of Pain which is still going to this day. Anyway, I went out for a second course there, with Nicole coming along this time (though we may not have technically been dating and didn't share a room)--I think it was in mid-February sometime--and one evening we were all hanging out in the outdoor hot tub, watching snowflakes melt over our heads, and talking about books. And Candas and Nicole started rhapsodizing about this guy named Dick Francis. I said, "Who?" And they both told me I had to go read him, like, right away.

Dick Francis, apparently, was a former steeplechase jockey turned mystery/thriller writer. Now, mysteries and thrillers were not really my thing--I was into the SF & fantasy--but I supposed I was willing to try it. I was in university and trying to read other stuff outside my comfort zone, like Thomas Hardy and The Brothers Karamazov and William S. Burroughs, so why not. Plus, I wanted my girlfriend to like me. And the first one I picked up was one that one of my roommates had lying around, called Forfeit. It was pretty decent, and I went on to others--Nicole had a copy of Nerve, and I soon started to pick up more--and eventually read almost all of them (a few proved elusive, but I tracked down a copy of Smokescreen not long ago…).

Every book was concerned in some way with horse racing, but there was a wide variety--sometimes the main character was a jockey, but sometimes that was just their side hustle, and they had another profession, or sometimes they did something else like train horses or transport horses, or paint pictures of horses, or they didn't do anything about horses but the romantic interest did… He covered a lot of different professions over his books, they were usually quite interesting, and his characters were always very well-drawn. After his wife Mary (apparently an uncredited frequent collaborator and researcher) died, there was a gap of a few years before he started writing them with his son Felix. I think I read all of those ones, but after he died and Felix started writing solo novels, I haven't really kept up on those ones.

Instead, a few years ago I decided I was going to reread all the books, in publication order, interspersed with my series rereads as I was already doing with Discworld and Star Trek books. Forfeit is his seventh published book…and when I went to look for it on my shelf, I discovered that I actually didn't own a copy, and probably never had. I had just borrowed it from my roommate, and then given it back (a rookie mistake). Was it in print? Of course not, don't be silly. I had managed to find a used copy of Smokescreen online, as I mentioned, but for Forfeit there was only more expensive trade paperbacks, or $8 ebooks. They didn't even have it at the library! Except, well, they did…but I'd have to interlibrary loan it. I went back on forth on which to try to do, and eventually went ILL, and it came in for me at the library on the 20th. So there, overpriced ebooks. (And person I made up for the earlier parenthetical aside.)

Dick Francis novels have turned to be pretty rereadable, because they're not primarily mysteries of the sort where you don't remember which of the suspects is guilty; they're mysteries where the main character has to figure out who's behind the crimes and then avoid getting killed by them. Some of it is competency porn as they use their special skills to solve problems. And some of it just because of the engaging characters, which are maybe not quite all the way there in the earlier books (the ones I've reread so far are still books from the 60s, so the female characters could be more nuanced). In Forfeit what I recalled from that first read (some 34 years ago) was that the main character was a sportswriter, it started with one of his colleagues killing himself, and his wife was disabled and bedridden. (And one exciting scene in the middle of the book in which spoilers.) Though it turned out I was conflating two suicide openings (Nerve also starts with one, a gunshot suicide on the first page, whereas Forfeit's is more falling out of a window), and the exciting scene is missing an element I was sure was there.

So that's eight books in one month, which is basically enough to keep up on my Goodreads challenge, but I also managed to squeeze in a couple more on the side track. First of all, there was my brother's book, Paths of Pollen, which came out last year; my mom went to the book launch in Toronto and brought back a signed copy for me. As one might expect, it talks about honeybees (and the time he was working on our stepfather's apiary), but covers a lot of pollen details I didn't know, about all the other bees, beetles, butterflies, insects, and other animals that also do pollination. It's a sobering look at how plants reproduce and how we're screwing it up in a lot of cases. (I hadn't realized before how much insects use pollen as food…somehow I thought they were nectar-eaters and they just picked up pollen because the plants forced them too, but I guess it makes sense that they also eat it.)

