Travelling Times

“You have to know your enemy, Alfred. I'd never use one, but even I can appreciate the attraction of a gun. The heft. The sleekness. The cool steel. The precision. And the power. The power to change lives, history. The power of God.” – Bruce Wayne, The Dark Knight Restless in his grave. Samuel Colt. The world (for now) seems like a highly magnified version of Angry Birds. All the guns, explosives and bad piggies (or at least touting them as bad) are part of a well-scripted frame; and we have enough birds to sling and cause damage. My immature viewpoint may ruffle a few orthodox feathers who estimate the happenings of the world as the road to Armageddon (it is a new movie that stars Bruce Willis, who ends up fighting humans for survival). For once, the people of the world are united in their relentless stride towards murdering, molesting and pilfering their own kith and kin. I hope this post goes on-line before the dreaded 21.12.12, when the weather forecast will be “c...

Disclaimer: I don’t qualify as a critic, for movies or books (by any stretch of imagination) primarily for two reasons. 1. I do not take a neutral stand for my likes/ dislikes (rather than terming them good or bad), preferring the good old binary method. 2. I am not an expert on either books or movies. I watch movies for entertainment and read books to improve my language. Any views mentioned on this blog are totally personal and not meant to question or demean the work of the artist. “The rain fell alike upon the just and upon the unjust, and for nothing was there a why and a wherefore.” – The Rain I love watching movies. I watch movies across various genres, in various languages; English, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil (specific to actors/directors and with sub-titles). In this post, I have decided to stick to my roots, and talk about Malayalam movies over the last couple of decades. In the early 90’s, most Malayalam movies were of primarily two categories; movi...

“FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD.”   The Matador moved gracefully, clothed in red. He watched the bull line-up the target and charge towards him. All of a sudden, a haze seemed to settle in. The bull started to shrink and its ominous horns seemed to dissolve into incisive canines. The Matador seemingly followed suit, transforming into a biker (on a red bike adorning a red helmet – just like me). As the mist cleared, realization hit me (rather bit me) as the bull (now a street dog) leapt at my ankle and sunk its teeth in my flesh (Readers, ignore the slight exaggeration). Like a streak of lightning, the pain registered in my head and a Wikipedia page seemed to open (in a slow browser) titled “Rabies.” Friends, fellow victims and dear “Animal activists.” Is this the way the world is supposed to end (as per the Mayan calendar)? Where Animals overthrow humans in the race to survival? No offence meant but I just finished reading George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” and the ef...

"Everyone seemingly has a past & present, but only some are fortunate to have a future." - Skv

“Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” - Will Durant I have pondered over this subject for the last few years without reaching a rational conclusion. Surely, the educated peoples of the world are the architects of the future. On the other hand, traditional methods of teaching are unable to hold the fort against a rapidly evolving realm. Let me digress. My manager (a proven professional) lamented on the inefficiencies of fresh graduates. The raison d'être of the theory was strongly (and controversially) backed by the propaganda that tutors (at these colleges) were guilty of being ignorant to corporate norms, and specifically quoting that “lecturers would remain lecturers for the rest of their lives.” A recent introspection by a KPMG consultant seemed to justify the above statement. It is clearly debatable on the lines of our “tried and tested” mode of education. Professors and lecturers have always been highly regarded in our society for various reason...

"I believe a big club must have the ambition to win with style ... You know, there is a famous saying, that the only way to deal with your life is to transform it into art, every minute of your life. Football is an art, like dancing is an art – but only when it's well done does it become an art. If you see me painting, that is not an art. If you see my wife painting, that is art." ~ Arsene Wenger When Wenger arrived at Arsenal in the autumn of 1996 as one of the first foreign managers in the English game, he was, inevitably, received with suspicion and bewilderment. Who was this Frenchman with the German name, from the contested eastern borderlands of Alsace, and what was he doing at Arsenal of all places? Today, He is the club's longest serving manager and most successful, winning eleven major honours since 1996. Wenger also has the enviable record of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in every season (full) since his arrival. In short, he has never fa...

“It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.” - Ali Atlanta – ’96. Termed “the celebration of the century,” we Indians had a reason to celebrate; our first, and only medal, after 16 long years (first individual medal after 40-odd years) at the Olympics. For the 12-year old in me, it was the time to pin-up India’s new poster boy on the wall (accompanying the quartet of Sachin, Agassi, Jordan and Maradona). Over the next 6 years, the combined force of Paes and Bhupathi inscribed India’s name in the global Tennis community. They faltered at the quarter-finals of Sydney 2000, and narrowly missed-out on a bronze medal four years later in Athens. But the nation held its hope, and millions of Indians pumped fists and celebrated at every point won. “They played so well as a team that it prompted the then top Australian doubles pair of Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge (known as the Woodies) to predict that Bhupathi and...