Miscellaneous Topics thread

[sanjaykumar]

Although there are many confounding variables, there is an emerging body of evidence that later evening meals increase diabetic risk. Urban populations in India are well known to have significantly higher risk of diabetes than rural populations.

[Hriday]

Watch the 3.18 minutes video in the below link to see depiction of the 8 cylindrical structures beneath the pyramids. There is a mention of 2 km long underground artificial looking structure beneath the 3 pyramids in the Youtube video link given below.

https://x.com/TheProjectUnity/status/19 ... RxNug&s=19

DISCOVERY: There's MASSIVE STRUCTURES 2KM Underneath The Pyramids of Giza!

This is insane!!! HUGE, vertically lined SPIRALLING cylindrical structures discovered going down over 600 metres from the Pyramid base to huge constructs below!

WATCH THIS NOW!
SHARE THIS NOW!

Official press release in YouTube link below.

https://youtu.be/NuL3Fv-x3so?feature=shared
----------

The extremely sophisticated structures and other artifacts related to the pyramids doesn't match with the mainstream narration of history. Robert Schoch also noticed that the Sphinx structure shows heavy erosion damage due to heavy rains and the last time it rained heavily is in around 10,000 years ago.

There are plenty and plenty to talk about it's sophistication. The more you learn about it the more amazed you will be.
Let me share one here. William Flinders Petrie, who studied the artifacts noted his puzzle that a cylindrical stone had drill thread in a particular way which suggests that the sink rate of the drill is much faster than the mechanical drill available in the world at his time. Later it was found that ultrasonic drilling which was discovered later can achieve that speed. One should remember that even now official history is that ancient Egyptians didn't have full proficiency in the usage of all the metals.

There is an interesting book Giza power plant by Christopher Dunn. I don't know if anyone is patient to read it but atleast have a quick glance through his website which provides a lot of interesting photos and short summaries. Link below.

https://gizapower.com/gizeh/articles/

[drnayar]

Watch the 3.18 minutes video in the below link to see depiction of the 8 cylindrical structures beneath the pyramids. There is a mention of 2 km long underground artificial looking structure beneath the 3 pyramids in the Youtube video link given below.

https://x.com/TheProjectUnity/status/19 ... RxNug&s=19

dISCOVERY: There's MASSIVE STRUCTURES 2KM Underneath The Pyramids of Giza!

This is insane!!! HUGE, vertically lined SPIRALLING cylindrical structures discovered going down over 600 metres from the Pyramid base to huge constructs below!

WATCH THIS NOW!
SHARE THIS NOW!

Official press release in YouTube link below.

https://youtu.be/NuL3Fv-x3so?feature=shared
----------

The extremely sophisticated structures and other artifacts related to the pyramids doesn't match with the mainstream narration of history. Robert Schoch also noticed that the Sphinx structure shows heavy erosion damage due to heavy rains and the last time it rained heavily is in around 10,000 years ago.

There are plenty and plenty to talk about it's sophistication. The more you learn about it the more amazed you will be.
Let me share one here. William Flinders Petrie, who studied the artifacts noted his puzzle that a cylindrical stone had drill thread in a particular way which suggests that the sink rate of the drill is much faster than the mechanical drill available in the world at his time. Later it was found that ultrasonic drilling which was discovered later can achieve that speed. One should remember that even now official history is that ancient Egyptians didn't have full proficiency in the usage of all the metals.

Wow.. cool .. how they heck did the Egyptians build that ?!!

[Amber G.]

Watch the 3.18 minutes video in the below link to see depiction of the 8 cylindrical structures beneath the pyramids. There is a mention of 2 km long underground artificial looking structure beneath the 3 pyramids in the Youtube video link given below.


<snip>

Pseudoscience Alert: ( Why BRF admins ought to Maintain Forum Integrity):

I'm again disappointed by such posts sharing unsubstantiated claims about ancient Egyptian technology and pyramids. This thread is a perfect example of pseudoscience masquerading as credible information.

As a brf oldie (since 1998) this forum, I urge the admins to take notice of this issue. Our community prides itself on discussing credible scientific topics, and it's essential we maintain this standard.

Posts like these:

Lack credible sources and peer-reviewed evidence
Rely on sensationalist tone and speculation
Misrepresent established research and experts
Distract from meaningful discussions and waste our time

By allowing such pseudoscience to spread, we risk undermining the credibility of our forum and creating a platform for misinformation.

