The Herada File - Part 1

Sub-Inspector Gill:

A call this early in the morning?! It’s barely seven! I guess crime really dosen’t sleep. I wish could say the same for crime-fighters!

“Hello?!” I asked in a sleepy voice.

“Is this the Circle Inspector’s office?”said a female voice. She sounded very disturbed. Or 

was it hunger??!! No definitely disturbed…

“Yes. I’m sorry he hasn’t gotten here yet. Is it anything important?”

“ I’m Principal Verma from the Herada Private School. There’s been an incident. This boy had gone missing since yesterday.”

“Okay did you search the school?”

“Yes. We….we found him…he was dead!”

“What??!!”  I jumped out of my chair. The phone almost fell “He was dead? Okay. Don’t let anyone touch anything. It’s a crime scene you understand….”

“Okay. Should I inform the parents yet?”

“That is really not my. It would be best if you asked the CI himself. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

Wow! Seven and already a dead body. It’s going to be an interesting day.

“Ah!” I said as CI Fernandez entered the station. ”You’re here, sir! There’s a dead body at HPS.”

“Really? Wow!” he said in a thoroughly bored expression. I guess that’s what experience in this field brings….boredom at the sound of death.

“Shouldn’t we go there?”

“Wait. I haven’t even had my morning tea yet. The guys dead, right? He’s not going anywhere.”

“But…what about….”

“Shut up and get me some tea.”

After the whole ordeal of the Inspector’s morning routine we set out to the school. Thankfully the school was only a few kilometers away and we got there in 10 minutes time. Principal Verma was waiting for us at the front of the school. There were three others with her - Teachers, most probably, and what looked like a janitor.

“Principal Verma? Hi, I’m CI Jacob Fernandez. This is SI Bholanath Gill. I believe you talked on the phone with him? Now, what is this I hear about a dead body and who are these people?” asked the CI in one stretch.

“Yes I’m Principal Verma. This is Mr. Sen and Ms. Das, teachers and Mr. Qureshi the janitor.” she said. “The dead boy was a student here- Jai Gupta. We found him in a top floor classroom.”

We went up the stairs to the top floor. In classroom 10-N was the lifeless body of Jai Gupta. He was lying in what looked like school clothes. Shock spread through his face. A rope was around his neck.  A fan was lying tied to the rope – suicide(I think I mean how ca I be sure....).

“Clear suicide.” said Fernandez, again bored. “Most probably couldn’t handle the pressure of upcoming boards or something. His weight must have made the fan to fall.”

Something doesn’t seem right here…..maybe I’ve been watching too many detective movies….

“Who found the body?” I asked.

“The janitor, Qureshi.”

“Mr. Qureshi, when did you find the body?” asked Fernandez.

“At about 7 sir.”

“And who did you tell this to when you found out?”

“Mr. Sen and Ms. Das were in the staff room. So I went and told them.”

“We alerted the principal when we found out.” said Mr. Sen. Ms. Das looked like she was going to throw up.

“Okay lets take a closer look at the body.” said the CI.

We started examining the body closely. Everything seemed okay. But is that…….?

“Wait a minute! Sir! Look at the neck!”I said pointing at the neck of the victim.

“Uh?!”he said looking at the neck of the body very closely. “Yes this sure makes things difficult. Good eye, Gill. Mrs. Verma? I have some bad news….this was not a suicide. It was cold blooded murder……….”

Killer’s Mind:

A killer was the last thing I thought I would be. I don’t know what it was but a sudden urge came over me…. I had to kidnap that boy…..and now I have to kill him to survive……..

To be continued…………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Cab Driver

He kept steering his cab through the huge rush. He was very much accustomed to this kind of situation. Five years into the job, the city’s roads were familiar to him. He no longer gave a damn for those drivers swearing from inside the car, expecting him to hear it. He did not care for those drivers who were lazy to turn their indicators while making a turn or changing lanes. And most importantly, he didn’t give a damn for his customers. They come and they go. And his life goes on. He knew his job was a tricky one. More than once he had been tricked into giving free rides to passengers. They would plainly make him commit something and then leave him with nothing but few despicable curses. But time has changed him to more than just being vulnerable. He argued with his customers and would eventually make them pay. At times he would indulge in chats with those whom he was pretty sure to pay him a good tip. He could actually spot them out from a given crowd. He came into this city with little cash and few clothes. But now, even though not a millionaire, had a reasonable job and a quite a happy life.

As of now he was on his way to the airport. He is supposed to pick up a certain David Rosario. He parked his car in the parking lot and walked towards the Arrival section. He was walking towards the area, when he bumped into a rather plump man. He gave his apologies to the fellow and was about to move ahead when he noticed the name tag on the fellow’s luggage. It said ‘David R.’. He rushed towards him and,

‘Are you David Rosario?’ he asked

‘Yes. Do I know you? ‘ the fellow replied

‘No, Sir. I am from the taxi company. You had called in to puck you up at the airport’

‘Okay I get it. So do you have the cab parked somewhere near by?’

‘Yes, it is just around the corner. A few minutes walk from here’

He motioned to pick his luggage, but the fellow resisted.

‘I’ll handle it, Thank You’

Not much of surprise there. Many a times, customers liked to keep their stuffs to themselves. He thought of that day when the lady whom he was supposed to pick up screamed just because he tried yo help her handle her luggage. He almost got fired that day.

