On the 129th anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s birth, let’s celebrate & marvel at Bose!!!
A man goes from Calcutta to Afghanistan to Russia to Germany. Pretty much alone. Makes the famed British ‘intelligence’ look like jokers.
Raises an army in Germany. Travels to Singapore over a 3-month journey, first in a German submarine, transferring somewhere near the southern tip of Africa into a Japanese submarine. Builds up the INA. Takes it to 60,000 strong. Raises funds of many many lakhs.
Takes the Andaman Islands. Raises the Azad Hind Government’s flag there. Sets up the framework of the Azad Hind Government. Sets up a Azad Hind Currency & a Azad Hind Bank. Issues the Azad Hind government’s first sovereign bonds. Issues stamps. Creates a Azad Hind Government’s Worker’s league. Secures official diplomatic recognition of India’s first Independent government from over a dozen countries. Officially declares war on the British.
Moves toward Delhi to uproot the British. Loses 30,000 soldiers in battle. Never surrenders. Goes underground to build another army.
While underground, manoeuvres the messaging using the badly biased and unfair INA trial, to engineer multiple mini-mutinies among the British-Indian armed forces, just at the time when World War II is affecting the British the most. Has a large role to play in crippling the British Empire in India.
As has been observed in many of the writings and official cables of the Empire, the big fear that Bose will be back with a massive, rejuvenated INA was one of the primary reasons for the British to agree to leave India.
BOSE – What a leader!
Without doubt, One of India’s greatest freedom fighters!!!
Here are some less-seen images / pics of & about Netaji…
As 2025 ended, India’s video games industry stood resilient amid turbulence, boasting a massive user base and ambitious growth trajectory despite a seismic regulatory shock. With approximately 517-600 million gamers – over 90% of which are mobile-first, the sector’s market size hovers around USD 4.38 billion this year.
Online gaming revenues had remained largely flat in 2024 due to GST hikes but are rebounding in 2025 at a projected 10.8% CAGR, fuelled by cheap data, 5G rollout, and varied content.
The October real-money gaming (RMG) ban, enacted via the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, triggered mass layoffs and shutdowns at giants like Dream11, WinZO, MPL, and Gameskraft, erasing over $840 million in assets and displacing thousands. Yet, from these ashes rises a pivot to sustainable models: esports, casual games, and skill-based titles, backed by state policies and global investments.
A Turbulent Yet Transformative 2025
India’s gaming ecosystem, the world’s second-largest by users, grappled with RMG’s fallout, which once dominated 50-83% of revenues (INR 16,000 crore in 2023). The ban, challenged in courts with hearings delayed to January 2026, stemmed from anti-gambling concerns but distinguished “real games” from betting, legitimizing esports at events like Khelo India 2025.
Casual and esports segments grew 20% and 5% respectively in 2024, with esports seeing 2 million tournament participants, 36 pro teams, and 7,400 broadcast hours. Mobile reigned supreme (55.88% share), with 8.45 billion downloads in 2024, led by battle-royale (BGMI’s return boosted engagement) and hyper-casual genres. In-app purchases (41% revenue) and ads thrived via UPI micro-transactions. Indies and mid-core titles gained traction, with studios like Nodwin and global backers (Krafton, Bitkraft) funding early-stage ventures led by ex-RMG talent. PC/console niches expanded modestly, supported by esports infrastructure.
Government momentum accelerated via AVGC-XR (Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics, XR) policies. Maharashtra’s 2025 policy targets Rs 65,000 crore sector value (25% national share), Rs 50,000 crore investments, and 500,000 jobs through incentives for IP, exports, parks, and skilling in Mumbai-Pune hubs. Karnataka and others followed, positioning India as a “gaming back-office” exporter ($3.75B annually by 2028).
Dominant Trends Reshaping Play
Mobile-First Explosion: 560M+ smartphones and 5G (980M subs by 2030) drive vernacular hits, with female gamers rising at 15.8% CAGR.
Esports Ascendancy: From INR 67 crore (2023) to INR 179 crore by 2028 (21.8% CAGR), fueled by corporate leagues and non-metro traction.
