Monday, December 31, 2012

Farewell 2012.

Farewell 2012.
Every year has been different in its own way, and 2012 hasn't definitely been the best, not even by a longshot. It has been a long, weary and trying year and definitely a good many lessons from it.

1. Shit happens.

Yes, not everything happens as per one's expectations. One can either sit, mope, cry out loud, attract sympathy and blame Fate or one can get up, brush your own shoulders, move on.

2. Disappointment is ephemeral.

Disappointment is a waste of time. Expectations are common of everyone, but when what is expected doesn't happen, coming down with disappointment is a very good way to waste time.

3. Depression is self-created and self-destroyed.

Be happy with what you still got, even if its the size of a coin. What you lost, might be your fault, but you still have, is definitely your talent.

4. Luck is a bitch.

Luck has a queer way of favouring someone when they are completely not dependent on it.

5. There are moments.

Here and there, in the dark corners of life, find the fleeting fireflies, those moments of true happiness and joy. Remember them, for they are worth remembering.

6. Life goes on.

Whatever happens life goes on. Don't ever think that the road has ended.

7. New-year resolutions are a waste of time.

Just because the calendar date changes from 31/12 to 1/1 doesn't mean, and somebody asks you, "Dude, any resolutions?", doesn't mean you gotta give 'em one. If you were gonna start doing something, any time was a good time. If you waited until today, saying, "I'll do it from the new year!", believe me, from experience, it hasn't been so very successful.

8. Finally, you are you. You are fine, you are perfect in your own way.

Have a good year ahead! I hope to, too. Welcome 2013.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

His Idea of a Perfect End!

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 34; the thirty-fourth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is "Of-Course, I'm insane"

Charles sat in the balcony of his villa, sipping his morning tea. His mind was immersed in thoughts. He had been so, since he saw his face in the mirror that morning. He was thinking about the past 25 years and all that he'd been through. He was having a dialogue inside his head.

"Was it really worth it?", he asked himself.
"The fun part or the aftermath?"
"Overall. I don't even remember where it stopped being fun."
"Oh of course. It was 25 years ago."
"Anyway, I have to put it down somewhere."
"Biography?"
"Nah, autobiography. Can't trust anyone these days."

He set out to get himself his laptop. His full name was Charles Westmoreland and he was 65 years old. In his prime, he had lived a life that was certainly 'Larger than Life'. His adventures, travels and discretion was what had been keeping him alive for so long. For, one does not so easily disappear and is never to be seen again. 

Charles first sought out to detail his travel course, how he exchanged the money discretely, the property he'd bought in places where he could escape three times over before the cops could even come near his home. After making a full mental count, he started typing his first chapter, "In the past 25 years, I've been to 47 countries. But I am no voyager. My name is Charles Westmoreland. But I'm better known as.........."


He didn't feel the need to watch out for publishers. He had already stirred up the news once. He was prepared to do it again. But only this time, he had already decided the outcome. They should never get to him. He would do it himself.

He had stopped running for the past 5 years. The cops had almost given up. They only put up a show that they were still on it by proposing silly and bizarre theories once in a blue moon but frequent enough that people wouldn't start asking questions. However, after all this time, he felt that he had lived enough. He wanted to end on a high note. And, his idea was nothing short of brilliant.

He didn't exactly have to work to survive. Money was never a problem. Discretion was the only problem. He had plenty of time to read. The classics, the fiction, non-fiction what not. He didn't need a biographer. He could do it himself, he thought.

After about a month, when he had finally prepared and revised the draft, proof-read it. He put it in a carefully sealed package and sent it out to a publishing house whose editor he knew to be a big fan of him. The next part, was the tougher. 

He had prepared 3 bottles of whiskey. He couldn't drink a sip! His life reeled in front of him. After all, he'd lived enough. Without friends, without relatives, without a family, it was too much. Loneliness was getting to him. This was the best option that was available.

A gunshot was heard. Charles Westmoreland had shot himself in the head.

The next day, the editor of Bloomsbury was in for a surprise. He opened the package that he received and the title read, "Of course, I'm insane! I'm D.B.Cooper"

P.S.: This is a fictional account of the unidentified individual who hijacked a Boeing 727 and got away with $200,000, who was never to be found again, identified only as D B Cooper. His supposed name Charles Westmoreland, is inspired by Prison Break, a TV show that I loved.
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: Jayashree Srivatsan, Participation Count: 2

Friday, November 30, 2012

Ruddy hoaxes!

Yesterday, was a bit unusual. For once, there were 2 hoaxes on the same day. For the rest of this post, you will find uncanny and unwarranted appearances of the word 'something'. Ats you keep reading, you'll understand why.

First one. There was this guy called Nostradamus. Pretty good seer, history says. Anyway, that guy was really good at writing Haikoos which had a variety of possible expansions, so much so that it could very well fit any of the important events in the forthcoming history of around 500 years from the Storming of the Bastille to the 9/11. Anyhow, Nostradamus didn't consider himself to be a prophet or whatever and he left behind around 941 sayings in a book which was published in 3 editions called 'Les Propheties'. However one jobless 'something' on a very fine day, who was good at cryptic writing and Photoshop went on and created this.


What a fuss! And all these 'something' online news channels and others went onto write huge articles about this without even verifying the authenticity of it. For once, I checked Les Propheties and made sure that no such bull-crap is present there. Some 'something' wanted to get popular on 9gag and Facebook and went onto spew some 'something' which as almost everything goes today, went viral.

Moreover, the thing about the Doomsday started about 2009-ish ( not sure about this ). It has been 3 years and its not even funny anymore. Too boring to keep on ranting the same 'something'. A similar occurence can be attributed to the 'War of the Worlds' novel, although comparatively people are much more intelligent now. Else, I'd imagine they'd be running in the street gathering provisions to stock.

Secondly, there was this on Whatsapp that made so much stupid spam that I had to switch off my mobile Internet for a while. Seriously, what a freeloader 'something'! You think they weren't gonna charge? Whatsapp has a 1-year free usage policy after which an annual fee is expected to be paid to continue its usage. Forwarding a message won't help with your freeloading! Some problem with their status settings and all the 'something' spam messages start flooding. What a bunch of 'something's!

This reply to the spam by an anonymous person was funny.
"In an hour the whatsapp aircraft will be flying over India to censor all active whatsapp users. You must stand on your terrace in a pink underwear and wave a purple polka dotted flag at the plane while doing the macarena. After doing this your whatsapp service will be restored. If you do not broadcast this message an alien will come down and slap you with a fish.It works. This is for all the retards who think sending a message would turn your icon blue or red and you'll be a permanent user."


However, the day has gone and the rough seas have calmed. Maybe Gangnam Style will hit a billion views on December 21st, but that doesn't mean any bat-shit! I do however, hope people don't go around running in the 3rd week of December gathering provisions for survival. It was funny, but its too boring nowadays. Ciao!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Rather forgotten things!

With the rather noisier part of the year, called the Diwali having come to an end, it is time to talk about some things that are not famous, yet were indispensable parts of a few's routine Diwali celebrations.

Here and now, the small chubby kid from next door, wearing his coat and suit dress goes onto place the rocket in the bottle in the middle of the road, and gleefully watches as it goes on its upward journey, and frantically running inside when he realizes that the destination was, in fact some old bloke's balcony. Lot of fun, I tell you.

However, sometimes, besides all this gala, there're the elders who've seen enough Diwalis in their lifetime to squeeze joy out of crackers than out of sleeving the fuse for their grandchildren. Smalltalk with them is usually wonderful. Remembering the many things, some wonderful, some stupid that you did with the fellow idiots of your village and laughed about it for hours and hours!

And, those things are nevertheless, really really stupid.

Like, holding the 'Saram'(string of small crackers that goes out like a Machine gun) in the hand while bursting it, holding the 'Rocket' in your hand and throwing it up to give it, that extra jumpstart, following that parachute which came out of the rocket, so far that you eventually lost your way and had to ask atleast a dozen people to find your way back home. No phones those days, mind you. These things were the ones done with the usual crackers. But here's a list that you wouldn't find often, a list you would probably be familiar with, if you celebrated a Deepavali in a small town / village.

1. வெங்காய வெடி ( The Onion )

As I would like to call it, the 'Ninja cracker' ! For all its worth, this is probably the only thing that makes you feel like a ninja ( unless you're really into Parkour). Throw it down hard on the ground and watch it explode on impact like the smoke bombs used by Ninjas.

Looks like even Batman knows about it - http://splicd.com/uQfQYHyEvAg/107/120

2. ஓல வெடி ( The Palmleaf )

The one that looks like a 'tie'; yes, 'tie'. It has a long tail with a bulged front where the powder is present. Very ideal to hold in the hand while bursting, and very very ideal to throw towards someone ( Imagine shouting, "This is Sparta!!" and throwing :-P ) But then, be careful! The long tail could end up swerving the cracker towards you after all :-D

3. மின்னல் வெடி ( The Thunder )

Our very own atom bomb. A wonderful local cracker, I must say. And, very noisy. The shockwave that comes when this one bursts, is definitely something different. You oughta know it, you burst it! Very dangerous though, not to be thrown or burst with the hands ( Personal experience of having a  bandaged hand for a week ).