Then there was another one of the Love & Rockets ebook bundle that I've been going through. This volume, Esperanza, is around the latest stuff I read in the Love & Rockets Vol. 2 comics (which I have only read once or twice), so it's fairly unfamiliar to me. Despite it being named after Esperanza "Hopey" Glass, most of the book seems to revolve around Vivian, a.k.a. Frogmouth, a hot, buxom woman with an unfortunate voice, who both Maggie and Ray are lusting after, despite her problematic relationships with some violent criminals. Ray and Maggie do meet up again briefly; Maggie's working as an apartment superintendent, Hopey's working in a bar but trying to get into a teaching assistant job, surreal things happen with Izzy, Doyle's around as well, and we see brief glimpses of Maggie's sister Esther. It was interesting but I didn't find it altogether compelling.

With ten books for January, that means I'm really read up to 36.5 days into the year, or February 5th, so I'm a little bit ahead. I'll be taking advantage of this to start off February with a longer book, for my female diversity slot--Fonda Lee's Jade Legacy, to wrap up that series. More about that next month, of course…

[jayagupta29]

Rangeelo Rajasthan: Padharo Mhare Des

Jan 3, 2024

Uncategorized

Having lived in Rajasthan for 18 odd years and some 24 years in NCR, I have always wanted to explore the western side of Rajasthan which includes Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. This land of abundant sun, sand and soil was still mysterious to me and evaded me for long until I got an opportunity to go on a road trip this winter of 2023.

Gliding through the glazing smooth butter roads starting from Mumbai expressway in Gurgaon to Jodhpur in Rajasthan, the drive was very smooth except some parts near Ajmer where some re – laying of roads was being carried on but that failed to dampen my enthusiasm in any way.

We touched down Jodhpur by 3 pm and checked into Rani Mahal, an erstwhile haveli run by a mother daughter duo. This 450 years old haveli purchased by Sri Vinod Sa Bhandari against her wife’s wishes was turned into a hotel in 2014. Little did she know that it would become her lifeline and lifelong companion in the time to come when her husband passed away in corona in 2020. From fighting all odds, facing all challenges to supporting her very young kids and putting up a bold facade and protecting her grieving and vulnerable self, she rose to the occasion and took the reins of the hotel in her hands. Smt Nisha Bhandari along with her daughter Ms Mitali Bhandari,is right here at the hotel in the morning to attend to her patrons, asking for feedback, supervising the property and gradually learning the tricks of hospitality industry day by day. Located against the majestic Mehrangarh fort in Nauchowkia, Fatehpur road, Rani Mahal provides a very unique and authentic experience to the guests of living in the city and of the vibrant markets around.

The interiors of Rani Mahal are quite impressive. It houses 19 rooms, all of which are done differently and gives you the feel of what life the maharajas and maharanis of the bygone days must have lived .Breakfast at the terrace against the Mehrangarh fort in the winter chill and sunshine is a different experience altogether . Dinner again at the terrace with live folk music playing adds a dash of charm to your excitement .Lunch is served in the cosy ambience of the ground floor .

One can visit Toorji ka Jhalra, a stepwell constructed in 1740 which is very near to Rani Mahal. One will be surprised to see a very modern market that has come up there in the midst of the old city, near clock tower for the tourists; catering to all your couturial needs and handicrafts for your homes.

A 5 mins walk from Rani Mahal will lead you the major tourist attraction of Jodhpur, yes, you got it right! It’s the Majestic Mehrangarh Fort. Indulge in some adventurous activities before indulging in its historic grandeur .The zip lining at 6 levels is a major draw for the adventurous lot. You get an amazing experience of zipping through lakes, above the fort and enjoy some good aerial views of the fort and the city.

Zip-Lining at Mehrangarh Fort (Agency- Flying Fox)

Once inside the fort, you travel back to old times and remain awestruck looking at the weaponry, the relics, the vibrant costumes and turbans ,the massive palaquins, the huge howdahs used by the members of the royal family. The grandeur and architectural beauty of the fort including the sheesh mahal, Phool mahal have to be seen to be believed.