Cloud and Emerging Tech: 5G enables low-latency streaming; cloud gaming to double by 2027.
Resilience: Small teams thrive amid franchise fatigue, though publishing gaps persist.
Challenges linger: illegal offshore apps siphon users, high acquisition costs stifle devs, and RMG’s 28% GST lingers as a cautionary tale.
Outlook for 2026-2028
Explosive Rebound Gamers could hit 724M by 2028 December. Projections paint a bullish picture, with the market doubling to USD 8.74B by 2030 (14.8% CAGR) or INR 39,583 crore for online/esports by 2028 (19.2% CAGR). Lumikai forecasts $9.2B by 2029, driven by in-app purchases and casual/social gaming (INR 36,600 crore by 2028).
Watch out For Cloud/subscription surges (25% CAGR), global acquisitions of Indian studios, esports mainstreaming (to $120M by 2030), and AI/XR integrations via AVGC hubs. Exports and job creation (30L direct by 2030) will amplify via policies.
In Conclusion 2025 tested India’s gaming sector’s mettle, purging RMG excesses while catalysing a “real games” renaissance. With 20% of global gamers but just 1% revenue, the next 2-3 years beckon a $7-9B powerhouse – blending mobile might, esports energy, and policy propulsion. Stakeholders eyeing sustainable IP, cloud innovation, and global tie-ups will lead this charge.
2 days ago, we noted the 265th anniversary of the sad day that was a watershed day in India’s history, which led to India’s colonisation by the British.
On 14th Jan 1761, the third battle of Panipat was fought between the Marathas led by Sadashiv Rao Bhau and a coalition of the Afghan ruler Ahmed Shah Abdali supported by Najibuddaulah, the Rohilla chiefs Hafiz Rehmat and Dunde Khan and the Nawab of Awadh Shujauddaulah, was arguably the largest battle fought anywhere in the world in the 18th century, where about 1,00,000 brave Marathas died defending their country.
The roots of the battle can be traced to the rise of the Maratha Empire. By 1755, the Marathas were the dominant power of the sub-continent. Its influence encompassed the Deccan, most of Northern India and even Calcutta. In 1759, a Maratha expeditionary force had reached Kandahar in Afghanistan and they had established garrisons in the major cities of Punjab.
The rise of the Marathas was viewed with anger by the Muslim rulers of North India. Led by Najib-ud-Daulah of Rohilkhand (modern day Western UP) and Siraj-ud- Daulah of Awadh, they invited Ahmad Shah Abdali to wage ‘jehad’ against the Marathas. The call was sweetened by a purse of Rs 2 Crores and after his initial hesitations, Abdali decided to come to India to contest the Marathas.
Abdali entered India through the Khyber Pass in January 1760. His armies brushed aside the Maratha garrisons in Punjab and forced them to withdraw. He then moved his armies to Anoop Shahr (around 70 kilometers east of Delhi near Saharanpur), in the kingdom of his ally Najib- ud- Daulah, and camped there awaiting the Marathas.
The arrival of Abdali and the defeat of their garrisons had worried the Marathas and in March 1760, Peshwa Nanasaheb, decided to send a large expeditionary force under his most capable general – Sadashiv Rao Bhau – and his own son, the 17 year old Vishwas Rao to contest Abdali.
The Maratha army left Udgir on 07 March 1760, with around 40,000 cavalry, 15,000 troopers and around 200 pieces of artillery. It was joined along its advance by forces from the Holkars of Indore and the Scindias of Gwalior. Yet in spite of its size, it was ill-equipped and lacked administrative support. The army was told to live off the land as it advanced, a strategy that led to looting and pillaging of the countryside over which it advanced and earned it much antagonism in its northwards move. The army was also encumbered by the presence of around 15-20k ladies and children and camp followers, which slowed the advance of the army as it moved slowly over three months before it reached Delhi on 21 July.
The Marathas captured Delhi easily and ransacked it, camping there for over three months. The army of Abdali and his allies were in Meerut – Saharanpur, the two armies separated by the Yamuna River. Though patrols and skirmishes were frequent no major clash of arms took place as yet.
