The monster within

               The woods were beautiful, lush and inviting. At the heart of it was, a serene, sun-bathed glade. A small stream of sparkling water tumbled down a cluster of rocks into a small, blue pool with a sandy beach. Most of the glade was covered in ankle deep grass, that flowed and waved in the breeze. Exquisite purple and yellow wildflowers dotted the grass adorning the glade like tiny, shimmering gems. White dandelion seeds floated by like little flakes of snow and settled on the blades of grass only to be lifted up into a mesmerizing dance by the wind again.

              



The glade was discovered by the children who had just moved into some quaint little cottages in the small English town at the edge of the forest. The children were entranced by the beauty and splendor of the glade, spending almost all of their waking moments playing, frolicking and just lying down in the grass. The smell of the flowers, the brush of the dandelions against their cheeks, the splash of the stream were all music to the children's ears. The glad rung with their excited squeals and their innocent laughter filled it with an enchanting aura.

               But, unknown to the children, this beautiful, peaceful glade, this veritable paradise, hid a dark secret. Behind the veil of the waterfall, beneath the jumble of rocks lurked a creature. Nobody knew what it looked like, whether it was human or animal, because it was seldom spotted in the open. Some people recognized its existence and feared it, although, why exactly they feared it was never clear. As for the creature, it wasn't as evil as it was made out to be. All it wanted was to be loved and included. All it wanted was some company. The creature delighted in watching the children play and gambol around the glad. It watched them silently from behind the veil, between a crack in the rocks. Their laughter, joy and innocence delighted his heart and nourished him. It was almost like food and sustenance to the creature. If they didn't show up on some days, the creature became disappointed and sad.

          

   The creature did not always used to be like this. He used to bask in the rays of the sun, prance around the glade, splash about in the waterfall and be as happy as anyone could be. He had friends too - some woodland critters, the occasional picnickers and hikers all were friendly but for various reasons, they all slowly drifted away. The hikers found better, more adventurous trails to hike, the critters moved closer to the human settlements in search of easy food and the creature became increasingly lonely.

              As time went by he began increasingly frustrated, annoyed and angry. He sulked for days together, prowling the glade pondering and muttering. Eventually it was too much for him and he decided to shun all living beings. He retreated to his dark haven behind the waterfall, spending his days brooding and longing for company. He avoided the occasional people who did wander into the glade. Sometimes he even scared them off.  When the children first came to the glade, he ignored them assuming that would be like everyone else -  visiting but not staying. But these children came the next day, and the next and the next. They kept coming every day, spending most of their time in the glade and loving every moment of it. It was like they found a solace, peace, contenment and fun in the glade that they were not able to find anywhere else.

             The creature watched warily, not showing himself lest they became frightened of him. He started enjoying their antics and his love for them grew exponentially every day. And eventually despite it's immense restraint, it started obsessively waiting and watching for them to arrive each day. All the while, deep down, the creature knew, that like everybody else the children too would one day leave. It had steeled itself for that day. But days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The children kept coming, kept playing, and kept the creature happy. Eventually, it would occasionally show itself to them. The children were surprised and a little scared to learn about such a malevolent presence in such a serene place. They still continued to come play in the glade, but now were constantly nervous and scared of the creature showing itself. The creature became even more adventurous and wanted to play with the children now. But years of exile under the rocks had not been kind to the creature. It looked wild, uncouth and dangerous to the children. Its exuberance and eagerness to please the children was interpreted by them as savage attacks and the children were now scared to death of the creature but it did not understand this new animosity.



The children were also growing up and encountering newer experiences. They found newer places and parks to play in. They played sports and video games now, their times of gleeful frolic in the glade now forgotten. The monster grew enraged at this desertion, and at their failure to visit the glade every day. It prowled the glade in the open now, hurt, angry and sad. The monster went into fits of unpredictable and wild rage, venturing to the edge of the glade and terrorizing the children and people with his murderous roars.

The townspeople got together and decided that the monster was a threat to them, and decided to try and drive it out of the glade and away from their town. They armed themselves with rudimentary clubs, pitchforks and flaming torches. And for the next 2 weeks they tried their best to drive the monster out of the glade by every means possible. They did not really want to have to kill it. They just wanted it out of the glade, so it could become the paradise it once was. . They had only succeeded in making it madder than ever. The monster for his part, was ever  more enraged and hurt by these actions. More than anything he didn't understand why they were doing this. All he asked for some company and love to be shown to him.




Eventually, the townspeople tired of their repeated failure to drive the monster out. They reluctantly agreed to burn down the glade and the wooded area around it which they believed to be the major habitat of the creature. So they dug fire pits around the demarcated area and started several small fires directed inward from the edge of the glade.Soon the whole glade was ablaze. Every evergreen leaf, twig and blade of grass, burning in the angst of the townspeople.The creature ran around howling in agony, as he felt the heat roasting him alive. He had never endured pain so intense and immediate. The glade that used to bask in the warm light of the sun and glisten with dew drops was now swathed in an red ball of fire, with huge swirls of black smoke billowing out and suffocating the beauty and the serenity of the glade. The next morning all that was left were the charred skeletons of the once lush trees and the scorched earth where there was billowing wild grass. The pond and the waterfall had turned murky black and disgusting because of all the ash and debris that had dissolved in it. And there beneath the muddy waterfall, stretched out on a rock outcrop, was the burnt body of the monster, his eyes no longer held any anger or pain. There was just an infinite sadness and maybe a hint of ..peace.

Back to the Homeland

                     We began our final approach to  20 minutes behind schedule. It surprised me because the  first leg of the journey from Atlanta to Frankfurt had gone like clockwork. I pondered for a moment, the existence of some bizarre force, that rendered my flight late as soon as it entered my homeland's borders. So, there I was tired and sleep deprived squinting out of the window of the airplane at my beloved city. It was 12:20 a.m, but the city was still on the move. My heart skipped when I saw the tiny famed auto putt-putting away through a street with those yellow lamps burning down. I was vaguely reminded of  how flat the city looked having been used to seeing skyscrapers for the past 3 years.Scattered bolts of lightning suddenly light up the sky and the clouds.There was a storm coming. I smiled at the irony of my supposedly sweltering hot home city, welcoming me with a thunder storm.

