Ulidavaru Kandanthe - A comment

This is not exactly a review. I do not want to get into rating someone’s child. Yeah that’s right, from the moment I walked out, I just felt so happy for Rakshith Shetty(hope that spelling is right). He would’ve definitely protected this idea deep in his heart like a mother would keep her baby in her womb. He would endure all dejection, pain, failures, desperation and a sense of hopelessness before coming out with a movie like this.

                                 

The fact is that we’ve some real bad movies out there which had made us lose our interest in the KFI/Sandalwood. Some of them are still adamant on insulting our intelligence and throwing third rate stories at us. And it has taken some men of great courage and resolve to give birth to a new wave. First it was Lucia with its sheer brilliance on the face of extreme financial challenges. Then there was a lull, followed by Ugramm, which was original with fresh treatment. Two movies that made the nation go     ga ga over them. Yet they went unnoticed amongst ourselves. Some of us, even now, prefer watching chicken shit(oops) thrown at us by the khans (yes I hate all of them!! Apart from Irrfan Khan though).

Ok sorry that was a little bit of a personal rant. One of my closest friends watched Dhoom 3 twice and watched Lucia on dvd and said it was the shittiest movie ever that he saw. I have been looking for a new close friend since then (Ok I was kidding there :D, and yeah.. I will end the personal rant now).

So getting back to Rakshith Shetty and his labor pains (pun intended). We will unfortunately never get to know the struggle, the tears, and the pain behind the entire effort. But all I can do is applaud the same with tears in my eyes and urge people to go and watch the movie in theaters. And I will give you some reasons too. Be WARNED, spoilers ahead. And spoilers mean some of the main plot might be revealed.

Before that credit must be given to Suni, the director of SIMPLEAAG OND LOVE STORY, which in itself was a path breaking movie too. The decision to produce this movie will make your name immortal in the history of Kannada films. A huge shout out to him, because, every scene shows that the creator has not compromised even a bit on his creative vision. That shows the immense faith that you had put on Mr Shetty.  Hope you rake in a Box office jackpot and make amazing movies.

I am a movie buff to a very amateurish extent, but good enough to worship directors like Quentin Tarantino and I could instantaneously connect to the movie from the very beginning. And from then on, it was “UK”thon. I had goosebumps, a lump in my throat, a smile on my face, a tear in my eye and so on.

Right from the build up to the beginning title and credits till the very end, what Mr Shetty has managed to do is create a grand canvas which he fills with some colors never seen before, thanks to the cinematographer Karm Chawla. Having an amazing cinematographer has been one of the best moves (using an Arri camera could be the icing on the cake), but it is the music that takes this to an entirely different level, thanks to Ajaneesh Loknath. So, the very combination of a brilliant script (Mr Shetty), amazing cinematography and a haunting background score ensured that my boyish enthusiasm was catered to.  When the title eventually emerged (which by the way has an amazing font), I could only manage to shout out till my throat went hoarse. I am pretty sure, Mr Shetty will have tears in his eyes every time he sees the title.

Ok, let’s get a move on now. The movie has different chapters and sub plots. Such a narrative is unusual in the Indian film industry. Treat each subplot like a mini movie and you will definitely fall in love with it.

Mr Shetty pays homage to some of the greatest movies ever created E.g: Sin City, the usage of CGI(Computer Generated Imagery) to create the background while depicting the fishing scene and the heist scene. This, sir is an absolute masterstroke.

What else can go wrong when you have an awesome script, an amazing cinematographer and a brilliant music director? Not much right? Wait, how about the actors??

Rakshith Shetty has got the cast spot on. Right from the little boy who plays Richie Jr till Richie Sr played by himself, the casting has been perfect. While Tara ma’am made an entire chapter her own and made me cry with nothing but a simple stare at the clock, the sheer pleasure of watching Achyuth Kumar sir(the best actor in the industry right now) in pili vesha with an amazing background score (kaakig banna kaantha) got me my ticket’s worth. Talk about managing a casting coup there. But it is the other performances that actually surprise you. Democracy! Yes! That little firecracker steals hearts with a brilliant performance and his rapport with Kishore who shines again. Rishab Shetty, post Lucia comes up with a good performance as Raghu. Shankar Poojary is natural as Dinesh, Richie’s best friend.  Sheetal Shetty as the journalist makes sure we have the right questions in our mind with her performance as the investigative journalist.

The best scene of the movie according to me is when a usually nonchalant Richie remembers the “Betrayal” with a puff with wet eyes.

And how can I forget “Mandva matthu Cuban hudugana kathe”, a masterstroke bringing Scarface and Agneepath together. That is one helluva tribute to pay.

 I really do not know why I started writing this. I have completely lost track now.

BoDa sheera!

Ok Mr Shetty, (if this so called post ever reaches you) it is time for you to get that Tuxedo dry cleaned. This one is going to take you places. Thanks to you and the entire team for a wonderful movie. Looking forward to more from you. Kannada cinema is finally growing up and people like you, Pawan Kumar, B M Giriraj are showing the way and making us proud.

P.S: Please try to buy the critics out. Either they do not understand films or they really want you to pay up for the publicity. 3 stars for UK and Lucia?? You gotta be kidding me.

Happy Women's day

I sat down today morning at 8 o clock, (quite unwittingly) to write a poem on a woman. With some real bad english grammar and an aspiration to write lines which rhymed, I tried to put some thoughts together.

I mentioned unwittingly earlier because, you really cannot sum a woman up. She is a lot more than what you can possibly measure.

She enters the world as a baby girl,
Lighting the lives of everyone around her,
Smiles, love and beauty she unfurls,
The little princess as a daughter and a sister.

Then she runs the race with the boys,
A tad intimidated but ever focused,
Defeating them easily as if they were toys,
She would then go about her work while the boys cussed

Then came the day when she was told,
She was no more a little girl, no more the lil princess,
She'd be stared down if she tried to be bold, 
Her threats would get ignored as vanity in excess.

