You’ve just been hit by a Sucka Punch

Let’s get done with the stats, Movie: SUKER PUNCH

It’s a March 2011 PG13 action/fantasy/thriller movie with 6.8/10 on IMDB and shows around Mumbai as U/A.

First Impressions:

I came across it in the papers. The title was calligraphed such a way that it seemed something like a potter or a rings movie. Well ofcourse it’s not the title that caught my eye at first. The later pictures and trailers depicted cute girls fighting robots, giant samurais, dragons and an army of dead steam powered soldiers in a WWII background.  I couldn’t rap my head around the concept of the movie and curiosity coupled with DUI (here D stands for decision) led to the purchase of tickets for the next day show. To set my hopes to the appropriate level, I checked imdb, but there were no ratings up yet. Oh well..

The Theatre:

The movie starts in green tint and stunning camera angles. The sound effects and background music meshed well with the on screen activities. 

Introducing Baby doll, (Emily Browning) the young girl (unbelievably not a young teen but 20yrs as it said on her medical report later) who just lost her mother. Mom leaves the fortune to both her daughters, which infuriates the step dad. More dramatic slow-mo and rock music, angle shots later, step-dad shoves her into a mental asylum where she is destined to get a lobotomy (don’t ask why). 

The movie title appearing from the rain drops flowing down the car window was nicely done.

The mental asylum is then shown as a burlesque house run by the doctors and guards there, which made sense judging from the other gorgeous inmates here. She is soon met by Rocket, an spunky inmate, who shows her around the place. In the ballet hall (or so I think) we meet the rest of her kick ass compadres stretching wearing slender long stockings and black eye liner. 

The governess, a woman who tries hard on her Russian accent, compels Baby doll to do a dance. Baby doll closes her eyes (just before the dance) and we are transported far away to another world. Stunning graphics (-me likey). She meets an old American guy in a Buddhist robe giving her instructions for her final escape along with a 42 caliber and a Hattori hanzo. Soon she is dodging blades, bullets and the viewer’s confusion. I didn’t mind (how often do guys see a chick act out a pc game.)(not talking about guys who still play tomb raider)

A client is scheduled to meet Baby Doll in 5 days, before which she intendeds to escape. Baby’s dance is so mesmerising that the bad guys can’t take their eyes off her which gives time for her crew to collect the (4+1unknow) things they need to escape.

Hmm I taught to myself, just 5 things and they already got 2 , so what is the rest of the movie about?..Soon the screen said INTERVAL! Damn an hour went by??  If Einstein was sitting along with us he would have shouted ‘ Relativity!! you suckers’.

A pop corn and coke later, Baby doll dances again at appropriate occasions and we are taken back to different scenic arenas, now accompanied by four other eye candy damsels. The graphics, animations and shots are worth applauding.

The old guy (termed ‘wise guy’ on IMDB) returns at each arena in appropriate costume and gives them objectives. Many fight scenes and backgrounds made me nostalgic of my offline PC fights with soldiers, zombies & monsters. The arena and objectives resembled games like Quake, Dragon Age, War Craft, COD, Left for dead, Tekken and Unreal tournament-(the train plot was dead on UT).

So in short (or in shorts), girls in enrapturing costumes armed with M16, Uzi, Bazooka, Swords getting perfect head shots on enemy AI along with slicing and dicing robots by yours truly baby doll, with realistic stunts, I ask who wouldn’t like this shit! 

(ans –‘most women’)(pst.. a couple were seated next to us, and I heard "stupid, yeh kaisi movie dekne layeho mujhe"

By the end, the movie is entering the closing phase, the phase where most movies cut short and take a nose dives into the viewer expression.. ‘wahhaaa?!?’,  but sucker punch maintains altitude and then lands it safe. Baby doll learns of the fifth (till now unknown) ‘thing’ needed for their escape.(I won’t be a spoiler)Escapees escape and those who didn't would rather forget their present shitty reality. The last five minutes is upto the viewer how he/she (mostly he) wants to stitch the plot together.