I request the admins to:

Monitor threads for pseudoscientific content
Enforce stricter moderation policies
Encourage members to report suspicious posts
Let's preserve the integrity of our forum and maintain a space for respectful, evidence-based discussions.
(Too many threads are are being infected with this kind of trolling!)

[Cyrano]

Instead of such ranting, a few lines on why you think it's wrong (BTW in this case I agree with you) would be better. Or ignore.

I've been around since 1998 as well, I haven't seen mods doing thought policing ever, since that would be the death of this forum.

[Aldonkar]

The extremely sophisticated structures and other artifacts related to the pyramids doesn't match with the mainstream narration of history. Robert Schoch also noticed that the Sphinx structure shows heavy erosion damage due to heavy rains and the last time it rained heavily is in around 10,000 years ago.

I went to school in Africa some some decades ago. More to the point, I was in Libya during a sandstorm some years ago that my friend, an Italian who had lived there for a a couple of decades, described as "mild". I suggest that wind and sand erosion is more likely a cause of the erosion than than water particularly rain.

[Cyrano]

Agree. Sandstorms have the power to sculpt rock as can be seen in the 'white desert' a few hours drive from Cairo which I had the good fortune to visit some years ago.

[Hriday]

^^
Robert Schoch suggests that the deep vertical erosion features and the undulating surfaces on the Sphinx are evidence of ancient, possibly pre-dynastic, water erosion, which he contrasts with the horizontal bands formed by wind erosion.

https://www.robertschoch.com/sphinx.html

On the body of the Sphinx, and on the walls of the Sphinx Enclosure (the pit or hollow remaining after the Sphinx’s body was carved from the bedrock), I found heavy erosional features that I concluded could only have been caused by rainfall and water runoff. The thing is, the Sphinx sits on the edge of the Sahara Desert and the region has been quite arid for the last 5000 years. Furthermore, various structures securely dated to the Old Kingdom show only erosion that was caused by wind and sand (very distinct from the water erosion).

There is a Wikipedia article disputing his suggestions. Link below. I hadn't gone through these thoroughly so I can't comment more on it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx_wa ... hypothesis

[Hriday]

<snip>

Pseudoscience Alert: ( Why BRF admins ought to Maintain Forum Integrity):

I'm again disappointed by such posts sharing unsubstantiated claims about ancient Egyptian technology and pyramids. This thread is a perfect example of pseudoscience masquerading as credible information.
.....

Posts like these:

Lack credible sources and peer-reviewed evidence
Rely on sensationalist tone and speculation
Misrepresent established research and experts
Distract from meaningful discussions and waste our time

By allowing such pseudoscience to spread, we risk undermining the credibility of our forum and creating a platform for misinformation.

I request the admins to:

Monitor threads for pseudoscientific content
Enforce stricter moderation policies
Encourage members to report suspicious posts
Let's preserve the integrity of our forum and maintain a space for respectful, evidence-based discussions.
(Too many threads are are being infected with this kind of trolling!)

To me, the above looks like an emotional outburst. Before coming to the merits of what Amber G. said, let me state here that recently, I had asked Mods and others to counter Amber G.'s suggestions that the policies of the Democrat party in the USA are beneficial to society, including the Indian American community there. Maybe Amber G. is retaliating on that issue?

About the need to stop the spread of pseudoscience.

Peer reviewing and vetting by learned authorities are essential. But reality suggests that it is not necessarily foolproof. Take the cases of the whitewashing of Mughal atrocities in school and college textbooks, purposefully avoiding stating the importance of Consciousness in the double slit experiment etc.(it matches with Hindu teachings). Aren't the above falsifications peer-reviewed and vetted by eminent academicians? So what is the alternative? One can at least share the alternative suggestions by the learned people. And that is what I had done here.

But if there are suggestions on how to present such alternative teachings, I am ready to do it. I am not believing all that written by the authors mentioned by me. Some could be just selling the narration or book by making sensational claims. But asking to ban even the mention of them doesn't sound scientific either.

[Vayutuvan]

@Amber G. ji (@Hriday ji )

What is a good "peer-reviewed" journal that is acceptable to you sir @Amber G. ji?

