The dark night
Nov 27 2008 - 1.50 pm
It's been 12 hours now since I last spoke with Shibu. It's been about 8 hours since he last communicated with his parents. It's been about 16 and half hours since he has been out there on the streets covering the brazen terrorist attacks on Mumbai. Just a day after returning back from our very very pleasant stay in Gangtok, we were thrown right deep into the vagaries of tough life in a city like Mumbai. A night when an iconic landmark and a beautiful edifice was turned into a battle zone. Lack of sleep, overflowing tears and constantly watching reruns of the same terror shots on TV all night made my eyes weary. That's when the phone rang and I got to hear from him that all's well and he is back in the office. Thank God for a feeling called relief.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Book Review: The Preservationist
The Preservationist is an interesting first novel by David Maine. Unlike other first novels, this one is not purely or semi autobiographical, rather it is inspired by the age old Biblical story of Noah and his ark from the book of Genesis. Like your childhood school task of 'Create a story from the outline given', David Maine takes the few outlines of the story from the Bible and creates a full fledged first novel out of it. The characters which are just names in the Bible are now characters which breathe, eat, drink, fight, gossip, rut, go through the entire gamut of emotions that all of us as human beings go through.
Born in 1963, and having travelled and lived all over the world primarily the desertscapes of Arizona, Morocco and Pakistan, it is interesting to see Maine's knowledge of vast deserts and the animals and insects that inhabit the desert plains make their way into the book. Maine's writing style is so simple but elaborate that picturesque images of the entire episode get created in your mind instantly. The book is an elegant retelling of the ancient story which captures people's efforts and hopes at a time of global disaster.
The names and quotations in the book are taken from the 1914 printing of the Douay Bible, which was an English translation from the Latin version. All names are spelled as in that edition. So Noah becomes Noe, and the God he answers to becomes Yahweh. We are also introduced to a string of characters belonging to the family of Noe: his wife (who incidentally is unnamed throughout the book and the Bible as well, even the wife herself can't remember her name in the novel), his sons - Sem, Cham and Japheth and their wives Bera, Illya and Mirn respectively. These three women are never named in the Bible; Maine names them, gives them voices, and turns them into his most fascinating characters, much more tougher than any of the muscled men. We see the Forrest Gumpian effort that Noe had to entail to bring this family of distinct personalities together to build a huge ark as God had instructed without being able to explain to his family why exactly the ark was being built. The book is awaiting a Mel Gibson to pick up the rights to make it into a spectacular movie laden with special effects.
Maine writes the entire episode in a very simplistically funny vein, for e.g.: In the following passage where he explains Noe's situation in the ark when he was unconscious for about 6 weeks:
"His day is simplified to its most basic elements:
1. Breathe.
2. Sleep.
3. Wake, or half-wake, into a foggy semi-delirium in which he chokes out half-intelligible words: Nigh tangles! or possibly Night angles! or maybe even Nightingales! Or perhaps something else entirely - nice angels? - or nothing.
4. Sip a little water from the cup the wife holds to his chin. Sip a little broth.
5. Chew a piece of carrot or flatbread, swallow it or spit it to dribble down his chin."
The great thing about the novel is that it is not preachy at all. Not about the Christian faith, not even about humanity in general. Maine could easily have slipped into a prophetical mode, where he draws parallel between the evils that plagued the society then with the ones today, and probably mention a similar catastrophe in waiting. But he avoids doing so. Instead he treats the novel just as if he is narrating a story to his kids.
Each of the characters in the family are as individualistic as any of the members in a real life joint family. So while Noe is the crazy guy who hears voices from above, his wife is this submissive, reticent lady who only does as she is instructed and expected of her. Sam is the obedient son, obedient to the point where he has no thought of his own and only listens to his father. Cham is the knowledgeable son, who has travelled far and wide and learnt more about the world outside. He is the primary boat builder. Japheth is a useless, accident prone no-gooder who can't see beyond the basic necessities of life. Sam's wife Bera is a calm, persistent and a firm believer in Yahweh. Ilya is an outsider to the family, who looks different from all the others and constantly has to face the discrimination. But since she is from a different land way up in the north, she has better knowledge of the world outside. Mirn is just a young girl, but with lots of common sense and a deep sense of curiousity for the happenings around her. While the characters are distinguished from one another by quirks and obsessions, their voices are not a problem, as the chapters alternate points of view. Every character in the story other than Noe narrates some chapters from their point of view, and then there is a narrator for Noe's part. So the story alternates between different people's first person views of the story to a third person view from time to time.
While the Bible only mentions that there was a flood and Noah and his family were entrusted with building an ark and filling it up with a male and female animal of all the species known to mankind, it offers little detail on how they actually built the ark or collected those many animals. Which Maine interestingly builds up in this novel. Maine also provides intricate details of the suffering that the family had to undergo on the boat. Writing in a breezy present tense, Maine imagines how they spend their time: telling stories, feeding larvae to birds, getting bummed out, rutting. He writes of the ship's interior: "From the darkness around them rises a dull effulgence of elephant dung, of rhino shit and wet hippo gas."
As the story progresses and the flood subsides, we even see the characters maturing as they set out to different corners of the earth to procreate and populate the earth again. And Noe's desperation as he realizes that Yahweh is no longer communicating with him, he has become one of the commoners who is left to do things on his own without any instructions. Slowly his wife grows old and dies and later he also dies a lonely death. These are the facts of the story as mentioned in the Bible, and they remain mysterious both to the characters and to the reader. Maine hasn't attempted to explain these mysteries, rather he leaves the reader wondering whether at the end of it all the entire episode was worth the trouble at all.
Born in 1963, and having travelled and lived all over the world primarily the desertscapes of Arizona, Morocco and Pakistan, it is interesting to see Maine's knowledge of vast deserts and the animals and insects that inhabit the desert plains make their way into the book. Maine's writing style is so simple but elaborate that picturesque images of the entire episode get created in your mind instantly. The book is an elegant retelling of the ancient story which captures people's efforts and hopes at a time of global disaster.
The names and quotations in the book are taken from the 1914 printing of the Douay Bible, which was an English translation from the Latin version. All names are spelled as in that edition. So Noah becomes Noe, and the God he answers to becomes Yahweh. We are also introduced to a string of characters belonging to the family of Noe: his wife (who incidentally is unnamed throughout the book and the Bible as well, even the wife herself can't remember her name in the novel), his sons - Sem, Cham and Japheth and their wives Bera, Illya and Mirn respectively. These three women are never named in the Bible; Maine names them, gives them voices, and turns them into his most fascinating characters, much more tougher than any of the muscled men. We see the Forrest Gumpian effort that Noe had to entail to bring this family of distinct personalities together to build a huge ark as God had instructed without being able to explain to his family why exactly the ark was being built. The book is awaiting a Mel Gibson to pick up the rights to make it into a spectacular movie laden with special effects.
Maine writes the entire episode in a very simplistically funny vein, for e.g.: In the following passage where he explains Noe's situation in the ark when he was unconscious for about 6 weeks:
"His day is simplified to its most basic elements:
1. Breathe.
2. Sleep.
3. Wake, or half-wake, into a foggy semi-delirium in which he chokes out half-intelligible words: Nigh tangles! or possibly Night angles! or maybe even Nightingales! Or perhaps something else entirely - nice angels? - or nothing.
4. Sip a little water from the cup the wife holds to his chin. Sip a little broth.
5. Chew a piece of carrot or flatbread, swallow it or spit it to dribble down his chin."
The great thing about the novel is that it is not preachy at all. Not about the Christian faith, not even about humanity in general. Maine could easily have slipped into a prophetical mode, where he draws parallel between the evils that plagued the society then with the ones today, and probably mention a similar catastrophe in waiting. But he avoids doing so. Instead he treats the novel just as if he is narrating a story to his kids.
Each of the characters in the family are as individualistic as any of the members in a real life joint family. So while Noe is the crazy guy who hears voices from above, his wife is this submissive, reticent lady who only does as she is instructed and expected of her. Sam is the obedient son, obedient to the point where he has no thought of his own and only listens to his father. Cham is the knowledgeable son, who has travelled far and wide and learnt more about the world outside. He is the primary boat builder. Japheth is a useless, accident prone no-gooder who can't see beyond the basic necessities of life. Sam's wife Bera is a calm, persistent and a firm believer in Yahweh. Ilya is an outsider to the family, who looks different from all the others and constantly has to face the discrimination. But since she is from a different land way up in the north, she has better knowledge of the world outside. Mirn is just a young girl, but with lots of common sense and a deep sense of curiousity for the happenings around her. While the characters are distinguished from one another by quirks and obsessions, their voices are not a problem, as the chapters alternate points of view. Every character in the story other than Noe narrates some chapters from their point of view, and then there is a narrator for Noe's part. So the story alternates between different people's first person views of the story to a third person view from time to time.
While the Bible only mentions that there was a flood and Noah and his family were entrusted with building an ark and filling it up with a male and female animal of all the species known to mankind, it offers little detail on how they actually built the ark or collected those many animals. Which Maine interestingly builds up in this novel. Maine also provides intricate details of the suffering that the family had to undergo on the boat. Writing in a breezy present tense, Maine imagines how they spend their time: telling stories, feeding larvae to birds, getting bummed out, rutting. He writes of the ship's interior: "From the darkness around them rises a dull effulgence of elephant dung, of rhino shit and wet hippo gas."
As the story progresses and the flood subsides, we even see the characters maturing as they set out to different corners of the earth to procreate and populate the earth again. And Noe's desperation as he realizes that Yahweh is no longer communicating with him, he has become one of the commoners who is left to do things on his own without any instructions. Slowly his wife grows old and dies and later he also dies a lonely death. These are the facts of the story as mentioned in the Bible, and they remain mysterious both to the characters and to the reader. Maine hasn't attempted to explain these mysteries, rather he leaves the reader wondering whether at the end of it all the entire episode was worth the trouble at all.
Dostana
The stars of the movie Dostana - Ass, Legs, and Pink Shirt in conversation with the producer of the movie, Mr Pink Money.
Pink Money (PM) : Let's start with you Ass. I hear you have a great role in the movie. Wanna talk about it?
Ass: You know I generally let my work do the talking. And I knew I would look great on John what with all of his months of exercising in preparing for this role. After Ranbir showed me off gleefully in all parts of the world other than India, John had been waiting for a while for someone to offer him a similar role. I am so glad that PM you walked along and offered him this role. Never has anyone taken me more seriously than him. John royally pampered me and prepared me for the opening shots of the movie. So you have a great opening sequence with John and me in the movie. Anyways I was always more emotive than his face. PM, it was only because of you that I got this favorable role. Although I could show very less of myself from under those briefs of his, I never looked better. Actually there are many shots of me even on Piggy Chops, but for Piggy Chops I am fashionably draped around. You always liked me more on John.
PM: That's so not true Ass, you ass! Even Piggy Chops shows off a good amount of you in the golden bikini scene in the movie. I like you on both John and Piggy.
Ass: I didn't stand a chance to be noticed in that golden bikini. I looked like such a bummer. And c'mon the bikini scene was more to show off Miss Legs.
Legs: Well, Piggy wanted to show off more of me than you anyways, Ass. Since Kareena's Tashan days, Piggy's been wanting to get one up on Kareena. And both in Fashion and Dostana she showed off lots of me. This has been the golden part of my careeer. Everyone wants to show off more of me. Ass, it will be a while more for the Indian audiences to mature and move on to you. Until then you will have to satisfy showing small peek-a-boos of yours. And trust me, the men in the audience want to see more of me than you, other than maybe PM's loyal pink fan following.
PM: Ah! my pink fans! I have so much to be thankful to them. They royally lap up anything made by my banner, thinking that it will add more razzmatazz to the pink power movement. It leads to more pink money for me, so I am not the one to complain. It's only because of my pink money that I can make all of you top stars work in my movies, even in the most ridiculous outfits. Don't you agree Pink Shirt?
Pink Shirt: What kind of a question is that? You are equating me with bad fasion sense? Didn't I look gorgeous on Abhishek in this movie? And with the pink scarf around his neck. All of it looked great. Indian men have always been comfortable with their pink shirts. I looked great even on Akshay in his last movie 'Singh is King'. He wore a floral version of me and a deep pink lungi. It was just perfect. Abhishek was a bit more resistant to wearing pink in this movie though. Actually those were just tantrums on his side to get hands on more of your pink money. He was getting no good roles and no money anyways. He had to accept this one, and I am so glad he did. He carried me off well, and I am sure I will see more Indian men turning the city and the country pink soon. Only Indian men wear their hearts on their sleeves and their shirts to match that color on their sleeves.
PM: That's great PS. Here's more to pink power. And you guys don't go anywhere, we are still in conversation with Ass, Legs and Pink Shirt, the stars of the movie Dostana.
AND NOW FOR A REVIEW OF THE MOVIE...
Yes, that's what the movie is all about. It's a showcase for John's ass, Priyanka's legs and Abhishek turning pink. It will be a hit for sure and audiences will lap it up, Karan is quite the manipulator. Even the gays in the audience will walk out of the movie thinking that this movie does showcase them positively. Obviously with two top heroes and beefcakes being paired together as a couple in the movie, no one can complain that gays are being given a raw deal in the movie. Look clearly guys, whenever they have to act gay, they go all flamboyant and loud and OTT and all they talk about is sex. And all the other gay characters in the movie are again just caricatures of everything the straight world expects when they hear the word gay. Even if all the flamboyant gay characters in the movie had been at least a bit peppered with a couple of regular, normal gay guys like the ones we see in real life, I wouldn't have complained. But clearly that is not what Karan Johar had in his mind. Ultimately the movie has to make money, and Karan also never claimed that the movie is about gay rights. So no complaints against him. I have a problem with the gay audience who are saying that the movie is the most gay-friendly movie to come out. Seriously?
The movie is indeed historical and will be talked about for ages to come. For the word gay has never been uttered in Hindi movies. And here you have an entire movie based on a gay sub plot. Just for pushing gay into Hindi mainstream cinema, I think, Karan Johar and the director of the movie, Tarun Mansukhani deserve some credit. They could have easily touched any other topic and made as much, if not more money.
If only, the makers had stuck with the gay theme and thought of a better plot to move the story forward in the second half it would have been more satisfying. So we have a very funny first half where John and Abhishek take up two rooms in Priyanka's apartment on rent. Priyanka needs the money and John and Abhishek are desperate to get the rooms. Since Priyanka would have only girls as her room mates, the two put up an act as a gay couple to get the room. This part of the plot and the jokes are heavily borrowed from the English movie 'I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry'. I must admit though that this movie is only a tad better than that one. At least here we have a great cast, and great songs.
As they discover the benefits of putting up this act, there are more and more people around who come to know that they are gay. So you have an overacting, but very funny Kirron Kher who discovers that her son is gay; you have a hideous Sushmita Mukherjee hamming all her way to Sindhi stardom; a gora gay immigration officer; and a flamboyant Boman Irani (great, again) who plays Priyanka's gay boss and hits on her supposedly gay roommates. So far, so good. It's when the jokes dry down in this part of the movie, that probably the makers realized that there is only so much of stretching that they can do with the Kantaben subplot from Kal Ho Na Ho. And that's where the story begins to falter. Enter Bobby Deol who is also a competition for Priyanka's attention and his kid (who is that overacting kid?) who is clamoring for his father's attention, and you have such gaping holes in the plot line that even John's ass can pass through them.
The movie is funny, yes, but largely because it is irreverent to the accepted social norms of Hindi movie making. But I beg to differ if anyone says it is a sensible, or a well made or even a genuinely funny movie. It is everything that I expect from Bollywood when I go for the movies - great looking actors, glamorous costumes, great music, great dances, and lavish sets. If all this comes with a tight script and good performances, then nothing like it. This movie gives me all of my first set of requirements, can't say much of the second set. So I end up not being disappointed in the great tradition of Bollywood movies, but that's just about it.
The movie is about friendship as the title suggests, and I must mention that all three - John, AB junior and Priyanka - look like they genuinely share a great friendship. The chemistry between the three of them shows on the screen, and especially John and Abhishek do look great together. Bobby Deol does not fit in the proceedings, no matter how much he tries, and with that irritating no-gooder son of his, he better stay away from the main story. The fast-paced songs are great and well choreographed. Especially the grand finale song - Maa Ka Laadla. The song is hugely funny especially because it cares a rat's ass about any societal norms and is hugely politically incorrect, I guess Karan Johar is coming out to his mom through the song. I hope she sess it at least now...
Pink Money (PM) : Let's start with you Ass. I hear you have a great role in the movie. Wanna talk about it?
Ass: You know I generally let my work do the talking. And I knew I would look great on John what with all of his months of exercising in preparing for this role. After Ranbir showed me off gleefully in all parts of the world other than India, John had been waiting for a while for someone to offer him a similar role. I am so glad that PM you walked along and offered him this role. Never has anyone taken me more seriously than him. John royally pampered me and prepared me for the opening shots of the movie. So you have a great opening sequence with John and me in the movie. Anyways I was always more emotive than his face. PM, it was only because of you that I got this favorable role. Although I could show very less of myself from under those briefs of his, I never looked better. Actually there are many shots of me even on Piggy Chops, but for Piggy Chops I am fashionably draped around. You always liked me more on John.
PM: That's so not true Ass, you ass! Even Piggy Chops shows off a good amount of you in the golden bikini scene in the movie. I like you on both John and Piggy.
Ass: I didn't stand a chance to be noticed in that golden bikini. I looked like such a bummer. And c'mon the bikini scene was more to show off Miss Legs.
Legs: Well, Piggy wanted to show off more of me than you anyways, Ass. Since Kareena's Tashan days, Piggy's been wanting to get one up on Kareena. And both in Fashion and Dostana she showed off lots of me. This has been the golden part of my careeer. Everyone wants to show off more of me. Ass, it will be a while more for the Indian audiences to mature and move on to you. Until then you will have to satisfy showing small peek-a-boos of yours. And trust me, the men in the audience want to see more of me than you, other than maybe PM's loyal pink fan following.
PM: Ah! my pink fans! I have so much to be thankful to them. They royally lap up anything made by my banner, thinking that it will add more razzmatazz to the pink power movement. It leads to more pink money for me, so I am not the one to complain. It's only because of my pink money that I can make all of you top stars work in my movies, even in the most ridiculous outfits. Don't you agree Pink Shirt?
Pink Shirt: What kind of a question is that? You are equating me with bad fasion sense? Didn't I look gorgeous on Abhishek in this movie? And with the pink scarf around his neck. All of it looked great. Indian men have always been comfortable with their pink shirts. I looked great even on Akshay in his last movie 'Singh is King'. He wore a floral version of me and a deep pink lungi. It was just perfect. Abhishek was a bit more resistant to wearing pink in this movie though. Actually those were just tantrums on his side to get hands on more of your pink money. He was getting no good roles and no money anyways. He had to accept this one, and I am so glad he did. He carried me off well, and I am sure I will see more Indian men turning the city and the country pink soon. Only Indian men wear their hearts on their sleeves and their shirts to match that color on their sleeves.
PM: That's great PS. Here's more to pink power. And you guys don't go anywhere, we are still in conversation with Ass, Legs and Pink Shirt, the stars of the movie Dostana.
AND NOW FOR A REVIEW OF THE MOVIE...
Yes, that's what the movie is all about. It's a showcase for John's ass, Priyanka's legs and Abhishek turning pink. It will be a hit for sure and audiences will lap it up, Karan is quite the manipulator. Even the gays in the audience will walk out of the movie thinking that this movie does showcase them positively. Obviously with two top heroes and beefcakes being paired together as a couple in the movie, no one can complain that gays are being given a raw deal in the movie. Look clearly guys, whenever they have to act gay, they go all flamboyant and loud and OTT and all they talk about is sex. And all the other gay characters in the movie are again just caricatures of everything the straight world expects when they hear the word gay. Even if all the flamboyant gay characters in the movie had been at least a bit peppered with a couple of regular, normal gay guys like the ones we see in real life, I wouldn't have complained. But clearly that is not what Karan Johar had in his mind. Ultimately the movie has to make money, and Karan also never claimed that the movie is about gay rights. So no complaints against him. I have a problem with the gay audience who are saying that the movie is the most gay-friendly movie to come out. Seriously?
The movie is indeed historical and will be talked about for ages to come. For the word gay has never been uttered in Hindi movies. And here you have an entire movie based on a gay sub plot. Just for pushing gay into Hindi mainstream cinema, I think, Karan Johar and the director of the movie, Tarun Mansukhani deserve some credit. They could have easily touched any other topic and made as much, if not more money.
If only, the makers had stuck with the gay theme and thought of a better plot to move the story forward in the second half it would have been more satisfying. So we have a very funny first half where John and Abhishek take up two rooms in Priyanka's apartment on rent. Priyanka needs the money and John and Abhishek are desperate to get the rooms. Since Priyanka would have only girls as her room mates, the two put up an act as a gay couple to get the room. This part of the plot and the jokes are heavily borrowed from the English movie 'I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry'. I must admit though that this movie is only a tad better than that one. At least here we have a great cast, and great songs.
As they discover the benefits of putting up this act, there are more and more people around who come to know that they are gay. So you have an overacting, but very funny Kirron Kher who discovers that her son is gay; you have a hideous Sushmita Mukherjee hamming all her way to Sindhi stardom; a gora gay immigration officer; and a flamboyant Boman Irani (great, again) who plays Priyanka's gay boss and hits on her supposedly gay roommates. So far, so good. It's when the jokes dry down in this part of the movie, that probably the makers realized that there is only so much of stretching that they can do with the Kantaben subplot from Kal Ho Na Ho. And that's where the story begins to falter. Enter Bobby Deol who is also a competition for Priyanka's attention and his kid (who is that overacting kid?) who is clamoring for his father's attention, and you have such gaping holes in the plot line that even John's ass can pass through them.
The movie is funny, yes, but largely because it is irreverent to the accepted social norms of Hindi movie making. But I beg to differ if anyone says it is a sensible, or a well made or even a genuinely funny movie. It is everything that I expect from Bollywood when I go for the movies - great looking actors, glamorous costumes, great music, great dances, and lavish sets. If all this comes with a tight script and good performances, then nothing like it. This movie gives me all of my first set of requirements, can't say much of the second set. So I end up not being disappointed in the great tradition of Bollywood movies, but that's just about it.
The movie is about friendship as the title suggests, and I must mention that all three - John, AB junior and Priyanka - look like they genuinely share a great friendship. The chemistry between the three of them shows on the screen, and especially John and Abhishek do look great together. Bobby Deol does not fit in the proceedings, no matter how much he tries, and with that irritating no-gooder son of his, he better stay away from the main story. The fast-paced songs are great and well choreographed. Especially the grand finale song - Maa Ka Laadla. The song is hugely funny especially because it cares a rat's ass about any societal norms and is hugely politically incorrect, I guess Karan Johar is coming out to his mom through the song. I hope she sess it at least now...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Truth
For the past two weeks, every Tuesday has been a rush-rush affair for me. I try to wind up my work before 7 pm, have dinner by 8 pm and I am back home on the couch in front of the TV to catch the latest episode of 'The Moment of Truth' by 9 pm. There has been no other show that has captured my imagination so much, as far as memory serves me. Probably after Project Runway, this is the only show that I have made time for diligently week after week.
Deep within my heart, I am actually ashamed that I am so fond of this show. It's because I am aware that it's voyeuristic, exploitative, and makes a great viewing experience of someone else's misery. But I have to admit, it's hugely entertaining. So much that in the last episode that was aired in India, I had my heart racing and I was actually jumping on my seat answering on behalf of the participant. It's actually very unfortunate and extremely sad that the contestant had to lose both her husband and her money at the end of the show. Yes, the questions broke the contestant's marriage and she also ended up getting no money because of one mistake.
The basic premise of the show is that you have to answer truthfully, all the questions posed to you. The questions range from the mundane to the silly to the personal types. There are 21 questions posed, at the end of which you go back home with half a million dollars. The only catch being that you have to answer only the truth. If God forbid, the lie detector marks any of your answers as false, you end up going home with nothing. If you are wondering to yourself how could this be so difficult, let me assure you it is probably much more difficult than enduring all those physical tribulations on the Survivor series. The questions get far way too personal, much beyond the comfort levels of even the host of the show. And the farthest any contestant has reached so far in the show is Question no 16. I can't imagine how personal and tricky the last few questions on the show would be if anyone were to ever face it.
For e.g.: Suppose someone asked me, would you donate one of your kidneys to your sister in case both her kidneys failed and yours is a match? Sure, Of course, Without any doubt, I would say if someone were to randomly ask me this question on the street. But what if deep within my heart somewhere I am not so sure whether that is a good idea. Subconsciously, my answer would be hmmmm....I don't know. If I am now strapped to a lie detector and asked the same question on the show, and if I were to answer Yes sure, Of course, then I would be out of the show with no money gained from my previous truthful answers.
Another question to which you might just not know the answer is of the types "Do you think you are a good person?". Again our immediate tendency might be to answer Yes. None of us are that great sinners who have done such horrible things, that we would call ourselves bad people. But even for a fraction of a second when you are asked this question, if your mind trespasses to any of your previous wrong doings, like the time you stole some money from your dad's pocket, or the time when you quite purposefully did something wrong against one of your colleagues at work, so that you get to outshine him at work, then this would be captured by the lie detector. And then if you answer affirmatively to the question, the lie detector would disagree with you.
That was the question at which the last contestant lost all her money. And that after she had answered truthfully to the other 15 hugely personal and difficult questions. Questions which broke her marriage, questioned her fidelity, and labelled her as a thief. It's extremely unfortunate that she lost her money to a question that looks so simple and straightforward on the outside, but we all know how difficult it could be to answer.
And as entertaining as it might be, it still troubles me that it's extremely exploitative. It's sad that I am enjoying the spectacle of someone else's misery. Maybe if I am asked the same question "Do you think you are a good person?", my mind might trespass to this grey area and my lie detector would beep.
Deep within my heart, I am actually ashamed that I am so fond of this show. It's because I am aware that it's voyeuristic, exploitative, and makes a great viewing experience of someone else's misery. But I have to admit, it's hugely entertaining. So much that in the last episode that was aired in India, I had my heart racing and I was actually jumping on my seat answering on behalf of the participant. It's actually very unfortunate and extremely sad that the contestant had to lose both her husband and her money at the end of the show. Yes, the questions broke the contestant's marriage and she also ended up getting no money because of one mistake.
The basic premise of the show is that you have to answer truthfully, all the questions posed to you. The questions range from the mundane to the silly to the personal types. There are 21 questions posed, at the end of which you go back home with half a million dollars. The only catch being that you have to answer only the truth. If God forbid, the lie detector marks any of your answers as false, you end up going home with nothing. If you are wondering to yourself how could this be so difficult, let me assure you it is probably much more difficult than enduring all those physical tribulations on the Survivor series. The questions get far way too personal, much beyond the comfort levels of even the host of the show. And the farthest any contestant has reached so far in the show is Question no 16. I can't imagine how personal and tricky the last few questions on the show would be if anyone were to ever face it.
For e.g.: Suppose someone asked me, would you donate one of your kidneys to your sister in case both her kidneys failed and yours is a match? Sure, Of course, Without any doubt, I would say if someone were to randomly ask me this question on the street. But what if deep within my heart somewhere I am not so sure whether that is a good idea. Subconsciously, my answer would be hmmmm....I don't know. If I am now strapped to a lie detector and asked the same question on the show, and if I were to answer Yes sure, Of course, then I would be out of the show with no money gained from my previous truthful answers.
Another question to which you might just not know the answer is of the types "Do you think you are a good person?". Again our immediate tendency might be to answer Yes. None of us are that great sinners who have done such horrible things, that we would call ourselves bad people. But even for a fraction of a second when you are asked this question, if your mind trespasses to any of your previous wrong doings, like the time you stole some money from your dad's pocket, or the time when you quite purposefully did something wrong against one of your colleagues at work, so that you get to outshine him at work, then this would be captured by the lie detector. And then if you answer affirmatively to the question, the lie detector would disagree with you.
That was the question at which the last contestant lost all her money. And that after she had answered truthfully to the other 15 hugely personal and difficult questions. Questions which broke her marriage, questioned her fidelity, and labelled her as a thief. It's extremely unfortunate that she lost her money to a question that looks so simple and straightforward on the outside, but we all know how difficult it could be to answer.
And as entertaining as it might be, it still troubles me that it's extremely exploitative. It's sad that I am enjoying the spectacle of someone else's misery. Maybe if I am asked the same question "Do you think you are a good person?", my mind might trespass to this grey area and my lie detector would beep.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
My travel-o-rama
You know it's been long since you blogged when you want to get to your blog site to begin to type in your new post, but you just can't seem to remember the URL of your blog site...
It's been that long, yes, but for a reason. Actually it's because I've been busy. Busy travelling across the world, catching up with friends and family in different parts of the world, settling in and acclimatizing in new locations, and trying to catch up with work and career, which I had been neglecting for a while now.
So I decided to maintain a blog post abt all the travelling that I have been doing in 2008, starting with my small 3 week vacation to India starting May 23 2008
May 23 2008 - Leave New York for Mumbai
May 24 2008 - Reach Mumbai
May 26 2008 - Leave Mumbai in train for Kerala with parents
May 27 2008 - Reach my hometown, Thumpamon, Kerala with parents
May 29 2008 - Leave Kerala in train for Chennai with parents to visit my sister and her family
June 2 2008 - Fly from Chennai with parents back to Mumbai
June 8 2008 - Fly from Mumbai for Bangalore for a small vacation with Shibu
June 11 2008 - Fly from Bangalore back to Mumbai
June 15 2008 - Fly from Mumbai back to New York
June 16 2008 - Reach New York and resume work the same day
July 3 2008 - Take a bus down to Boston along with Ari, and from Boston meet up with Mayur and drive down in his car along with Keiko, Ari and Mayur to Montreal for a small vacation
July 6 2008 - Drive down back from Montreal to Boston, and again take the bus back from Boston to NYC
July 11 2008 - Fly from NYC back to Mumbai for a 3 month long work based assignment in Bangalore
July 12 2008 - Reach Mumbai and wait at the airport for 5 hrs for a transit flight to Bangalore
July 13 2008 - Reach Bangalore and report to work next day on July 14 2008
July 25 2008 - Leave Bangalore in a rickety bus to Goa for a 2 day Goa experience
July 26 2008 - Reach Goa and meet up with Shibu in Goa
July 27 2008 - Leave Goa in a bus back to Bangalore
July 28 2008 - Reach back to Bangalore
August 1 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Chennai in train to meet sister and her family
August 2 2008 - Reach Chennai
August 3 2008 - Leave Chennai in train back to Bangalore
August 4 2008 - Reach Bangalore
August 8 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Chennai in train again to meet sister and her family
August 8 2008 - Reach Chennai
August 10 2008 - Drive down from Chennai to Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram in car along with sis, bro-in-law, the 2 kids and Mom
August 11 2008 - Leave Chennai for Bangalore in train and report to work the same day
August 14 2008 - Catch a late night flight to Mumbai
August 15 2008 - Reach Mumbai
August 18 2008 - Catch an early morning flight back to Bangalore and report to work the same day
August 22 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Kerala in train to attend cousin sis's wedding on August 24
August 23 2008 - Reach Thumpamon Kerala
August 24 2008 - After the wedding leave the same evening in a rickety bus, back to Bangalore
August 25 2008 - Reach Bangalore and report to work the same day
I will be updating my travel-o-rama as and when I do more of travelling in the days to come. Phew! This looks pretty exhausting in itself...
It's been that long, yes, but for a reason. Actually it's because I've been busy. Busy travelling across the world, catching up with friends and family in different parts of the world, settling in and acclimatizing in new locations, and trying to catch up with work and career, which I had been neglecting for a while now.
So I decided to maintain a blog post abt all the travelling that I have been doing in 2008, starting with my small 3 week vacation to India starting May 23 2008
May 23 2008 - Leave New York for Mumbai
May 24 2008 - Reach Mumbai
May 26 2008 - Leave Mumbai in train for Kerala with parents
May 27 2008 - Reach my hometown, Thumpamon, Kerala with parents
May 29 2008 - Leave Kerala in train for Chennai with parents to visit my sister and her family
June 2 2008 - Fly from Chennai with parents back to Mumbai
June 8 2008 - Fly from Mumbai for Bangalore for a small vacation with Shibu
June 11 2008 - Fly from Bangalore back to Mumbai
June 15 2008 - Fly from Mumbai back to New York
June 16 2008 - Reach New York and resume work the same day
July 3 2008 - Take a bus down to Boston along with Ari, and from Boston meet up with Mayur and drive down in his car along with Keiko, Ari and Mayur to Montreal for a small vacation
July 6 2008 - Drive down back from Montreal to Boston, and again take the bus back from Boston to NYC
July 11 2008 - Fly from NYC back to Mumbai for a 3 month long work based assignment in Bangalore
July 12 2008 - Reach Mumbai and wait at the airport for 5 hrs for a transit flight to Bangalore
July 13 2008 - Reach Bangalore and report to work next day on July 14 2008
July 25 2008 - Leave Bangalore in a rickety bus to Goa for a 2 day Goa experience
July 26 2008 - Reach Goa and meet up with Shibu in Goa
July 27 2008 - Leave Goa in a bus back to Bangalore
July 28 2008 - Reach back to Bangalore
August 1 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Chennai in train to meet sister and her family
August 2 2008 - Reach Chennai
August 3 2008 - Leave Chennai in train back to Bangalore
August 4 2008 - Reach Bangalore
August 8 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Chennai in train again to meet sister and her family
August 8 2008 - Reach Chennai
August 10 2008 - Drive down from Chennai to Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram in car along with sis, bro-in-law, the 2 kids and Mom
August 11 2008 - Leave Chennai for Bangalore in train and report to work the same day
August 14 2008 - Catch a late night flight to Mumbai
August 15 2008 - Reach Mumbai
August 18 2008 - Catch an early morning flight back to Bangalore and report to work the same day
August 22 2008 - Leave Bangalore for Kerala in train to attend cousin sis's wedding on August 24
August 23 2008 - Reach Thumpamon Kerala
August 24 2008 - After the wedding leave the same evening in a rickety bus, back to Bangalore
August 25 2008 - Reach Bangalore and report to work the same day
I will be updating my travel-o-rama as and when I do more of travelling in the days to come. Phew! This looks pretty exhausting in itself...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Narnia royalty is back with a big bang and how! Admitted - I was not one of the billions of fans that "the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" gathered, but count me in this mutli billion fold with this new outing. Yes, I can't stop raving about this film. This time around the Narnia quartet and Aslan, the lion with the brooding voice (Liam Neeson) are joined with Prince Caspian, a fascinating new addition to the series.
The story starts where the previous installment ends. The Narnian quartet are getting used to their drab lives in the real world, while back in their fantasy world Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy. One year after the events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the four kids are recalled back to Narnia, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. Things have changed, Narnians are not as loving, forgiving and trusting as earlier under the regime of King Miraz. The four children soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. And therein begins the machinations of this movie, which seems more or less like a war- movie. The story also includes other new fascinating characters, like Reepicheep - the courageous, chivalrous and courteous (but not cute in his own words) talking mouse, a kindly dwarf, a honey badger called Trufflehunter and many others.
With this second installment the series has taken a much darker, grittier, action-packed and adult tone that really ups the ante and blows the first film out of the water. It is obvious from the first frame that this is going to be a different adventure than the previous one, and what makes it better is how this film expands the mythology and widens the scope of the world of Narnia. Now, being written by C.S. Lewis, expectedly the religious themes of Cain and Abel, Moses and others are present in this story. Andrew Adamson needs to be commended for his direction with this film because he has definitely grown from the first. He easily handles the darker change of tone, the more complicated action and effects, and guides all the new characters very nicely. No one seems out of place. Speaking of characters, the four actors from the first film have all grown up since we've last seen them and it bodes good for the story, in the sense that you could spice up the story with some romantic tension between Prince Caspian and the Queen, which of course does happen. Ben Barnes, the new addition playing Prince Caspian, fits in very well and certainly carries charisma. Now, not only is the cinematography gorgeous and the effects improved, but also, as I mentioned before, the action in this film is intense, notably the sword fighting duel at the very climax of the movie. It is to Adamson's credit that I must say that this climatic sword fighting duel is probably one of the very best ever captured on screen. Even the epic final battle is very well shot and it reminds you of Peter Jackson's brilliant battle scenes from LOTR. It is all spectacular! By the end of the movie, I even began to care for the characters, long for Aslan (I must mention here, when he finally appeared on the screen, the kiddies all around me began clapping and hooting loudly, such is his screen presence) I will go as far as to say that this is one of most best fantasy films ever made. It easily comes on my list of favorite fantasy movies, up there with LOTR. An instant classic!
The story starts where the previous installment ends. The Narnian quartet are getting used to their drab lives in the real world, while back in their fantasy world Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz, who rules the land without mercy. One year after the events of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the four kids are recalled back to Narnia, only to discover that more than 1300 years have passed in Narnian time. Things have changed, Narnians are not as loving, forgiving and trusting as earlier under the regime of King Miraz. The four children soon meet an intriguing new character: Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian, who has been forced into hiding as his uncle Miraz plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. And therein begins the machinations of this movie, which seems more or less like a war- movie. The story also includes other new fascinating characters, like Reepicheep - the courageous, chivalrous and courteous (but not cute in his own words) talking mouse, a kindly dwarf, a honey badger called Trufflehunter and many others.
With this second installment the series has taken a much darker, grittier, action-packed and adult tone that really ups the ante and blows the first film out of the water. It is obvious from the first frame that this is going to be a different adventure than the previous one, and what makes it better is how this film expands the mythology and widens the scope of the world of Narnia. Now, being written by C.S. Lewis, expectedly the religious themes of Cain and Abel, Moses and others are present in this story. Andrew Adamson needs to be commended for his direction with this film because he has definitely grown from the first. He easily handles the darker change of tone, the more complicated action and effects, and guides all the new characters very nicely. No one seems out of place. Speaking of characters, the four actors from the first film have all grown up since we've last seen them and it bodes good for the story, in the sense that you could spice up the story with some romantic tension between Prince Caspian and the Queen, which of course does happen. Ben Barnes, the new addition playing Prince Caspian, fits in very well and certainly carries charisma. Now, not only is the cinematography gorgeous and the effects improved, but also, as I mentioned before, the action in this film is intense, notably the sword fighting duel at the very climax of the movie. It is to Adamson's credit that I must say that this climatic sword fighting duel is probably one of the very best ever captured on screen. Even the epic final battle is very well shot and it reminds you of Peter Jackson's brilliant battle scenes from LOTR. It is all spectacular! By the end of the movie, I even began to care for the characters, long for Aslan (I must mention here, when he finally appeared on the screen, the kiddies all around me began clapping and hooting loudly, such is his screen presence) I will go as far as to say that this is one of most best fantasy films ever made. It easily comes on my list of favorite fantasy movies, up there with LOTR. An instant classic!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Finding Neverland
You were told that the train to Neverland - that land of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness - started from Platform 9 3/4. You spent ages just looking for Platform 9 3/4. You went to that Platform 9 and the other Platform after it, the one with no number, which you figured would be Platform 10. But there was no Platform 10. At least there was no board assigning it the title 'Platform 10'. You stood around for quite a while, you walked the length and the breadth of the platform looking for some board, some paint on the wall, some graffiti, just some symbol which said that you were standing on Platform 10. You asked people around whether it was Platform 10, no one responded. They just shrugged their shoulders in a non-chalant way. Some looked at you and shuddered 'coz you had asked for the unthinkable - how can anyone in their right frame of mind be looking for Platform 10? You then asked people whether they knew where the station master sits, so that you can then enquire whether you are on Platform 10...but no one knew. Finally when you had spent hours and days looking for Platform 10, you saw a man in uniform. You assumed that should be the station master. You rushed to him to ask, Am I standing on Platform 10? He said, Use your brains fella. If the previous one is Platform 9, and the one before that is 8, then of course this is 10. That's when you realized, Of course, how foolish. All the last few days, you stood where you thought you wanted to be. But you could attain nothing, 'coz you were unsure of yourself. You went and asked all the wrong people whether what you thought was right, but of course, they refused to help. Everybody had their own problems and they could not bother less about a new fella with his own new set of questions.
You were happy that you were on Platform 10. Oh that's when you realized that the search did not end here. Where you actually wanted to be was Platform 9 3/4, and catch a train from there which took you to Neverland.
You stood from Platform 10, and gazed over to that Platform 9. From where you stood, you could clearly see a sign painted in red and blue and white which read platform 9. There was no other platform in between the two platforms, 9 and 10. Where is Platform 9 3/4, you wondered? That's when the idea struck you. Probably you can just run through the walls of Platform 9, just like Harry Potter and his friends did in J K Rowling's fantasy world. You took your luggage cart and rushed to the walls. As you were rushing to the walls, you had this entire fantasy illusion of how the walls would part and just let you in. Or maybe the walls would suddenly turn transparent and you could just walk into it. As your speed increased, you had this fabulous view of how you would get into Platform 9 3/4 successfully and how you would rave about it to all your friends and family. As your luggage cart almost touched the walls, you were shocked to see that the walls were not parting. It still seemed as solid as ever. Your cart bumped into the walls with a loud thud, your luggage fell over. People around began to laugh at you, on your seeming foolishness. You got up embarassed, shook the dust off your pants, collected your bags, arranged them again on the cart and began to walk back. You remembered in the book that Harry had to do it multiple times. You tried again. Sigh! With the same result.
As you tried again and again, and made yourself the butt of the others' jokes, you realized that this is not the same as JK Rowling's fantasy world. This was your own world and you had to make your own rules. So you jumped from that Platform 9, and walked 3/4th of the distance between Platform 9 and 10. You awaited the train. People around began shouting at you, began calling you names, began asking you to get back up on the platform. This way you would kill yourself, they were saying. Some sounded genuinely concerned. But you could not bother less, you had made up your mind. You had to catch the train from Platform 9 3/4 and this made complete sense.
You could hear the train coming. The screaming of the people around reached boombastic decibels. They were all calling for you to get out of the train's way. First the wind blew - that smoky, petrol-smelling wind that presages the arrival of the train - and then the twin lights pierced the darkness, and then there it was, gray and white, the train. As the lights neared, your eyes began to feel blinded, you clenched your eyes shut tight, for what seemed like almost a minute. The train began honking, the driver began screaming, but you still did not move. With luggage cart in tow, you stood there stoic, ready to face the consequences of your own actions. And then you could feel the thud. In what seemed like an eternity, you could feel the train snaking through your spine. The pain was too much to bear, and you opened your eyes to a new world.
As you opened your eyes, you noticed that you were no longer on the train tracks. You were within the train, and there was a pretty hostess treating you to goodies. There was lots of food. It was the land of plenty. Milk and honey was flowing freely everywhere. You asked the hostess whether this was the train to Neverland. She nodded with that smug smile of someone who knew it all, and was often faced with the same question. You ate some, drank some, slept some, seemed to enjoy the ride.
But as you rode more and more in the train, you began to feel lonely. You wanted to make some friends. You had left your family and friends in the land of that Platform 9, 10 and 9 3/4. You took up the friendship of the first guy who came and introduced himself to you. He promised you wealth, goodness, friendship, loyalty and in short, the works, for ages to come. You were new in the train, you knew nobody. You took up his offer of friendship. Those were some happy days. You ate together, drank together, went to all fun places in the train together, flirted with the hostesses together. You thought that this was to last for all times. But then sadly his destination was not Neverland, and he got down before the destination.
You were heartbroken, you cried for days with no end. You took up on chocolate and booze. Sadly those two never satisfied your loneliness pangs. There were still some more acquaintances who offered you their friendship, but this time you made it sure to ask them their destination before they started on the journey with you. You noticed that most of them were getting down before Neverland and hence you chose not to get too close with them.
Along the journey you met some people who were planning to get down at Neverland as well. They were also looking for contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness. Neverland was that promised land. You struck a bond with these guys. You became friends. You did all fun things together. Other people in the train were getting jealous of your friendship. It was excellent company throughout the journey towards Neverland. All that you could wait for, was Neverland now.
But Neverland never came. You had been on the train for months together now, but there was no trace of Neverland. Your friends began getting dissatisfied. Some of them began bonding with other people on the train who were getting off at stops that were approaching in the next few days. They found that their promised land of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness was with this new companion of theirs. They got down with their new found accomplices at stops before Neverland. And really it was not their fault. Neverland was not be seen at all. And whenever you asked the hostesses where Neverland was, they had no answer. You had the patience to wait until Neverland approached. Not everyone else had the same level of Patience.
That was when you realized that your land of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness was probably where you caught the train from.
You were distressed when that realization struck you. You had made months of journey on this train now. And it would take you as much time to get back. You began to panic as this realization struck you. And as you were already panicking through this one thought, another thought struck you. You had not seen a train going back in the reverse direction in all your months of journey towards Neverland. So how do you get back from Neverland? Do you stay put in the train until Neverland comes, no matter how long it takes? Or do you get down and begin looking for alternate approaches to get back to where you think Neverland actually is?
You were happy that you were on Platform 10. Oh that's when you realized that the search did not end here. Where you actually wanted to be was Platform 9 3/4, and catch a train from there which took you to Neverland.
You stood from Platform 10, and gazed over to that Platform 9. From where you stood, you could clearly see a sign painted in red and blue and white which read platform 9. There was no other platform in between the two platforms, 9 and 10. Where is Platform 9 3/4, you wondered? That's when the idea struck you. Probably you can just run through the walls of Platform 9, just like Harry Potter and his friends did in J K Rowling's fantasy world. You took your luggage cart and rushed to the walls. As you were rushing to the walls, you had this entire fantasy illusion of how the walls would part and just let you in. Or maybe the walls would suddenly turn transparent and you could just walk into it. As your speed increased, you had this fabulous view of how you would get into Platform 9 3/4 successfully and how you would rave about it to all your friends and family. As your luggage cart almost touched the walls, you were shocked to see that the walls were not parting. It still seemed as solid as ever. Your cart bumped into the walls with a loud thud, your luggage fell over. People around began to laugh at you, on your seeming foolishness. You got up embarassed, shook the dust off your pants, collected your bags, arranged them again on the cart and began to walk back. You remembered in the book that Harry had to do it multiple times. You tried again. Sigh! With the same result.
As you tried again and again, and made yourself the butt of the others' jokes, you realized that this is not the same as JK Rowling's fantasy world. This was your own world and you had to make your own rules. So you jumped from that Platform 9, and walked 3/4th of the distance between Platform 9 and 10. You awaited the train. People around began shouting at you, began calling you names, began asking you to get back up on the platform. This way you would kill yourself, they were saying. Some sounded genuinely concerned. But you could not bother less, you had made up your mind. You had to catch the train from Platform 9 3/4 and this made complete sense.
You could hear the train coming. The screaming of the people around reached boombastic decibels. They were all calling for you to get out of the train's way. First the wind blew - that smoky, petrol-smelling wind that presages the arrival of the train - and then the twin lights pierced the darkness, and then there it was, gray and white, the train. As the lights neared, your eyes began to feel blinded, you clenched your eyes shut tight, for what seemed like almost a minute. The train began honking, the driver began screaming, but you still did not move. With luggage cart in tow, you stood there stoic, ready to face the consequences of your own actions. And then you could feel the thud. In what seemed like an eternity, you could feel the train snaking through your spine. The pain was too much to bear, and you opened your eyes to a new world.
As you opened your eyes, you noticed that you were no longer on the train tracks. You were within the train, and there was a pretty hostess treating you to goodies. There was lots of food. It was the land of plenty. Milk and honey was flowing freely everywhere. You asked the hostess whether this was the train to Neverland. She nodded with that smug smile of someone who knew it all, and was often faced with the same question. You ate some, drank some, slept some, seemed to enjoy the ride.
But as you rode more and more in the train, you began to feel lonely. You wanted to make some friends. You had left your family and friends in the land of that Platform 9, 10 and 9 3/4. You took up the friendship of the first guy who came and introduced himself to you. He promised you wealth, goodness, friendship, loyalty and in short, the works, for ages to come. You were new in the train, you knew nobody. You took up his offer of friendship. Those were some happy days. You ate together, drank together, went to all fun places in the train together, flirted with the hostesses together. You thought that this was to last for all times. But then sadly his destination was not Neverland, and he got down before the destination.
You were heartbroken, you cried for days with no end. You took up on chocolate and booze. Sadly those two never satisfied your loneliness pangs. There were still some more acquaintances who offered you their friendship, but this time you made it sure to ask them their destination before they started on the journey with you. You noticed that most of them were getting down before Neverland and hence you chose not to get too close with them.
Along the journey you met some people who were planning to get down at Neverland as well. They were also looking for contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness. Neverland was that promised land. You struck a bond with these guys. You became friends. You did all fun things together. Other people in the train were getting jealous of your friendship. It was excellent company throughout the journey towards Neverland. All that you could wait for, was Neverland now.
But Neverland never came. You had been on the train for months together now, but there was no trace of Neverland. Your friends began getting dissatisfied. Some of them began bonding with other people on the train who were getting off at stops that were approaching in the next few days. They found that their promised land of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness was with this new companion of theirs. They got down with their new found accomplices at stops before Neverland. And really it was not their fault. Neverland was not be seen at all. And whenever you asked the hostesses where Neverland was, they had no answer. You had the patience to wait until Neverland approached. Not everyone else had the same level of Patience.
That was when you realized that your land of contentment, fulfillment, satisfaction and happiness was probably where you caught the train from.
You were distressed when that realization struck you. You had made months of journey on this train now. And it would take you as much time to get back. You began to panic as this realization struck you. And as you were already panicking through this one thought, another thought struck you. You had not seen a train going back in the reverse direction in all your months of journey towards Neverland. So how do you get back from Neverland? Do you stay put in the train until Neverland comes, no matter how long it takes? Or do you get down and begin looking for alternate approaches to get back to where you think Neverland actually is?
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