4. மூல வெடி ( I don't know how to translate this - too many equivalent words )

Very similar to the 'Thunder'; you could say that these two are the Atom Bomb - Hydrogern Bomb pair of our நாட்டு  வெடி  கடை ( Local Cracker Store ).

As you keep talking to the old guys, who take a backseat and enjoy watching the young ones having their fill, you come to realize how much you miss those crackers that were only available in small towns and villages. You also come to think that when you who have only spent a couple of years bursting them is missing them, what about your elder generation, who practically grew up with it?

I am not an advocate of "No crackers for Diwali." I believe that bursting / not bursting is each one's own choice. Pollution, yes, definitely. But worry about it when you take your vehicle to the shop next street or when you forget to clean your exhaust and becoming a psuedo-mosquito van! Also, when you carelessly forget to switch off your lights and fans and when you waste food which took valuable amount of electricity and gas to cook. Don't become a judge for one day.

Festivals are unique each in their own way. Without crackers, it would be like a mime sans action.

Hoping you all had a wonderful Diwali ! Ciao.

Friday, November 9, 2012

With amazing titles, don't come amazing movies!

I just got to watch 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. It has been almost half an hour since the movie ended and I'm still awestruck at the magnitude of a disaster that was. Maybe they should've titled it, "A Ridiculous Reboot of The Amazing Spiderman".

I mean, you can't just leave out the best things out of a franchise and go on to reboot it! I'm much tempted to say, "Hey Stan Lee! Don't watch the movie dude! You're old already. I fear you might get a heart-attack." The movie did bring in one thing from the cartoon series, the web-slingers, but no, without a good story, what is the use of a web-slinger? Spider-man shoots web, and I for one, don't give a shit where it comes from - his wrist or a web-slinger. Disappointment.

Second, why did Captain Stacy die? If there's one unsaid rule about movies, it is, 'If its a character or worth, and if you're gonna kill him, make a hero out of him prior'. If Mark Webb thought that carrying a bottle of antidote to the hero and putting some bullets on the Lizard was enough, sadly no. It wasn't. Disappoinment number 2.

Third, where the fuck is Mary Jane Watson? After all, she is Spiderman's primary love interest. If at least, they had skipped the dialog of, "Don't make promises that you can't keep!", "But that's the best part.", we could've atleast reached a hapless inference that Peter would go onto date MJW in the reboot. Huuuuge disappointment.

Moreover, the graphics and quality of detail has improved significantly since the first Spiderman movie; but then, it doesn't matter. I nearly dozed off twice during the movie! The crane scene was a gimmicky one, but then fails to make an impact. I was so looking forward to "With great power, comes great responsibility." dialog. It was a beauty. It was signature. I was hoping that it would come atleast in the voicemail message that Peter hears, but no. Again, another disappointment. The worst of them all.

Finally, Eduardo Saverin is Eduardo Saverin, not Peter Parker. Toby MacGuire, gay, small, whatever you may call him, he was definitely the better Spiderman.

The climax of the movie hints a sequel/prequel. I don't think I'll watch it. And this is one of the worst scenarios for a director to be in. Mark Webb, you have taken the best of Marvel's superheros and brought him down to the common man's level.

Superhero movies are usually either  wonderful, very good or in the worst case, boring. But this one, a sore disappointment.

P.S.: Please don't watch it.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The whole thing was whose idea?

Are we going to talk about Superman? No. We'll leave him and his iconic "Is it a bird, is it an plane, its Superman!" catchphrase alone. Superman is too awesome, just a tad too much for anyone to relate to. In fact, that is why we don't quite find a father-figure for Superman.

While on the other hand, Spiderman did have Uncle Ben; but then Ben wasn't there long enough. He gave Peter good advice like, "With great power, comes great responsibility". It is a pity that Uncle wasn't there when Spiderman became what he was, nevertheless, it was a necessary sacrifice. But of course, every superhero must be motivated by something; and if it doesn't come to the slinky teenager, the death of some close person ought to do the trick.

Or, that is what the comic artists thought perhaps. So, who else do we know who has motivation, is a vigilante and the guidance of a fatherly figure?

Ok, I'll cut to the chase and start the topic already. Batman & Alfred !

I'm NOT a Batmaniac who has read all the comics over and over again, but I sure am a Nolanite who has watched BB and TDK over 20 times each and went to TDKR twice on successive days! I may never read the comics, but I am content enough. Batman is my favourite superhero. To the fellow junta who share this sentiment, I am sure you'll agree to what follows.

So, why suddenly? After all this while? Only now, did I see all 3 movies together, reverse chronological order. Among the 3, Begins is probably the Dark Knight. The wonderful setting gives Batman, an ideal setting to become the most loved superhero. There are a few things about Batman Begins, subtle and often missed.

First, a superhero movie is not always about the superhero. It is also about that fellow who is behind the mask. I, for one believe that so much as the heroics are attributed to the superhero, the sacrifices ought to be attributed to the man behind the mask. Begins explores the evloution of Bruce Wayne from an insecure scaredy-cat to sort of like The Scarlet Pimpernel, who pretends to be a banal, but merely has donned a visage that hides true colours.

Second, it deeply conveys the bond between Alfred and Bruce Wayne. Alfred is as faithful as one can possibly be. He is also as tolerant as one can possibly be. Over the course of the trilogy, the relationship between Alfred and Bruce has evolved in a phenomenally wonderful manner.

In Begins, Alfred still treats Bruce as a child, being cynical about his manners and driving; perhaps a tad afraid that once the initial momentum gives way, Batman would become something like one of those uncouth few of the Watchmen ( no offense, but that movie sucked! ). Alfred, the old-school headmaster, has a hard time making transition between Thomas Wayne's view of helping the city and Bruce's. However, when priorities clash, without Alfred, Bruce would've been a lost kitty.

In The Dark Knight, Alfred is that explorer who has taken an arrow to the knee, but still, has enough wisdom and experience to mitigate the crushing burden placed on Batman placed by The Joker. Once again, without Alfred, Bruce would've been a lost kitty.

In Dark Knight Rises, however, it is Bruce's time to repay. The scene where Alfred confesses his feeling when Bruce had gone missing, is one of true affection and care. Priceless indeed !

"I never wanted you to come back to Gotham. I knew that there was nothing for you in here, other than despair and suffering. I've always wanted the best for you. I still do."

 Bruce, unwilling to put Alfred through anymore torment than he's already been because of the danger that "Batman" places on "Bruce"( though it is entirely Bruce's choice ), most tearfully separates himself from Alfred.

"I won't bury you. I've buried enough members of the Wayne family."

That climax, is probably one time when Alfred can be in true peace. Maybe now, he can drink his Fernet Branca in peace.

The Batman trilogy was always more than just a superhero franchise. It was an alleviating experience. It was joyous just to keep watching the movie, again and again..... and again; never bored ! For such a reason, Nolan's Batman trilogy will always be special. The ending has been perfect. As perfect as one could hope to be. The 3 movies have launched Batman to an entirely different league than the comics could ever could. The magic touch of Christopher Nolan indeed! There is definitely more to a superhero than supervillians and stunts. I think that I will continue to see those movies for many more times.

A few months back, I thought that if I were to make a speech on Nolan's Batman trilogy, I would never make it because I would never finish writing that speech, if I did write one. Today however, boredom of exams kindled the writer in me to blog about one of the best things in my life.

A silent guardian. A watchful protector. The best butler.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Not today, tomorrow!

He stood in front of them. A huge crowd of students. He was supposed to make his speech. His secretary had prepared one for him with all the mushy, nice and inspiring words; he had read through it once but it didn't even register in his mind. He had already decided that he wasn't gonna read that.

It was his father's anniversary and he was standing in the school that was founded by his father, now managed by the company's trust. After the old man, the reins had come into his hands; many expected him to choke. He had surprised them. Press reporters would ask, "What is the secret of your success?", "Would you like to share it with us?". He never minded them. It was pointless to talk about it to them. To those who were sitting in front of him however, the situation was completely different.

He shoved the speech into his pocket, coughed and began.

"My dad's ill health began quite sometime before his death. He knew it was coming. He himself wasn't sure whether I could keep up the company. He called me one day and told me this :

"Some people like their world to be big, huge; others small. It is only a matter of perspective and not being blown away. Those in their smaller worlds make the full use of it and be happy. But those who aim for the enormity are the ones who become legends. The horizon can never be reached. The question is not, 'How big is your world ?', the question is, 'How big can your world become?' "

This gave me a lot to think about. So I ask you all the same thing. How big can your world become?"

