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Fakebook wisdom Of Criticism & Beyond Dilution woman, Abused The Filthy City Cheers to Democracy The Liquored Departure The Treasure Guards Trip hop Interview - Giri ‘pickbrain’ Balasubramaniam Book review - The Gold Bat - p g wodehouse Book review - The Asocial Networking - Dhiraj Kumar Forgotten reel Spies
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Credits -
Design, Photography & cover design - Chinmay Maheshwari
Fakebook wisdom “Those small snippets of valuable knowledge that fb - users
so liberally dispense, in the manner of a monarch distributing his largesse among the needy crowds.
By Kartheik G iyer The internet is the mother of all lies, and the social network popularly, and unpopularly known as facebook, is its lovechild. It is the gorgeous, ravenous, filthy, irresistible creature that grabs you by the neck and shakes you till you’re to dazed to do coherently think of anything else. Most of you agree with this. To the people who think this is utterly, completely wrong, facebook is a website that you make an account on, and sit and wonder what to do, because you have no friends. Not even artificial, grown-on-the-pot ones. And to people who don’t know what facebook is, well, its just one of the things ‘this arrogant new generation’ chooses to drug itself with. Well as far as introductions go, I’m not sitting here to do PR, so you’ll have to make do with that much. And if you need more, for god’s sake just Google it. (Ah, Google, another of the net’s lovespawn, but I’ll come back to privacy infringement another time. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.) And as it stands, i can’t afford to sit and write about facebook as a whole. There’s simbly (imagine a Malayali accent) too much to cover. I won’t be touching on how good, or bad, a publicity agent it has turned out to be, nor the meme culture, because that’s way older than an upstart like fb, not the pron groups, or the hate groups, or the i-ama-depressed-goth-kid-who-would-like-to-bealone-because-nobody-cares groups, because 4 LTGTR June ‘12
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by definition, those shouldn’t exist, and as for those of you who post the pouted-lips-shortskirted-self-shots, you just wait, i’m getting my whores-of-babylon column ready. Today’s just about those small snippets of valuable knowledge that fb-users so liberally dispense, in the manner of a monarch distributing his largesse among the needy crowds. The world’s grown smaller, and there’s a new set of cool people in town. The new set needs new rules. It goes by a new dress code, one apparently aimed at uniformity across the globe. It has a new language, where messages are shortened, unnecessary vowels cast aside like vestigial appendices, and flowery turn of phrase scorned in the manner of the black plague. But above all this, it has a new playground. A social one, a virtual one, where the players and occupants learn the wisdom that will serve them for the rest of their life. What better way to illustrate this than with stuff straight from the source, the spring of perpetual horniness, er, knowledge. Let’s start with everyone’s favourite, relationship advice, ‘Son, someday you’ll make a girl very happy, for a short period of time. Then she’ll leave you and be with new men who’re ten times better than you could ever hope to be. These men are called musicians.’ or, ‘Dear god, please turn me into an asshole so that I can be attractive to women.’ or, ‘friends are like potatoes. when you eat them, they die’.
Moving on to ethics and conduct, we have, ‘why kill them with kindness when you can use a hammer?’, ‘smile, listen, agree, and then do whatever the fuck you wanted to do anyway..’(Robert Downey jr), and a billion others. On every conceivable topic.
inspiring, ‘the important thing is not to stop questioning. curiosity has its own reason for existing.’(Einstein).
For a generation that increasingly seems to display the average attention span of a baboon on shrooms with a rectal infection (or, It takes all kinds to make a world. Some are as i’ve been told, Bill Clinton), the only true doubtful in nature, some are misleading, some knowledge is that which can be summarised are blatantly false. These, i need not go into, in a hundred and sixty characters. That being it comprises most of what’s out there. Some said, there still remains the minority of the are political, ‘’First they ignore you. Then populace (this being you and other similar they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then minded people who could at the very least you win.’(for Anna Hazare)’, some are aimed read this entire column) who appreciate at pop culture, ‘i think lady gaga just puts that there just may be more to it than that.
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For a generation that increasingly seems to display the average attention span of a baboon on shrooms with a rectal infection, the only true knowledge is that which can be summarised in a hundred and sixty characters.
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glue on herself and rolls around in random items’(Orlando Bloom), and others at religion, ‘Retards. We all know one’. Some are lame, ‘wanna know what makes me smile? face muscles.’, some are corny, ‘birthdays are good for health. studies have shown that people who have more birthdays live longer.’, and some, plain crazy, ‘the ocean gets its saltiness from the tears of misunderstood sharks who just want to cuddle.’. Some turn up the corners of your mouth in a wry grin, ‘destroy racism. be like a panda. he’s black, he’s white, he’s asian and he’s chubby.’,some are so true they leave you feeling awkward ‘the moment when you have so much shit to do, you decide to take a nap instead.’, and some are truly
Look for it, that elusive bit that completes the picture, that goes beyond the ‘lol’ that etches itself on to your keyboard after a funny message, the bit that makes sense. It lies just beyond the page.
You don’t need to leave facebook and exile yourself to a cave in the misty mountains. You don’t need to go on a world-changing-candle-march demanding that facebook make sense. All I ask, is that, at least some of the time, use your brains. 5 LTGTR June ‘12
Of Criticism and beyond “
To be perfectly honest, it’s quite difficult not to criticise when you live in a country like India. Sometimes we use sarcasm to mask it, but more often than not we just start a tirade or a string of expletives.
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By Sahil Mehta
at the other end, but hey he/she probably deserved it.
It’s human nature to criticize. Some people do it less, others like me subject anything and everything to criticism. To be perfectly honest, it’s quite difficult not to when you live in a country like India. Sometimes we use sarcasm to mask it, but more often than not we just start a tirade or a string of expletives. It’s okay. It’s human nature. It’s a sign that we want more.
But what happens when it becomes a way of life?
Criticism is good, at times. Artists, writers, film directors do care about it. Ok maybe not Ram Gopal Verma, but still some of the others do. They appreciate it because it offers them a reflection of what people think of their work. It gives people a chance to improve. Criticism in other walks of life, too, has the potential to make spread awareness. To show dissent and disagreement with laws, governments, policies, acts. And that’s perhaps the single greatest reason to protect an individual’s right to expression and freedom of speech. The right to criticize is as important a right as any other. Similarly, well phrased, well mean sarcasm has the potential to make an impact that perhaps no other form of speech has. It makes people sit up, take notice and more often than not laugh. And that makes you remember. Of course, it can be humiliating for the person 6 LTGTR June ‘12
It becomes a poison that slowly pervades through society and makes people bitter. It decapacitates human thought and handicaps people to the point of inaction. It makes you a cynic, and the subject of your criticism defensive to the point of aggression. This is what happens on typical discussion of the state of India and the direction it is taking. One person will start by talking about how the government is ineffective, self-centered, power-hungry and thoroughly incompetent. Now at this point, the discussion might take one of several courses depending upon the personal thoughts of the other participant. But in all likelihood, he/she will agree and provide examples in support. Then we will take a trip down history lane and highlight each and
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In your hour and a half of criticizing the system, the government, the politicians, the bureaucrats and you fellow countrymen did we once try and come up with a solution ? Of course we didn’t.
every mistake that we know the ruling party to have committed. Eventually the discussion winds up with the sad conclusion that it is a sorry state. But good people, you, me and almost other person above the age of 18 likely to partake in such a discussion is already aware of this. In your hour and a half of criticizing the system, the government, the politicians, the bureaucrats and you fellow countrymen did we once try and come up with a solution. Of course we didn’t. There isn’t any, right?
