Man, this has been my first real encounter with a catastrophe. The rain won't seem to stop in the city of Mumbai. Today being Monday, its been pouring and pouring since last Tuesday. The place I stay in, Anushaktinagar, has a pretty good drainage system and has never been overpowered in this manner before. I have gotten used to seing water instead of roads, people swimming instead of walking.
The government is confused and stumped by this occurrence, and has no Alladin's Lamp to solve its problems. There is no genie coming in and rescuing all of the people devastated by floods. All schools and government institutions are closed today, with tomorrow's decision uncertain. This is the first time in my life that I can remember being given a holiday because of RAIN...
Anyways, this rain thing has to stop soon. The dams over here have started overflowing and I hope that this situation dosen't get too bad now. It has been pouring so much that the annual water need of the entire city of Mumbai has been poured upon us in the matter of a week. Saddening.
I hope Alladin's lamp resurfaces soon.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005
The Joys of Harry Potter
Man, Harry Potter always has been special for me. I remember, going back to the year 1997, when the first Harry Potter book was published. Back then, I had just read about it from some magazine, and I decided to give it a shot...
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (or Sorcerer's) Stone was like all first books in a series. It wasn't able to get into the plot too far, but nevertheless was an enjoyable read. Harry Potter managed to arise in me that something you fell... that something. I, being a confessed book freak, a bibliophile, was instantly entangled into this new, imaginative world...
I went on to purchase copies of the second, third and fourth books. I was not disappointed. All the books managed to keep up the continuity of the series; they never the let the tempo down, never. (That was one of the main reasons the LOTR book and movie series appealed to me too). In order: Harry Potter and the - Chamber of Secrets, the Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire instantly captured a place in my heart. I had a new obsession...
The wait for the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix was long and tiring... I was Harry Potter starved and sorely in need of a book to cling on to. When the book came out, I bought and finished it on the day of the release. This fifth book was a turning point in the series, one that showed Harry Potter in the transition phase of growing up. I was slightly disappointed at some parts but still, it was nothing to quench the fire that was dancing brightly inside me. I could not wait for the next book of Harry Potter.
JK Rowling was undoubltedly cruel in her taking so much time to release the next book (it was released a week ago; I again read and finished the book on the day of the release) . This book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, portrayed Harry as a man, a matured one. I truly feel that this is the best book in the series so far...
The Harry Potter series of books has given me, and millions of others something to think about, something to be passionate about. JK Rowling's (god bless her) life has been remarkably trnasformed. From living a below-middle-class lifestyle, she is now a legitimate millionare, I'm sorry, BILLIONARE. The book has inspired things ranging from Harry Potter pencil cases to the successful Harry Potter movie series. Seriously, Daniel Radcliffe, the boy playing the part of Harry Potter in the movies, has become quite a large symbol of the Harry Potter movement, not to mention a youth icon. Many book series based on plots similar to that of Harry Potter have also become successes; the most noteworthy of them being the book "Eragon".
Harry Potter has become a huge mammoth in our world today. You can see marks of him anywhere, everywhere. He has overshadowed all else, a true phenomenon, but one I feel that has been created by readers and readers alone. If you scratched out the movies and all else for me, the magic would not stop...
And thats all.
The first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (or Sorcerer's) Stone was like all first books in a series. It wasn't able to get into the plot too far, but nevertheless was an enjoyable read. Harry Potter managed to arise in me that something you fell... that something. I, being a confessed book freak, a bibliophile, was instantly entangled into this new, imaginative world...
I went on to purchase copies of the second, third and fourth books. I was not disappointed. All the books managed to keep up the continuity of the series; they never the let the tempo down, never. (That was one of the main reasons the LOTR book and movie series appealed to me too). In order: Harry Potter and the - Chamber of Secrets, the Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire instantly captured a place in my heart. I had a new obsession...
The wait for the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix was long and tiring... I was Harry Potter starved and sorely in need of a book to cling on to. When the book came out, I bought and finished it on the day of the release. This fifth book was a turning point in the series, one that showed Harry Potter in the transition phase of growing up. I was slightly disappointed at some parts but still, it was nothing to quench the fire that was dancing brightly inside me. I could not wait for the next book of Harry Potter.