Most of them seemed to not understand; but a few were there, those who stood out; those with the twinkle in their eyes. He saw them. He felt relieved. His job was done.


PS : How big can your world become?


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Finally.

The year was 1983 when they were denied once. They were to be denied many more times. The ride was never meant to be easy; but to be this hard, it did take some hard blows, ugly controversies, badmouthing and blaming.

The West Indies were mammoths, giants, what not. But that was in the 1970s and 1980s. Somewhere along the line, the others had picked up; the giants had not got their hat-trick World Cup; Australia took it then, and thence, it has exchanged many hands, yet, never returned to its first owner. The West Indies were still a great team, in spite of their inability to boast of bright, shiny trophies in their trophy room in numbers as the others could do. Hooper and Lara were some of the finest Test cricketers that could play the game. The West Indian cricket fan could boast of talent, only not of trophies.

T20 world cup was a new happening, and it gave rise to much expectations amongst everyone; players to selectors to the ever-expecting fans. The team that did not shine in the T20 world cup till now, did today. The 7th of October 2012 will always remain a special day in the mind of the West Indian cricket fan. This, I can personally vouch for, having experienced the pleasure of the T20 world cup being brought to India in 2007 ( after a gap of 24 years ). My West Indian counterpart had to wait longer; his agony and frustration only increasing exponentially. Today, after 33 years, he is relieved. For, the trophy is home. Home, sweet home.

Coming into this World Cup as one of the major contenders, West Indies' hopes were majorly pinned on the Predator - Chris Gayle. His brutal massacre of the Aussies in the semi-final would stand witness to that. But, the finals, it was destined to be something completely different. Somehow, this West Indian team winning the World Cup reminded me of Nolan's Batman trilogy. This is not an analogy nor something that I can clearly explain myself. Still, some parts and one quote did fit and fit well.

The total that they put on was low. I was disheartened. In 1975, it was 291 ( then a huge total) and in 1979 it was 286 (again a humungous one ). In 1983, however, it was 183, they had to chase and they succumbed to 140. No wonder I was disheartened. Gayle, the man-to-turn-to had turned to the pavilion before long and if not for Samuels, it would've ended a disaster. The West Indies however chose to show grit, passion, determination and show their 'never-say-die' face. They ably defended their total. "Gayle was the hero West Indies deserved, but not the one it needed in the finals".

This was not one of those matches that was nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat thrillers. It was interesting and exciting; nonetheless this match was better enjoyed by me, via CricInfo, which became my silent radio. As I sat in the window-seat of my bus, staring at my mobile for the refreshed scorecard, anxiously waiting to get home and type this down before it left my mind, the feeling was priceless. This was the match I most enjoyed, in the whole tournament. If the semi-finals was Avengers, the finals was The Dark Knight Rises.

Indeed, the Dark Knights had risen. Risen after 33 years. The World Cup is theirs. They are proud and they damned better be! As I pen this down and glance at the Presentation Ceremony running on the TV across the hall, I see Gayle doing the Gangnam Style. The sober me starts laughing. Somehow, I feel happier that I would've felt if India had won it. Somehow, the fairy-tale conclusion had finally come for West Indies.

The West Indian fan, the meticulous ones, the ones that constantly support, would be elated and they silently utter, "Finally. *sigh* ".


P.S.: Goodbye Simon Taufel. You were one of the best at what you did.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

K is Masculine and O is Feminine!

I have this really bad habit and a good habit. I miss out on some wonderfully great movies. And, later on, after all the hustle and bustle of the film has quieted down, and noone is really talking about anymore, I go dig 'em up, and watch them.

Truly, it adds so much value into a film. Watching without any expectations whatsoever. And, thusly, I saw the movie that the quoted title belongs to!

Men In Black 3. Wow! What an awesome movie :)

Christopher Nolan once asked, "How many good 3rd movies of a trilogy have we got?"

Looking at Mission Impossible 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Final Destination 3 and such, I couldn't find a proper counter to his statement. Now, I have one.

However good a movie, its the ending that stays in the mind. Played over and over again. And, a movie with a beautiful dialogues and a good ending is like icing with a strawberry on a cake!

When K says to James, "I'll tell you the one thing that you'll ever wanna know, 'Your daddy was a hero.' ", that moment is priceless. Brilliance by Will Smith :)


P.S.: Don't ask questions that you don't wanna know the answers to.

P.P.S.: Do watch it, if you haven't already.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Let me tell you something you already know!

Sometimes, dialogues transcend themselves. They become chants. Words, become sources of inspiration. They are repeated over and over again. For a ray of hope, a resurrection of strength, a gleam of faith! Disappointment, fear, restraint all seem to vanish when these powerful words are heard. There've been countless times that I've shared these verses in Facebook & gTalk. Still, here goes one more time. They're not said by real people, they're not from great speeches. They are from movies, movies that I love.

The two that I love the most. Here they go!

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!"

A true father's advice! He could've just said, "No pain, no gain.". Rather, such an elegant way to put it.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

The first is from Rocky Balboa and the second is a quote by Marianne Williamson, featuring  in Coach Carter. Do watch them, if you haven't already.

There're a lot more. Lot more words, put together, strung like pearls, forming beautiful ornaments. Ornaments of inspiration. Much needed, much loved.  

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

What a spectacular ending!

Somehow, I think that T20s are too flashy, commercial; filmy even; I think its because of IPL. I am one of those people who fell in love with Test Cricket watching Dravid, Laxman and Lara explore its beautiful bittersweet caverns.

But, out of the blue, today, I enjoyed a T20 match very much. What a brilliant match between India and New Zealand! Tantalizingly so, India lost by 1 run. Aaaaahh!

That final over was just too brilliant. Screwing up the best chance they had with 7 overs remaining and 49 runs needed, Dhoni and Yuvaraj had bought the equation down to 25 from 12 balls. At first, I was furious at their disastrous batting! Then I realized Vettori's brilliant tactic of saving the medium pacers for the last.

Nerves were wracking. Sitting on the egde. Rotating strike through singles and doubles wasn't enough. And, at 18.4, Yuvaraj hit a brilliant six. Returning from cancer treatment, it was his time to shine, and for quite sometime, he did. A very valiant effort!

Last over. 13 runs needed. If someone were to walk in at that moment, he'd have said, "Ah, Dhoni and Yuvi na? Easily they'll score." But I, having watched the previous overs, wasn't so sure.

Scoring a single, it was Dhoni's turn. And, for God's sake, Dhoni was disastrous. Swinging the bat like a wild boar on rampage! Luckily, it hit the bat and went for 4.

8 from 4.

Wide!

7 from 4.

A deep breath. "Happa!"

Single.

6 from 3.

Yuvi on strike, facing Franklin. It was surely going to be the slow ball. But who would've predicted that Franklin would conjure that beautiful one from back of the hand? Before he knew it, Yuvi had lost his stumps trying to go for a six. Always a bad habit! 3 balls there no? Why hurry?

2 balls. 6 runs. Rohit Sharma. I was facepalming.

Double!

Last ball 4 runs. And, another double was all that could be managed.

Lost. By 1 run.

Such close encounters, edge-of-the-seats moments, seen and cherished on ODIs, rarely occured in a T20. Last I remembered such a thing, it was the first T20 World Cup final.

Vettori had planned and gambled, it had paid off. It was a brilliant match. One I surely wanted to write about :)

P.S.: Kohli's innings was beautiful. Wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention it.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A Walk to the Park

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 31; the thirty-first edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. The theme for the month is 'Strangers in the Night'
"Lunch had no salt in it! I was so hungry and had to stand in that damned queue of the canteen. Can't you even cook properly?"
"I know, I ate the same thing. Oh come on! Can't you adjust for one day? I am a working woman too, you know! Oh you would forget it unless you see the pay cheque every month."
"Don't you talk to me like that!"
The argument was heating up. Harish knew better than to let out words in fury. Sita was always easily irritable.
"Now, stop it there. I'm gonna take a walk. Not a worse mood spoiling environment than two irritated people in the house!"

Harish put on his t-shirt, closed the door behind him and started out towards the park. This park, situated about 6 streets away, was a bustling area. People of all ages would crowd there. Old men discussing politics; young toddlers playing on the see-saw and slide; damsels gossiping and giggling; boys playing shuttle; all sorts of people. Harish was born and brought up in the same locality. And, seldom had it happened that he'd walked the whole length of a street without meeting someone he knew.

"One chewing gum please."
A childhood habit. Still carried on.

He crossed the street, and walked. Surprisingly, the streets were emptier than usual. "I wonder why!", he thought.

In his effort to keep his mind occupied and diverted from the argument at home, he was thinking about random stuff, the shape of the clouds, the unfinished things on the to-do list, so and so..

By now, he'd crossed the 3rd street.

"Son, can you help me?"

He looked down the road and saw the silhouette of an aged man.