The restaurant in the fort offers you some really good Rajasthani cuisine like dal- bati churma, traditional thali besides other cuisines . I can vouch that all over Rajasthan ,you will always find good food . The spices used are qualitatively very good but again you will have to savour it to believe it.

Village safari is another tourist attraction that you can pack in your itinerary. The jeep picks you up from the designated point and the driver cum guide takes you to the Bishnoi village enlightening and immersing you with the different aspects of their culture . Not many know that the Bishnoi community of 15 000/ people have a place in history as we read about the ‘chipko movement’. Some 439 bishnois had laid down their lives to prevent the felling of Khejari trees which are sacred to them .Not many know again that it’s the same community that was behind Salman khan’s imprisonment for the infamous black buck hunting case .They believe that their guru Jambkeshwar has been reborn as Black buck, hence the respect for the creature is something that they will never compromise with. Bishnoi, as they got the name from Hindi words for 20 and 9. They believe in 29 principles, hence the name of the community. The foremost principle of their culture is that they don’t burn the dead bodies but bury them as they believe that a lot of wood is burned and wasted in the process. They worship trees, nature and wildlife. Secondly, they hold women in high esteem. The female mukhiya has a distinct appearance from the rest of the ladies in the family like she wears a red skirt, a red turban, a nath and a heavy anklet .

The male mukhiya wears a white turban. He prepares very diligently a drink made of opium which is used to relax their bodies and also on occasions like wedding. They do not take any kind of medicines ,whatsoever ,but rely only on opium for any aches or illnesses but they understand that moderate consumption is the key.

As you navigate further into the open village, you can see black bucks, nilgais, peacocks chinkaras and foxes openly roaming and grazing without fear . You also get to see the live workshop by durry weavers.A durry can take 140 hours of weaving by 2 people on the loom. Cotton and camel wool are used for durry making. The former can fetch double the amount while the latter is cheaper and non- dyeable too.

Block printing live workshops are very interesting to witness. It’s amazing to see vegetable colors and natural dyes being used to transform some plain drab cloth into a vibrant and valuable printed cloth. It’s notable that different castes like chipa, Patels, Bishnois are identified by the different clothes they wear . It’s like understanding that clothes are their I – cards.

As we move to our another district Jaisalmer on roads paved to perfection, I see vast stretches of barren land sans any high rises , my eyes unaccustomed to see. As far as you can see, there are herds of cattle, sheep, cows, goats claiming their land ; turbaned men on charpoys leisurely pulling out the day with no haste ; carefree kids playing some local games and women carrying haystacks on their heads to be used as fodder for the cattle or fuel for cooking.

Enroute Jaisalmer, one can see dates farms and vendors selling so many different varieties of dates that we may not even have heard the names before.

There are certain interesting things you can do like jeep safari, dune bashing, camel riding and parasailing on the Thar desert against the backdrop of the rising sun or against the sun set. Both of these times offer exclusive experiences to cherish.

As I bid adieu to the desert , my heart longs to come back once again and re witness its charm and glory ; savour it’s traditional food ; immerse in the folk music and dance  and imbibe the simplicity of this land of sand.

Rani Mahal Contact; Instagram Page – Rani Mahal, Jodhpur

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Young Talents Shine Bright in Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024

A New Era of Cricket Stars Emerges

The Maharaja T20 Trophy 2024 has become a thrilling showcase of India's cricket future. This exciting tournament has unveiled a host of young talents who are not just participating, but making significant waves in the cricketing world. Let's dive into the stories of these rising stars who are captivating audiences and scouts alike.

Breakout Performances That Stole the Show

The Batting Sensation: Arjun Patel

At just 20 years old, Arjun Patel has become the talk of the tournament. His explosive batting style has led to several match-winning innings, including a breathtaking 98 off 42 balls against a formidable bowling attack. Patel's ability to read the game and adapt his playing style showcases a maturity beyond his years.