This journal looks promising:
https://www.irjet.net/about-us/editorial-board

[Hriday]

The latest SAR Scan results which I posted earlier are just recently published on March 15, 2025. So I think it will take time for the peer review. But a related previous article by the same team using the same methods is peer reviewed.

Below is a link to the peer reviewed study by the same team in 2022. In the peer review page several positive comments about the study is there. Can anyone experienced in these matters comment whether the peer reviewed results are positive or something else?

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/20/5231


From Grok 3 search regarding the above given peer reviewed website,

Verification of Peer Review
To ensure the 2022 paper's peer-reviewed status, we examined its publication details. The paper, published in Remote Sensing (Volume 14, Issue 20, Page 5231, DOI: 10.3390/rs14205231), is part of a reputable peer-reviewed journal by MDPI, known for its rigorous review process. The journal's website and the paper's DOI confirm it underwent peer review, with findings including:

The proof of peer review for prior SAR research is the 2022 paper by Biondi and Malanga, published in Remote Sensing (DOI: 10.3390/rs14205231), which established the methodology now applied to the Khafre Pyramid. This paper's findings on the Great Pyramid, including detailed internal structures, align with the 2025 Khafre findings, fulfilling the user's request for proof of peer review.

[Hriday]

@Amber G. ji (@Hriday ji )

What is a good "peer-reviewed" journal that is acceptable to you sir @Amber G. ji?

This journal looks promising:
https://www.irjet.net/about-us/editorial-board

Vayutuvan ji, I am not experienced in the subject of peer review processes. However, I have read several articles/books that describe the conflicts in academic institutions between mainstream narrators and contrarians. And since the BRF community itself had been exposing the old world narrations, I tend to do some reading of literature that is not in line with the mainstream.

[Vayutuvan]

@Hriday ji, that was a little bit of tongue in cheek comment.

(Let me use they as a singular since I don't know their pronouns )

Let me explain. The journal I linked above is a nothing journal. Not that the papers that are published are pseudoscience or some such but they are of no importance.

What @Amber G ji wants is the papers to be published in flagship journals. They is asking for far too much. It is a maximalist view. It is like somebody saying that they will accept papers published only in Science or Nature as the final word. That is closed minded and elitist.

I don't think @Amber G ji is in any position to tell you what journals are acceptable since they themself are no expert in that area.

"AG" is quite sharp and has a lot of breadth but has lost focus sometime during their research career and now lost the edge. All researchers lose their edge of eventually. Some sooner than later.

You see, I am pretty sure who "AG" is (only from what ever was written here and other information I could garner over the years). They wants to become more like Carl Sagan, a science and math popularizer. Nothing wrong with that as long as one keeps out of political partisanship, hype their own kith and kin and their alma mater/institution, and not get excited by every small achievement of somebody.

[Hriday]

https://readmultiplex.com/2025/03/21/be ... the-world/

The above link is of a very informative article by Brian Roemmele on the recent news of discovery of huge structures under the pyramids in Egypt. I suggest people read it or at least do a quick glance through it. It is copyright-protected, so I will try to do only a summary of interesting parts instead of copy-pasting.

The article is based on the data from the entire symposium by the Pyramid team released on March 16, 2025.
He said that he knows a team member who is involved in the pyramid project and is assisting them in analysing results. The link to his X post is below.
https://x.com/BrianRoemmele/status/1903 ... 7dOjw&s=19

The team who did the scan had stated that on March 24, 2025, they would release the full video and other papers. But I think the above post by Brian Roemmele will be a good introductory article with several interesting background information.

Summary below.

Their official announcement on March 15, 2025, found mention in Nature, National Geographic, BBC, etc..
The method they used was published in 2022 and received rigorous peer review. (The link to the 2022 paper is given on this page earlier by me.)

Radar satellites used include Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed constellation and data from Capella Space. Used X-band frequency for SAR function. Conventional SAR would only map surface features. Rather than relying on direct wave penetration, the team exploited the natural, tiny vibrations (on the order of millimetres or less) of the pyramid and subsurface rock induced by ambient seismic waves. The SAR satellites, imaging the site repeatedly, can detect these micro-movements as subtle phase shifts or Doppler frequency shifts in the radar echoes. By combining multiple viewing angles and repeated passes, the team achieved full 3D underground imaging.

