Scientific Methodology of Astrology - Hollow, Shallow and Deeply Flawed

This article is more in the lines of massive misuse of astrology rather than just a scathing assessment of the model in question which is faulty and flawed beyond question. The prediction of so called Scientific Astrologer "Greenstone Lobo" of England winning the World Cup went horribly wrong leading to numerous criticisms online. He took an authoritarian stance and quipped with assertive confidence that the cup was finally coming home to the land of the old blighty after 60 years but alas it was not to be. My thought process was that even if England did in fact have claimed the FIFA World Cup 2026, it was definitely not because of his prediction which is completely illogical and baseless.

I admit he has got some predictions right in the past but that's not because of his competence with astrology and in fact more on the outcome and capabilities of the teams in question. I would not have casted any aspersions if this methodology was not branded under the moniker of "Astrology" but that's where the whole fiasco lies. This is not an ultracrepidarian take without understanding the pattern, logic and algorithm used but based on observation this testing methodology does not hold any water.

Mr Greenstone Lobo is an eloquent speaker and he uses terms which seem beyond comprehension for the common man. He comes across as a supremely confident individual but also very stubborn and unyielding with his view points and refuses to accept that his methodology is not fool proof by any distance. He himself has deviated a lot based upon his approach many a times and shifts the goal post as per his whims and fancies.

For the uninitiated and those interested in how does his predictions, let me elaborate and elucidate on his style of arriving at an outcome. His first state of contention is that 9 planets cannot do the trick and in fact brings upon a 16 planet theory mechanism. Secondly, he also dismisses the sign based traditional system and assigns one zodiac sign for 12 different planets. Thirdly he puts forward a power hierarchy stating the order of strength of planets and weirdly states that Pluto is the most powerful planet in the universe. He also brings forth 3 asteroid bodies which he names as Planet X, Y and Z and equates them to Varuna, Yama and Prajapati and worse mentions that Maharishi Parashara advocated this delineation.

Listed below is the Power Hierarchy of Planets as per the 16 planetary Scientific Method of Astrology:
1) Pluto - Own sign Scorpio, Exaltation Sign Leo, Key Exaltation Points termed as Eagle - 2°, Grey Lizard - 10°, Scorpion - 24°
2) Planet X (2007 RH283)  - Own sign Taurus, Exaltation Sign Aquarius, Exaltation Point 27°
3) Neptune - Own sign Pisces, Exaltation Sign Cancer, Exaltation Point 26°
4) Uranus - Own sign Aquarius, Exaltation Sign Scorpio, Exaltation Point 10°
5) Planet Z (2008 FC76) - Own sign Leo, Exaltation Sign Libra, Exaltation Point 9°
6) Planet Y (1999 JV127) - Own sign Virgo, Exaltation Sign Gemini, Exaltation Point No degree in particular
7) Chiron - Own sign Cancer, Exaltation Sign Aries/Sagittarius, Exaltation Point No degree in particular
8) Full Moon/New Moon
9) Saturn - Own sign Capricorn
10) Jupiter - Own sign Sagittarius
11) Sun - No own sign
12) Mars - Own sign Aries
13) Venus - Own sign Libra
14) Mercury - Own sign Gemini
15) Moon - No own sign
16) Rahu/Ketu (Nodes) - No own sign

If you see in the above list, only from 9th place does a Navagraha as per Vedic Astrology even come into question. He considers Full Moon/New Moon but that's also purely based on the position of Sun & Moon being in same sign or opposite signs, so even Tithis close to Full/New Moon may also be classified under this category on account of lack of birth time. Also the 12 zodiac signs of Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces are ruled by the planets Mars, Planet X, Mercury, Chiron, Planet Z, Planet Y, Venus, Pluto, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune respectively.

He says the outer planets viz Pluto, Uranus and Neptune are much stronger than planets such as Jupiter, Saturn, Venus etc. He feels Rahu/Ketu have minimal impact on one's life compared to the other planets, hence given least priority dumping them at the bottom of the pile. On top of this he claims that 3 form of asteroids coined with the names Planet X (2007 RH283), Planet Y (1999 JV127) and Planet Z (2008 FC76) have a major impact in one's life. Based on this power hierarchy of strongest to weakest bodies, if someone has let's say Uranus & Neptune exalted in their charts as opposed to Jupiter & Venus exalted, the one with Uranus & Neptune will always achieve more prominence and be far more successful in life as they are more influential than Jupiter and Venus.

To quote an example of this power hierarchy, he says Shah Rukh Khan as a film actor will always be more successful than a Hrithik Roshan because Shah Rukh has his Pluto exalted in Leo (stronger planet) compared to Hrithik who only has a very strong Planet Z because Pluto is the strongest in the zodiac and gets exalted once in 300 years. Also he quotes one of India's most famous actors Amitabh Bachchan's success is attributed to having an extremely strong exalted Planet X in his Ascendant which over rules all negative placements in 8th house.

Over time he also came up with some bizarre ideologies mentioning that planets Jupiter and Saturn have multiple exaltation and debilitation points. Listed below is his diabolic research on the 2 greatest Dharma Karma planets of Jupiter & Saturn.
1) Claims that Jupiter and Saturn have multiple exaltation and debilitation points.
2) Jupiter and Saturn gets exalted in the 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th sign from Sagittarius and Capricorn respectively.
3) Hence Jupiter gets exalted in Aquarius, Aries, Cancer (usual exaltation sign) and Virgo whereas Saturn gets exalted in Pisces, Taurus, Leo and Libra (usual exaltation sign)
4) Similarly Jupiter and Saturn get debilitated in the 9th, 11th, 2nd and 4th sign from Sagittarius and Capricorn respectively.
5) Thus Jupiter gets debilitated in Leo, Libra, Capricorn (usual debilitated sign) and Pisces whereas Saturn gets debilitated in Virgo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Aries (usual deb sign)
6) He throws up many celebrity charts such as Martin Luther King, Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker, Tiger Woods, Meena Kumari, Swami Vivekanand, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, MS Dhoni, Elvis Presley, Ambani etc. to corroborate this new found research theory to explain how it works well in these charts.

The biggest shock of this brain barraging analysis is to hear that Jupiter gets debilitated in it's own sign of Pisces. He claims Jupiter's presence in Pisces is very bad and quotes example of Tiger Woods who is a Virgo Ascendant having Jupiter in 7th house of Pisces which destroyed his marital relationship and where many affairs came out in open. Mentions also of Johnny Depp who had truck load of law suits as his Jupiter is debilitated in Pisces in 9th house. Also says Jupiter in Leo gets debilitated and quotes an example of German tennis player Boris Becker who is Scorpio Ascendant. Says that his 2nd lord of money gets debilitated in 10th house of career which made him go bankrupt. Likewise on similar lines, also quotes illustrations about Saturn getting debilitated in own sign of Aquarius.

Thankfully this crazy level of finding was stopped and he hardly ever spoke of this mega out of the world theory in subsequent videos but in his recent video of why Spain lifted the World Cup, he mentions of Saturn being exalted in Pisces while explaining the Spanish captain chart. Another excuse was that Nasa may have erred in pointing out the entry point of planets. He feels that if Rodrigo Hernandez was born somewhere around August of 1996, his planets suddenly illuminate in all kinds of lustrous light and would have paved the way into winning the title easily for the Spanish El Matador.

In the last few years however, his estimate is largely centered around 3 factors. He doesn't even seem to give much importance to his own planetary finding of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, Planet X, Y, Z being strongly placed but instead harbours on these 3 points specifically and uses planets only as a standby. When taking the outer planets, it's a given that they stay very long in a sign so they don't change signs normally across years. This ultra bombastic theory works on the following grounds:

1) Year of Birth of Captain/Star Player

2) Algorithmic Pattern of Birth Years of Previous Winners based on Natural Progression

3) Karmic Quota Theory

Just based on hardly few samples belonging to the sports of Cricket, Football, Sports he comes up with the Year of Birth being a key metric. His algorithmic pattern states that some years are more favourable than others like for instance he says 1981, 1986, 1987 are blockbuster years and in the 1990s, it is 1990 then 1993 and 1998. The funny thing is that as per his own identification, he never considered 1993 as a powerful year but since Pat Cummins won the 2023 ODI World Cup against all odds, he was gunning for 93 being a prime stellar year. That was his big fat sound reasoning of Harry Kane likely to capture the FIFA World Cup as he was also a 1993 born. 81 is a super year based on 3 individuals viz Roger Federer of Tennis, Iker Casillas, Spains Football captain who won major trophies and of course MS Dhoni who captained India to cricketing stardom. 86 is due to Nadal mainly and 87 owns its success to Novak Djokovic, Lionel Messi and Rohit Sharma. Based on this he also confidently asserts and states that India's cricketing superstar Virat Kohli couldn't have been born in the year 1988 and should be a 86 or 87 born instead.

Another ludicrous tearing the hair concept is the one of Karma Theory. He states a outlandish line regularly stating that some players have exhausted their karmic quota by winning already and cannot win again. I really wonder who are we to decide on someone's karma. The prime reason of Messi not winning the World Cup is on account of exhausting his karma due to already winning the World Cup and a host of other titles. There are also other baseless crazy theories of equating a Cricket World Cup victory with 5 IPL Titles and stating that a FIFA World Cup is greater than a EURO Cup and arriving at Karma conclusions accordingly.

