Great Expectations...

Quod me nutrit me etiam destruit me

2014-11-05T10:51:00.000+05:30

***This is my second post of a short story written by me. I wrote it a year ago I believe, but never found the inspiration to post it. I have been very bad at updating my blog ever since I have gotten into the work stream and I need a gem of a post to get that energy to write it down no matter what, else I just let it be on piece of paper. Sad.
However my quest to write something will keep on going until I have written to my heart's content. And I want to thank you, yes you, for taking out time to read through my posts. Appreciate it. - Harshal

And now the short story, hope you like it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” - Bob Marley

The first flake of snow hits his face as the wind blows away the remnants of a dying fire. He shivers and grab to his torn jacket harder. The night is cold and winter is already here. He looks up to the sky and wonders if his existence even matters. Whether tonight will be his last night and he finally will be able to close his eyes peacefully, not afraid of the night ahead anymore. He closes his eyes and wishes "Please let this be the night". A tear drop rushes down touching his lip and creating a nice puddle in the fresh snow on the ground. He shakes the logs to keep alive the dying fire but like a ghost it vanishes into a smoky cloud. He closes his eyes and pleads.

He wakes up with a shudder. 'Am I dead'. He hears a faint yelp at a distance. He ignores it. 'Guess not'. He hears a pleading yelp again. Is it a kid trapped in the snow? He has no strength but the plead strikes his heart sounding so familiar. How can he ignore it. He travels towards the sound with the wind pushing him back at each step. But he paddles through the harsh winds determined to reach the source of the pleading yelps.

He finds it half buried in fallen snow from a house gutter, a pure white labrador pup. It looks at him with glee and gives out a half cry half bark. He digs it out, the snow painfully numbing his hands at every effort. It jumps up to his leg, free, with it's tail now wagging. "Go now". "Go home". He turns around walking back to his nothingness. And it follows him. "Shoo. I have nothing for you." But it can barely understand what his savior is warning. It just wags its tail and sticks his tongue out. And they both walk into the white oblivion. Together.

.

Days pass by. It has a name now. Shadow. Seems befitting as it follows him everywhere. He puts out the bowel and shakes it. The streets are unkind. But atleast at the end of the day he has bread to share with someone. He used to talk to himself. Now he talks to Shadow. Shadow relishes the bread hungrily as his savior talks to him about his past. "Somewhere in there I went wrong." Shadow smacks his lips and barks happily at him eying at his piece of bread. He sees the hunger in Shadow's eye and throws at hime his share. "You go ahead."

Days turn into week. Weeks turn into months. Shadow follows him everywhere though disappears randomly and is found playfully chasing neighborhood dogs or eating thrown out food from bins in solitary. Shadow plays with him nibbling at his tattered clothes and eats with him. Time passes by faster for him with Shadow around. Whatever he earns from begging is shared by both equally, though Shadow's growing hunger makes him go hungry at times. But he has found hope and happiness in Shadow. He no longer pleads for the final night. He awaits the morning waking up to it licking his face. He feels pain in his body last few days but Shadow bouncing around, tail wagging makes him forget the pins and needles going across his body as he sets off with his bowel.

.

The night is very cold. He shivers and shudders. Shadow is out again. He tries to grab on to his ragged shirt. His feet are cold. His breathing becomes heavy as his chest refuses to expand and contract. 'Is my body giving up on me.' He pants, breathless, his hands burying deep in his chest as he starts getting dizzy. He lets out a whisper 'Shaa...' his whisper forming a familiar smoky cloud as it disappears into the night. His body goes limp.

Shadow barks happily from a distance informing it's arrival. Wags its tail and goes licks him in the face expecting his dinner share. Shadow nudges him, barks at him but he won't move. Shadow's eyes fall upon the protruding piece of bread in his closed right hand. It bites, trying to release the bread from the grip. Shadow bites at his finger to open the grip, blood trickling from the cold hand. The grip loosens and the bread piece falls on the ground. Shadow hungrily finishes of the bread, gives a angry bark at him as if to say 'You wanted it to yourself, didn't you.' Shadow nudges him again, but the cold body won't move.

It looks at him, moves closer to him, lifts it's leg and pees. Giving out a final bark, it turns around and walks away. In to the white oblivion. Alone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harshal

RUSH(2013)

2013-09-24T20:22:00.000+05:30

9/10

Rush is a biographical action packed film, directed by Ron Howard about the 1976 Formula One season and the rivalry between drivers James Hunt(played by Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda(palyed by Daniel Bruhl) and the unfortunate accident that happened on August 1,1976 at the German Grand Prix.

Hunt is extremely talented fast driver who has reputation of being a playboy. He drinks, smokes and beds his way through the season, seemingly driven by the sole need to defeat his archrival for the title. His only motivation to prove to himself that he can be the best. The sheer determination that comes from self motivation can be seen in his driving.

Lauda, on the other hand, is more of a calculating intelligent character. Literally a genius at setting up his racing car, he knows the car spec just by the feel of the car's drive on his bum (a joke in the movie, but is possible). He is portrayed as the polar opposite of Hunt – a cantankerous genius driver largely shunned by other due to being too technical and non-risk taker(before the accident).

Hemsworth does amazingly with his screen charm and arrogance to nail the perfectly shallow Hunt, but Bruhl’s performance as the no-nonsense serious-kind person that Lauda actually was, is where RUSH gets truly exceptional.

The movie's direction is epic, each scene is exceptional and never feels repetitive. Kudos to Ron Howard on that! Creating those adrenaline pumping moments require extensive shooting and hard-work. And the story is not concentrated on any particular character, but on how the relationship between Hunt and Lauda began and progressed evolving with each race they compete. Each character making something on their own, and the battles they have to fight to make it to F1.

Lauda entered F1 on his own borrowing money from a bank, but ran into debt when everything didn't go his way. However he was given a lucky break as Ferrari wasn't performing disastrously that season, paving way for Lauda launch into F1 with Ferrari. As for Hunt when Hesketh couldn't get sponsors, he had to convince McLaren that he could beat Lauda.

James Hunt: "I can beat this guy. Trust me."
Teddy Mayer: "Niki Lauda, he's consistent, dependable."
James Hunt: "Will he put his life on the line the day it really matters?"

And this is where their story began...

The events concerning in this movie go back to 1976. Lauda had won the championship the previous year and it looked that he would be winning it again this year, even though Hunt was breathing down his neck. But God had other plans...

The German Grand Prix of 1976.

Lauda had doubts about the track safety and urged fellow drivers to boycott the race, which the other drivers esp. Hunt thought as a scared move on his part that others wont catch up to him in championship point run, thus rejecting his decision. Both Hunt and Lauda went on wet tires which they had to replace immediately after Lap 1. Hunt got the lead during the pit stop, and Lauda had lot of catching up to do, thus making him go faster than necessary. During the second lap, his car faced a rear suspension failure causing his ferrari to spin out of control on a curve and hit the embankment sending the car into the path of another driver which then exploded into flames while spectators on the track and television watched in horror as Lauda was still trap inside.
Several drivers came to his rescue, but not before he sustained first and third degree burns to his head and inhaled toxic gases that damaged his lungs. He survived the freak accident but it costed him his face.

It was sheer determination and extraordinary will power on his part to return to race only six weeks after the accident that almost claimed his life and finished in an honorable fourth place in the Italian Grand Prix. Hunt who had gained on Lauda's absence had to win almost all races to win the championship that was his, had Lauda not returned. Hunt by then had grown admiration for Lauda, and started respecting the man he had despised.

It all concluded at the Japanese Grand Prix, for Hunt to win the title he needed to beat Lauda at any cost and be within top 3. The race conditions were torrentially wet, and Lauda had to retire as he did not feel safe with excess water going in his eyes. By then no one could blame him. Racing through the same condition that had caused the accident. Buhhh! Lauda had nothing left to prove, he would come back and later go on winning two more championships.

The race was Hunt's who after leading most of the race suffered a puncture, then had a delayed pitstop and finally received mixed pit signals from his team. Any other person would have defeat, but not Hunt, who drove like a maniac and managed to finish in third place, scoring four points, enough for him to win the World Championship by one point. The story is about the personal battle of two souls quite different from the outside, but same in the core.