He finally reached the car. He opened the boot of the car so that the fellow could keep his stuff in there. He entered the car and started the engine and the passenger entered the car. Now that he was inside, he had to ask that question,

 ‘Sir, where do you want to go?’

Now a third person might find the question too obvious, but he has seen way too many people to call that question obvious. He has come across people with looks on their faces which said,

‘Get me to the nearest hotel, like duh!!’

‘Well to say the truth, I don’t know. All I have is the name of the place. If you can get me there it would be helpful.’ the fellow replied, handing him a business card with the name of the place written on its back. The handwriting was almost illegible but still he could make out.

The place was in the outskirts of the city and not many people venture out there. Not because it is dangerous or something. The area was populated by casual labourers who worked in nearby construction sites. He hit the pedal and the car roared into the road.

The journey wasn’t supposed to be long but the traffic situation was kind of odd. The roads were overflowing with vehicles. The fellow was patient. Patient enough not to bug him with useless questions like` Is there any other way out?’ or `Can you drive it a bit faster?’. The fellow sat there doing nothing but staring through the glass with wry smile. He turned the radio on and tuned into the news channel. The woman on the news bulletin went on.

` On the regional news, we have the inauguration of the D’Leh metro- a pet project of the government. The metro possess what may be said as one of the few automatically operated locomotive systems in the world. The capitol city has planned a grand scale ceremony for this glorious project. Works for the metro began around two years back and the completed last month- three months prior to its planned date. The metro system would connect the various parts of the city giving its citizens complete mobility. The gates of the station would open for the public in another few hours and all roads to the station are jam packed. We would be returning back with a live update from the venue in another half an hour…..’

Now that would explain the huge traffic. He indicated to the right and turned but the driver in the opposite car wasn’t happy. The driver slid his window down to swear at him, and he slid his window up to avoid it. Avoiding such people was better than arguing with them. He took the next exit and drove off at high speed.

He reached the area but being almost deserted it made him feel uneasy. He had been to places far worse than this but not so lonely. The whole place looked as though a shootout had taken place. But the fellow insisted on going further inward. The cab reached a secluded building. It can’t be exactly described as a building. It was more like a single room house. The fellow told to stop there. He did so, even though feeling immensely insecure within. He got off the car to pick up the luggage from the boot. As he bend down to pick up his luggage from the boot he heard a swift move of hand and the next thing he knew was that he was bleeding through his chest. Without turning back, he knocked the fellow off with his elbow. But he did no fall back. He barely moved a few steps backward. That fellow was immensely strong for his bulging body. Punching him back, the fellow took out a knife. He didn’t know why the fellow was attacking him but now he had to fight him back. It was a `live or die’ situation and he was grossly unprepared for this. He felt the pain in his chest becoming increasingly strong. The fellow ran towards him but he moved towards the side. The fellow banged his head against the top of the boot and fell down unconscious. He looked into his chest-it was still bleeding.  He had the sudden thought that there must have been something of immense importance that provoked the fellow to do such a thing. He went forward to examine the bag and luckily it wasn’t locked. All that was inside it were a few laptops and hard drives. He threw the bag out of his boot and entered the car. He stopped the meter and hit his head against the steering wheel. He felt relieved but the pain was still hunting him down. He placed one arm on his chest and drove off………..

To be continued……….

Epicmakers' First Epic - Aditya Rao's story

Purple’s story :

"Give me your metro card" he said.

"What?"I replied. " Why should I? "

 " Ok..now you pissed me off, show me your wallet now...or else... " 

 Or else What??!! i said in a  very menacing voice.

  " Don’t you know who i am....if I call my gang you would probably be meat in two minutes."

"You really don't know who I am do you " I said and started laughing. " Wait till you meet my   'friends ' ."  And suddenly my two personal buffed up 7 foot Somali bodyguards appeared beside me. The so called gangster took one look at my friends and ran away . I bet he had already crapped his pants by then.

YEA  !..And this really happened in a screwed up imagination of mine where I'm a real stud.

This is what really happened. :

I was hanging out at the mall waiting for my best friend Red to join me when the girl of my dreams walked in with her group of friends . Violet was the most stunning girl I had ever seen . I had never really spoken to her , maybe i should go and say Hi. but ..does she know me??..we might be in the same school..but. Anyway, I decided to be a man and go say Hi when suddenly Brown the biggest douchebag ever and his friends appeared out of nowhere and this was how our conversation actually happened:

Brown : Give me your metro card.

Me : Uhh ? I..don't have it .

Brown : Stop lying...show me your wallet .

me : Why should I? ...oops..big mistake!

Brown ( now sounding very pissed ) : Dont you know who I am ??I can get you beaten up right now if I want to .

me : uhh .. umm..here..take it.

Brown ( takes all my cash out ) : haha...see you later loser!

You see, thing is I'm not very strong and am absolutely terrified of fighting , neither can I talk my way out of any situation. I'm approaching the land of geekism or nerdism...or whatever you want to call it.

 Where was my best friend Red when I needed him ?? ..He would have probably talked my way out of this shit. Ahh! finally...here he is.

( Red is what one would normally call cool. He is one of the most popular guys in school and still doesn't act like a total jerk..and that really speaks volumes ..trust me. And plus he’s a smooth talker ..he can talk his way in and out of any situation. How we both became best friends is still a mystery to me )

Red : Heyy..I just saw Brown and his group of douchebags walk past.Did they give you any trouble?