Wonder what connection this has to do with the beautiful science of Astrology. Astrology is a wonderful tool and it's also extremely difficult to dissect results. There are always chances of an astrologer going wrong despite taking all necessary precautions but equating this mad method of progression combined with karmic quota and year of birth and branding it under astrology is quite simply blasphemous. The worst thing is that people in the comments section abuse astrology as if it's absolutely good for nothing and useless when predictions go haywire but the irony is that this scientific methodology used by this so called famed astrologer is anything remotely connected to astrology in the truest sense of the word. Really sad to see the state of affairs of astrology and even more so is the fact that those who know zilch about it are the ones calling the shots and selling like hot cakes in the market. What really pains is the fact that this particular methodology is in no way adhering to the principles or guidelines of Vedic Astrology but is getting camouflaged under the guise of Astrology unfortunately bringing disrepute to it's credibility. Its just not an aberration but actually absurdity and eventually in the end something as sacred like astrology ends up taking the brunt.

Spain's Clutch Mentality in Finals and Sporting Dominance in the 21st Century

Spain capped off a brilliant campaign by emerging victorious at the FIFA World Cup 2026. It was their second triumph and both their wins came at extra time when they scored the solitary most needed goal to attain glory. Their dogged resistance came to the fore once again as they maintained a clean sheet to keep the Argentinians at bay akin to what they did to all other teams during this World Cup. They've just managed to concede a singular goal during the whole tournament and this clearly establishes their forte in defense. The Spanish deadlock was pretty brutal for every single team to dislodge with virtually all of them getting knocked down in the process.

Spain also with this win go 38 matches unbeaten on the trot which is a pretty phenomenal record. They didn't come in as pre tournament favourites and in fact were on equal footing with Portugal who they took out in the round of 16. Almost everyone expected France to displace them especially with the form underplayed by the French going into the semi final but the rock solid Spanish defense couldn't be breached even by the attacking French. In the final they went toe to toe against the defending champions and completely cut their game out left right and center not granting even the slightest shot on goal throughout the entirety of 120 minutes inclusive of extra time.

What is really impressive about Spain is how they have suddenly become a world beating powerhouse in sports during the 21st century. Till the turn of Y2K, they didn't have a single World Cup victory let alone even coming close to the summit clash. It was a similar story with the European football championship as well where they were never major title contenders and was just a team participating.

Not only have they put this title drought to rest, another sterling feature about them is their clutch mentality and knowing how to upscale their game to the finest and fullest especially come the big finals. For a team who've hardly even reached any major tournament final pre 2000, their mental finesse and fortitude requires some serious studying because their final feats are simply impeccable.

They are the only team to win 2 World Cups since the turn of the century and also the only side to claim 3 Euros in the last 25 years. No European nation have even won twice. The other strong European nations have had some setback or other in finals but Spain possess an ultra clean slate record which is true monster mentality. They are 5-0 in finals having won the 2010 WC and 2026 WC against Netherlands & Argentina respectively. In the Euros they've accounted for Germany, Italy and England in the 3 title finals won in 2008, 2012 and 2024.

With this World Cup victory, the men also join the women's team who were crowned champions in the last held FIFA Women's World Cup that took place in the Trans Tasman countries of Australia and New Zealand in the year 2023 when the Spanish women went one past England in the final to claim their maiden World Cup. The Spanish men's team have also managed to conquer a unique treble as they are now the current holders of Euro (Euro 2024 in Germany), Olympic Gold (Gold Medalist in Paris 2024) and the World Cup (FIFA World Cup 2026 in USA, Canada & Mexico).

Veering away slightly from the national team and their successes in Euro and World Cups in finals, their 2 premier clubs are no slouches too when it comes to the big finales. Both of them have an unenviable jaw dropping milestone of winning every single final in this century which they have contested in the UEFA Champions League which is the most lucrative and well renowned club contest where all the major clubs participate from Europe to win this foremost competition. As alluded to earlier, from 2000 onwards Real Madrid has won all 8 finals that it has played and Barcelona all the 4 finals that it has participated.

Spaniards really know to step up when it comes to finals of sporting events and it's been evident especially since Y2K. In the sport of tennis, their all time great Rafael Nadal has accounted for 22 Grand Slams out of which 14 has come in a singular slam viz the Roland Garros. What is even more staggering is that he has won every single of the 14 finals and not even one of them went the distance towards a 5th set. The rising up and coming sensation Carlos Alcaraz who inaugurated the kickoff of the FIFA World Cup 2026 has already won 7 of the 8 slam finals he has played in at the tender age of 23.

The Spanish clutch mentality is seriously mind boggling. They have not only mastered the art of winning big tournaments and especially when it comes to finals they simply seem unmatchable and win with ease. It's quite unfathomable how unfazed they are towards the big matches and soak in the pressure with absolute restraint and calmness. The Spanish Armageddon has certainly set the sporting world on fire after being relatively quiet and just sailing along across the 20th century without any major world title to boast of. But things have changed dramatically with their dominant sporting culture and steely attitude to seize up the huge moments and come out victorious is truly admirable and certainly a characteristic which many nations can take a cue from. They go about their work quietly and know exactly when to step up the way forward as they truly exemplified with a master class illustration in this recently bygone FIFA World Cup 2026. Vamos Espana!.

England and the Art of Choking in Sporting World Cups

England bottled up a monumental opportunity to get through to the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after 60 years. They had everything aligned for them and even in this must win match up, they had control for most of the game leading 1-0 and needed to play out hardly about 10 minutes or so to register a historic date in the final which would have been their first since 1966 where they emerged triumphant in the finals against West Germany in front of a packed home stadium of Wembley with the entire country going bananas.

But alas, it was not to be. When they had to step up and seize the initiative they handed it back to Argentina who grabbed it with both hands scoring a goal and leveling proceedings towards end of full time and enabling one more just into extra time to kill the game beyond England's reach. England were woeful, pathetic and diabolic to say the least. It was an epic melt down of sorts at the most crucial juncture of a semi final and what looked like giving their fans a date to remember ended up flaming in the ashes in absolute disarray.

The English were caught short napping with their tactics and thought they could get away with just few minutes remaining to tick in the clock. They totally lost possession and were just hoping or rather praying that Argentina wouldn't equalize especially with time at their advantage. However the steely resolve of 'La Albiceleste' derailed the 'Three Lions' by running through their brittle defense to grab the much needed 2 goals. 

This was a chance for England to avenge revenge from the ill fated clash exactly 40 years ago when the infamous Hand of God goal along with one of the greatest goals ever scored enabled Argentina to knock out the English on way to a famous world cup win. In 1986 it was the Hand of God goal of Diego Maradona causing heartbreak and this time in 2026 it was the Left Feet of God ala Lionel Messi aiding with 2 assists sealing an improbable victory.

England disappointing at the biggest stage however has been a perennial occurrence. Perhaps this could be their greatest ever slipped opportunity but over the last 3 decades they have always found themselves coming up hollow in crucial encounters by choking, panicking and eventually botching it up causing chagrin of the highest order for their sports loving spectators. Its not just in football but even in other sports they have missed plenty of chances to claim the biggest crown.

Its a shame that a sporting nation like England still has to fall back on the 1966 triumph that occurred 60 years back and the wait is only going to get longer with their recent exit. In 1998, they pushed Argentina to the brim but fell away in the penalty shoot out. During 2002, in the quarter final they took the lead against eventual champion Brazil only to grant it back and allow them to score another to seal victory. 2006 was another penalty potboiler as they bowed out to Portugal. 8 years back in 2018, they were knocked out in the semis to unfancied Croatia yet again after taking the lead and in 2022, a penalty miss by their talisman Harry Kane made sure they go out to France. 2026 they had all bases covered and looked to finally overcome their 60 year cursed hoodoo when a chaotic shambles of a performance in the last quarter of the game enabled to emerge a come back from behind victory for the Argentinians. 

I read a few comparisons of England equaling their choking nature in football akin to South Africa's tendencies in cricket where they have stumbled many a time in crucial world cup encounters. But the going in cricket also doesn't give for pretty reading. England finally won their first ODI World Cup only in their 4th shot at the final and even that triumph in 2019 was mired in controversy as a tied game was granted to them due to a dubious boundary related decision making fracas. They lost the 1979 ODI WC final at home to the West Indies and in 1987 squandered away a golden buffet literally handing the cup to the Aussies thanks to a needless reverse sweep by Captain Mike Gatting. The following World Cup they again came undone against Pakistan in the final, a team they had bowled out for just 74 in the group stage encounter. Coming to the other premier ODI competition next in line to the World Cup viz the Champions Trophy, they again dwindled at the crucial stage not being able to claim a single title. In 2 of these Championships held in England during the 2004 and 2013 edition they reached the finals and on both occasions they suppressed by not being able to take the initiative despite having the opposition on the mat in the finale vs West Indies in 2004. In the 2013 final, they literally had the match in the bag but a late order squeeze by Indian bowlers aided by nervousness from the English batsman ensured that they manage to lose by a wafer thin margin. Again it was 2 major missed opportunities to win a global cricketing tournament that too at home and that too after getting to the final and that too dominating most part of the match only to eventually lose out. In the T20 World Cup format, they are better off having claimed 2 titles but even there they missed a massive chance to add 2 more. In the 2016 final in India, Ben Stokes was smoked for 4 consecutive sixes in the final over to establish West Indies win a match which looked pretty impossible. 10 years later in 2026, they had the match in the balance and were well in control against host India in the semifinals at Wankhede, Mumbai but again failed to capitalize and advance to the final.