"Yes, sure. But what're you doing in a dark alley?"
"Is it dark?"
"Are you kidding me? Can't you see? Its so dark."
"Oh, is it so? For me, its always dark dear man. Haven't seen in 3 years."
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know.. Please excuse me.. Tell me, how may I help you? Are you lost?"
"No, son. It is not I, that needs help. Its my wife. She can't see either."
"What can I do for you?"
"Earlier, her slippers tore. There's a thorn stuck in her foot. I can feel it, but I can't remove it. She couldn't walk. I was carrying her on my shoulders but my aged back hurts.
Could you help please?"
"Yes, of course!"

He bent down and examined the old lady's feet.

She shrieked. "Dear me, that's not necessary boy. Please. Its alright. I can bear with a little pain. In fact, what is life without a little discomfort?"
"Atleast let me take you to a doctor. He'll take out the thorn."
"If I could afford a doctor, I could surely have afforded to buy new slippers dear boy. Beggars like us, can't afford such luxury."

Harish was stunned. He insisted on helping the old lady and pulled out the thorn and loosely bandaged her foot. He didn't mind the fact that they were beggars.

"Done. Will suffice for now. I have to go."
The man said, "Thank you so much son."

Harish left them and resumed his walk. His mind was occupied with a different thought, however. It was something that the lady said.

"What is life without a little discomfort?"

They were strangers in the night. He didn't know their names. They were beggars. Yet, what he learnt from them seemed priceless.

He realized that in his preoccupied state, he'd walked back to his own home.

Sita opened the door.
Harish hugged her and said, "Sorry dear."
"What is wrong with you? 10 minutes ago, you were so red and furious!"
"Oh what is life without a little discomfort?"
The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Introduced By: Jaishree Srivatsan, Participation Count: 1

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Are you watching closely?

I love the movie, 'The Prestige'. In fact, how many ever times I watch it, it never ceases to amaze me. Partly inspired to write this post from the movie's essence, "Are you watching closely?"

It was a challenging task. Shooting an eagle wasn't easy. He was stalking it for a long time. It sat perched on a cliff, and he on a nearby one. Carefully waiting, preparing for the right moment.

In fact, preparation went a long way back, right from honing his accuracy, timing and stamina. To chase around and incessantly pursue the tantalizingly evading bird. To watch the game dictating the game, convoluting his every plan, for a good dinner. This one was worth a lot. No one had come so close.

Now, was the time. A few moments, he went over it in his head. Everything was perfect. And just as the eagle bent down, to feed its hungry eaglet, he did it.

He did it. He felt so proud. All his hard work paid off. Now he would be paid, the promised fortune. People would relish this one!


And, as he got up from his crouching pose, he said to himself, "Phew, being a photographer is tough!"



P.S.: The photograph isn't mine.

P.P.S.: Did you think he was a hunter? Do leave a comment.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Déjà vu

She was standing in the long queue of the canteen. It was sweltering hot. The pink Lola Bunny kerchief on her left hand was already soaked. Her right hand was clutching onto something.

Raghavi wore a bright orange tops with a pitch black jean that day. Where all girls would scream, "Pinkkkkk!", she would go all-out, "Oraaaaaaange!". The pampered child of the wardrobe adorned the beautiful lady that day. Stuffing her kerchief into her pocket, she took to counting the 24 tokens that she was clutching, trying her best to remember what was for what.

She heard a small chuckle from behind; she turned.

"You're thinking out loud.", came from a coarse, yet pleasant voice.
"Haha. Sorry, force of habit."
"That's an awful lot of tokens. How many?"
"24."
"Ha! 5 more."
"^What?"
"Here. I have 29. So what's up? Treat or something?"
"Yup. Its my birthday today."
"How coincidental ! Happy birthday to ourselves!"
"Guessed so. Haha. Funny, never seen you in one year of college."
"I was thinking the same. I'm Krish. You?"

"Raghavi.", she said as she neared the counter window. "Gotta go. Have a good day!", and she went about her listing. Somehow, that smile on her chubby cheeks lingered on and on, inside his head.

At first, they met by chance, a few times mostly in the canteen until a few weeks later, 'chance' decided to take a holiday. They liked each other instantly. Meaningless chats, rainy day coffee shop visits, evening walks on long, straight roads.

"Grandma! Hahaha."
"Shut up idiot. I'm only 3 hours elder to you. Just 3 hours!".

That was his favorite way to irritate her. Over the course of time, her favourites became his favourites. and TRAI became the worst villain.

Once they were taking a walk, a pleasant evening, a boulevard. From behind, she heard a voice.

"Its 7 a.m.! Get up! You're late for college!".
"Mom? What? Oh my goodness!"
"Been dreaming again? Must say, I was a girl too once, but your dreams are too fanciful. Go and brush. I don't want to scold you on your birthday."
"Haha. Sorry Mom. Wish me."
"Not until you brush."

Hurriedly she got herself ready. Everything from attire to eyelash, she'd planned the earlier night.

"Thank God I did at least that.", she thought.

Evening after college, the scream ensued, "Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeattttttt!"
"Okay okay. Canteen!"

As she stood in the sweltering heat, oblivious of morning events, she heard a chuckle from behind.

"You're thinking out loud."
"Haha. Sorry, force of habit."

Suddenly, she smiled to herself. 

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Awesome Nature

Just returning back from a tour of exotic places like Wayanad, Coorg, etc, thoughts keep reeling upon the stunning beauty of Nature which has been praised upon from the time of Man.

Still, there can be no words enough to describe a breathtakingly beautiful scene, ephemeral or ever-lasting.

Among the visceral appreciation that one attributes toward Nature, flowers are the beautiful ladies. Here are some pictures that I couldn't resist sharing. To me, each one tells a tale. I be a lone audience? I do not know.

A beautiful red. Red is a colour of different shades. Bright red is flashy and cute. But the deeper shades are more beautiful. Just like love. Red hearts.


Those really great moments of life that are cherished forever are like dew drops. Life, in itself, may be beautiful, but along with these dew drops, it gets compounded and is definitely a sight to behold.


Cheerfulness is a virtue that, not all possess. It is contagious. A full blossom is very cheerful. In fact, it brings a smile to the face. Doesn't it?


Silence is golden. Humility transcends silence. Beauty, combined with humility is something that cannot be described. Bashfully, the flower looks down, so people would bow and awe its beauty.


Standing tall. Head held high and inspiring. What is sometimes missed is that, this is not a single flower. It is a cluster. Alleviates the whole meaning of 'togetherness'.


A beautiful shade of pink and a gorgeous flower. Though this flower will wither and fall off shortly, that is not what you see when you look at it. Death is permanent, but life is not spent expecting it. Now is (a) present.

Sometimes, looking forward can be a warm feeling. Hope is a good thing, probably the best of things. Sometimes, people deserve to get their faith rewarded. When they are, thankfully they look up to the sky, believing in some power - God, luck, probability, conscience, karma, something.

No man is without faith. It is what keeps us going. Inspiration exists. It is only in the perspective. An unpolished diamond is a rock in the gander of an artless fool.

I like the word, 'beautiful'. It has got a nice ring to it. Nature is beautiful. Flowers are only a part of Nature.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

A State of Mind

A state of mind. Happiness.

Looking back, it was pitch black. Not that he hadn't seen dark places before or in the recent past, but this was different. Earlier he stood in the dark while looking at it. Now however, he was standing in light. Funnily, it occurred to him that, in light, darkness seemed darker. His mind went on reeling. Backward. He looked sideways.

A state of mind. Relief.

He saw his friend. He had a famished look on his face. Both of them had never parted ways. Always being together, was something that hardened both of them; to the point that, one would feel incapacitated without the other. Funnily, it occurred to him that he didn't feel that way about anyone else. His mind went reeling. Backward. He strained his eyes.

A state of mind. Disappointment.

He did reach out, though there was nothing to prove it. No one to prove it? No, you couldn't say so. There was proof standing beside. Still, disappointment pervades relief. He thought someone would follow through. The two stood there, waiting for a very long time. Were they in a hurry? No, not at all. Still, no one came through. He thought it was his fault no one else came. He felt bad. His mind went on reeling. Backward.

A state of mind. Guilt.

It was a tunnel, a long and dark one. Really long and really dark. He had determination. Frustration would mount sometimes. Pain was no longer the driving force there. Pain was meaningless. Whereas frustration meant that sooner or later, giving up would follow. The abandoned sailor, out of uncontrollable thirst, turning to salt water. He tried his best. In all ways. To motivate, communicate. A frustrated mind doesn't listen. Still, he tried. His only consolation was that he could reach out to at least one. His eyes were moist. His mind went reeling. Backward.

A state of mind. Diversion.