BTW that line was sarcasm in case you didn’t get it. The questions at the root of the problems may be tricky, and the solutions even more elusive and complex, yet they shall never come about by endless criticism. They will come about if you stop criticizing and start thinking. It’s easy to criticize. It has always been so. Going beyond it, now that’s the hard part. Another example that comes to the mind from recent times is that of Satyamev Jayate. After the episode highlighting the fallings
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in the medical system, the response was all too predictable. People in their homes went on criticizing the doctors endlessly, bringing up each obscure case they had heard about, from their neighbours’ brother’s old friends’ neighbour who just happened to know someone who died. The doctors all too predictably became defensive and attacked the show. Sigh The show made an effort to highlight a problem and spread awareness. We took it and blew it out of proportion. Now every time you question a doctor he considers it a personal affront. Nobody cares about actually changing the system and getting rid of the few bad people.
I don’t mean to criticize, it might seem I do, but I don’t really. I just want to point out that criticism is good when you’re trying to make people aware of something. But then you cannot spend your entire life sitting on your comfy couches and telling anyone within listening range what’s wrong with life. It gets boring, it gets useless and it loses its impact value. You need to look beyond and look for solutions. A friend of mine in college takes an affront when he hears people say “India main kuch nahi badlega. India aisa hai/waisa hai...” He told me “Kyun nahi badlega. Main badlunga” Perhaps thats the lesson we need to take! 7 LTGTR June ‘12
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Dilution
Has love been diluted ? Has its expression become so easy that we have lost the importance of the words, “I love you”?
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love is perhaps the highest a human being can go. Of all the testaments scattered around the world, the testaments of love are the ones If you add 90 mL of water to 10mL of 1M HCl, that are most fondly remembered across what do you get? cultures and across the different phases of time. Of all the places in the world from What’s that? Yes! 100mL of 1/10 M HCl! wherein inspiration can be drawn; I can hardly You’ve got it! think of anything that is more inspiring of But wait, this isn’t a Chemistry Lecture! And so well being than the exploits of Romeo for that’s not the question that I have today, that Juliet or those of Ranjha for Heer no matter I’d like answered. The question is thus: the fictional nature of the first and the tragic nature of the latter. Has love been diluted?
By Harsh Joshi
Has its expression become so easy with the advent of SMS and IM and Facebook and other such tools that we have lost the importance of the words, “I love you”? I think so and it is something that depresses me to my utmost, because the expression of
Every morning after I get up, the first thing I do is message her, wishing her a good morning and expressing in 160 characters each day, the hopes and aspirations I hold dear. And as soon as the message is delivered I wonder; it is so easy these days isn’t it! You just have to pick up a phone, no effort required...punch a few
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the expression of love is perhaps the highest a human being can go ! Of all the testaments scattered around the world, the testaments of love are the ones that are most fondly remembered across cultures and across the different phases of time.
8 LTGTR June ‘12
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keys and off it goes! The testament of your love, in 160 character {n.b: Spaces are counted and paragraph breaks account for 2 characters} I feel bad sometimes, bad for our generation that we are so caught up with technology that we sometimes actually forget to feel the love that we are sending through telephone signals (Radio waves are they? Someone who knows should kindly clarify...) I feel bad for myself that I cannot deny the fact that however much I’d enjoy writing a letter to her each and every day, I don’t do it, just because sending a text is simpler. I feel bad because there are things and topics and I feel like talking to her about for hours on end but neither she nor I have the time to do any of it; because these days every living hour is spent in pointless assignments and projects and such that serve no real life purpose. No, contrary to your understanding I am not blaming you per se,
nor am I complaining about the injustice of it all, I just am wondering if technology has somehow crept up in the definition of our love. Can we (couples at large) still say that our bond is independent of any and all technological interferences? Only a few can and I am jealous of and still I am happy for them; jealous because I’d like nothing more than to be free of the dependency of technology for the expression of my love and because I envy their independence and happy for them…well for no other reason than because they are in love. It is the best feeling, believe me.
The way I understand it, the expression of love is important, it belittles conflict and paves the way for a happier tomorrow. we humans are a proud species, why depend on technology then? So, the next time I meet her I’ll say it more than I ever have, more than I do via technology. At least I’ll try and I hope that you’d try too! 9 LTGTR June ‘12
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woman, abused
At times she wonders what scares her more. Is it the mortifying abuse he wields or her infinite capacity to endure it all?
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By Shweta Khare She sat beside her sleeping daughter nestled in the warm depths of woven layers. Her gently rising and falling chest was a hypnotic rhythm, a slow drip of analgesic spreading through her veins. She looked at her delicate outline awash in lambent moonlight and felt the knotted pain dissolve into sedate nothingness. Half-conscious and drifting, she could almost touch the Elysian calm. But she knew, the storm was not so far. Surging and unbridled, she could feel the tempest pounding at the floodgates, not so far. She looked at her watery half-reflection in the
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reverberating within, crushing her inside with its sheer intensity. Her leaden heart sinks at the sight of pure hatred, at the sight of pure vengeance etched out on every single line of his hardened face. With a firm-set jaw she fights back a shudder of tears. A firm-set jaw so tightly clenched as if to restrain her grieving soul while the onslaught begins yet again. She has scoured the depths of her soul; she has searched in the hearts of her heart, to
The pain that stirred her when his acerbic subtle corrosion at her self-worth, flayed her flesh. Every word, his every action bore into her- that she is an ugly, a worthless being until this was the only truth she knew.
dark mirror; she saw the glaring imperfections screaming out at her. At times she wonders what scares her more. Is it the mortifying abuse he wields or her infinite capacity to endure it all? … Her withered past plays out the macabre reality of her life. Consumed in rage, he was shouting at her. His deafening voice was the only thing 10 LTGTR June ‘12
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know why. To know how can a person be so merciless, so heartless. But all she is left with is a pervasive, overwrought helplessness and the blue-black of scars she will forever hide from a million eyes. It felt unreal, like this could not possibly be happening. Years of violence had left her with a distorted sense of reality, numb and
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But now when she saw herself through the eyes of her daughter, she knew she had someone to give her unconditional love to, once again. She was beautiful…Once again.
unfeeling. Although she had grown to become so dead inside, she knew that the pain was very real…The pain that stirred her when his acerbic subtle corrosion at her self-worth, flayed her flesh. Every word, his every action bore into her- that she is an ugly, a worthless being until this was the only truth she knew. Living a life of contradictions- a smile on face, her façade to hide her writhing despair. Ending it all is the only escape. So alone, so miserably alone and for so long she has suffered…. there is nothing left in her hollowed remains. The thought is almost happy, the thought to be finally free. But then she is appalled at this vile thought, disgusted by her spineless, craven self. No, her daughter’s dreams are not as hollow; her daughter’s dreams are not as empty. And when she looks at her, the fell clutch of misery slips away…Maybe she wasn’t beautiful
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in the eyes of the man she had once pledged her heart to. Maybe she didn’t get the love she so yearned for, from the man she had once pledged her everything to. But now when she saw herself through the eyes of her daughter, she knew she had someone to give her unconditional love to, once again. She was beautiful…Once again. She picked up her daughter, rapt asleep and clutched her to her chest as she left that night. She was leaving, leaving behind the weight of yesteryears. She was leaving, leaving behind all her fears. The wind wailed for her sorrow that night, rushing past her silently falling tears of absolution.