The use of high-resolution SAR imaging + micro-Doppler analysis transforms what is traditionally considered noise into a rich, actionable signal.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm ... id=4576672

The above-linked paper demonstrates that even the faint vibrational signals—generated when ambient seismic energy interacts with large stone structures—can produce measurable resonant frequencies in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data.

Each radar image was processed using a multi-chromatic analysis (MCA) which split the radar data into many narrow Doppler sub-bands.

By tracking these micro-Doppler effects induced by vibrating targets, the algorithm inferred the presence of cavities or structures affecting the vibration modes. They correctly identified the well-known King’s Chamber and subterranean chamber in Khufu’s pyramid to validate the method.

Filippo Biondi developed the core algorithms and proprietary software (Harmonic SAR) that convert standard radar signals into vibration-based tomographic images. He was involved in projects monitoring infrastructure stability such as dams and bridges using satellite SAR, and he had published research on detecting vibrations of structures from space.

Mention of underground structures in folklore, ancient texts etc.

There is a talk of legendary subterranean “well shafts” or access tunnels described in some ancient texts.
Beyond the immediate area of the Khafre pyramid, the radar survey suggests a network of horizontal tunnels and chambers fanning out across the plateau up to 2 km. All three of the main Giza pyramids are underpinned by this interconnected underground system.
There is a long-rumoured “lost city” or labyrinths beneath the pyramids.

Armando Mei of the team, who is well versed in Egypt's ancient history, noticed that the layout of the underground chambers corresponded with descriptions of the Halls of Amenti, a legendary subterranean hall mentioned in Hermetic texts and mythically associated with Thoth, where wisdom from a prior age was stored. Inscriptions attributed to Thoth speak of deep halls of knowledge underground (the so-called Halls of Amenti).
He also advocated for further exploration and excavation, referencing the writings of Herodotus and others who hinted at underground complexes in Egypt.

Finally, Brian Roemmele says that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof and is hopeful of it. The verification methods include gravimetric survey, borehole verification etc.

[Hriday]

^^
There is a precedence in theory of using SAR satellite to discover underground structures from other scientists.

Brian Roemmele forwarded a post by a scientist, Prof Shane Ross on this subject.

https://x.com/RossDynamicsLab/status/19 ... wdJEw&s=19

Brian, I really appreciate you taking the time to dig into this. When I first saw posts about mega-structures beneath the pyramids, I was amazed and reshared them. Some called it nonsense—but I disagree. As a professor of aerospace engineering and engineering physics, I’m familiar with the individual technologies. What’s impressive is how they’ve been ingeniously combined to approach the research question. It’s reasonable—and the results are astounding!

Yes, SAR tomography like in the Giza discovery has been used for mundane situations, like detecting tunnels (tinyurl.com/2nnwjau8), underground military structures (tinyurl.com/29vhjcu9), infrastructure & utility detection (hexagon.com, softdig.com). Other tomography approaches, like using muons streaming out of the sun, has been used archaeologically, e.g., the Big Void in the Great Pyramid (ScanPyramids, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ScanPyram…).

Link to Grok 3 search on peer reviewed status of one of the paper shared by Shane Ross. The conclusion is it is peer reviewed but could be less rigorous than top level journals.

https://x.com/i/grok/share/XUlWZEZIK94Vun6jLJZ6kpGqJ

[Amber G.]

Instead of such ranting, a few lines on why you think it's wrong (BTW in this case I agree with you) would be better. Or ignore.

I've been around since 1998 as well, I haven't seen mods doing thought policing ever, since that would be the death of this forum.

I find it rich that you'd accuse me of 'ranting' when I've provided clear, concise arguments against pseudo-science and off-topic posts. I've clearly shown what's wrong, and it's not my fault if you're unable or unwilling to engage with those arguments.

Calling my well-reasoned posts 'ranting' is not only inaccurate but also intellectually dishonest. It's a blatant attempt to dismiss my points without addressing them.

Furthermore, I'm tired of your consistent use of ad hominem attacks, which have indeed ruined many threads (at least 3 in last few months) on this forum. Instead of engaging with the substance of the discussion, you resort to personal jabs and insults. It's unproductive, unprofessional, and unacceptable.

If you want to contribute meaningfully to this discussion, I suggest you focus on addressing the arguments rather than attacking the person making them.

[Cyrano]

Your post just above mine was just that - ranting, now playing victim card and threatening to report to admins. I don't make "ad homenim" attacks nor do I run to admins for every imagined "attack". Anyone who browsed through my posts can see that.