Rugby stakes also doesn't bode well for a pretty picture when it comes to knock out clashes. Yes, they held their nerve to beat the hosts Aussies in spectacular fashion in a memorable final night at Sydney in the 2003 World Cup but against the same Wallabies at home in the 1991 final at Twickenham they were undone. Also they were at the receiving end in the finals twice at the hands of the Springboks both in 2007 and 2019. In the last World Cup of 2023, at the semifinal stage they were leading South Africa but got robbed falling one point short from advancing to the final.

There definitely seems to be something psychologically wrong with England when it comes to big World Cup tournaments. Many a time they have assembled a team which had all the ammunition to compete against the very best in the world but somehow they repeatedly fall short lacking the killer instinct to punch their way about especially when it comes to dire situations and also architect a choke of the highest proportion at the business end frequently. Since the main topic was on football, it is quite shocking the number of times they have lost out on penalty shoot outs. You can be rest assured that once it gets there to that stage, England have a mental imbalance and know in the mind that they have already lost it. In Euro 2020 at a home final in Wembley they plundered in the shoot out to Italy and another blunder took place in the following Euro 2024 to Spain making them lose back to back Euro finals similar to losing 2 back to back cricket ODI World Cups in 1987 & 1992. England have never reached a final of the FIFA World Cup since 1966 but in recent times both in 2018 and 2026 as alluded earlier they screwed up royally in the semifinals after taking the lead and being minutes away from playing at the biggest stage of their lives.

England's choking howlers needs to be analysed intricately. They have been everlasting under achievers for eternity now. I cannot fathom how many World Cup triumphs they would have had even if they had converted half of all those missed possibilities. It almost feels like for the opposition, England is a soft target especially when it comes to knock out fixtures because this kind of blasphemous blow out is simply unacceptable to comprehend. They come up with immense hype and extraordinary expectations every time only flattering to deceive time and again by hitting the stumbling block perpetually. They really epitomize the characteristic of "All Fart No Shit". They definitely need to address and do something about this going forward so as to prevent this mourning from persisting repeatedly. It must be so heart breaking for the fans every time to see their beloved English side failing to seize the initiative and actually end up victorious. This FIFA World Cup 2026 story is another chapter in England's checkered sporting history of coming so close only to falter. What looked like coming home finally after 60 years got snatched away in the last minute eluding them once again making the wait longer and hope continuing to linger.

The End of Bazball - Bumpy, Tawdry and Haywire

With the surprisingly bizarre decision of Ben Stokes to retire in the middle of a test match with the series being on the line, it can well be officially stated that this reign of Bazball has finally come to an end with this home series against New Zealand. Coincidentally Bazball began it's tenure at this very ground of Trent Bridge against the very same opposition of New Zealand and also ending in the same stadium against the same team. As aptly summarised by Michael Atherton in the comm box "Bazball dies where it began".

For the uninitiated, Bazball is a term coined for the English cricket team led by Coach Brendon McCullum and Captain Ben Stokes. If one goes further, it can also said to include Robert Key, the head of the management of the England Cricket Board (ECB) who was also a former player. Bazball points to an ultra aggresive style of play much against the traditional norm of test cricket with the key word being entertainment guaranteed. This movement started around the mid of 2022 and has come to an end exactly in the middle of 2026 with the captain Stokes calling it quits from the game.

Bazball stemmed as a result of poor England performance prior to this period where they had managed to win just one test match of their last 17 played with very many embarrassing defeats along the way. A change of guard and approach was sought and seemed like the need of the hour which brought about the introduction of this maverick style of play which is generally not associated or suited with English cricket.

Bazball began well initially but has been on a constant downward sloping curve since the last couple of years. It is camouflaged and sugarcoated to show as if England have been world beaters in entertaining but in essence if you look at the record it's been pretty deplorable to say the least. Also it's only gotten worse over time with no change of plan or strategy to address the leak of losses.

Listed below is a list of series performed under the Bazball regime from the time it took over in 2022. Most of the matches were captained by Ben Stokes. The odd match or two were led by Ollie Pole/Joe Root on account of Stokes absence.

1) - Vs NZ Home: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

2) - Vs Ind Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

3) - Vs SA Home: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

4) - Vs Pak Away: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

5) - Vs NZ Away: Drawn 1-1 (2 tests)

6) - Vs Ire Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

7) - Vs Aus Home: Drawn 2-2 (5 tests)

8) - Vs Ind Away: Lost 4-1 (5 tests)

9) - Vs WI Home: Won 3-0 (3 tests)

10) - Vs SL Home: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

11) - Vs Pak Away: Lost 2-1 (3 tests)

12) - Vs NZ Away: Won 2-1 (3 tests)

13) - Vs Zim Home: Won 1-0 (1 test)

14) - Vs Ind Home: Drawn 2-2 (5 tests)

15) - Vs Aus Away: Lost 4-1 (5 tests)

16) - Vs NZ Home: Lost 2-1 (3 tests)

If one observes in this tenure between 2022-26, England have played a whopping 49 tests claiming 28 victories, losing 19 and drawing just 2. The record doesn't look all too bad on paper but when you peek close a lot further you would observe that their record against the top teams was shockingly poor and nothing to write home about. 

Against both India and Australia, they lost the away series 4-1 and at home only managed to eke out a 2-2 draw. They played a then weakened South Africa side only once that too at home and managed to win 2-1. Against New Zealand, they ended up losing their home record which was preserved till this last series by going down 2-1. Even against Pakistan, initially they won 3-0 away and in the subsequent series over there they actually lost 2-1. So it's clearly a downward sloping curve for England. One more glooming record is that they started out this campaign at 10-1 winning their first ten out of 11 matches played under Bazball. From there it's definitely been downhill. They were on the verge of winning their first 11 out of 12 but after that one run defeat to New Zealand in early 2023, it's been quite a steep fall. From a 10-1 start at the inception of Bazball, they end 2-7 concluding with a demolition at the hands of archrivals Australia in the Ashes and a home series defeat to the Black Caps.

Also seeing things from the perspective of World Test Championship, they have been nowhere close to making it to the Top 2 finalists across the 3 cycles of this incumbency. They have cracked down with time and only gotten from bad to worse to even diabolic at most times. The resurgence in 2022 which felt like a golden light unfolding got dimmed way too soon and they got caught up or in fact even slammed against the better teams especially Australia and India. India were in fact fielding a makeshift squad in 2025 and still managed to draw the series 2-2 and later when the Poms toured down under they absolutely got mauled black and blue.

All this hullabaloo of entertaining test cricket and bringing back audiences to fall in love with the game holds true only if you win test matches. It's pitifully pointless if you're going to keep bashing at every delivery and tumbling your way towards monumental defeats. There was so much of talk & hype towards the away Ashes series but England were caught napping as they played deplorable cricket losing wickets in piles thanks largely to brain dead batting and wrest the Ashes back in a mere 11 days to the Aussies.

It is very clear that this brand of Bazball cricket is faltering. It did start reasonably fairly well no doubt but has completely headed down south over the period of time. There have been no plans whatsoever to address difficult situations especially on tacky wickets and mindless slam bang slogging has gotten them nowhere. With the retirement of Ben Stokes, their talismanic cricketer it's only going to get worse for England. It's time to rebuild and reshape the future by applying some common sense. It's certainly going to take some time for sure but if they keep continuing this senseless approach of playing test cricket like how they are currently, they will be hovering in the lower rung. 

It's time England stop this entitlement about themselves as it's pretty evident the results aren't coming. The timing of the retirement of Ben Stokes was circus of the highest order and on top of it the showboating of all the events playing out right in the middle of a match and series being on the line displayed pandemonium at it's peak. There are news coming about that their coach will also be losing the job. There is no doubt that a revamp is required for English cricket and some strong changes needs to be implemented in the system before things go completely bonkers which appears to be the case at this point in time. The survival of test cricket requires a competitive England and major decisions have to be taken before it all completely goes out of hand.

Top of the World - The Carpenters

Whenever I listen to this number, by default my spirits tend to get lifted up largely due to it's extremely inspiring lyrics and the way it's been rendered by Karen Carpenter that oozes sweetness and a feeling of warmth on account of her cherubic silky smooth crystal voice.

Like Michael Jackson, Karen Carpenter was such a talent to reckon with possessing such angelic voice chords which is simply not possible to not fall in love with. Her voice bowled over and captivated music lovers. Unfortunately on the flip side, her life was tragic and she fell prey to health complications resulting from anorexia leading to a very early death at the height of her powers.

Despite the short stint that life provided her with, she did full justice to her talent bowling over and bewitching music lovers via her enchanting vocal prowess. She and her brother Richard Carpenter formed the band 'The Carpenters' with the sibling duo raking it big time by producing wonderous musical tunes during their time together.

The Top of the World will always remain a perennial favourite and I just wanted to share a few lines on the instrument of this riveting beauty sung by the magical Karen Carpenter with it being set to tune and penned by her brother Richard Carpenter. If ever a composition could be christened as a motivational melody, 'Top of the World' by the Carpenters will right royally be up there with the very best.

