MNIK

It may be viewed by many as Karan Johar’s ‘coming off the age’ movie, by a few more as the latest installment in Bollywood’s 9/11 series and a few see it as the comeback of Shahrukh-Kajol pair. I would like to call it a good movie and one should not make a mistake of not crediting the movie for what it actually is-a good movie that is! An average moviegoer overfed by the candyfloss Karan-Shahrukh movies is advised to be prepared to meet with a huge disappointment. It’s a love story but a mature one at it. The protagonist’s love for his wife, his stepson, his mother, his brother, a certain Mama Jane who helps him on one of his road journeys, all culminating in him wanting to meet the US Prez and give him the simplest of messages, ‘My Name is Khan and I am not a Terrorist’ captures the entire nation’s fancy touching infinite lives in the process.I liked the movie.

This is one of the interesting reviews of MNIK I came across online.

Testing times!

This seems to be the culmination of all the testing times one gets to face given the fact that I have quizzes going on with impending hostel elections where I am standing for the post of literary affairs secretary and a few other miscellaneous complications. But then its also going to be one of the most exciting opportunities which is quite unique in itself since this is the first time I'm doing anything of this (political) magnitude.It's going to be an interplay of a myriad of factors all making for a highly interesting showdown in the hostel.I'm positively banking on my strengths trying not to brood over the future ramifications a lot letting Lord Krishna's 'Karmanye Vadhikarasthe...' guide me through this journey :)

Shucks! I am on a fast

I did it! I did it again!

It's Shivaratri and I once again told myself and everyone who matters to me that I am going to fast on this day(for the second time in a row),in-spite of knowing that I would invariably end up breaking it well before the day breaks.

Strangely enough, I wanted to go have breakfast in the mess today though I don't remember when was the last time I woke up in time to have one.I was itching to have that terrible SK mess lunch like never before.Living true to the ChemE reputation, I didn't have classes in the morning slots.So,starving in the room,doing nothing to engage myself substantially didn't help me much to get over my gastronomical troubles.My mom is the only person who could help me out of this fix.She told me it's technically acceptable to have some fruits and fluids going in.So,there I go to Gurunath to fetch some fruits from this newly built fruit shop(Trust me,it's awesome!)and find people all over the place hogging on all sorts of food possible on the planet making me feel sick in the stomach. I had to get out of the place with a packet of humble dates.How I cursed this guy who just then got his order of hot chicken puff under my breath!Poor chap!I officially ended my fast at 7.30 with a plate of Tifanys' Idly feeling a little guilty but with a fresh revelation that fasting is so not for me :D

P.S.:Why did I want to fast in the first place? Well folks,its good for health-spiritual and physical! So am I told!

My Entry

This is my entry shortlisted for the finals of Saarang CSR Youth Summit aka Essence.It is a piece written in extreme haste just a few hours before the deadline.Just thought I'll share it here! I found it satisfactory though there was a lot more depth to the given topic which I am of the opinion, is not quite quite delved completely:

'A governance problem in my city: My solutions'

I no longer am a regular citizen of my birth-town Hyderabad but it doesn’t make me any less critical to the problems of the city which I grew up with. Most of the big cities like Chennai (where I currently stay in), Hyderabad etc. share common, inevitable problems that come with the modern urban civilisation like inflated traffic, sewage and garbage management, rise of slums, terrorism, flood management etc. But meticulous planning and implementation on the part of policy-makers and administrators can help make the situation better. The following are a few problems plaguing the city:
• Unmanageable traffic that causes fatal accidents in some cases and loss to productive work hours ruining economy to a considerable extent.
• Sewage overflowing in certain areas especially during flood throwing a spanner into normalcy of city life.
• Garbage problem on the roadside due to lack of motivation and such other problems on the part of municipal employees leading to piled up waste mottling the city beauty.
• Slums are on rise owing to more number of poor people moving to cities in search of employment sort of encroaching on the urban space. They are the breeding grounds for communicable diseases and unrelenting poverty.
• Hyderabad has been attracting a spate of terrorist attacks over the past few years. Those blasts at the Lumbini Park, the famous Gokul Chat area etc. shook the citizens thoroughly. It is one more concerning which needs to be immediately redressed.
• Floods are not, as a matter of fact, as big a problem in Hyderabad as the above but yet, when they arrive, city life is halted to an alarming extent.
• In addition to this, problems associated with burgeoning cosmopolitan circles like night life which more often than not, are reasons for drunken driving, drug peddling, raunchy culture, creating a highly imbalanced social life.