 

As we taxied toward the gate, I was able to make out the moderately sized terminal of the airport still adorned with the glowing red neon sign declaring " Chennai International Airport". The airport hadn't changed a bit in 3 years. I gathered up my bags with a growing impatience as I wanted to get out, stretch my legs a bit and meet mom and dad. I did not have a roaming mobile plan and so couldn't call dad to let him know the flight was late. We filed out of the aircraft slowly and I hurried out of the gate, vaguely noticing the grimy, poorly lit corridors and walls. The terminal seemed small and empty. I was more than slightly irritated due to the delay and hurried out the gate and followed the signs for Immigration. There were 3 queues and all of them moved fairly fast. I couldn't help but notice that none of the Indian passengers so much as said thank you to the immigration officer when they were done (force of habit made sure I did). Good ol' India, I thought -  pleasantries and courtesy are for the firangis not for the Desis!!. A Couple more escalators and a short walk brought me to the baggage claim area. After 30 minutes of frenzied searching, cajoling and pushing, like a school of piranhas, I finally managed to extricate my bags and wheeled it out of the airport.

                       Stepping out, I was immediately aware of the gigantic concrete structure towering over the airport in what was open space 3 years back. This was the metro rail station that had been in construction for the past 2 years. It gave the airport and the surroundings a surreal look not unlike one of those rainy and seedy, yet futuristic streets depicted in the movie "Blade runner".  After taking a few minutes to get my bearing, I spotted my parents and walked over. After the hugs, and the usual exclamations of " oh you've gone so thin" and "how was the flight" we started loading the bags in the car just as the first rain drops of the night pattered down. The parking lot was in familiar chaos, with auto rickshaws zipping by helter skelter, incessant honking, security personnel trying in vain to direct traffic, and porters jostling suitcases and haranguing passengers for a few more rupees. The construction had only served to multiply the chaos, miring the parking lot and road in slushy mud and impassable construction material. At long last we got out of the airport onto the trunk road after paying the astronomical parking fee, by which time the rain was pouring down in sheets, causing almost zero visibility. Add to it the fact that parts of the road were blocked off because of the construction and we were left with the herculean task of trying to get home in one piece. So after almost 45 minutes of fighting the deluge, being heckled by every passing vehicle, taking numerous diversions, using choice swear words, and the incessant honking, we finally reached home to my mom's tongue tingling, dosas slathered with onion chutney.

                  The next few days were a blur lost in between spells of jet lag, power shutdowns and the incessant shuttling to and from my grandfather's place and my house. The heat was buried under intermittent showers of rain, leading to a damp, humid atmosphere that depressed me. Initially the oppressive traffic that I had conveniently forgotten for the past 3 years returned with a vengeance and jolted me. The cacophony of horns and motorbikes, jarring and irritating at first, soon became a sweet melody that endeared me to Chennai all the more. After getting shouted at and honked at a couple of times for politely yielding to traffic and pedestrians, I soon settled into the Chennai way of driving - Have one hand glued to the horn, the other to the gear, one leg to the clutch and the other alternating between the brake and the throttle, and of course be prepared to roll down your windows any instant to give a motorist a piece of your mind - Ah..What Bliss!

In between the inevitable (obligatory) round of visits to all the relatives, I tried to stuff my face with as much south Indian food  as I could and having not tasted authentic indian fare for the better part of 3 years, it was like ambrosia to me. Little did I know that, on top of all this voraciousness, I would be forced to down mind boggling quantities of food at all the relatives' places, in between cliched comments of how I had gone thin. The result conspired to enact my bowel's version of "thermonuclear war" (credits to Steve ;P) but thankfully, it wasn't too dreadful. At long last I got some breathing space and managed to meet up with some school friends. Hanging out like old times felt nostalgic and fun at the same time, although the checks at pubs and restaurants felt like they were from another planet.

       

I hardly had time to visit my old haunts yet managed to drive around a lot of the city. I could scarcely recognize many of the streets I had been on countless times before. The explosion of new buildings, businesses and restaurants had conspired to change the landscape drastically. Added to this, was the construction of the new metro and subway lines, with half erected steel pillars and concrete overhangs looming out of the ground every which way. The construction's steel, and concrete tainted almost every major street and neighborhood, which ended up in endless Take diversion signs and seething masses of disgruntled motorists. Just add rain to the mix and you basically get a Indian version of the "The day after tomorrow". When I left, the city was already bursting at its seams, but now it just felt as if the seams had long been breached and the infrastructure was just trying to play a losing game of catch up to tame the monstrous growth of the city.

  I had barely had a whiff at the scent and saltiness of the coastal air, before I was being whisked off to the southern reaches of the state to, wouldn't you know it, visit more relatives. After rushing through 3 cities, paying my college a visit, more good times with college friends and traveling on a train after an eternity, in about as many days, I was ready to just curl up at home and sleep for a day or two. But, voila, the end of my vacation was upon me. So the last few days were spent in frenzied shopping, trying to visit as many places and eat in as many restaurants as possible, while squeezing in time for goodbye lunches and dinners.
 

The small hole-in-the-wall eatery near my school that had the most delicious (albeit unhealthy) chilly beef. The countless variety stores and mom and pop grocery stores, where I used to call on the "annas" with battered 50 and 100 rupee notes in my hand instead of plastic. The jostling and hustling to catch the "anna"'s eye and shout what you wanted. The musty smell, the momentary relief these shops provided from the fiery heat outside, the small glass jars of candy, the tinkle of coins, and the innocence of 6 year olds on their first visit to the store alone, clutching a 5 rupee coin with a look of awe, glee and bewilderment on their tiny brown faces as they pointed at a candy bar they wanted - No amount of shopping in a Walmart or a Kroger will buy you these experiences and feelings. The corner tea stall, where one sipped tea in dirty glasses even in the most sweltering of days. The hustle and bustle of two wheelers and the cloud of smoke and dust one had to negotiate. The wild celebrations and glee of movie goers in theaters as they jumped, clapped, whistled and grooved to their favorite stars cavorting around on screen to hopelessly illogical plots and heroism. Our cinema might mostly be shit, but we revel in the movie going experience like no American can or will ever understand. The billowing embers from the smoked corn stalls at the marina, impoverished youngsters hawking fried chickpeas and boiled peanuts out of their big steel containers. The city roads bursting with all manner of two wheelers, four wheelers and three wheelers, revving their engines, ignoring stop lines at signals, primed as if for a race and bursting out the blocks seconds before the green signal flashes. The constant tug of war against government officials over basic amenities, the circus of indian politics, of propagandists and their agendas, the loudspeakers proclaiming all manner of political rhetoric and the cluelessness of the public towards it all.