Me : Yeah..they took all my cash. Do you think Violet saw any of this?? Where is she anyway?

Red : Yeah..sure she didn't see you. She was only standing 10 metres away from you.

( ughh! Red and his stupid sarcasm )

Red : Oh..and I saw Brown walking away with Violet... I think he bought her an ice cream ..with your cash I guess....sad. ! And for the hundredth time...stop thinking about her..The chances of a Twilight movie being good are greater than you becoming her boyfirend.

Me : I know...but we are in the same school...and ..she might just know me.

Red : Dude!..I don't even know half the guys in my class...do you really think someone like Violet would even know that you exist?

Me : But......

Red : Sigh!..okay..if you want..I can introduce you to her ..

Me : YOU would .....that would be awesome!

Red : Oh look !..there she is...and she’s alone ...quick let’s go talk to her!...and remember ..act cool...and DON'T be your normal self !

We both walk towards Violet and thankfully Brown is not with her .

Red : Heyy Violet !

Violet : Heyy Red !..Whats up?

Red : Nothing much ..just hanging aorund ..Oh btw..meet my friend Purple

Violet ( looking at me ) : Hi!

Oh wow !.I've never seen her eyes up close before..She looks so beautiful .Okay now im taking way too much time to answer ..think of something .quickly...oh wait..she’s still eating her ice cream ..

Me : Heyy ..nice cone you’ve got there .

Violet ..uhhuhh..yea....thanks....I guess.

Oh cmon !..seriously..nice cone ?? ..im not that much of a loser am I? ..and meanwhile Red makes this weird noise...something between  a  groan and a laugh I think . Anyway ..my phone starts to ring...I walk away from Red and Violet to get it. Just my Mom on the line...wondering where I was. Anyway ...I see those two chatting for about a minute more and Violet walks away.Red comes smiling towards me.

Red : nice cones ..you swept her off her feet with that line .

Me : ughh!...

Red : anyway ..guess what ..I asked her if she wanted to see a movie with us next week ..and she said yes , and she would also bring a friend along.

Me : Huh ..she said yes..just like that ?

Red : yea. I know..weird.

Or maybe Red just let his talking do all the work!

Me : what was she doing with Brown anyway ?

Red : Don't know..forgot to ask her .

Me : you think I made a lasting impression on her ?

Red : Yeah..you DEFINATELY made an impression on her with your 'nice cones'. But look at the bright side..I have a whole week to prepare you for the movie night!

Anyway it was getting late and we both had to leave. That night in bed ..all I could think about was how beautiful Violet was ..and what an ass I made of myself. But there still was a slight chance that she might be thinking about me.

Vilolet’s story :

Wow ..today I met the two most diverse guys ever. Red and Brown. Oh and there was another guy with Red ..forgot his name already!

Aditya Rao

The True Picture

This is in reference to the KHDA inspection that has been going on in many schools.
I was very disturbed and troubled by the fake show put up by most of the schools to get a good report.
I would like to bring to the notice of the parents of this nation who get deceived by this report of the KHDA inspection which is not even a part of the reality.
We as students have seen transformation of our school to enormous HEIGHTS. Teachers have become more polite in front of the inspectors. The school canteen menu has changed drastically to organic food only for the week the inspectors are here.
Schools have been renting LCD screens/ top brand computers just to impress the KHDA. Students are suddenly taught everything in a more practical method which has NEVER been adapted before. Subject teachers have planned out the whole week as to which particular chapter to do, when to do,who to ask questions to, seating arrangements etc.
There have been orderly and disciplined dispersals/assemblies which have never been there before. Teachers have made us learn particular questions which they would ask if they inspectors show up in a particular class.
We would love for our schools to be rated as 'excellent' or 'outstanding', but NOT by this fake act put by the school. Because it is on the basis of this result that the parents send their wards to schools.
As a distressed student, I would like to request the team of KHDA to host surprise checks in schools to obtain the real picture of it.
Thank you.

- a concerned student

Iliad and Ramayana

Iliad is the epic story of the Trojan War. Ramayana is the epic story of the plight of King Rama. So you may ask me what connection does the two have? Lets look at the similarities:-

1. Root Cause - Women

One of the main themes discussed in the Ramayana is the abduction of Seetha, the wife of Rama by the king of Lanka, Ravana. Its a very popular thought that Ravana was a villain but truth is that he was just acting as a dutiful brother - his sister Surpanaka was humiliated by Rama and she wanted revenge. If Ravana was a true villain he would have done something worse to Seetha than just lock her up in a garden. A women was the root cause of the war in Ramayana, the women being Surpanaka, not Seetha. And if we look further back what caused Rama to leave home but the fatal advice given by the humpback Mantara to Kaikeyi, Rama's step-mother.

In the Iliad, Helen the beautiful newly wed queen of Sparta falls in love with Paris, the prince of Troy. A story behind this is that he actually made Aphrodite, the goddess of love, put a spell on her in return for helping her(Aphrodite) win a bet against Hera and Athena. Helen 'runs away' with Paris to Troy. And what does Helen's husband, Menelaus do? He gathers the forces of Greece and attacks Troy, causing the Trojan War. Here too a women, rather a goddess is responsible for outbreak of war - not Helen, but Aphrodite.

In both cases, women are the root cause of the war.