She was leaving, leaving behind the weight of yesteryears…and she was a woman abused, no more. She is a woman and God! She is beautiful.
11 LTGTR June ‘12
The Filthy City “ The city is a big place. Big, at least, for those who
actually walk, or cycle, and look around you while doing it. Its a huge, winding, rambling, ramshackle organism filled with so many varied elements that it is impossible for a scrap of paper to describe.
By Kartheik G iyer I checked my hands. Yep, two of them. Still attached. Legs? Present and accounted for, too. Torso? Still holding it all together. Other assorted appendages? Internal circulation mechanism? Ocular, acoustic and olfactory equipment? All in a working or at least workable state. So far, so good. One can never be sure with these mass manufactured goods. I then looked at the shitty cycle, wheels high on air, rust in all the right places, and checked my footwear to see if the brakes were fine. It all seemed fair enough, and I set off.
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To a cyclist, the city seems to be in limbo. The petrol, diesel and other decomposed animal and fart powered vehicles whoosh by, not deigning to notice the humble two wheeler. The pedestrians, on the other hand, seem to be frozen in mid stride, as you pedal past. Occassionally, you slow down, sometimes by choice, as you see the sun go down between two enormous cranes busy creating yet one more floor for a high-rise skyscraper, or a kid struggling to climb a wall with one hand, a mango in the other.
You gaze, dumbstruck by any of the million things that make the city the place it is, a recalcitrant elephant urinating all over The city is a big place. Big, at least, for those the sidewalk, splattering pedestrians, the who actually walk, or cycle, and look around poor mahout poking ineffectually at it with you while doing it. Its a huge, winding, a blunt stick. You look at beggars pulling a rambling, ramshackle organism filled with so rude passenger out of an autorickshaw, for many varied elements that it is impossible for in the city, they can be choosers. At a temple a scrap of paper to describe. But then there in the middle of a slum, surprisingly clean are those who simply roll up their car windows despite the surroundings, the idol gleaming and drive from point to point, ignoring the yellow, bedecked with small sparkly scraps of traffic, the crowds, the beggars and the colourful cloth. At the roof of the slum, where eunuchs, the flower sellers, the kids peddling hundreds of digital television antennae receive pirated copies of popular books and cheaply the evening’s prime time entertainment, so manufactured toys, the chana and shingdana many, that they could all be interfaced to form peddlers, and the filth. To them, the city’s just a giant radio telescope, probably. At the trains. as big as the map tells. At the rains. 12 LTGTR June ‘12
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There is a point where shanties are clustered so closely together that there’s barely enough space to even walk by. For once, imagine, that you park your cycle, and go in.
Sometimes, though, the choice to slow down is taken out of your hands. The highway is treacherous, to all those who attempt it under their own steam. It goes up, and you cycle up the incline, huffing and puffing, while tempos try to run you over and bikers make weird faces. You reach the top, and gloriously start the downward journey, determined to build up speed till you can breeze by the next incline, but no, at the bottom, where you’re fastest, lies a fiend, cunningly disguised to look like a signal, that waits till you coast down and then turns red. Poof goes your speed, pop goes the weasel, and you look at the next upward slope and feel like your sphincter burst. Another antagonist in the general scheme of things for a cyclist, is the bus, the great equalizer. But that’s a story for another time. And there are times when pedestrians exist solely to jump at you, as if suicide was the plan, but if not, a damn good fight will do just fine.
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These are grim, gritty surroundings, and by subconscious intent, you pat your pocket just to make sure your wallet is secure. You see the piles of garbage, and imagine that there once must have been a bin underneath it, if you look hard enough you can even see a corner sticking out. Dogs and crows scavenge among the litter, unmindful of the broken bottles and other pieces of glass. If there was a walkway above, people would throw their trash right off. There are kids playing nearby. The smaller ones run after tyres and sticks, making sure they don’t fall with a surprising dexterity, the slightly older ones have already begun paying homage to what will most probably be a lifelong devotion to cricket.
You go in, and a riot of smells assail your nostrils, already overloaded from the stink outside, so thick you could scoop at it with a spoon. They say, that in the really big slums, you’ll be able to find anything under the sun, But you sense that i’m not telling you what ranging from imported car parts to women you need to hear. Only what you want to. I claiming to be your grandfather, to convoluted praised the city and insulted the buses, fueling political propaganda. I don’t know which is your patriotic ego and giving you something worse. A lot of stuff is cooking, fish is being to bitch about. But there’s more to it, and this fryed in cheap reused oil, vada’s emit their is the pill that’s usually difficult to swallow, particular scent, so does garlic, somewhere. especially since you’ve got so many troubles of Someone’s using some cheap cologne, clothes your own, so many worries. are drying, they’ve been starched too much. There are a thousand cheap television sets There is a point where cycling is no longer and transistors playing, their individual noises possible. When the shanties are clustered so blending in to the combined din. Traffic blares closely together that there’s barely enough on, unheeding. You wouldn’t hear a person space to even walk by. These are the parts screaming to death in this place, you realise. that you walk by every day, the parts that you The thought makes you uncomfortable, and pretend do not or should not exist. For once, your initial curiousity begins to fade. But you imagine, that you park your cycle, and go in. 13 LTGTR June ‘12
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good and evil are but words and at the end of the day, one still needs to fill one’s stomach. The thought that morals are only for the rich, and the poor need to do whatever they can to get by. The thought that all the childhood ideals are precisely that, stuff for children, the thought that there’s nobody out there who cares.
feel that this is something you have to do, and you push onwards. Some housewives are washing clothes, and the entire ground is slippery. Others are taking a bath. The handpump has a well cared for look about it. You climb up a rickety spiral staircase, and come out on an asbestos landing, among some television satellites. You see where the cable lines are spliced together, where the phone lines are tapped from the mains running along the road, ditto for electricity. Although authorities are cracking down on this, its not really helping. Where one wire is cut off, ten others will spring, like the far reaching effects of an underground revolution. Or the hydra. From here, you see some of the older children from up here clustering in groups, openly suspicious of your presence, yet not with the fear of the hunted, but with the desperation of the hungry. The ones who begin to realise the effects of being born in a country like ours in a place like theirs. The rapid disillusionment setting in, the way one feels that some doors are closed before they could get a chance to even reach them. That good and evil are but words and at the end of the day, one still needs to fill one’s stomach. The thought that morals are only for the rich, and the poor need to do whatever they can to get by. The thought that all the childhood ideals are precisely that, stuff for children, the thought that there’s nobody out there who cares. 14 LTGTR June ‘12
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There’s one thing you need to realise before you get out of here, climb on your cycle, and go back to your life. This is real, all of it, and poverty is not going to go away just because you pretend it doesn’t exist. But that’s not even the worst part. The worst is the indifference. You may have realised a lot here, but unless you hold on to it, unless you cherish the thought of your well being, of your incredible luck, you will forget. If you do, come back and read this again. The city needs help. whether you choose to help it is your decision.