The dark tunnel however was a tantalizing one. Not the sort of tantalizing that would tempt an ignorant creature venture into it, but the sort that feeds a spoon, just a spoon of hope, when almost all was lost. There were these really small holes on the walls of the tunnel. They didn't have a pattern, they didn't serve any real function, but their aim, their purpose was to tantalize. Light, like hope, pervades. Creeps up into the most unreachable of places. The frustrated few, got excited now! "Oh wait, I can dig through. I can get out." Valiant attempts, but in vain. He, however knew that the only way to get out was to move forward. But they wouldn't listen to the two! They really believed what they thought.

A state of mind. Illusion.

They thought what they liked to think. When faced in a dilemma, we always take a side. Impartiality is overrated. "I hope its not so." in itself, is choosing a side. Acceptance is clouded by illusion. They dug, and the only thing that happened was the bruising of their hands. They continued, saying, "I can't give up now." There is no worse illusion than false hope. Some complained and continued, whereas some gave up. What they all didn't understand that they forgot to move on, to move forward. His friend placed his hand on his shoulder. His thoughts vanished; he couldn't judge them; for they had already met the consequences.

A state of mind. Reality.

There is no escaping reality. The two knew it. Solutions come with progress, and the only progress was to move forward. They held hands and walked out into the light; they felt sorry for those didn't make it, more importantly, they felt grateful that they made it. He felt compelled to speak. It had been quite a while since anybody spoke. Happiness, fogged by many other emotions, that he only managed to utter,

"I thank, whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul."



P.S.: The quote is from a poem called Invictus. Wonderful poem, do read it. Inspiration for this post is also the same.

If you're reading this line, thank you for your patience. I will take the liberty of saying that, you would've related yourself in some circumstance, to at least one of the states of mind described above. Thank you :)

Thursday, August 2, 2012

The Difference

Out of nowhere, he heard a voice.

"Walk with your eyes closed. Walk, not a mile, not four score yards, just ten feet. You'll realize what your real fears are."

He tried. It was terrifying. When he opened his eyes, tears started gushing out like a broken dam. Those were the worst moments of his life.

"It, truly is terrifying.", he cried to the surrounding emptiness.

For a few moments, a ghastly silence. Not even minutes, just moments. But never so dilated, lengthened, uncertain.

"Hold someone's hand and try the same.", was to be heard again.

"What difference does it make?"

"All that's needed."


Friday, July 27, 2012

Contraction, Irritation and One very pissed off fellow!

*cough* *cough*

When e-mails and SMSes were first introduced, their length was limited by the size because there wasn't enough sophistication to send large messages through networks. This led to the coughing up of various short-forms or contractions such as,

Btw - by the way
Fyi - for your info
Imo - in my opinion and some reasonably few to mention. But lets not get into all that.

That very pissed off fellow here, is me. Yes, me only.

Somewhere along the road, these contractions seemed to lose their purpose and began to indicate bad manners. I'd like to point out some examples here.

First of all, please. 'Please' in itself is short for 'if you please'. Now, you people go and further shorten it, in vicariously varied versions like 'pls', 'pl'. If we let, you will further do even 'p'. Why so? You're asking for a favour only, no? Then ask properly. Put your pleases fully. Someone should come and teach this and all?

Second, sorry. Ok, its understandable that you don't want to use 'I beg your pardon', because it, sort of indicates that the other person is your superior. They have invented a wonderful word called sorry na? 'Sry', 'sowwie' are some lame forms of it. Feeling half-sorry eh? Yen da ipdi?

Coming to thanks! Oh my Blessed Goodness ! Quite a hellhole of trouble this thanks goes through. You are thanking somebody, means that he/she has done something for you. A favour, obligation whatever. Can't you even say thank you properly? 'Ty', it seems. Be the case that please and sorry be excused, shortening thanks is nothing less than idiocy only. Idhula, 'tanks', 'tanx','tanq' vera? :-/


Leaving all these trivial things, I recently having had my b'day, was replying to my wall posts on Facebook, when to my shock, somebody had posted,


"hb"

I mean, "Happy b'day" is fine but "hb", what the fuck?  You take all the pains to reach my home page and post "hb"? HB what? You want pencil ah? First get some manners. Then go looking for pencils; or oh wait, he meant to say, "Happy birthday"! Well, Mr.I'm-so-busy-to-type-a-few-extra-chars, keep your wish to yourself. I'm fine with 2 lesser letters.


Don't cut back on courtesy and favour please. Very bad impression, it gives.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

So this is what it feels like!

And, so finally, I can sleep peacefully. If Christopher Nolan's very good at something, its living upto people's expectations, no matter how great they are.



Two years of maddening hype finally culminated into a 2 hr 45 min spectacle which, could rarely be improved upon. Still, this movie doesn't surpass its predecessor. Heck, no movie can surpass something like "The Dark Knight".

Dark Knight Rises isn't more about Bane as Dark Knight was about Joker. It is about Batman, Bruce Wayne and Gotham City. Bane lacks the intellectual insanity of Joker and though physically dominating Batman in every aspect, Bane just isn't Joker, neither Tom Hardy, Heath Ledger.


Dialogues give the movie a grandeur, that makes it humorously very rich! For a popcorn grinding machine like me, to be so absorbed in the movie as to forget about the popcorn, happens so rarely that this is only the 2nd time. You could guess the first.

There are a few unanswered questions, but they can be drowned in the awesomeness. Nolan shows his connective brilliance throughout.

Dark Knight Rises = Begins + Dark Knight

An awesome performance by Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Anne Hathway and Morgan Freeman. Marion Cotillard brings her mencaing charm from Inception along with her to give a superb performance.


"So this is what it feels like" to have watched Dark Knight Rises. This is unarguably the best conclusive trilogy that could've ever been made.

No spoilers guys! Go watch and be amazed :)

Sunday, July 15, 2012

A Realization

Knowing me, I'm a person of lots of opinions. Some strong and some feeble. One thing that I do definitely believe in is that, 'A classroom is not a place.'

Yes, "A classroom is not a place."

According to me, a classroom is an experience. What goes in, and what comes out, are different things, unless you have a queer and unbeatable habit of sleep and lethargy. Ignoring all that, a good class is enjoyed, a tedious class is pulled through whereas a bad class is enjoyed.

Might sound queer, but there's nothing more a vexatiously funny fact than a teacher being unprepared for class. Its almost, if not definitely, an oxymoron.

Anyway, even there, some realization happens. And, that something is,


"இவனுக்கெல்லாம்  வேலை கிடைக்கும்போது , எனக்கு கண்டிப்பா  கிடைக்கும்  டா !" 

Saturday, July 7, 2012

ஒரு பயனற்ற பொருள்

Before I begin this post, let me say two things.

1) I'm not a male chauvinist. In fact, I dont know even how to spell it! :-D

2) As you can see, this post is gonna be in Tamizh.
 
காலை 9 மணி . ரயில் நிலையத்தில் சில பேர் ட்ரெயின்க்காக ஆவலாய் காத்திருப்பார்கள் . அவர்களுக்கு அலுவலுக்கு நேரம்  ஆயிருக்குமோ என்னவோ ! சற்று தூரத்தில் சிறியதாய் தெரியும் , ட்ரெயின் வருவது . "ஹப்பாடி !" என்று  நினைப்பார்கள் . ஆனால் கிட்டே வந்தவுடனோ , "செ , இதுக்கு ட்ரெயின் வராமலே இருந்திருக்கலாம்!" என்று நினைப்பார்கள் . அவர்கள் நினைப்பது முற்றிலும் சரியானதே ! நானும் அவ்வாறு நினைப்பவன் தான் .

ஏனென்றால் , அது ஒரு பயனற்ற பொருள் . வெட்டி பெருமை பீத்திகொள்வதற்கு விடப்பட்ட ஒன்று . லேடீஸ் SPECIAL  ட்ரெயின் . எப்பொழுதுமே காலியாக செல்லும் . அதில் இருக்கும் பெண்கள் எல்லோரும் கூடி உட்கார்ந்தால் 4 பெட்டிகள் கூட முழுவதும் நிரம்பாது ; கடுப்பாக இருக்கும் . அதுத்த ட்ரெயின் கூட்டமாக வரும் . மேலும் தாமதம்  ஆகும்.

சரி , லேடீஸ் SPECIAL தான் விட்டீர்கள் , அதை நன்றாக கொட்டை எழுத்தில் போட வேண்டியது தானே ? ஏன்  இந்த கஞ்சத்தனம்? சிறியதாய் ஒரு பெண்ணின் முகம் கொண்ட ஒரு வரைபடம் MSB  என்பதற்கு அருகில் வைக்கிறார்கள் . ஏன்? இன்னும் சிக்கனமாய் ஒரு பாஸ்போர்ட் சைஸ் போட்டோ வைக்க வேண்டியது தானே?

இதை காணாமல் , தெரியாமல் ஏற வருபவர்களுக்கு ஒரு போலீஸ் அம்மா அங்கே வாசலில் ஒரு குச்சியை வைத்துக்கொண்டு , "தோப்பு, தோப்பு" என்று தட்டும். ஏதோ மந்தை ஆதுகளை விரட்டுவது போல ! மிகவும் கேவலமாக இருக்கும் !