My Solutions:

• To curb the traffic menace, it’s important that a minimum degree of awareness is created among everyone that uses the road. Effective planning of city, fly-overs at appropriate locations, traffic education in schools, motivating people to use techniques to curb pollution and traffic problem like car-pooling, strict traffic supervision, monitoring speed of the vehicles through modern technology etc are a few measures which may alleviate traffic to a large extent.
• Modern science can get electricity out of sewage and garbage. So, setting up board of workers to collect them regularly from time to time to this purpose can be a productive way of solving this problem.
• Slums can be discarded through establishing rapid action committees which work towards betterment of slum-dwellers condition by providing them with compulsory education, employment, bringing them under the purview of various government policies.
• City police officials claim to have an efficient intelligence system in place to curb any impending terrorist attacks on city. But time and again, terrorist outfits managed to break all the rungs of security to make a negative impact on city. People should be made an active part in vigilance of city. Advanced intelligence methods and modern forensic techniques should be made effective use of in tracking down the criminals and prevent future attacks.
• Flood management can be achieved with effective designing of city roads, underground water management.
• Night life is not something which can be avoided or completely gotten rid of for its a matter of people’s right to express themselves, relax and indulge themselves in their own hard-earned money. But when it takes ugly shapes like drug-peddling, it causes immense damage which needs to checked. Enforcement of anti-drugs and narcotic laws should be strictly done. Youth should be counselled, drug-addicts should be rehabilitated and motivated against this menace.
• Child labour and unemployment are other major social problems affecting society. Employment schemes like NREGS should be brought to everyone’s reach and every child’s right to education should be identified and respected. Stringent legal measures should be taken against people who go against these fundamental rights. Humanity of people should be appealed to help the poor in receiving education to shape good citizens of a better nation.
• Women have better opportunities in city than elsewhere. Still, many of them are yet to come out of the confines of their kitchens and take an active part in policy-making. Fifty percent representation of women in local bodies is a welcome move. But thirty-three percent women in parliament and state assemblies is still an unrealised dream which needs to take shape through effective political lobbying. A lot of women are victims of domestic violence even in cities. This is an issue of alarming concern which can be solved by empowering women and strong legal support provided to them.
To create a model city, all the above problems need to be addressed without any procrastination on the part of legislative and executive bodies.

Essence of Saarang!

Finally caught some breathing space to write a post about Saarang and the "quintessentially essential Essence" (as my co-coords at newsletter liked to call it!) that kept me occupied those four days. My thoughts on this experience are quite mixed up.Should I have just gone around, had fun, tripped more as a newzie coordinator and put a li'l more peace in life?Well..maybe! I couldn't catch more than 4 hours of sleep every night those 4 days. It was pretty grueling that way. In retrospect, that's a very enticing and too-painful-to-have-squandered-it kinda thought. But then, was Essence that bad after all that I lose my sleep over thinking what I missed elsewhere? Not really..I got to meet and befriend quite a good number of people from different parts of the country, from both engineering and non-engineering backgrounds. I got to be a part of some highly intellectual discussions like the special session we had with Dr.Arun Shorie (He liked my question!!! :D) ,panel discussion with bigheads like Vibhu Nayar, Sasi Kumar etc , a field trip to Mr.Elango's model village, Kuttambakam. Each of these was greatly different from what I am usually exposed to. They did trigger some really interesting train of thoughts in me about issues ranging from sexual abuse of children and women, unemployment and illiteracy, microfinance etc. It was quite an enriching experience but then I would be totally lying if I said I didn't miss being with my friends and let Saarang take over me completely.