 

Opinion:

If you are a guy and enjoy gaming- You are the one for whom this movie was made 

The chicks and accessories are cute

Anime and graphics-kudos

Camera shots, fight scenes coupled with sound tracks - nice

Plot is ehh.. is digestible if your hopes aren’t too high

Verdict: A good one-time-must-watch because I did not necessarily know what I was watching, but I sure as hell liked what I saw.

Pyromaniac

Growing up into teens I was unaware of this word or its meaning. I was living in the best time of life, without even realizing it. Morning school and evening play. It is in those glory days that I grew cognizant of the awe of fire, its glow, heat, the crackling sound and the smell of smoke from burnt wood.

The first fire made was when I was in my native place. In a kitchen where my aunts were cooking food on the open stove(the Indian chula). I used to peak into the furnace and  poke the wood burning inside. The burnt wood revealed golden red chars lying within the ashes; this would have been mesmerizing to any little kid. I took out the burning wood and placed it in the pocket of the adjacent empty stove. The fire was out but it was still glowing red. I fed it some dried coconut leaves and blew; and viola fire was born. The later years I always carried a match box long with me (burning stuff became my speciality). Now even travelling from one house to another at night wasn’t really possible without a torch or flash light. Nope, both aren’t the same. The next house would be 20mins walk through dense foliage & climbing hilly terrain. I liked the torch. The torch was a rolled up dried coconut leaf (the entire thing folded in half and rolled). If it is beginning to extinguish then just waving it will revitalize the flames.

Back home during Diwali was another time of fun and experimentation, burning crackers with magnifying lenses on the terrace. Once we found a half burnt beedi and we got to work. Just then the building watchman walked up on us from behind. 'Hey! What the hell are you kids up to this time?’ .We froze in fear, I was holding the lens and my friend held the beedi, which was now starting to smoke. We spoke together that we were just trying to light it up and nothing else. He gave a smile and walked off saying we lit the wrong end.

The morning after Diwali night we used to scavenge for unburned crackers, flower pots and sparklers. We collected the baaroodh (the burning chemical) and packed it inside unlikely casings to make crude bombs of our own. It did explode most times but I remember once when it didn't (and glad about it). During school days we were put into the habit of using ink pens. This later resulted in us having broken pen nibs and empty ink bottles. Me and a friend filled the chemical in such an empty ink bottle up to the brim (didn’t really stuff it in). We later joined several fuse threads and inserted one end into the bottle. The apparatus was in the corridor right outside our home. I lit the long fuse and both of us ran to a corner, but within line of sight. There was blinding flash of light and a mushroom shaped smoke rising upwards. We couldn’t really see anything clearly for some minutes. The ceiling above discoloured black. The glass bottle had only cracked and lay there innocently in pieces. It was then, we realised how awfully bad things could have gone wrong.


 Undeterred we went on carrying out experiments the later years, some like-
-A‘Chakri’ by bending a cracker in a ‘U’.
-Removing the hard end of the cracker makes it propel forwards. Same happens if one stuffs it inside a particular pen cap.
-Attaching a long fuse green ‘rassi’ bomb to a rocket.
-Blowing up PVC and clay type drainage pipes & flower pots (unused ones, really!)
- Sequential blasting of sand castles (this took a lot of prep).
-We still couldn't master flight by making a whole rocket.

Those days will sure be missed. But I try to get in touch with my roots sometimes.

Like most recently I sprayed aerosol into an empty plastic water bottle. When lit, the fumes keep burning from its mouth and when its belly pressed, spits amazing fire balls.

In future I aspire to make fire the old and forgotten way, i.e. rubbing sticks together..

A Traffic Friday

A Friday afternoon seemed just another day; little did I know fate was in mood for humour.

Now I am not a big fan of government policies, activities and those officials. I have lived and experienced confrontation with the government employees; be it for passport, driving licence, NOC, rashan cards, pan, tax & car hijacking. Most departments mentioned takes weeks and months to get your work done. But..there is one department which operates on the Nazi blitz Krieg way. They stop, pick up the car, and they are off, not even bothered to look around if there is some one yelling, ' Hey its my car!! I'm coming!' . Having said that let me return to this Friday.