She'd take it all in her stride,
Working hard for what she believes in,
Silently swimming against the tide,
All alone she kept on dreamin.

Now she has become a woman very beautiful,
People thought she was ready to be taken,
Men made advances, some decent some disgraceful,
Her "NO" was always mistaken.

With their frail and  hurt ego they would curse her,
Calling her disgusting names at their own whim,
She would learn to ignore it though initially she did suffer,
All because she had found her love in "HIM"

He is the one she expects to love her,
Not for what he sees in her but for what she is,
He can make her cry, he can make her suffer, 
She takes it all coz she's sure she wants to be his.

Hormones wreak havoc on her body, hurting her,
She doesn't show the pain, but inside she's screaming,
Some other times it will be him who hurts her,
Yet the next day she's goddammned beautiful and beaming.

She let's go of her dreams, clipping her own wings,
So that his dreams are fulfilled and he takes flight,
He would stand among the best, among the kings,
And that would become one of her favorite sights.

Then she becomes a mother, with her bundle of joy,
It was the same parasite that ate into her for nine months,
Now she becomes stronger for her child like a warrior of troy,
Shielding it from a very dangerous world every moment.

I sat here to write a poem on women's strength,
How stupid of me I wonder,
It's stretching to inifinite lengths,
O woman you re truly a Wonder!

Thanks to all the women for making the world a beautiful place happy women's day

Ten years ago...

I am writing this at 1030 P.M on an emotionally draining day on which I saw my home club Bengaluru FC get beaten by East Bengal (about which I ll write a little later). But this is my tribute to two legends who never got their due. 

Ten years ago.. On this very day, I remember waking up early waiting for something special. Back then India winning a cricket match was a pretty rare occasion. But this was a lot more than that...

Dec 12, 2003: 

Test number 2 of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first test at Brisbane had been drawn. Steve Waugh won the toss and decided to bat first. This was also his farewell series. And the mayhem began. Ricky Ponting taking Indian bowlers to the cleaners. Probably starting from where he left off from at the wanderer's against India in the world cup final(another day when I had cried because India lost.. miserably). Australia ended day 1 on 400 for 5 with Ricky Ponting unbeaten on 176 and Adam Gilchrist unbeaten on 9. Australia were looking set for a pretty huge first innings score 

score. This was one of those days where we were oblivious to such performances from the Indian cricket team. Though they put up a good show at the Gabba, they were not expected to beat Australia in Australia. We spent our school hours cursing the Indian cricket team and the administration for its sheer inability to get together a good playing XI.

Dec 13, 2003:

Day 2 saw Ricky Ponting reach his double hundred. Man! That guy was a run machine. There were times I prayed to god that he doesn't break Tendulkar's record. He posed a real danger to Tendulkar's record considering the rate at which he was scoring. I do not want to write further about his innings because that is not what I want to write about right now. He scored 242 from 508 deliveries. For the rest of the statistics, please refer to cricinfo.com. The Australian innings folded up at 556 and it was India's turn. By the way, Irfan Pathan made his debut in this match. So basically this was the time when all the girls in our schools used to go gaga over this "so cuuuuute" guy. I just have fond memories of him clean bowling Adam Gilchrist with a toe crusher. Sad that he is not in the scene now. 

India's opening pair back then was Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag. Akash Chopra, FYI was this guy who according to me bunked the batting classes in which the coach explained to the pupils the significance of having a good backlift. The man barely had a backlift! This turned out to be a boon in a way because he was very effective in seeing the new ball away. He is now busy analyzing alastair cook's batting currently as a part of the Ashes pre match program in Star sports hindi. Anyways, the opening pair lasted for 12 overs and 66 runs. Akash was the first to go. Then it was Sehwag ,Tendulkar and Ganguly in quick succession. India, 85 for 4 trailing Australia by 471 runs. No surprises for me. Test matches never mattered to me back then. Only when they wore "colour dress" and lost, I used to cry. 

"People say that Sachin is God… Ganguly is God of off side… Laxman is the God of 4th innings… But when the doors of the temple are closed, even God is behind The Wall of India." I never liked Rahul Dravid. He never used to hit sixes and wasted too much time. He used to waste so much time while wearing "colour dress" matches that his dress was always a shade darker than the rest thanks to perspiration. Laxman joined dravid at the crease. Laxman on the other hand adorned the door of my room. He had scored 281 in Kolkata and everyone told me that was cool. No one told me that Rahul Dravid had scored 180 and that was cool too. That man was so happy to be behind the scenes. 

Dravid and Laxman managed to hold fort and ended day 2 on 180 for 4. And it was not as easy as I am putting it. Having the aussies go at you when you are down and out is nightmarish as Threscothick and lately Jonathan Trott found out. They had guys like Hayden, Brad Williams who could easily blow people like Dravid again if they were pitched against each other in a street fight.  

Dec 14, 2003:

Day 3. When Laxman is around, no aussie can down a beer freely. He is their biggest nightmare and he chose this day to torment the aussies again. With Rahul Dravid, he went around building an innings of high calibre. I vaguely remember Gulu Ezekiel's words describing their partnership consisting of shots which were crafted with the "precision of a mathematician". And thankfully there was no Siddhu in the commentary box during that series. I am doing no justice by putting this in one sentence, but here it is - RAHUL DRAVID AND VVS LAXMAN BATTED THE FIRST SESSION OUT!! Rahul Dravid 83* VVS Laxman 87*. India 252 for 4.

Post Lunch, Rahul Dravid reaches his century by hooking Jason gillespie for a six. Yes! This was a miracle!! Rahul Dravid getting to his century with a sixer. Laxman soon followed suit, got to his century with a wristy flick on the leg side for a single. These were centuries of real calibre. There was grit written all over it. Yet the celebrations were subtle. Just a plain jog with raised hands and a humble smile on the face with a dash of gratitude. If you want to know what it doesn't look like, watch Virat Kohli reach his century (He's the best the way he is, I am not complaining).

Okay so two centuries scored, that will be enough for us to be delighted about before the eventual result will be out. That was the case back then. Batsmen used to score good looking centuries on foreign tours. Victories?? Who cares? Even now, we get to see all those innings on Star Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 every day. 

However these guys were not finished yet. They cut, drove the ball inside out, flicked, and rahul dravid even stepped out of the crease and smashed the ball over the bowler's (miracle time!!)head to the boundary. And then Laxman gets out for 148! The score 388 for 4. Andy bichel takes the prized scalp. "In the adelaide desert, there is an oasis and it is called Andy Bichel" - Alan Wilkins. Aussies were back to guzzling beer as the players went to the dressing room for a tea break.

The baby faced Parthiv Patel came out to bat and managed to look like the hero of a Prabhudeva block buster. Boyish charm meets a couple of hard punches. But before the interval, he got ambitious and fell from grace like the complacent villain. 447 for 6.Soon it was the turn of comedians who had miniscule roles. Ajit Agarkar came, finished his lines and left in a hurry. Dravid was joined by Anil Kumble (another legend) and the duo managed to stick around till EOD (End of Day). India 477 for  7. Dravid sitting tightly at 199, refusing to give his wicket away. The usually tough aussies shook hands with him as he left the field. This test seemed to head for a draw. And that is precisely why I used to hate tests. 

Dec 15, 2003:

Umpire David Shepherd says "Play" on the morning of Day 4. Dravid dispatches the first ball from Stuart MacGill for a boundary and reaches his 200. Atleast now shouldn't you run and scream your lungs out! Come on you are a bangalorean, you must know some of those cuss words which when used while celebrating gives it a different feeling. Dravid is happy to jog, raise his hands and shake hands with Kumble. He goes back to his crease and takes guard with his britannia bat. Nike and reebok did not see money in cricket back then. Besides Dravid was more suitable to endorse Raymonds. Then Kumble gets out. Irfan Pathan gets out too trying to hit a full toss out of the park, only helping it to the bowler's hands. India:518 for 9. Finally Dravid tells Aussies "Okay, you guys take batting now" and hits one more in the air only to be caught this time(no miracle this time). India folded up at 523 just 33 runs short of Aussies' 556. The actual miracle was yet to be witnessed.

Ajit Agarkar was one guy who never NEVER got his due. If India lost, most of the blame would be pointed at him. The guy had a decent record. Has a century at Lords', but still he was the first one to be cursed when India lost. He was more like the Ishant Sharma/Ravinder Jadeja/Rohith Sharma of the early 2000s. He chose to make this day his and made me eat my words too. He took 6 wickets for 41 and broke the back of the australian batting line up. I am unable to fill in any descriptions because Youtube is not getting loaded. Anyways Ajit, you have always been an unsung hero. 

But a huge salute from me today. Agarkar acounted for Langer, Ponting, Katich, Bichel, Gillespie and MacGill. Tendulkar managed to grab a couple and all of a sudden the tables had been turned!! Australia were bundled out for 196. At the end of day 4 India were 37 for no loss chasing 230 for what was a historic victory.

Dec 16, 2003:

Indian team back then had this unusual tendency to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They could give the South African cricket team a run for their money in that regard. The events of this day resembled this sequence from one of the best Kannada movies ever made called "Nagarahavu". The sequence is simple. The heroine(Aarati) becomes a victim of eve teasing, complains to her brother(Shivaram) about the same and the brother overwhelmed by the culprit( Rebel Star Ambareesh) enlists the help of his best friend (Sahasa simha Vishnuvardhan) to take the culprit to task. Something similar happened in the fourth innings. From being at 1 for 79, India started to lose wickets regularly. Rahul Dravid stood at one end, while the rest walked in tried and failed and went back. 1 for 79 became 2 for 79 followed by 3 for 149, which saw Tendulkar go, followed by Ganguly (170-4) and Laxman (221 -5). This must have felt like having all your colleagues leave early on the day that your team needs to make an important release. 

Dravid never looked tense. He never complained. He had done it before, he would do it again. This man has done everything on the field from batting, bowling to wicket keeping for his team. He batted an entire day for the team without losing his composure or his wicket. He fought hard and fair, refusing to give an inch to the opposition. His last shot of the day was as good as the first. For people who questioned his fitness, this would be my question to them. Can they bat an entire day out? To do so at a foreign country with a pretty hostile media contingent and a much more hostile crowd, you have to be special. Dravid is special. He marshalled the resources available to him. Talking the other batsman into being comfortable.

After some really tense moments, the final moment had arrived. And I do not need youtube to recall it. I have it etched in my mind. It is 1236 AM on December 16, 2013. Close to 10 years since that moment.

India needed a single to wrap the match up. Sourav Ganguly had made his way to the boundary from the pavillion, waiting to run into the field at the onset of victory(He was tired of biting nails during this match I suppose). Stuart MacGill dropped that one short of length. It spun away from the right hander. Dravid, eyes and head steady reaches out for it and cut it past point. He knew it would go to the boundary. He smiled, ran to the non strikers punching the air subtly as if air would mind his actions. He took his cap out, kissed the BCCI emblem and raised his hands and his britannia bat.

It's been exactly a decade since that victory and the only thing that might come close to it would be the T20 world cup victory in 2007, for the sheer fearlessness of the team under MS Dhoni. But it was Adelaide on December 16, 2003 that I started loving "White Dress" cricket and people like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble became my heroes(even Ajit Agarkar) to a great extent. 

