This is not a movie review but the review of a television serial on the epic Mahabharat by Ekta Kapoor.
I was eagerly looking foward to Ekta Kapoor’s version of Mahabharath titled Kahani Hamare Mahabharat Ki, so much so that I even paid for an add-on package from Tata Sky just to catch Mahabharat every night from Monday to Thursday. Was expecting something not just bigger than the previous Mahabharat by B.R. Chopra, but a better product overall. Very high expectations, i know!
I became a fan of Mahabharat mainly due to the spectacular and historic Mahabharat of those good old days directed by B.R. Chopra and Ravi Chopra. The epic was aired every sunday morning, for 2 years between 1988 – 1990. The great thing about it was every character seemed to be born to play their role. Mukesh Khanna was brilliant as Bheeshma, when you think of Lord Krishna the picture of Nitish Bhardwaj in those costumes still comes to mind. Every other character right from Duryodhan (Puneet Issar), Arjun (Arjun), Shakuni (Gufi Paintal), Bhim (Praveen Kumar), Dhritrashtra (Girja Shankar), Draupadi (Rupa Ganguly), Karna (Pankaj Dheer), Yudhistir, Nakul, Sahadev and even Drona were just perfect for their roles. Its like you cant imagine anyone else in those legendary roles.
So it was an uphill task for Ekta Kapoor right from the day she decided to remake the epic. After the first episode that was telecasted last night on 9X at 9 PM, i was sorely disappointed.
It looked like a normal Ekta Kapoor’s Saas Bahu serial! To start off it wasnt realistic, atleast Ekta Kapoor should have had a look at Jodhaa Akbar, a costume drama which was presented in a very realistic way by Ashutosh Gowariker.
The camera was rolling all over the faces from every angle possible, a lot of thundering, lightening and noise. The characters from whatever little we got to see of them, just didnt look the character, they looked like models with a perfectly toned body in a costume drama for a historical. Maybe its too early to judge them, time will tell. The costumes except for Duryodhan’s was pretty good.
Coming to the performances, Anita Hansandani as draupadi, one of the most important characters in Mahabharat, was horrible. Dialogue delivery was the biggest flaw. She shrieked at the top of her voice, cried like she does in all those saas bahu series and in comparison to Rupa Ganguly, failed miserably. The intensity in her performance was just lacking. She made the strong character of Draupadi look weak! Shakuni is bald, he was pretty good although his laughter was sometimes annoying. Dushassan looked evil, performed well. Duryodhan looked like a evil superman in those costumes. Dont want to comment on Aryan Vaid’s performance just yet, more on him in the coming days!
Overall, after one episode it has been a major disappointment. Hopefully Ekta Kapoor can make it more realistic and Anita can improve her performance! Will keep updating this post, who knows the characters might grow on me and my opinion might change.
Ekta Kapoor’s Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki is aired every Monday to Thursday from 9 to 9:30 PM Indian Standard Time on 9X.
Do drop in your comments and views on Kahani Hamaray Mahabharat Ki!
Updates
Episode 2 (8th July 2008) – Ved Vyas starts narrating the epic tale of Mahabharat to Lord Ganesh. Shantanu is smitten by Ganga’s beauty, accepts all her conditions and marries her. Ganga kills his sons one after another, till their 8th son, Bheeshma is born. The pace is fantastic, doesnt drag like most historicals. Performances were top notch today. Saakshi Tanwar, Parvathi of Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, looks ethereal as Ganga. Kiran Karmarkar, Om of Kahani, is perfect for the role of Shantanu. The locales of Ladakh are breath taking. I still hate the excessive background music, thundering and camera zooming in on the faces of actors. How i wish, Ekta makes it slightly more realistic and different from her daily soaps. More tomorrow.. Today’s episode rating – 8 / 10.
Episode 3 (9th July 2008) – Shantanu breaks his promise, questions Ganga. Ganga reveals her identity and goes into detail about the curse that they got from Brahma, also the curse of the 7 kids that she eventually killed by drowning them into the pure water of River Ganga. She takes Devavrat (Bheeshma) their 8th son with her, promising Shantanu that she would return him back to the place he belongs to, when the king of Hastinapur needs him. Devavrat is trained and educated by Parashuram. Devavrat, now 16, returns to Hastinapur and blocks the waterflow of Ganga with his arrows… That ends the 3rd episode of the epic Mahabharat.
The 3rd episode was much slower in pace compared to the 2nd, filled with excessive dialogues and unnecessary special effects. Performances were once again good. The actor portraying the role of young Devavrat, suits the character. 3rd episode rating – 5 / 10
Episode 4 (10th July 2008) – Devavrat and his father battle, Ganga intervenes and reveals their identity to each other. Devavrat is now committed to his father and Hastinapur. 16 more years pass by and Devavrat has now matured..