All that I enjoyed in Saarang apart from Essence are the professional shows. I had my own sweet time on stage emceeing the Choreo Nite (Apparently, I seemed like I ran short of adjectives :( at the end of the show). SEL show was awesome but come to think of it, Sonu was better.No regrets in missing the Rock show for I got the much needed rest from all the madness only then. All in all, it was a highly hectic Saarang that left me totally exhausted and being a workaholic that I am,satisfied.

Ishqiya

One of the mind-blowing movies I watched lately. Absolute originality and boldness of the plot hit you like a splash of cold water. Its razor-sharp characters and unconventional plot keep you hooked till the end. Very well-cast movie with Vidya Balan stealing the show inspite of the presence of seasoned veteran Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad 'Circuit' Warsi .A special mention to the totally awesome music by Vishal Bharadwaj!

First Encounters!

The first few days of the semester can be real fun in class. It is the time you get to know a totally new person wearing the mantle of a professor from really close quarters. Trying to figure people out has always been of great interest to me! Based on the policy they put forth which they say is going to be adhered to as strictly as Barney follows Bro Code or our Parliament follows constitution for the rest of the semester, one can easily draw a map. I end up liking a few,compromising with many and in very rare but not impossible cases,absolutely loathing a few which makes up for very intriguing first encounters :)

19!

No,it's not a movie in the league of 7 or 8 or 21 or 2012!It's what I happen to turn this very day,3rd of January.It was a special birthday celebrated in a train for the first time for I was traveling back to IITM. I didn't miss bumps at all for it was one helluva bumpy train journey [:P]. I had my dear friends by my side,Nitya and Shreya waiting for the clock to tick 12 though I missed my family very much.And thanks to all the friends who made it a point to wish me at that time of night. Last year, at the same time,I had all my batch mates in hostel coming to wish me. It is more or all less made up for with all those calls and SMSs! [:)]

And by the way, my new year resolution:Blog more!!

A Quick Autopsy!

It’s a wee bit strange to find myself in a fix wherein words don’t flow as easily as they used to for a blog post. Not that my life over the past one semester had been any less juicy or eventful. It’s just that I was trapped in what I would like to call a ‘blog freeze’. Every time I started a new post on a few occasions, I wasn’t just inspired enough to finish it. Funny as it may sound given the fact that I had swell of my time this particular semester marked with a lot of firsts in my IIT life, new friendships, old bonds –a few battered and a lot more strengthened, new adventures, new discoveries-both about myself and non-self, bittersweet memories, new revelations all making for a remarkable third semester in the life of a sophomore.

The biggest of them all being my first GPA 9 :D ( I seriously can’t help sounding eager/nerdy here for I waited too long for it and now, too excited to shut up about it :P )followed by my first ever Shaastra coordship made all the more special by the fact that a lot of fight went into it. The event under discussion here is ChemicalX. We did manage to rise to the occasion when participation went beyond bounds and people just didn’t stop coming well after we ran short of question papers. All’s well that ends well is what is popularly said! Ours was a pretty small team comprising 2 coordinators and a volunteer and it was a great experience to have been able to shape the event as we wished to with very little pressures from anybody outside our cosy small team. The fact that ChemicalX was just into its second edition very oddly grouped under ‘Unwind’ to much of my perplexity must have added to our much-cherished freedom. We managed to put a good show after all! [Looking forward to your comments on it, Varun! ;)]

Meeting film actor Boman Irani as a part of being an Extramural Lecture Series Coordinator is the next big event this semester. We got to interact with this charming, versatile and totally down-to-earth artist at very close quarters. Fighting mosquitoes at the BEGH chatting away to glory with one of the most sensible and sought–after actors of new school of Bollywood thinking has certainly been a helluva experience for me! And editing the department magazine has been an experience of its own sort. How strong the readership is still what I’m trying to figure out though! [:P]

As the 3rd semester drew to an end, came a chance to be a part of the placement team as a representative. It was again a paradigm-shifting sort of stint which did make my winter vacation a little more occupied than it otherwise would have been. It was fun work alongside presenting me with a chance to observe the placement scene from close. I also tried doing something by which I mean learning, more about Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) but I think there’s still a long, long, long way to go in this regard [:P] Now that it’s all over, I’m back to doing what I’m best at! Laying back with a book in hand, watching T.V like a maniac complete with quarrels over remote with my very sweet [:-/] sister and hogging on home food like there’s no tomorrow missing the friends and IIT once in a while.