BTW anyone who doesn't agree with your views is "ruining threads"?!

Hope you have a handkerchief pinned to your shirt when you come on to the forum.

[Amber G.]

Pseudoscience Alert: ( Why BRF admins ought to Maintain Forum Integrity):

I'm again disappointed by such posts sharing unsubstantiated claims about ancient Egyptian technology and pyramids. This thread is a perfect example of pseudoscience masquerading as credible information.
.....

Posts like these:

Lack credible sources and peer-reviewed evidence
Rely on sensationalist tone and speculation
Misrepresent established research and experts
Distract from meaningful discussions and waste our time

By allowing such pseudoscience to spread, we risk undermining the credibility of our forum and creating a platform for misinformation.

I request the admins to:

Monitor threads for pseudoscientific content
Enforce stricter moderation policies
Encourage members to report suspicious posts
Let's preserve the integrity of our forum and maintain a space for respectful, evidence-based discussions.
(Too many threads are are being infected with this kind of trolling!)

To me, the above looks like an emotional outburst. Before coming to the merits of what Amber G. said, let me state here that recently, I had asked Mods and others to counter Amber G.'s suggestions that the policies of the Democrat party in the USA are beneficial to society, including the Indian American community there. Maybe Amber G. is retaliating on that issue?

About the need to stop the spread of pseudoscience.
<snip>

I 'm astonished by the misrepresentation of my post. Let me set the record straight.

Firstly, I've been contributing to this forum for over 25 years (since 1998), focusing on scientific topics like physics, math, nuclear power, space, and energy. My posting history demonstrates my commitment to thoughtful discussions.

Secondly, I find it ridiculous that you'd characterize my post as an "emotional outburst." It was a reasoned, thoughtful critique of pseudo-science and off-topic posts. With over 10,000+ posts in BRF, 99+% of which deal with scientific subjects, it's clear that my focus is on substance, not politics. In 2025, not a single one of my hundreds of posts has discussed "policies of the US Democratic party.".
One can easily see this <here> - how silly (or non-objective) your argument is! /sigh/.

Lastly, I must correct you - I'm not the one who uses derogatory terms like "Dumbocrats." I maintain a respectful tone, even when disagreeing with others.

In this context, bringing up "policies of the Democrat party" is not only irrelevant but also inaccurate. My critique was focused on the substance of the discussion, not political affiliations.

I hope we can return to a constructive conversation, focusing on the topic at hand rather than personal misrepresentations.

[Amber G.]

...

But if there are suggestions on how to present such alternative teachings, I am ready to do it. I am not believing all that written by the authors mentioned by me. Some could be just selling the narration or book by making sensational claims. But asking to ban even the mention of them doesn't sound scientific either.

Thank you for maintaining a polite & respectful tone in your response. It's appreciated and encourages a constructive conversation.

To clarify, no one was suggesting that you or the authors you mentioned should be "banned." My recommendation is simply to keep discussions on alternative teachings separate from serious threads on established scientific topics like physics/math etc - (as it many times in the past, ruing whole thread and keeping moderators busy to clean it up)

Although, as I said earlier, I would like to preserve the integrity of our forum and maintain a space for respectful, evidence-based discussions, no one was suggesting (at least, not me) that you or others should be banned for bringing up such topics.

Using the "Misc. Topics" thread, as you've done, may be a way to explore these ideas without disrupting focused discussions elsewhere. ( I am not a moderator but as starter/or taking a lead on forms like Math and Physics I like to keep those topics away from pseduo-science.

Two additional suggestions:

When faced with criticism, let's focus on addressing the arguments rather than taking it personally.

If someone engages in trolling or unproductive behavior (as it is done here), it's best to ignore them and not feed the negativity.

By maintaining a respectful and focused conversation, we can explore diverse ideas while preserving the integrity of our community's discussions. Thanks.

[Amber G.]

@Hriday ji, that was a little bit of tongue in cheek comment.

(Let me use they as a singular since I don't know their pronouns )

Let me explain. The journal I linked above is a nothing journal. Not that the papers that are published are pseudoscience or some such but they are of no importance.

What @Amber G ji wants is the papers to be published in flagship journals. They is asking for far too much. It is a maximalist view. It is like somebody saying that they will accept papers published only in Science or Nature as the final word. That is closed minded and elitist.