The 4th episode was like Kanav said in the comments below, a complete disaster. The background music is deafening, trademark Ekta Kapoor slo-mo effects and camera work continue to irritate. A realistic feel, so very important for a historical is completely missing. 4th episode rating – 3 / 10
If Ekta and Chopras get together it will be a epic mess.. lol
I would rather be interested to see the Sagars and Chopras combine and make Mahabharat.. WOuld be rather interesting.. I feel its in the performance department that Ekta’s Mahabharat fails badly!
with ashok……
u ryto dude..it will be a big mess if they got together..rather thn this as u said sagar and chopra prodctions combine and make smthng….coz even the new ramayana is also good excpt that hanuman sena……and ya ekta mahabharata fails in perfrmance dept..one reason that they dn do much homewrk..
many of them are the new comers..so its a dirctr responsblty to take out from thier actors somethng out of box..jo chopra mahabharata me dikha hai hamko..
lets c kya hota hai…
Ashok you are absolutely right.Ekta’s Mahabharat is horrible.She purpusfully introduce westernised pattern in mythology.
Yes… you are right Eshan when you say that the child’s mind is like clay which moulds in the shape that you give! But I don’t think KHMK has left this stone unturned! They did show that Shakuni had decided to pour hatred against the Pandavas in the heart of Kauravas!
When Gandhari’s eldest son (later named as Suyodhan) was born, if you remember, they did show that Shakuni was saying the word “Krodh” in his ears! Moreover, after Sushala’s wedding when Suyodhan was sitting in his kakshya… they showed that he could see Pandavas coming to kill him! This was actually his imagination (called as bhram in Hindi – i cant recollect exact English word for it) after the incidents of Mayaveer Pakshi and Tribal King! And Suyodhan suddenly screamed for help!
After that Shakuni came and explained him, “Bhram se mat lado, Pandavonse lado Bhanje!” And only after that Suyodhan was transformed as Duryodhan! So they did show that Duryodhan’s mind was moulded in a bad shape by Shakuni!
But you’re not wrong either – all this was shown when Kauravas and Pandavas were in teens – it would have been better if they had shown this when they were kids!
Also, we say that KHMK is not as good as B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharat – one reason for this is that BRC’s Mahabharat was telecast weekly whereas KHMK is telecast daily! So the bank of episodes with KHMK is very less as it decreases daily! So the directors, actors, animators, etc are in high pressure as they have to work hard to produce enough amount of episodes in their bank! This is one of the major reasons why KHMK is not able to deliver perfect quality!
negative points:-
1) no mukut acc. to our indian culture.
2) dresses is acc. to roman culture, not indian culture.
3) narad without jataa(open hair).
4) looking is great(6 pack abs, beautiful, handsome, etc.), but natural acting is not so much great.
5)salwar kameez was not weared that time by any women, but yashoda & kunti weared in this serial.
6) scene of ganga was very boring.
7) shakuni mama without pagadi & also hair. he is totally takla in this serial.
8) vishnu is looking like gunda. no chkra, shankh, gada or lotus with him.
9) indra looks like english emperor.
10) bhale hi 60 saal pehle angrezo se hamen azadi mili, but manish malhotra jaise log indian hoke bhi kuch naya karne ke chakkar mein apna culture hi bhul jaate hai.
Akash you are 100% correct. Actually the director and Ekta themself are totally influenced by American culture.That is why they can’t think anythingh without it. Ekta’s Mahabharat is a mess. They intentionally brought this culture in Indian Mythology which is very much harmfull to our new generation. Pl note SIX PACK ABS does suit with mythological character.Six pack abs can be made only by going to modern Gym. The basic impression of myhtological musculer body is like a pahElwan (WRESLTER LIKE DARA SINGH, PRAVIN KUMAR , THE ACTOR ACTED AS PAHELWAN IN “SUNO SASURJI”) NOT LIKE SALMAN KHAN, SHARUKH KHAN, HRITIK ROSHAN. I think Ekta also realise it but she has brought this six pack abs body intentionally to bring westernised effect .It is very bad. The telecast should be banned.
i lov mahabharat because it have lots of peoples who have a power by which they finish evil like a shlok “yadda yadda hi dharmasya gyaliner bhavati bhartya abdyundham dharmasya pradat manam su jamyam pravish na nay sadhu nath vinashay chatushitat dharam sans thapna kani sambhavani yuge yuge“.THIS MAHABHARAT IS GUD BECOZ THE CHARACTERS HAV NOT HEAVY MUKUTS ND etc;wow iagree to ravan wow Ekta kapoor keep it up.