Remembering Michael Jackson - Beat It!

Michael Jackson was one of a kind. He was probably the truest trendsetter setting the world by storm through his trail blazing dance moves and electrifying music. He was an enigma pretty hard to dissect but whatever the outcome of his art was gobbled up by fans all over the globe. He had the knack of keeping his audience on tenterhooks and that carried through across his lifetime.

I still remember the day when the news of his passing away broke out on that ill fateful day on 25th June 2009. I had left home early for an audit to a company called Honeywell in Anna Nagar when I chanced upon the newspaper at the reception to read about the heart breaking news of the icons demise.

Everyone growing up in the 80s and 90s would have definitely not missed MJ in some way or other as he had such an unmistakable impact. World music was still pretty much in its nascent stages in the Indian market but the uniqueness in his sounds reverberated across the universe capturing hearts aplenty.

A small dedication of a good ol peppy MJ song from yesteryear 'Beat It'. Remembering the iconic legend on his remembrance day. MJ was an uncharted maverick and a pioneer of his times. There'll probably never ever be someone as mind zapping as a Michael Jackson going forward in history ever again.

Soft Love - Ennai Thaalatta Varuvaalo

When the movie Kadhalukku Mariyadhai hit the silver screens almost 3 decades back, it came as a refreshing change and was lapped up big time by the on goers. It set the box office on fire registering zinging collections well in excess of 30x of the value of investment.

The movie starred current Chief Minister of the state Vijay and his pair was the elegant Shalini who had made the shift from a child artist by playing her first major role as a senior artist. Vijay's image as a soft chocolate boy lover elevated his charm and managed to win hearts not just with his lady love in the film but also the audience in general who saw him as an upcoming love hero having given a string of hits in the romantic genre.

The songs carved out for this movie were magnificent with one number especially being the stand out in the form of Ennai Thaalatta Varuvalo. It's a song composed using the Madhyamam 'Ma' as the base note and gives such a soft soulful love feel even when listened to it today.

Attempted a small portion of this vintage lilting composition beginning from the Charanam and traversing back to the Pallavi. The melting lyrics were written by Palani Bharathi and rendered by the duo of Hariharan & Bhavadharini with music set to tune by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The movie title translates as 'Respect for Love' and this song truly pays homage to it in every little way.

Hey Jude - The Beatles

The Beatles were simply the toast of the nation back in the 60s. The hype was for real and Beatlemania witnessed crowds swooning in large numbers across the globe with the hysteria generated simply unprecedented. They remain a much loved band even today though it's been around a half century of years since they stopped collaborating together.

This date 18th June happens to be the Birthday of legendary songwriter Paul McCartney who turns 84. He along with John Lennon formed the fulcrum of the Beatles band forging a partnership producing classics standing across eternity. The 2 other members George Harrison and Ringo Starr gave the much needed fillip to transform the Beatles into being one of the greatest rock bands in history.

In commemoration of World Music Day on 21st June and in celebration of McCartney who rose from the Merseyside county of Liverpool, sharing a minor instrumental cover of the song 'Hey Jude'. Paul McCartney initially coined the number as "Hey Jules" as a comforting melody written in ode to the son of Lennon who was undergoing pain on account of his parents separation. Later the word 'Jule' was changed to 'Jude' as it sounded better and made more sense to the overall song structuring.

The Beatles will forever remain both Liverpool and the Universes pride for their churning of sheer incomparable quality of music that they conjured which continues to have a lasting impact even today.

Medley of Bharathiraaja-Ilaiyaraaja Combo

Bharathiraaja has helmed many a movie in various genres but one of the single most hallmark features of most of his films happens to be the music. The diversity, versatility and creativity that stems from the compositions of his cinema are simply a masterstroke of magnitude and magnificence.

Tamil Cinema has seen very many Director - Composer Duos team up to produce scintillating soundtracks in plenitude and one of the most esteemed pairing of excellence happens to be the combination of childhood friends Bharathiraaja and Ilaiyaraaja. They both started their careers in parallel and the movie cum music created by the duo in tandem from the late 70s to the mid 80s especially stands testimony to unquestionable brilliance.

Though Ilaiyaraaja has delivered plenty of spectacular compositions for many directors, the one's created for Bharatiraaja's can easily be considered to be top of the heap both in quantity and quality as well as even the divergence in genres. At one end of the spectrum you would see a classic folk tail piece and at the other end a whirlwind fast paced duet and in between interwoven with songs having a vintage western classical stamp as well as devotional golden carnatic sound scape.

As a small token of gratitude to the master craftsman, I attempted playing couple of lines of some of my favourite numbers from this awesome two some partnership which has produced such sterling classics from the times gone by. It was a sudden impromptu attempt that germinated as I was trying to recall some of the amazing tunes from the director's cut.

The songs from the movies include:

1) 16 Vayathinile - Senthoora Poove

2) Kizhakke Pogum Raiyil - Poovarasampoo

3) Sigappu Rojakkal - Indha Minminikku

4) Niram Maratha Pookal - Mudhal Mudhalaga

5) Nizhalgal - Madai Thirandhu

6) Alaigal Oyvathillai - Kadhal Oviyam

7) Tik Tik Tik - Idhu Oru Nila Kaalam

8) Kadhal Oviyam - Sangeetha Jadhi Mullai

9) Mann Vasanai - Pothi Vacha

10) Mudhal Mariyadhai - Rasave Unnai Nambi

Apart from these 10 movies, their association has also seen them working on few other films such as Puthiya Vaarpugal, Vaalibame Vaa Vaa, Puthumai Penn, Oru Kaidhiyin Dairy, Kadalora Kavithaigal, En Uyir Thozhan, Pudhu Nellu Pudhu Naathu and Nadodi Thendral.

This is just a micro mini sample of 10 songs from their alliance. One would easily be able to dish out over a three digit number of compositions from their allegiance that truly stands the test of time.

Muthumani Maalai - Indigenous folk with a twist

This song can be characterized as an indigenous composition uplifted by western classical elements but not one iota does it lose out on it's nativity. I have always been a big admirer of Raaja's folk based numbers. This is one genre that he has particularly redefined and literally made it his own by giving it a colour like no other. It sounds aghast intertwining touches of classicality to rustic earthy sounds but the output generated is simply a class apart.

This is another Sindhu Bhairavi laced number of the Maestro. The beauty of this stunner is the treatment of the swaras and the beautiful manner in which the alternate swaras of Rishabam and Madhyamam are brought upon to the mix.

The flow of the song is really adorable and gives such a feel good breezy effect when rendering it a listen. SPB and P Susheela elevate it a much further notch through their soul stirring singing. This is from the 1992 Pongal release Chinna Gounder which ran to housefull shows back in the day.

I loved playing this tune as its strewn with jewels aplenty and the bejeweled manner in which it's crafted. It may be a Naatu Pura Paattu by nativity but the song perse is all class personified having such a lustrous texture interlaced to it along with the subtle gamakas embedded that makes it an evergreen verdant green composition.

Scorcher of a Sindhu Bhairavi - Oru Naalum

When one digs at Maestro Ilaiyaraaja's oeuvre, it won't be a surprise to find that majority of his compositions would largely be set to tune in the ragam Sindhu Bhairavi. Even otherwise, that trademark resemblance (சாயல்) would be very evident. Probably it's a no brainer that this Ragam should definitely be one of his top most favourites. Incidentally he also composed for a movie titled by the same raga name of 'Sindhu Bhairavi' in the year 1985 which to date is considered one of the finest classical based soundtracks ever in the annals of Tamil Cinema.

A standout feature of this Raga is that it is very flexible and tends to take in a lot of twists & turns. The curves and jumps across notes adds a sublime touch to it. Of course it's also based on the ability of the composer since if not used properly it can end up distorting the composition to a major degree and can stain the raga. Maestro however is a master craftsman and plays with it splendidly thus also ensuring to not dilute the austerity. It is also a raga which tends to touch upon almost all the 12 notes of a scale including the 2 Ri's Ga's Ma's Da's Ni's along with the foundation notes Sa and Pa.

One of my favourite Sindhu Bhairavi compositions of Maestro happens to be the 1993 release 'Ejaman' that had the song Oru Naalum sung resplendently by the evergreen pair of SP Balasubramaniam and S Janaki. It's an absolute pearler of a Sindhu Bhairavi where the notes traverse across octaves and the phrases intertwined unmistakably give the essence of this wonderful raga. The riffs & runs authorify and stamp this Raga in all it's embellishment. A small stab at playing portions of this scorcher of a Sindhu Bhairavi.

Poove Sempoove - Mellifluous Waltz

I wonder what incentive Raaja had to come up with a song as mesmerising as Poove Sempoove for the movie Solla Thudikuthu Manasu. The apt adjective to describe this number would be 'Mellifluous' as it's incredibly sweet possessing a flowery smooth flow and full of soul. It's so pleasing for the aural senses and simply creams you over.

What I especially adore about this wonder is the Waltz beat which keeps going 12 12 12 perfectly synchronising a 3/4 time signature played on melodic minor scale in Gowri Manohari ragam. There are so many triumphant transitions that simply shake you over and it might be quite a mystery to know they all appear as part of the same song though when individually heard may connote something totally different.

For the love of the Waltz beat in this vintage composition, just tried something slightly off beat by playing it like in a guitar mode by strumming along as the melody keeps mellowing. I just hope it drifted along fairly well and was not way off the mark.