Finally, bow down to Hans Zimmer for bring out the adrenaline rush, his soundtrack combined with sounds from the engines roar, made the cinematic experience one of a kind. Truly, a difference maker when it comes to making a movie a masterpiece. I WOULD say Rush is a masterpiece. It's ability to show two different people achieve the same goal combined with amazing cinematography is truly spectacular.

My only wish is for a Senna movie to come, even though the documentary Senna(2010) was world-class. But I feel more people should know Senna who is godly for F1, just like they would now know Hunt and Lauda.

Hope you enjoyed the post. Leaving you with Hans Zimmer amazing soundtrack from RUSH itself. To describe it would be unjustly, just enjoy it!

Signing off,

Harshal.

Ayrton Senna: The Greatest F1 Driver Ever.

2012-09-16T13:30:00.000+05:30

Whenever I talk about racing, the first lines that come to me are:

"Focus. Speed. I am Speed. One winner, forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast. Breakfast? Maybe I should have had breakfast? No, no, no, focus. Speed. Faster than fast, quicker than quick. I am Lightning."
This quote is from an amazing animated movie, Cars.

Most people will say Michael Schumacher is the best F1 driver. And they would be right, if you only look at the stats. 7-time world champion=world's greatest driver.

But actually, comparing overall they are dead wrong about Schumacher being the best. There existed and will always exist, a racing god, a forgotten hero, a legend. Ayrton Senna.

Faster than any other driver of his era, as his three world titles and 41 grand prix wins proved, Senna also had a ruthless streak like no other.

Among true racing fans, Ayrton Senna holds the top spot, his skill and nerve allowed him to do things on the track that no one had seen before or since. And among those true racing fans, there are people, a much smaller group who consider him a villain, a danger because of his single-mindedness and overpowering desire to win.

Mostly because of his controversial crashes with his arch rival, Alain Prost. Senna-Prost participated in one of the most intense and acrimonious rivalries that became life-threateningly dangerous on the track.
Although here too, Prost was statistically better than Senna, it was clear in most of races they competed that Senna was faster and a much better driver. His drive to win and be the fastest, costed him points. But being the fastest was his motto. That what made him so great.
They were also involved in two of the most controversial crashes which also decided championship wins (1989-Prost; 1990-Senna), both of which happened at Japenese Grand Prix and in both they crashed and were out of the race. (Although I still consider that the 1989 championship was Senna's.)

SENNA AMAZING F1 STATS:

Races attended	162
Races won	41
Pole positions	65
Fastest Laps	19
Points net	610
Championships	3 (1988 1990 1991)

Though his career was short-lived, he still holds 3 world records. And had maintained several others for years, one of them being most pole positions which Schumacher broke in 2006 (currently record 68-schumacher).
Those 3 WR are: Youngest 3-time World Champion, Most Consecutive Wins, Most Start/Finish wins (Carrer).

Ayrton Senna is well known for his exceptional driving during wet conditions, winning almost every race in those conditions. But he wasn't always a rain-master.
The truth was that Senna was terrible in the rain when he was younger. He would win every competition or race in the dry, but when it rained, he was completely miserable at it. Completely fed up with his results in the rain, Ayrton would sit by his local karting circuit, just waiting for it to rain. He'd spend hours in the wet, often coming home drenched and soaking wet. While every other driver sought shelter in the wet, Ayrton was the first to get out there and drive.

Senna's one of the best race (though he didnot win) was infact in wet conditions, in his early F1 years, at Monaco Grand Prix. Ayrton qualified 13th on the grid, but made swift progress through the field. By lap 19 he was in second place, and was hunting down the leader Prost, making 5 secs (gap) every lap.
And on lap 32 Prost slowed as he approached the start/finish line and Senna passed him. However, the red flag came out and the race was stopped due to the worsening conditions. And he came in 2nd. Nevertheless, that drive at Monaco had impressed a lot of people.

He also took a memorable first race victory in dreadful wet weather conditions, similar to the one metioned above. He would win by over a minute from the second placed Michele Alboreto in the Ferrari and lapped everyone up to 3rd place. In fact he was so dominant that day that he recorded his first grand slam as well - he won from pole, led every lap, and set fastest lap of the race.

Thus, the title rain master was born.

Another one of his famous victories was his first Brazillian Grand Prix win. Where his gearbox jammed, and he had to drive almost half of the race stuck at 6th gear. This sheer determination and the desire to win is what made him a legend, unmatched champion.

He was a man who simply had so much self-belief that he could not fathom the idea of being beaten. It was the key to his greatness and his biggest flaw. Genius or thug? The debate will run and run. Not so the argument about his claim to be the greatest.

Ayrton Senna ~ "Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing, competing to win. And the main motivation is to compete for victory; it's not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th. I race to win as long as I feel it's possible. Sometimes you get it wrong? Sure, it's impossible to get it right all the time. But I race designed to win, as long as I feel I'm doing it right."

His best years were at McLaren, which he left later for Williams. By 1992, F1 had changed a lot, with introduction of new designs, faster cars, better engines, and auto-leveling systems (active suspension), which Williams had until 1994...which also helped Prost take away the championship title from Senna in 1993, due to this unfair advantage.
Senna joined Williams team, when Prost called quits...and suspiciously the self-leveling systems were banned. And Senna for few months remained very unhappy with his car, and spun out many times.

Sadly, 1st May 1994 was his last race, where his car spun off track and hit the side benders, leading to his demise. (There was another crash which happened just a day earlier taking the life of Ronald Ratzenberger)

The legacy of Senna's death, is that safety standards in F1 and across numerous other formulae have improved dramatically. No driver has lost their life in F1 since Senna's death, and the sport has now enjoyed its longest ever period without a fatality.

But Senna’s greatest accomplishments may have come off the track. It only became clear after his untimely death that Senna had been donating millions of his own money to charities for children in his home country. Despite growing up in somewhat privileged circumstances, Senna recognized the hardships that many of his countrymen faced and was most concerned about kids and their future.

If you want to see him action, and know his complete story, I suggest you watch Senna, an amazing and emotionally gripping documentary.

Dedicate this post to you, one of your biggest fan, this is me saying you are the best, Senna:

Harshal.

The Answer is 42.

2012-08-26T21:45:00.000+05:30

"There is a theory that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable..."

"There is another theory which states this has already happened."

Ever since we are born, we question our existence daily. Some quit, thinking there can never be an answer. But some put there whole life, searching for clues. Unfortunately, they die before reaching a conclusion.
It is stated in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that 'The answer to life, the universe and everything' is 42. What's it's an exactly answer to is an entirely up to you.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first book in an amazing and comical series by Douglas Adams. And I am currently on the 4th and the last one. It so damn-addicting, you can't put it down.!

The story as it goes is that long ago there was a group of superior-intelligence beings, who developed a supercomputer called Deep Thought. Deep Thought took 7.5 million years to come up with answer. And stated the answer to everything is 42, and that's all it had to say about it. It stated that in order to understand the answer they had to understand the question first.
And to calculate the question to the ultimate answer...an ultimate computer was to be designed, a computer of such infinite and subtle complexity that organic life itself shall form part of it's operational matrix...and it was called 'The Earth'.!!

However before the question could be realized, Earth was destroyed. So, the group proceeded in framing a series of questions to fulfil the answer:
"What's yellow and dangerous?"
"What do you get if you multiply six by seven?"
and finally they struck gold, with
"How many roads must a man walk down?"

Nearing the end, the subconscious question was drawn out of Deep Thought by drawing random Scrabble tiles. The message said "What do you get if you multiply six by nine?" The answer is obviously 54, but Deep Thought's answer was 42. Dent sees this and says, "I always thought something was fundamentally wrong with the universe." Never mind that the Scrabble message included 3 Y's, and an ordinary game of Scrabble only includes 2. Maybe he drew a blank. Or maybe it doesn't really matter.

Now if you look up the significance of 42, it holds a lot.

A team at the Cavendish Laboratory estimated the value of the "Hubble Constant". This measures how quickly objects in the universe are receding from each other - a natural outcome of the Big Bang that created the universe. Dr Richard Saunders, who led the research, sounded a trifle abashed by the result. "We have taken two measurements for the constant, and the average of them is, well, it's 42," he said. But he insisted this is "entirely fortuitous" - (though thousands of fans of the Hitch Hiker novels might disagree).