2. Specialty of cities

This is a very interesting look at the two epics. The common point between Lanka and and Troy is that both were unreachable. The city of Lanka was and still is an island, miles away from any other piece of land. The sea between Lanka and Rameswaram(in India) was then infested with dangerous creatures and crossing that by boat would have been no picnic and not many boats could have taken a whole army across in such a short time. For this specific reason, a bridge that could enable a whole army to march on it was built with rocks.

Troy on the other hand had unbreakable walls. These walls were made by Gods - the wall was by legend built by immortals Poseidon and Apollo. Legend had it that you could only get in to Troy through invitation, which is what the Greeks so cunningly obtained through the Trojan Horse.

In both cases the cities were unreachable and it can also be noted that the bridge and the Trojan horse served the same purpose - breaching the unbreachable.

3. Wandering

Ever read the Odyssey? The wanderings of Odysseus, the legendary king of Ithaca and mastermind behind the plan of the Horse, is very similar to the wanderings of Rama in his early years of exile.

These are just a few points, reading the Ramayana and the Iliad, we can find even more.

Now I am no conspiracy theorist and I'm just telling you the few similarities I noticed, thats all. Many conclusions can be drawn from the above - Homer copied Valmiki or the other way around, both were the same story but told in different versions, etc. I'll leave it to you to decide


Shreerag Plakazhi

Online Identities

In today’s world, the Internet holds vital importance and one of the many facilities provided by it would be social networking. This is rapidly gaining popularity in our era due to the fact that it is an inexpensive and fast mode of staying in touch with family and friends despite the distance. Individuals who have an account in major social networking sites such as Orkut, Twitter or Facebook are now using more of their time to socialize with other people amidst the distance and lack of time. Networking sites serve several advantages as well as disadvantages.

Users of networking websites may interact in several ways and can share their thoughts, views, opinions and expressions online. This has hence brought the world closer and did not require any large expenses. Social networking websites enables users to socially interact with one another. Additionally, people  who share similar interests, beliefs or other common concerns may befriend each other. Some companies are known to even browse through their employee’s online profiles to learn more about them and their personality traits. 

However, every coin has two sides and there are disadvantages to these sites as well. In spite of age limits and barriers set on many sites, people still take advantage by entering an incorrect age or age group and creating accounts on these websites. Many people are addicted to these websites and spend valuable time updating their social network. Cyber bullying and stalking of profiles are rising issues that affect many users and threaten their privacy and security. Very often we hear of reported cases of hacked accounts and disapproving changes made to profiles. The consequence of these actions are severe and may damage one's social reputation among their peers. It also causes a great amount of grief and humiliation to the victims of this form of bullying.

Social networking websites therefore play a very important role in enhancing one’s social identity or image and may influence, to an extent, their reputation socially. Hence it is important for one to create an account in a social networking site keeping in mind the cause, use and effects of creating an online identity. Kindly publish articles raising awareness of the uses of social networking sites and the possible effects of doing so as those readers who are active online may gain benefit from them.
 

Piracy

Note: This is my second post for the blog. For the last two weeks I had lost my internet connection and as such could not post anything. But those two weeks made me think whether I was misusing the internet. That is how I came up with idea for this article. Thanks for reading!

Piracy is a worldwide phenomenon. Thousands of megabytes of data are being uploaded by the hour. And double of that amount is being downloaded. It is an undeniable fact that we ourselves have been encouraging such activities. But have we ever felt guilty? Chances are very low because we ourselves know how serious this is but we still continue this practice. But have considered the amount of money that the original creators of such content incur. By money I mean not just a few dollars, but millions!

Let us consider the case study of the movie industry. Every year around 250 movies are released by the Hollywood industry. Being a studio based industry; the major players are Warner Bros., Paramount, Columbia Pictures, Universal and Disney. As of recent, these studios have been releasing their movies on home video format after a short stint at the theatres. Now why would studios do that when they cold make more profits through a wide theatrical release? The answer lies in the fact that piracy has grown into such a major force that they are forced to resort such vain attempts. By doing so they plan to bring movies directly to the audiences and discourage piracy. But this would have multitude of effects:

·         Theatre owners would restrict such a motion because it would reduce the income that they would earn

·         But this would not necessarily mean any decrease in piracy, considering the high price of such format. People would still continue to download movies from torrent sites.

 In the latest of such series of such motions, the latest one involves Columbia Pictures ‘Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs’. The studio green lit the idea of releasing the movie on DVD and Blu Ray just 3 months prior to its release. But theatre owners disagreed with this and many of them protested against this by removing the movie from its show slots.

Secondly, only ardent moviegoers would take the effort to go and watch movies at theatres.  They’d rather sit back at home and enjoy in their own privacy at the cost of millions for the studios.  So such early releasing of movies on home video would also not be a suitable step. After all when you get it for free, who’d pay for it!!

But as of recent there has been an increased interest for movies being released in 3D format. Last year, around 12 movies were released on 3D format. This has re-ignited an interest among the audience to ‘experience’ a movie than plainly watching it. With James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ raking in big bucks at the box office and speculations that it might be one of the biggest movie of all time, audiences are returning back to theatres. Hopefully, with an increasing number of movies being lined up for a 3D release, thid trend would continue and as such piracy would be curbed.

Arun Pramajan Achu

E-Books Can Never Replace the Printed Word

To quote Daniel J. Boorstin, famous American historian and Librarian of the Congress, “A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you.”

From the dawn of time, man has felt the need to pen down his thoughts onto whatever material was available to him. From etchings on clay tablets to hieroglyphs on papyrus, to writings on ancient scrolls of vellum, the written word has always been a medium of expression of free thought and has been used to facilitate the spread of ideas all over the world.