The Lead Up to the Big Battle
Then at the end of October Sadashiv Bhau led his army out of Delhi and moved towards Kunjpura, a fortress on the west bank of the Yamuna which was a major supply hub of Abdali. Kunjpura was strongly held with over 10,000 Afghans but was captured in just two nights after an intense attack using artillery and cavalry in close coordination. Abdali and his army were on the opposite bank of the river and though Abdali could see and hear the plight of his men, he was unable to cross the flooded Yamuna river to aid them.
Kunjpura fell on 18 October and was the last major success of the Marathas. They now had access to Abdali’s supplies and better still was in a position to block his return to Afghanistan. Bolstered by this success, the Marathas moved further towards Kurukshetra hoping to block Abdali’s return route completely. Then Abdali launched his masterstroke. On a rain-swept night on 25 October, he crossed the swollen Yamuna River. Even though over 200 soldiers were swept away, his entire army got across over two nights completely taking the Marathas by surprise. The tables were now turned. Abdali was now behind the Marathas and had cut off from their route back to Delhi and the Deccan.
With their escape routes blocked, the Marathas established a camp in the vicinity of Panipat. For three months, the Marathas remained besieged within their camp. Disease and starvation was rampant as they were cut off from their supplies. Skirmishes took place almost on a daily basis causing heavy casualties on both sides. Worse, winter was setting in and the Marathas were ill-equipped and unprepared for the North Indian winters.
With their strength weakening, Sadashiv Bhau called for a meeting of his Chiefs on 12 Jan and the War Assembly decided that rather than remain besieged, they would make one concerted attack to break through the Afghan positions and make their way back to Delhi and thence the Deccan. Ceremonial paan was served as a gesture of farewell, the Quartermaster was ordered to distribute the remaining food amongst the troops and the chieftains went to prepare their men for battle. The die was cast for the most decisive battle in India’s history.
The details of the war…
At dawn on 14 January 1761, the Maratha army moved out of its camp to the sound of conches and ranbakuras. Around three to four kilometers opposite them, the Afghans had arrayed in battle formation with a force of around 60,000 cavalry, infantry and artillery. Yet more than the numerical superiority of over 20,000 which the Afghans enjoyed, what made the difference was that Abdali’s army was a well-knit, cohesive force with the disparate chiefs held together by the iron personality of Ahmad Shah Abdali. On the other side, the Marathas were riven by dissension, with their chiefs often at loggerheads with each other. The divisions would come to the fore as the battle progressed.
The Marathas attacked first from their left flank – an attack led by Ibrahim Khan Gardi, a Muslim chief who would be one of the heroes of the battle. It was an ordered, disciplined attack with nine battalions, with one moving forward as the other gave fire support. The attack made slow, but gradual progress, and inflicted heavy casualties on the Afghan right flank opposing them. Then the Marathas made their first mistake.
As per the plan, Gardi’s musketeers were to establish a foothold in the Afghan lines and then the Maratha cavalry was to attack from the flank. Yet even as Gardi’s troopers were inching forward, the Cavalry attacked pre-maturely moving ahead of Gardi’s infantry and preventing them from firing. The cavalry assault which should have given a decisive edge in the initial stage of the battle petered out, but in spite of that, a breach was made in the Afghan right flank by around noon.
Simultaneously with the attack of his left flank, Sadashiv Rao Bhau had launched the main attack with around 20,000 crack troops – the Huzarat – directed at the Afghan center. He led the attack himself and its sheer force and momentum tore through the Afghan center causing them to break in disarray.
Around midday, the Marathas were well poised. They had broken through the right flank and the Center. Their right flank, under Holkar and Scindia, were to have attacked after the Afghan lines were breached, but inexplicably they did not move. They remained static even though Sadashiv Bhau sent a personal message to Holkar. The reluctance of their right flank to attack cost the Marathas dear. It gave time for Abdali to position his military police to round up all who were fleeing the battle and send them back to the front lines (with a few summary executions of those who refused). He also sent around 10,000 of his reserves to reinforce the crumbling lines. By around 2 pm the Afghan lines were steadied and any hope of a Maratha breakthrough vanished.