I miss all this and much more in this so called American dream that people back home imagine I am living. I don't know when I'll be back again to Chennai, but I do know this  - my heart is firmly back in Chennai. Despite its numerous shortcomings, this is what I'll eventually call home and all the little things that make up my beautiful city will forever beckon me back into its bosom.

It had been a whirlwind return to the motherland and  it was still difficult to comprehend the path my life had taken me or the radically new lifestyle I was having in the states.Chennai, meanwhile, had kept growing like a juggernaut, devouring more and more of the 90's India and transforming into an alien hybrid of western and local cultures. But for all the western facade the city puts on, there were all these little things about the city that made it uniquely Chennai and which made me fall in love with it all over again. All these little things will, I at least like to believe, will never change.

 
             

The importance of mediocrity

                        This is for all of you who fall in between. For the ones who neither quite make it in life nor are complete failures. For the ones whose lives are an endless blur of bills, loans, mortgages, and paychecks that disappear in a week. For the ones who have never led the field nor brought up the rear. This one is dedicated to all of you who have mediocre jobs and mediocre lives. This is for those who "also ran".

                        Most of you are probably wondering how mediocrity can possibly be important. Isn't it supposed to be boring? Don't people work their ass off to avoid mediocrity? After all how many films have you seen that portrayed an ordinary person leading an ordinary life. They are always about heroes or villains, the rich or the poor, the upper class or the dredges of society. They are seldom about the "in-betweeners" ( pardon my prosaic license). Most of us were brought up believing that there are only two ways to do anything -  Excel or suck. And we are taught, if you suck at one thing, then do something else - something in which you will excel. We are taught that no matter what we do, be it owning a company or cleaning dishes, we have to strive to be the best at that. Commendable advice and admirable goal, but unfortunately not everyone's cup of tea. Some of us just don't turn out that way regardless of education, upbringing and societal influence. Some of us fill in the gaps between the CEOs, Directors, Managers and the machinists and manual laborers.

              

                   Before you start to sermonize that this piece is about De-motivating or discouraging people in their pursuit of success, let me point out that that is absolutely not the case. This piece is about why the world needs mediocrity, in fact, why it is as vital as technical / business brilliance. Humor me for a second here - Imagine a world full of go-getters. Everyone strives hard and advances quickly up the corporate ladder whether he started out as a clerk or as a junior engineer. Let us also imagine that the bottom most rungs of the ladder have no dearth of people as new ones fresh from high school or vocational studies occupy them. What happens to the jobs in the middle ? What happens to the data entry jobs, the secretary jobs, the call center jobs? We would have such chaos, in a world that is already so cutthroat, that people would not stop at killing each other to climb the ladder. And all of this is not only relevant in your typical work place but also in sports, politics and any other walk of life. The person who wins a race only does so because the others obliged him by coming anywhere from 2nd to last. If you really think about it, the very act of winning, of feeling that powerful emotion of having triumphed in any endeavor is made possible only because there are people who contrive to do worse than you. The reasons don't matter. Winning and excellence exist because mediocrity allows it to. Losing and failure exist because mediocrity will not fall so low. Sometimes we have to struggle to elevate ourselves from the bottom to the average. Other times we contrive to give up winning positions to fall in between.

But then why does mediocrity exist in the first place. Why do some people succeed, some fail, and some are ...well, just stuck in the middle. There isn't a single answer to this question. Lot of people are so afraid of failure that they will do anything NOT TO FAIL. But they stop at that. They do just enough to elevate them to average. Not enough to make them succeed. Do they not succeed because they are lazy, because they lack motivation, because they procrastinate, because they are unambitious, because they are cynical, because they have complexes ? All of the above undoubtedly contribute to mediocrity and as successful people would have you believe, these are not the only reasons. I think that there is far more to it. A lot of factors have to come together to ensure success, some of which we can control and some that is beyond our control. You can be the most hard working footballer in the world but you might never feature in the first team of any team simply because you lack the talent to match your hard work. Cases in point are the umpteen number of European club level footballers who begin their careers, languish and then end their careers in some obscure 3rd division club.  Even in top clubs like Barcelona or Manchester United, there are footballers who never quite make it into the first team throughout their careers.

 There is also the widespread notion that if one fails or is average in a particular endeavor, there is always an opportunity or a task that one will succeed in or be the best at. Unfortunately, there are certain characteristics and behaviors of individuals that do not change regardless of the task that they do. And it may so happen that these things can undermine one's pursuit of success in which ever task or endeavor he chooses to indulge himself in. Hence, the end result might become mediocrity across the board - in one's career, family life and social life. One can well bring a very valid argument to the table - Can one not do a mediocre task with high degree of perfection? Isn't that a sign of success, however localized the context maybe? In my opinion, that is not success. The way I see it, you can only be so good a secretary or typist (no offense to people in those jobs).

How do people handle mediocrity though? Short answer. Not so well. Most people hate mediocrity and will do anything to get ahead of the curve. Some will altogether abandon their pursuit and choose another calling. Yet, there are some, who choose to embrace mediocrity. Believe it or not, some people actually are happy with an average job and an average life. They do just enough to stay afloat. And at the end of the day, don't we all spend our lives in the pursuit of happiness? If some of us find it in mediocrity, then so be it. So it is kinda unfair and demeaning when the successful show their utter disdain for mediocrity. It would behoove them to remember that they are where they are, they are what they are because of the mediocre.

There is a saying that goes " No one remembers the guy who came second". Well, I beg to differ. The guy who comes in second or even third are vaguely remembered at least by a few. The guy who finishes last also has the dubious honor of being remembered for failing but the ones that are truly forgotten are the also-rans, the ones that finished in the middle. It's high time the world remembers and recognizes the importance of the average. So, my mediocre friends, stand tall and be proud, of what you bring to this world, and try to find the happiness in your mediocrity. And if , in future, you should rise above it, remember where you came from and what you were.




P.S : Most of you would construe this article as negative and pessimistic. Still others would find it the product of a lazy mind and an inability to succeed. You are welcome to your opinions. After all I am not making claims of greatness or even validity of argument of this article. It's a mediocre article by a mediocre writer at best ! :) :)

The Dark Knight Rises - Review

Before I begin, I would like to observe a moment's silence to all those who lost their lives in the Aurora Shootings. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims and my best wishes for a rapid recovery to the wounded.