The previous day: Mom, ‘Buy vegetables and 2L milk from Reliance fresh tomorrow..and don’t forget potatoes. You can buy any vegetables you wish’.

Myself, ‘Yes yes ok.’

          Friday: I pressed the button with a capital G marked on it and tried recollecting how much money I had. Placed a hand over the pocket and remembered the Rs 1k I had withdrawn a day before. Hmm.. more than sufficient.

I got inside the bottle green car and turned the ignition. The fuel was dangling close to the E mark so I exited the building premises and turned towards the petrol pump, the other way. Handed a guy in a BP uniform a 500 bill and he filled in 7.92L of unleaded petrol. I drove past my home and reached Reliance Fresh Mart. I found an unmarked spot and parked the vehicle behind another car. The lone driver inside the front car looked on. Took me 15mins, give or take, and I exited with 3 heavy bags of groceries. I walked to the parked spot just to be welcomed and overwhelmed by an empty spot. Just then I had a mental image of how and what must have happened. A man sitting nearby said, ‘Yep, they took it to the station, probably pounded under the Borivali flyover’. I didn’t say a word and called a rick home. Dumped the grocery bags home and left for the bus stop.

          Catching the bus in a hurry only took me halfway and the bus turned the other way. Absent minded and pissed off, I walked the rest. A vacant towing van lay parked and I patted it.At the Borivali Traffic Police station, I was told, ‘Perhaps it’s probably at Kandivali Station’. So another bus ride later I reached the destination. The car simply lay on the side of the road, I took the key out but soon spotted a yellow block clamped to a tyre. Ehhh..

I paid the official Rs 300 for their trouble, Rs 100 for the offence + Rs200 towing charge. I wanted to throw the money in front of him but all I could do was take out the cash and drop it in front of the counter. He picked it up. Outside another guy used a key and freed the impounded vehicle. Driving back home I sang a song and a guy riding pillion outside, peeked inside.

A Daily Contrast

I was a standee in a public bus, hanging on to the handle just behind the row of the women’s seats. It was not by choice, but rather due to people behind, who pushed ahead. The bus stopped at a traffic signal; at the turn towards Dindoshi bus depot. I happened to glance out through a window and then something seemed strange and I glanced back. Below the fly-over and besides the corner a mother and her child lay. The utensils lying around suggested they have been there long. The mother was probably still in her late teens and the child was an infant but able to walk around. She lay on the ground. To be accurate she lay on the tar road just besides the foot path. The mother had placed an arm over her face, to blind out the light probably. She lay still. The infant moved onto her mother’s chest, lifted the sari and helped herself to feed. This picture was quiet disturbing but the strange thing that caught my attention was that the mother had still not moved.

All these events transpired and the bus hadn’t moved yet. A dog showed up before them. To my relief the mother lifted her arm and shooed it away. I thought I saw some of the women near the window breathe a sigh of relief. Just then I saw a man, in his forties, running across the road. I almost wished he was somebody from the government or an organisation rushing over to them to take them away somewhere better. He ran past them with indifference and the bus moved on.

I got down from the bus and was walking towards home. The memory of the day’s events was slowly fading now. A yellow bus halted behind me. I turned around and saw a little girl get down from the bus. She was wearing a chequered blue school uniform, a bag on her shoulders and a water bottle around her neck. She ran past me with arms wide spread and hugged her mother, who had bent down to grab her. My thoughts ran back to that corner under the fly-over and I did not like it. I asked myself why I am thinking about them. What good would it do to me or to them? Would I have got down from the bus and spared them a few coins? Would it truly help their misery? for how long? Maybe indifference is indeed bliss.