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All those who know or have even remotely heard of Julius Ceasar, must also know that it was he who reportedly first used encryption to send missives to his generals. The encryption he used was to substitute letters with other letters a fixed interval downstream. That is A’s became D’s and B’s became E’s. This encryption (the one you see below) however, is a tad different and has been mentioned in contemporary literature. So, do you feel like brownie points? If yes, then try and solve this puzzle created for your very own pleasures by people here at OWJWU! Wait, what?
Sees excd 3 won sb Cprg fetcs aaua oorhra sezctra iyges zkotn spedali phd ita ore naem senns Gggao add tbea enr nmi hxtn 6se
Note: Spaces have no effect on the encryption. Disregard them and insert into the ‘Simple Text’ as required.
15 LTGTR June ‘12
Cheers to Democracy “ The truth is that our government, as a collective body, is in love with the idea of being a democracy without actually understanding what it really means to be a democracy.
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By Abhay Gupta You know what? I totally called it. Kapil Sibal is a tyrant. Well, fine, I can’t take credit for that. I’m sure I’m not the only one who spotted Sibal’s vendetta against internet freedom. I’m sure many of you have encountered these messages, or similar ones, when accessing your beloved torrent sites and your bookmarked porn hubs – “This site has been blocked as per the instructions of Competent Authority” I can’t say I wasn’t shocked. My initial reaction was to get out of home, track down said-competent authority and ***************************. What? Don’t tell me that wasn’t your immediate reaction. But I’m going to ease up on Sibal this time because, for all his faults, he’s not the master-criminal to this heinous act of shackling the internet. The truth is that our government, as a collective body, is in love with the idea of being a democracy without actually understanding what it really means to be a democracy is. See, their arguments for screening our content and taking down websites like Vimeo, Torrentz and any number of porn websites is that it stands to 16 LTGTR June ‘12
offend the sensibilities of certain religious or secular groups. Here’s a fun question. When have we, as a collective population, not succeeded in doing that, intentionally or not? Or more specifically, what on earth does our own government know about defending sensibilities? Let’s recap and try to remember how many of our kids couldn’t get into college because of the bill that made it mandatory for several quotas to get priority listing. We made the mistake of not having a distinct enough caste and our shiny 99 per cent marksheets were laughed away as our seat was given to some undeserving schmuck with an ‘OBC’ placard stapled to his head. Not that I have anything against OBC’s, or even have a proper idea of what injustices these poor people’s predecessors faced before I was born. It’s just that the government approached this the same way the American government tried to fight apartheid. By shifting the power balance to the wronged community instead of, you know, BALANCING it. But I digress. As I’ve said multiple times before, the internet is a domain where people are free to express any opinion they so desire. The government’s argument is that there are various Facebook groups promoting illwill towards secular groups, porn websites
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depicting religious deities and forums inciting people against political parties and this is cause of civil unrest within the nation. That’s all fine and dandy, dear government, but pause for a moment and understand that just because your carpet has a wine-stain on it doesn’t mean that the only feasible solution is to set the thing on fire. Blocking entire websites because of the stray offensive content on it is going to stir up nation-wide protests and possible riots and I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees the irony in this move. I’m also fairly confused as to why our government has a problem against piracy. I can somewhat understand America’s capitalist need for monopolizing their content, but why are we bothering? Whose sales are they going to affect? The road-side dvd-salesmen who can’t sell you their camrip knockoffs of movies because you’re perfectly content finding better quality on pirate bay? Motive aside, another thing that’s laughable about this whole campaign is the method and approach. For starters, it is damn near IMPOSSIBLE to screen every single website and filter through potentially inflammatory material. For every one website that you shut down, twenty more have already circulated. The only end-result is that you’ve gone ahead
the internet is a domain where people are free to express any opinion they so desire.
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and upset a whole number of communities who just wanted to watch a harmless cat video on Vimeo, only to find that MTNL, Reliance and other such telecommunication centers strongly disprove of your love for cat videos and probably trample kittens in their spare time. Now I hear Sibal’s been asked by Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Union health minister (yeah, I don’t know why he cares either), to assist in the formulation of the restrictions on the internet and how to go about making our lives miserable. Let’s all raise our middle fingers to these fine men in a lovingly sarcastic salute!
Before the decision to censor the internet, I found no reason why we had to march to China’s tune and give up being a democracy. Blocking Torrentz before the release of Don 2? Why? So that you can continue to hike the prices of movie tickets and make the cinematic experience that much more expensive? It’s like banning cycles or walking so that people started using more petrol. Is there a group on Facebook depicting Shiva as a pot-smoking philanderer? Well, shit, if only Facebook had an option that enabled us to REPORT IT AS OFFENSIVE. Then we wouldn’t have to turn to our mother government’s knees and cry about how our feelings got hurt! 17 LTGTR June ‘12
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It’s like banning cycles or walking so that people started using more petrol.
Honestly, there isn’t anything wrong with the system as is. If enough people report a page, it goes down. For every ten people downloading a movie, there are still three people willing to pay full price to watch it on the big screen. For every hate-page towards a political group, there’s a political group rioting and proving the hate-groups right in every possible way. And, as a final kick in the ovaries, they’re attacking porn. The one thing we ALL universally love about the internet. For all the stupid decisions the government’s made, this HAS to be the
18 LTGTR June ‘12
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kingpin of it all. Bravo, dear Government. We may continue to have our taxes mishandled, our education system wrecked to a bleeding mess and corruption rampant amongst our governing bodies, but you’ve reminded us that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is more important than Censorship of the internet, the media and all public opinion. Cheers to democracy!
The Liquored Departure
By Pritika Magima Glistening red liquid, dancing on the lips to once again, make me live. Like the wind, Like the whims of a teen. The clanking of glasses, In fake joy, In forced reassurance, of a brighter day tomorrow. Where sabotage isn’t the motto, where sweat is accounted for, where questions aren’t left to rot. My drunken stupor and the so called words of wisdom, of philosophy and future, of love and life lost, pave the way to the glories,
of a world unknown to all. Tomorrow the world will glow, in submission to the synchronized behavior of work and play… Tomorrow will be another day. Yet tonight, is an escapade, To lands of leprechauns and gold like honey, of jovial nature and unnatural glee. I let the liquid dance on my tongue, and let rainbows decide my fate. Of mist and mint Of not an obligated journey, Of dreams and fantasies, and thus, a contempt of reality. 19 LTGTR June ‘12
The Treasure guards “ the treasure guards were
a group of fierce and brutal warriors whose only purpose was to prevent the treasure from falling into the wrong hands. The fierce guardians have become non - existent. But we actually encounter treasure chests and the guards on a daily basis - we just don’t notice or rather - the lack of grandeur blinds us.