The Maratha attack petered out and Abdali launched a counter stroke from his own left flank behind the Marathas. His cavalry and ‘Zamburaks’ – camel mounted swivel guns poured a relentless stream of fire on the Marathas, who were gradually being compressed in a tight knot ahead of the Afghan positions. Afghan bullets took a deadly toll on the bunched Maratha infantry and one of the bullets hit Vishwas Rao, the Peshwa’s son on the head killing him instantly.
The death of Vishwas Rao turned the battle dramatically. Seeing him fall, the troops lost heart. Sadashiv Bhau himself dismounted from his elephant to come to see Vishwas and without his rallying presence, the Marathas troops panicked and began fleeing the battlefield. In the unruly chaos that followed, Abdali launched another attack with the rest of his reserves that swung in from the rear and sides of the beleaguered Marathas.
What followed was a slaughter. Weakened after the day-long fighting they were cut to pieces as the Afghan cavalry tore into them and bullets rained upon them. Their right flank under Holkar and Scindia took no part in the fighting and melted away from the battlefield, moving to Delhi and then their home bases. For the rest, it was carnage, as they battled desperately in isolated pockets. Over 30-40,000 Maratha soldiers fell that day alone (another 20,000 had been lost in the skirmishes of the preceding months). The vengeful Afghans who had lost around 30,000 of their own, ran amok in the Maratha camp, slaughtered the menfolk and took the women and children as slaves. That night, the moon was full and the fleeing Marathas were chased and cut down in the open fields around Panipat. An estimated 60-70,000 lives were lost in that one day which has often been called ‘The Bloodiest Day of the 18th Century”.
The aftermath of the war…
Of the estimated force of 70- 80,000 that set out, only around 15,000 or so succeeded in making their way back to the Deccan. Abdali left back for Afghanistan soon after the battle, receiving hefty compensation from the Muslim rulers.
Nanasaheb Peshwa died of shock after the disaster and Maratha power waned rapidly. Abdali never returned to India but the Marathas were back in Delhi by 1771, and continued to defend the capital until 1803 when it was lost to the East India Company. That said, they never recovered to even a third of their might which existed before the 3rd battle of Panipat. Its decline set the stage for Imperial rule in India. Devoid of any major challenger, the British consolidated their position and established British rule in India that would last 200 years. That perhaps was the greatest tragedy of the battle.
In more ways than one, the battle of Panipat of 14 January 1761 was the battle that defined the Indian nation-state. Who knows what would have happened if Najib-ud-Daulah and Siraj-ud- Daulah had never invited Ahmed Shah Abdali. Who knows what would have happened if Vishawas Rao had not been shot by a stray bullet. Who knows what would have happened had the Marathas not lost the battle so badly and so many of them had not been massacred? Who knows? While in Sadashiv Rao Bhau’s words – the battle was a “fight for an India by Indians where outsiders ought to have no say.”, whereas the big picture of the reality of the battle is that internal fighting among Indian rulers led to the colonisation of India.
This should serve as a lesson to all Indians – No matter how angry you may be with the rise of another ruler within your country, betraying your nation leads to much worse future for both you and your nation.
WWI & IIM Mumbai proudly announce the formation of the Advisory Board for their upcoming MBA in Media & Entertainment.
Comprising distinguished industry leaders, the Advisory Board represents a wide spectrum of stalwarts from India’s M&E industry covering all areas from Cinema, Sports, TV, OTT, Animation, Games, Music, Events, Media & Communication. This powerhouse collective will guide the programme’s curriculum development, industry integration, and strategic direction – ensuring it stays at the cutting edge of industry trends and global best practices.
Meghna Ghai Puri, President, Whistling Woods International, delightfully commented on the formation of the advisory board, “We are honoured to have assembled an Advisory Board of such exceptional calibre and diversity. These industry titans represent the very best of Indian media and entertainment. Their collective insights will be instrumental in shaping a world-class MBA programme that prepares the next generation of leaders for this dynamic sector.”
Prof Manoj Tiwari, Director of IIM Mumbai added, “The Advisory Board’s composition reflects the comprehensive nature of the MBA in Media & Entertainment programme. With leaders from every major vertical, students will gain unparalleled exposure to real-world challenges, emerging opportunities, and best practices across the media and entertainment landscape.”