JK Rowling was undoubltedly cruel in her taking so much time to release the next book (it was released a week ago; I again read and finished the book on the day of the release) . This book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, portrayed Harry as a man, a matured one. I truly feel that this is the best book in the series so far...
The Harry Potter series of books has given me, and millions of others something to think about, something to be passionate about. JK Rowling's (god bless her) life has been remarkably trnasformed. From living a below-middle-class lifestyle, she is now a legitimate millionare, I'm sorry, BILLIONARE. The book has inspired things ranging from Harry Potter pencil cases to the successful Harry Potter movie series. Seriously, Daniel Radcliffe, the boy playing the part of Harry Potter in the movies, has become quite a large symbol of the Harry Potter movement, not to mention a youth icon. Many book series based on plots similar to that of Harry Potter have also become successes; the most noteworthy of them being the book "Eragon".
Harry Potter has become a huge mammoth in our world today. You can see marks of him anywhere, everywhere. He has overshadowed all else, a true phenomenon, but one I feel that has been created by readers and readers alone. If you scratched out the movies and all else for me, the magic would not stop...
And thats all.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Patriot
Patriot
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
with blood as hot as fire, or as calm as ice,
the patriot ever stands tall,
to make every sacrifice.
A sacrifice for the nation's flag,
ever proud and high,
a sacrifice, for the nation's folk
without uttering a single sigh.
A sacrifice for the green dales,
with their rushing rivers,
a sacrifice for the glassy vales,
their peaks filled with glimmer.
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
they come in every shape and size,
only in their nation's name do they fall,
after giving the ultimate sacrifice.
Man or woman, boy or girl,
be they short or tall, dark or fair,
bravely does their tale unfurl,
to keep free the nation's air.
Maybe they are kind healers,
their hearts filled with pity,
or clever, shrewd architects,
to a build a noble city.
Or the brave soldier on the battle field,
some strong, some hurt, and some not but confused,
but never do their hearts and weapons yield,
those hearts, filled with patriotic hues.
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
never do they seek a prize,
their nation's wound is their own,
until their very demise.
My heart belong to these great people,
and I hope to become one too,
but I fear I lack the needed qualities,
now tell me, what am I to do?
Let their bodies be set ablaze,
or their house burnt down to splinters,
in all times would they be unfazed
as they guide their loved nation through the winters
They don't know (but really hope),
that spring shall return, with birds
and flowers fine,
for they are pariots, and in the eyes of all,
forever do they shine.
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
with blood as hot as fire, or as calm as ice,
the patriot ever stands tall,
to make every sacrifice.
A sacrifice for the nation's flag,
ever proud and high,
a sacrifice, for the nation's folk
without uttering a single sigh.
A sacrifice for the green dales,
with their rushing rivers,
a sacrifice for the glassy vales,
their peaks filled with glimmer.
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
they come in every shape and size,
only in their nation's name do they fall,
after giving the ultimate sacrifice.
Man or woman, boy or girl,
be they short or tall, dark or fair,
bravely does their tale unfurl,
to keep free the nation's air.
Maybe they are kind healers,
their hearts filled with pity,
or clever, shrewd architects,
to a build a noble city.
Or the brave soldier on the battle field,
some strong, some hurt, and some not but confused,
but never do their hearts and weapons yield,
those hearts, filled with patriotic hues.
A heart of gold, eyes bold,
never do they seek a prize,
their nation's wound is their own,
until their very demise.
My heart belong to these great people,
and I hope to become one too,
but I fear I lack the needed qualities,
now tell me, what am I to do?
Let their bodies be set ablaze,
or their house burnt down to splinters,
in all times would they be unfazed
as they guide their loved nation through the winters
They don't know (but really hope),
that spring shall return, with birds
and flowers fine,
for they are pariots, and in the eyes of all,
forever do they shine.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Armageddon, just for the record...
Anyways, getting on with stuff, this incident happened a few days ago but I wanted to keep a record of it on the net so that I could read about later and laugh my head off....
