Tele-woes

When your parents told you TV can make you mad, they were not bluffing, or scaring you. Read on (at your own risk) to find out how...

Imagine you are working for a whole weekend on a project, and solving the deep questions of Life like “why doesn't a list containing .toLowercase()d words recognize a uppercase character?” or “Why oh why doesn't 'maltose' start with 'malto'?” (or at least why does my program says so). After two whole days of intense soul-searching err.. code-searching, you are ready to hit the TV.

Now “Rome” is a series worth watching if you can look past the PG-24+ rendition of violence and that other thing ancient Rome was famous for (the things those hills saw before the Vatican stepped in, I tell you...), and not eat you heart out for small historical inaccuracies (I mean, nobody who is supposed to live is dead, and nobody got a new lease of life that I can think of), it's a nice show to watch. So, you get ready to watch some “action” (in all senses of the word), and what you see? The show has been canceled for a week because of some Awards show or other.

But you rally from the shock, saying that you can live without the show for a week, and that you will have endless re-viewings of “Studio 60” and “The Office” to keep you sated for a week. And what do you hear next?

Now, I have said it before many times, but “Studio 60” is (I cannot say 'was” *sniff*) a show worth watching. I mean, look at this... a clear successor to “Sports Night”, a show from Aaron Sorkin (get your hands on any episode of “Sports Night” or “West Wing” and you will see what I mean), starring (for a start) Matthew Perry (for those for whom “Friends” is not a reason enough, watch the whole 19 yards – 9 and 10, I mean, and the 3 episodes of West Wing) and Bradley Whitford (again, refer “West Wing”). The pedigree is enough to raise the expectations of any discerning viewer, and the show didn't disappoint. So, when you hear that the show had to be cancelled even before it finished one season for lack of viewers, you wonder what people are watching here.

At this point, I would like to issue an warning: keep away from “The Office” you people at whoever-decided-these-kind-of-things... All in all, some idiots are making an idiot out of idiot-box.

On home front, I am happy TGILC is going nice. The “Mahayudh” concept was nice, and the champions are really a talented and quality bunch. But the “Comedy Champions” show somehow didn't click for me. And then I watched a show which was supposed to make me laugh, and didn't crack even a smile in 20-odd minutes. That means, it is bad.

So, the only things remaining for me are reruns and sequels. There, I hit gold (literally given that “old is...” concept). So, good news here: “Byomkesh Bakshi” is back on the air. And “Karamchand” back for a second innings. Of course, given that the carrots are supposedly pricey now, the fact I haven't seen him munching one yet is not so surprising.

And at the end, I would like to make a confession: I like to watch a soap opera. This is a show with a typical family in true tradition of saas-bahu serials, where the matriarch of the family rules with an iron hand. They are rich enough that the elder son is able to take his wife to Switzerland and buy her a diamond necklace for their first anniversary, and the younger son gives one of his acquint. Rs. 2 lakh as a loan without second thoughts. Even their servent is treated as one of the family. There is love abound in the family (the couples even have rhyming names for each other like Sonu-Somu), and drama enough. There is also sad moments when there are “affairs” of heart involved. But at the end of the day, they always get together to defeat the people who hurt the family (these include a builder-cum-bhai, a competitor and a scheming share-dalal).

Now before you start judging me, let me tell you that the show is Shekhar Suman-starrer Divan khandan ki kahani “Dekh Bhai Dekh”. Dekh one episode bhai and you will never dekh any other soap opera. Comedy at its best this is...


The Great Eagle has spoken...

Quote of The Day:
Television is the first truly democratic culture - the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.
- Clive Barnes

Vairangad Part II

Part I is here.

24th Feb.

What a nice day! Start from home at 5.30 am, get the bus at 6 am. Reach Vadachi Vaadi (the village at the “ground floor” of the hill where fort is located) at 10 am.

The plan was to get some last minute perishables (read milk and suchlike) at the village shop, and go onwards to the fort. What really happened was, we got talking with the grocer and the “gang” which it seemed to practically live in his shop. And what an interesting conversation that was. Seems the fort will live up to our expectations. As is standard for all abandoned and ancient buildings, the fort apparently has ghosts, at least 2 distinct ones and maybe one or two more. Not to mention a “room full of treasure, guarded by the old occupants of the fort”. No wonder the area has a bad reputation amongst the people of the village.

All you can see from the village are two towers guarding the road to the fort. The towers are situated at the top of the hill (and which you reach by climbing for about one and half hours). They are not connected to the fort, but having a commanding view of the road and the surrounding area, the watchers there can really do some serious damage to the climbers, before they reach the top when they are in range of the fort's own cannons, and still have a mile's walk before they can reach the fort's walls. A nice security precaution...