"ஏன் டா? ட்ரெயின் SCHEDULE  பாக்க வேண்டியது தானே?", என்று நீங்கள் என்னை கேக்கலாம்.. பார்த்து என்ன பயன்? தாமதம் தாமதம் தானே? தலை தெறிக்க ஓடி வருபவனுக்கு SCHEDULE  நின்று பார்க்க நேரம் உள்ளதா  என்ன?

அப்படி பெண்கள் சிரமம் இன்றி பயணம் செய்ய வேண்டுமென்றால் , 9இல் 6 பேட்டிகள் பெண்களுக்கு ஒதுக்க வேண்டியது தானே ?


எதையும் சிறிதும் யோசனை செய்யாமல் வேலை செய்யும் மக்கள் ! சிரமம் என்னவோ , 'சிறிது' அதிகமாய் தூங்கிவிட்ட என் போல் இருப்பவர்களுக்கு தான் ! இவ்வாறு சில யோசனைகளும் , இந்த ட்ரெயினை விட்டவர்களை திட்டி சில கொச்சையான சொற்களும் வந்து செல்லும் நேரத்தில் அதுத்த ட்ரெயின் வரும் . நிரம்பி வழிந்து கொண்டு .

"நம் தலை எழுத்து ! நாம் தானே லேட்டாக எழுந்தோம்?", என்று நினைத்துக்கொண்டு தொங்கிக்கொண்டு செல்லும் பிழைப்பு ! கொடுமையடா !

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Tirumalpur Fast!

Two guys started shouting "வழி வழி!" and started their dash towards the door. I, one of the unfortunate victims in the way, was nearly knocked over and one of the straps of my bag came off my shoulder. My immediate instinct indicated a "Otha dei" to my mouth but my mind adviced better to follow these people lest I wish not to get down at Guindy. The next few seconds got warped into time, with me having no idea what happened. One thing that I do know, is that the guy who successfully managed to get down, wanted to write about it.



Here are certain rules that you need to know about getting on and travelling on a Thirumalpur Fast.

1) If you get on a TMPL Fast, you do not get down before Tambaram.

2) If you get on a TMPL Fast, you do not f**king get down before Tambaram.

3) If its your first time on a TMPL Fast, be ready to hear some sensationally-sweet, honey coated words whenever train comes to a station.(sarcasm intended)

4) Forget any signs of decency or politeness whenever the train nears a station where its gonna stop.
Because those who are waiting to get into that train, are like this.


And, after getting down, that is, if you manage to, You'll look like this.


Maybe the Station Master will come and congratulate you, for your courageous endeavour, like this.



Thirumalpur Fast, whatte train!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Reply from somewhere.

Before you start reading this post, you have to read this letter. Find a reply following. Needless to say, the letter was inspiration for this post.

Dear me,

It was so nice hearing from you. I read it over and over again to remind myself of the times that I needed your iron will.

Though I am real, You are the ME, that is impervious. You are the one I can depend on at all times. You are the one, who made me unbreakable. That 'Get up, you! Its not over yet.', it was from You. Now I realize. Through the tougher times, You took over. You made sure that I didn't fall.

Life is indeed unfair. Disappointment cannot be ignored. It is heavy. It cannot be erased, it cannot be forgotten. You taught me to live with it. You told me, "What you are, and what you become, are two independent things." There is no finish line without panting. There is no move-forward, without push-back. We are what we choose to be. We have a choice. You taught me to be happy. Simple things, but those which are oft forgotten. Nobody reminds anybody of these. That is, nobody but you.

I am so much in debt to You, for, without You, there is no me.

I hope to hear from You soon. Its been quite a while.

Till then.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Flash mob!

Today I was late. Errr, not exactly me. But me and Dad start together, and by the time I got ready, it got late for dad. Needless to say, I got my usual dose. Came to the train station, and to my relief, as soon as I climbed down the stairs, after buying the ticket, the train came.

So, got into the train, plugged in my headset and put it on shuffle. Random songs played, but my mind was elsewhere. 'Will start early tomorrow', I said to myself. And, just as the train's crowd was re-arranging itself so that each one is in the least miserable position for himself, a huge guy came and stood beside me. He wasn't muscular and all. But, must've been some 6'8" surely. My head was at the level of his shoulders."'I am not so tall myself, eh?", I thought to myself.

Thoughts had drifted since the tall guy came into vicinity, and I was gazing randomly here and there, and occasionally at my bag which lay at the top of the shelf, somewhere inside. And, just as the train reached the next station, my ears were attracted by another song, one coming from outside the headsets.

These trains, they are like living organisms. Sometimes, you could hear some random Tamizh song(yes, I will not use Tamil ), coming from the loudspeaker of a Chinese or Korean mobile designed to be loud and intended to be irritating! Else, 'dan dan dan' will go the clattering of a wooden stick over an ever-silver plate. Or, some poor disabled person, singing a song that is supposed to arouse sympathy.

But today, it was different. It was like flash mob and surprisingly, they were singing 'கந்த சஷ்டி கவசம்'. I removed my headsets and started listening. It was beautiful. Slowly people joined together, and the devotional aura was simple awesome. By the time it was done, it was Guindy. They switched over to other songs, bhajans etc.

One thing bothered me though. There was this lady with her 2 children, not the sophisticated ones. The kind who take one child in the arms and play the ever-silver drum, while the other performs acrobatics. This coach was however crowded. Its difficult for someone to do a flip in empty space, let alone in a crowded coach. The lady was disappointed at the sound coming from the other side of the coach. 30 rupees, her loss, maybe. What did I know?

It just struck me that whenever some event occurs, however good it maybe, there is at least someone who doesn't like it.

I didn't regret being late. If I hadn't been late, I would've missed such a beautiful event. I look forward to something similar again.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

And They All Shouted, "Vamos!"

The 11th of June. 4 30 in the office. Frantically completed office work and opened 3 tabs. IBM Slam Tracker. Twitter and Facebook. Ready to shoot away tweets and status updates as the action resumed from the previous day of the Roland Garros of 2012.

The men's singles final. Here was one man fighting for a record 7th French Open title, rightly called the "King of Clay", for the lion stood undefeated at all occasions but one on the Phillipe-Chatrier court for 8 years. The other, called the Serbinator, was at the peak of his career, having defeated Roger Federer, the elegant master in 3 sets in the semi-final 2 days back. He was looking for his Grand Slam, and a lot of people believed he deserved it.

Both of them had the never-say-die attitude, going at full throttle yesterday, only to interrupted by the rain. Today however, as the clash resumed, Rafael Nadal was equally matched by Novak Djokovic.

The 4th set. Nadal trailed 1-2. He led 2 sets to 1 though.

For the spectator, however, it was nerve-racking to see the scores go from 2-2 to 3-3 to 4-4 to 5-5 !

But finally after nearly an hour and 15 minutes, "Vamos Rafa!" prevailed. The sound echoed as Rafael Nadal broke Djokovic's serve to win his 7th crown.

Or wait? Was it that what happened? No. There lay disappointment amidst.

Djokovic trailed 30-40, readying his serve. The scores at 5-6. Nadal was at match-point. He was eagerly awaiting the serve.

And alas, Djokovic serves a double fault. Nadal won, however, the victory missed something.

It was like, after an impressive battle, just as the victor came to claim his prize, the unfortunate slits his own throat.

Through the cries of "Vamos!", that little disappointment of Nadal was definitely visible, for a moment.

Djokovic, though you lost, you had the last laugh. They say you choked. They say you were under pressure. But I don't believe it. You had the last laugh.

But, does it matter? NOOOOOOO! Congratulations Rafa.

2005 - 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5

2006 - 1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)

2007 - 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4

2008 - 6–1, 6–3, 6–0

2010 - 6–4, 6–2, 6–4

2011 - 7–5, 7–6(7–3), 5–7, 6–1

2012 - 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5

You rock! Wimbledon, here he comes!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Companion

He stood there. At the edge of the cliff. It almost felt like the end of the world, at least figuratively. What was going on in his mind?

'Is he gonna jump off?'

An observer from the back would've probably said yes. He stood so close to the edge. But someone standing beside, would notice the wide grin on his face. Curious how people are misjudged by observers from the behind!

He was brimming with joy. He was 70 years old. It was 50 years back, that he last came here. That was young and hot blood. Now, however, that blood seems to have tired, and not without reason. His toil over the time wasn't an easy feat. He felt the need to come there, and hence he was standing there, at the edge of the cliff.

Was someone standing beside? No. There once stood a lady, beside him, encouraging him, supporting him and sharing every single emotion there existed , with him. Now, she was gone. Died in her sleep 2 weeks back. And, that was why he was here.

'Wasn't he sad?'