And finally, after all the months of hype, teaser trailers, tie-in apps and TV spots, The Dark Knight Rises arrived in theaters last Friday to unprecedented levels of midnight show sales. And before you accuse me of being a Nolan fan boy I'll accept that I am one. I absolutely love his films. I put him right up there with Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Peter Jackson. Which is why I had phenomenal expectations of the final installment of Nolan's Batman Saga. So, did the film step up and deliver? Did it exceed expectation and provide a fitting finale to the series? Yes and no. **FULL SPOILERS BELOW **

First off, having the watched the film in true 15/70 mm IMAX format, I was overawed by the visual grandeur and the breathtaking cinematography of the movie so much so that, I kinda got a little lost in the plot details for the first half hour of the movie. Bane's introduction in the opening mid-air heist scene was an explosive start to the movie and even though the mask that Bane wears strips him off more charisma, the mannerisms and the British accented growl employed by Tom Hardy was chillingly effective even if it did not rival the lofty standards set by the Joker character. After the opening, the film delves directly into sub-plots featuring the introduction of Anne Hathaway as the burglar and the character Daggett. We are shown an hobbling Bruce Wayne living his life in seclusion in the rebuilt Wayne Manor and are also introduced to the beautiful Miranda Tate played with charm by Marillon Cottilard of Inception fame. The details of who exactly Tate is and how she invested in Wayne Enterprises' energy project remains murky. From this point the plot builds to the mid-film highlight involving Bane's men breaking into the New York Stock Exchange. This sequence and the following chase scene in which Batman makes his first appearance is phenomenally shot and spell binding on the 70mm Imax screen. It was weird that the entire police department decides to go after Batman rather than Bane and even Batman doesn't care much about catching Bane. The scene could have had even more impact if it had been extended a bit.

Featured - Bane's hulking muscles. Not featured - His menacing voice.

Nevertheless, as the plot picks up pace, cat woman betrays Batman and leads him straight to Bane. A weakened Batman stands no chance against Bane as he destroys Batman and famously breaks Batman's back. Kudos to Bane for his diabolical drawl and fiery performance in this scene. Bane then throws Batman in the same prison that he was once imprisoned in and leaves him to watch the destruction of Gotham helplessly.  Bane then turns his full focus on destroying Gotham. Nolan comes up with brilliant ideas as to how plausibly he can show one man taking over and holding an entire city hostage in an elaborate and lengthy sequence. These intriguing middle sections of the film show how Bane takes over Batman's armory, and the way he sets a trap for the police department. The epic scene of the exploding stadium, the bridges and the general mayhem caused by Bane on a completely surprised and stunned city is totally worth the price of the IMAX admission. His monologue to the football stadium explains some of his motives and his thoughts on class warfare ending with Bane breaking Dr.Pavel's neck. One starts to wonder, however, Bane's conflicting motives behind his actions. He says that his plan is to give Gotham back to its people and conduct a witch hunt of the city's rich.Why then, would he detonate a fusion bomb which would obliterate every soul in the city including himself and his men ( Bane doesn't seem to have an escape plan) ?

The ever-sexy Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle

The story then shifts to how Bruce Wayne trains himself to get out of prison following a lot of (sketchy) exposition about Bane's origin, the prison itself etc. And when he finally gets out of the prison, he magically appears back in Gotham and the timer on the bomb has counted down to 12 hours remaining. What follows is a sensational 30 + minute climax sequence, that brings all the characters and plot threads together ( though it isn't always clear what is happening to whom) and brilliantly showcases massive fight scenes and set piece action sequences which are truly glorious to behold in 70 mm Imax. Some of the climatic scenes like Batman and Bane's hand-to-hand combat and Bane's death seems anti-climatic and distinctly unepic. But I was more disappointed to discover that Bane was not the mastermind he was touted to be following a weak and contrived plot twist at the end. Also disappointing was how Batman's purported sacrifice was handled. But I guess that had more to do with what producers wanted rather than what Nolan envisioned.

The All-Star Cast

Hans Zimmer's score is suitably bombastic and over the top but somehow doesn't match up to the lofty standards of the score for The Dark Knight and Inception.All the supporting characters are given sufficient minutes to make an impact. Of special mention are Anne Hathaway and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Strong characterization, motive and an evocative performance makes John Blake a believable and sympathetic character although his story arc doubles as an origin story ( for the new batman or for Robin) which kinda denies Batman and the rest of the plot additional screen time.


VERDICT :

The enormous expectations and the fan following ensured that the film broke box office records with a 161 Million $ opening weekend ( Biggest 2D opening of all time) despite the Aurora Shootings. Though this figure is still below estimates of a 175-200 Million $ opening weekend, the film should be able to run strongly for several weeks and is most likely to be the most profitable of the Batman films.


In summary, The Dark Knight Rises is a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking thriller that is head and shoulders above standard super hero fare like The amazing Spiderman and The Avengers, although it falls short of Nolan's best work and doesn't quite match up to the phenomenon of the 2008 Dark Knight. TDKR is still a fitting and grand finale to a scintillating super hero trilogy and will be remembered for a long time.




Take a look at an official Featurette about the making of TDKR and interviews with the cast and crew.

A knight,A burglar and A terrorist

July 19th. Probably the most anticipated day for movie buffs this year. The day Christopher Nolan's Epic conclusion to the Batman Trilogy releases worldwide. Batman and Nolan fan boys have been waiting for this day ever since the director announced the project, which, he assures will be the last in the series. The Dark Knight Rises completes the trilogy that began with the exquisite Batman Begins (2005) and broke records with the magnificent, near-perfect The Dark Knight (2008).


No doubt the immense success of Christopher Nolan's previous two films, the mind-bending thriller "Inception (2010) and The Dark Knight, has contributed much to the almost unprecedented hype surrounding the latest film from him. Add to this the fact that over 50 minutes of footage for TDKR has been shot in 70mm IMAX Film format and the cast includes Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle and Tom Hardy playing Bane (one of Bat fans' favorite super villains) and you are pretty much guaranteed a 150M$ + opening weekend ( though it could well be over ). But all this hype is not without considerable substance to it considering that in this Facebook and twitter age, every summer blockbuster enjoy meaningless over the top hype and hyperbole. Nolan pretty much redefined the superhero movie genre with his Batman Begins which proved that you can make a brooding, character driven super hero movie that is steeped in enough realism so as to appeal to serious movie goers while still maintaining the lore and fiction from the comic books. More importantly, Nolan separates the trilogy from previous Batman films which were horrendously fantastical, with cardboard cutout characters, whacky action set pieces and terrible art design.