Back into action!

Well...this is the first post taking birth in 381 Sharav,come to think of it,first in IITM for I started this blog last summer back home during the painfully vetti phase of the vacation.Why now after conveniently forgetting it and let it get rotten unupdated in the hugely complicated and crowded blogosphere on the World Wide Web for about a month?Majorly because so much happened over the past one month that kept me from writing a new post and this friendly piece of space online holds every right to be informed about all that for it stood by me in those friendless moments of vacation.Its time to vent out my high-5 moments,frustrations and surprises spanning over the past month on this platform.

It was obvious to me the moment I entered the sprawling campus how much I missed it for the last 3 months.Good to be back,truly!But I do miss my mom and her constant reminders of when to sleep,what to eat etc. now that I am back to being on my own again which means unlimited chatting,movie and gossip(!!!) sessions with friends late into the night or a formal insti coords meeting or skipping breakfast at the drop of hat and of course,new courses,quizzes etc...By the time I stepped in,the hostel is already filled with 'freshies' with vacuous faces,still having the JEE strain written about them.What I realized during those few PDPs,(Personality Development Programmes-a clever euphemism invented in IITM for ragging) I was a part of was that its rocking to be a senior,the wise one doling out few words of wisdom,in a "been there,done that" manner but in a way its dampening as well,as you now very well know how things work around that you no longer have that beginner's enthusiasm about the insti and people here.You know what happens at every fundae session.You will have realised that fundae-putters are very much human quite long ago.And most of all,you will have learnt how to figure out the timetable,all the shortcuts from CRC to hostels,mess and departments,you no longer have the opportunity to get psyched over the vol interviews because you are a pseud-putting coord now.You are done with your first Shaastra and first Saarang.Its no longer 'Enjoy while you Explore'.But yet 2nd year is in a way,hectic and eventful for me in a totally different way.It dawned on me why Chemical engg is 'the peaceful' branch.Its definitely not grades having had a phenomenal PMT where I learned in ways more than one, last semester.Its our lacking labs in 2nd year that earned us the tag of peace-putters over the years in the insti.(I always smirked at that tag.)We have two interesting PMTs this sem and nice(read sane) professors teaching them.Latest development being my getting into the EML and Saarang newzie teams.EML has been a nice experience so far and Saarang team,I am yet to be initiated.I totally enjoyed getting back with my friends again.Nitya is no longer as shy as she used to be.Sonya is dancing more than ever.Freshie night fundaes,Spark classes etc.Shreya is staying part-time in hostel and full-time in CFI.Getting to know more of spunky Maiya.Ramya is my new roomie and Amulya,my new math class benchmate,her new straightened hair,a butt of my comments during the pained moments of MA202.ID and BT classes,going by the tradition,are yawnfully boring.HS is my favorite so far.Indian National Movement and Constitutional Development.We have an NRI visiting faculty who likes screening Satyagit Ray's movies in class.I enjoy the process of coming up with some decent points for discussion in her class.

Kaminey is awesome and so is The Shawshank Redemption(I know I am way behind times but better late than never,isn't it?)TBBT is perfectly nerdy and HIMYM,'legendary'.Summing up,I'm back to being alive again!!!

New Look!

Yippee!! Finally my blog has a refreshing new look chosen eclectically from this awesome place..

HP6-A Compulsive Lacklustre

This is the most inactive phase of my vacation,I daresay,what with my Mom's superstitious streak preventing me from going out as freely as I used to,due to the unexpected death of a family member although a 'door-ka-rishtedar' (With all due respects,may the soul rest in peace!!) dampening my vivacious plans of shopping for the semester ahead which I carefully planned for this part of the vacation...Sick of arguing with her,I started finding my solace in books and movies besides working "occasionally" for my Shaastra event...The progress I made on "Books and movies" front has been particularly very promising by any of the characteristic Sush-standards...I managed to finish reading both 'Deception Point' and 'Twilight' in a li'l about 2 days besides inflicting terrible neurotic trouble on myself watching the sloppy and nonsensical 'Kambhaqt Ishq' and a distorted yet entertaining HP6...HP&HBP has been a nice outing at Prasad's with my insti friend,Shreya...This tempts me to briefly review this movie...