Anyways, reaching the fort around 2 pm, we had our lunch, and started exploring the area. The buildings are pretty well maintained (of course, considering that they are at least 350 years old). You can clearly make out where the fallen buildings are, and the nagarkhana (where we are camping) is almost completely free of any grass and possible any wildlife. The temple and the sadar, and some other military buildings are still standing, with most of the walls and some part of their roof. Got some nice photographs there.

The only thing out of ordinary happened around 5 pm. A young man of around 25-30 came upto the fort. We were at the back of the fort, getting some photographs. Apparently he is the son of the Patil of the town and being town-educated, he was “bored because he got very few educated people to talk to in this isolated town”. So, we offered him tea, and had a nice talk with him while roaming around. He left us to continue our exploration just before sunset (which was around 7.30 due to the cliff on the west).

It started getting dark quite early, and we came back to our campsite. Have a nice packed day planned for tomorrow, as we have to finish checking the remaining areas and get back to catch the (only) bus in the evening.

While coming back, it hit us. Due to the acoustics of the place, we had heard our visitor's horse for about 15-20 minutes before he arrived at the fort (traveling the 1 mile flat stretch), which gave us time to come to the door from where we had been getting photographs. But when he left, we didn't hear any sound from him or his horse... and he is definitely not in the fort. Wonder what happened there? Would make a nice ghost-story I am sure.

I am sure everybody got this thought at the same time, and everybody has decided not to mention it. But there was less than usual opposition to the usual night-watch idea.

The slots for night-watch are always fiercely contested. First and last watch are good, as you don't need to take a break from the sleep. As I have to write the diary and today's account, I am taking the first turn to keep watch on the fire and over the door. Now my time is almost over, so let me decide who I hate the most (that person will take the 3rd and worst watch) and who comes the close second (i.e. whom should I wake next). Mwahahaha!!!

1. Nagarkhana - the room usually situated on top of the door, which contained the drums, and flagpole on the top.
2. Sadar - a place like "Darbar Hall".


The Great Eagle has spoken...

Quote of The Day:

Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect.
- Steven Wright (1955 - )

Vairangad

Update: Due to time constraints, the story will be continued later this week. Till that time, please read my three-part series "Countdown to 14th Feb" on my other blog, which is my way of telling all that I am not waiting for The Day with bated breath (don't want to suffocate, do I)...
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20th Feb.

The Sahyadri ranges in Maharashtra contain many interesting and unique forts. The mountainous region and forts characterize Maharashtra and its people, and have played a large part in its history. And one of the most interesting forts is named “Vairangad” (Fort Desolate).

The uniqueness is not only limited to its name. Even the location is different from the standards for the forts. The fort overlooks a region which does not contain any main roads or passes joining the ghat and konkan regions, the location is remote and contain very few important towns, even today. So it has always been a question why somebody raised a fort there.

The answer is also not forthcoming. The fort is clearly very old, maybe dating back to 16th century, but there are not mentions of the fort in any of the bakhars or any other historical accounts (which is not surprising due to its remote and isolated location), till late 19th century, when a British officer who was mapping that region mentions it in his report. Some people from a nearby village were forced to leave their ancestral village due to plague and move up the mountain, and one of them found a fort when he was out hunting up the mountain from the new village. Not surprisingly, the area had a reputation for being haunted for a long time before that.

But the most unique thing about this fort is its architecture. The fort is not located on a tableland or mountaintop as is common for all forts, but in a kind of valley (of course, located some 1000 metre above the surrounding area), surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, and overlooking a flat land on the fourth side, which slopes down to the lowland. Of course, the cliffs and the flatland with nothing to hide behind make the fort almost impregnable. Kind of reminds me of Schloss Adler in “Where Eagles Dare”, of course, minus the jutting rocks, Nazis and the cable cars.

And so, when grandpa told me to get him info and photographs of this fort for his book, I had to jump at the chance. As much as I am waiting for his book to be published, I really like the chances of visiting various forts and interesting locations from our history he gives me for it.

First thing to do was of course to call The Manager. As usual, The Manager was ready with suggestions and plans for the trip. I left him to do his thing, which left me free to call the other members of our team. I don't know how he does it, but he called me back in about 2 hours with all the plans, bus routes, timings and everything for the trip.

So, to cut the long story short, our team of 2 amateur photographers, an amateur artist, me (the writer, of course), and not to mention The Manager (who also doubles as the cook) is going to visit Vairangad over this weekend.

Kille Vairangad, here we come!!!

This is the starting of my new story, called "Fort Desolate". I am going to write it as diary entries of the grandson of a history teacher, who with his friends is visiting different forts in Maharashtra for a book his grandfather is writing.

Please comment on how you feel the start is, and any suggestions/changes/improvements are always welcome. The full story will be up with my other stories as soon as I finish it.



The Great Eagle has spoken...

Quote of The Day:
An author is a fool who, not content with boring those he lives with, insists on boring future generations.
- Charles de Montesquieu (1689 - 1755)

Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

Recently, a teacher wanted her students to read a book she liked. Given their past comments, she felt she would face considerable opposition when she asked them to read it. So, she told them the outline of the book:

The book is about a young orphan, she told them. He lives with his relatives, who hate him. But as he grows up, he realizes his potential. He meets new friends at his school, and learns about friendship, loyalty and other values. He excels at his favourite sport. Then, there is a mass-murderer on the loose, who has killed the hero's parents.

Then she asked them to write a page about whether they would like to read the book, and what will happen at the end.

After they had written in unison about what an interesting book it would be, she told them the name of the book: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”. (this was before the movie was released)

Now, I thought it would be a good idea to ask you to give your comments before reading the last paragraph, so that I can call your bluff when you say in your comments how you don't find the books interesting. But it is not feasible. Instead, I am sure I can safely assume that there is at least one element everybody found in that story which appealed to you, and made you to read further. It's not just a kids' book you know...

As millions of fans around the world (reading in many languages) will tell you, the series is about how an orphan, left on the doorstep of his aunt and uncle finds about himself and his past, and his role in his world. When he enters the school, he is totally ignorant about everything in his past. But then, the most important lesson he learns is that, it's your choices and not your skills that determine what you are. It's not just about magic you know...

The series is also about Hermione Granger, who has magical skills despite being born to “normal” human parents, and even then, she is the cleverest of their class (in fact, in the whole school). It is about how you need not have blue blood in your veins to excel in whatever you do. It is also about Ron, and how friends are loyal to each other despite being overshadowed by your friends at every step. It is also about how size is not an indicator of power, and how there is something more than just academic excellence in life. The series is also about how it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. About how values like loyalty, friendship, bravery are important in life. It's not just about witchcraft you know...

The series is also about Prof. Dumbledore, the most powerful person in Harry's world. He is aware of his powers, but that does not make him lose contact with his students, and he is as funny as best of them. He tries to teach his students the difference between “being dragged in to face lions and entering the arena with your head held high”. He is the person who believes in giving second chance to even the worst persons and criminals, and sees the good in everybody. It's not just about Harry Potter you know...

Any person of any age who is reading these books finds something to interest him in it. There is brave Harry, with his friends, Ron who is a loyal friend, and Hermione who is the bookish. There is Gred and Forge (sorry, Fred and George) Weasleys, the Troublemakers-in-Chief of the school. In their own words, their pranks are “so many that it is hard to keep track of sometimes”. Then there is Dumbledore, who is the most powerful person in the world, yet he enjoys sherbet lemon, lemon drops, and is funny enough to match Fred and George. These do not even cover the complete list of “good” characters, and I haven't yet started on the bad ones yet.

It shows in every page, every paragraph that J. K. Rowling has the complete story in her head from the start. There are clues enough in spread everywhere, which show you the way story will go (and make you go, “so that's what that meant” when you come across the explanation of the clue sometime later, many times in some other book). Just to give an example, a character in book 5 mentions, “"...at the solstice will come a new... and none will come after..." There were a lot of discussions about what this meant in the fandom. The title of the seventh (and last) book of the series was announced on JKR's website this winter solstice (21st Dec).

I guess at this point, it should save me a lot of words to mention that these are books (along with PuLa's books I mentioned earlier) which are beyond Book(?)...err scale. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” is The Book I am waiting for...

For all those people who want to start reading (come on, admit it guys), I will recommend that the best book of the series till now is “Prisoner of Azkaban” (and each book contains enough back story to read independently), but then, it is always a good idea to start at the very beginning.





P.S. For all those people still saying that this is kids' book, about magic and all, please count the number of times I needed to mention magic, spells, witchcraft etc. to tell you about the books.

P.P.S. For all the "grown-ups", there are adult editions of the books too.


The Great Eagle has spoken...

Quote of The Day:

"E for 'Exceeds Expectations. And I've always thought Fred and I should've got E in everything, because we exceeded expectations just by turning up for the exams."
- George Weasley

Those Were The Days...