                                       4 8 15 16 23 42...
                      press it after every 108 seconds or world ends!
                          (Lost Fans know what I am talking about)

42 is a pronic number, which is defined as being the product of two consecutive integers, n (n + 1), as such:
6 × 7 = 42

In binary, 42 is represented by this handsome number; 101010

The three best-selling music albums – Michael Jackson's Thriller, AC/DC's Back in Black and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon – last 42 minutes.

The world's first book printed with movable type is the Gutenberg Bible which has 42 lines per page.

On page 42 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry discovers he's a wizard. (Was JK Rowling a fan too!?)

In Lost, 42 is one of the six numbers that mysteriously recur throughout the series, as is part of an equation that predicts when the world will end.

Titanic was travelling at a speed equivalent to 42km/hour when it collided with an iceberg.

These facts surprised me, just as they would have surprised you...but the conclusion remains: The answer is known. The question, irrelevant.

What is the meaning of life.?

I don't think you're meant to know. I think you're supposed to discover it as life goes along. We don't need to know life's purpose. Just experience it.

Maybe, the final revelation is when we die...Maybe we bounce to some parallel universe, who knows.
Maybe we get out of a plasmic body and are saved by some creatures, who call us 'Neo, the one'. And we get these unbelievable reflexes!
Maybe we are living in a dream, and we wake up to find all this was not real.

Frankly, I don't give a damn...and niether should you. The universe is infinite, it is declared as a fact...but can you prove it, NO...can you show it, NO. We only BELIEVE that universe is infinte. Same is with life, I BELIEVE that there is meaning to life.

That rush you get when you look at that hot girl sitting just few feet away from you...that is life. That feeling of achievement when you look at your first pay-check(though not much!)..that is life. When you fall head over heels for someone, when you experience something new, when you watch an amazing movie, see a funny video, laugh at a joke, smile at someone, love someone infinitely...that is life.

So, go live it...break some rules, make some hungama...enjoy it, feel it, just don't question it.!

On a side note, you should read the book. It's incredible and may change your life...maybe even give you a purpose to life.

Till next time,

Harshal.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises [2012]

2012-07-20T18:48:00.003+05:30

EPIC CONCLUSION TO A SENSATIONAL TRILOGY

4.5/5

Most awaited movie of 2012. The Batman trilogy has been the most satisfying of all superhero movies, infact it is counted in a different league. Batman Begins started it all, way back and it made us believe that a superhero movie could be so much more than raw action. The Dark Knight, then took it to a whole new level and blew everyone’s mind. Batman became more than a superhero, he became a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.

So, the main doubt was will ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ live upto expectations? The answer is ‘Yes, it does’. I was dead wrong to doubt if TDKR was required after TDK. Sometimes even the Bat needs some fixing. TDK showed him a fallen hero but he had to rise again from the shadows, become what the people needed him to become. A legend! TDKR concludes just that.

The other doubt was ‘Will Bane be as great as Joker’? The answer is unfortunately ‘No’. Nolan missed out here, but I understand that a villain as epic as Joker can’t be created. But a little bit more work on Bane would have been great. His voice modulation wasn't that effective but Tom Hardy (Bane) did bring out his charisma as expected.

However the rest of the cast is outstanding. Christian Bale(Bruce Wayne) carries Batman as he always has, his voice and acting both top-notch. Michael Cain (Alfred) gives a powerful performance, with some of the best dialogues again. Anne Hathaway (Selena Kyle) is outstanding, she comfortably adapts to the sensual character of Catwoman (though Catwoman is used anywhere in the whole movie), who seems to be confused ‘if or not to help Batman’. Another new character in TDKR is that of Joseph Gordon (Det. John Blake), and stands out which his brilliant performance and well-scripted dialogues. He also has his full name revealed in the end. And boy, is it EPIC!

Nolan has directed this movie perfectly, dialogues are well-scripted and performed outstandingly. Nolan's effort and money is visible in the movie, which has 50mins IMAX footage, the action scenes are visually amazing and en-grossing. The only key ingredient missing is a sound plot, one that Nolan has never missed. So it comes out above Batman Begins but cannot be compared to TDK. However all three are required to conclude the series. Without this TDK and BB were incomplete, and Batman broken. TDKR is about Bruce Wayne, his fall, rise and redemption. As Alfred said in TDK: "Know your limits, Master Wayne." "Batman has no limits." On which Alfred corrects him: "But you do." This movie revolves around that point.

PLOT: (may contain spoilers) The movie starts with Bane capturing Dr. Pavel, a nuclear scientist and cuts into Wayne manor where Harvey is being given tribute while Batman downgraded. We are introduced to Catwoman who gets away from Wayne stealing his mother’s necklace. But that wasn’t the whole reason behind her breaking in. Gordon is injured while pursuing a lead on location of Bane and is hospitalized. He encourages Bruce to bring Batman from the shadows.
Bane then targets the stock market, and sinks Wayne Enterprise with a computer virus. Wayne realizes Batman is once again needed to suppress this evil and makes an appearance, mind it the movie has run 20mins with no batman, what was really surprising was till then he wasn't missed (so engaging was the plot) and at this point everyone in the audience applauds at his grand entrance.
Later on, Bane has a one-on-one with Bats and breaks his back (true to the comics) and is imprisoned in an isolated almost unbreakable prison.
Bane then makes a grand entrance, destroys a football field and threatens people to stay inside Gotham or else a fusion bomb blows. Civil anarchy follows and Gotham is torn down to bits. Wayne now broken in the prison, realizes he is needed more than ever by Gotham and that he needs to rise up and live upto people expectation. Quotes: "I am not scared, I am angry."

He attempts to break out of the prison, going up a deadly climb of circular walls of this well shaped prison, the only route to escape with help of ropes. Bane's rampant continues till Blake and Gordon scheme up with Batman in a full-scale war.

Bats goes one-on-one with Bane again, only this time he is stronger and motivated. He breaks Bane and asks him to give him the nuclear detonation device. He then shockingly discovers the betrayal of one of his friends, however the device fails. Now Bats has few minutes before the bomb detonates as the bomb core deteriorates and becomes more and more unstable. We see the end as Bats stepping up and taking the bomb away to a safe distance, and sacrificing himself to become a legend! But everything is not what it seems, as Nolan brilliantly concludes the movie with 3 mashed up scenes leading to an EPIC CONCLUSION. Music plays.
.

Hans Zimmer has to be awarded an Oscar...he can make all the difference between great and EPIC. The music is in continuum with TDK, and creates that sensational climax when required. His music at the end, which is 'Rise' from the TDKR OST is outstanding, esp. when the last bit creates that climax. You will feel goosebumps while watching that scene.

After a long thought, I understood the reason behind TDKR making, Batman is a symbol of hope and justice. He has to be more than Dark Knight, he needs to be etched in Gotham memory. With everyone supporting and admiring him, not chasing and berating him, this movie does exactly that.
No running, no chasing..EPIC conclusion.

Nolan should be awarded for portraying Batman in a way no one ever thought was possible and for making one the best trilogy of all time.

For my part, I can only applaud and shout as ‘THE DARK KNIGHT RISES’ comes up in white on black background as it finally concludes.

Till next time,

Harshal.

A life-changing decision...

2012-06-04T14:32:00.000+05:30

These few months have been quite exciting, in the sense that for quite some time I was stuck in a routine...failing in many areas. It had been quite some time since something good had happened to me. I had already resolved at new years to make this year worth it, and for the first time my resolution hasn't failed..I got my training or in other words a 6-months project semester in GE-Energy Bangalore while back in January. Happiest moment in a long time, felt relieved of getting out and learn some real stuff...practical stuff that is useful in real life. Not mugging non-sense.

It has been nearly 5 months, and overall GE has been exceptional. I got under a good mentor...happy, funny, and understanding. Which is usually not the case in India...esp. not with the teachers present in our higher educational structure. He helped me out a lot. The thing is I got a hang of like 'WTF' I was doing for past three and a half year. I had a meek knowledge of everything..but in my time in college, I hadn't really thought it could be applied anywhere.