Opened to mixed responses, HP6, I felt didn't quite justify the book although the screenplay of adaptation was brave enough for a book which talks about a whole lot of things...Harry's (mis)adventures with the Half Blood prince, evolution of Tom Riddle from a 'different' child 'who could make things happen to people who are mean to him' to ominous (for want of better adjective) Lord Voldermort, Horcruxes,Harry's budding relationship with Ginny, his friends' adolescent blues etc...All that was managed to be constricted in a duration of about 150 mins is a li'l something of everything...Yet,sadly falls short of pleasing a loyal Potter fan...Its not devoid of the magic moments though..Who doesn't love the tongue-in-cheeky Harry riding high on luck with Felix Felicis to extract that one vital memory from Prof.Slughorn!! Truly charming performance by Daniel.That hostile and rare defensive look on Hermoine's face when she's outsmarted by Harry in Potions class,Cupid-struck Ron,flamboyant Dumbledore who wonders openly if Harry is seeing Hermoine,Weasley twins' new shop in the Diagon Alley and a fitting climax on the island are all the stealing moments of the flick...Jim Broadbent is well cast as Horace Slughorn,the new Potions master...Tom Felton surprises you with his mature performance as Draco on Dark Lord's mission...The major glitches which disappointed me are-the under-dramatized death of Dumbledore which didn't have quite the same effect of Sirius's demise in HP5, certain major characters like Snape and Hermoine had not much to do,Harry-Ginny relationship not well portrayed,the various premises of the story are not very tactfully dealt with leaving the audience with a loosely assembled puzzle set...The bottomline is,the film fails to be qualified as perfect,not exactly because of any cast or crew misfits,as a matter of fact some characters leave a nice impact on you long after leaving your seat,but out of compulsion to serve a lot on a limited platter...I definitely don't regret my 150 min outing in a pleasant company watching it on one of the biggest screens of India...

And I'm riding high as my mom's unofficial curfew is gonna be lifted tomorrow back home..

Hooked to books n blah!!

I'm into the tail-end of my vacation.Left with no more than 15 days and I find myself desperately looking forward to going back to insti...I am getting to hear some really interesting things going to happen this semester,most importantly I'm intrigued by Sharav getting 80+ new freshies(Awesome!!!) not counting the MAs..just B.Tech girls..Its sort of never heard of..Isn't it? Our batch having a strength of 60 did manage to raise quite a good number of cynical eyebrows in the insti..I'm eager to see insti junta responding to our freshie batch (:P)...And those nightmarish stories about 3 of them having to share a double room and 4,a triple!!! Though I'm not surprised with the 3/4 formula I can't imagine how the poor girls are gonna manage 2/3...God bless them!!!

And yeah,coming to personal front,these days I find myself buried deep into 2 books I started of late (eating ,crashing,googling and g-talking in whatever spare time I manage to find) Dan Brown's Deception Point and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight...Unputtdownable books truly...More about them after I finish...

New York

A Bollywood attempt to interpret the global scenario post 9/11 in USA...Yet it is not all that Bollywood in spirit...It can be called offbeat yet interesting and entertaining-the genres that rarely sync well and strike a chord in India...Its a poignant tale of three friends-two Americans of Indian descent,Sameer and Maya later joined by Omar from New Delhi in the New York State University...Omar gets to see a whole new Occidental world marked by boundless freedom and sophistication starkly contrasting his traditional Delhite upbringing...Uber-cool dude Sam and a dream-like Maya help him become one among them.When its time to leave the university,Maya realises that Sameer is her man leaving Omar heart-broken which compels the latter to leave New York...Seven years later,Omar wakes up to FBI raids in his house on the suspician that hes acting as an aide to his terrorist-turned friend Sameer and now,to avoid an almost death-like detention,he is asked to help FBI as its undercover agent...When he learns that Maya and Sam are now married happily with a son,he decides that he will take up the offer and prove to FBI that Sameer ain't any terrorist...The consequences of Omar's decision form the rest of the story...