Oh, damn well he was. But as it is said, after sorrow comes acceptance. And, there couldn't have been a better rest to that beautiful soul.

'So, that was why he was grinning?'

He was confused. For the first time in ever so long. He was there alone and he felt it was the best place to seek an answer.

'But he's alone. Who would give him the answer?'

He didn't know for sure. But he felt the urge to come, and so he came. And, still, standing at the edge of the cliff.

'My life has been lived. I've done everything that I've wanted to do. Not that I'm tired, but I'm relieved. What do I do now?', he shouted.

It echoed throughout. It was haunting. As the echo subsided, the answer came, slowly, without echoes.

'Go back to every point in your life where you made a decision, don't look down or away. If you're able to reach 50 years back, then, you've lived your life to the fullest.'

He said, 'Thank you, but who are you?'



'Your shadow. The only one who knows you better than your wife.'

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

La Premiere Anniversaire!

And, so it happens that, Randomness Redefined completes one year. :)



Last year, on the 30th of May, after many a failed attempt at creating a blog, I started off with "A Journal? Definitely Not." Over the year, 40 posts and around 2.5k hits, I would like to thank each and everyone of you here for reading, encouraging, criticizing, commenting, liking and sharing my posts. Thank you all so much and I hope you will want me to blog more.

La premiere anniversaire! :)

Randomness Redefined!

Rajkiran Rajkumar

Monday, May 28, 2012

How huge Facebook actually is!

Disclaimer : This is any sort of facebook ad, and neither am I an advertiser. I'm just a undergrad who hopes to be placed in the aforementioned company, somewhere in the future! :D

Everyone knows that Facebook is huge, in terms of people, activity, and lots of other stuff. There was this discussion on Quora on whether Facebook notifications were kept count of. An interesting topic, I thought and it struck me that I should try to find it out myself. Following some of the most randomly recent stuff, I sought to find out this and I came up with the following stuff.

Likes :

There you go, "id=2707916356750". A 13 digit value! If these were in fact, in order of uniqueness, since Facebook maintains a timeline which keeps an account of all activity on Facebook, I'm guessing that this IS a unique 'like' identifier, which then means that there are more than 2 trillion likes on Facebook already. And that was a month back. Maybe millions more by now :-P

Then, as it did, my curiosity went deeper and I found something similar with groups too.



There you go again, "....groups/350924038264868/" A 15 digit value! Now, that would possibly mean that there are more number of groups than there are likes which seems slightly absurd. But then, considering that there are different types of groups and each one is indexed in a different way, some of the digits could stand for an indexing code maybe. But then, I'm just guessing :-D

However, this does give an idea about how large Facebook is, in terms of 2 very big numbers or so it seems. Who knows?  Explore around!

Have your fun with Facebook :D

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Avengers!!



I went to Avengers today. Plan - Sathyam / INOX. Actual - Vettri. Apparently they renovated Rakesh and figured that Tambaram, Chrompet n surroundings had gotten good enough to come for an English 3D movie

Reached the theatre at 2 30 for the 2 40 show and got the tickets. Went in, and wow!

"Namma Rakesh theatre-ah idhu?". Renovations were very good and I was beginning to get restless for the start of the movie, kindled by the 3D trailers of MIB3 and The Amazing Spiderman.

The movie was simply brilliant with good weightage to all superheros. Believe me, bloody hard to have 6 superheroes and still pull the rabbit from the hat! Two and half hours went magically and for the first time ever, I didn't eat popcorn! :D

The sheer brilliance of the movie brought out by classy dialogues and timely comedy  couldn't have been better. However, the very best was when Captain America gives instructions to all and finally to Hulk, "Hulk? Smash!". Hulk thrashing Loki like a "alasi potta thundu" had everybody in splits.

Confidence when Downey Jr. says "Genius, Playboy, Billionaire and Philanthropist" is just too good. His feelings for Pepper are more intimately revealed. "Phil? His first name is 'Agent' ". Haha :D

However, I did felt that Captain America formed more of the backbone for the team than a leader-up-front. More scenes could've been centered around him. All in all, a good tone-setter for the semester exams to follow :D

Maths book, where are you?

Saturday, April 21, 2012

A Privilege, I might say?

BERTIE
True, you never called yourself ‘Doctor’. I did that for you.
BERTIE (CONT’D)
No diploma, no training, no qualifications. Just a great deal of nerve.
LIONEL
Ah, the star chamber inquisition, is it?
BERTIE
You asked for trust and total equality.
LIONEL
Bertie, I heard you at Wembley, I was there. I heard you. My son Laurie said “Do you think you could help that poor man?” I replied “If I had the chance”.
BERTIE
What, as a failed actor!?
LIONEL
It’s true, I’m not a doctor, and yes I acted a bit, recited in pubs and taught elocution in schools. When the Great War came, our boys were pouring back from the front, shell-shocked and  unable to speak and somebody said, “Lionel, you’re very good at all this speech stuff. Do you think you could possibly help these poor buggers”. I did muscle therapy, exercise, relaxation,  but I knew I had to go deeper. Those poor young blokes had cried out in fear, and no-one was listening to them. My job was to give them faith in their voice and let them know that a friend  was listening. That must ring a few bells with you, Bertie.
BERTIE
You give a very noble account of yourself.
LIONEL
Make inquiries. It’s all true.
BERTIE
Inquiries have been made! You have no idea who I have breathing down my neck. I vouched for you and you have no credentials.
LIONEL
But lots of success! I can’t show you a certificate - there was no training then. All I know I know by experience, and that war was some experience. My plaque says, ‘L. Logue, Speech  Defects’. No Dr., no letters after my name.
(with mock seriousness)
Lock me in the Tower.
BERTIE
I would if I could!
LIONEL
On what charge?
BERTIE
Fraud!

 

This is an excerpt from the movie, "A King's Speech". A wonderful movie, I got to watch it only yesterday. This dialogue particularly stood out from the whole movie purely because of its sheer brilliance and weight.

Often, mistakes happen. More often, in interpretation. Even when someone is crystal clear, misinterpretation can happen. The chance to explain, or clarify, in that case, becomes a privilege and a subject matter of trust.  Be it any case, after the mistake has happened, the question of "Who's first?" simply vanishes.

 

The rambling will end here and if you are so free enough to read through this, you would also be to watch the movie. Please do! :D

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Just choose!

You can make a choice.

You can decide what you want.

After all, it is your life.

You can choose to

Blame fate.

Cry.

Be desperate.

Curse your bad decisions.

Beg God for something good.

Be depressed about your misfortunes.

Wait for something good.

Ruin your beautiful today.

Hesitate.

Forget and be haunted by it.

Look back and regret what you didn't do.

Or

You can choose to

Take things as they come.

Laugh.

Be patient.

Learn from your bad decisions and move on.

Thank God for making today a memory, or an experience.

Look out for whatever good that you have, and feel, "It ain't so bad!"

Strive and deserve.

Do something that'd make it memorable.

Step-forward.

Forgive and feel proud.

Look back, smile heartily and walk forward.

"I am what I am, because I choose to be.". You are, too. Just choose.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Two years

March 19, 2010. Uff, an end to misery. Hectic schedules would come to an end. I could wake up at 8 after 3 long years. I could watch Naruto from 9 to 5. I could eat and sleep whenever I want. Yes, I had completed my 12th std exams. I still remember, these were my exact thoughts when I came out of the exam hall.

But March 19, 2012. Looking back today, there was much more to it. The year had so many memorable events to it, only to be masked by the insanely important BOARD EXAMS!!

I still remember,

Going to classes at 8 05 and finishing breakfast by 8 10, before the teacher comes, shoving whatever was in the box blindly.

Starting a cold war with Maths ma'am because she didn't let me sit with my friends.

Being an all-boys team and winning the School Rangoli competition.

Coincidental unshaven face becoming a perfect make-over for the politician's role in the drama that we staged.

Writing 3*2 = 5 and missing out a 200 in maths (LOL :D )

Calling friends and trying to put up a schedule for half-an-hour and finally saying "Ada poda. Paathukkalam." before hanging up.

Specifically requesting Thyagu sir to attend the evening batch (All Arul Institute students would know why. ;-) )

Pleading with Arul sir that we'd write tests early morning so as to accommodate the schedule.

Watching  Yu Yu Hakusho, Hungry Heart and AstroBoy and discussing them in class.

Half and hour prep-time for next micro-test that turned into sleep-time.

Wantedly leaving notebooks in the Sanskrit class and interrupting both French and Sanskrit classes.

Echoing CS class answers sitting in the corridor (we were Bio students btw. )

Going flower-searching, the day before practicals.

Playing Kings(Dodgeball or whatever you call it) during PT sessions, because that was the only possible game in our school ground.

Cricket match after the end of every micro-test series.

Singing "Happy birthday" randomly whenever English teacher starts advising.

Records, observations, tests, exams, practicals, revisions. I can only laugh at those memorable times.