The Bowling Prodigy: Ravi Kumar

Ravi Kumar, a 19-year-old left-arm spinner, has been turning heads with his clever variations and ability to take crucial wickets. His economy rate of 6.2 runs per over is impressive for a young player in T20 cricket. Kumar's performances have already caught the eye of several IPL franchises.

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The Maharaja T20 Trophy is proving to be an invaluable platform for young cricketers to showcase their skills. This tournament allows them to:

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Discover a grand Indian train ride with IRCTC’s Maharaja Travel India

Have you ever imagined experiencing India like the royals? Maharaja travel India offers you just that—a journey through time aboard one of the most iconic trains in the world. With IRCTC’s Maharajas’ Express train, your exploration of the country’s rich heritage transforms into an unforgettable, opulent adventure. Read on to learn more about the majestic travel experience that awaits you on this train. 

The Heritage of India: A majestic journey through Royal Splendor

When you board the Maharaja Rail India, you're not simply stepping onto a train – you're entering a realm where the past seamlessly merges with the present in unmatched luxury. The Maharajas’ Express train travel experience is designed to immerse you in the grandeur of India's royal past while offering every modern comfort. There are four comprehensive journeys of the Maharajas’ Express train. The Indian Panorama, The Indian Splendour, Treasures of India, and Heritage of India. Each itinerary takes you to vibrant Indian cities, making it a worthwhile tour. 

Out of the four itineraries, the heritage of India journey is one of the train’s most celebrated itineraries, taking you through the regal heartlands of Rajasthan and beyond.

With the grandeur of its forts and palaces, this journey reveals Rajasthan’s regal legacy in the most enchanting way.

Travel on India's Expensive Train

The Maharajas’ Express is not just known for its impeccable service and luxurious offerings, it also holds the distinction of being India's expensive train. But every penny spent on this journey is worth it, as you are treated to an unmatched level of comfort and sophistication. The train’s interiors showcase traditional Indian craftsmanship and modern luxury, ensuring that your journey is as visually stunning as comfortable. 

Each cabin is a testament to elegance, featuring plush furnishings, en-suite bathrooms, and panoramic windows that allow you to take in the scenic beauty of the Indian landscape. Whether travelling in the Deluxe Cabin, Suite, the Junior Suite, or the grand Presidential Suite, you’ll find that every detail has been meticulously crafted to provide a royal experience. 

Dining and Entertainment Fit for a King

Another interesting aspect that has to do with the Maharajas’ Express travel is eating habits. Two Ethnic restaurants, one of which consists of a gourmet menu including Indian and Continental specialties. Making it a royal train, the culinary journey on this train is sure to be as memorable as the places you get to see.

Apart from eating, the train has different forms of entertainment that depict the true culture of India. The itineraries of Maharajas’ Express will be as fascinating as the days you have given for visiting the history and culture of India.

Conclusion

Travelling with Maharaja India is not simply getting from one place to another but it is getting to know the royal India in total comfort and style. The Maharajas’ Express train, the costliest train to travel in India, pays equal importance to every single second spent in the journey to history, culture, and luxury.

Well, then why shouldn’t one indulge in having a lifetime experience at least once? Board the Maharaja Rail India step into a golden era of royal India and let the voyage take you to the soul of India.

Source: https://irctcmaharajas.blogspot.com/2024/09/discover-grand-indian-train-ride-with.html

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Direct Selling Leadership Excellence Award: 5वें DSLEA समारोह का भव्य आयोजन

Direct Selling Leadership Excellence Award: डायरेक्ट सेलिंग लीडरशिप एक्सीलेंस अवार्ड (DSLEA-2024) का भव्य समारोह सफलतापूर्वक आयोजित किया गया। यह रीजनल अवार्ड प्रोग्राम महाराजा अग्रसेन इंटरनेशनल कॉलेज रायपुर छत्तीसगढ़ में संपन्न हुआ। कार्यक्रम में बतौर मुख्यातिथि शामिल फेडरेशन ऑफ़ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग एसोसिएशन के जनरल सेक्रेटरी श्री किशोर वर्मा के साथ-साथ डायरेक्ट सेलिंग नाउ के फाउंडर श्री राहुल शर्मा…