Books of the early ages were used to spread the word, quite literally, about political and religious points of view to the people and later, used to publicize scientific breakthroughs.

Circa 1445, Johannes Gutenberg perfected the movable type and thus, the first printing press came into being with the publishing of the Gutenberg Bible. Since then, there has been no looking back. The printed book became, from an individual entity to an enterprise, involving capital, manpower and market for distribution.

Firstly, the printed word becomes a part and parcel of our lives right from the time we are born. Nothing gives us more joy or pleasure than to own our very first book. What can substitute the ecstasy or the curious tingling one feels when opening a book for the first time? The smell of the new pages, the crackling of a book being turned for the first time all add to the personality and the character of a printed book. The turning over of a book, the folding of page corners, and the beauty of the book covers all add up to give a book a human touch, one that compares to nothing else. After all, what can be more informative and enjoyable as turning the pages of the day’s newspapers accompanied by a steaming cup of tea early in the morning?

Secondly, with the coming of the internet age, however, several new technologies have come to light, some of which have been audacious enough to be titled as the next substitute to the printed word. However, as with every new technology threatening to overshadow its predecessors, so is the case with the advent of ebooks. In today’s technologically advanced world, where the Internet is the new information portal, it is feared that the information available online can ring the death knell for printed books. But what we fail to notice is that when we read online we sacrifice concentration for convenience, information for substance. A study by Burst Research found that 20 percent of students between the ages of 18 and 24 spend at least 20 hours a week on the internet, where as only 8 percent of students spent the same amount of time in front of a television or a book. This phenomenal chunk of the week spent in front of screens and keyboards is wiping away our ability to appreciate what is absorbed. The printed word gives us a chance to relax and actually concentrate on what we are reading. People find it much easier to sit down and absorb what he is reading when it is physically in their hands and not in an alternate medium.

Also, looking at things from an economic point of view, availability of e books requires the availability of a computer and an internet access, which, in today’s recession hit world, has become a near impossibility for a vast majority of the people. Even today, most people in poverty stricken countries fight for the bare necessities such as food, water and clothing. How can they be even expected to know about ebooks? And in today’s unethically rampant cyberspace, the chances of thefts of copyrighted books and free, illegal access to original e-books means that most authors and publishers are unable to get due credit for their work.

To reinstate my argument, I would like to quote Amy Lowell: “Books are the life, the very heart and core of ages past, the reason why men lived and worked and died, the essence and quintessence of their lives.” Thus, it is absurd to even think that new technology like the internet and ebooks can even compare to the age-old charm of a printed book, let alone replace them.


Neil21

Parallel Worlds

Have you ever heard of the concept of parallel dimensions? Its an interesting theory saying that there exists dimensions other than our own. These dimensions are are different from ours because in them we made different decisions. Imagine a tree with branches - branches that split from the trunk and split again to make smaller branches. Our life is also a tree, each decision we make is like a branch. Each of those decisions makes a parallel dimension. It is our choice which dimension to travel on.


Think of it right now you are reading this cause you made a decision. If you hadn't made that decision you would be someplace else doing something else. This theory states that there exists a you who didn't make that decision to sit and read this. We make thousands of decisions everyday and in the process make thousands of worlds. 


This theory is very closely related to the butterfly effect or in scientific terms 'chaos theory'. Chaos theory in its non-scientific sense, states that every decision you take influences your life, however minute the decision. Sometimes its the smallest decision that ends up making the largest difference. For example say you are driving a car and suddenly a  call comes on your mobile and you pull over answer the call and say that you are driving and will call back. Now it was a very minute decision to STOP and answer that call. What if  in that second a truck speeds by and you missed it just cause you took that call. You must have cursed that person for calling while you were driving.....but that call just saved your life. If you had not answered that call you would have been dead by now.


We can derive two messages from the above example - one that not every negative thing happens for a negative reason, it could happen for a greater reason. And the second message being that the most minute of your actions can influence your life in ways that beyond our imagination. There exists a parallel dimension where you didn't take that call and well.... My point is you shouldn't be scared of every bad decision you make or have made or are going to make. Everything happens for a reason.


My favorite question has always been "what if...?" What if there existed a world where instead of doing your daily job you decided to be a rockstar? What if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth? What if there existed a world without war? What if....? In imagining what the world could be we make it a mental picture, a goal. So imagine what you want your life to be like using the words 'what if' and who knows you could go on to achieve them.

Deathnote

Deathnote is the best anime/manga that has ever been created. Written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by manga artist Takeshi Obata it’s the finest anime that’s ever made such a huge impact in the anime world.

The series centre’s around Light Yagami who’s a 17 year old high school student who gradually goes into university his age varies from 17 to about 24. Light is a hard working/studious senior who stays at the top of his class. Light feels that the world is getting curropt and there are a large number of criminals out there. He wants to eliminate all these people and make the world a safe place for gentle people.

Light finds a supernatural notebook called Deathnote which was dropped on the Earth by the shinigami (deathgod) Ryuk. The notebook grants the user the ability of killing any person whom he/she might have seen by writing the victim’s name into it. If the cause of death is not specified the person will die of a heart attack 40 seconds after the name is written, however if the cause of death is specified the user has 6 minutes and 40 seconds to specify the details.