Whatever said, school was special because that is where we learnt to have fun, enjoy yourselves and get that 'come-what-may' attitude. College? That's a different roller-coaster, all together.

Memories, and so so many of them. I do miss school :)

Saturday, March 17, 2012

The Smile

First of all, I haven't been a hosteler. The last time that I was away from family was during the NCC camp, which was in 9th standard.

 

However, whenever family conversations come up, as they have so many times, most during the 12th standard holidays, "Be prepared to live in a hostel!" was a common sentence, which would inevitably be followed by long speeches, on how bad, a hostel can turn out to be. My usual retorting rant would be, "Ah! No problem at all.. Plus, you wouldn't be nagging me at all times Ma :D ". I'm pretty much sure this would've happened to every single college-student out there.

During sometimes when I was very very jobless(this happened a lot during 12th holidays), my thoughts would drift to "Life as a hosteler". And, I tell you, imaginations can be very hilarious.

But then, I am not a hosteler. I'm a day-scholar(read poor soul) who commutes from Tambaram to CEG, everyday. Travel was, ohmygod, a bad bad nightmare(I know, nightmares are already bad :D ). Getting used to it took almost a semester. Nowadays, though, it is actually enjoyable. For example, like the green chudhidhar. LOL :D

But coming back, as I said, I've never lived the life of a hosteler. Hell, I thought, I'd never miss anyone if I were a hosteler. But yesterday, perspectives changed. My friend Karthikeyan's parents had come from his hometown. You should've seen the smile on his face when he saw them. Wah, priceless.

That was joy, coming at the bottom of the heart. I realized that "Everyone can talk the talk, but only a few, walk the walk" like how uncle says in Jackie Chan adventures.

P.S.: Home, sweet home. Nothing can substitute it :)

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Twists n' turns

It was supposed to be a very boring and gloomy day, that had to be spent, with my face buried in the uninteresting pages of Roger Pressman's Software Engineering book.

 

Yet, what happened was very different.

 

Run, jump, think, outwit, hunt, treasure!! This was my excited view of a treasure hunt until first semester. But, one single participation in Agni '11's treasure hunt was enough to bring it all down. That day, was a very tiring one. The long runs from one end of the CEG campus to the other, didn't yield any fruit too. After then, I'd decided to, not participate in any treasure hunt.

 

Intecho '12 - MIT E&I

 

My friend Ramu had invited me to the General Quiz, and so we went, our group of friends. Attempted the quiz prelims and didn't qualify because of some exact terms that the quizmaster expected.

 

So, next what shall we do? There was C debugging. Ok, attempt that atleast. Wrote, didn't qualify. I think there is a jinx against me and debugging :D

 

I was very near to being pissed off and at that time, Ramu invited me for the treasure hunt. Oh, no! I wouldn't go. Then, Harikrishna said, he'd go in my place and I replaced him in the quiz finals with Shreeraman.

Oh, whatte quiz! A narrow difference of +-2 points continued between ours and one other team for 2nd place which eventually ended up in their winning. Till then, this was, in no way better than Roger Pressman.

Then, two good news. Ramu had qualified for treasure hunt finals and Hari had qualified for Circuitrix finals. So, again I replaced one teammate of Ramu's in the finals, since he had work to do and left.

Treasure hunt finals began at 3:20 p.m. The first clue was an anagram, to be figured out.

O' MENDING FIN

For a guy, who has adored Marlin and Nemo enough to watch the movie a dozen times, it was only a matter of milliseconds. Eh, the organizer was surprised at how quickly I retorted the answer.

We had five clues and one common theme. The clues were straightforward, but if someone didn't know their way around MIT, they were surely screwed. We went from Hangar-1 to the IN 252 aircraft to Golden Jubilee Park to the RO plant and collected our remaining slips and submitted them. Our theme was Harry Potter.

 

Finally we'd won something. When we went to collect our prizes, surprisingly we found that there was a thrid place or quiz!

\m/

On a day, where I went for quiz and didn't qualify;

On a day where no prelims were cracked by me;

On a day where again, debugging got the better of me;

On a day, where I participated in treasure hunt after  years, to win it, was sweet :)

All in all, the day was one to be enjoyed purely due to the mixed happenings!! :D

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Devil

"An idle mind is the devil's wokshop."

I don't know how true this is, but one thing that I do seem to infer; The devil's mind is rarely idle. Sounds weird? Well, it does, even to me :D

The devil, who is it anyway? Someone? Something? I'm not sure about that either. To me, the devil is an idea, a notion.

A childish prejudice, a narrow-minded fantasy or even a weird case of OCD! Who knows?

The red colored guy with the cute horns and the grumpy voice sitting on your left shoulder nudging you? Yeah, he's the one, I call the notional devil.

More often, these devils are developed through narrow-minded and illogical thoughts that would seem very logical over the course of thought, whereas, the rise in absurdity would be only exponential to the curious observer. It most often happens, when we seem to put ourselves in others' positions and imagine what we would've done.

So, where does it start to go wrong? The "imagining" part! Bingo, most would say.

So, solution? Don't imagine. Oh, how stupid!

That where it goes wrong is the, "If I were him/her...." part. You're not, you're never gonna be, and you're not a genius all-situation-factoring-in future calculating machine! So, why even suppose? Think for yourselves, for I leave the question open.

So, the next time someone asks you and you say, "சொல்லு மச்சீ, வெட்டியா தான் இருக்கேன்", think twice. The devil could be right inside you :D

\* unleash your thoughts */

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Search

14.2.

Decimal? No. The 14th of Feb.

Where's the year? Well, who cares. Was it gonna make a difference? Nope. It would be one of those countlessly many normal days when the sun rose as usual, set as usual and everything else happened as usual including my routine sleep in class. Anyway, one among the few teenagers, who thought so, was me.

Feb 14th. Valentine's day. Oh my god, Oh my god! The best day of the year. Wonderful day. Beautiful day. Day of destiny. The others probably thought like this.

However, this day, this particular day became a particularly and curiously interesting one.


*cough* *cough*


No, I am not going to tell a love story, neither did I see the girl in green chudidhar again. If you were hoping so, please close this tab.

Thus, I begin my narration of "How I found my bag!".

Yes, my bag. Bag, bag, bag.

Starring : Guruprasad.
Co-stars - Myself and Kaushik Jaganathan.

It all started at 1:15. Lunch was over and I had to go to my dept(CSE) and finish off small works there. Guru was sitting at the sundial, apparently waiting to go out(probably for lunch).

"Dei Guru, I'll go to the dept and be back soon, will you take care of my bag until then?"
"Sure da. Text when your work is done."

I went to the dept, forgetting the fact that 1 to 2 was lunch break. I had to wait until 2 and my job was done. I came to the sundial and to my surprise, my bag was gone. So, was Guru. I called him; not reachable. I called two others and they didn't have it. Then, Guru called back and asked me to check in the Z hall of EEE dept where he'd left it when he went there to meet some of his pals.

The Z hall was empty, "empty". I searched every nook and corner, but no, my bag wasn't there. I called Guru again and said this. He called back n said that Kaushik might have it and he called Kaushik.

In the meantime, Kaushik had taken my bag, which Guru had forgotten in the EEE dept and took it to his home(in Alwarpet). I sighed and thought, "Phew! Atleast its there; I can get it now."

But, anga thaan director twist vekkaraaru! (This is where, the twist of things happens!)

Kaushik's friend had his birthday today and he had gone to EA to buy a gift for him and Kaushik wouldn't be back until 5:30 p.m. :-P My German textbooks, workbook, bike key et al was in bag and, thereby, I could neither go to German class nor go home.

Guru called. "Dei, I'll get it for you da. We'll go in my bike."

But then, Fate wouldn't make it so easy for me. Guru's license was in his uncle's home and so, he went by bus and was back with my bag. Time - 6:10 p.m.

Phew, man, I was glad to see that bag(never been so much!). Hung it around my shoulder, thought of going back to German class.

But then, decided against it. "I've had enough entertainment for one day. Let me go home.". And, so I came back home and laughed at the irony of things because, today morning I decided, "Innikkavadhu German class ku time kku pogalam!"(Let me go to German class, on time, atleast today!"). HAHA.

Whatte day! :)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Queens

We went to an event called 'Creative Maths' as part of the Maths dept symposium. They asked us to write a poem related to maths.
Here is what I could come up with in 10 minutes.

Assemble all, from kings to pawns,
Everyone has their pros n cons;
Not a sword that will clatter,
Neither blood that will splatter;
A real world war is a bloody mess;
But, beauty describes best, a game of chess;
Were there a prince, his dad is a dummy,
The real savior is our mummy.
Through plus n cross, her wrath is seen,
All hail the mighty queen;
Oh what would they do without your help?
Be hit n defeated, they'd merely yelp;
Voila, another queen, this one of sciences,
Oh my dear math, what is a world without you?