Got the hang of what finally 'electrical' has in store...thats what surprises me. I mean in my whole engineering career I had hated my branch. Electrical sucks, was my motto. I give this credit to my teacher for being so fabulous while teaching electrical. I mean 'BRAVO'...clap..clap.
This really proves that no one...and literally no one gives a crap for teaching these days. Good guys go for a job, and all the filth goes for teaching. Even if the teacher is a 10 pointer, which is quite hard to believe...he/she doesn't know how to communicate..or are biased..or simply evil!

Anyways, back to GE...so it's got like a f**ing awesome workshop. The employees are all nice and helpful. I started getting work, like menial at times, but work still. And it felt good...really good..contributing to the company like you can say..you know what, 'I DID THAT'. I have worked for few weeks till 7p.m. and surprising I like it...I finally understood ' yes, I can enjoy work too'. I mean put on your headphones, put a great soundtrack, drink a pepsi and work your way through...Once I got a hang of stuff, its was like paradise for me.

I think one should not judge himself based on whatever society says, or anyone says...I mean I had started believing I was LOSER...couldn't get work, would become a couch-potato. But see, I changed. I loved the work, I related to stuff...and I helped out many guys in their task. I finished deadlines for some.!!

It has been a life changing decision...one I am highly thankful I made it for myself.

Bangalore city has been awesome...great weather is definitely a plus point. I have started getting up on my own..NO ALARMS!!! NO SNOOZE.! Traffic is a problem...the city is also a bit expensive, if you wanna have fun. However it got everything, and staying at mamu's place in Air Force Stn. has been EPIC!

Been going to gym quite often...Got into regular swimming, and it like showing instant results..after like 2 months I have shed like 4 kgs. NO SHIT! and you what it does give you quite a boost to look good and feel good.

Overall I give this few months, a 5/5. Thank you God, if you are really there. I think I can never decided if I am believer or an atheist. For me believing in God, comes in phases. Its like you always wanna blame someone for your failures...and you forget to include 'YOU' in the list.

So...reader, enough said...how have your few months been? Did you follow your new years resolution? or you just quit? Did you really try...did ya?

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" – Lao Tzu.
see you next time,

Harshal.

Materialistic Relationships...

2012-05-15T13:28:00.000+05:30

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. ~Oscar Wilde

Why is that even though we have 300 friends on facebook, we still feel lonely? Why is it that I feel more happy when I have Rs.1.5 balance on my phone...than when I have 100.? Why is it that we tend to seek acceptance from those who don't give a damn, but forget those who stand there with open arms? Why is it that I expect calls when I make none?
It starts as solitude...goes into isolation. We start blaming others...hating each other.
As social structure crumbles locally, as we try to connect globally, we tend to lose small meaningful relations that matter in the process. Facebook, a site that was actually started for a college networking to know social status, hangout zones, get drunk-get laid opportunity...how did that go from college to nation to continents to world?
So much so, some relations are only facebook oriented...though we may call it the greatest invention of all time. Is it really? Has facebook destroyed true friendship..as we all fake our way to the virtual world.
We put the nicest pics, the best thought status, we like others non-sense status for sake of their approval of ours..abusing, ragging has become so very easy. All you need is one upload and several tags. AND TAG YOU'R IT!

Families have gone from joint to nuclear to living in to its complicated, to seperated...that's how society is now proceeding. We are infact all moving towards isolation.
Friends really played a very important part in our lives...when young, we are so open minded..'you like GIJoe, I love GIJoe..lets be friends..and play together.' How easy we made new friends.
Now when we are all grown up, we choose them carefully...we have started to buffer, 'STEREOTYPE'..we have began grouping..there are 'popular' and 'losers' in a each group now. We now 'hate' more than we 'love' each other.

And yes we are paranoid creatures, we love to be popular amongst people who we don't give a fuck about.

Friendship these days has become materialistic...yes, been there and faced that. Money, money, money.
So, much so..I have seen guys been beat up on there birthday with chappals, bealts, and what not...are you kidding me! It's his birthday...and then they have the guts to go and say 'TREAT'...the birthday guy suffers and then pays them too.! The only happiness he gets is acceptance from the group who have vented their own personal frustration at him..and the assurance that he'll get to beat other guys on their birthday too.! I mean what the fuck is wrong with you people?!
Abusing each other has become the new 'it'...so much so, i was called something, laughed at..then i came back, abused someone else, at laughed with...but that's not me...but it's survival of the fittest,baby...EITHER OTHERS MAKE FUN OF YOU..or..YOU MAKE FUN OF OTHERS. And I choose the latter..it takes less toll on you.

Egostic friends, fake friends, rude friends, on/off friends, name calling friends, high five friends, gaming friends, druggie friends...

They include people who have same intellect as you, same interests, watch same movies, read same books..but are so egostic and full of themselves. That they deserve no less than a middle finger. UP YOURS.

Materialism is everywhere...what to do then?
Well, I read a note somewhere...saying if you can talk with yourself..love yourself, you need no one...no acceptance is required when you accept 'you'.
It said god is alone..why can't you be too.
isolated you may feel, it's good...try to meet the real you..In this materialistic world, the only one true to you is YOU.
You say I hibernate...I say I meditate.

"You are wrong if you think that the joy of life comes principally from the joy of human relationships. God's place is all around us, it is in everything and in anything we can experience. People just need to change the way they look at things."~ Into the Wild.

till next time,

Harshal.

Sherlock: Book, Movie and now a TV Show.

2012-02-02T15:50:00.000+05:30

I had always been a big fan of Sherlock, started from The Hound of Baskervilles, my first sherlock novel. It was gripping, thrilling and to my then young mind, scary. From then on, I read every sherlock novel, short stories, whatever I could get my hands on. Somehow when you read about genius, you try to familiarize yourself with the character...copy him in a way. So much so, I did some investigations on my own sometimes! My pet hamster after a period of 6 months being with us, disappeared. Dishearting as it was for my family, I remember me being more happy than sad. I got my first case. I was certain he was stolen. I collected facts, investigated my family, wrote notes and drew a conclusion which shocked me to my core: the culprit for his disapperance was ME.!! I had (by mistake) forgotten to shut his cage door and he had escaped to the garden..probably into the wild.!
Since then, I kept that piece to myself..and scared that I was then for being punished, I concluded that it was infact stolen.!

Those were some memorable times, back then you could wish to be anyone..free from any rules. We lived in the present...not a care about the future. Not the same case now.

Anyways, still amongst the best quotes from the book, which apply in real life too is:

"I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forget something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones." ~ Arthur C. Doyle.

Recently I watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows...and it was mind-blasting! Game of Shadows is hilarious, exciting, emotional...sometimes at same time. And it presents after a long time a worthy evil genius...an opponent matching sherlock, Moriarty. Robert Jr. was (no surprise) oustanding! The guy is seriously talented...his acting of a genius is so realistic.
Game of Shadows in some ways it was better than the first one.

This year, however I not only watched the movie..but got my hands on Sherlock, the TV Series. And there are no words...the show has not only amazed me, but literally brought back that wish to become a detective..no matter how crappy one, I would become.
The show beyond doubt has take bits from the book, but added twist so good that they seem worlds apart. The best episode, I recently watched was A Scandal in Belgravia...and all I can say is "Brainy's the new sexy."
Robert Downey Jr. is no doubt, a class Sherlock...every word he utters tells you the intended genius.
But Benedict Cumberbatch is something totally different...not only a powerful performer, but so much emotional intensity. He is the perfect Sherlock. And Scandal in Belgravia shows exactly that...and watching the show I AM ---- LOCKED!!

Scandal in Belgravia quote ~
"Mycroft Holmes: My brother has the brain of a scientist or a philosopher and yet her elects to be a detective. What might we deduce about his heart?
Dr. John Watson: I don't know.
Mycroft Holmes: Neither do I. But initially, he wanted to be a pirate."

The tune of the episode which plays in the end moved me so much...it plays to likes of hanz zimmer..check it.!

I definitely have to give violin a try!
My advice...elementary that it maybe, get your hands on Sherlock. The show till now has released 6 episodes. And some of them are indescribable..pure genius.

In the end, I ask my readers..Do you wish to be sherlock? have you ever done some investigation on your own? Who do you like more as Sherlock: Robert Jr. or Benedict Cumberbatch.?

till next time...

Harshal.

2011-A Review...