What a horrible selection of Pancha Pandava.They look like villain of a modern movie.WHAT IS THIS? What horrible figure of Veem.Did Veema go to modern Gym? What a comic design of GADA. How dare Ekta produce such a serial.She has no idea except western culture.
Everyone is talking about the set, performance of actors and animation, etc. The first line of thinking should be what Mahabharat is how were the qualities (divine) of the people in that era and then we can think what Ekta kapoor has tried to portray.
If I just think about the difference, the first word which occurs to me is rubbish.
The main reason for the Mahabharat was to set an example of the qualities one should have and what is our Dharma (Righteousness).
If one is to show this to people, then this is the thought which should be the foremost and not the set or the actors and animation
If i have to compare between BR chopra and this Mahabharat, I would go for the BR chopra one because the main theme of it was on the above lines. I know it was not good in the glamarous terms. Would have been good if it was. But BR Chopra did not fail to put the point across or send the message across.
This current Mahabharat is not on these lines. Wearing black clothes, not having mukuts, unnecessary shouting, etc etc.
Ekta dont try to make fun of our own Dharma
Hi,
Can someone please tell me what happened in KHMK the last week?
As a software engineer, the protocol is that I have to stay in office 9am to atleast 8.30pm and so I cannot see KHMK daily![:(] Previously 9X telecasted all KHMK episodes of the week one after the other on sunday night; but now like most other popular entertainment channels, even they have also began with the trend of telecasting a stupid movie to spoil a sunday evening and therefore I do not get to see KHMK at all!
However, I have seen the promos of the Maha-Aagaman of the Pandavas; and I find them impressive! And the most important element is that they have now eliminated black from the costumes! As kids and teenagers, Pandavas always wore black – but now according to the promos of young Pandavas, they are wearing other colors!
So the actual thing is that KHMK is incorporating all the possible changes reported by the criticism!
Regarding the six pack abs of the male actors – how can they eliminate them? Every individual; before getting into the acting stream, develops a fine toned body to appear smartest in every screentest! Though not impossible, it is very difficult to lookout for pehelwans in this age where not only actors but every second individual goes to the gym to get a fine toned body!
For those who want to criticise Ekta will criticise even if she does good work, bad work or no work!
For no one criticised Jodhaa Akbar even though Hrithik looked a body builder Akbar who had a fine toned gym prepared body!
No one criticised Lagaan when they showed the ladies in the old age India dancing on the tunes of Ghanan Ghanan!
I do not mean any offences to the above movies – I myself am a great fan of Jodhaa Akbar and Lagaan for the work done by the team of these movies! I hate cricket more than anyone else in the world but then too I like Lagaan for the outstanding work in acting, screenplay, music, direction, etc.
Similarly I hate history but I love Jodhaa Akbar for all the outstanding work done by the team!
Same is the case with KHMK… a little adjustments are ok!
If KHMK was a movie, may be the actors would have changed their body structures – like actresses in Bollywood who go thinner and fatter according to the demand of the roles! But when it comes to television, they cant do that – because KHMK is not the only show they do at a time! They have to use the gym look in all the other shows that they do!
And what has KHMK changed? Only the look and feel of Mahabharat – they havent changed the story, teachings, preachings and moral of Mahabharat! What is more important for the generation to come? The story and moral of Mahabharat or how the Mahabharat looked? And come on… KHMK is not the only show the next generation is going to see… There are various other shows like Ramayan, Mahabharat, Shri Krishna, etc… And the young generation is smarter than us… They will know how our mythological characters looked by seeing the other shows as well!!!
This has nothing to do with KHMK but Aditya , dear I am also a senior programmer ,you are giving too much time to office almost 12 hrs , take care , don’t allow your employers to exploit so much.I too have worked from 10 to 9:30 but then I decided to quit and now I leave at 7:30 pm coming at 10:00 am in the morning.
Now with 6th pay commission the pay scale of govt employees are as good as top notch private companies , with only 5 working days . You are young and try out your luck in govt openings.Give your orkut id
WHY THERE IS TATOOS ON THE HAND OF A MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTER? WERE THEY AMERICAN PUNK? DO YOU AGREE THAT THE ACTRESS ACTING AS DRAUPADI IS SUITABLE FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL MOVIE?HER LOOKS, WAY OF STANDING,PRONOUNCIATION OF HINDI,DIET CONSCIOUS FIGURE ARE ALL WESTERNED TYPE. WHERE ARE THE MUSTOUCH ON THE FACE OF MOST OF THE MALE CHARACTER? DOES EKTA KONOW THAT MUSTOUCH WAS THE PRESTIGE OF KHATRIYA JUST LIKE MUKUT? WHERE IS THE MUKUT? WHY THERE ARE HAIR BANDS ON THEIR HEAD? DON’T YOU THINK ALL PANDAVA LOOKS LIKE MODERN COLLEGE BOY OF A ENGLISH MEDIUM COLLEGE.SIX PACK ABS CAN’T ACCEPTED.IT CAN BE BUILT ONLY BY GOING MODERN GYM.DO YOU THINK WE, PUBLIC ARE IDIOT?EKTA IS DOING IT INTENTIONALLY TO BRING WESTERN CULTURE IN INDIAN MYTHOLOGYTO ATTRACT YOUNG GENERATION THOUGH SHE IS NOT AT ALL SUCESSFULL IN THIS REGARD BECAUSE THIS SERIAL IS NOT AT ALL A POPULAR SERIAL. EKTA SHOULD KNOW YOUNG GENERATION IS VERY INTELLEGENT.