Pranava Manthiram - Vaikasi Visakam

Lord Murugan is believed to have manifested from the Third Eye of Lord Shiva & Parvathi in the solar month of Vaikasi with the Nakshatra of Vishakha visible in the skies and when the full moon (Pournima) was in operation. He is connected especially to the number 6 since he was incarnated as 6 divine sparks to destroy the three demon brothers Soorapadman, Singamuhan & Tarakan thus bringing balance and restoring parity to motherland. The 6 faces of the Lord represent mastery over Anger, Attachment, Desire, Ego, Greed and Jealousy. Thus prayers offered to the Lord help sharpen the mind and control the senses. There are also 6 famous abodes dedicated to Lord Arumugam at Thiruparankundram, Tiruchendur, Palani, Swamimalai, Tiruttani and Pazhamudircholai. Adding further, the sacred mantra of Sage Agasthya 'Sa Ra Va Na Ba Va' also comprises of six syllables known for curing illnesses and granting positive health.

Other than Vishakha or Visagam which is considered to be his birth star ruled by Indragni ('Indra+Agni') he is strongly affiliated to Krithika (Karthigai) star ruled by the God of Fire 'Agni' and also Pushya (Poosam) star ruled by the God of Wisdom 'Guru'. The Krithika star also has reference because it is believed that the Lord as an infant was nurtured by the 6 Krithika Maidens thus also garnering him the moniker of 'Kartikeya'. Skanda is also connected to the star of Uttara Phalguni (Uthiram) as that was the Nakshatra which was in occurence during his divine marriage to 'Deivanai', the daughter of the Chief of Gods 'Indra'.

The Navagraha Mars is also associated with Deva Senapathi and so is the Vara of Tuesday (Chevva Kizhamai) which is specifically ruled by the planet Mars. Mars is known for the significations of Victory & War and hence appeasing Lord Kumara helps in overcoming and winning your battles both inwardly and outwardly. For those afflicted with Mars Dosha, seeking refuge to Subramanya can act as a great counter relieving measure. The symbol 'Vel' or spear is used as his primary divine weapon to conquer and emerge victorious in tandem with also denoting wisdom and being wise.

As alluded earlier about #6, the sixth Tithi of both the waxing & waning phase viz 'Shasti' is connected to Lord Shanmuga. Also the Karana 'Vishti' linked with the animal cock is ruled by Saravana. The other animal connected largely to the Lord is the Peacock which he rides known as 'Paravani' symbolising destruction of pride & ego. The Yoga of 'Siddha' formed in association of the combined degree longitude of the Sun & Moon is also ruled by Velava.

On this divine birthday of the 'Lord of Everything' on Vaigasi Visagam, playing a small portion of a lullaby 'Pranava Manthiram' associated with Lord Guhan denoting the softer side of our all encompassing almighty Tamil Kadavul. May his name be ever chanted and get resonated with pride. Let the belief be steadfast and ever faithful.

Celebrating 50 years of Music and Maestro

This day 14th May 2026 marks 50 years since the introduction of Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja in the annals of mainstream music. It was on this special date etched in time on 14th May 1976 that witnessed the official arrival of Maestro to the world of music and what a remarkable journey it has been spanning a milestone of 5 glorious decades.

To take a medium like music and create such an everlasting impact lasting half a century is simply mind boggling. Years, generations, centuries and eras may pass but I'm sure the music will live on for eternity. Grateful for all the wonderful musical creations and enriching our lives in ways more than we can ever imagine.

For any kind of situation, mood, feeling, emotion or theme an Ilaiyaraaja number always comes in handy. I don't believe in hero worship but I worship music and Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja is truly one of its greatest custodians. A genuine byword when it comes to music and extremely blessed to have been a recipient of all the majestic music unleashed from his eximious oeuvre. Celebrating 50 years of the man, the Maestro and the magic of music on this historic landmark golden jubilee day.

Mother's Day Special - Amma Endru & Chinna Thaayaval

Love exists in multiple varied forms but when interwoven with the feature of purity, nothing really beats the Love that is associated between a mother and child.  We celebrate Love stories of different kinds be it Romeo & Juliet, Laila & Majnu or even the likes of Radha & Krishna, Rama & Seetha but there are hardly any tales eulogizing the love that percolates between a Mother and child. 

There need not be one particular day to celebrate as Mothers Day since they are in effect the backbone of our very existence. This is a relationship that transcends beyond the layers of Love and especially the term sacrifice can never be better defined than what a Mother does for her child.

On this Mother's Day, I am paying a humble homage to 2 compositions that visually depicts and decorate the role of a Mother in all it's splendour. Both these songs have touched the inner most of the soul and have left an indelible impression from within. Incidentally both these two songs feature Superstar Rajinikanth and coincidentally came about just months apart from each other with Thalapathi releasing on 5th Nov 1991 (Deepavali) followed by Mannan on 14th Jan 1992 (Pongal). The similarities don't end there as both these 2 lilting lullabies glorifying the mother were penned by Poet Vaalee and set to tune by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

A Mother's Day may come up just one day in a year but they deserve to be celebrated every day of the year. A Mother's Love is simply the greatest there can ever be. Dedicating a small portion of these 2 emotional tearjerkers to God's ultimate creation - "The Mother".

Memory recall as a new dawn unfolds in Tamil Nadu Politics

About 25 years back around 2001-02 much before all those sprawling apartments and star hotels had cropped up in MRC Nagar c/o Pin Code 600028 (prior to the surfacing of Leela Palace, Somerset, 174 and many other properties), we used to regularly play cricket in that neck of the woods. I recall vividly one day after finishing playing, we were walking back when a crowd had congregated a portion of that area. I was curious as to why the formation of people that too during the peak summer hour and hence asked someone there as to what was happening. The person quite bemused with my question quoted the following "Deivam munnadi irukam podhu yaaru nu kekreenga" translated as "When God is here right beside you, how can you even ask who it is!". Then I turned for a bit and took a glimpse to see a young actor on a bike shooting for a movie. That was my first tryst with crazy fandom and was long before the advent of social media. I believe that was also the first time I was seeing a celebrity Live in Person although it was just for a blink and miss moment. That young actor by the name of Joseph Vijay who was back then only in his 20s is now appointed to take charge as the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu.

I am not in any way a fan of the man or his movies but this golden memory is entrenched within me. He will no doubt be facing the music in times to come but what he has done by breaking the bastion and emerging victorious over the 2 dynasty parties who have been exchanging power for the last 6 decades is quite epoch making to say the least. May a new revolution in Tamil Nadu politics begin and wishing Vijay all the best as he embarks on this exciting new venture of heading and leading the ever cultural and traditional state of Tamil Nadu.

Soulful Love - Kanna Kanmaniye / Deewana Deewana

AR Rahman has this uncanny ability of coming up with gems from time to time. Many a time, it might be just a minor bit portion from out of the blue but he times it so well that it resoundingly goes out of the park.

This particular composition Kanne Kalaimane or Deewana Deewana has a small verse sung by Isai Puyal himself whose strains are so addictive that I couldn't but resist trying it out.

It is basically a swara portion sung as a sargam which comes interlaced within the interlude that adds a pristine touch to the composition. The alternative use of the Dhaivatams leading to a 3 phrase chromatics is truly the signature special of this tune. 

The way it flows and branches to the main melody is simply sublime. It feels so tailormade and created exclusively for ARR to sing this composition and he has done full justice to this scorcher of a song. The man continues to conjure class since time immemorial.

Grilled Vegetarian - The Greenhouse Barbecue

There is nothing new when it comes to the concept of barbeque. It has been a tried & tested model and been in existence for almost 2 decades in the food circle of Chennai. Even to this day, the restaurants serving those grilled stuff over those charcoal boxes have found favour especially for office lunches/dinners or even family gatherings.

However what strikes out in The Greenhouse Barbeque is that they have catered it into an all vegetarian enclosure and it looks like they've been pretty successful going by the looks of things. Must say they have pulled it off really well. Traditionally these kind of barbeque restaurants are more associated with non vegetarian grills making the hardcore vegetarian population a little apprehensive especially the older generation sit in because of the over powering smell of meat hovering over despite plenty of options available on the green side of things as well. So there have always been reluctant starters to this brand of food by a certain section. This has now been addressed with an exclusive herbivorous spread.

Seeing the crowds throng in, it's pretty clear that they have been successful with this foray. It's always difficult to get a table here and they operate in different hourly shifts during both lunch and dinner. Apart from the plethora of starter options which is brought to the table, they have host of other items as part of the buffet spread including few live counters as well. They keep changing the menu also on a weekly basis by exploring with various variety.

For the vegetarian lovers, this is a welcome change from the renowned South Indian names and the exclusive multicuisine options as it options grilled food in addition to a buffet like setting with plenty to gorge over. The food as such is nothing to complain about. Choices in panneer, potato, mushroom, gobi, corn etc almost always hits the mark and even the fruity grills like pineapple, watermelon add a divergent flavour.

Other than all the barbecue bonanza, our last visit had live counters for dosa, pasta, chaat and even one for sushi and it was delectable to gorge over them. The sushi was not the run off the mill stuff - they had options of cream cheese, avacado and shitake mushrooms. The chaat had all the usual names with bombay sandwich added to the mix. Pasta varieties were plenty in number and so too was the case with dosas. The salad & dessert options were also quite a lot in number and you also get to have those roll based stone creations of ice cream. Even on the soup front we had 2 choices in the form of a Pineapple shorba and a potato leek variant.