2011-12-21T21:44:00.000+05:30

So, another year comes to an end...it always surprises me how fast a year passes, but somehow 3 hours spent in an exam seems like infinity, an hour lecture seems endless...with continuous look at the watch. I sit here reminiscing about last year's New Year's party...I had just come from an amazing trip to Bangalore, and landed on 30th...and with promises to myself...I partied my way to 2011. Somehow, I gave up on a lot of promises , back out of some which seemed tough...and then I look back and like a movie of which I am the director, actor and writer...rate myself, and let me tell you it's a Dirty Picture I see...(no pun intended!)

So, I thought to myself...let's learn from the mistakes of 2011, all the unfulfilled promises...in a way lets review 2011 and this time instead of making mind promises...lets me make my resolution here on my blog as a constant reminder.

And do hear this song out, and read the blog along...

2011-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

For INDIA:This year was somewhat good for India...in a way that we won the World Cup(yeah!!) after a long awaited 28 years, we got the Jan-Lokpal Bill nearly passed.(eh?), introduced the first Indian F1 track...and released the Aakash tablet, costing a mere $35 boasting as the cheapest tablet (but was highly subsidized by the govt...coughing the original price at $60 ). Rumor was around that this fact troubled China so much that they took out a prototype for $10 which eventually turned out to be an epic fail.! However Aakash wasn't all perfect(with battery problems, no online apps, etc) and an improved version A-2 is to be launched in 2012...but at Rs.2,999 it was an achievement none the less.

The Bad...the 2G scam, the black money case & petrol price going up...(even though it is a bit good, in a way it was require to curb the high demand growth)

The Ugly...Rupee tanks to all-time low of Rs.53.75 against US$, FDI pulls out, and with Sibal urging to screen material on internet.(WTF!)

For the WORLD: According to BBC News, it has been a tumultuous year, with the bad overpowering the good.

The Good being that two most gruesome dictators were wiped from the face of earth...Osama and Gaddafi...but that's about it.(if you want, include the royal wedding *cough*...speed of light changed.eh? joke right?)

The Bad...Steve Jobs died, the uprisings across the Arab world.(hacku..lalalalla..f**k americaaa!!@$$#)

The Ugly...tsunami in Japan was the worst news of this year, with nearly ten thousand dead adding to which was the meltdown of 3 nuclear reactors due to tsunami damage. London riots sure were ugly...(urgg!)

Now,lets move on to ME: This year I started blogging in January, I see it as something positive...feels good when you write something..I wrote a short story I am very proud of. But then the 6th sem went disastrous...the introduction of Manbir Kaur, she was like a horror movie which I had to see for whole 6 months...got my first E in her subject (that bi**h). The semester saw me indulge in weed and drinking. Yeah, but can't say i didn't enjoy those times...

In between the classes and gaming, I went to see the f**kin SEMIS of the World Cup...that was a f**kin awesome day.! the boost of my year...

However, the 7th sem went quite better with some easy subjects, and enjoying the hostel life...our cluster was full of crazy maniacs(including me) who had the quite the fun..giving sam a beatdown, discussing big boss(ahemm!), screaming for goals from our football teams, betting on who wins the grand slam (i betted on djoko)...also played a lot of cs, watched lots of TV Shows, got very good at TT courtesy Abby and some MCA guys... In the end, gave good exams (with one subject troubling me somewhat) and got in good terms with old friends...whom I had distanced myself from.

So, overall it ended somewhat good...I recovered my cgpa in summer sem with a 9.0 that helped a lot! pheww...

It was a movie year, watched a lot of movies with my friend, Gaurav Mehra...From Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster to Rockstar to The Adventures of Tintin...and the last few days went great hanging out with Nikki boy, Robin, Jitesh, Shashi, Kunal, Sachin and Gagan...it felt great to say goodbyes at good terms...when you see some faces continously for years...you start taking them for granted...and it did feel bad to bid adieu.

So, as the year comes to end, I take advice of my friend and resolute to start early this year...give my best the next sem, definitely ask out the girl I had a crush on from day one...get a decent job (with the Mba plans in back of mind)...start listening to mom and dad for a change, give them some good results, maybe be a part of something larger than myself and hope by next year's end, I have lots to blog about...

Well, enough jibber-jabber have you thought about your year...? About the journey that lies ahead, and whether to follow the road less traveled by? Have you found a purpose or are you just goofing around hoping something would just come along.?

Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets. ~Arthur Miller

See ya next year...

Harshal, signing out@2011.

"Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo."

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin[2011]

2011-11-12T00:30:00.000+05:30

First off, I was a huge fan of Tintin comics when I was young...although I didn't have enough pocket money to buy all back then...however, times were simpler and better...I had much better friends and among were some who like me...liked to read all but could buy some...so came the option TRADE.

Back then we could trade anything in exchange for anything...and comics and novels made the top of the list...trading pc games, wrestling cards, I remember trading all my tazzos a thing back then for a pc game...which ended up not running on my system.

Anyways, the REVIEW:

7/10

I was already very excited to watch it from the moment I had seen the trailer...a new kind of animation...would it work? and will it be up to expectations? would Steven Spielberg, who has till yet not directed any single animation movie give this an edge it needs?

The answer is:YES...from the beginning the animation looked brilliant...there is no wastage in unnecessary introduction (a plus and a minus). The movie is fast paced and throughout has kept it that way...its short and sweet. There is no dull moment in the entire movie and is jam packed with action and laughter...no wonder Spielberg had a eye on Tintin...he only goes for the best.

Snowy is by far one of the best character I have seen in animations and will keep the viewers on the edge laughing...very intelligent for a dog...a little bit overdone in respect he behaves almost human.

Thompson and Thomson were shown quite little considering the fact they play a major role in the comics...but were ever they were shown they were at there best.

Easily the most stunning and ambitious of these is a chase through the streets of a Moroccan port where Tintin (Jamie Bell), Captain Haddock and Snowy pursue the villainous Ivanovich Sakkharine (Daniel Craig), who has managed to get his hands on three pieces of paper that form part of a secret. Our heroes are on a motorcycle, the villain in a jeep, and they weave through the streets, dodging pedestrians, flash floods and dancing seconds away from death at every turn, all the while passing the papers between each other. The sequence is about five minutes long and is conducted in one single, unbroken shot which, given the ludicrous ambition, complexity and pacing of the action, would have been simply impossible if the film had been live action.

Even though shortcuts were taken, and as true to their originals as they are, the characters have been slightly redesigned. But in the end you have a movie that can be appreciated both by fans of the comics as well as people who have "just heard about them". It is fun, packed with adventure and action, enjoyable at all ages.

a 7/10 from my side and imdb gives it 7.8...as it packs all the laughs and action together in an awesome way...however, the thing and most crucial note is a limitation: that there is nothing new...however good the movie maybe...the characters have already been played in comics and a cartoon series for the matter of fact...had the movie been something new(a new twist, new story)...i would have like it more..and even bumped it up for an Oscar win but in my opinion Kung fu Panda 2 had a much original script and awesomeness.

Note: I don't like writing reviews here, i have kept that part for a different blog site..but some how that blog is not been connected so good...so i have to resort here. Another reason is that i agree to write a good movie review here...seems like it's right thing to do as the traffic here is much more than at http://flicksandchicks.wordpress.com/

Now Flicks&Chicks i have totally dedicated to Movie and TV show review...so check it out if you are interested.

Movie Review: Real Steel(2011)

2011-10-10T21:03:00.002+05:30

7/10.

Hey guys, finally had the chance to watch Real Steel today…the movie from trailers looked freaking awesome…so i was desperate to check it out...plus it’s score on imdb kept on increasing from a mere 6.5 to 7.3/10.

The movie is true to it’s ratings and lives up to the expectations…and what sets the film apart is the incredible CGI. Your jaws drop when you see those eight feet tall mighty giant robots enter the ring! The sound effects are mind blowing, especially when the robots punch each other…totally awesome!

It’s not like a transformers movie, it has a plot…and a good one. It doesn’t over show the robot fights…they are short and sweet. I kinda wished there were more! The fights are very intense…and that’s what gives it a huge edge.

The Plot: Well, to make it short…Former boxer Charlie (Hugh Jackman) is now a broken man with bills to pay and trains robots to box…and each robot is special in it’s own way.