PL COMPARE THIS DRAUPADI WITH RUPA GANGULY, PADMINI, ANITA GUHA, DIPIKA CHILKIA, HEMA MALINI.THEY ARE MOST SUITABLE FOR MYTHOLOGICAL CHRACTER.NOT THIS DRAUPADI,OR BIPASA BASU,OR PRIYANKA CHOPRA BECOZ THEIR FACE CUTTING AND LOOKS ARE ENGLISH TYPE.
hello friends how ru all..
well adi d. yaar u ryt ki jo criticise karega wo karega hi chahe ekta sahi kare ya galat…hehe..yaar im not against six pack abs..but the way they showing there abs i criticse that part..coz today many build six pack abs..its good bu bad also…well like u said about jodha akbar…hrithik roshan body…ya u ryt.coz akbar was not like the way hrithik is..akbar was not much tough..in this point the work comes first.im too a gr8 fan of jodha akbar..yaar dn u acpt this like u said lagan too both movies of good dirctr ashutosh gowariker.
hes a good directr..i dunno abt lagaan much coz i dn like that movie inspite of ths i liked swades much more thn previous one..like in jodha akbar..hrithik was in full in the character..the dialoge delvry..everythng.actrs are actrs..this hrithk is the same who also workd in suraj barjtyas prem ki deewani hu..aap mujhe ache lagne lage..fiza…mission kashmir..whch were flop movies..didnt go well..not saying that dirctr was bad or actor was bad..it just that both co ordination dosnt suits properly..storyline matters…thn taking out the character from the actor..
i m in a theatre group..i do actin…our instructor and our co ordination is so good..that n one incdnt in a play someone frgt his fulll dialogue…and audience started sayng ki bhul gaya bhul gaya..thn i entered the scene…jabki that was not mine scene at all..and thn did somethng and many thngs related to it….so its the work…..
but ekta kapoor…in early times arnd kyunki saas bahu thi..hum paanch..khaahani ghar ghar ki and ghar ek mandir.that time her work load was not so much like in todays time..so all prgrm did well but now see….dnst handle well..wat to say more.but lagta hai ki dheere dheere khmk ki patri track par aa gayi hai….still loopholes there bt ok…..
ya udayan u ryt that their faces much like english type…actly not englsh type they all are so skinny that there face looks like it..isse acha to sharon stone ka face angle sahi hai…..just saying not serius….jinka bhi tumne naam liya….yaar ye kuch the talnted persns….not like todays time ..
gtg now….tc…hare krishna….hope this time mene sahi kara ho apni opinions ko para me kar ke .. :)
Hi Siddharth,
First of all, Thanks a lot for your concern and apologies for this late reply! I saw your comment last evening but didnt have time to compose a reply! You may search orkut for the users with the name “Aditya Danait” and I am sure you will find only one user and that would be me because of such a unique surname! ;-) But the problem is that I have the access to orkut only on weekends!
And coming back to KHMK… arey yaar koi mujhe batayega kya ho raha hai KHMK me! I have been so unfortunate that I havent seen even a single episode of KHMK after the Maha-Aagaman of the youths of Kauravas and Pandavas! I have heard from my friends and family (critics of KHMK :D) that my favourite Hiten is playing Karna in the show but none of them see the show regularly and thus noone can tell me whats happening in it!
Please folks… this blog is not only about criticising or praising KHMK but also about discussing it…
Hey Eshan…
I didnt mean to criticize Ashutosh Gowariker! With movies like Lagaan, Swades and Jodhaa Akbar, he has proved that he can deliver extra-ordinary excellence! And if I criticise his work, it would be sheer foolishness! He is a true professional and I am a layman! But what I meant is there was little distortion of facts which is acceptable!
Ok as expected earlir Balika vadhu has topped the charts , beating Bidai . Pandava’s aagman is fruitless trps are still low.One more blow to ekta fans , kyunki is going off air.As all believed , Ekta ‘s time is over , she will be wiped out from small screen by the next 2 years.