A Small Effort

        I will not emphasize the importance of being an environmentalist these days. I am not suggesting you make a career out of it but rather I will implore you to consider it as a small hobby. A small effort is what it takes; be it to clear your study table or to save the planet. What do I possibly mean by this ‘small effort’ you may wonder. I will elaborate on some few tips:

1.       Wrappers: Wrappers become trash that is an eventuality. Where one trashes it, is what one must keep in mind. Solution is to store it in your pocket till you reach a dust bin. A chewing gum you want to spit out can go inside that wrapper or a used bus ticket.

2.       Littering:  A simple fact is what stays beautiful usually remains beautiful because most of us humans enjoy cleanliness. Most of us will think twice about littering a beautiful garden or a clean street. But on the other hand would you think twice if the street was already littered? What I am getting at is, one would not feel guilty about dirtying a dirty place. So next time think about the sin of being the first litterer. It is possible others will follow your lead and the next day it becomes a dump.

I usually go on treks just to be in close proximity of (the remaining) nature. And whenever I come across plastic bottles and packets, I wish for lightning to befall their past owners. So you better not be one of them.

3.       Bus: There is nothing that will save more fuel than public transport. Opt for busses over auto rickshaws whenever feasible.

4.       Car pooling: Mostly for office goers. I just hate seeing big cars that pile up in a jam with just a single occupant.

5.       Vehicles: Travel economically. Switch of engine when waiting for the signal to change. Service every year. And mostly about those scooter and tempo owners who add kerosene into fuel...Please don’t..no one wants to smell the thick smoke that exits from your exhaust.

6.       Electricity & Water: There is one advertisement, wherein there is an animated child who is brushing his teeth with the water on. A child lets the light/fan on.

Well to add to that, turn off the monitor when you are away. Switch of the TV and to do even- better stop watching brain-dead shows.

7.       Shopping: ‘Carry a bag of your own’, it is not that difficult and inconvenient as it may sound! Don’t allow vegetable owners to pack your purchase in polyethene bags, hand them the one you brought along with you. Advice them to stop usage of such plastic bags. I just felt reminding that plastic takes 1000 years to disintegrate.

8.       Plant: There are people who walk into tropical jungles and chain themselves to trees. To fight deforestation. I have plants outside my window. Just the simple act of watering and nurturing helps me appreciate greenery.

9.       Wastage: Reuse Reduce Recycle.

10.   The Will: The ‘Will’ is the only thing you need to make the right choice.  

          
There may be some points,that I may have left out..There maybe other such tips you may follow in your routine. But remember, all our little efforts will add to do a bit for the world. I implore you to come ahead and share your ideas.

I 

A One Night Venture

              Naveen exited The La’ Degray Cafe with his friends at the IBM Customer support. Hands on each other’s shoulder they walked out into the alley with a buzz in their head. They parted with merry hugs and good byes. Most went southwards and some went home by bus. Naveen had to go all the way from Grant road to Virar. It was a long way to go alone, he caught a taxi for the railway station. The driver heard his passenger mumble something about going to station. Naveen rolled down a window. A cold breeze blew in and he briefly thought about his family back in Agra. The thought passed away when he felt a chewing gum besides the seat. Finally around 12:15 am, he reached the railway station.

Grant Road railway station was still crowded with a motley collection of working class people waiting for the train. Naveen joined them. He was feeling hungry now, he only had beer and very less of the veg kabab his friends commonly ordered. So he ordered a samosa from the stall at the railway platform and took a bite into it. He smiled thinking of the time he had once saw flies swarming around it with random strangers touching them to feel if they are warm. He wasn’t a hypochondriac but had a standard for food hygiene. He later had a soda to wash it down. The fizz felt good in his stomach. He stood at the edge of the platform peeping into the dark. The local train was scheduled to be at 12:34, his digital watch showed 12:20. He walked around the platform to pass time and to kill his buzz. He saw a bunch of middle class women standing together for the ladies coach. Some men sat on the truss below the over head bridge. He returned to his original position under the big railway clock. He saw a light coming and then a train arrived at the platform. He looked down at the railway tracks below and wondered if he would fall if he closed his eyes long enough. From a distance he saw men hanging on to the door frames. He cursed; thinking the trains are still packed.