Although the first movie in the series was a pretty good movie, it had some of the drawbacks typical of an origin story. The amount of exposition given to what drove a billionaire to dress like a bat and rasp out hammy one-liners is drawn out, and by the time the tiny plot takes hold we are almost near the end of the movie. But the film established Christian Bale as a very good choice to portray the dark, emotionally scarred Bruce Wayne. R'as Al Ghul was not the most intimidating or charismatic of villains and the league of shadows' plan to destroy Gotham seemed implausible and poorly executed. Despite all of this, Batman Begins stood head and shoulders above all other superhero movies at that time and was a visually stunning thriller. But then came the Dark Knight.

Nolan pretty much made the first film look like an ordinary film with his explosive Dark Knight. Much of the phenomenal critical and commercial success of the film was owed to the immortal performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. In fact, the psychotic persona, disturbing mannerisms and perfect makeup of the villain threatened to overshadow another fine performance by Bale. This film got most of the ingredients spot on, including the meaty plot, script, casting and the level of intellectuality to proceedings.  Ledger's Joker along with Nolan's brilliant writing and Hans Zimmer's thunderous and disturbing score, created numerous memorable scenes  - think Joker's varied explanation of how he got his scars, the flipping of the trailer, and of course, the famous " Why So Serious" line, that will be remembered for years to come. Aaron Eckhart's powerful performance as Harvey "Two Face" Dent was another highlight of the film. The blistering pace of the film, with the sometimes tense, sometimes bombastic beats of Zimmer, added to one of the most atmospheric and realistic superhero movie of all time. The way Nolan crafts his stories in multiple layers and weaves an intricate web between the characters warranting multiple viewings to fully comprehend the depth and scope of his films.  The film rode a wave of critical acclaim, and commercial success, bagging multiple Oscars including the inevitable Best Supporting Actor for Heath Ledger ( which was unfortunately posthumous). It grossed more than 500 Million $ domestically and another 1 Billion $ internationally while shunning the 3D fad that had enveloped Hollywood.

For all its success and critical acclaim, The Dark Knight was not without its flaws. The scene where Batman abandons a room full of Gotham's Richest with the joker to save Rachel ends abruptly. Dent's motivation to transform to a villain in the final stages isn't very convincing and for someone who wants to wreak chaos, most of the Joker's schemes are intricately detailed and planned to perfection. The brilliant tunnel chase scene while breathtaking in the first viewing, throws up a lot of spatial inconsistencies and erroneous angles upon repeated viewing and keener observations. But these were all overlook-able gripes when you consider the explosive and emotionally stirring final package.

With the final film of the Trilogy, Nolan will attempt something that has been the Bane ( pardon the pun :)) of franchises in the past - to not make the third and final installment in a series suck. Granted, Nolan's ambitions are to trump the first two movies and provide an epic send off to the trilogy. From all the trailers, previews and featurettes, it is clear that he is going bigger and grander than the previous movies. Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, raised expectations even further. Bane looked suitably menacing and imposing, while some of the set pieces shown in the trailer looked downright fabulous. All said and done, one wonders whether the Bane character can match up to the lofty heights of the joker and if Selina Kyle will provide more than just Oomph to the story. Nolan has created a name for himself by directing cerebral thrillers and cutting edge visuals and one expects that the best of both styles fuse to create a magnificent conclusion to one of the most beloved superhero franchises of all time. Can Nolan deliver? Will he match the gigantic expectations that have been placed on this film or will the series go out with a whimper?

Bane maybe Gotham's Reckoning, but the TDKR is Nolan's as well.

Links and sources :
The Dark Knight Rises - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1345836/
The Dark Knight - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/
Batman Begins - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/


 

Real Men Drive Real Muscle

                The key slides in with a soothing click. As the ignition is turned on, the 4.0 L 210 HP springs to life with a menacing snarl. There are no stuttering or raspy sounds from the engine like your everyday compact or utility car that serves the sole purpose of going from point A to B.The initial snarl settles down into a loud, anticipatory growl - like a stalking cheetah on the verge of pouncing on its prey. For all the pulsating power under the hood, the interior remains surprisingly vibration free and noise proof when idling. As the 5-speed manual transmission is engaged and the clutch released, the beast pounces forward with a screeching roar. The tachometer needle climbs like a rocket and the roar grows till the second gear is engaged. In that split second, time seems to be suspended and the noise subdued, and then again, like a hungry tiger going for the kill, the machine surges forward and in just under 6.7 seconds is at the 60 mph mark. Say hello to my friend - The 2008 Ford Mustang Coupe.

                   
                    
                The sun glints off the jet black hood. The white racing stripes accentuate the rugged sportiness of the vehicle whilst the exquisite galloping mustang on the front grille and the round headlights are reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. Out on the streets when one sees a Mustang at a light or an intersection, one gets the inimitable feeling of watching a hulking beast, stalking its prey before springing forward in a frenzied blur with a deafening roar . The 90s and the early 2000 s saw mustangs with contemporary styling that was pretty common in that time. That era was marked by conservative styling and timid engines that saw Ford focus (pardon the pun) on the family car, compact car and economy segments. With the 2005 Mustang, Ford ushered in the modern age of the quintessential American muscle car (or the pony car if you are a purist) with aggressive, beefy lines and bulky bodies that harkened back to the legendary muscle car days of yore - those days when oil wars were unheard of, when bombastic engines, rock bottom fuel economy, screeching tires and ear-splitting engine revs ruled the roost. But the ford mustang has endured - from the first mustang introduced in 1964 under the stewardship of the legendary Lee Iacocca to the latest 2012 Ford Mustang Shelby 500 -  the most powerful production V8 in the world featuring a 5.8L supercharged V8 putting out 650 horses. The mustang has endured the stiff competition from competing muscle cars like the camaroes, dodges and pontiacs in the 60s and 70s, the oil crisis of the 80s, three wars and the economic boom of the 90s. The fifth generation Mustang kick started another slug fest between American car makers with the revived Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger R/T competing for market share in the late 2000s.