The backdrop of this movie is a series of detentions FBI carried out on Muslims even at the slightest suspician post the twin tower destruction by Islamic fundamentalist organisations... The amount of horror and humiliation these detainees are subjected to is poignantly conveyed...The debates at various places between the FBI officer Roshan and Omar put forth some interesting justifications for such operations...Most imporatantly,the film doesn't take any stands...It obediently presents the motivations of duty-ridden FBI and passion-ridden 'so-called' Jehadis...

Actors,very well-cast, are the biggest assets of this movie and leave an indelible impact on the audience...John(Sameer) as the university 'star' who later undergoes terrible trauma as a terrorist suspect shows amazing variation pre and post 9/11 and steals the show...Katrina(Maya),as a vulnerable wife silently aware of her husband's terrifying motives and a Human Rights activist produces a rare act given the history of her earlier films...Then Irrfan Khan(Roshan) as the South-Asian FBI officer gives a taste of some casual yet effective acting...Last but not the least, Neil(Omar)-my perosnal favourite-as a loyal friend,distressed lover and a Muslim in dilemma,dishes out quality stuff...I mean it when I say there is not a single frame that doesn't contribute to taking the story forward...Its a very genuine,strong ,brave and sincere film coming from the director,Kabir Khan who is said to have been a victim of this discrimination, he so effectively captures in the movie...Hail Kabir!!!

Emotional Atyachar...

The other day I was surfing the channels on T.V. lazily when I came across this particularly outrageous interview of Rakhi Sawant,arguably the most effective drama queen of Indian television these days,being telecast on a 24x7 news channel.It had this obviously bored and equally boring host having a chat-what I'd like to call dumb-with this loud-mouthed item girl about her new 'reality' show wherein she holds a 'swayamwar' to chose her Mr.Right!!!! From what I could manage to absorb from those indicative promos is that this show has its share of emotional tear-jerkers which has become more than common-these days on Indian telly bitten by 'reality' bug and long back on its American counterpart,where,more often than not, all these shows draw their concepts from.I don't mean to imply that their is nothing productive about these kind of shows....Certain reality shows,irrespective of the controversies they seem to generate,are quite successful at showcasing some genuine talent in a much more dignified way.But this particular concept of Rakhi's show sounds all odd and way too loud a cry for publicity to me.She comes across as an insecure,self-pitying and so very cliched woman trying to act righteous in a way so ironic that it rings all annoying bells in me.I don't find any point in discussing such a person at a greater detail other than for the fact that her show is generating so much interest from a much wider and equally diverse audience which I find very hard to digest.Well...yes...I believe that people have a right to choose the way they want to be entertained but what sort of an individual does it take to make herself an objectivistic plastic mould who has zero personal life left for her!!Had Ayn Rand been alive,she would have called Rakhi one true self'less' creature.Watsay?

Wimbledon Wisdom.....

Serena and Venus-the miracle Williams sisters-have taken sibling rivalry to that next level where it came to be redefined altogether... Everytime they meet in a Grandslam final,they open doors for speculation from all the quarters...It was no different this time around..It was really intriguing to see them fight it out on the grassy London courts for a 4th time...But I must say,a 3 setter would have been a lump sum feast but it happened otherwise and Serena ,beating her defending sister,emerged victorious...Looking forward to the match tomorrow on centre court where Federer fights for a historic berth in the record books of men's tennis as Roddick tries to kindle some sparks...

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Those were the days when we had nothing left unsaid between us...
Those were the days when we talked about everything in focus...
But we parted for good I suppose...
And now I wait in the anticipation of good times to be back...
Can't wait to meet you all and bask in the warmth of the retrospect...
Talking to you is like falling back into that deep valley of nostalgia...
But only finding myself coming out of it with a renewed emotional paraphernalia...
To chase those dreams I never missed to make you all a part of...

P.S.This piece of amateur poetry,I dedicate to all my school friends who I eagerly wait to meet one of these days...My first poem for those people who saw me through many other firsts of my life...

Kane and Abel....