The train came to a halt and two people got down from the coach in front of him. He climbed on board and breathe a sigh of relief, the train was empty. Four men and two young women got in. He unconsciously eyed them after he got in. He was standing in the passage way. Four men stood on door frame hanging on to the handle above them. He wished to stand near the door as well but thought better and remained putt. He mildly left a vibration and reached into his pocket. His cheap mobile phone had just received a spam message. He thought to himself that he will surely buy a better mobile phone with the next month’s salary. A passenger yawned and looked around if he could sit down. Naveen checked his watch when the train reached Borivali station, 12:58am. Surreptitiously he passed a glance towards the two girls again. He tried to figure out whom they were with, it did not make sense why they would come alone into a men’s coach. The passenger besides him squatted to the floor and he looked comfortable now. Naveen hung on to the handle bars in anticipation of his destination. To his surprise, one of the girls,the one wearing a red t-shirt looked his way and giggled, he squinted his eyes sceptically.  Immediately, fearing an unnecessary confrontation with any guardian/boyfriend or even the general public, he turned around to face the door.

The train reached Virar station close to 1:20am. The men standing at the door jumped off before the train halted. Naveen got down and bought himself another soda from the platform. He checked his watch and hoped his roommate would answer the door this untimely hour. He climbed the overhead bridge to get to the west side. Some handicapped beggars were doing late night shifts while some slept on neatly laid out news papers. He exited the railway station and stopped at a beetle nut stall. He bought his favourite banarsi pan and  chewed. A soft voice behind him said, “ Hi”, Naveen turned around bedazzled.”We are really late today. Could you please walk us to our home?”. Naveen managed to mumble “huh?.. what?” The girl in red asked “Our place is just 10 walking minutes from  here, could you please help us...pleaseee..?” Naveen was still trying hard to grasp the situation. “But they look so innocent, and who knows, maybe this could be the start of a beautiful friendship” he thought to himself and smiled. He nodded a yes. The trio started walking down the road. After a few minutes, they were the only ones walking down an alley. The girl took out cigarette carton from her brown purse and lit a cigarette. She gave the sweetest smile and offered one to Naveen. He felt bad to refuse, so took the stick from her hand and held it between his lips. She held a flame on the lighter and he lit his cigarette. They made a few trivial talks on the way. Not that he wanted this moment to pass, but just plain curiosity made him ask how much further their place was. They looked at one another and one of them replied “Oh..just the around the next corner. Naveen was new to the city and likewise new to Virar ,so wondered how he’ll get back. Anyhow, he took a drag from the cigarette again. The next moment he felt a funny felling in his legs. It felt as if he was walking on marshy lands. He began to stumble and one the girls held his arm and placed it over her shoulders. By now, Naveen was trying real hard just to walk ,his vision blurred and he soon passed out.

Naveen woke up smiling to a tickling in his foot. He opened his eyes and saw the backside of an old dilapidated building. The dog stopped licking and went away. He sat up straight in shock and a terrible headache came rushing. He cursed the two girls. It was afternoon the next day and a dumpster lay open besides him. He looked around and only found other dogs eating from the over flowing garbage. He held onto a rusted grill and stood up. His head was still spinning. He lifted his arm to check the time and only saw the un-tanned mark left by his watch. He immediately reached into his back pocket and didn’t feel the bump of the wallet. Naveen cursed aloud and kicked an empty can of coke. He reached into his front jeans pocket and found his CDMA mobile phone still there. He shook his head snickering sarcastically and walked off.

A Circle in a Nut Shell

A butterfly withdrew and rolled up its tongue. Smelled honey and spread its yellow wings again and flew.

Mr. Alfred Jonathan was reading the file the second time, scrutinizing each and every line. The maid soon arrived into the garden and lay down the tray on the table in front of him. Mr.Jonathan sat up straight and lay down the file open on the mahogany wood.  He picked up a toast, took a bite and turned another page.  He took a sip of tea and remembered he didn’t add honey into it yet.  Just then he noticed a yellow insect sitting on the brim of the honey jar. He shooed it away with the toast in his hand. The motion also caused his tea to spill  . He watched in horror as the tea spilled onto the page which lay open. He quickly tore away that page to save the rest and in the anger of the moment he crumpled it into a soggy ball and threw it over the garden wall. He took a good minute to realize that he still needed the corrections that he had done on it.