Coming back to khmk , I just saw few scenes while my mom shuffling channels, now characters are wearing bright colored clothes, but again dialogues are too cheap.Drupad was saying to his wife( who was wearing sari blouse no research yet) ‘tune shikhandi jaisa putra jana’. God what is this ?even I could write better dialogues , a king is using fourth grade worker like language.
People earlier in this blog said she is trying new , then she is not trying new , only Balika Vadhu and mohe rang de are out of the box serials. Though Mohe rang de is not much successful , but good homework has been done by dialogue writers like “maine nahin jana” and not main nahin jaongi for punjabi family and costume designers.Serials is not all abt costumes , but somewhere with the message ,Balika vadhu has many discrepencies with Rajasthan , but overall message is great and therefore such things do not matter like anandi always take names like basant tauji , jagdisiya etc , in rajasthan rajput families ,taking names of elders is too far , you put bana with younger like a bride would say rahul bana if devar name is rahul.Nevertheless it is dealing with some great issues in the time where people are money digger and make stupid serials.
According to one unconfirmed news , Ekta kapoor failed in her X class , seems her mind did not grow after it and in her peak she never made rather tried to make one good serial with a message.All her work is forgettable.but ekta lovers get ready , she is making serial on balaji .Balaji save yourself.
Here are the latest TRPs (TRP/TVR) of the week (05/10/2008 to 11/10/2008)
1. BALIKA VADHU (Colors) : 4.70 TRP
2. Sapna Babul Ka ..Bidaai (Star Plus) 4.43 TRP
3. GHILLI (Tamil Film) (Sun TV) : 2.94 TRP
4. JAI SHRI KRISHNA (Colors) : 2.86 TRP
5. KASAMH SE (ZEE TV) : 2.52 TRP
6. Kis Desh Mein hai meraa dil (Star Plus) : 2.38 TRP
7. BANOO MAIN TERI DULHAAN (Zee TV) : 2.36 TRP
8. KAHAANI GHAR GHAR KI (Star Plus) : 2.35 TRP
9. KOLANGAL (Sun TV) : 2.30 TRP
10. MAAYKA (Zee TV) : 2.29 TRP
Question to ravan & anuradha- Do you change your parents for the convenience of your kids. People like you are curse to the tradition of india.
This serial is really flop, no justice is done to the charactor selection or costumes.
I find this interesting article,
Let’s Get Some Perspective Here
by Robert Lee Camp, May 16, 2001
Maybe it is because it is the turn of the new century and the beginning of the Aquarian Age. Or maybe it is because at all times in history people want to be positive about the present and the future. But there is a prevailing notion at this time that because of our place in history that a bright future awaits us. In all cases, we should never ignore the signs around us while making such predictions. I guess it is just so bad right now that everyone wants to hope that things will get better, soon. The Aquarian Age beginning now is a sign of change. But there are much more accurate assessments of time, devised thousands of years ago, that shed new light upon our current time period and the future.
Ancient Yogic scriptures, known collectively as the Puranas, give a picture of time that is vast and highly detailed. And according to these works of knowledge, our planet has been around much longer than anyone imagined and will be around for much longer too. In their cosmology, time is basically divided up into major chapters of time known as Yugas. There are four Yugas that repeat just like the four seasons of our year. However, each of these four Yugas are different in length. They are as follows:
Satya Yuga 1,728,000 years The Age of Light or Golden Age
Treta Yuga 1,296,000 years The Silver Age
Dwapara Yuga 864,000 years The Bronze Age
Kali Yuga 432,000 years The Iron Age
A complete cycle of four of these Yugas makes up on Mahayuga, which totals 4,320,000 years. Then, it proceeds to another measure called a Day of Brahma, which is 1,000 Mahayugas, or 4,320,000,000 years. Needless to say, that is a very long time. But there are even greater measurements of time. One Cosmic Day consists of one day and one night of Brahma or 8, 640,000,000 years. 360 full Cosmic Days make up one year of Brahma and the life span of Brahma is 100 Brahma Years, or close to 311 trillion earth years. As long as that is, there are even greater measurements to behold.
A thousand life spans of Brahma are equal to only 24 minutes of one day of Vishnu. And you can multiply this out for a hundred Vishnu Years to get the number of earth years for one of his life spans.
And then comes Lord Shiva, who has the longest life span of all. One thousand Vishnu life spans (each of 100 Vishnu Years) equals only 24 seconds of one Shiva Day. And if that wasn’t enough, a thousand life spans of Lord Shiva only equal 12 seconds in the life of Ishvar (God). And so it goes.
Brhama, Vishnu and Shiva are the three manifest beings of this earth plane and their life spans seem beyond belief to most of us. But in accordance with this time system, amazing predictions have been made and are coming true.