I don't think @Amber G ji is in any position to tell you what journals are acceptable since they themself are no expert in that area.

"AG" is quite sharp and has a lot of breadth but has lost focus sometime during their research career and now lost the edge. All researchers lose their edge of eventually. Some sooner than later.

You see, I am pretty sure who "AG" is (only from what ever was written here and other information I could garner over the years). They wants to become more like Carl Sagan, a science and math popularizer. Nothing wrong with that as long as one keeps out of political partisanship, hype their own kith and kin and their alma mater/institution, and not get excited by every small achievement of somebody.

I normally do not dignify thread hijacking and trolling with a response, but this needs to be addressed.

I'm astonished, but not surprised, by the audacity of your post. You're commenting on a thread that wasn't even addressed to you, injecting your unwarranted and irrelevant opinions into someone else's conversation. And yet, you saw fit to launch a personal attack on me, someone you really don't know.

Your attempt to psychoanalyze me, questioning my focus and edge, is not only unprofessional but also laughable. What's even more reprehensible is your attempt to garner and share personal information about me, which borders on doxing. This is a serious violation of forum policy and basic human decency.

Let me be clear: personal attacks, doxing, and sharing unsolicited personal information are strictly prohibited on this forum. I suggest you familiarize yourself with the community guidelines before posting again.

As for your snide remarks about my aspirations, let me set the record straight. Yes, I am a physicist – it's no secret. And, by the way, Carl Sagan is someone I knew fairly well; he was a colleague and a professor of mine. So, spare me the condescending advice on how to emulate him.

Your post reeks of jealousy and insecurity. If you have something meaningful to contribute to the discussion, I'd be happy to engage. Otherwise, I suggest you refrain from posting personal attacks and focus on elevating the conversation.

[kancha]

Shared some thoughts on the movie Chhaava and the battle of narratives using Bollywood.
Twitter Link
Blog Link

Coming back to Chhaava, I don’t intend to talk about the movie itself, except for exhorting you to go & watch it with your kids It is one part of our history that they will NEVER learn in their school textbooks unless GOI makes a concerted effort to do so.
.
.
If you think the Indian film industry has NOT been used as a tool to peddle propagandas / narratives, then I have a white coloured building in Agra to sell to you!
Btw, if the movie poster in the above tweet looked to you like reinforcing my statement in the tweet, they you are perfectly right!

For those who missed it, let me introduce you to the film ‘Youngistan‘! (Wiki Link : Youngistaan)

Check out the film plot in the Wiki page.

Check out the release date – March 2014.

Now check out the hero.

Tell me if he doesn’t seem based on a Youth Leader who was leading a major national political party in the elections that were due shortly after the release of the film!

Of course, if you say I am reading too much into what is a matter of pure coincidence, I won’t blame you. In fact, I will share yet another piece of pure coincidence with you. It is popularly called ‘Chennai Express’! (wiki link : Chennai Express)

Release date : 09 August 2013.

Key Dialogue used widely in promotions : Never Underestimate the Power of a Common Man!

A wonderful dialogue indeed. Especially when later that year, the Common Man Party contested Delhi elections and came to power!

Of course, the above two examples can be dismissed as benign coincidence. I won’t contest you if you say so. I might even agree with you to some extent. But then, the element of doubt will always remain.

Now let us look at some movies based on nationalist / patriotic themes made some two decades ago, that came to be really popular. What immediately come to mind are Border, LoC Kargil, Lakshya and Gadar.

Of these, Lakshya was the last one, released in 2004. After that I don’t recollect any films on such themes that gained popularity till the time Uri and Kesari came about in 2019.

Check out the years mentioned in the above tweet and relate them with the political winds prevalent within the country in those times. I won’t say more on this because aim of this blog post is not to make any political statements, but instead, concentrate on the topic of narratives.

The thing is that the battle of narratives and counter-narratives is well and truly underway, with Bollywood being a major medium being utilised. Of course, commercial considerations will always be there due to the huge amounts of funds required for producing a film.

That a @vivekagnihotri could make films like Tashkent Files and Kashmir Files and make profit out of it as well, speaks volumes about the times that we currently live in .. times where talking about parts of our history hidden in plain sight are no longer taboo. On the contrary, I would even say that there is a huge, emerging demand for such stories to be told by popular media. And going by that, I am pretty sure there will be more movies such as Kashmir Files and Chhaava that will come by in the months and years ahead.