Meanwhile, some circumstances force Charlie to meet his estranged son Max…soon Max too gets involved in the game…”like father, like son”…and meets up in an unusual way with his robot…ATOM. The robot though 2nd generation changes the game, and their lives…The whole story then revolves around Atom and how he wins fights..”An underdog takes on the champion…who wins?”

Though it’s fictional, everything about the film seems real…the fights, relationships, re-discovery of self belief in the lead character.
However there are some faults…the movie is a bit cheesy and logical incorrect…like these advanced robot are repaired in a jiffy by amateurs..Max is a bit over-dramatic…but that’s expected out of a kid…and the moment between Bailey (Evangeline Lilly) and Charlie is totally out of context.
But then no picture is perfect…surely not a robot one…however REAL STEEL is the real deal! go watch it as soon as possible…
It’s Rock-em Sock-em Robots meets Rocky….and highly recommended!! Don’t miss the chance and wait for the download…the fights are only to be appreciated in the theaters.!

***1/2 out of 5.

Harshal.

Rehab...

2011-08-21T00:34:00.000+05:30

Addiction...yes, everyone(nearly everyone) at some point face addiction problems. and, no i am not referring to drugs or booze. But, i have seen myself as a television addict...a friend as an exercise addict...hell, i have seen my cousin(12th grade stage) as a book-worm, an addict to books...i remember she took a book to a restaurant too and sat their reading till the order came! kinda of reminds me of hermoinie...but this addiction is supposed to be good...i mean here you have to be in the rat race...and be a complete book-work, a mugger to succeed...hell even a suck-up. Cause "If you snooze, you lose!"...

Anyways, the title Rehab is a song by Amy Winehouse (R.I.P.)...one of her few songs i like...got into drug problem and died recently. Kinda disappointing that she had fame and money...a voice to get millions of views on youtube...but all that just wasted over addiction.
Even her mother said in an interview...that she knew about the problem and was counting days till she could go on like this...stupid of her to say...i mean you are a god-damn parent, you should know how to correct the faults...hell, it's your responsibility...a good thing about indian parents...they would beat the crap out of us,if ever caught doing this.! Kinda of like russell peters "Somebody's gonna get hurt real bad."

Back to the point, yes the thing about addiction is it's not easy to get out...i kinda went out of the tv show addiction...wee-bit. For one, I started attending classes...didn't get F's for like 4 semesters...but it's still there...that lust...craving for more. When I left that, i got into gaming addiction....well here we go again. Again, a plus point is the PC upgrade is at home...under parental restriction so it's a bit under control...however holidays go in a jiffy...playing games like...why not show a list...here what I haved played within 6 months of my new gaming upgrade.

1. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3. Portal 2
4. Grand Theft Auto IV
5. Mafia II
6. Battlefield: Bad Company 2
7. Crysis
8. Dirt 2
9. Burnout Paradise

So, my grades as usual went down...but this way down...got my first E in 3 years...and that's bad even for me...F's are something you can brag about...hey, i didn't go to classes...got some F's...no big deal...but E's are something to be ashamed of. And, i got one. Funny thing is i have seen all grades of my university now from A's to E to F's...i sometimes surprise people when i tell them i have like 7 A's...

Anyways, the thing is I always get around screwing myself...and i always end up saying "F**k"...maybe it should be on my grave like " R.I.P F**k"...Again the good thing is I have realized it, just like i realized my tv addiction...

The point of the blog is...well, to vent out my frustration...nah, the point is you can always come out of your addiction...not matter how hard it can be...even if you stuck in deep, with a little help, you can...just don't throw away your life like Amy Winehouse did....realize it before it's too late...maybe it already is.

"They tried to make me go to rehab but I said 'no, no, no'
Yes I've been black but when I come back you'll know know know
I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine
He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go"

Aut viam invéniam aut Faciam

2011-05-09T12:16:00.007+05:30

Aut viam invéniam aut Faciam which in Latin means: "either I will find a way or I will make one"…

Chapter-1

HONK…WAAM...The sound of train passing in the subway reaches his ear. He touches his locket looking at himself in the mirror. He hums a tune. THIS IS IT.

Few years back…

He is on the street buying groceries when he hears it in a distant. The tune so familiar. He follows it. So melodious, so sad yet beautiful. He is drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLASHBACK

Sister: “Mamma, can I have it? It sounds so good.”

Mother: “Next time. Right now we don’t have time.”

Sister: “But I want it.”

Brother: “You can’t have it...hahaha.”

Sister: “Why do you do this, make fun…I hate you.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a music box. He hums along the tune. “I am taking it. How much?”

“That’s 20 bucks.”

It’s her birthday coming up, worth it.

He is heading to his room thinking about the winter break when he can head home and gift it to her. She would be thrilled. He watches people glued on the TV screen outside a café. Apparently there has been a train bombing in India. His phone rings. “Hello?” A voice explains. “Nooo…” Can’t be. “The ticket has been arranged. Please come home.” Home? There’s no home now. He is glued to the spot looks up to the screen. Fuck. Tears roll out. He drops the bag. (The tune comes out.) He looks down, sees the box and kicks it away. He runs into a dark alley thinking it’s a dream. “I'll wake up anytime.”

Back to the present...

TICK…TICK..TICK.

“Hopefully someone will notice this”, he thinks. “What I am about to do. Maybe they can figure it out.”

The tune runs again. It never leaves you. Never lets you rest. “No more running from now, I am free.”

KABOOM!!!

“Breaking News…Police are investigating a suicide bombing which happened at 1:15pm here in New York. There are more than 15 people dead and many injured. As you can see there is nothing left, however the police have found a locket which is suspected to have been worn by the suicide bomber.”

“This just in. The suicide bomber has been recognized as… Family was killed in a train bombing in India. Police are not sure as to what was motive behind this attack. Apparently he went missing since last year.”

Chapter-2

Few months back…

HONK…WAAM... (Train goes past. He sits up near the railway track). He has nowhere to go, no money. This is life. Pfff… He takes out the cigarette. (CLICK…Click.) “Damn, lighter.” He sees a guy staring at him. “You got a problem there, man.” The person approaches. He explains how he would be given food, clothes, nice place to live almost every luxury if in turn he does what he’s asked to. “Without questions. You understand.” He nods. Right now he can hear only food. He gets in the car. “Oh dear…you need some new clothes right away.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLASHBACK

Girl: “You never listen…I hate you.”

Boy: “Hahaha”

Girl: “That’s my locket I got it from the market as my b-day gift.”

Boy: “And now it’s mine.”

Girl: “Why do you do this…don’t you love me.” Tears fall down the cheek.

Boy: “Hahaha…cry baby.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He misses her so much. She tried to call but he left his phone...threw it away that day.
Tears roll out. “I couldn't even say I love you to her...”

“Who you taking to kid?” “Strange, he talks to himself”, say the guy with the gun.
“Boss brings all the whackos here…”

Chapter-3

Few hours back…

TICK…TICK…TICK.

“The plan has been set. You know your part, right?” He nods. “You are doing us all proud. Allah will set your pains free. You will be accepted by him and there will be no fear.” “Go with Rahim, he will drop you at your target.”

He closes his eyes as he walks past the security room towards the subway station. “If anything goes wrong, I'll still do it.”

(Crowd talking)

“This is where we part. Allah be with you.”

He approaches the stop...stands there waiting for the train.

Little Girl: “Wow, you are so tall. Mamma I wanna be so tall.”

The train door open, he steps in, heart pounding. He sits and starts his prayers. He has his hands on the phone. The number he has to ring is imprinted in his brain.

“Wow, so nice locket. Can I see it?” He opens his eyes. It’s the same girl. Idiot girl stay away.

“I wanna have it. Can I atleast touch it?” She reaches out.

“Hey back off…stupid girl.” He says.

Tears flow out. Those tears something so familiar about them.

“What did I do…I hate you.
Mommm...”

WAMM!! WAAM!! A train goes past. He looks at the watch but can’t seem to focus. He hears laughter in a distant. His own laughter. It comes back to him. The little girl reminded him of someone…someone very close. He hears the laughter again. He thought the memories had left him. The pain, the fear. The girl now with her mother, eyes red. He sees those tears. They haunted him so much.

The train stops. Doors open.

“I can’t do this”. He gets out. He has the security personnel card to get out without being noticed.

“I can come clean. I haven’t taken anything.”

(exits outside)

BOOM!!! BOOM!