             I think it was sometime when I was probably around 14 years old that I first became fascinated with cars. That's when most teenage boys in India start closely watching their fathers, elder brothers or uncles drive and one day want to pilot their own. There's something about boys and cars that is fascinating - some bond that defies explanation and turns introverts into gleeful, adventurous fan boys.Then came the video game revolution of the late 90's bringing along with it the Need for Speed racing series - the first time that gamers could get into fully realized virtual super cars a la Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and its ilk. Those years opened my eyes to the world of automobiles. To a an entire Indian generation whose view and knowledge of cars was entirely composed of the compact and functional maruti suzukis and fiats of the 90s, the chance to get into a Lamborghini Diablo and let rip around an exotic, fictional locale quickly became the stuff of wet dreams.As iteration after iteration of the Need for Speed series came out, bringing with it ever richer detail, technical realism, the ability to tune our virtual machines, customize its look and then burn rubber with virtual friends, my passion towards cars grew exponentially. Granted, I am not big on the intricate technical wizardry of the cars, I did not pursue an automobile degree (although I took a great deal of courses in my Mechanical Engineering Degree that focused on automobile technology) and I wasn't as passionate a follower of the Formula 1 Racing Series as some of my friends but I knew enough to appreciate the beauty of the machines, the flow and lines of an outstanding design, the roar and thunder of a V8 engine, the smell of burning rubber, and the pure joy of commandeering a mean machine.


                That said, my first driving experiences were on my Dad's Maruti Suzuki Zen, and later the SX4. These were your everyday, functional cars with woeful power and handling characteristics, but nevertheless introduced me to the thrill and unbridled excitement of driving. I drove super cars either in the virtual world of games or in my dreams. Even when I earned my driving license, I did not know much about the pedigree of American made cars (apart from the corvette and the chryslers), living as I was, in a country flooded with cheap, economical Japanese imports. Video games showcased mostly European sports and luxury cars and so I dreamed of one day driving the Porsche Cayman S, or the Audi. Then I read the biography of Anthony "Lee" Iacocca.

                   The life story of Iacocca is a fascinating account of expert management and sales philosophies. In fact his autobiography is compulsory reading material in all the top B Schools.The memoirs of how Iacocca single handedly led the Ford Motor Company to the forefront of the Automotive revolution with iconic designs such as the original Mustang enthralled and captivated me. Eventually I decided my first car would have to be the Mustang.
 

 The 2011 mustangs were given a small cosmetic makeover from the 2005-2010 era  but a bigger leap in terms of the technology. The front grille size was reduced, the headlights upgraded to a HID while reducing the size of the circular main light and the tail lights sporting LED accents around each of the the three 'light bars'. The interior which has never been Ford's forte, was spruced up a bit with a variety of tech like SYNC App link, navigation system, in dash adjustable performance features and aluminum accents. Some models included an optional glass roof  and other performance packages. Under the hood, Ford phased out the SOHC engine and put in its new generation Duratec 3.7L DOHC engines which puts out 305 HP @ 6500 rpm in the base model as opposed to 210 HP in the previous year's base model.

Considering that the base model of the 2011-2012 mustang starts at just 22,000 $ MSRP, it was tempting to go for it if only for the additional 100 HP that lets it compete with the SS Camaro. In the end due to financial reasons I had to settle for a used 2008 V6 Mustang. Granted the power was under whelming compared the the GT, BOSS and Shelby versions of the Mustang but the unmistakable pedigree is still present in all its glory. The interiors are a bit drab, with an abundance of cheap plastic and old school round tachometer dials and generic instrument panel but then, to quote the legendary Carroll Shelby " 'Refined' has never been one of the Mustang's Selling points". It's all about the wild, unbridled passion and symbolic aggression that starts under the hood and extends to the tips of the suspensions.

 So, as I gear up for a trip to the mountains this weekend, I envision caressing the beast through winding switch backs, under a speckled forest canopy, with the wind in my face, and 210 horses purring gently beneath me. This is bliss. This is the legacy of the Stang - One of the greatest pony cars in American automotive history.

Letting Go

This one is for you my dear friend

Have you ever wondered what happens to some relationships? Have you ever wondered why relationships twist, change, evolve and confound? Is it because change is inevitable? Is it because change is always for the better? Is it because people grow tired of sameness? Can't some feelings stay the same? Can't some relationships withstand the test of time and distance?

It seems like just a few hundred miles that separates people. And with today's electronic connectivity and ease of air travel, a few hundred miles translates to a couple of hours and a few hundred dollars. But the distance can still seem a world apart , especially since we have been so extremely close to each other. With the teary eyed goodbyes came promises to call everyday, countless whispered miss you's,  assurances to maintain the same bond, and plans to meet.

But I know for a certainty that the time will come to pass when life overwhelms people like it so often does. The sands of time will slither through your hands to be lost forever as new experiences, friends and events slowly fill your life and spread through your time like ink on blotting paper. I know that you will get caught up and swept away with everything happening in front of your eyes that you will seldom have the chance to reflect upon things happening yonder. And before we know it, the calls will start slowing down, the endless hours of gossip and mundanities will dwindle to minutes.  Vivid memories of all the times of togetherness will fade into fond remembrances that seems like vague dreams of a far-off place and time. And I know that sometimes the best I can do is let go.

And so the time will come when I will feel hurt because I know that I might still be clinging to the past. My greatest fear is that I would start to hold our bond, our friendship  and camaraderie so close that it would actually start getting out of my hands. I know people make new friendships all the time but I need to be reminded often that the true old ones are never forgotten but always cherished and celebrated. Despite that, I feel an infinite sadness that threatens to crush my soul and make me yearn for the olden times.True, you might no longer have time for me or no longer call as often but that doesn't necessarily mean that you do not care for me or love me the same way you used to. I realize that we have very different lives now and that we can no longer exist in the same bubble together cause sooner or later every bubble pops.

That time is around the corner. And so, I just want you to know, how lucky I am to have known you for this short time. And before it's too late, I want you to know that you were the best thing that happened to me in this strange, faraway land, and that, despite the numerous misunderstandings, fights and problems that we have been through, I would never, ever regret one moment of our friendship. I am sorry for the times I have been a lousy friend, for the times I have hurt you even though I never meant to, and for the times that I've let you down. Goodbye my friend. Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will always wish that you stay happy and live life to the fullest.

The little joys of life

Life is not always about getting that 6 figure salary, buying that fancy sports car, marrying the girl of your dreams or becoming a millionaire. Sometimes the small things in life, the little moments that most of us don't even notice, can be worth more than anything else we can ever gain in our life.

  The aroma of the first raindrop on dry earth.....

A steaming cup of coffee on a dewy, sunny morn...

Letting your feet slowly sink into the sand as the waves bound over your 

ankles at the beach

 

The pensive silence of hanging out with yourself at the library......

Whispered jokes and snide remarks in class

 

The days of quietly slipping out in the middle of class to gossip at the corner tea stall

Sipping hot chai in a dirty glass at the edge of a ramshackle tea shop barely sheltered from the rain

The random conversations with strangers on a bus

 

Driving through the winding smokies with one republic booming out of the stereo

  Huddling together by the campfire on a cold, fall night, drinking and singing.