Kasim checked his cracked watch, its needles pointed to 8 and the long one on 6. He pushed his cart and kept yelling “Paper, bottles and scrap!” through the streets. His eyes still red from the cheap liquor he had eight hours ago. Suddenly something bumped on his head. He saw the brown paper ball on the ground and cursed under his breath. Looked around and there was no one around to apologize to him. He picked it up mindlessly, added it to his collection of old news papers and started to move on with indifference. Just then he saw a worried middle aged man in fine suiting calling out to him about a piece of paper. Kasim suppressed a smile. He bargained with the owner's patience and fleeced a bill of 50 from him. Kasim didn’t hold back his smile on his way back to his cart.

Pinto often opened his little shop early on Monday, for those who didn’t get enough of liquor on a Sunday night. He ordered the little teen to go clean the tables and arrange the chairs. Around 11 am just 10 mins after the main doors to the bar was open, a shabby looking guy walked in happily waving a 50. He ordered the cheapest whiskey and the bare footed teen brought him the same with a dirty glass. Pinto watched him suspiciously. After an hour he told him pay up and just as he feared the man paid 70Rs.He was 30Rs short. They argued for a while and Pinto finally threw him out. The drunkard held onto an empty bottle as he was manhandled out. All pissed off, he got out and managed to hurl the bottle on the kerb in front. The bottle broke into a hundred pieces. Kasim ran.

Ali was just another 10 year old who made his living from selling balloons and begging in his off time. He was walking past Pinto’s Bar and Restaurant when he felt a sudden pain in his right foot. He screamed but his scream nearly went unheard over the sound of vehicles passing and those who heard, walked by with indifference. He sat down and twisted his bare foot and in the red, he saw a glass piece. He took out the shard and blood spilled out again.He tied a plastic bag around it. Limping ahead he thought maybe the injury may win some sympathy from rich women.So he went astray from his usual balloon selling business for the day and begged around the market place.He earned a few spare coins. A while later he saw men walking out of buildings and the traffic grew. Ali understood it’s probably 5pm and office time is up. He saw a bunch of young business women returning home from the building across the road. He hurried crossing, limping his way to the other side.

Just like any one else a black Honda City was also speeding back home. He was in a hurry after the long day at office discussing the merger of a rival company. He was still playing with numbers in his head. When suddenly he saw a boy hurrying across the road . The driver had no time to sound the horn, instincts took over and he slammed hard on the brakes. The car veered over to the other lane over the small dividers. Seconds later, from the opposite lane, a SUV barged into the City. The Honda city rolled over and finally ceased motion. The boy ran into the crowd. People nearby hurried over to the damaged vehicles. They peeked through the broken window. Inside a man lay morbidly still . They pulled him out of the upside down Honda City leaving behind a trail of red. A crowd gathered around the man and someone dialed a police station and another dialed for an ambulance, the man in the nice suit seemed important. A thoughtful stranger reached into the man's pocket and took out his wallet for a name and address. He got a home phone number and dialed it. “Yes..Hello? Am I speaking to Mrs. Jonathan ..?” 

Somewhere in the distance, in a small garden a blue butterfly emerged from its cocoon and spread it's wings for the first time.

The Mistake

    Covered up in heavy white she walked up to the railing and removed her gloves just for the fun of it. Suddenly the propelled vessel jerked violently and she held on to the railing tightly with her bare hands. The biting cold registered , and she corrected her posture quickly. Ana walked to the captains cabin. "Dad are we there yet?" The captain pointed her towards the telescope mounted near the window. The telescope was pointed towards the north sky.She curiously made her way towards the round window. She had only seen the pictures in her text books, now she was watching the spectacle in person and realized she was getting goosebumps on the back of her neck.She quickly went out into the corridor,back into the chilling black. A fire ball soon appeared in the atmosphere. Gilligan walked over to his daughter and wondered if she would remember this moment for the rest of her life.
His calculations were near perfect. The sky lit up brilliantly in a hue of orange and  back on the vessel,aptly called The Lantern, Ana with her palm still on the railing,slightly raised her fingers to feel the warmth.

