My name is Harry.

For those few who are familiar with Michael Crichton's 'Sphere', the title would mean a lot.The rest might be wondering what have I gotta do with Harry Potter. Well, its harry potter frenzy time again. And each time this happens, I feel irritated. I ask, Why are people so crazy about it ? And I rarely find an answer other than something that's a bit unsettling.. I'll come to that in a minute. And don't mistake me for someone who hates everything that's Zeitgeist. I have no shame in admitting that the DaVinci Code was the most exciting book I've ever read, though its literary value is highly questionable. And yes, I was also drawn into this Harry Potter mania, when I was in college. Lemme expand on my very short tryst with the series.

I really don't remember when the first book was released. But I do remember the buzz that came after. And I remember all my friends getting excited about it. And at its peak, I couldn't talk with any of them without Dirty Harry [ ;) ] poking his nose into it. So I thought, what the hell, lemme read it too. And before I could finish the first ten pages I was back to my Forsyths and Crichtons. And yeah, out of conversation with my friends till the buzz died down.

The same thing happened every time a new installment came through. By the time I was in college, and something was becoming clear to me. Something I said I would mention later. And its this. Most of the people I knew, who read Harry, read it because their friends read it. Because half the world did it. And most of them didn't read it because they liked it. They did it because they don't fall out of the loop. Another sad thing I noticed that for most its not about really reading it. Its about who finishes it first and proves that he's better than the rest. Sad, but true. And that made me decide that I was not gonna fall for it. But all that changed over a lunch on Monday.

It was the Monday afternoon after Saturday when the final harry was released. And as expected the conversation over lunch was undoubtedly harry. And the three friends I go to lunch with are all Harry fans. So I was the odd one out. And I already had an impression in my mind about harry potter fans. So I finally proclaimed. "All this is just a gimmick. Its all about peer pressure". And then I noticed something that I didn't expect or haven't come across. Normally when I say this to Harry fans they usually accept it. But what I saw was that one of my friends was literally fuming. If I had let her, she would've happily strangled me. And I was surprised. Because unless she really likes it, its hard to take what I said as an insult. And then she told me. "Its something you would never understand. There's no point in explaining it to you. Its not for people with an average mentality". Phew!!! . I was insulted for sure.

And there was something else. It struck me that I might have been simply stubborn. So I decided that I might give it a try. And here I am, reading the Fifth book. They say its the grim one of the lot. I dunno. But I've reached page 74 and it still looks interesting. I will have another post, once (if) I finish it. And after that if I end up being a convert, she deserves an apology from me.

Where was I ? The comeback post

Its been a really long time since I blogged something. The reason, well, I've been busy. No not exactly, rather, I was plain lazy. Its been quite an interesting month. There were lots of things that got my attention.

First things first. I think I am turning into a grown-up. The reason? Politics have started to interest me. Blame it on TV and Indian Express. Blame it on Pratibha Patil (tai ?). Well, lot has been talked about her. So i dont want to be redundant. But yes, she's too bad a choice that people have started to sit up and take notice. She's been touted as the symbol of woman empowerment. Oh, Please, gimme a break! I can only feel sad that our country has to face this. An Italian pulling the strings of our Prime Minister and The President. What more can Rome ask for ?

But what really got my attention was what media did to Sunita Williams. They made her our "Crowning Glory"! Our Bahu in space!. I try to follow space shuttle missions as much as I can. Always. Not just this time. So i was pretty happy about the attention that it got. But that happiness was short lived. Soon they started to focus more on Sunita and less on the mission. To those who are reading this, one question. Does anyone know what was the shuttle's mission objective, other than bringing Sunita(Suni) back ? I guess you are still searching for the answer. Cant blame you. The media never gave it much coverage either.

Well there is nothing wrong in being proud of a person who is of Indian origin. But thinking that that achievement is an Indian one is ridiculous. And she has made her county proud. But that country happens to be the USA. Lets warm up to that fact.