”
By Sree Hari Disclaimer: The concerned article is based on a true incident and all resemblances are completely intentional. We all grew up listening to various tales about expeditions to unearth hidden treasures. The brave treasure-hunters had to cross daunting seas, fend off hideous monsters and make a lot of sacrifices just to get to the treasure trove. But in order to attain it, they had to face their wildest nightmare - the treasure guards. They were a group of fierce and brutal warriors whose only purpose was to prevent the treasure from falling into the wrong hands. Absolutely dedicated to their cause, they would readily give up their lives to protect the treasure. No, I’m definitely not going to tell you another boring “once upon a time” fable. As the times have evolved, our perception of treasure in modern times has certainly become less 20 LTGTR June ‘12
glamorous. The fierce guardians have become non - existent. But we actually encounter treasure chests and the guards on a daily basis - we just don’t notice - or rather - the lack of grandeur blinds us. It was 4 pm on a fine Thursday when I left home. I had promised my cousin that I would pick him up from school at sharp 3:30 and take him to his favourite ice cream parlour. The first installment of my internship salary had been credited and I had been blackmailed by mom to donate the first 100 rupees as an offering in the nearby temple. I rushed to the ATM to take out cash and as I swung open the door, it hit the security guard. I mumbled a half-hearted apology, withdrew the amount and came out. As I was about to get on my bike, I noticed the blank expression on his face. I don’t know what prompted me but I dismounted, went to him and asked “I am very sorry sir, Did it hurt?” His reaction shocked me. He hugged me and
“
After somehow managing to soothe and pry him away, I had a good look at him. His face was criss-crossed with wrinkles making him look terribly old. His frame was terribly lean, as though desperately needing a support. His uniform was dirty and he badly needed a clean - up.
started sobbing uncontrollably. After somehow managing to soothe and pry him away, I had a good look at him. His face was criss-crossed with wrinkles making him look terribly old. His frame was terribly lean, as though desperately needing a support. His uniform was dirty and he badly needed a clean-up. I proceeded to ask him the reason for his tears. He replied, “So many people hit me accidentally and pass, many say sorry and pass by, it’s the first time that someone has gotten out of his vehicle to apologize to me. I’m just used to being snubbed and ignored by people who come here.” “Why are you working even though you are so old?” was my shameless remark. He looked at me firmly in the eye and said, “I need to survive, son. I have a crippled daughter to look after. I used to be a driver but now my eyes are failing me and my reflexes are not so sharp. What other job will I get at this age?” I probed further, “Who looks after your daughter when you are away?” The guard could hardly believe that I was taking so much interest in his case and meekly replied, “My last employers gifted her a wheelchair when I left them. She has learned to manage herself. But still I have to work 18 hrs a day,
”
and God looks after her then.” I automatically took out the first 100 rupee note from my internship amount - I had promised to make an offering in the temple first before doing anything with the money and put it into his pocket. He refused to accept it and tried to thrust it back into my hand. I told him categorically that I would not budge from that place till he accepted it. I told him that it was a gift of affection and that I would be severely offended by his refusal. No one wins an argument with me. He finally resigned and accepted it. The amount must be more than his wage for the day. “I have guarded this treasure chest day and night for so many months, yet I have never got a single note from this. God bless you, I will buy a chocolate for my daughter with this and tell her that I met a gentleman today.” None of the lines that I’ve read on economic equality and class struggles by Lenin, Guevara, Marx or Engels came to my mind then. Just the flashing image of my dad who still works post - retirement for the sake of his only son. I immediately touched the guard’s feet, his efforts to stop me in vain. As I rose, I made mental notes to lie to my mom about having made the offering and to my cousin about the heavy traffic delaying me. And as I walked away, I made sure to hide the tear in my eye from his gaze.
21 LTGTR June ‘12
The Best Of Good Times Dear Readers, On August 6, 2010 we began a journey. A journey to encourage imagination, creativity and more than anything the joy of reading and writing. In these two years, Let The Good Times Roll (LTGTR) has become a platform for hundreds of people to express themselves. We have tried our very best to bring forth some unconventional, unique and off-beat articles. These articles have expressed thousands of emotions, opinions, experiences and lifestyles. As we approach our 2nd Anniversary, we will compile the very best of these into a special issue so that you, the readers, can relive some of those articles which touched your soul. But this time, WE WANT YOU to choose the articles, to choose the emotions and views which connected with you, to choose the BEST OF LTGTR. Below is the link to a Facebook Poll where you can vote for your favorite articles. We have already nominated a few, but feel free to add any that we might have missed. You can also use this opportunity to go back and read some of our older articles. The poll closes on 20th of July. http://www.facebook.com/questions/517708518258823/ As always, we would like to thank you for your love and support without which we wouldn’t have reached this landmark! Cheers & Keep The Good Times Rolling. Sincerely Team LTGTR
“
Trip hop Trip hop is often cited as the British alternative to American hip hop, characterized by the inclusion of bizarre noises, slow beats, prominent bass and sometimes gloomy undertones.
”
By Anusmita Datta
hop genre. Trip hop is often cited as the British alternative to American hip hop. At the same A MUSIC COMMENTARY time that Hip hop was becoming popular Much has been said about the teeny - bopper in America (the early nineties), trip hop gained a large audience in Britain, and later, pop music flooding the airwaves nowadays. around the world. Trip hop is characterized The invasion of barely pre teen musicians by the inclusion of bizarre noises, slow beats, singing about things we were forbidden to prominent bass and sometimes gloomy even talk about when we were growing up. Risqué videos accompanying these songs have undertones. It is what a trip would sound like if it were somehow converted to music. Hence only made them more popular. Are these artists even of legal age? Where have the good the term “Trip hop” was coined. Secondly both these bands were active in the nineties. old nineties gone? Although I must confess I did listen to my fair share of Backstreet Boys when I was growing up, the derision I received from my peers for doing so only led me to discover the two amazing bands I’m going to talk about later on. Firstly these two bands belong to the trip – 24 LTGTR June ‘12
Bristol is oft called the birthplace of trip hop owing to the many artists of the genre who got their start in the city. This port city in southwest England is where the abovementioned two bands originated. Portishead is an English trio consisting of Beth Gibbons, Adrian Utley and Geoff Barrow.