I must say,reading this book has been long overdue for quite some time now.I daresay,I totally relished my being "Archer-struck" single-mindedly all over again for the last 2 days..And what a pleasure it had been to get acquainted with some of the memorable literary characters to have ever been crafted!!!William Kane,Abel Rosnovski,Florentyna,Kate,Richard...so many of them in a single book.What else could I ask for with such a literary feast on my platter!! Never enjoyed reading a book sooo much for quite some time now.It brought me back the memories of similar experience of Jeffrey's book I last read,the smart tale of con,Not a Penny More,Not a Penny Less...

'Kane and Abel' is arguably the best work of Jeffrey Archer till date and I find myself more than willing in complying with this assumption.It is a gripping tale spanning about 60 years in the life of two people born on the same day under strikingly contrasting circumstances..It traces the lives of William Lowell Kane and Abel Rosnovski so very different from each other in every facet of life.Nevertheless,their paths were destined to cross and when they did,it was to be a curtain raiser to building a new enmity for life time only to be further complicated by political and family tensions. Abel Rasnovski's display of tremendous strength of character in times ranging from blindly optimistic to utterly hopeless is what appealed to me the most.This 'dumb Pole's' search for a new identity in the wake of WW1 destroying everything he ever seemed to possess including his rightful claim to his barony leads him on a trial of journeys which ultimately lead him to America where he starts off as a worker in a butcher shop to owning about 70 hotels before seeing one built on his own homeland.The Chicago Baron as he is called,never had anything easy at any point of his life ,his birth included while I found Kane's life a little more nice to lead all through what with all the opportunities falling right on his lap...I don't mean to imply that his life was sans any struggle or a simple cakewalk..Its just a matter of a sense of security he had as to what will become of his life be it the prep school he would join,the high school he would study at before securing a place at Harvard like everyone in his family ever did.He belonged to too important a family to lose out on any of these..He had had his share of bittersweet memories in life like losing father in Titanic crisis at an early age of 5 or having to put up with a swindling stepfather later or unexpected demise of a doting mother while he was still in teens or facing a major disappointment when he couldn't step into his late father's shoes as the chairman of Kane and Cabot etc...But all this can in no measure match an obscure and impoverished but intellectually well-gifted Abel's having to be a prisoner of war in his own estate seeing his brother murdered,father broken and dead and a sister molested by brutal soldiers right in front of his young eyes..It is the course of history that shaped Abel's life majorly as compared to Kane who always had a predictable,well-planned road to take at every juncture of life...Its through entirely different spectacle they've each seen the world as they grow up to become important flag-bearers of American rise to being a superpower.

Another lovely character that captivates your imagination is that of young and vivacious Florentyna, 'the prodigal daughter' of Abel Rosnovski and the centre of his world..Then there is Richard,another chip off the Kane block whose love for Florentyna and their eventual elopement to get married only widens the rift between Kane and Abel setting into motion an interesting set of events...

A mind-boggling political potboiler with occasional peeps into boardrooms..Truly,a memorable read it has been!!!

Hyderabad Blues....

This is the article I wrote for one of the inter-hostel competitions and is quite closer to my heart as its about my hometown,Hyderabad and more so because I am no longer a regular resident of this beautiful city....

City life-essentially a metaphor for opportunity, quintessential optimism, unbridled imagination, hectic activity and values, modern and bold to the core. It’s a wonderland for many dreamy-eyed Alices with aspirations to make it big. The greater availability of diverse forms of entertainment like theater, cinema, amusement parks etc. never fail to attract more and more immigrants to a city. The most striking feature of a typical city is that it never stagnates and is true to the adage of change being the only constant parameter. Hyderabad-the city I grew up in and with, always occupies a special cozy spot in the heart of my hearts. There is this unmistakable and uncanny Hyderabadi spirit in me which curiously guides me in my day-to-day thought process and it is with nothing less than great pride and joy that I proclaim myself to be a hard-core Hyderabadi.