A mile away the fire ball punched into a massive ice berg obliterating it the next second with a sonic boom. Soon it was dark again. Just as they removed their hands covering their ears, the anchored ship rocked and almost tumbled on an incoming ripple that followed. Gilligan quickly held onto his 11 year old and Ana wrapped herself to his arm. As the silent night returned nothing seemed to have changed except for the dull greenish ionized sky. Ana remembered a song her mother used to sing to her.

The Lantern powered its high intensity light beams. Gilligan swept the light on surrounding ice bergs and floaters looking for what he and his family had traveled 300 nautical miles from the east coast of Canada. Ana watched intently with a monocular. Her job was to follow after the light beam had passed over a region.She traversed her vision slowly, then back tracked to see the twinkling she had just thought she had seen.Ana screamed "I see it , I see it!! " . Gilligan smiled and handed her the laser pointer in her outstretched palm. She held the red dot in place. Gilligan moved the light past the mark again and this time saw for himself the alien greenish glow, " Splendid job Ana". His calculations had just been proven right and was staring right back at him. Triceruim absorbs small quantities of light energy and radiates it back as green pulses.The Captain pressed a button and the anchor was reeled in and they set off for the ice sheet ahead.They reached the spot.
Captain Gilligan secured anchor and set off to retrieve the object and wished he had brought along a third hand. He climbed overboard and jumped onto the ice. Ana lit the path ahead of her father using the ships search light. The ice was slippery even with his spiked footwear.He had secured his safe line to the vessel and moved on.He slipped but held onto the rope and Ana gripped onto the railing tight and screamed "No!"
He struggled and stood up again using the spike rod and waved towards her. He moved ahead and finally reached the spot.He bend down looking at the ash object and touched it to check if its still warm.Took out his bag and placed baseball sized rock in his bag. Gilligan started to retrace his steps back,one step at a time,slowly.Reached back and climbed on board and Ana brought out the cake and confetti. Gilligan said" I am so happy today, so happy..I'v got everything I have ever wanted ".Ana smiled and put down the knife . The vessel was moving at 20 knots now cutting through ice sheets.Ana asked if she could see the rock and stretched her hands forward. Gilligan stopped his hand holding a cake midway to his mouth ,grinned and gave her the bag. She hurried with the button and inverted the bag with her left hand to let the rock drop into her right. The rock dropped onto her palm and simply bounced away. Gilligan's heart seemed to have stopped and he watched with excited eyebrows. The rock swayed to the end of the room, out of the door and stopped near the railing and the vessel swayed the rock went over board. Ana looked worried and ran towards the railing looking down into the dark waters and Gilligan followed. Ana looked back scared and fist clenched and said "I'm so sorry..". Gilligan looked calm now, smiled and said, "Its all right , now finish your cake dear".

The BEST Commute

30-9-2009
Best buses are so crowdd these days...
Its 29 sep n im returnn home frm ofice.i cud hv said returnn frm wrk.but it wudnt actuly sound right.nyway,its 1830 n d crowd is showin its directly proportionality.I stil remembr d ol days..where crowdd buses cud simply be left for anothr 1.But nw 1 wud b smart enuf 2 do oderwise.
I get no.40 goin 2 borivali..d bus wsnt packed..yet.1st thn u do is use ur instincts.ur mumbai jungle intusions.u unvoluntarily map d bus of where 2 stand.dis is crucial in order 2 avoid bone crushn pushes n flexes for d nxt hour or two evn.
D aim is 2 get 2 d prsn who is most likly of getn off.
Based on crtain charecteristics which i hv put down based on site scrutinization;
hands on handle
desprtly lukn out
odr hnd n foot movemnt.
4 advncd lvl
eye movemnt
face xpresions
clothing
if elder
student
bisnes guy
but 4 these clues 1 needs 2 hv a good knowldge regardn strategic locations about vry stop.
But 1 general fact is NO 1 ever asks where d odr is goin 2 get down..