Advisory Board Members Ashish Saksena, COO, BookMyShow Apoorva Mehta, CEO, Dharma Productions Ajit Andhare, COO, Producer, Viacom18 Studios Ashish Pherwani, Partner – Media & Entertainment, Ernst & Young Ashish Kulkarni, Founder, Punnaryug Artvision Atul Churamani, MD, Turnkey Music and Publishing Private Limited Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder, Nodwin Gaming Dinesh Vijan, Founder, Maddock Films Devraj Sanyal, Chairman & CEO India SA, SVP Strategy, Africa, M. East & Asia, Universal Music Group Gaurav Gandhi, VP, Amazon Prime Video – APAC & ANZ Keitan Yadav, COO, Red Chillies VFX Manvendra Shukul, CEO, Lakshya Digital, India Head – Keywords Studios Nitish Mittersain, CEO & MD, Nazara Technologies Prashant Khanna (PK), Head – Sports & Live Experiences Production Technology & Services, JioStar Rajiv Chilaka, Founder & MD, Green Gold Animation PVT LTD Rajan Navani, Chairman & MD, Jetline Group of Companies & CEO, Jetsynthesys Roshan Abbas, Founder, Kommune India Sameer Nair, MD, Applause Entertainment Samit Garg, Co- Founder & MD, E Factor Experiences Shashikant Someshwar, CEO, Weber Shandwick Vinit Karnik, MD, WPP Media
The newly formed Advisory Board will meet regularly to provide strategic guidance, facilitate industry collaborations, mentor students, and ensure that the programme remains responsive to the rapidly evolving media and entertainment industry.
Wadekar was an excellent captain but he never won a World Cup. Dhoni won a World Cup but he does not have a hattrick. Kuldeep has a hattrick but he is not an outstanding fielder. Jadeja is an incredible fielder but he doesn’t have even five thousand Test runs. Tendulkar has a lot of Test runs but not even fifty Test wickets. Ganguly has led India many, many times but never coached India. Anshuman Gaekwad coached India but never won a Ranji Trophy as captain. Gavaskar won the Ranji Trophy but never a Test series in England. Dravid won a series in England but never got India’s record ODI score. Rohit holds India’s record ODI score but never had India’s best ODI figures. Ayub had India’s best ODI figures but not 400 Test wickets. Harbhajan has 400 Test wickets but not 5,000 runs. Laxman has over 5,000 runs but never a 9-wicket haul. Gupte had a 9-wicket haul but not hundreds in South Africa. Azhar had one in South Africa but not one in West Indies. Sardesai had hundreds in West Indies but never one in England. Vengsarkar had hundreds in England but never hit four sixes in a row. Yuvraj hit more than that but never took eight in an innings in Australia. Kumble has done that but he never held the world record for most Test wickets.
One Indian has done each of these things. Every single one!
And he did more. He inspired millions. And he showed a country that they can be winners!
One of India’s greatest ever cricketers was born 67 years ago, today, on 6th January 1959.
Hey Citizens of the World, To experience India in the 1970s, you can now move to New York! 😉
These are some of New York’s next mayor’s plans:
– Free bus rides. Zohran brother – Delhi, Karnataka, etc will soon be suing you for plagiarism.
– Freeze the rent on 20 lakh houses (many of which were/are already subsidised). Looks like Zo copy-pasted from the Indian Rent Control Act 1948.
– NY’s social housing development agency will build more than 2lakh new homes. Clearly uncle has been closely studying the ‘sterling success’ of DDA, MHADA, BDA, etc. of India and wants to replicate it there.
– Set up & run government grocery stores with low prices. Indian Ration Shops & Kendriya Bhandars are celebrating that someone is copying them.
Most of these ideas are the some of the biggest failures of hard-socialist India of the 1960s, 1970s & early 1980s, which we in India are, thankfully, seeing in our rearview mirror as we drive away (too slowly for my liking) from that regressive toxic-socialist nonsense, into the real new world of progressive modern socio-economic politics.
That these idiotic ideas have appeal in New York – the global brand ambassador of capitalism – feels to me like it’s from a dystopian Netflix show set in an post-apocalypse world.