The service is relatively quick and one good thing is they don't take off the grilled sticks till we finish our entire meal as opposed to removing them off before going for the main course. The pricing seems to be a little bit on the higher side setting you back by a well over 1000 bucks per individual. It tends to be a tad extra expensive during the weekends.

All in all, they've really attracted crowds in a big way in their short stint and been successful in creating an alternative choice exclusively for the vegetarian food loving afficianado. If you like to have a really elaborate lunch or dinner traversing through multiple options in the mix, definitely one can say that The Greenhouse Barbeque will not only satisfy but also satiate to your tummy and hearts content.

Markets in April - Recovery & Retracement Levels

After the much maligned market performance in March, there was a swift recovery seen across the bourses in the month of April. However there is still a direction lacking whether market intends to go on the top side and break the all time highs or meander back towards the lowest point in early April and go down even further. 

April however didn't start off on the right footing. After one felt that the March lows of 22,283.85 would not be shaved off and be held strongly came a sharp fall on the Thursday of April 2nd 2026 when the Nifty slit through all the support levels and slipped to a new low of 22,182.55. Miraculously after falling almost 500 points from previous day (April 1st) closing of 22,679.40, the market suddenly much against all odds moved at a steroid pace to ace up 600 points on the same session to reach a day's high of 22,782.30 before finally settling in at 22,713.10 and end the day in the green. Similar scenes were witnessed in the Bank Nifty also as it broke even the barrier of 50,000 to hit an intraday low of 49,954.85 before making a rapid sharp upward detour to close in the green. The Bank Nifty had almost shed 12,000 points from its recent high of 61,764.85 leading to tank almost 20% before the recovery started rolling in.

The fall on that day was expected due to soaring geo political tensions but the recovery on the same day was pretty sensational. Another day in April which saw high momentum was on Wednesday April 8th when the markets shot up almost 900 points intraday to touch the landmark of 24,000 on the back of potential news flow relating to the end of the war. The first 5 sessions of Nifty all ended up in the green in April which was a welcome relief considering the immense slaughter which the markets underwent in March. The highest point reached in April was 24,601.70 leading to a rise of over 2400 points from the low made of 22,182.55. The last week in April saw some profit taking largely on account of impending tensions again starting to invigorate in relation to the war leading to higher crude oil prices and also the currency again shaving off it's gains. 

The Nifty finally ended it's mark on the 30th April at 23,997.55. Coincidentally on the 8th of April when the markets hit a euphoria due to news trickling in on account of the war supposedly ending, the close was at 23,997.35. There were over 15 sessions after that and the Nifty closed absolutely ditto flat with no change whatsoever to end the month at 23,997.55.

Thus, to summarise the month of April we can say that the start of the month was very positive but it tapered off as the month proceeded and toned down without really indicating a direction. There are still renewed hopes of a revival with the Strait of Hormuz expected to be opened anytime ultimately resulting in the war officially coming to an end. However alternative statements being carried out are also causing fear with crude oil once again surging well past the $100 per barrel towards end of April and even almost hitting close to $120 at one stage. Thus market still seems directionless without not knowing which side to navigate.

With markets closing out April correctly at the ball park of 24,000 it's kind of right in the middle point from the all time high of 26,373.20 and recent April low of 22,182.55. Markets have to fall around 1800 points or 7 and half percentage to breach the low point. For gaining ground to reach the all time high touched on January 2026, markets have to climb up about 2400 points or approximately 10% from the current mark of 24,000.

Lets look at the upsides to watch out for and downsides to safeguard for the Nifty

Nifty All Time High: 26,373.20

April Low (2nd April 2026): 22,182.55

Difference in Points: 4190.65

Levels on Upside:
23.6% Retracement: 23,181.55 (22,182.55 + 4190.65*23.6%)
38.2% Retracement: 23,783.35 (22,182.55 + 4190.65*38.2%)
50.0% Retracement: 24,277.85 (22,182.55 + 4190.65*50.0%)
61.8% Retracement: 24,772.35 (22,182.55 + 4190.65*61.8%) 
78.6% Retracement: 25,476.40 (22,182.55 + 4190.65*78.6%)
100.0% Retracement (Current All Time High): 26,373.20 (22,182.55+4190.65*100.0%)

Based upon April high registered of 24,601.70, Nifty already surpassed the 23.6%, 38.2% and 50.0% retracement levels and was well on course towards 24,800 levels which is the 61.8% retracement levels but however a sharp pull back towards the latter end of the trading month brought down Nifty just sub under 24,000 levels.

Levels on Downside:
- Current Low on April 2nd 2026: 22,182.55
- Psychological Barrier mark: 22,000.00
- Tariff Day Low Apr 7th 2025: (Previous 52 week low): 21,743.65
- General Election Results Day Low on Jun 4th 2024: 21,281.45
- Lowest point of year 2024 (24th Jan 2024 during Adani Saga): 21,137.20
- Bear Market Territory 20% downside from top: 21,098.60
- Close on the heels is next psychological figure of: 21,000.00

As of end April, Nifty is well above the low which it registered at the beginning of the month. However caution needs to be exercised since if the war crisis continues to elongate, it will result in excessive oil prices perhaps even breaking record all time highs. The Indian currency also has again gotten weaker again getting back to 95 levels and not too far from reaching the 3 figure mark. The foreign institutional sell flows also need to be curbed. If all of these continue to compound in the negative zone, it may just open up the flood gates for the markets to crate heavy holes on the downside. Last year the low was hit on April 2025 and this year so far the low has been hit in April 2026. We have to wait and watch the direction markets take and how things will eventually pan out.

The Bloom of Love - Ennavale Adi Ennavale

The formative years of AR Rahman in tinselville were really special. The tunes were laced with melody in copious and soaked with soul in abundance. The sounds were rich and those intricate bits which were seeped as layers in between many of his compositions were simply exemplary. The Gamakas which come out in fulminance all of a sudden adds a subtle touch to the brilliance

One such number which always has a soft corner within me is the love dripping composition Ennavale Adi Ennavale from the movie Kadhalan. It was the first ever song rendered by Unni Krishnan which also incidentally rewarded him with a national award. It was ARRs second film for director Shankar after the rip roaring success of Gentleman and the master composer delivered yet another scorching album of the finest finery. The soundtrack was infused with songs based on different genres with all of them receiving a thunderous thumbs up from the audience. This album signaled the ushering of AR Rahman making him truly arrive and catapulted him further as a name to firmly reckon with.

Tried a small stab at this song beginning from the lilting charanam part and traversing it back to the opening portion. This song evokes so many vintage memories from over 3 decades aback and will always remain an evergreen favorite capturing the essence of love blooming in all its austerity.

Pathos conquering Chakravagam - Nee Paathi & Ee Nadu Vidiponi

The ragam Chakravagam evokes feelings of Pathos like no other. When used in its pristine format, it can simply make you melt and burn from the inside with emotions getting the better of you. The poignancy captures the pain in its truest sense.

I've picked up 2 Maestro Compositions in this Raga that have incited strange kinds of feelings that are hard to describe in words viz one from Kollywood and the other from Tollywood hinterland.

Nee Paathi Naan Paathi from Keladi Kanmani pricks your heart in such a way soaked with pathos oozing in from all corners. 'Eenadu Vidiponi' is a divine composition from the Telugu movie 'Sri Kanaka Mahalakshmi Dance Recording Troupe'. I recall being simply mesmerized when I happened to listen to it for the very first time many years back. It's pretty sad that this song probably never got the recognition that it truly deserves and remains an under the cover gem.

These two numbers exemplify the masterclass exposition in handling this raga by Maestro bringing out the flavours, taste and juice in all its esteemed essence. It's a wholesome package and the subtle nuances give it the requisite finer touches elevating the compositions to another level. This Raga incidentally is categorised as part of the Agni Chakra and how apt as it simply burns you with raw emotions fulminating in glowing fashion.

Markets in March - Mayhem, Madness and Meltdown

The markets all over the globe have been bleeding heavily but it's been complete decimation in the Indian bourses. Ever since the news of the war, the markets have been falling relentlessly with no respite whatsoever. This is a bit disappointing considering that except Indian market, all other major markets did see a rise on the upside up until the news of the war. The market here had touched a gold standard mark of 26,277.35 in September 2024 and been meandering around the same levels for all of 2025 and taking 14 months to finally reclaim that mark only towards end of 2025 to be precise on 27th Nov 2025. 

Before coming to the denting impact of March 2026, briefly reprising the summary of events playing up until the news of the notorious war breaking out in order to map levels to see how much the central Nifty index has been put on brakes. After the high created on Sep 27th 2024 which was the figure of 26,277.35, the Nifty nosedived all the way to 21,743.65 on the 7th of April 2025 on the back of the hullabaloo caused by the news of tariff. That translated in a drop of over 4500 points (4533.70 exactly) shedding over 17% in the process.

However the index bounced back pretty sharply from there on to quickly gain lost ground though however getting back the All Time High value was still quite a task and it managed to finally get there around 8 months from that hollow point to take out the earlier high in end of 2025. Nifty registered a high of 26,325.80 on the 1st of December 2025 which was not even 50 points higher than previous high in Sep 2024 and kept chirping around the same levels without usurping for the whole of Dec 2025.