(a.k.a. The Wonder Years Tag)

This is my 50th post on this blog....

Thank you for all the applause, hope you could see me taking the bows there (not curtain calls, I am afraid. I am going to continue writing). So, I was thinking for a long time what should I write. I mean, I should be writing something important, about a topic I really feel about to mark this important milestone, right? I thought about a lot of topics, including a Marathi book I love, a new author I am reading, a great TV serial I am watching right now. But then I thought, what in the world is more important than... “me”?

So, I am taking up a great tag, started by one of my favourite blog-writers (this has nothing to do with the fact that she called me “The King of Commenters” or something like that)

The Wonder Years Tag

1.Write 8-10 things about childhood ( 1-12 years) that you miss.
2.Write 8-10 things that you disliked about childhood.
3.Tag a few people.


Since the tag is about 1-12 years, I have to leave out anything we did in 8-10 std in school, which is bad, since 10th std was when we had the most fun in school. Also, I don't remember much till when I was 2-3 years old, so cannot write anything about that.

What I miss about my childhood

1. The long diwali vacations and even longer summer vacations. We used to go to Nasik every summer.


2. School: I cannot miss it more. We had the greatest group in school, and being the top of class (which directly meant top of batch), we were (almost) every teacher's favourite. I miss that preferential treatment in school.


3. Cricket matches: we played cricket on weekends using bats and rubber balls. In the school though, it was writing pads and plastic balls. We had the record of scoring 24 runs in an over. In fact that was 24 runs in 2 balls, if I remember correctly, since after so many wides, the over was cancelled, making the score 24 runs, no wickets, 0 balls.


4. Football in break: This wasn't using normal footballs, or even normal rubber balls. We used to play with the hemispherical rubber balls which were broken due to excessive beating in cricket. The ball used to trace a nice circular route when kicked, which accounted for a lot of kicks to the shins we got while playing. Also, watching the ball turning away from goal without anybody touching it was a bit of fun for everybody involved (in defending team of course)


5. Competitive exams: and of course, classes for these exams. It was fun attending the classes before and after the school with my best friends.


6. Playing with my cousins: in nasik. I am older than all my maternal cousins. And frankly, my sister being 5 years older than me, while we all being born within 5 years of each other, she is kind of outside our group. Anyways, I miss playing with them.


7. Being the youngest of all the cousins on my father's side. Well, I am still the youngest, and still get all the attention I want for that, but it was much more fun when I was in school and “the kid” in all senses of the word.


8. Watching the Sunday morning serials, with my parents. This was more for the sunday morning heavy breakfast, and second coffee, than actual serials. Well, we had some good serials then, including Ramayan, Mahabharat. Of course, watching Rangoli was a bit of event too.


9. Late night cards sessions with my parents, my cousins, my grandparents. These were once in a while, holiday sessions, which would later include coffee (I learnt to make coffee when I was pretty young). There were also movie sessions on saturday nights.


10. “Laurel & Hardy” and “Tom & Jerry”: my friend had video cassettes. Our deep study of these started in his house watching those movies on his VCR. I still have the memories of us sitting in his room on the roof of his house, watching the movies.

What I disliked about childhood

I don't remember many things which I actively disliked or hated in school. Let me try and think some of them up.

1. I was an accident-prone kid. I broke the bone in my right hand when I was 2 years old, the other bone was broken when I was in 8th standard. I had so many hospital visits that I am pretty much sick of hospitals now.


2. The teachers who used to beat students up. And then there was a teacher who used to tell me every day that I would do better to not be friends with my best friend.


3. Drawing class in school: unfortunately, my drawings did not count as modern art too. But though I could and did keep my colors inside the lines, drawing the lines themselves was a bad. My drawing submission eve was the time when my mother and sister drew the requisite things while I tried to fill colors.


4. Learning Marathi Grammar: I cannot recall even one of the things they taught us, except where to put what in a sentence.

Sorry, I can't go on... once I started, I realised how many bad memories I have... I am sure my (auto)biography will tell all how I became such a great man in spite of such adversities...


Whom I am going to tag

This is going to raise my spirits... So Sid, you do take up tags pretty well, so here's one more. Almost everybody else I know has already picked up this tag, so *donning helmet and protective suit*, I tag, you know.... *running off to bomb shelter*

The Great Eagle has spoken...

Quote of The Day:

People who get nostalgic about childhood were obviously never children.
- Bill Watterson (1958 - ), Calvin and Hobbes