Light starts writing names of criminals by following his views on justice.  The police and UN corps starts noticing that someone is killing the criminals and it’s not just coincidence. This so called person eliminating the criminals starts being called Kira(killer) by the people. The world’s most famous detective know to everyone as “L” takes over the case. L shows that the criminal is in Japan, He starts heading the investigation team of the Japanese police force. The investigation team which had a number of about 40 people or so had dropped to just 6, as the ones who quit were afraid of Kira killing them. One of the 6 is Light father, Yagami Suichiro who is the Chief of the investigation team and the Japanese police.

Misa Amane another person also has a Deathnote and is deeply in love with Light. She however is more eccentric and works as a model and actress. She is grateful to Kira as he killed the burglar the robed their house and killed her parents in front of her. She says she would do anything to please Light. She becomes a second Kira and later in the series she marries Light.

Light wants to become the god of the new world that he creates and wants to pass on judgment on who he thinks is good or evil. L however starts to suspect Light as Kira. The fight between L and Kira or light is simply amazing. L thinks this is a game; he and Kira are immature and hate to lose. The series is mainly based on this fight of who get to the other first. Whoever discovers each other’s true identity first will win.

The series has 37 episodes this is merely a gist of the series there’s a lot more I can go on about but that will ruin the surprise and thrill of while watching it. For people who love mystery and supernatural programs I’ll recommend this. It’s an amazing thriller and superb artwork and detailing of the characters. Hope you enjoy watching it

A Tale of Two Worlds

As he walked down the cold, dark alley, he looked around, wary of his surroundings. Who knew what could happen? Who knew what dangers lurked ahead? Hands buried deep within his trench coat pockets and a hat riding low over his eyes, he looked like one of those typical, good for nothing, shady characters stalking the streets in search of new prey. But that was just an illusion. That was what he wanted them to believe, that he was one of them. In fact, he was the good guy. The protector. Their savior. He was the reason people slept soundly at night. He was trained. Trained in a set of elect skills that made him a nightmare for evildoers around the world. Tonight, he was on a mission…

Igor Karkarovsky reclined in his imported Russian leather armchair and lit his $1000 Cuban cigar. For a person who had just signed a billion dollar deal, he looked extremely calm, composed. After all, what does a multibillionaire underworld kingpin have to worry about? What indeed? Igor sighed in pleasure as he savoured the smoke and the flavour…

Slowly walking towards his goal, resolute, he wonders what lies ahead of him today. Never, in all his life, has he been apprehensive before a mission. He has never felt the need to. The invincible know no fear.

Even though he is surrounded by henchmen, people who are armed to the teeth and have made protection their profession, Igor does not feel safe. For although he is protected from external threat, who can save him from the ghosts of his past? In his line of work, he has made few friends and gathered loads of enemies. He cannot afford to have relationships, bonds of trust, faith. It is impossible to be friends with a person one second and shoot him in the head the next…

As silent as the shadow, he creeps towards his target. Of all the criminals he’s captured, this one might prove to be the biggest fish to catch. Months of searching and waiting has finally paid off. Tonight might be the only chance he might get to catch the most notorious criminal to roam the streets since Al Capone himself. He was known as König, the King. But he knew better. His real name was Igor, and he was in town tonight to seal a billion dollar deal with the local mafia. It might be his only chance…

As he sat and waited for a call from the mafia leader, his ruthless eyes hide the true feelings flashing through his mind. His early childhood had been pretty uneventful. He came from an unexceptional, normal family and lived in a normal, unexceptional suburb. He reminisced, those days under the sun, playing, running in their backyard with his little brother. Enjoying those days of innocence and ignorance. He had all he wanted. Until the day his parents divorced. Everything went haywire in his life. His Mom got him while his Dad was given custody of his brother in a bitter court battle. He was banned from contacting his own flesh and blood twin…

The silent savior walks to a corner of the alley and sits down on a rock to wait. He would wait for the right moment, the right moment to strike and kill. To him, this was more than just an effort to catch one of the most notorious gangsters in the world. This was a personal vendetta. A revenge. Revenge against the person who had slaughtered his Dad, who had no fault than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Igor had drawn first blood and now he would pay. Pay with his life. All he had had was his Dad. He had never remembered much of his Mother and there were no pictures or any other memories to speak of that held proof of her existence. All he knew was that his parents had separated before he had turned five.

From then on, Igor’s life went downhill. Drugs, cars, shoplifting and even murder were added to his long list of vices and crime. He found solace in these indulgences. Found a part of the life he had lost. He thought he had power, control and authority. Slowly but surely, he established himself as the König, their King. He enjoyed his newfound authority and respect. But behind that mask lay a man who felt nothing but remorse…

Just as the clock struck one, he shook himself from his reverie. He couldn’t afford to be distracted. He was on a mission, after all. As he extracted a B-22 hand grenade from within his trenchcoat’s arsenal of weapons, he followed his usual ritual, something he always did before a raid. Taking out a picture of his Dad, he kissed it, whispering, “For You, Dad…”.

“We have spotted an Alpha! All to positions! ”, screamed the head of security, the person responsible for Igor’s security. The König must not be compromised, no matter what. After all, wasn’t that why he was drawing his hefty salary of a million per month??

Without a second’s hesitation, he pulled the pin and threw his state-of-the-art grenade with calculated skill and speed. He did not need to look to see that it had found its mark. With a resounding BOOM! All fifteen of the elite guards were razed to the ground, blown to smithereens, leaving the path clear to Igor’s sanctum sanctorum. The Shadow breathed in the night air deeply before he strode forward, fingers curled tightly around his Beretta.

With a crash, Igor was brought back down to earth. He had heard the blast outside and for a second, fear clutched his heart. Then reality set in and he leaned forward to grab the Kalashnikov lying on the table. He never thought he’d need to use it. At least, not for self defense. He usually had people to do that for him. Around him, his henchmen snapped to fighting stances. This was the moment they had prepared for their whole lives. This was the reason for their existence. They were prepared, weapons at the ready.

Killing five of Igor’s guards was not at all a problem. They were no match for his superior skill and practiced precision. He was The Shadow, an unstoppable blur of guns, knives and hands. He was unparalleled, fuelled by a thirst for revenge. As his eyes scanned the now lifeless corridors, he found the door he was looking for. What lay behind them was no mystery to him.

With a thud, he kicked down the door, only to be faced by Igor’s elite henchmen, all surrounding the man they were supposed to be protecting, the man who had taken his Dad’s life. The man who was the reason for all that was happening to him today. As he took in this scene, he let loose a volley of bullets from his semi-automatic, promptly getting rid of the nearest two guards. They never had time to react. Lunging towards the nearest bookshelf, he had a split second look into Igor’s ruthless eyes. He realized he was numb. Numb with pain, emotions, hatred. With a swish, he launched his poisoned darts and the nearest guard who promptly dropped dead. Curare was a potent poison. Dodging the barrage of bullets, he leapt behind the nearest table and let loose a few rounds from his Beretta, promptly disposing off the rest of the guards. Then, throwing his knife at Igor, he incapacitated him, making it impossible for him to hold his gun. And now…

Igor lay on the floor, spent… His last hope at freedom, his final bid to save his life had been futile. He tried to get up and run, but was immediately brought down to the ground by a well-thrown nunchuk to his heels. It was finally over. All his past sins had finally caught up to him. He could run, but could not hide. Not anymore.

His mind was devoid of all emotions. Just emptiness. A shell.

At last, thought Chekhov. At last I shall have my revenge. He shall pay for all he has done. At last…

With slow, calculated steps, he walked towards Igor, gun raised and pointed right at his temple. With an almost languid air, he extracted the photo of his father, the man who had been his life. “This is why you had died, Dad. It was him.”, said Chekhov. “And this is why even you shall die tonight.” he said to Igor, slowly turning the picture towards him. Just as he pressed the trigger, he had just enough time to register the words “BROTHER!!” before Igor slumped, quite dead, onto the floor.

Policemen and Canines.

For some very odd reason this whole setting enthralled me. Policemen and canines.

Oh and this was in Abu Dhabi in front of the Grand Prix.

Discrimination in India

I recently read Chetan Bhagat's book 2 States (which was very good by the way, it had that same feeling of Five Point Someone to it) and the most recurrent theme discussed by him was discrimination. Unlike other countries, in India it is not just your skin-tone that matters - your caste, state, religion, cultural background, monetary resources, gender, etc. all create divides in society. It sickens me that even after more than 60 years of independence, we are still suffering from this discrimination. 

It is really sad that for a marriage to happen in India, we have to look through all that and then only agree. Not to mention the disgusting practice of taking Dowry, but I am getting off topic. Why am I going to marriage, in my school, Malayalees have always been downsized. We have been stereotyped and anything we do wrong just gets us the statement " Mallu no? Figures". What people from other parts of India can never do anything wrong? I'll admit the problem has gone down in recent times but it still exists. Another example was brilliantly showed in the Hindi movie Kaminey - native Maharashtrians discriminating against immigrants. And don't even get me started on gender discrimination - that will be a whole another article by itself.

North Indians always look down on the South Indians as backward people with no urge to become modern. South Indians always think of North Indians to be too proud of themselves and overly modern (the word they use being Westernized or Americanized). Truth is we all have our own good qualities and bad qualities. And these qualities are what makes us Indian.

If this fighting goes on it will only lead to Civil War like racial discrimination did in the US. Fighting has already started..... in the Kannur district of Kerala, at least 4 people are killed in the name of Religion every single day. There's a saying in Kannur, "If you go out and come back with your head, consider yourself lucky". Why do we degrade our country's reputation by fighting over something so petty as religious differences? 

I know of many people who complain that India is a bad country to be part of. To tell you the truth, I feel like punching those people in the face. If you consider India to be a bad a country, that is no one else's fault but your own. By you I mean every single citizen of India, myself included. Discrimination is carried out by people not the country. You have no right to say anything against our country and whats wrong with it if you are not doing anything to fix it.

In conclusion I would like to give you what I think to be the first step in eradicating discrimination. Stop thinking of yourself as North or South or East or West Indian, as Hindu or Muslim or Christian, think of yourself only as Indian. It is our generation's greatest goal as the generation of change to fix India, so lets do just that.


Shreerag Plakazhi

Censorship…SCREW IT!!!

For people in most places that block every site that comes out it’s a pain especially if they’re like me. I mean who cares what people can access. By blocking or censoring we just make the people more curious. The so called authorities have gotta realize this sooner or later they will find a way to get through to the site. There’s probably about thousands of hackers out there might as well stop trying to control it. There is the part where you’ve gotta block out explicit stuff, but that doesn’t mean block the whole site. For example there was Oukut yea there were few things that well didn’t really go well with the rule but not every damn member is like that. Now there’s Facebook im almost sure sooner or later they’ll probably shut it out. I don’t get the point; people have got the right to know what is what good or bad why do the authorities care who does who doesn’t.

For artists who wanna learn Manga(Japanese art),or modeling(sculpturing) etc. they can’t because the site is blocked for god knows what reason. People want to communicate thorough out the world and they can’t really let out what they really want because of censorship.

Movies is the main field where censorship is a real hassle. If the actors don’t want to be put that way on screen they won’t make the scene. Of course I’m not saying publish out all the 18+ crap that comes out, but just because there are few things in the movie that you! Think you don’t want people to hear or see, you censor it SCREW YOU! People are mature enough atleast now to decide what’s good and what isn’t. So simple message don’t do it and mind your own business 

Welcoming the big one-oh is, frankly, to me, really overrated. New decade, new beginning and things. I did however enjoy celebrating. But 2010 will just be another year passed, another year learnt. But the number 2010 sounds plain awkward.

Resolutions, new years, calendars, movies, all these things hoping to start off fresh. It's an excuse to forget all the messed up actions of the past and to proceed with the future. But we must also be grateful that we're alive, today, to watch another year pass by. We are the consequence of our own actions and we shall wait and watch what 2010 holds for us.

Why my 2009 was awesome:
1) I watched my puppies grow up into dogs.
2) I discovered emotions I never knew existed.
3) My music sense changed for the better, or rather matured.
4) I discovered the magic of the pistachio flavoured doughnut.
5) I rescued several street animals-my personal best. Or maybe less?
6) I made friends who are worth befriending.
7) I've learnt who means more to whom than who.
8) I've learnt to appreciate sunrises and sunsets.
9) I rode a camel without falling off.
10) I ran down the staircase and fell off and fractured my leg. I've learnt better now.
11) I see the magic in clouds. The possibilities.
12) I've learnt to not care about society's opinion about things.
13) Lady Gaga. Amazing. Period.
14) My iPod turned 3 and a half years old.
There are many many more things I've learnt '09, but these are the most significant.

Why 2009 was not-so-cool:
1) I'm in the 11th Grade. Science.
2) I cut my hair off without realising how much I would regret it.
3) I stopped gaming and I miss it.
Lot more, apparently. But I would rather not.

What I'm looking forward to in 2010:
1) Another dog.
2) Longer hair?
3) Another iPod!
4) A better relationship with my sibling.
5) A better camera. And phone.
6) A better UAE, a better Asia, a better world.

All in all, 2009 was definitely one of the years of my life which I'd never ever forget. I've learnt the most in this year than I ever could have and I felt the significance of this year with a profound impact. I discovered some things and rediscovered some others.
I hope 2010 turns out to be another year I can cherish, another successful year for me, for you, and for everyone.
I also hope in 2010, the world finally discovers ultimate humanity.

So, have a Happy Happy New Years. Hope your one-oh is pretty damn fine. :)


Preethi Rajkumar

Awkward Moments they Don't Show on Movies or TV.......

1 )

Megatron : WOOHOO!..I JUST KILLED OPTIMUS PRIME..  !

The Fallen : ..thats freaking awesome ...now we can continue our plans for...

Megatron : .hold on...I remember you saying something about how u could only be defeated by a prime .

The Fallen : uh....yeah...

Megatron :  and I just killed a prime...

The Fallen  : like I said...thats awesome ...now get back to what I ordered you to do .

Megatron : ..hold on.. so technically doesn't that make me more powerful than you. ?

The Fallen : uhhhhh..

Megatron : I'm outta here !

2 )Edward and Jacob storm into bella's room both apprently pissed off..

Edward throws bella's diary at her .

Edward : what the hell is this ??

Bella : thats my diary!..how dare you?!

Jacob: never mind that..read what you wrote. .

dear diary ,

checklist :

1) vampire                         

2) werewolf                          

3 ) zombie

4 ) the lochh ness monster

5 ) frankenstein

Bella : wait..i can explain...( starts crying )

Edward : screw you !

Jacob : save your depressed shit for the lochness monster

3 )

guy : heyy Bill Gates !...i need a favour ..

Bill Gates : sure..

guy : can you repair my Zune ?

Bill Gates : oh yea..not a problem .

guy : of wait..im sorry..i have an Ipod like the rest of the world ..hahaha loser..

Bill Gates...FML !

4 )

Batman : OMG !..the joker has Harvey Dent and Rachel in two different buildings filled with explosives ..

Superman : so ?

Batman : the buildings are 20 blocks away ..i can never reach them both in time ..

Superman : hold on .( flies away and comes back a second latter with Harvey , Rachel and the Joker) .all done.

batman: ohh..thnx..i guess..

sperman : so..what powers do you have..are you like a bat ?

Batman : umm...yeah..kind of ..not exactly..

Superman: do you fly like a bat ?

Batman: uh....

Superman: ..so wait...u have nothing !..ha !

Batman: i strike fear into the hearts  of the criminals of Gotham .

Superman : yea...thats deep ! ...

Batman : shut up !

Superman : so..even a tiny small bullet can kill you...man u suck  !...oh im sorry..weren’t your parents killed by bullets ?

Batman : yea..

Superman :  haha  !..my parents were killed by exploding planets. beat that !

5 ) Pinocchio : my nose is going to grow long . !

and the universe exploded . ! 


Aditya Rao