Although the band was formed in Bristol, it was named after another town ‘Portishead’ situated a few miles away. Famous for being extremely media shy, they released their debut album called Dummy in the year 1994. Despite the lack of promotion for the album as well as the band, the album did very well in terms of sales. Although Dummy was their first album, it is considered to be their best one. Rolling stones magazine granted upon it their greatest honour by naming it one of the best albums of all time. Their songs were sensual, dark and weird and were sung beautifully by vocalist Beth gibbons. The single “Numb” was also accompanied by an equally dark and creepy video. The scratchy, melodic and completely unique voice
Portishead
possessed by Beth Gibbons heightened her as well as the Portishead’s popularity. The combination of her deeply sensual voice, stark bass guitar, bizarre sampling and slow drum beats made ‘Numb’ a song like no other. Another single off the album- ‘Glory box’ was of course sexier, in reference to the name of the song. This song was slightly more upbeat owing to the violins and less prominent bass. Nonetheless it didn’t stray too far from their trademark sound. ‘Sour times’ sounded like it should be in the climax scene of a James Bond movie. Clever sampling of music and Gibbons’ vocals made this song exciting as well as depressing at the same time. Their next self titled album was released after a long hiatus and although the music and the videos seemed more experimental, it went on to become more popular than the first album. Here I’d like to mention how many artists completely fall flat when performing live, but Beth Gibbons’ flawless vocals and stage persona captivated the audiences at their live show in Roseland Ballroom, NY. Her looks were in no way comparable to say Madonna or the present day Beyonce nor did she come out on stage with the ‘glam costume plus dance troupe’ thingamajig. She was tomboyish even 25 LTGTR June ‘12
but no one could deny the captivating live vocals. Portishead discreetly left an indelible impression.
Massive Attack
Beth Gibbons is often compared to Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, which brings me to the next band. Massive Attack, also from Bristol, is currently made up of DJs Grantley “Grant” Evan Marshall (Daddy G or “G”) and artist Robert Del Naja (3D or “D”) although previously they had a third member who was also DJ. They collaborated with Liz Fraser, whose voice was once said to be the ‘voice of god’, on their most well known and used songs- ‘Teardrop’, it being most famous for being used as the theme song for drama series ‘House’. My use of various adjectives for both female singers might suggest a slight girl crush on both of them but let’s not get sidetracked. Fraser collaborated with them extensively on their third and most well- known album, Mezzanine. Another track ‘Angel’, with its deep, dark vocals and sharp beats, went on to be featured in quite a few movies, most notably in ‘Snatch’. Their first album Blue Lines came out in the year 1991 and contained the beautiful track ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ sung by Shara Nelson. Her ballad style vocals were complimented beautifully by a dark and elaborate string arrangement to give the song a rather dangerous edge. On their next album Protection they collaborated with Tracey Thorn, vocalist of Everything but the Girl. Her smooth, alto voice made the track ‘Protection’ sound optimistic and cheery albeit it’s rather depressing lyrics. Although both these bands are still active and performing at concerts around the world, the glory days of trip hop are long gone. Their songs have been covered by various artists such as Incubus and Newton Faulkner but no new artist has been able to match the unique trip hop sound and no current female vocalist 26 LTGTR June ‘12
can match the effortless sensuality and uniqueness possessed by Beth gibbons and Liz Fraser. When thinking of current artists who could possibly have the unique trip hop sound, the Russian band Rekevin comes to mind. With their unique, almost jazzy sound combined with the great vocals by lead singer Ksenia Istenko, Rekevin seems like the closest match to Portishead or Massive attack. Ksenia Istenko possesses a smooth voice and a sexy persona which will hopefully make her as legendary as Beth Gibbons or Liz Fraser. Although they are currently unsigned, one can only hope that they will stick around for a long time.
Rekevin - Ksenia Istenko
Interview
Giri ‘pickbrain’ Balasubramaniam
By Sowjanya D Reddy Q. Please introduce yourself sir. Giri Balasubramaniam known as Pickbrain in the world of quizzing. CEO of Greycaps. Education: MBA in Media Management | Masters Degree in Gandhian Philosophy and Thought Career: Times of India | Walt Disney Corporation | Founder Quizbrain.com | CEO Greycaps Q. What is your Company all about? What does it do? How many people are involved in it? Greycaps is the country’s largest onstage quizzing and knowledge services company. We host over 150 quiz shows on TV, on stage and publish quiz books that have reached over a
quarter million children so far. We are team of about 20 people passionate about what we do. Q. What made you start this company? What first gave you this idea? We were a bunch of passionate quizzers who were really driven by the challenge to revamp the way quizzing is regarded and how the way in which quizzes engage various audience. We saw the importance of being informed in a knowledge economy and worked towards making quizzing more a mind sport than a nerdy activity based on recall of facts. It was not an idea that was pursued to be a startup or a company, it was just good intention to host quiz shows in a more engaging manner that led to greater demand, feasible economics and therefore became a company. 27 LTGTR June ‘12
Q. How difficult was it to start-up? Did you receive any set-backs? How did you deal with them? It was difficult for a simple middle class family boy to take a call to quit a fairly rewarding career with an MNC and get into a business space that does not have too many companies to learn from. Set Backs are part of any journey. I always tell college students, if you are on a path that has no problems, then you may well be on the wrong path. The resolve to not give up on what you want to achieve should be so resolute that you deal with the issues without making them seem larger than life. Q. How did people close to you react when you told them you were going to start a company of your own? How did you feel? I was a first time entrepreneur for my family and at the time of taking the decision I was working for Walt Disney and the transition was never easy. Infact, from all my B-schools batch mates that I would have spoken to at the time, half advised me to take the plunge, the other thought it was foolish to quit a cushy Disney job. The key is you need to back yourself sometimes and give yourself a chance – we in India have very few entrepreneurs because we just don’t give our own selves a chance!
In a country like ours the only way to development and progress is education. There is also a great need to get equipped beyond what the curriculum offers us and that is where quizzing comes in as a powerful alternative tool for learning and development. The rural programs that we have created are a testimony to the mass effect that quizzing can have. Our Rural IT Quiz for the Government of Karnataka itself draws a participation of over 1.4 million kids each year. Q. What were the sources of finance you could leverage? None. To this day we not sought external funding. I am strong advocate of every entrepreneur not going the venture capital way till the business actually makes money to sustain itself. For us, at Greycaps, we have been able to manage our business and growth from what we earn so we are a self reliant model. Q. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What are your plans for the future? We would like to see ourselves in every state of India in the next five years. We currently touch 20 states with our programs and products. We also see ourselves emerging in a strong way on the digital and mobile platform with what we do. Q. How do you now see entrepreneurship? Some tips for upcoming entrepreneurs?
Q. How have you mastered the art of quizzing First and foremost is to think of yourself as the ? Was is it an inborn talent or have you worked customer and honestly define what you would on your interests to get here? expect and what price you would pay. It tells I am a great believer that any talent can be you where you stand. If you are convinced you cultivated. Everyone is born equal, it is what offering is great, the market is always there for we make of our lives from the time allocated it. to us. For any profession to be a leader all that Patience is a great virtue in for every young one needs is tremendous focus, discipline and entrepreneur. It is also very important to have passion. Once these three align and you set a set of mentors or advisors who would call a your sight on your goals any peak is scalable. spade a spade. Growth is always in the people Q. How will your work affect the masses? 28 LTGTR June ‘12
you hire. The more capable your team, the
greater the growth you achieve. Start young for that is when you have least baggage and nothing to lose. India is today a fantastic ground for young entrepreneurs. The opportunity is like never before and it is global. I sometimes think as a nation we would do well with regular spells of recession. It forces youngsters to try their hands at the ideas in their minds and one leads to another and before you realize it you have an enterprise. Easy campus placements and fancy salaries don’t help create entrepreneurs. Q. Quizzing is an unique career option . What would you want to tell our future quiz masters ? Any suggestions or tips ?? Quizzing is becoming a big industry thanks to TV and the number of brands that look for meaningful events to connect with their customers. The quiz business is like planting mango trees. It takes a good five to six years to set its roots (read establish credibility) and then gives you an annual crop that keep you going.
favorite memories? What lesson do you think people should take from college? It is certainly my college days that shaped my character in many ways. I was an active cricketer during those days and I think it is sport that taught me how to handle defeat and work with people as a team. The best think to take from college are your friends – mark my words they are the ones who know the ‘true you’ and will stand by you through rain and sunshine. Q. Who has been your inspiration and driving force since your childhood and throughout your career? Cliché as it may sound, I draw a lot of inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and feel it must be made compulsory to have one subject on Gandhian Philosophy in our schools. Reading about Gandhiji and researching about him has been as valuable as the formal education I received. Q. Any such belief as a “formula for success”? Yes it is a one word answer: Hardwork.
Q. How many writers and editors does your team consist of? How easy was it to find these people? We are team of 20 odd people. 50% of them would be part of research and product development. The youngsters these days are a lot more capable than we were when we passed out of school or college. The key is to get them to be passionate about what they do. Once they set their minds, they are brilliant. Q. What do you look for in your employees that you take? Is it knowledge , creativity or sincerity etc.? Apart from the skills required for the vertical they are joining we certainly look for the right attitude, a dash of humour, the ability to connect with others and a willingness to learn. Q. How was your college life? What are your 29 LTGTR June ‘12
Book Reviews
The gold bat - pg wodehouse “
P.G. Wodehouse shows us what’s wrong with modern literature and culture- too much sex, drama, tension and pessimism. Not every piece of fiction has to be grandiose. A true work of great literature is turning a mundane event into a page turner.
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By Anusmita Datta There is a reason why people around the world love P.G. Wodehouse. He can make anyone connect to any story, no matter how little the reader may know about the world of British private schools. I must thank my high school English Literature teacher- Mrs. D’souza for including P.G. Wodehouse books into the curriculum. The gold bat is one of his early works and maybe that’s why it deals with teen school life so brilliantly. My edition (the Indian edition)is called The Gold Bat & other stories though i did not come across any other story, but I’m not complaining. P.G. Wodehouse shows us what’s wrong with modern literature and culture too much sex, drama, tension and pessimism. For the first time in a long time I read a book and laughed heartily at the subtle, sarcastic and light-hearted humour. Not every piece 30 LTGTR June ‘12
of fiction has to be grandiose. A true work of great literature is turning a mundane event into a page turner. The Gold Bat , is set in the fictional private school called Wrykyn. The popular school prefect and captain of the school and Donaldson house rugby team - Trevor, is in the middle of a crisis as his precious ‘Gold Bat’, which is given to captain of the winning cricket team, is lost by his friend, and resident slacker, O’Hara and which shows up at a crime scene. The plot further thickens when the dreaded ‘League’ is resurrected and begins to sabotage Trevor’s efforts at building a winning Rugby team to win the match against arch rivals- The Ripton school. Having studied in a British style school myself I could completely relate to the story although this one is set in an all-boys school. The “prefects”, “houses”, school rivalry, strict rules,
“ The Gold Bat , is set in the fictional private school
called Wrykyn. The story weaves through the eccentricities of British schools and one can’t help but think of the famed “Eton” as one reads the book.
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eccentric school traditions and fierce loyalty can be recognized by anyone who has studied in British - era Indian schools.
symbiotic and complex relationship between a senior and a “fag” (I hear this term is not in use anymore for obvious reasons albeit the innocent meaning here!), the students’ I find present day depictions of school life studies, tea brewing and Greek lessons to be completely unfathomable and secretly conjure up images of jovial, snooty, polite and thank the heavens that I graduated a long time perfectly well groomed Englishman- just how back. I still refuse to believe that teenage life we imagine them always! is as dreary as portrayed on “The Gossip Girl”, “Pretty little liars”, “Modern Family” or our Oh why did the Americans have to ruin dry very own “Remix”. British sarcasm with their crass toilet humour. I must say I’m mighty glad and chuffed to bits The story weaves through the eccentricities of that I found me this book at the right time. It’s British schools and one can’t help but think of high time I returned to my favourite author. To the famed “Eton” as one reads the book. The P.G.Wodehouse - I salute thee!!!
P. G. Wodehouse
31 LTGTR June ‘12
Book Reviews
The asocial Networking - Dhiraj Kumar “
The book ‘The Asocial Networking : Musings On The Real & Online Worlds’ is akin to the vision of the compound eye. It is a book which presents itself in many different bodies of texts, all essentially separate and still linked by the fabric of networking both online and offline.
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By Harsh Joshi Good literature doesn’t tell the story of the past or of the future. However, it tells the story of the present in a manner that can be interpreted in both ways. The book ‘The Asocial Networking : Musings On The Real & Online Worlds’ is akin to the vision of the compound eye. It is a book which presents itself in many different bodies of texts, all essentially separate and still linked by the fabric of networking both online and offline. It views our world (that of networking and that of the Earth at large as well) from an angle that is sometimes removed, allowing it to view the world a few years down the line and to see or project its form after a couple of centuries. On the other hand it also dives into our personal space in the present, highlighting what we all do online and interpreting it’s implications and the reasons behind those interactions found in the aptly dubbed ‘real world’. 32 LTGTR June ‘12
As the author Dhiraj Kumar says, “For an addict like myself it means multiplying my entire lifespan by two adding a windfall gain to my longevity” -- the book tries and succeeds to a fair extent in breaking down social networking into personalized niches, into whys and whats of behaviour and explaining why Facebook and other such sites as Twitter, Orkut, LinkedIn and MySpace are gaining popularity or ever held popularity. The book holds true the notion that the essential reason behind their widespread usage is their tendency to provide instant gratification. A few articles allude to and challenge the much believed misconception that Social Networking by itself helps make new friends and also speaks of the development of interpersonal interactions over the ‘Public Space’, all thanks to social networking sites. The book is a pseudo - repository of the things that irk most of us who partake in social networking and things that ought to be done, rules that need be followed or at least prescribed to. (Heavens
why?! Rules are everywhere already!) Dhiraj also points out in his first book the motives behind people’s actions online and compares the exchange of likes and comments as similar to the barter system that once existed and that Dhiraj postulates will exist in the future.
The book provides a perhaps much needed ‘Indian’ perspective of networking -- not that it cannot appeal to an international readership but certain aspects that make it Indian. For instance, this passage imagined in the context of Moonh-Dikhai:
Largely the book deals with the happenings of social networking but it loses track sometimes, going out on a limb to speak of issues ranging from the future of very current and in vogue technologies, to the future implications of society’s materialistic and consumerist tendencies in the present thereby projecting a future which is in the vein of minimalist theories, the denizens of which lack any and all attraction towards technological advancements and indulge in the most basic of needs relating to nature and nurture. Dhiraj projects a future quite unlike our present, which works on the principles of monopoly (or oligopoly), resource-driven growth, high individualism and modulation of education, technology and individual ability which has started to appear already in our society especially in the field of education.