Hyderabad is a true testimony of resilience and co-existence which makes it stand out among the galaxy of other cities in the country. She is a truly enchanting beauty perched on the top of Deccan plateau epitomizing the phenomenon of evolving cities. She has come a long way from being an abode of Indo-Persian culture to being the most happening metropolis in India. It is a rare blend of traditional and ultra-modern values. Though it is slowly turning into the proverbial concrete jungle( which is ought to happen) people are still more than willing to walk that extra mile to strike an amazing balance between their family and professional lives. The spirit of Hyderabadis which drives them to bounce back every time they stumble is highly infectious. They work with verve and walk with a spring in the step. There are clustered apartments, congested traffic, irritating pollution all over. Yet, there is a certain degree of old world charm and openness in transactions among the people. This is the most endearing trait of the city which makes visitors go gaga over. You need to be a visitor to get the flavor of the city’s hospitality.

The city owes its ethnic and rustic beauty to the Nizams who ruled over it for a long time and added most of the beautiful buildings and monuments to this jewel. Juxtaposed bylanes of old city, the roadside paanwalas and chaiwalas stood the trying tests of time and urbanization but never gave up. The rustic charm of Hyderabad never fails to enchant you. This is a city of great artistic connoisseurs. My nostalgic memories of the city are entangled in the curves of jalebi and folds in the stony cloak of Buddha on theTank Bund . Haunting stink ofMusi , multitude of bangle stores that dazzle your eyes, unique and ethnic scents which never fail to tingle your nasal buds near Charminar (400 not out),piled-up match box like book stores in Koti etc., are very strange landmarks that evolved over course of time. Its charm is instead increasing by the day .Ancient monuments like Golconda , Qutb Shahi tombs , Salarjung museum etc. add that touch of royalty to this city patronized by Asif Jahi Nawabs. The sober milieu of the Secretariat of Andhra Pradesh doesn’t intimidate the frolic mood at neighbouring Lumbini park . Gokul chat-a one-stand stop to all the golguppa lovers to unwind from the tiring day at work still reminiscent of the scary bomb blast which did leave an ugly scar on its face yet duly up and about with the solidarity displayed by the city dwellers. An evening whiled away at the Tank Bund is always well-spent but never complete without the roadside bhelpuri and palli or sugar candy and sweet fried corn. You are always left craving for more. The marble marvel, Birla Mandir is another big crowd puller.

Hyderabadis are great patrons of art, literature, theatre and cinema (not only Tollywood which time and again managed to churn out unabashed scripts with larger-than-life heroes.Believe me, I am no big fan of them). Taramati Biradari, revived recently is hosting jewels of theatre plays and music concerts on a regular basis catering to the tastes of connoisseurs. This is a city cosmopolitan to its core thanks to world class companies like Microsoft, Dell, Infosys, Infotech, IBM, Novotel, HSBC etc. setting their regional offices up here increased the Hyderabadi soft power all over the globe. It is tipped to be the most happening software hub in India next only to Bangalore. It is a hub of sports which produced gem of players who made India proud on a host of occasions like tennis ace,Sania mirza,baddy champs Pullela Gopichand,Saina Nehwal, cricketing wizardsV.V.S.Laxman ,Mohd.Azharuddin , hockey pro,Mukesh Kumar etc.

Hyderabad, shaped up by rich history has been an inspiration for many a literary masterpieces. Be it William Dalrymple’s White Mughals which brilliantly captured the scintillating romance between East India company’s official James Kirkpatrick and Nizam princess Khair-un-Nisa or The Jewels of Nizam which accounts for the incalculable wealth of Hyderabadi emperors, they did manage to strike a right chord with the readers around the world. Summing it all up, Hyderabad is such a tantalizing blend of ironically contrasting features which makes it come across as a fully decked up bride making it all the more irresistible to the insiders and outsiders alike.

Art of lying...

Well....I'm not going to write a treatise on the art of lying but just sharing the one I came across by a certain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Wondering who this guy is ??) I tell you its a completely enlightening account (rather appalling)coming from this wise man lamenting over those good olden days when people lied virtuously...Yes,he calls a LIE,
the man's tenth Muse, his best and surest friend
The benefits of judicious lying,how injurious can unconditional truth-mongering be and well...how to perfect the art of scientific lying are all penned down by the same pen that gave us the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn...