Morning awakening

As I looked out of the casement window of my room, all I could see was the cold vast expanse of the sky covering the earth like a blanket. Almost all the constellations were visible in all their glory. Living away from civilization surely had its advantages. And just as I was trying to connect the stars to their constellations in my head, my alarm clock rang to life. For most of us, 5am is the time when we wrap ourselves in the thickest of blankets for a peaceful sleep. But then there are some like me who begin their day at such a god forsaken time.

Book Review – The Suicide Banker

After “If God was a Banker” and “Devil in Pinstripes, “The Suicide Banker” is the third novel I have come across on the inner workings of the banking world. But this book was sent across to me by the author himself as he seemed impressed with my unbiased book reviews. So I began reading the book in the hope that I would find something different from the earlier banking tales. Does it succeed? Let’s see.

The dark world of contemporary Indian publishers!

So you think you have what it takes to be the next Amitav Ghosh, Rohinton Mistry, Anita Desai? You think you can put your ideas into words? You dream of becoming a writing sensation? You cannot think of anything else other than writing? Stories, ideas, opinions keep sprouting up in your mind even when you are busy in your work? Then this is the post for all you guys!

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes – A Game of Shadows

Warning before reading ahead: I haven’t ever read any of Sherlock Holmes books or seen the first movie of the enterprise!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the sequel to the 2009 flick “Sherlock Holmes” again directed by Guy Ritchie. Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson reprise their roles. The flick is inspired by Conan Doyle’s short story “The Final Problem.” So does the sequel work? Do the two of them do justice to their roles and to Holmes’s aura? Read on to know more.

Mediocrity has become our standard! Do we care?

The dictionary defines “Mediocrity” as something ordinary, par for the course or inferior in quality to something else. But then isn’t mediocrity a word created only by humanity? When we are taught at school during our early years, we are taught about excellence and failure. There is no middle ground for words like “Decent”, “Ok”, “Fine” etc. But then when we humans grow up, mediocrity percolates every part of our lives. Though what is considered as mediocre by some, would be considered as excellence by others.

Blog-o-meter: 2011 in review

My blog – o – meter for 2011 by the WordPress team!

Crunchy numbers

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 74,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

In 2011, there were 75 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 188 posts. There were 96 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 13mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was November 24th with 2,305 views. The most popular post that day was Kolaveri di – A song which has brought the nation together! .

Top 10 Indian newsmakers of 2011!

2011 has been a pretty interesting year in many terms. From the highs of India’s World Cup victory on April 2nd to the lows of the 2G scam and the death of many prominent personalities, we have seen it all. But nothing could beat Team Anna and their campaign to bring forward the Jan Lokpal Bill.

As far as the Indian industry is concerned, Infosys and Tata lost their captains to youngsters of the next generation. But Kingfisher began facing some serious turbulence in its flight of “Good Times”. “Kolaveri” and “Flash Mobs” became the buzzwords among all of us for their own reasons.

Short Story 6 – Life’s lost minutes

With its off white walls, dreary and dull surroundings and the pungent smell of some godforsaken chemicals, the room felt excruciatingly depressing. I had to summon all my reserves of strength to keep my eyes open. But all I could see was medical equipment strewn around. With my arms and legs covered in plaster and me on a saline drip, it seemed as though I was fighting a losing battle with life.

As soon I held on to the bed to get up, I felt a shooting sensation in my arms. It seemed as though 10 needles had been inserted into my body without any warning whatsoever. All I could do was scream my lungs out for help. And almost immediately, a stream of doctors rushed into the ward to regulate my breathing which had spiralled out of control.

How had I reached a hospital? What had happened to me? Am I going to survive this? More than a day had passed without me even being conscious. The last I remember, I was flying to New York with my family. Despite my desperate condition, I was still trying to figure out the exact turn of events. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize someone else enter the room.

“Hi Matt. I am Adrian from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The doctors didn’t want me to be here so fast lest you suffer a fatal attack. But the situation is so desperate that I need your help. I rushed into the room as soon as you gained consciousness.

You are the luckiest man on the planet right now. Surviving that sort of a plane crash with just minor injuries, you really got to be God. There were just 4 others who we were able to rescue from that ill-fated jet. But all of them are fighting for their lives.

I am not sure if you can hear me. But if you can, please tell me what happened that night on Rossia Airlines Flight 204.”

Movie Review – Mission: Impossible 4 (Ghost Protocol)

Tom Cruise is back to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in the 4th installment of the Mission Impossible series after a hiatus of 5 years. He began the 1st installment way back in 1996 when he was just 34 but even today he still seems fighting fit. So does this movie have in it to rock the box office like the earlier parts? Lets see.

The movie begins in Budapest where one of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agents assigned to intercept a courier related to a particular person who is code-named ‘Cobalt’, is killed. Ethan along with Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn) and Paula Patton (Jane Carter) – both IMF agents, are sent to infiltrate the  Kremlin in Moscow to recover files related to ‘Cobalt’. But before they are successful, someone bombs the Kremlin and the IMF is blamed for it. The IMF secretary immediately declares “Ghost Protocol” which dissolves the IMF but the agents can do a covert op. ‘Cobalt’ is identified as a Russian nuclear strategist who plans to start a nuclear war with the US. The rest of the movie deals with how the IMF manages to avert the nuclear disaster that is about to engulf America.

26/11 at Taj vs AMRI hospital at Kolkata – How are they similar but different?

When an Indian is reminded about the date – 26/11, all he can think of is terror, bomb blasts, attacks, death, blood, gore, disaster everything that could spoil the happiness of a human being. It is synonymous with one of the worst periods of our times when everyone across the nation especially Mumbai and the Taj had to go through hours of hell. On the other hand, the AMRI hospital tragedy today at Kolkata is another addition to the growing list of incidents which makes you think that human life in this country has no value at all.

But why am I linking the two incidents as different as chalk and cheese? An incident which was the result of a terrorist attack and another which was due to a fire can be related? Am I out of my mind? Is it my opinionated mind at work? Whatever you think, there is a small similarity but a small difference!!