These four ages have distinctly different characteristics. In each age, the overall consciousness and purity of the souls that are alive is at a different level. If you haven’t guessed already, the Satya Yuga is the highest age of all. In this age, all beings have the highest consciousness possible and there is no evil or darkness upon the earth at all. This age gradually translates into the Treta Yuga where there is a little less Dharma (right action) and more Adharma (negative behavior that produces pain and suffering). It is possible to achieve enlightenment in any age but the overall makeup of each age more or less supports it. The lowest age of all is the Kali Yuga where immorality, injustice and every crime against humanity and individuals that is conceivable occurs. And that is the age that we are presently in.
In yogic scriptures written tens of thousands of years ago, the characteristics of what we are experiencing each day were described. Men and women killing each other over money and passion, having sex with children, wholesale slaughter, immorality in every conceivable form and the utter lack of any theme of righteousness are all characteristics of the Kali Yuga. Similar predictions were made in the Bible and it is interesting to read the two separate predictions of today’s culture and society. They seem to be written by the same person!
In the other three Yugas, people tend to have many magic powers. Things that occur in those Yugas seem unimaginable now. If you want to get a glimpse of how life was in just the previous Yuga, which was Dwapara, read from the book, the Mahabharata. This ancient Sanskrit poem, which is over 200,000 verses long in rhyming Sanskrit, has been translated into English many times and there are some condensed versions available since the full translation spans 17 volumes. In this epic tale is depicted much of the life of Krishna who incarnated at the end of the Dwapara Yuga, as he was predicted to, to cleanse the earth of millions of demons who dwelt here. In that account you will read of people and beings that had great powers. A Brahman priest in that age, for example, had the power that anything they proclaimed would come true. If they blessed you or cursed you, the power of their accumulated spiritual power (tapas) ensured that their words would come to pass. Even they could not take back their curses once uttered.
The apparent good news is that we will move from the Kali Yuga directly to the Satya Yuga. But alas, that is going to occur a very long time from now. According to the Puranas, our present Brahma is now 50 years old. He has just entered his 51st Cosmic Year and this is the first Comic Day or first Day of Brahma in his 51st year. We are now in the fourth Kali Yuga of the 28th Mahayuga of this Cosmic Day. Our current Kali Yuga began in 3102 BC, so it is about 5,000 years into it, leaving about 427,000 years of this Kali Yuga before beginning a new Satya Yuga.
For this reason, I think it is a mistake to assume that something wonderful is going to happen to today’s society that is going to lift us all out of our fear, greed, lust and anger and transport us to a life of peace and harmony. There are no signs of it present today and I think it much wiser to assume that this is the way it is going to be for a while. Though we are in the Aquarian Age now, which will bring a new focus for our world and certainly a lot of new technology, we can expect people to use all these newfound inventions and technology to kill and rob each other just as they have been doing with whatever means is at their disposal now and in the past. And, with the new things being ushered in by Uranus in this age, I would expect some even more extreme examples of cruelty and mass murder to emerge over the next century.
Another thing to consider is that, according to the ancients texts on this subject, at the end of each Mahayuga, there is a period of time in which all life on earth ceases to exist. The earth becomes covered with water and it isn’t until the next Satya Yuga that life begins the slow process of evolution again. Our modern scientist are having a field day digging fossils of dinosaurs and other ancient species. What a surprise it would be for them to discover that all these life forms evolved solely from the current Mahayuga.
Still, as I said earlier, it is possible to achieve enlightenment in any age. And this Yuga presents opportunities the same as any. It is said that in each Yuga, Dharma (right action and morality) stands on one, two, three or four legs. In the Kali Yuga, Dharma has only one leg and that leg is devotion. Through the practice of devotion to God, one can achieve the impossible in the Kali Yuga. This is what the Hare Krishna group practice constantly by chanting the name of Lord Krishna, who was the last incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the sustainer. But one can achieve liberation by devotion to any high spiritual being such as Jesus, Moses, Buddha or others. It is the attitude of devotion and surrender to God that brings quick liberation in this Dark Age we live in. Perhaps that is what Jesus was referring to when he said “The meek shall inherit the Earth.” Meekness is one quality of devotion.
One last point is that during any age, one can achieve enlightenment through the practice of Yoga. However, when I say the practice of Yoga, I am not referring to the many forms of Hatha Yoga that are common today. The real purpose of Yoga is for an individual to merge back with his or her divine self and that process is not a simple matter of doing certain stretches and breathing exercises. However, I do not have the time to go into that in this article. If you are interested in hearing more about this, let me know and I may publish a future article.