Finally during the first week of the month in 2026, Nifty finally scaled all time high again and reached a pivotal mark of 26,373.20 on 5th Jan 2026. This seemed like auspicious times were ahead especially with the central index hitting new high right at the beginning of the year. This high though incidentally wasn't even 100 points away from the highs made over 15 months back in Sep 2024 (26,277.35).

Normally when new highs are made after a prolonged time, you would normally see a euphoria effect giving it the pedal in gathering and gaining momentum to rise up much further. But sadly in the case of Nifty it didn't happen. After the sacrosanct point hit on 5th of Jan 2026, index was just lurking around this corner and in fact drifted down to hit a low of 24,571.75 on Budget Day Feb 1st 2026. This was a fall of 1800 points but however the markets protected that level and ensured it doesn't hit rock bottom any further. However the levels of 26,000 continued to elude and the markets closed the month of February 2026 on 25,178.65 which was off the highs by roughly 1200 points.

March witnessed a monumental rout with the news of the war being out on the last weekend of February. Right on the first session in March, the index slipped below 25,000 levels just barely protecting the Budget Day lows of 24,571. It didn't take long as just on the next session, that hold was tumbled and and in just couple of more sessions the mark of 24,000 was eviscerated. The madness didn't just stop at the 23,000 levels as by mid of March, Nifty even slipped below that to hit the 22,000 range. From touching a low of 22,930.35 on 19th March, it rebounded again beyond 23,000 again only to be sold into heavily breaking even the 22,500 barrier to register a new low of 22,471.25 on the 23rd of March 2026. There was a small internal bounce immediately with Nifty capturing almost 1000 points very soon to touch a high of 23,465.35 on 25th March but a disastrous Friday of 27th March yielded Nifty to again fall below the 23000 mark to levels of 22,800 though slightly higher than the lowest levels of 22,471.25. And then finally on the last session of the month on 30th March, that level was sliced nonchalantly like a knife on butter falling much below to register an intraday low of 22,283.85 before finally closing proceedings of this wretched month at 22,331.40.

March has been a month laden with madness a plenty. From starting the month above 25,000 levels (25,178.65), it has hit a low of 22,283.85 shedding almost 3000 points off the table. Considering the recent all time high of 26,373.20 on 5th Jan 2026, the fall has now mounted to over 4000 points (4089.35 points). There were many significant down days in this month with single sessions chopping off well in excess of over 300 points which didn't even seem like a misnomer and felt like a regular occurrence. The huge gap downs almost regularly was really daunting. Listing briefly the tormenting days in March which saw the Nifty bleed mercilessly. 10 of the 19 sessions in March 2026 saw a bludgeon in extravagance of 300 points in a single day's trade.

- Monday 2nd March - 312.95 points
- Wednesday 4th March - 385.20 points
- Friday 6th March - 315.45 points
- Monday 9th March - 422.40 points
- Wednesday 11th March - 394.75 points
- Friday 13th March - 488.05 points
- Thursday 19th March - 775.65 points
- Monday 23rd March - 601.85 points
- Friday 27th March - 486.85 points
- Monday 30th March - 488.20 points

Thus, from the above it's easily decodable that 10 of the sessions has yielded cuts in excess of 300 points on a single day and it's only been intensifying further along the way. It's been such a brutal month tainted with shocks aplenty almost on an everyday basis. You will seldom see such violent moves on an everyday basis but that was literally the scene all through March. In the 19 sessions at play in the month of March, there was a movement of 1% or more on almost every single session which was truly unprecedented. There were however 2 back to back sessions of the index also registering plus 400 points each on both 24th and 25th March on account of war tension slightly easing but it was short lived as the Friday on 27th after the holiday on Thursday saw a dramatic down side. On the whole it's been a very painful month for the markets and to accentuate matters further the series of gap downs being completely destructive affecting traders at large and also seeing holes on the investor portfolio.

There are 3 major reasons plaguing Nifty at the moment. One factor being the Indian currency being one of the worst performing currencies shedding oodles of value against the dollar, second being the imminent increase of crude prices due to the ongoing war crisis which has witnessed a sharp uptick in the crude commodity. India being a huge net importer of Crude is deeply under the pump due to this. Thirdly and most importantly from a market stand point is the excessive outflow of funds by Foreign Institutional Investors. They have been selling relentlessly with March seeing a selling figure in excess of a Lakh of crores which is one of the highest ever outgo in the history of Indian stock markets. All these 3 are worrying signs and of course the underlying war situation and company earnings also will have a bearing. But to stem the rot, these 3 factors need some easing out if the markets have to inch up higher.

Dollar - Reached highest ever peak of $95+ in March

Crude - Brent touched a high of $120 and is the highest ever since 2022

FII Selling - Touched monumental high of over 1 Lakh crores. Highest single month selling in history of over one lakh twenty thousand crores that translates to an average outgo of +6000 crores per session

Let's take a look at some of the levels to watch out which Nifty needs to protect and hold on to march forward. The All Time High is 26,373.20. The lowest point hit in March is 22,283.85. The next support is only at the psychological figure of 22,000. If that slips then levels of 21,743.65 will come into play which is the 52 week low of Nifty that it hit in April 2025 on the back of the tariff news. Next protection will be the mark of 21,281.45 which was where Nifty headed on the day of the result of the Lok Sabha elections on 4th June 2024. Following this would be the lowest point of 2024 which was 21137.20 hit in early part of 2024 and closely on heels is the mark of around 21100 (21098) meaning Nifty would have shed 20% off it's recent highs and finally the ballpark number of 21000. If by chance Nifty slips below 21000, huge panic would be ignited as it will be trailing at a 3 year low giving the bonkers to all investors and mutual fund holders that use the SIP platform to invest. Sharing a summarised view of the levels below.

All Time Highs - 26373.20

March Low - 22,283.85

Levels on Downside:
- Psychological Barrier of 22,000.00
- Tariff Day Low Apr 7th 2025 - 21,743.65
- Election Results Day Low Jun 4th 2024 - 21,281.45
- Lowest point of 2024 - 21,137.20
- Bear Market Territory 20% downside - 21,098.60
- Finally closing on is figure of 21,000

Nifty needs to act smart and make sure it protects the 22,000 levels which is the immediate hurdle. There is a high likelihood of getting there if the war tension doesn't recede. Let's hope the bottom is near and Nifty gets back on track. Getting back past glory levels is certainly going to take time considering the inherent implications but at least for the immediate set up Nifty should ensure as to not keeping on breaking lows on an everyday basis. What will eventually happen will only be decided by the outcome of the markets. For now it's wait and watch.

March 2026 will go down as one of the worst months ever in the history of Indian stock market. It's easily the most burning as exactly 6 years prior in March 2020 was when the impact of Covid hit the world at large with stocks all over the globe falling like nine pins gashing leaks across from all directions. A lot of events in March 2026 happened to be eerily similar as even some of the heavy down days matched with exact dates as of March 2020 which was pretty spooky to say the least. March 2026 has been a month of mayhem, madness and meltdown akin to the larger fiasco that took place in March 2020. Let's hope the situation only gets better from here on in and will see how the Nifty shapes up going forward.

Jai Sri Ram!

Lord Rama is believed to have descended on earth by being born to King Dasharath and Queen Kausalya eons of years ago around the afternoon time at Abhijit Muhurtha in the luni solar month of Chaitra during the waxing phase of Moon in Shukla Paksha Navami Tithi aligned with Punarvasu Nakshatra transiting in the skies. It was a birth embellished with brightness and radiance all round with 5 of the Navagrahas being exalted viz Sun in Aries, Jupiter in Cancer, Saturn in Libra, Mars in Capricorn and Venus in Pisces. And to accentuate, the Moon is stationed in it's own sign of Cancer along with the rising ascendant sign. The incarnation of Rama is said to have occurred directly from the Sun God and the Lord is the seventh avatar of Maha Vishnu.

Rama's attributes signify valour, virtue, duty, dedication, commitment, faith, sacrifice, righteousness and a host of other dignified and distinguished traits. He symbolises the perfect example of how a human being should lead a life thus attaining the apt title of 'Maryada Purushottama'. He is revered as a super hero for his steadfast discipline and strongly oriented principles. He is a God of ideals bestowing kindness and benevolence to mankind.

On this special birth anniversary when the entire nation celebrates his divine personification, a small labour of love from my side in attempting to play a few lines from some of his lilting bhajans extolling effusiveness of his enshrined embodiment. There is an extra inkling and special liking towards Lord Rama hymns as I usually find them to be divine, pious and aurally pleasing. Also to add, personally blessed to have the privilege of sharing the Lord's birth Nakshatra of Punarpoosam/Punarvasu/Punartham. The strived pieces include:

- Raghupathi Raghava

- Ramachandraya Janaka

- Sri Ramachandra Kripala

- Shuddha Brahma Paratpara Ram

- Sri Rama Rama Ramethi (Vishnu Sahasranamam)

Let generations to come continue to celebrate Lord Rama with fervour and fanfare till the end of eternity. May his grace and generosity be prevalent to everyone and wishing for peace to prevail and emerge at the forefront for the world at large. Genuflections to our Great God on his extra special Birthday. Jai Sri Ram!