  

The sweet smell of a brand new hard cover novel

  

Random late night drives with best buds.

 

  Sleeping in when it is pouring outside on a sunday morning.

  

 dancing like no one's watching

  Lying down outside and staring up at the heavens

The night dive - Diving in the keys - Day 2

Day 2 - Betty's Reef    

The Team

Day 2 started with an early 8 am dive at Betty's reef. The early morning air was a tad chilly and the seas were a little more choppy. In fact by the time we got to the reef, I was feeling a little queasy, so I had to wiggle into my gear fast and get in the water pronto. This was a deeper dive than the first two and visibility was reportedly a little low - about 20 ft. Our dive profiles were pretty basic - get in the water, bottom out at 45 ft, complete a skills check, ascend with one safety stop. The descent was pretty fine, but I again had to stop and pop my ears more than a couple of times before I was able to get to the bottom.

This reef was characterized by a huge bowl shaped depression that probably measured a good 200 meters across. The fine, sandy bottom of the depression had an abundance of small, colorful fish but an odd eeriness because when u reached the center of the depression, u really couldn't see the bowl's rim properly. If you squinted you might catch a shadow of the rim amidst the gloomy blue-green murkiness. So there we were at the bottom warming up with some mask remove-replace and buddy breathing exercises all the while communicating in hand signals. It was easy when we were first training in 5 feet of water in a swimming pool to come up and communicate verbally what we wanted to do but it's a whole new ball game when you are in the middle of the ocean and under 45 feet of water. Suddenly those underwater hand signals from the course book din't seem silly at all. In fact, at first, they practically seemed woefully inadequate to convey the plethora of things that could go wrong down under. But then like the instructor said the hand signals did suffice as he signaled to us to start what was probably the toughest skill to learn and perfect in scuba - underwater compass navigation.

 It involved setting a course on your wrist compass to a distant landmark and then following the course just by looking at the compass needle and not the surrounding. Each of the students were asked to navigate a course from a point on the edge of the bowl to the opposite side with a dive master in training - Tyler blair who also happened to be a good life guarding friend of mine. I was the last to do this skill, and when I begun, the instructor got started with the next set of skills with the other students myself and the dive master to join them after completing the navigation skill. So off we went, me following the course with my compass and Tyler monitoring my progress. I worked up a good pace and was at the opposite rim inside 5 mins. Now I turned back, reset the compass and started on the return leg. By this time all nearby divers had moved on to different areas and the students were off doing the next skills check. When I reached, what I thought was the starting point, there was not a soul there. The dive master was confused too. He started in a direction hoping that the others were just a little bit farther from the starting spot. After a couple of such false alarms I realized with a sinking feeling that we were lost. It was a fleeting thought given that I was with Tyler who had logged nearly 50 dives and he was entirely calm and composed. There was also the fact that if we were truly lost we could always surface, hail the boat and get our bearings back. But the mind, being the funny thing it is, doesn't always think that logically when you are under 45 feet of water in the middle of the ocean but still I recovered my composure in a minute. Anyway, Tyler started navigating a course to get back to the starting point and after what seemed like hours of swimming around in circles (which in reality was only 5-8 minutes), out of the gloom there appeared the shadowy shapes of our certification group. The instructor appeared surprised to find us coming from another direction and signaled to ask if we were ok.

The better part of our skills check was over and we just had to do an emergency ascent and a couple of buddy breathing exercises to wrap up the certification. That done, we had a good half hour  to explore and look around. For the most part we followed the instructor, tried to fine tune our buoyancy and become comfortable with it while observing several eels, some sea urchins and helluva lotta fish. Soon, the instructor signaled for us to ascend and we did so as a staggered group rising slowly as if in a trance. We made a 3 min emergency stop at 15 feet, clinging to the guide rope because the sea was really choppy at this  shallow depth making it difficult to maintain neutral buoyancy and position. At long last we were back on the boat, excited, tired and elated to have finally become open water certified divers!.  We went back to tavernier for lunch and a little close-eye before returning to the dock at around 5 pm for what would decidedly be the highlight of the trip - my first night dive!.

Into the darkness

This was just going to be a single cylinder dive on davis reef - the one we had done earlier -  for familiarity purposes. The ride out was timed so that we would reach there at dusk so as to allow us to setup our equipment and get into the water when there was still some light left. The boat charted a course due northwest and the peppy breeze caught our hair in a frenzy. Overhead, the scattered clouds scurrying towards the horizon as if seeking refuge from the impending darkness, were tinged and smudged with the orange fieriness of the sun, as if small clumps of cotton were set ablaze. There weren't a single boat around us, with most of them heading back to port with the setting sun having done the day's worth of diving, snorkeling, cruising and whatever else. We finally reached the reef with the sun hanging dangerously low on the horizon as if it might slip over and fall off the sky at any instant. The captain started his routine briefing on the reef, explaining about the ledge that started just behind our boat and went roughly north west for a good half a mile or so. We were also advised to dive against the current starting out so that we could save both energy and air while heading back. I took it all in a kinda semi-trance, basking in the warm glow of the last rays and  mesmerized by the million golden sparkles in the 3- foot high waves as the sun finally went down like a floundering ship.

We now did final gear checks, and decided what teams we were diving in. The five of us rooming together - tyler, chris, jenny and another girl decided to dive as a team. Powerful handheld dive lights and glowsticks (color coded by team for recognition down under - we got blue!) were handed out and the latter, we attached to the back of our gear so as to be easily visible.The boats bright running lights were switched off and red diving lights and a flashing halogen light were turned on. By the time we got into the water there was still a little bit of light so we could orient ourselves a bit. My dive buddy was chris, and together with the other 3 we had worked out our communication signals and patterns  underwater since night dives require more caution and slightly different hand signals. Finally we began our descent and as we did, the darkness suddenly seemed to curl, twist and grow around us enveloping us menacingly. 

The Turtle!!