Shriek everywhere. Something happened. This is bad. Phone rings.

“You didn’t do what you were told.”

“I couldn’t…I don’t want to.”

“It’s okay…we had a backup plan.”

“What?”. His eyes contract, he looks around. There’s smoke coming from the subway station.

“Rahim is going to pick you up”. ”Stay there. Hide somewhere.”

The phone hangs up. He looks around. “What backup? What did he mean?”

He hears it in distant…the sound of the ambulance siren. “ Let’s get out of here. Someone just bombed the subway train.” He hears the person talking to his wife.

The train…the girl…gone! "Those bunch of assholes". He runs away raging with anger.

Chapter-4

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLASHBACK

Girl: “You know this locket is my lucky charm. I wanna give it to you.”

Boy: “why?”

Girl: “You are going to a new country. You should wear it. It will protect you.”

Boy: “what about you?”

Girl: “Just take it. A reminder. Just don’t forget me.” (tears fall)

Boy(tearful): “ I have to go now. I’ll be late for the flight.”

Girl:”I love you.”

She waves. He doesn’t look back, just runs. He can’t look back.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Same corridor. He knows it. The red door.

212-555-7824. He dials on his phone.

"Hey I thought the boss said Rahim was going to bring you in."

BEEP.

"Hey...can't go in. He's busy. Just sit down, I'll go talk to him."

BEEP.

As the door open, he bursts in.

"What the....?" "Are you crazy?"

Images pop infront of him...The little girl...The crying face at the airport. Their faces blur. Somehow it seems as if they are smiling. He grabs the locket. "Please forgive me..."

BEEP...

KABOOM!!!

Epilogue

"Breaking News...The suicide bombing that happened today, Police report says that those 15 killed in the bombing were related to Al-Queda and were planning a major attack at the Pentagon. They were also responsible for the subway bombing that happened earlier today. Police say that a major catastrophe has been averted all thanks to the suicide bomber. Police have yet to figure out the motive behind this attack…”

The tune plays out.

“At my signal, unleash hell...”

This is a short story written by me. I hope you liked it. I have the tune too. Listen to it. I find it quite beautiful.

Harshal Singh.

Here's the tune:

(if u don't see it visit [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_SChDmSedM ] )

I hear you,but I don't follow you Anna...

2011-04-09T23:24:00.004+05:30

He calls himself a fakir...a man with no family, no property and for a matter of fact no bank balance.(really??). He lives in a small room attached to a temple in Ahmednagar's Siddhi village, 110km from Pune and wears only khadi.(The next Bapu??)

But when 71-year-old Kisan Baburao Hazare alias Anna starts an agitation, every leader from Mumbai to Delhi sits up and takes notice.

On 5 April 2011, Hazare started a 'fast unto death' to exert pressure on the Government of India to enact a strong anti-corruption act as envisaged in the Jan Lokpal Bill, a law that will establish a Lokpal that will have the power to deal with corruption in public offices. The fast led to nation wide protests in support of Hazare.

What is Jan Lokpal Bill?

It is a draft anti-corruption bill that would create a Jan Lokpal, an independent body, which would have the power to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

All that glitters is not gold...

Draft Lokpal Bill (2010)	Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill)
1.Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by LS Speaker or RS Chairman.	1Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo moto action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
2.Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body. Its part is only limited to forwarding its report to the "Competent Authority".	2.Lokpal will be much more than an Advisory Body. It should be granted powers to initiate Prosecution against anyone found guilty.
3.Lokpal will not have any police powers. It can not register FIRs or proceed with criminal investigations.	3.Lokpal will have police powers. To say that it will be able to register FIRs.
4.CBI and Lokpal will have no connection with each other.	4.Lokpal and anti corruption wing of CBI will be one Independent body.
5.Punishment for corruption will be minimum 6 months and maximum up-to 7 years.	5.The punishment should be minimum 5 years and maximum up-to life imprisonment.

As you see there huge difference in both the drafts...so which one is implemented is to be seen.

Moreover, I disagree with the method followed by Anna. This is not Gandhi versus the British. There is no enemy. Our government is our government. We put them there, and often have elected a new one every five years if we don't like them.Many have brought up the example of popular movements in the Middle East that are currently in vogue.(not the magazine..!) But everyone forgets one major fact. All those gov. were autocratic.

Corruption thrives in the country because there is little or no implementation of the existing laws. And for that you need honest people in the right places. It is naive and even stupid to believe that laws can make men honest. But you need honest and good people to make them effective.

The problem with Anna Hazare method is quite serious for he wants to bypass all democratic channels. If Parliament and the Supreme Court are bypassed it raises serious questions about the legitimacy of democratic practices. Because destroying the four pillars of our gov. could lead to internal conflicts, hamper the overall progress of our country.

In my opinion, the method should not be to make a supreme authority to curb corruption..it is an indirect application of dictatorship...but to selectively remove the corruption.(to remove the weeds from a lawn..). It is a legitimate moral weapon to keep politicians under pressure, but moral blackmail is not. And Hazare is doing just that. But he is not the first. Jayaprakash Narayan used the same tactic in the 1970s and took the country to the brink of anarchy while giving Indira Gandhi a reason to impose Emergency. And his gov.(which came after Indira's...) was a total disaster. It's very easy to point out the fault of others but when you step in there shoes, you realize how hard it is to do even a simple task.

Anna is right in his anger against corruption...I support him for that but from my view he is not right in the solution...Today it is just corruption, tomorrow it maybe the quota system.(lets say, Mayawati goes on a fast for 50% SC/ST quota.) and if gov. obliges to this demand too. It would lead to a disaster. But Why doesn't Anna stand for elections...I m sure nation wide people will choose him to lead and then he can make the necessary changes. Why is he just trying to dictate policies from outside the democratic set-up which is not right. Because who is to say that Lokpal would not be corrupt.

And I see that media can easily sway the mind of people from one direction to another...'India wins again'...we didn't win anything...its a big fight against corruption...and we have taken a small step(may even be a wrong step). It's a long way to go...because people seldom change, you implement rules, make arrests, it is proven from Stock Market scandal to 2G Scam, that bad people will exist in every sphere...it is us who have to think before we decide to chose between what's right and what's wrong. But the positive side was that we all got together...because the fight against corruption is a mighty one...it doesn't need a jungle-warfare...but a world war to stop it.

"If you are not part of the cure, then you are part of the problem"...

Harshal Singh.

Everything That Rises Must Converge...

2011-03-13T20:56:00.041+05:30

Nice heading, yes? Well, I saw it somewhere and it struck me as something unique. I mean i have heard "what goes up, must come down"..heard of it? No, well its an idiom alright, though some say it was originally thought by Newton. An example when he came up with the concept of gravity, rather a sort of status update by Newton if Facebook was invented at that time. Think how funny it would have been. Archimedes putting up "eureka" on his page. Newton putting up " I just got hit by an apple, well it was delicious...", would have been hilarious.!!)

Yeah the statement "what goes up, must come down" explains gravity alright. You throw something up it eventually comes down. It can be said that when you rise to the highest level. You can stay there, but eventually you are gonna come down...(Just remembered the Pirates of Caribbean scene "Now up is down"...)

Like for example take Blackjack. You can hit a streak, but sooner or later your greed is going to overpower you and you lose, for a matter of fact you sometimes lose big. Here comes the difference between the two, "what goes up comes down" suggest that you lose, you lose doesn't matter if it's big or small. Whereas "everything that rises, must converge" suggests that everything has a tragic end. Wherein if you lose, you lose quite big.

Some may disagree that both these statements hold true. Well, you will realize that sooner or later you are going to face a down low, because that's how life is. Full of ups and downs. However the positive thing is that we rise up again. A kind of unique characteristics of us humans is that we never quit, always persist. No matter how many times we fall, we try and for that matter succeed in getting up and going ahead.(It kind of starts from the day we take the first step as child, we fall yet we get up to walk again.)
So, am I wrong in stating rather contradictory statements right here. No, as I just write down the facts. Its for you to decide which statement you agree with. That's again one the beauty of writing, you put your thoughts, combine them and then get different views on the same matter as no two minds think alike. (but again " Great mind think alike..." !!!)

The heading is the 'title' of a book written by Flannery O'Connor, which say everything has a beautiful beginning has a sudden, drastic end. The book cover shows a picture of a dove rising up at the same time an arrow being struck indicating its inevitable fall.