Maybe Zo should simply ask the thousands of Indians, who are currently living in & around New York (many of who are among the brightest, most ambitious, entrepreneurial people from India) why they moved there. And he would have gotten an answer why NOT to do this lunacy.
That said, if you ask them now, you may not get an immediate response, as most of them will be busy searching for a new city to move to. 😆
Hope some of them move back to Mumbai. Lower taxes than NY, some excellent new road & metro infrastructure, near-zero guns in the hands of people on the road, zero fentenyl-pumped druggies on our roads and our taxes aren’t going towards paying for illegal immigrants to stay in hotels.
Also, we have the world’s best pav-bhaji and vada pav – the two things from 1980s India that New York should have adopted, instead of this nonsense toxic-socialism… 🤷🏻♂️
Over the past few years, as I have been watching movies and paying more & more attention to their core messages, an interesting thought has emerged where I have started to see core concepts of Sanatan Dharma (referred commonly as Hinduism) linked to many movies…
Here I try to speak about 5 of them…
Interstellar
What is the idea that propels the plot? That there is a universal super-consciousness that transcends time and space, and in which all human life is connected – and it has been around for thousands of years.
It is Vedic.
When the film’s astronaut hero (Matthew McConaughey), declares that the mysterious and all-knowing “they”, who created a wormhole near Saturn through which he travels to save mankind – dissolving his sense of material reality in the process, are in fact “us”, he is simply repeating the central notion of the Upanishads, India’s oldest philosophical texts. These hold that individual human minds are merely brief reflections within a cosmic one – “Aham Brahmasmi”.
Matrix – Look at the Matrix movies – the core plotpoint is that this world is an illusion. It’s about maya – that if we can cut through the illusions and connect with something larger we can do all sorts of seemingly ‘superhuman’ things in this world of maya. Neo achieves abilities that many yogis have in the past. As described by Paramahansa Yogananda – “they can defy the laws of observed reality”, also aligned with the concept of people achieving ‘siddhis’ in Hinduism.
Star Wars – It was the film, with its cosmic scale and theme of a universal and undying “Force” that exists in & around all things and enables living beings to align themselves with it.
This eternalisation is the closest definition of the concept of ‘sanatani’ that one can think of – eternal, undying and all-pervasive.
By the way – there is also a term for this force in Bharatiya language – it’s called ‘chaitanya’. Every living thing has ‘chaitanya’ in them.
IMO Star Wars opened up the world to Indian esotericism more than anything else, albeit wrapped in a shroud of fantasy. George Lucas has written multiple times that he was influenced by the mythologist Joseph Campbell & his work – A Hero With a Thousand Faces and traced the narrative arc common to all mythic heroes that Luke Skywalker would embark upon.
Campbell himself has written and said multiple times that his ‘hero’ in the book he wrote lived by his Upanishadic mantra “follow your bliss”, which he explains as having derived from the Sanskrit term sat-chit-ananda.
The word sat means being,” said Campbell. “Chit means consciousness. Ananda means bliss or rapture. I thought, ‘I don’t know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not. I don’t know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not, but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being’.” His mantra was the paradigm for Skywalker’s own realisation of the force, the sense of peace, purpose and power gained once he allowed himself to accept and unify with it. “If you follow your bliss,” wrote Campbell, “you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.”
As his mastery of the force neared its peak, Skywalker comes perilously close to taking Vader’s sinister path. With this, Star Wars delves deeply into Natyashastra and the rasa theory which has no concept of ‘villainy’ but just two type of bravery – the positive bravery (Veer ras) and negative bravery (Raudra ras), with the former being followers of dharma and the latter those who don’t follow dharma (and hence follow adharma). This establishes the principle of (super)heroes having to overcome an inner darkness while battling an external enemy, and finding an enlightenment in the process.
Inception – Christopher Nolan’s Inception reinterprets Indian philosophical concepts through a cinematic lens, particularly the notion of time dilation within nested dream levels. The movie postulates that as one delves deeper into these dream levels, the perception of time stretches exponentially, distancing the mind from reality. This idea resonates strongly with Hindu temporal units, presenting an intriguing analogy. The narrative suggests that our perceived life is merely a dream, a product of our divine self’s slumber. Consequently, we forget our true origins and mistake this dream-like existence for reality, leading to recurring cycles of suffering. Thus, Inception’s labyrinth of dreams and its manipulation of time remarkably parallels key elements of Hindu philosophy, infusing the film with profound metaphysical insights.