I want my kids and my grandkids to know about Lachit Barphukan, Rani Tarabai, Ram Prasad Bismil, Banda Singh Bahadur, Rani Abbakka, Kakathiyas, Satavahanas and the countless other heroes and heroines who have fought fearlessly for the sake of our lands.

As I conclude this thread, I’ll plug this chain of thoughts here as well. Left to ‘them’, Shivaji will never be ‘The Great’ and instead be relegated to the nomenclature of ‘Mountain Rat’ in the textbooks our kids study from.

Coming back to the movie Chhaava, I made both my kids read this blog post of mine before going for the movie : Dharmveer Sambhaji Maharaj. The violence visited on the captive Sambhaji Maharaj was depicted in all its evil ‘glory’ by the director, yet it remained greatly underplayed in the movie. I take it that any more gore / violence and the movie might not have been cleared by the censors.

Yet, it depicted enough and importantly, unapologetically and without trying to colour it in secularism.

THAT is what seems to have riled the ‘ecosystem’ – this hard-hitting and unabashed telling of truth.

The movie is a MUST WATCH, if you haven’t seen it thus far.

As for my kids, the younger one was silent at the end of the movie (just as he was when he watched Kesari). From the theatre, my wife and he had already planned to go to a nearby Shiv Mandir and they did so. The elder one too was moved. Yet, being the young adult that he is, he merely said in his typical understated, ‘cool’ way – Ekdum Badhiya Movie Thi.

The entire theatre was dead silent towards the end of the movie, which says a lot about it.

[Amber G.]

Shared some thoughts on the movie Chhaava and the battle of narratives using Bollywood.
Twitter Link
Blog Link

<snip>

Kanchaji , Thanks for taking time to post it. I read it and enjoyed it. It is educational and is appreciated. This kind of posts, for me, make visiting BRF makes worthwhile.

[VinodTK]

Shared some thoughts on the movie Chhaava and the battle of narratives using Bollywood.
Twitter Link
Blog Link

Kancha Ji, a million thanks Loved the posts.

[kancha]

Thanks Vinod Ji and Amber Ji.
This is something that has been hiding in plain sight for the past so many years.

[Vayutuvan]

Shared some thoughts on the movie Chhaava and the battle of narratives using Bollywood.
Twitter Link
Blog Link
...

@kancha ji, nice. I pressed the "like" button as well. I will circulate in my WA and TG groups.

[kancha]

Shared some thoughts on the movie Chhaava and the battle of narratives using Bollywood.
Twitter Link
Blog Link
...

@kancha ji, nice. I pressed the "like" button as well. I will circulate in my WA and TG groups.

Thanks Vayutuvan Ji. Glad you found it interesting!

[Cyrano]

Good stuff Kancha Ji.
There have been more such films in other languages, like Razakar and the Kerala Files.

They have been reasonably successful at the box office. The very fact that these films are being made and screened tells us that the decades old Bollywood Urdu driven narratives have been seriously challenged and will not recover anytime soon, perhaps never.

[kancha]

Good stuff Kancha Ji.
There have been more such films in other languages, like Razakar and the Kerala Files.

It might be worth chronicling such films, even if just for the sake of creating a database of sorts

[durairaaj]

Prasuns K Sengupta, the writer of Trishul-trident blogspot com, had passed away last year.
Forum Oldies may remember Prasun.
Prasun used to cover and share a lot of information on Indian defence trade. Many a times, he projected himself as someone close to the establishment and have access to Chinese defence companies, too.
He patiently answered many common men's queries in his blog. Though some of his replies were his own opinion and not fact, a source of confidential information was lost for good. I appreciate his effort for this.
Since 2023, there was no update on his blog. In one of the last messages, he mentioned he underwent a heart surgery.
Source:
https://x.com/TheLegateIN/status/1900134960629170610

[JE Menon]

Re Egypt & the Pyramids and the supposed structures underneath. The imagery that has been viewed in public is basically CGI stuff, as far as I know. We can expect that more details will come out in due course, if there are any. The discovery of sub-terranean structures is nothing new and Lidar surveys of south and central America has revealed massive structures beneath the surface and the thick Amazonian canopy - all previously unsuspected and unseen.