A day of sirens and roadblocks

Yesterday was one the worst days i had faced after coming to Chennai. The mercury had hit one of the highest ever, peaking at around 42 deg. centigrade. And during my mid morning commute to office i took the heat in its full. This is when i feel jealous about people travelling by car, they at least have an option for an AC. But this is all something i got to accept. There is nothing anybody can do about this. But what I hated yesterday was the problems created by men, or shall I say, Leaders ?

Yesterday was our chief minister's 50th year in legislature. I must say, they sure have a flair for finding out reasons to celebrate. Well its up to them to celebrate whatever they want, i have no problems with that. But should that be at the cost of public comfort ? Should the taxpayer bear the brunt of all this ? Should he be writing cheques for the hundreds of extra security and police personnel deployed to provide a smooth passage for this so-called VIPs ? And believe me, i am not the only one who feels like this.

There were roadblocks in almost every major road the connects Chennai to its outskirts. The reason ? Well, our highly valuable, MLAs needed protection from the very own people they represent. We are all a potential security threat, u know. And i am forced to ask, do we really care ? Are these people so valuable to be afforded such protection ? Well if u ask me, there are only two people who deserve such protection. One, The President and Two, The Prime Minister. And if you are wondering, no, MadamJi doesn't deserve it. And that's the way it is in most of the Democratic (what a joke that has become here) countries. Sirens are reserved for The Head of the State, Police cars, Fire Trucks and Ambulances. Not for Tom, Dick and Harry, with a three or two letter word as their qualification (for the uninitiated, MLA and MP). And there were at least two Police escorts for each convoy i saw. And there were many of those convoys. What a waste of fuel, that too when the prices are soaring. But who cares, its taxpaying foolish junta's money, after all !

And if you are wondering what i was doing when i knew this was going to happen, i was helping a friend of mine catch a bus home. Thinking how many people like us would've been stranded like that is any body's guess. They put so many people to utter discomfort. Yet i don't see even a single newspaper reporting that. I don't know why media i so keen on taking sides. And i don't know why people have become so complacent. Why all i can do is simply blog. I don't know. We really have got to do some soul searching here.

BTW, my day ended on a bad and frustrating note. Its something personal to be described here, but nevertheless, it was due to some totally irresponsible behaviour from my best friend.

The world still has its heroes

Saw a movie last weekend with a friend of mine. "The Flags of Our Fathers" directed by Clint Eastwood. But before i start i gotta confess something. I am a big time Clint Eastwood fan. Be it Mystic River or The Million Dollar Baby, he is a director par excellence. It's hard to believe that this was the same gun-slinging guy that we saw in "The good,The Bad and The Ugly". He has a great way of making movies on sensitive subjects without much ado. This is just another example of that. But still i wont say this is his best . The movie becomes a bit preachy and redundant at times. I liked mystic river better. Nevertheless, its better than most movies that have come in recent times. Especially much better than the 300 and Apocalypto types ( I haven't seen those, thanks to The New York Times and Rotten Tomatoes). I know i shouldn't even be comparing these. They are like comparing apples and rotten cabbages.

"Flags of Our Fathers" is about a historic flag raising by six American soldiers that took place in IWO JIMA, a small dot on the Pacific. Only three survived The War. I am not going to write a review on the movie. You can find lots here.

This movie, though speaks about a battle in WWII that is less known, is not about war; its about the soldiers who survived it and carried the horrors of it throughout their lives. Its about what we consider as a heroic act and what the heroes consider those acts as. Its about how we (read government, in a democratic sense) exploit these.

The violence of war is portrayed in a subtle but highly effective way. There is blood and gore, but it lasts only for a few moments. Long enough to convey what it has to convey. Blood (CGI ones) doesn't have to be splattered all over the cam lens to be effective. I would say thats for retards. But if you are someone who gets a kick out of it, then steer clear of this movie. You are in for a big disappointment.