There are other cosmologies and time systems to consider as well, such as the Mayan calendar, which runs out in twenty years or so. I only wanted to present a very ancient calendar system that is dear to my heart as one on the Shiva path so that we can gain a little perspective about our current period of time.
It is sad that KSBKBT is going off air! For several years in the beginning, this was the show that had a great plot and had so much of entertainment! The immortal characters of Tulsi, Ansh, Savita, Dakshaben,… were introduced by this show. But then, after a point the show was saturated with too many characters and the immortal Baa! The reason why I am posting this comment here is that I am going to miss the show! :(
Anyways, coming back to KHMK… the costumes and looks of youths are better – no blacks! They are even wearing Gold jewelleries! But pathetic when it comes to acting! In an episode Duryodhan said, “Tum beechke bhai ho Bheem, isiliye hamesha beechme hi bolte ho”… unacceptable! A prince should have some dignity in his speech! When Arjun interrupted Duryodhan when he was talking to Acharya Dron, he asked him to shut his mouth by showing finger on lips… unacceptable! Though Duryodhan was a negative character, he was not a mavali or a gunda!
And pathetic… pathetic… pathetic… looks for Shikhandi! According to KHMK it looks like Shikhandi was a feminine son of Raja Drupad! How come a feminine son has such a masculine built? And what is the purpose of designing backless cholis and low waist sarees for that character?
One more disaster that I analysed… Shri Krishna was born at the same time as Suyodhan! In an episode, baby Shri Krishna had protected baby Suyodhan when Shakuni’s agent kidnapped him by mistake! Then, when Kauravas and Pandavas were in their teens, Shri Krishna was also in his teens! Now that Kauravas and Pandavas are in their youth, it was obviously expected that Shri Krishna should also be a little older! But even today, it is the same actor! What happened? Why didn’t he grow at all?
And hey Siddharth… I agree with you… Balika Vadhu rocks! There may be some discrepancies with Rajasthan, but then this show is seen by entire India! So it must be of the form that we all can understand! They have not onnly analyzed the show format but also analyzed the audience! :)
hi frnds…hi sidd…yaar abhi exhibition meri nahi hui kari thi..but wo 2-3 paintings and pics ke sath hi thi…that was good…
well coming here…vijay yaar jaha se bhi aapne article liya hai..its very nice to read but ya one thing i would say..
jaisa ki isme likha hai..i belive in all this.i belve in god powers and all..im a reiki master and learnt many other powers therapy too magar phir bhi kahi na kahi kuch kuch isme aisa hai jo thoda unaccptble lagta hai may be im wrng coz this all is too vast ki jane kya hai isme koi nahi janta…iske liye ashwathama ko hona chahya jo abhi tak is earth par hai aur ghumte rehte hai..i relly wish to meet him..
in ancient time jaisa ki hai ki our religion was oldest..to usme sab monotonous ho gaya tha new religions aa rahe the jain islam aur bhi kafi..sab ki teachings same hi thi bus thoda sa modify tha unki teachings me..coz of this our pandits high class pandits losing their place there tat much respct so they wrte all histry again in a new manner to make somemore intersting facts so that people attcrtt to our religion
coz that time sab apne relgion ke bare me aisa kehte the usko itna exxexrte kar ke ki jisse log attrct ho same way hamare religion me bhi hua..jiska output hamare samne hai ki we all see hanuman ji as a proper monkey species..i mentiond earlier too in this blog abt it…if frnds aap logo ne plant of apes dekhi hogi usme bhi aisa hi kuch tha..to ye sab wohi tha isko bus thoda intrstnig bana diya gaya..same way jaisa vijay aapne diya hai…80 percnt is corrct and may be rest is modifctn…or may be 100 percnt is corrct.its just coz itna vast topic hai ki kyakya ho sakta hai koi nahi jaan sakta…
aneways abt kyunki….yaar atlast ja raha hai ye show….acchi baat hai atlast kuch naya to aaega…..coz ye kuch jada hi too much ho gaya tha…mene to 4 saal se dekha nahi but phir bhi jab bhi thoda dikhta hey bhgwan….
now abt khmk…yaaar shikhandi….ufff yaaar ekta ne ye kya kara hua hai…actors ko dekh kar to liya kare aur liya bhi ho to atlst theek se portray to kare ye kya tha yaar uski entry me…unaccptble……ab to shikhandi ko dekh kar aisa hi lag raha hai ki sab ke sab same hi hai jo bhi bina moustache ke hai….coz that time moustach was shwn as manhood aneways wat to say ekta ka show hai uska dream hai jo kare…
me to aajkal br chopra mahabharata dekh raha hu…atlst ekta ki mahabharata me kansa ka role akashdeep sehgal (ansh gujral ) ne jo kara wo role jai shri krishna ka kansa karta to jada acha lagta..may be u seen that kansa ….
well frnds bye tc hare krishna..