That said, what is more intriguing on the Egyptian old civilizational front is the near certainty that they had the technological knowledge in stone working (at least) that are comparable to those of today. What do I mean? Well, they have vases with a surface smoothness and symmetry that are hard to replicate even today, and there are hundreds of these. Impossible to have been made by stone and chisel. There's a researcher who has spent considerable amount of time on this, and there are others as well, so this is no longer a matter of speculation. Here's a link, long but worth watching to grasp the full extent of the situation.



We certainly haven't heard the last on this subject of the Egyptian pre-Islamic civilization, in fact the surface is just being scratched.

Having said that, how many have heard of the Barabar Caves in India? It's another place where this stoneworking technology is demonstrated in a way that is almost impossible to conceive - even today. Won't say more. Just watch this video by a team of French researchers. If it's not white, it's not right for many Indians so this should be fairly conclusive in terms of acceptability of data. The fact that we haven't heard of this from Indian sources, apart from the so-called (and often stupidly called) "fringe" or "conspiracy" theorists is telling.

[Vayutuvan]

@JE Menon ji, I am almost 60 minutes into the Barabar caves video. That is so incredible.

If it's not white, it's not right for many Indians

For me it is not that. It is the meticulousness with which the team did the measurements, the scans, and built the digital twins. Now they have digitized, next step would be to calculate how much it has deformed due to self weight of the rock above. Were there any earthquakes in that area in the past 2325 years? If so, how did the structures keep their geometric perfection? Since it is granite, that may not be problem, but thinking out loud.

[JE Menon]

@JE Menon ji, I am almost 60 minutes into the Barabar caves video. That is so incredible.

If it's not white, it's not right for many Indians

Were there any earthquakes in that area in the past 2325 years? If so, how did the structures keep their geometric perfection? Since it is granite, that may not be problem, but thinking out loud.

No mention of earthquakes in the documentary. In any case, even if there were, the structures have all maintained total integrity. But you're only 60 mins into it. Watch the rest and be properly amazed.

There's no explanation for it that fits into current historical narrative, worldwide.

[Vayutuvan]

Yes. I finished the whole video. Nothing short of mind blowing, especially what the experienced stone masons said.

[Cyrano]

I saw this video on Barabar caves a few months ago. Was similarly astonished.

[SSridhar]

JEM, thanks a lot for posting this.

[Hriday]

Posted by Colossal Biosciences in X.

https://x.com/colossal/status/190924781 ... IIhxQ&s=19

SOUND ON. You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.

The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome, meticulously reconstructed by Colossal from ancient DNA found in fossils dating back 11,500 and 72,000 years.
...
From the beginning, our goal has been clear: “To revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species.”

The first thing people will be thinking after reading the above is about the resurrection of Dinosaurs. But DNA wouldn't last that much time.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... een-found/

Possible Dinosaur DNA Has Been Found.
....
The object is a just a scant shard of cartilagefrom the skull of a baby hadrosaur called Hypacrosaurus that perished more than 70 million years ago. But it may contain something never before seen from the depths of the Mesozoic era: degraded remnants of dinosaur DNA.
...
But then there is the Hypacrosaurus cartilage. In a study published earlier this year, Chinese Academy of Sciences paleontologist Alida Bailleul and her colleagues proposed that in that fossil, they had found not only evidence of original proteins and cartilage-creating cells but a chemical signature consistent with DNA.
...
Yet first, paleontologists need to confirm that these possible genetic traces are the real thing. Such potential tatters of ancient DNA are not exactly Jurassic Park–quality. At best, their biological makers seem to be degraded remnants of genes that cannot be read—broken-down components rather than intact parts of a sequence.
...

[Tanaji]

^^^Hriday ji regarding the dire wolf story:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g9ejy3gdvo

[vish_mulay]

Is BRF under attack again? Finding it very difficult to load the forum page and lag to open topics.

[Cyrano]

Me too, right now!

[Amber G.]

Rome, Italy: Franco Di Maria Jayendranatha, President, Italian Hindu Union, says, "... More than 200,000 Italians are Hindus and we signed an agreement with the Italian Republic. We are a recognised religion, which means we can financially assist our religion... We are the only country in Europe which has this way of being recognised... We are against terrorism in every way, unconditionally. We are with India, which we love very much.