The descent was one of the most stunningly surreal experiences of my life. The scene was both beautifully eerie and forebodingly ethereal at the same time - a bunch of shadowy shapes with fuzzy multi-colored lights on the back drifting down, with only the hiss of the regulator to keep company. The smoky beams of flashlights, danced around and lit up microscopic life, dirt, fishes and coral alike painting them in vibrant splashes of color (something that you won't experience during a day dive because the depth and the refracted light washes out the colors making for a rather bland palette the deeper you go).  It was almost like a scene straight out of the James Cameron film, Abyss or maybe the Michael Crichton book, Sphere - Fantastical, and mystical but with some unseen evil lurking just beneath the surface.   Visibility was under 15 feet and a strong current kept pushing me back so I had to swim to keep my position. The groups split off and headed into the gloom as we were the last to reach the bottom and orient ourselves as it was hard to recognize people in the low light. We soon found the edge of the ledge and started to follow it due north west, peering under the ledges and in between cracks in the coral to spot the nocturnal fauna. Almost immediately we ran into a nice, big hawksbill turtle that was meandering a couple of feet over the ledge on the other side. We avoided shining a light directly into its eyes but swam around it and played with it making sure not to touch it or alarm it. Continuing on along the reef, our flash lights playing out a wild choreography of movements, we saw several big lobsters hidden in the deep recesses under the coral ledge, that wiggled and shook their antennae when we shone a light on them, as if annoyed at have been disturbed from their sleep. I constantly had to turn my eyes away from the reef or double back a bit to make sure my buddy and the rest of my group was with me. The blue glowsticks that we carried helped quite a bit to keep track but there was another group a little further off that had the same color glow sticks. And so we drifted on in that eerie world, the dim bluish halo of the moon's rays filtering through the water, the soft blotches of the glow sticks and the scintillating beams of the flashlights the only sources of light. We finally reached 1700 psi on our gauges and started to turn back, tracing our way back along the ledge to the dive boat. Floating along with the current proved much more relaxing and we got to see a bunch more lobsters, urchins, a blue parrot fish and stingrays. Soon, the pulsing, red and white dive lights of the boat were visible on the surface as smudges of color and we made a slow, steady ascent to the writhing surface. 

The whiff of fresh air at the surface was heavenly even though the choppy seas meant swimming back to the boat was a tad tiring. We were back in the boat by 7 pm and changing. The ride back to port was beautiful with the stars out in full force adorning the heavens like pinpricks of light, a light breeze and calm seas. It was one of those serene and peaceful moments that inspires nostalgia and makes you reflect on life's little joys. Life gets its real meaning in moments like these.

Me, Myself and My Asus

     It is amazing how much we take today's gadgets and devices for granted. If it weren't for some bloke in the 1950s in some university saying " Hey! you know what  - I can use these transistors to do calculations" and if it weren't for other bunches of eccentric geeks who managed to put a whole lot of these transistor ( 1000s of them back then , billions now) thingies on to silicon chips we wouldn't have had any of these gadgetry and technical wizardry that we use every minute of our day. Consider the amount of time a revolutionary technology usually takes to evolve from inception to maturity. For example the wheel was conceptualized and evolved over centuries of research and development. The same goes for airplanes which became what it is today over a period of 90-100 years and telephones which again have developed over a century and a half. Now, computers have done the same thing in about 3 - 4 decades! From the 1960s to 2000s computer technology has grown at a blinding pace. And one of the spinoffs of this rapid growth in computational power is the advent of smartphones and tablets. Sci-fiction novels and movies imagine worlds where robots rule man. Whether that will come to pass is anyone's guess but right now and in the near future we can be sure that gadgets of all kinds, sizes and shapes will rule over man.

That said, the plethora of smartphones, computers, and laptops available nowadays means that there is something for everybody. Customization and personalization has become king, from the hardware aspects to the software and appearance aspects and its no surprise that people of all age groups are wielding their gadgets not only for communication but also as a fashion statement. Personal expression and connection to the society on the move is now possible thanks to the stunning advances in mobile technology. Each day more and more applications are released for smartphones to enable configuration, ease of use, and users are finding ways to express themselves emotionally, professionaly and personally in a way never before possible.


But, I digress. I like to think that my first laptop is essentially an extension of myself and my personality - kind of like Harry potter's wand if you will. "The laptop choses its owner my dear boy! Not the other way around". Anyway, I bought my Asus G51-VX laptop a little less than 2 years back when I first came to the U.S to do my master's. I had been an avid gamer before then and badly wanted a gaming rig and so my first laptop was a decent gaming system. It was love at first sight for me and my laptop!. It's sleek, futuristic design with a glossy white finish and lid lights turned more than a few heads. Me and my laptop soon become practically inseparable. I did all my school work on it (while most of my friends prefer to go to the college lab) via remote computing. Despite weighing in at 8.5 pounds and measuring 15.6" I still lugged it almost everywhere. In between exams and projects I blew steam off with hour long gaming romps playing crysis, gta 4 etc etc. The HD display and decent speakers made it ideal to watch movies as well.


It astonishes me even today how uncannily similar my laptop is to me. Like me, my laptop is a wee bit short-tempered and gets heated up sometimes when running demanding applications and needs to be cooled off with a cooling pad!!. If you have been a student and have used your computer/laptop for your projects and school work then you'll agree with me when I say that the PC has a nasty way of screwing things up just when it's most important. It could be anything from a simple OS crash to the earth-shattering Blue-screen-of-death. And it always seems to happen at the worst possible time. So, I take extra care in ensuring I have the latest anti-virus software running, perform regular updates, defragment my drives and generally keep everything running smoothly if not perfectly. The spring of 2010, disaster befell my laptop as my GPU managed to conk itself out somehow. I still had a manufacturer's warranty and so, sent the laptop in for a new GPU. As always happens with these " so called latest technology", the repair process took more than 3 months. Those three months were hell for me as I had to struggle to stay connected to the world, do my projects and homework and generally felt like I had lost my right arm. Finally, ASUS service center sent my laptop back with and I felt whole again. It's been two years now and I continue to spend almost 80% of my waking time with my laptop, either at work or at home. When the time finally comes when my laptop's hardware becomes obsolete and I finally decide to sell it, I think a part of me will die.

It's a disconcerting fact that humans nowadays are more attached to gadgets than other humans, and our personalities are, in whole or in part, reflected on the gadgets we use in our day to day basis. Despite all this, technology has undoubtedly helped man ( and here's where peace activists protest that technology has only brought war and destruction) and advanced our civilization to a great extent. I would, in fact argue that all this new technology, if nothing else, has only brought people closer together. We no longer need be anxious about a relative 2000 miles away in another country when we can log on and connect with them instantly. We no longer have to stand in mile-long queues to book tickets. We can reconnect with all our old friends in an instant, network professionally, buy and sell stuff with our smart phones, and all the umpteen number of things that would never have been possible without gadgets. And this change, for once, is a welcome one.

Please Note : This blog is an entry for the Dell Inspiron "Change is Easy" Contest. Feel free to check out the Dell Inspiron range of products .

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