So al dis is analyzd in split secs n u make a decision. Rest is if d big guy liles u

I ws gtn 2 options. So d only thng lft 2 do was ini mini minie moe.i chose 1 to d right. I parkd my bag on d rest hndle.nw ny 1 f dose 2 gets up, its by birthrite 2 sit there cz f d 20rs tickt i posesed.
15 mins passed i strikd a home run. I desrvd my seat.my skills paid off...i got d outer seat.d bus stil 2 get packed.
Unconventionaly best buses with 2 standee lines arnt termd packed.cz ders stil enuf space 2 move ur head n arms n d middle line cud b usd 2 move 2wrds d xit.So wat hapns in a packd bus der are three lines!outer most lines kickn in2 d leg room of d outr most seaters.But human flexibility stil permits extra room 4 dose who push ahead thru d 3 standee lines 2 get out of d presure cooker.
Wel my story wsnt all pleasnt,n it didmt take long..my gr8st fear are women.evn if im standing or siting.1 mst nvr be in 2-human beings radius frm dem!
Cz in a crowdd bus u get pushes n pass it on.its defnitly sm law of physics.but xpct nw u 2 hv super human powers n form a human shield againts such atacks.if u touch em..not d sick way but evn in a "damn it!" Way..dey luk at u like ur in prison servn time on counts f rape n homicide.If she wanted 2 get ahead she cud mow u down, like a bull dozer thru a cattle herd.Js throw u aside, stamp u wid their pointy footwear.. n without ny guilt or remorse.Plus if d seat ur guardn opens up,she may hv a good chnce f gtn it evn if shes 3 to 4 human body away. So must be away frm such vigilanties who put d law f equality amoung fellow citizns 2 d test..if ur sitn best thng 2 do is pretnd u ran in d marathon n desprtly tryn 2 get sum rest n shut eye.
If al goes well,d storm wil pass n ur shelter wil prevail.
Js mntionn, if u evr feel ny pity or compasion 2 d eldrly or mothrs wid babies -betr giv ur seat.y u shud?it wil make u luk gud.dats all.but dont thnk u wil hv a gud probability of getn 2 remain seatded. Ders a whooping 85% chance dat those standn wil direct these damsels 2 ur seat.so humanity wins.most of d time.
I was a victim of such a move.i was cornered!
2 women armed wid babies climd on.d bus ws stil hvn 2 standee lines.else dey wud hv prefrd wlkn home than riskn 2 get in d red transport. 1 went 4wd,d odr a seat ahead f mine.I fought my good will.
But just in betwn al dis gud n evil..d guy nxt 2 me ofrd 1 f dem a seat.i ws reliefd thnkn if i get go inside i may hv imunity frm d near dangers f loosn d seat.
But then i rembrd d 3 lime standees. They wud snap d babies spine.i let her go in.but wat nxt??d odr followd suit..d baby wid rich hopes of comfort n serenity.he wud hv been heart brokn if i didnt budge.
Humanity won.
I switchd sides.nw stndn xctly left.i didnt wana be nxt 2 them.for my safty.i didnt wana b d 3rd line standee who broke d babys arm.jst prhaps..by ny odds of dat happn..
I wrote most of this while standing.
But around 15 mins bck frm nw,1940 i got a seat.
Humanity lost.i won.
So finaly my second option workd out 4 me.though it wsnt d eagrly luking studnt who got up.
Nyway it adds up 2 anothr days lesson..
Its 1950 n im almost reachn my stop at thakur village.d bus has more breathing space nw.only d limited 19 standees all 2gthr.d so cald studnt got down at malad.he saw me typn since d past hour so js had 2 ask if i was msgn some one....