Ekta seems out of her senses. nothing is in order, it gets on nerve, i grew up watching ramayana,mahabharata but the outcome of KHMK is total null & avoid. Starcast merely on ektas recommendation, dailogue delivery, body language goes haywire, standard of hindi language is below the mark.
None of the actor fits in the role, Duryodhana with his 6 abs looks like Bheem & Bheem’s negative face remind us of kansa,Pandav walks as if on ramp show,Re.direction i would say too many cooks spoils the soup. But let me admire her for spending lavishly on sets & other stuff except costumes.
Frankly speaking from the day one of episode telecast i realised KHMK not going to please anyone. I m not comparing KHMK to BRC’s version. Those who hv seen Draupadi on sahara, Shri Krishna & other mythological serierls just cant take it.
In my opinion,ekta wants to prove that winners dont do different things but they do it differently & here she fails. Afterall Mahabharata remains Mahabharat ,one just cant messup with it. It is not just a greatest epic but longest epic in world literature, over 3 times longer than holy Bible.It is quite difficult to diget her new epic venture. Better she wind up instantly & get back to her favorite saas-bahu cat fight soaps. Rather than watching KHMK i wud prefer Kishen Kumar’s movies. Sorry Ekta but m kinda of persona call spade a spade.
Ekta seems out of her senses. nothing is in order, it gets on nerve, i grew up watching ramayana,mahabharata but the outcome of KHMK is total null & avoid. Starcast merely on ektas recommendation, dailogue delivery, body language goes haywire, standard of hindi language below mark.
None of the actor fits in the role, Duryodhana with his 6 abs looks like Bheem & Bheem’s negative face remind us of kansa,Pandav walks as if on ramp show,Re.direction i would say too many cooks spoils the soup.
In my opinion,ekta wants to prove that winners dont do different things but they do it differently & here she fails. Afterall Mahabharata remains Mahabharat you just cant messup with it. It is not just a greatest epic but longest epic in world literature, over 3 times longer than holy Bible. I just cant diget this. Better she wind up & get back to her favorite saas-bahu cat fight soaps. Rather than watching KHMK i wud prefer Kishen Kumar’s movies. Sorry Ekta but m kinda of persona call spade a spade.
Hey Afzal khan better u behave urself & stop condemning hindu mythology,perhaps u aware how afzal khan was killed by our Great Legend Warrior Shivaji…..u wnt me to repeat it with u.
hey hey wats up here…yaar hindustani…are chill maro yaar its ndng like that….hehe….afzal ko kuch karne ki jarurat nahi hai…..he wanted to knw smthng to bata diya baki wo jane aur uski soch uski thnking ye sab karne ka kya faida yaar…choti bato par itna kya gussa hona aur bhi kuch hai duniya me gussa hone ke liye…chill brdr…..
hare krishna
hello friends….happpy diwali to all of my frnds…to all of u and ur famly…enjoy and take care of urslf…….
hare krishna……
Hi Eeshan bro.
Wish u n ur near n dear a very happy & delighted diwali festival.
Thanks buddy but he made a such a sarcastic baseless remark that Lord krish had a affair with his aunty …that hurts sentiments of millions of Lord krish followers .it boils my blood…just cant ignore.
Hi..Everybody,
Wish You a very happy & splendid Diwali festival.
Here a good news to all ,BR Chopra’s “Mahabharat” will be retelecasted on Star Utsav w.e.f 10th Nov.08,
Mon/fri 6PM .so dont miss, jst chill.
It’s been my pleasure 2 watch such a fabbulous epic drama by drama queen. I wasn’t born when B R Chopra’s Mahabharat started. So, Its a big gift 4 me 4m Queen. I’d been waitin 4 such a gr8 gift by Ekta.All d guys hu’ve watched old version shud stop comparing dem. Its totally Ekta’s Drama. I love it
Honesty saying Mrunal Jain who is playing the role of Lord Krishna lacks appeal. He does not suit the role and has to be replaced. For god sake replace . A major thing that is really mysterious is that all the Pandavas and Kauravas were replaced but why not Krishna.What Elita Kapoor wants to prove by showing this Mrunal Jain as Krishna? She has insulted Lord Krishna . May be she has taken audience for granted. This serial has lost the charisma. Please don’t take audience for granted. No one is a fool.Already you have showed a twenty five year old Krishna stealing maakan which is more ridiculous. Hope she has watched B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharata,Kahaani hamarey Mahabharat Ki should have been more better instead its worse . Its amusing that why Krishna was not replaced.It was surprising that she is continuing with Mrunal Jain as lord Krishna. Nitish Bharatwaj was extremely charming and suited the role.