About the Book:

The story is quite short and genius. I read it and was quite touched. It starts of rather plain and simple showing how the protagonist(Julian) hates his mother's nature. His mother hates colored people, basically the blacks in America. And rides a bus where she faces a situation where she adores a black kid finding him 'cute'. So, she gives a rather pity smile to the kid's mother who is hurt by the gesture. The black woman tries to get off the bus. Now to add fuel to fire, the protagonist mother gets out to give the kid a silver nickel. Even after many warnings by Julian, she goes up to the kid and gives him the coin. The black woman now loses it and throws away the coin and punches her in the face. Julian now finds it the best way to improve his mother's nature and tries to mock her. But as soon as he sees her disfigured face, he start running for help knowing he is now left completely alone and loveless as his mother's eye raked in his face a final time, seeing nothing..kind of an irony in the end.

If you get a chance, read the book, its quite amazing.

Anyways,the heading is also a philosophical term explaining life's pyramid, which converges at the top.

"Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge."

Take for example, me or any other grad student, we put up great effort in our high school to achieve good marks and then do good in various entrance exams to get into a reputed college. When we reach that stage we discover people who have done the same hard-work and got to the place you are. Thus people converge as they go ahead in life getting close to people of the same caliber. Now some go ahead and some fall in the process justifying "Everything that rises must converge.."

Random Thought : Humans are perhaps the best creation of God. We think, we analyse, we love, we do many things most of all we create from a child to a nuclear bomb. We create and we destroy. The life cycle-- Construction, Deconstruction, Reconstruction.

I love a great ending even if is a tragic one...the sort of ending that was in Black Swan, which was so beautifully done. The sort of entering a tunnel and walking towards a bright white light as you leave this place...

"I'll tell you a riddle. You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you; but you don't know for sure. But it doesn't matter. How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?

Because you'll be together..."

Well, that's it guys meet u again soon. I hope i intrigued your mind for a while...

And always remember: "In life, its not necessary to be strong but to feel strong..."

Harshal Singh.

Overcoming The Addiction...

2011-01-29T01:12:00.004+05:30

Well, I always thought blogging was stupid. Sitting there typing a lengthy blog that people may or may not read and literally wasting your time. But you know what i waste a lot of time. Seems like all i can do is dream big..so why not put my dreams into writing.'Let them be out there'.

So its Friday night, I am sitting on my laptop typing this blog.'so stupid'.But there isn't much to do.It's not like Chandigarh(yeah i live here) has much of a nightlife..compared to Delhi, Chandigarh sucks big time..i don't drink..so half the Chandigarh goes there. Rest of it gets boring after a while. Plus the police here sucks. I mean i know you have to follow rules..but i have been fined three times(yes laugh about it)..and two because i didn't have seat belt on..I mean i am driving out of the mall what's a seat belt gonna do at that point..(Bribe is still the best option in India)..haha..''shussh.'' Corruption is topic i would like to write about later.

Anyways a lot of people suggested me to write a blog about all the TV Serials i have seen and i have seen a lot! Let me tell you briefly how i got hooked to TV Serials so much. .
Well there was this nerd who desired to get only into IIT or BITS..but landed in Thapar..so well at first i was sincere (yes i was) going to to each class..trying to understand..but soon gave up..so my bag which used to carry 3 notebooks and a calculator got replaced with novels and earphones..I always loved to read..it's my personal record to finish 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' in about 21-22 hours..'true story'(the first read..mind u.)..so naturally my grades were quite low..the next sem i made up my mind to give a second attempt for IIT..well i met my friend 'Nick' then..yeah we had the same aspiration back then..'out of the college'..
I remember i borrowed his i-pod..and watched 'Friends' on it..i had never laughed so much before..i got hooked to 'Friends'..so much so..i watched all the ten seasons..downloading them at my home..and viewing them on my 'phone'..(well i used to travel 5hrs back then..Delhi-->Patiala) haha..some people will say that's stupid but i suggest sit in a bus for 5hrs..'your ass will fall off'..(being 6'3'' is also a big disadvantage..could not sleep properly)

Started with that..this sem i got 3 F's..well they are back log actually..given if u fail to complete 75% attendance..well the nadir was yet to be reached..
I stayed back the summer to clear my F's..got my laptop..that was it.
More backlogs...more disappointment...more frustration..well least to say i watched nearly 15 TV Serials..(huh some life..)

Anyways,
Putting up all those F's now...and abstaining from TV Serials..i have reached this point only to write about the best i have seen and my personal ratings for them...

"A Lesson learnt without pain is meaningless"...

So here we go:---->

#1.FRIENDS
8.9

Probably the best comedy serial I have ever watched..got hooked in 1st year..still makes me laugh like hell..full of surprises, twists, and laughter..'The One Where Everybody Finds Out'..will remain the best episode ever..all season entertain you..though the 10th was a bit of a let down..still no TV show has ever ever run as much as 'Friends'.

#2.SCRUBS

                                        9.2

Let me tell you i have not laughed so much in my life..as i have watching 'Scrubs'..Huge fan of Zack Braff..and of course 'Perry Cox'..great show..Though it beats 'Friends' on score..since it has more genius, more laugh..but still on my No.2..

the concept of fun in 'medicine'..and JD's 'floating dream'..probably the best i have yet seen..

#3.PRISON BREAK

8.7

Let me stop you here..lots of people hate it..yes 'Angad' you..lots of people love it..and rate it the best..i love comedy so i am a little biased to them..but if u must know..for me, i had a streak of 2 days 'back to back' 'Prison Break'..with a few hours break..i think i missed my meals too...so addicting..(mind u at that stage..now though it seems stupid)..haha..wish i had so much spirit for my studies(read exams) too...

#4.LOST

8.6

Started with survival on an island..with mysterious creatures..and went in whole new dream world of sci-fi...best twists and turn..what an imagination..the concept..bringing physics in the equation..i can't stop singing its praises..'greatest show ever'..if u want to get a face like :-O go for this..

#5.HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

7.9

Barney Stinson...'one man show'..the man is "legen..wait for it..dairy." watch the first 3 seasons for hysterical laughter at barney's hook ups and love for 'bimbos'..(leave the 5th season)..made a come back in 6th..lets see how it goes..but 'for barney'..it makes in my top 5..

More to come on the way..i just don't have much time here..seems to me i spent 2 hours writing this..sheessh.

Special Includes :---->>>>>

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

9.1

It's a show made ahead of it's time..maybe people don't get it..or they don't try..but this is one of the best tv shows that i found out on my own...all the above i am sure most of u have heard of...not this i get..3 seasons of unlimited fun..great acting..and a kind of situational comedy.*great watch*

ROME

8.5

Based on Roman Empire during and after the time of Caesar...a beautiful portrayal of Caesar and his empire..great watch for dramatic twists and blood thirsty wars..'the conspiracy' and the fall of 'Mark Antony'...really worth it if you love war and history.

Great Expectations...

Quod me nutrit me etiam destruit me

RUSH(2013)

Ayrton Senna: The Greatest F1 Driver Ever.

The Answer is 42.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises [2012]

A life-changing decision...

Materialistic Relationships...

Sherlock: Book, Movie and now a TV Show.

2011-A Review...

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin[2011]

Movie Review: Real Steel(2011)

Rehab...

Aut viam invéniam aut Faciam

I hear you,but I don't follow you Anna...

Everything That Rises Must Converge...

Overcoming The Addiction...

"u can't change the past with tears of present....
and
u can't change the present with fears of the future..."

'Harshal Singh'

Great Expectations...

Quod me nutrit me etiam destruit me

RUSH(2013)

Ayrton Senna: The Greatest F1 Driver Ever.

The Answer is 42.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises [2012]

A life-changing decision...

Materialistic Relationships...

Sherlock: Book, Movie and now a TV Show.

2011-A Review...

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin[2011]

Movie Review: Real Steel(2011)

Rehab...

Aut viam invéniam aut Faciam

I hear you,but I don't follow you Anna...

Everything That Rises Must Converge...

Overcoming The Addiction...

"u can't change the past with tears of present....andu can't change the present with fears of the future..."

'Harshal Singh'

"u can't change the past with tears of present....
and
u can't change the present with fears of the future..."