So we wanna see a movie right.... We decided to go for 'Sarkar' a Bollywood version of 'The Godfather' with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role... We heard it was a good movie and the promos sure lookeed really good. Ahem. We decided to set out for the movie (my first mistake) on a Sunday afternoon (my second mistake) by train. When we got to the station, we found that the trains weren't running because of some repair work going on and wouldn' t start till 4 PM. It was about 2:30 PM then, and the movie was to start at 3:00 PM. My friend really wanted to see the movie, so he insisted on taking a cab (he agreed to foot the bill). We eventually reached the theatre by 2:50 PM (and then I realised my second mistake). Ahem, the movie is a total hit, was just released, and we went on a Sunday afternoon, without prior booking (I'll take that Nobel prize for idiotic behaviour now, please). With shattered dreams we decided to go chill at a mall. After spending a couple of hours over there, at 4:20 PM, we reached the TRAIN station and found out that there was a huge, HUGE crowd waiting for the trains to start aince 3:00 PM. When I say huge, I mean the type of crowds you see in Bombay during Ganesh Chaturthi :-(. After a lot of roughing it out, we managed to get into the first train that came by (wohhhooo!!!!). We got a huge jolt when we found out that the number and flow people coming in at the place we had to get off, was so high that getting out was virtually impossible. We were sweaty, angry, hungry, and not sure wether we had enough money to make it home from the next stop; a dangerous combination. It was time for some shameless pushing, shoving and screaming. I got off first and had to pull my friend out of the train entrance, where he had got stuck... With both feet firmly on the ground, both of us took deep breaths and exhaled - finally at peace. Our spirits were high when we strolled out of the station and walked towards our place. But alas! Our miseries were not yet complete... As we exited the station, a stupid crow swooped down, blessed my friend and flew off. @#@^#%@^%@^%#$@^#^$@^#$@#@#@!#. For a second, we just stared at each other, and I started laughing out loud. Laughing at both of us, at sheer coincidence. This had to be aramageddon man... whatever.
#@%$$@%@#$@# PHew... I needed to get that out of my system....
And thats that.
So we wanna see a movie right.... We decided to go for 'Sarkar' a Bollywood version of 'The Godfather' with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role... We heard it was a good movie and the promos sure lookeed really good. Ahem. We decided to set out for the movie (my first mistake) on a Sunday afternoon (my second mistake) by train. When we got to the station, we found that the trains weren't running because of some repair work going on and wouldn' t start till 4 PM. It was about 2:30 PM then, and the movie was to start at 3:00 PM. My friend really wanted to see the movie, so he insisted on taking a cab (he agreed to foot the bill). We eventually reached the theatre by 2:50 PM (and then I realised my second mistake). Ahem, the movie is a total hit, was just released, and we went on a Sunday afternoon, without prior booking (I'll take that Nobel prize for idiotic behaviour now, please). With shattered dreams we decided to go chill at a mall. After spending a couple of hours over there, at 4:20 PM, we reached the TRAIN station and found out that there was a huge, HUGE crowd waiting for the trains to start aince 3:00 PM. When I say huge, I mean the type of crowds you see in Bombay during Ganesh Chaturthi :-(. After a lot of roughing it out, we managed to get into the first train that came by (wohhhooo!!!!). We got a huge jolt when we found out that the number and flow people coming in at the place we had to get off, was so high that getting out was virtually impossible. We were sweaty, angry, hungry, and not sure wether we had enough money to make it home from the next stop; a dangerous combination. It was time for some shameless pushing, shoving and screaming. I got off first and had to pull my friend out of the train entrance, where he had got stuck... With both feet firmly on the ground, both of us took deep breaths and exhaled - finally at peace. Our spirits were high when we strolled out of the station and walked towards our place. But alas! Our miseries were not yet complete... As we exited the station, a stupid crow swooped down, blessed my friend and flew off. @#@^#%@^%@^%#$@^#^$@^#$@#@#@!#. For a second, we just stared at each other, and I started laughing out loud. Laughing at both of us, at sheer coincidence. This had to be aramageddon man... whatever.
#@%$$@%@#$@# PHew... I needed to get that out of my system....
And thats that.
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