The Avatar series: The title itself, “Avatar,” is derived from the Sanskrit word for incarnation. The film draws parallels with Sanatani concepts of nature worship & divine incarnations.
At the risk of sounding pompous & self-important, I thought I’d list out some realities of life which I have been presented to and which I have accumulated as a collective of
‘Thoughts to Live By‘
Status Quo is a comfortable place where nothing grows.
Being ‘reasonable’ is the surest, shortest & easiest path to mediocrity.
Never try to impress those who don’t respect your opinion.
Being fine with being insulted is the surest way of losing your character.
When you stop letting people disrespect you, they start calling you ‘difficult’.
You are not obligated to be associated with people who make your life worse.
We all have two lives. The real one starts when we realise we only have one.
Money can’t buy you happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Ferrari than in an autorickshaw.
If you’re not happy while having nothing, you’ll never be happy even if you have everything.
Happiness is not a destination, but a state of mind. आनंद गंतव्यस्थान नाही, मनाची अवस्था आहे. खुशी मंज़िल नहीं, मनोदशा है.
Your feelings aren’t facts.
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I dumped the above lines alongwith my photo into Gemini and this is the image it created to represent me!!! 😂👌🏻😂
In 1891, 31-year-old Canadian graduate student James Naismith needed to solve a problem in Springfield, MA, where he worked as a gym teacher at a YMCA (now Springfield College). His students, forced indoors because of winter, had become rowdy and needed a way to stay in shape. They had a lot of energy, but no way to burn it off. It was too cold to play football and baseball, and too dangerous to play those sports in the gym.
The school asked Naismith to think of a new indoor sport. Naismith remembered a rock-tossing game he played as a child. How about a game where players threw a ball at a target? The team that tossed the most balls into the target would win.
Naismith called his new game “basketball”.
A photo of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, practicing with his wife in 1928.
Two peach baskets and a soccer ball were the equipment. Naismith put the baskets at each end of the gym, nailed 10 feet above the floor. The teams each had nine players. Naismith threw the ball in the air for the first tipoff. On December 21, 1891, the game of basketball was born in Springfield, Massachusetts.
However, since there were no rules, the game became very rough with a lot of ‘tackling’ between the players. So, finally Naismith wrote up 13 rules, the first of which is that players could not run with the ball.
The new sport quickly grew in popularity. Naismith’s students went on to become teachers and coaches, spreading the game. Teams sprung up at high schools and colleges. Boys and girls across the nation began playing basketball.
Basketball became an Olympic sport in 1936. For the first Olympic basketball game, Naismith tossed the ball for the tipoff.
The game James Naismith invented as a winter “distraction” had turned into a global sport.
A 1939 radio interview with Dr Naismith – the inventor of Basketball
For his new game Naismith selected features of football (soccer), American football, field hockey, and other outdoor sports but (in theory) eliminated body contact between players.
Because his physical education class at that time was composed of 18 men, basketball originally was played by 9 on each side (eventually reduced to 5).
The first games employed half-bushel peach baskets as targets, so a stepladder was needed to retrieve the ball after infrequent goals. Naismith’s original rules, prohibiting walking or running with the ball and limiting physical contact, are still the basis of a game that spread throughout the world.
In 1898 Naismith received an M.D. from Gross Medical College, Denver, Colorado, afterward the University of Colorado School of Medicine. From that year until 1937 he was chairman of the physical education department at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where he also coached basketball until 1908. In addition to basketball, he is credited with inventing the protective helmet for football players. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield, Massachusetts, was incorporated in 1959.
About Dr. James Naismith
James Naismith, (born November 6, 1861, Almonte, Ontario, Canada, dies November 28, 1939, Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.), was a Canadian-American physical-education director who, in December 1891, at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School, afterward Springfield (Massachusetts) College, invented the game of basketball.