“Mr. A: What does your son do?
Dhiraj Kumar
Mr. B: He is a computer engineer Mr. A: I am fed up with these computer engineers. In my own family, 90% of people are computer engineers…If you know somebody who has not seen a computer or used a digital device, then please let me know. Mr. B: I am very sorry ji. I too am fed up with this computer culture!” On the whole, ‘The Asocial Networking: Musings On The Real & Online Worlds’ is a good effort on Dhiraj’s part towards self - appraisal and towards understanding the driving force behind the compulsion that most of us feel, myself included to network on the internet. To his renown he was able to express the demise of Facebook’s valuation fairly before it’s IPO in Feb 2012 and the idea that even though Facebook might decline social networking whether online or offline is here to stay. {A remarkable observation favoring offline networking to its online counterpart on Pg. 137 reads: “Smileys are just too terse and inhuman to give expression to all the human emotions I wish to see from my friends”}. That being said, I feel it is pertinent to mention that the impact of the book is marred very much by overuse of phrases and general repetition and many typographical and grammatical errors that should have been avoided and would increase the appeal of the book if so revised in subsequent editions. I do congratulate Dhiraj Kumar on a wonderful first effort and wish him luck for all his future endeavors.
33 LTGTR June ‘12
Forgotten reel Spies “
I may not be the typical 50 something acerbic movie reviewer and definitely not the one who has seen everything but believe me I know a word or two
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By Pragyananda Mishra It has been few years since I discovered the art of gluing close to a laptop, stuffed in the tiniest of the spaces at times, plugging in the earphones, frantically searching for the subtitles and praising to the serial rippers for the wonderful releases. Ignore the ethical factor and these people are certainly the most revered ones for those who live, eat and drink celluloid. Among the myriad hues of genres, modern cinema (after 1950’s) has seen some of the best movies and the most probing climaxes in the Espionage segment. In here I intend to list my top 5 movies which have been long forgotten and are far too much underrated than they should be. I also fill the spaces with a few words of wisdom (I may not be the typical 50 something acerbic movie reviewer and definitely not the one who has seen everything but believe me I know a word or two). 34 LTGTR June ‘12
1. Three days of the Condor (1975) Stand out performance : Robert Redford as Joe Turner Suspense quotient : 6/10 Plot : As a low level CIA researcher “who is paid to read almost everything that has been published” this is Condor’s tale of bringing the skeletons out of the CIA’s closet after the gruesome death of his colleagues. Being voted as one of the sexiest men of the century he does what spies love to do with hostages and women.
4. Day of the Jackal (1973) Stand out performance : Edward Fox as Jackal Suspense quotient : 9.5/10 Plot : Adaptation of Forsyth’s classic novel of the same name, the movie matches the book in every aspect and even heightens the tension and the famous “will he shoot?” query that the audience 2. North by Northwest (1959) hold on to for 2 hours. Stand out performance : Cary Grant as Kaplan/ Weapon smuggling, Thornhill car chases, sex with a hot-single-but-mingleSuspense quotient : 8/10 stranger make the Plot : An advertising movie a feast for the executive is on the eyes. run as he falls into a vicious trap set by a real spy working 5. The American (2010) for ‘the’ agency. Stand out performance : George Clooney as What follows is Jack/Edward framing for murder, Suspense quotient : 8/10 running for cover and rescuing a blond Plot : This is a classic example atop Mt. Rushmore. A of the million movies which Hitchcock masterpiece. feature an instance of ‘This is my last! No more’ cases. Being a master 3. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) assassin Jack manages to Stand out performance : Gary Oldman as camouflage very well in George Smiley the streets of Italy and finds an accomplice. The last scene of Suspense quotient : 6/10 the separation/craving/meeting Plot : A spy operation gone wrong and the is worth seeing! lead is accused to be the mole and is terminated of his office. Years later the British Intelligence needs him again and he uses all his espionage skills to unearth the fiasco and the men who led to his ungraceful exit.
The movies listed above are 5 in number and in no way are the best rated in IMDB but it needs a comprehensive viewing. Among the bigwigs we can always shower plaudits to the Bourne’s, The Bond’s and The Mission Impossible’s.
35 LTGTR June ‘12
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Puzzle Answer :
Well, I confess. This was a self-referencing puzzle as those who cracked it with the given hints got to this page. Clever isn’t it? But did you crack it or just flipped through the pages; because if you did the latter then the next one might me a bit harder. However, for those who seek conformation here is the answer to the puzzle on page 15:
So this is an encrypted message and is based on the Caesars box puzzle Get cracking and go to page 36 for the answer and more
36 LTGTR June ‘12
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If you were able to crack the previous code, this wouldn’t be that much hard but the answer would only be published in the next issue. So hang on to your hats and happy code breaking. Not hard to crack once you get the hang of it. Here however, spaces matter. 9161 736233 53519251 11213251 2362 3192113122 238151 7292514391623313 31624151 23819113 53623332415223 2151 23811123 42333181 81119241 213323 238151 115213535192 5362333241 62523273 2151 723321329113815141 9152 238151 52516323 9113133351 1362 81115271 6252 2362 73623392 81112313 115241 8111727273 316241512192511122915271 625251 6261 238151 42621323 516161513123914351 53117313 2362 711123815192 41112311 115241 9152616292421123916252 1121623323 1152 5152514273 6292 726223515223911132 5152514273 9113 2173 915261913223921123915271 238151 515251427313 9211522213 23819113 9113 238151 126221 6261 238151 137273 511372916252117151 1171515223 1372915113 311152 2192915271 21113122 113232 1362922313 6261 9152616292421123916252 31625231519252915271 238151 13918351 115241 1323925152712381 6261 1152 5152514273 11924273 23815173 311152 11321362 61915241 41911313914151522313 539123819152 238151 515251427313 616292315113 115241 915261323351523151 23815142 2362 415161513123 9152 2391425113 6261 319291139113 1372915113 311152 11321362 2151 33135141 2362 1323511132 23513181526232627173 115241 2362 1311216223117151 238151 5152514273 9152 43119291623313 53117313 3162335223519291522351323291715152 3151 62725192112391435113 311152 61515141 6111321351 9152616292421123916252 2362 5152514273 1372915113 72926223513123915271 914272629223115223 4162425113239131 13513192512313 115241 72925143515223915271 1123235142722313 1123 13332143519213916252 525111923273 5143519273 31623352239273 811113 43519273 132392913123 32115313 31625231519252915271 511372916252117151 115241 238151 72515211322373 616292 2151915271 311133718123 9113 6261235152 135143519251 81625351435192 238151 2151525161912313 23811123 311152 2151 711191525141 23819262337181 511372916252117151 119251 715152519211323273 7192511123 515262337181 23811123 42621323 7162435192524251522313 115241 42115273 3211927151 316292726292112391625213 42112251 331351 6261 9123 2362 43119273915271 41517192515113
Hint: Number Substitution. Enjoy!
37 LTGTR June ‘12