India's Perfect 3 in 3 - Life comes a full circle

This was India's 3rd straight big tournament ICC World title having conquered the T20 World Cup in 2024 followed by the Champions Trophy in 2025 and now the T20 World Cup of 2026. With this victory, India also becomes the first team to successfully defend their title and it also emerged third time triumphant in the T20 World Cup having won the inaugural edition in 2007 and then the 9th version in 2024 and now the current 10th time its been staged in 2026. Incidentally the only 2 common links across these 3 victorious campaigns happen to be Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel who both played crucial roles in enabling India win these 3 world titles across the last 3 years.

India also happen to be the first country to have won the T20 World Cup thrice. One coincidence running across as an underlying theme is that India's victories in the T20 World Cup on all 3 occasions came about while batting first. The only final which India lost was in 2014 in which they were also inserted into bat by eventual champions Sri Lanka. In 10 editions of the T20 World Cup being conducted, this also happens to be the first time the home nation is capturing the trophy. Another noteworthy coincidence is that India have now won 2 Limited Overs World Cups at home with the ODI World Cup triumph in 2011 and this T20 World Cup victory 15 years later in 2026. In both these editions, they only lost one game and both times the opponent was South Africa. Another strange coincidence not directly involving India but a reign of luck favouring them is that every time Zimbabwe have defeated Australia in a World Cup game, the victors in that particular World Cup were to be India. This has also happened 3 times now first with Zimbabwe's victory over Australia in the Prudential ODI World Cup of 1983 and after that in the inaugural T20 World Cup of 2007 held in South Africa and now recently in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Also India avenged revenge against their rivals New Zealand in the final, a team who they have always lost in T20 World Cups prior to this losing all their 3 encounters previously viz in 2007, 2016 and 2021.

The records don't end there. India's coach Gautam Gambhir became the first cricketer ever to win the T20 World Cup both as a player and coach. He was part of the initial success way back in 2007 & now led the side as coach to succeed in 2026. In fact Gautam Gambhir is the only Indian cricketer to have been part of 3 Indian World Cup victories in a capacity of either a player or a coach being a member of the victorious T20 World Cup squad of 2007 followed by the ODI World Cup conquest in 2011 and now as coach of the successful 2026 T20 World Cup winning side. Gambhir also incidentally happened to be the highest run scorer for India in both the 2007 T20 World Cup final as well as the 2011 ODI World Cup final.

India also finally got 3rd time lucky at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In fact since 2023, their only 2 defeats in ICC world events happened to come by at this stadium with India heartbreakingly going down in the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 vs Australia at this very ground. The other defeat was at this tournament when they were literally given a pounding by South Africa who pounced their way to a commanding victory which almost put India's chances of qualifying to the next stage in jeopardy. Ending the curse of Ahmedabad at the biggest stage of a final was indeed sweet redemption especially considering the ill fated hoodoo circumambulating around this particular pitch across the last couple of years. Another superstition looming which India arrested was winning a World Cup final on a Sunday. All of India's prior World Cup victories be it the ODI World Cup final of 1983 & 2011 and 2024 T20 World Cup final was won on a Saturday. The T20 World Cup final of 2007 was held on a Monday due to Heritage Day in South Africa. All of India's World Cup final losses be it the ODI World Cup (2003 & 2023) and T20 World Cup (2014) were both on a Sunday.

The Solar month of Maasi which is when the Sun orbits in the sign of Aquarius that runs around the period from approx mid February to mid March has also been very lucky when it comes to Indian cricket. In fact India has claimed major titles during the March leg on the 10th, 9th and 8th respectively across multiple years. Thus Maasi month or Kumbha Masam as it's called especially the time interval that falls in the month of March has been extremely lucky for India from a cricketing parlance.
10th March 1985 - India win the one and only World Championship of Cricket. This was a championship held by Australia to commemorate 150th anniversary of European settlement in the State of  Victoria and comprised of the then 7 test playing nations and was one of the first world cricket events to be played in coloured clothing much before the advent of the first World Cup in coloured shades which saw its ingress only in 1992.
9th March 2025 - India claimed the Champions Trophy and in the process also became the only side to claim this title for the 3rd time.
8th March 2026 - India won the T20 World Cup 2026 becoming the first team not only to win at home but also the first side to successfully defend their trophy and also the first country to win the T20 World Cup for the 3rd time.

All of the above sounds absolutely rosy and seems like India is an invincible and unstoppable force when it comes to white ball cricket. But that was not the case for over a decade with India coming up short many a time towards the final hurdle despite putting up commendable performances. After the 2013 Champions Trophy victory, India went through a wretched run devoid of major ICC World trophies till they finally arrested the slide by claiming the T20 World Cup in jaw dropping humdinger fashion in 2024. After that there's not been looking back with the team going from strength to strength adding 3 titles to the kitty back to back. This golden run now especially seems all the more welcoming even though some may brush this off as being a regular occurrence but the barren run prior to that was extremely painful to say the least. India have finally found the mojo of the winning mentality by knowing how to cross the final hurdle. This particular T20 dominance was superbly spectacular considering that it was at home when the team was under tremendous pressure to deliver and defend their title. And boy oh boy they did it in swashbuckling fashion. Let's hope this streak keeps going in the ascendancy and the team is able to win more laurels in the days and years to come.

Summary of India's 3 in 3 Victories

Continuous 3 Year World Title Championships
2024 T20 World Cup - 29th June 2024
2025 Champions Trophy - 9th March 2025
2026 T20 World Cup - 8th March 2026

India's 3 T20 World Cup Triumphs
2007 T20 World Cup - 24th September 2007
2024 T20 World Cup - 29th June 2024
2026 T20 World Cup - 8th March 2026

India's March Month Glories
1985 World Championship - 10th March 1985
2025 Champions Trophy - 9th March 2025
2026 T20 World Cup - 8th March 2026

10 year revenge served sweet amidst emerging coincidental patterns

This was the 6th time that India was hosting a Cricket World Cup - ODIs (1987, 1996, 2011, 2023) and T20's (2016, 2026) combined and 5 times prior to this one they have reached at least the semifinals every single occasion. It seemed like this hallowed home record which was on the line may finally slip up this time as they were facing a rampant West Indian line up who infamously took them out in the semifinals of the 2016 T20 World Cup.

Coming to this match, there were eerie similarities to what happened in 2016. India played West Indies at Mumbai on March 31st 2016 for a place in the final and came a cropper despite putting up a size able total in excess of 190. A similar story looked like unfolding this time on March 1st 2026 especially on account of abysmal fielding by India allowing the Windies to notch up a score similar to the total put up by India in 2016. India did lose important wickets at regular intervals while chasing but Sanju Samson played the innings of his life keeping his calm & composure guiding India to a famous win and avenging revenge from 10 years back.

Just to summarise these 2 matches involving India & West Indies which were held 10 years apart, first one in 2016 and now in 2026. Both the matches were held in the month of March. The first one being on the last date of March - 31st March 2016 and the current one on the first date of March - 1st March 2026. Last time it was a semifinal played at Wankhede, Mumbai with the winner booking a place in the final at Eden Gardens Kolkata. This time it was the reverse. It was not a semifinal but a virtual quarter final knockout clash being played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata with the winner booking a place in the semifinals at Wankhede, Mumbai. Also interestingly both times, the team chasing won the match and on both occasions the team batting first set up a total in excess of 190 but fell short of the 200 mark. Both matches can also be known for their fielding mishaps and all the 4 totals set up and chased by West Indies and India across the 2 matches all fall in the range of 190's.

The date March 1st is also remembered to have a knock etched in gold as Sachin Tendulkar produced a thunderous 98 on this very date vs Pakistan in the ODI World Cup of 2003. Sanju Samson's fabulous 97 on 1st March 2026 can certainly draw parallels with respect to the class and brilliance of that sterling knock by the great Sachin Tendulkar. Both these knocks would be in the reckoning to go down in the annals as two of the greatest 90's ever scored in limited overs cricket with both coming on the same date though 23 years apart.

This win by India allowed the host nation to get to a semifinal placement once again for the 6th time running in an ICC Limited Overs World Cup. The cricketing patterns continue to get interesting as India will be meeting England for the 3rd straight time in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup having played them in 2022, 2024 and now once again in 2026. It is 1-1 a piece and it's certainly going to be a juicy mouth watering clash. Ironically the winner of this clash from the last 2 instances also went on to capture the coveted T20 World Cup.

Also for the uninitiated and especially the old timers, India and England will be clashing in a World Cup Semifinal in Mumbai after almost 4 decades as they incidentally contested in the 1987 ODI WC semifinal at Wankhede which was also the first ever World Cup hosted by India termed as the Reliance World Cup back in the day. That game didn't go to India's plan thanks largely to Graham Gooch sweeping aside India on the way to a famous win. This is a chance to avenge revenge for the acrimony of 1987. Fingers crossed and if India does get through that they have another score to settle at Ahmedabad, a ground famous to have given Indian crickets biggest teary eyed heartbreaking moment in it's rich cricketing history.

Still a long way to go but at this time savouring this epic win against the West Indies thanks predominantly to CSK recruit Sanju Samson whose blitz earned a place for India in the semifinals for the 6th consecutive time in World Cups at home. Adipoli Chetta! Hoping the magic continues for India over the next 2 games. May the divine be with Bharat Mata.