These people under Ganguly's leadership were responsible to instill the belief that Indian cricketers could beat other teams in their own dens. And yet they were sent off into obscurity by an ungrateful and insensitive administration. 

Here I rest my case. Thanks for reading and bearing my nonsense.

Lucia Lucia Lucia!!!

Ok, I ll get straight to the point on this one. Me and my friends Shashanka and Sanketh (in the pic) 

have become online distributors for the kannada movie "Lucia", which is a very brave attempt towards making good cinema.

Since it's theatrical release, it has been going places with the likes of Anurag kashyap saying very good things about it(In pics again)



So, do watch and enjoy this awesome movie from our link below.. We have attempted to be a part of this unique idea and have signed up as online distributors for the movie.

P.S: As of now, it is available only to worldwide audiences and not in India.

Foeticide

A man is killed for marrying a girl of higher social stature by her brothers. His wife is pregnant.

Here I am, a part of a woman,
Resting inside her, feeling protected,
She is my mother, she is the one,
Trying her best to keep me unaffected.

Then there is a man who is always around,
He always talks to me, I kick around in joy,
With him, my mother feels we're safe and sound,
Tells me that he's my father, and I, his baby boy.

Sometimes when he's not around, she cries,
Bearing the pain I cause, which she still denies,
Fearing the world, she tells me that I am the one,
A hope of acceptance,all the bad blood shall be gone,

One day I wake up from my sleep to excruciating pain,
My mother seems to be fighting, trying to break away,
She never thought of stopping through all that strain,
Her nightmares had come true, her dreams went astray.

I waited for my father, so that she would calm down,
All this pain would end and I'd go back to sleep,
I heard her telling that while he was out in the town,
Someone had put a bullet in his head skull deep.

She collapsed to the ground suffocating me,
Crying aloud over her destroyed dream,
"Your father ain't gonna come", she tells me,
"Soon it'll be me, but I've to live for you."

I won't buy that ma, I've heard u blame them,
I don't want you to raise me with shame,
I ain't a bastard, I don't want to live like one,
I don't want to come out and be an orphan,

I don't want to be your purpose to live,
In a world of hate, violence and strife,
This is the best thing to you I can give,
I close my eyes, I let go of my life.

Taxi Driver

With a vision restricted to the size of the windshield,
He spoke about the fruits his efforts would yield,
Hands on the steering wheel, his story he would share,
Oblivious to other vehicles' head lights' glare.

Stopping the vehicle to him meant procrastination,
He was eager to get back into the middle of the road,
With a little regret over not getting an education,
Dreamy eyes reflecting a cheap neon light signboard,

He still dreamt of making it big in life,
He laid his plans out in front of me,
Wanting to  put an end to all his strife,
A Bigger, better man he wanted to be.

The devil took over him when he fought,
Over another driver's momentary indiscretion,
A day's hard work was all that he had bought,
It was the day's share of anger and frustration.

Yet he was all smiles when he stopped for me,
Promising that the next day he'd be on time,
And he drove on with all dreams in his mind,
And I walked alone, with mine...

The warrior

He did not dream of a million dollars,
Neither did he dream of instant fame,
Trying to stand with the white collars,
He continued to play the beautiful game.

Dribbling the football like he always did,
For years,it was a gift that he never hid,
Years that he spent under the burning sun,
Bare footed, the football was his only companion.

All those years counted down to that single moment,
The blisters on his foot, his injury prone legs,
Memories of a long struggle called life he buried,
Alongside his demons behind a netted rectangular box.

And so began his waltz, filled with adrenaline,
He was dribbling the ball, again under the burning sun,
Watched by his father, he was a lot more keen,
Trying like he always did, to be his favourite son.

Every single second mattered he was told,
And he ran across the field not wasting any,
But soon something inside him pulled him down,
Done and dusted, his eyes were forced shut.

He died a little later in his father's arms,
The beautiful game was his life and it was over,
His escapade to a beautiful life had done its last harm,
The burning passion in him finally faded away...

Dedicated to D.Venkatesh, Striker, Bangalore Mars, who died on field during a BDFA Division A match. Respect! RIP.

The artist

Everybody in the gathering called himself an art lover,
But the truth behind everyone's love he could uncover,
The stark reality, his art would just cover a plain wall,
And at the end of the day, the buyer would stand tall.

Some people said they loved his usage of colors,
Some branded his brushstrokes extremely bold,
Some of them casually sipped wine, posing as donors,
Looking at the paintings that would soon be sold.

Tired of the lies, he wanted to find an excuse,
To being the best he could be, being a recluse,
But someone in the crowd raised a toast,
The artist was his friend he would boast.

Forced to make a speech, he stood in the center,
Social interaction was never his cup of tea,
He was done soon, it sounded like a little banter,
And slowly he made his attempt to flee.

And soon everyone fought,screaming out a number,
He wished every moment that he be in a slumber,
Before the numbers and people could leave him confused,
He looked around the chaos to find his next muse...

The Performer

There she stood, draped in silk,

Looked like she had bathed in milk,

She soon became the cynosure,

As silence descended over the enclosure.

She was brought to the stage by her teacher,

Whose finger she held tightly in her tiny hands,

Reaching for the mic which was standing taller than her,

She stretched her tiny frame and held on to the stand.

She closed her eyes, and it all came back,

How the prize offered had caught her eye,

How her house was fully lit the previous night,

How she was told not to give up the fight.

She started singing like she knew no fear,

Smiling to people watching from far and near,

Scaling notes was her sweet feeble voice,

Chirping like a bird, she made more noise.

She was telling a story and the crowd listened,

Her parents feeling proud, feeling unburdened,

And when it was finaly over, she stood there,

Oblivious to the applause, she looked for a hand... To take her away

A Devil's Workshop

I see that photo from our first ever and best ever trip. A lot of feelings are flowing in my mind and I wanna throw it out today. I feel nostalgia, I feel pain, I feel anguish. My eyes are filled with tears but I will not cry. It is not manly to cry.

NOSTALGIA:

Yeah that was us back then, still growing up(We still are). Those were the days when the only thing we were worried about was the blisters on our feet after playing bare foot football under the sun. Those were the days when we waited for the college bell to ring so that we could run to Tapas's place and play. Those were the days when all we worried about is the cricket and football matches we played.

We made a list of ten most memorable moments remember! I managed to save seven of them on my mobile. We never thought of completing it :D

The Journey by train to Shimoga: It was a very simple plan for a trip but executed perfectly. We stayed the whole night from 1145 PM to 6 AM inside the train. We kept chatting, speaking like there would be no tomorrow. Nothing could stop us from talking that night. We made non stop jokes about a Brett Lee and a 'Solid' Neil McKenzie. I still remember the clouds against the moon representing the food chain gone wrong. Mouse chases cat, cat chases dog. Awesome!!

Watched this video ten times last week and kept laughing. Ujju and Gujju had to share a bicycle at Sirsi. Ujju was the rider and Gujju was the pillion rider who sad in the front. It looked like Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi together. And just as Sanki was capturing these golden moments, something happened. Ujju lost balance and they fell down in classic slow motion. Sanki could not keep himself steady and started laughing putting the camera out of focus.

Aslam's place. We reached there after spending some amazing time at Sanki's place. We were not prepared for the reception we eventually got. Everybody in Aslam's street came out of their houses. Gujju, amazed by the attention innocently asks us 'Maga, should we wave back at them?'

Aslam's place. Everybody was keen to see the girl in the opposite house. We tried to catch a glimpse of the girl, but thanks to sanki's ill timed whistle ringtone we had to hide. The girl went inside and in a moment the light went off.

This was something I never witnessed but the description of the event by Tapas himself was enough to make it memorable. Gujju tried to exhibit his vocal skills by singing 'Tu dhoop hai'. Still remember how we laughed at that.

Gujju is an amazing artist. He is a master of languages. He successfully translated a famous Kannada song which resulted in the line 'In me chest sweet Kolahala is comes'.

Gujju and Aslam also started the trend of 'Memento'. The lesser said about it the better. But it was awesome fun.

How can I forget the day when My club Barcelona Beat Man U and we witnessed this at Ujju's place. I was the only Barcelona fan that day among 9 people and yes as soon as the lights went off, I became the football.

At that time, being together meant we could do anything. That was the kind of confidence you guys gave me. You taught me what friendship is and I became the proudest guy on the earth.

PAIN

Now, I am left staring at the photograph and wondering "What the fuck went wrong?"(The language will get worse from her, so if you are a girl I recommend u to go back to facebook. Thank you for reading) Why has things changed so much. We stopped playing football and started spending more time at our college parking lot. We started watching really dumb movies in theaters. Our cameras never had any more group photos of ours. The seven of us never posed again for a photo together. We were never a group, we were seven good friends who had great understanding and now we had become nothings. We started worrying about what situations it would create if we stood together for a photograph. Why the fuck did that happen?

We went together to the most stupid of fests with none of us participating but why on the earth couldn't u come to support me when I did and Shaw performed in some of them?? (Yeah I am complaining about it, but I m doing it to you guys, you're my best friends)

Why the fuck have we stopped spending time together? What the fuck went wrong there? We could still have played football near Tapas' place. Why didn't we?

I'm not demanding answers here, these are just a few questions I kept asking myself.

ANGUISH:

Sanki's sister's marriage was the most awaited event for us since we became close friends. We dreamt of doing all the work there. It eventually happened, my eyes filled with tears when it happened. We also managed to serve food and become a part of the celebration in our style. Other than that and the time me, kat and ujju got lost in the woods, it turned out to be the worst trip ever to his place.

EPILOGUE:

I seriously do not know why I wrote this, but I know why I wrote this here. Nobody can come here and press a 'like' button or comment on it and have someone else 'like' the comment. This is MY space and I wanted to make sure I can put my thoughts without any inhibitions.

I sincerely hope that things get better but also realize that all good things come to an end. But moving on is a very hard thing. Maybe now, I can move on. I've done this personally too, but here it is. Aslam, Kat, Ujju, Sanki, Shaw and Gujju, I'm really sorry if something from my side triggered this and I apologize sincerely. Will always remember you when I see any word that relates to friendship. Love you guys. Good luck!

Another year of Solitude

Here I am, an unlikely poet,

Trying to paint a picture through my words,

An empty canvas to throw colors at,

I try to fill it with trees and birds.

Sitting with an out of tune guitar,

Here I am, an unlikely singer,

Hoping that the newly found harmony,

Lasts a little while longer.

Absorbing the silence of the sky,

and the darkness of the clouds passing by,

Embracing the loneliness with gratitude,

I celebrate another year of solitude.

KID WITHOUT CANDY

"Fuck!", I kept on saying the word every time my heart beat and it was beating like crazy right now. The bell had just rung and me and my buddy pals were silently making our way out. The professor was making his way into the class. He saw me. I thought that the old man would not remember me and hence I kept walking. I would not have given a fuck but he called me by my name! The Doppler Effect indicated that the apparent frequency was high and hence he was very near to me. I had to go back. Here I am, stuck in the Physics class!

I hate physics! The old man is talking about gravitation. What goes up comes down. It is fairly simple but why the equations and acceleration? Couldn't Newton just eat the damned apple that fell on his head. It is so hot inside the class. I look at the window and see my friends. Those fuckers are having fun. I was so close to being with them, thanks to him I am stuck here. Wonder how he knows my name.

I hate those first benchers. Fucking geeks. They always listen to the lectures and raise fucking doubts about those stuff. I always have a single doubt and that does not have anything to do with the lecture. Wait! Who is that chick in red? Thank god she is not a first bencher. She's hot man! Do I have a chance with her?

Fuck man! Liverpool lost again! God save the club. I really do not know what kind of tactics the retard of a manager is employing man! Look at other clubs, even Man city is doing great. Oh come on! What the fuck is wrong with my watch! Feels like the hands inside it need a push. Still half an hour left.

Hey old man, don't you dare look at me. You screwed my plans today and I cannot tolerate anything more. I feel like tying you up on a chair and continuously talk about my dreams.

Hey! Concentrate. He is asking me something. I did not get it.

"I beg your pardon sir"

"What is the unit of Gravitational acceleration?"

I am not going to utter a word. You can do whatever the fuck you want. You screwed my plans today and now you are screwing my dreams up. You are going to die the most violent death in the history of mankind.

Isn’t it a universal rule that every hot chick has a guy by her side all the time! It always happens to me.

Hey! Concentrate! He is scolding me.

Those geeks must be enjoying this. I am having the urge to use my middle finger and show them what my opinion about them is. God! This guy is going on and on. My dreams are crumbling and I am concentrating on him.

"Get out of my class!"

So. What the fuck was I talking about?

The Rookie

He threw up in the trash can. The stink in the dark bathroom did not help him either. Years of training had not helped him. Down on his knees, facing the can, he threw up again. He looked to his right. His revolver was on the floor. He picked it up. It was still warm. He had been holding it tight for the last two minutes. Right from the time it was in his pocket close to his crotch,

till now. He saw his watch. "So much in two minutes!", he thought to himself...

It was all over in thirty seconds. There was a loud gunshot and blood sprayed all over the walls of the dimly lit room. He had just managed to shoot the 'bastard' in the head. He had starred in

the climax of the encounter.

The situation was surreal. Every second seemed to fill his mind with many thoughts and many images. The demons in his mind took the shape of the 'bastard' whose picture he saw during the

mission briefing. The demons taunted him and so did the bastard. He could not take it. He tried very hard to keep his eyes open, and stop biting his own teeth but could not. Finally, he pulled the trigger.

He could hear his own heart beat. It was racing as he climbed the stairs. The team consisted of four members and there was a backup team too. He was the rookie, freshly drafted into the team. He could remember every word his team mates had spoken at every step he took.

'The bastard is sleeping in the fourth floor of an old building in sixth street', one of them walked into the office.

'Hope the intelligence hasn't fucked it up this time', the other one had asked.

'The intelligence does not know about this. It is my man who gave it to me.'

'Are we doing it?', the rookie had asked.

'This motherfucker is responsible for half of the trafficking that takes place. Sells children like he sells fucking peanuts. Shot one of our men point blank and skinned another undercover agent. You ask me if we're doing it?'

The rookie had no answers.

The next thing he could remember was the conversation he had with another senior member.

'It will be bad at the first time. You'll hear screams, see a lot of blood and also some brain if you shoot him in the head point blank'

'Shoot him in the head', the other senior added.

'You'll even throw up. But don't worry even I did it in my first encounter', he was told.

They had reached the fourth floor now, a hundred and fourty one beats and ninety seconds later.

'You do it', one of the seniors told him.

He looked at his bulletproof vest. Tightening his grip on his revolver, he broke the door open.

Autograph

TRRRRING!!! My mobile rang on a friday noon ( Actually I have the default Nokia tone so it wasnt trrring exactly). It was turning out to be another boring day of the most boring vacations in my engineering life so far. I was banking on the evening's football session to provide some relief. Back to the phone, it was US, my brother( I have deleted the 'in law' part)

Me: Hi!!

US: Hey Handsome!

Me: Temme.

US: I ve got passes to raghu dixit's concert today eve at JP Nagar.

Me: I'll be there.

US: Cool!

Me: Cool! C u there.

I had mixed emotions. No football, but I was going to Raghu's concert. Wasn't expecting any action at Raghu's concert compared to football. (I atleast run around while playing football if not play!) So I made it to the concert. US had VVIP passes so me and me friends Shaggy, Kat, Shaw and my bro Aditya made it inside. We sat in the penultimate row of chairs like obedient last benchers. One of the leading music directors in the kannada industry, Mr. Gurukiran was giving the mic, the sound system and us a real hard time. We were there for Raghu Dixit only. This was obviously testing our tolerance levels. There were times when we felt Raghu won't make it and I would get my butt kicked for calling my friends.

We were hungry and we had to eat. But with a crowd like that there was confusion whether we could leave the premises and come back. So, to clarify, me and Kat went towards the gate... We passed the stage, and at the backstage I saw a couple of people in dhothis. One of them holding the base guitar (Gaurav Vaz, I came to know his name after I came back home). There was a chance of us meeting Raghu. I looked at Kat. Kat surprisingly took out a small notebook. I was as amazed as a little child watching a majic show for the first time. He asked for a pen. I ran back to US and took a pen. I came back. And there he was, Raghu Dixit, washing his face. There was

nobody around to stop us. Me and Kat planned an ambush. We went around backstage walking among debris at the place and finally I was face to face with the man himself...

My pulse was racing. I was actually rehearsing in the noon the whole situation in front of the mirror. Now that i was in front of him I was short of words. I started.

"Sir, I am a huge fan!!" like everyone else does.

He acknowledged it with a smile. A man cannot do anything more in such situations especially when he is washing his face.

Kat: "Autograph please"

Raghu:"Thadkolappa, mukha tholkotheeni" ( He has a great sense of humour)

Me: "I am a guitarist and I never thought I would be singing a kannada song in my life till I heard munjaane manjalli. Now, I m famous for singing that among my friends. It is a beautiful song".

Again no response. He finished washing his face

Me: "Sir which scale do u play that in?"

Raghu: "I think A. I actually used a capo for that song"

Me: "Beautiful song sir, amazing"

He went inside the changing room. For a second i thought he wont come back. If it was a dream, he wouldn have. Instead it would be mom, screaming at me, waking me up saying i don keep my room clean.

He did come back, the sound of anklets signalling it. He took the pen and the small notebook that Kat had and started signing.

I gathered courage and told him

"Sir, I will share the stage with you someday. I will make the stage mine and perform with you. I will be there with you". I seriously dunno if any of that makes sense. But I made my point. I ll make some music and will perform

on the big stage someday.

Raghu: "Make sure you do it before I grow old"

Me: "Sure sir"

Then we posed for the photograph.

Raghu (if at all you're reading this), you have no idea what you've inspired. And it was an awesome show. We were right in front of you. Never had the chance to watch you perform from such close distance before.

To the band:(again, if at all you're reading this): I din know any of your names, so it wouldnt have been a gr8 idea to blindly take autographs. I did not mean any disrespect Gaurav, Wilfred, Vijay, Jathin. You guys rocked! Will queue up only for your autographs next time.

Kat: Hadn't it been for you, I wouldn have had the guts to even go backstage! Love you man! And thanx for the photo. you still gotta give that autograph :P

Umashankar (US): You're a real gem who truly appreciates me for what I am. Thank you so much for the passes and everything else.

Shaggy, Shaw, Adi: Thanx for the awesome company!

Abstract Engineering

Drowning amidst equations like a lost knight,

Counting stars in broad daylight,

Tuning our minds to an unknown frequency,

Want to break free, we want to feel valency.

Every brain is an auditorium,

Where amnesia and insomnia freelance,

Hoping to break free from this pandemonium,

Can't see Einstein perform the devil's dance.

Feeling dyslexic every time we write,

As we jumble the greek alphabet,

Diagnosed with examination fright,

We feel we're better off writing a sonnet.

The artists in us always rebel,

So that we can use our right brains,

And still we are the envy of many people,

Who cannot see us trapped in these chains.

Last Comic Standing

His sense of humour ceased to be,

As he could only stand and see,

He had delivered his last punchline,

He wished everything would be fine.

He was the last comic standing,

His dry sarcasm had dried up,

His wit no more commanding,

He felt like a lost little pup.

Laughter was his only business,

That would always feed him,

Robbing people would've been a mess,

Since he could never stop talking.

Laughter dies a slow death,

It was dying in front of him,

He stood there catching his breath,

His supper was at the audience's whim.

Looked like he had to be hungry,

The audience showed no mercy,

Some of them bored, some angry,

Some begged them to stop.

Laughter died, chaos took over,

As everybody went out,

The lights went out but he stayed,

Wondering what he'd eat tonight

Dial A for Adventure(also Abhi :P): The Monsoon Assignment 3:

All of us finally breathed relief that we had reached our destination for the day and almost threw our bags. Our bags were all wet and so were all the clothes and bed sheets inside them. Brrr.. It was cold and I was sleeping. I was hating it everytime the door opened. Cursing my wit and luck for the bag and its wet contents, I was lying down. Most of the others went to take a shower under one of the waterfalls nearby. I couldn't even manage to get up. The whole idea of sitting

wearing wet clothes after a cold shower sent a chill down my spine.

Then I was woken up when the rope on which all the clothes were put to dry gave way and fell on me. I almost screamed out aggressively, thanks to my dream (never remembered it!) My sleep vanished. Now it was cold again. It was dark already. Thanks to all my wet clothes, I spent most of the night in my underwear... Soon it was dinner time. By now, we had almost become allergic to chapatis. We had some rice. Santosh had a better meal. He cooked the crabs he had caught and ate it. Me, a vegetarian politely turned his offer down. After heating my hands and feet, we sat down for the team meeting. We had to decide on what we would do the next day. We unanimously decided we'd trek furhter instead of boarding a trainto Khaginere. We slept and slept well. You tend to sleep like a baby in such situations. I was occasionally woken up by the fact that I did not have any bedsheet on me.

KHAGINERE:

The plan was to wake up at 7 and leave at 730. We finally left at 830 after waking up late and getting ready and taking a lot more photographs, we finally started from Yedukumari. The fact is that when you are at such places, even an average photographer can look like a genius. Such is the scenic beauty around! We started walikng and were greeted by a train again. We walked past a tunnel and another bridge. The folks prepared rasna only to realise that there was no sugar! They tried to use glucose but that did not help our cause. The orange flavoured rasna tasted like the oranges in most parts of Bengaluru, sour. After walking a little further, we found the route to Khaginere. We were looking at a small but an intense waterfall. That was our way!

It was an overdose of awesomeness. The plan was to walk (climb rather) continuously and not stop since there were a lot of leeches around. We climbed and climbed and climbed. Then we reached a terrain full of grass and what I saw next can best be described as heaven. There was greenery all around. Mountains in different shades of green and a waterfall looking like spilt milk. We were ecstatic. It was time for a leech check. We had them all over our legs. A couple of photographs later, I heard my mobile ring. Finally signs of network after a day. I was tense about my results and that had spoiled most of my mood the previous day. I would lose a year had I not cleard it and this fact compounded my tension. I was in a dilemma whether I should find it out then or later. I kept the mobile in the bag since the caller had hung up. Five minutes later, there was another call. It was the customer care's offers related call. I was furious. But there were 17 unread messages in my inbox. I breathed hard and opened it. The first message read 'Congrats!' I screamed in joy! Everybody had wuestion marks and exclamation marks all over their faces. Then I explained to them the whole situation. This was the best way I'd ever celebrated my result!

We left again and it was a simpler route. Then it started raining heavily again. We made it to the top and walked through wet grass terrain and finally made it to Khaginere. And god!! It was absolutely beautiful! We got rid of our bags. Vasu pointed to a nearby peak and told me "We ll go to the top of that mountain and come back in 10 minutes", I was game for it but wasn't sure about the others. The bus would be there at 1200 and that would be our only bus for the entire day. It was 1135 and we did make it to the top at 1140. After a few photographs, we thought of climbing another one which seemed to be the tallest. We gave up after realizing that we had to go on a different path. Finally Vasu and Santosh did go there. We kept our bags in the premises of a school building and waited for the bus. In the meanwhile, I took some photos including that of a beautiful well. And finally the bus arrived. We ran behind it and hopped into it only to realize that the driver was in no hurry to leave. Sometimes bravery in such situations can turn out to be useless and senseless.. But that is adventure!!

The bus finally left at 1230. We had to reach Vanagooru to catch a bus to Kukke. We reached Vanagooru at around 130 PM. We had a good lunch and were waiting for the bus to come. Kukke was 24 kilometers from there. The bus would come by 230, so i took photographs. Wanted to take a photograph of a girl who seemed very attractive but could not. Finally the bus did come at 230. We hopped into it. Santosh came up with a plan. He told us that we could take a leave on Monday, climb Kumara Parvatha and come back to bengaluru on Tuesday. The prospect itself made me jump with joy. But it was cancelled, Santosh said he would have done it had it been a good three-four months back. What difference does that make, I wondered. Later, I realised he was married. I was wondering to myself "Couldn't he have got married a little later? All of us could've had more adventure!" All folks laughed aloud when I told them the same thing in the evening.

The bus started. We were finally moving to the last stage of the whole journey. The bus journey was an adventure in itself!! The route seemed no different than the one we were trekking on. Since we were sitting in the last row of seats, every time the bus encountered a speed breaker, we were almost hitting the roof of the bus! We saw Kumara Parvatha in all its glory. That is next on my mind. There were waterfalls everywhere, even on the road as we crossed one. It was one awesome journey. We stopped at one temple. There was a waterfall there. The water was so sweet. After a small break, we were back on the road again. And we finally made it to Kukke at 430!

Pre dinner session (From left: Vasu, Shashi(sleeping), Nandeesh, Karthik, A part of prasanna)

First photos of the morning.

Me trying some spook effects

Adi trying some more. Who looks scarier? Let s have a vote!!

Santosh's meal!! (The crab :P)

Dial A for Adventure(also Abhi :P): The Monsoon Assignment 2:

Some of us were whistling and to our surprise somebody was whistling back. We looked around hoping to find some people. Then, US pointed out that it was a bird! I stood there thinking for a second in astonishment, appreciating god's creation. We finally started at 715 at the 49th kilometer milestone. We walked, talked and more often than not stopped for photo sessions.

A result of which was the fact that we did not have any momentum. After almost 6 kilometers on the railway track where we walked, talked, sang and slipped, we took a detour to have breakfast. This was where we first saw leeches sucking our blood. US was the first one, followed by me and the rest. There were all sort of jokes on the same topic. In the meanwhile, we drank some instant coffee and ate 'Figure rice'(Chitranna!) on disposable paper plates which we did not dispose. Instead we washed them and kept them safe for further use. I saw a mini landslide in the meantime. The water at the Kempu Hole was at its furious best. Imagining the same on a large scale I couldn't help but cross my fingers. I think it was a warning for all us greedy human beings screwing around cutting trees and causing harm to nature.

We left again at 11 AM, lacking momentum, stamina and agility. The water from the rain had entered our shoes and soaked our socks. The rashes on my sole hurt me for every step I took. We stopped at another station called Kadagaravalli. We finished some of the food we had and got rid of some more leeches. US and Karthik interviewed some more locals and we were off again.

The best thing about walking on railway tracks is that you get to walk over the bridges and under the tunnels. Walking over the bridges was like watching a 3D movie for me coz there I was, between the clouds and i could see waterfalls below my feet. Felt like I was walking over them. Gosh! I can still remember the sound of the waterfall. It still haunts me.

Walking through tunnels can be a lot more awesome. It is usually pitch black till the end of the tunnel. We had our torches in full glow. Watching every step to make sure we did not slip. I actually freaked out when Vasu pointed out that there were heavy chances that we would encounter snakes. I would frantically look around! Some of the tunnels had inhabitants. There were a couple of tarpaulin sheets lying around and also some cooking vessels. Somebody had cooked chicken apparently. There was fire too. If I were to walk alone through these tunnels, and come across such a thing, I would ve tried to run away as fast as possible.

In the meanwhile Santosh was hunting crabs down for dinner and Karthik was the brain behind four of the preys. Karthik would locate them and Santosh armed with his killer knife would do the rest. Santosh later announced that he had the confidence that he will survive in the forest for 3 months easily!

We planned to take a break at 230 near one of the tunnels and decided to have lunch. All of us got rid of our bags on the track and started taking the food packets out. We had chapatis in our hand and were waiting to get some pickle, and suddenly we heard a train honking! We waited for the train to cross and got down at the sides without thinking much, since it was a goods train, we did not panic. The train did come, but a little later than we expected. Now this was another moment! Here we were, watching a train whizz past right in front of us and eating. Just like watching a 3D movie! After eating, we packed our bags again and were leaving and we heard a

train honk again. For a second we thought it was the same train but doppler effect was indicating otherwise. It was another train! We jumped to the sides of the tracks again. We finally left after that train whizzed past in front of us.

The last five kilometer stretch was the most strenous part of the entire trek. We were all tired and the rashes on the sole started hurting all over again. I was literally looking at every milestone hoping to find the number marked 67. After a very silent session, we managed to get to Yedukumari. After the eighteen kilometer walk, all of us were tired. We thankfully got a place to stay. Manju, an employee with the railways agreed to let us stay in his place for the night.

Top: Our destination, Yedukumari. Middle and below: Some photos. That is me btw :)

To be continued....