Another striking feature of the movie is the brilliant Cinematography and Editing. The battle scenes have a washed out look, much similar to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

The movie ends with a question. Who are heroes ? Do heroes themselves feel that ? Most of the time, in the movie, we see that two of these three men are reluctant heroes. They consider themselves as deserters and opportunists than real heroes. Maybe heroism is just something we make up to feel that good people do exist. That there are times when people think above themselves.

The movie reminded me of someone, a real hero of our times. Liviu Librescu was an Israeli professor who was killed at the Virginia Tech shooting. But before he died he saved almost his entire class. The brave professor used his body as a shield, not letting the attacker get into his classroom. He held the door shut and braved bullets so that his students could get out of the window. Maybe all the atrocities and torture that he suffered in his life gave him the courage. Maybe he knew how precious life is.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).”

I think the few tears i shed is not enough for his bravery. Yes we do need heroes and we need stories of heroism. At least for the sake of sanity.

On the East Coast Road to Mahabalipuram - Part One

The East Coast Road (ECR) , also called the scenic beachway, is a modern Expressway that connects Chennai to Pondichery. And scenic it is, you bet.

As always, we had been planning for this trip for long. "Planning" is the operative word. We had a hard time executing it. So after umpteen failed plans, we set out on that elusive journey on the 14th of April this year.

We had planned to start early in the morning at around 7. And if u are wondering, yeah 7AM is pretty early for us. But as luck would have it, it started pouring down. Can u believe ? Rain in Chennai? That too during summer ? Thankfully it stopped after a couple of hours. So again nothing went as planned ! Finally we started off at around 10 from Chennai. Six of us on four bikes. Three Apaches and one Pulsar.



That's Shyam, Me and Hitesh (clockwise) on our Apaches, just before we started off. The other Hitesh is the lensman.

About 15 minutes after we started, with the bustling traffic of Chennai far behind us, we hit the ECR. The ECR is a tolled highway, but thankfully not for two wheelers. And if you ask me thats the best way to enjoy the drive.

Let me digress here a bit and say something about what i feel. I am the kind of a person who likes the gush of wind blowing on your face when you are on a good drive at 80+ kmph. And ECR is one of the roads where you can do that, within the boundaries of safety. But please do wear a helmet, always. And since it isn't a divided highway, overtake with extreme caution. The buses don't give a damn about two wheelers. I might probably write my experiences with Chennai traffic sometime, in another post.

Back to the trip. Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is about 50 kms from chennai on the ECR. After a few kilometers on the ECR, you hit the tollgate. We stopped near Mayajaal, which is a Multiplex, to pick up one of Hitesh's friends. We also needed some breakfast, badly!

After having our fill of dosas (they were really good! Maybe because we were too hungry), we continued on our journey. By then, it had started to get really hot. We wanted to be in Mahabs as fast as we could. But no, ECR had more in store for us.

Well this post is becoming too long.. I think i'll write more about this in a later post.

And back as promised

The name as u see says that i am a reluctant bike freak! Bike here meaning a motorbike(or motorcycle as some affectionately call). So that brings up a question; who is a bike freak ? Hmm.. good question. If u ask me, its someone whose life revolves around riding a bike. And u gotta be really good at driving a bike too. So does that qualify me as a bike freak ? No it doesn't. For one thing, i started riding a bike the way it should be when i was in college. That means AFTER i was 18. That alone is grounds enough to disqualify me as a freak. And i really didn't consider it as a passion until i got my brand new 150 CC bike called Apache. And lo behold, I arrived. Or rather i felt so. And i am not the kind of a biker who is not only a danger for himself, but for others too.

I do enjoy riding. It never tires me ! And i am ready for a long ride any day. I have my gear ready all the time. But still i cant call myself a bike freak. Least of all consider myself as one. And thats why, a reluctant one.

Read about my bike here.

Well, here I am

Well, after long hours, rather days, of deliberation, here i am, posting my first blog. The blog's name sums it all. I will be posting another blog on why that name soon. Right now, i gotta run for work.