Quote of the Moment
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. - Oscar WildeA boy with a parrot on his shoulder was walking along the railway tracks. Before he found himself in this strange place he had begun his day as any other waking up to the sound of his parrot squawking in his ear. After completing the usual getting out of bed formalities he set off with the singular objective of reaching the Grand Central Aerostation before 7 a.m. He stepped outside to see the overhead Skydome appear clear and bright. A few minutes of brisk walking brought him to the station just in time to hear the pleasant female voice announce that the next Skyship to Chennaiki was about to depart. Several hundred people were milling about in the cavernous main hall of the station. He went to the familiar North – East corner where his food shop was located. Several thousand years after the cavemen had arrived the one constant that defined humanity was its insatiable appetite. He looked into the security panel that scanned his iris to disable the physical barrier that secured his tiny shop. He thought to himself that when he could afford it he would upgrade his security to the DNA enhanced one. He activated the automated cleaner and sat down to do business. Ruski his parrot flapped her wings and flew out of his shop as she was want to on a slow day. The day dragged on until it was time for lunch. Even though he sold food he always ate home cooked food as a custom. It was also time for Ruski to feed on her corn. It had been an unusually long while since she had flown away. He flicked on his electronic display to ascertain where Ruski was with the help of her radio tracker. It indicated that she was just outside the entrance to the station. He would have to go fetch her. He set the shop to Away mode. It faded from view with the message "WILL BE RIGHT BACK" projected into the air in front of it. He made his way through densely populated station towards its entrance. He could see Ruski perched on a branch of the ancient oak that he always imagined to be a solemn & somber guardian of the station. He called out her name hoping to avoid stepping through the giant security frame which he had never grown comfortable with. However she seemed oblivious to any sound whatsoever and remained focused on pecking at something too small for him to perceive from where he stood. He took out his World Identity card which he would have to swipe at the entrance on reentering the station. He walked out of the station, hunger signals plaguing his brain at every step.
He heard a sparking sound followed by a distant boom. He looked up towards Ruski again and the Skydome began fading to black extinguishing all light with it. The world around him was plunged into darkness. All worldly sounds stopped. He could only here himself breathe. He closed his eyes unable to process this abrupt change. Was it real? It would surely go away when he opened his eyes. He heard someone calling out his name. He opened his eyes to brilliant sunlight filtering through the oak tree. It took a few moments to adjust to the light and to subsequently realize that it was Ruski who had been calling out his name. For the better part of a decade he had been trying to make her talk and yet only at this inexplicable moment of his life she chose to speak. He called out her name. She responded by saying "How are you doing, ‘Omar’?" and proceeding to settle on his shoulder. He looked around him. He saw two horses tied to a strange contraption with wheels arriving towards him. He had seen one of these animals as a child in the animatronic center several years ago. They seemed like noble and majestic creatures then. Now they just seemed aggressive and unruly and he moved away from their path. He turned around to see the entrance to the station. It looked as it usually did with the exception of the giant security frame that usually adorned its entrance. He stepped into the station unhindered by human being or machine. People in strange attire strolled about leisurely. It was strange to see so few people at this hour at Grand Central and moving at such a slow pace too. Didn’t they realize how much they would have to struggle to avoid standing in the Skyships. He headed towards the North East corner of the main hall hoping that getting back to his shop would put every thing back in perspective. When he reached there however, he saw that where his shop should have been there was nothing but a stranger sitting with a sizable quantity of footwear spread on a piece of cloth. He appeared to be beckoning prospective customers as they passed by bellowing loudly the price of a pair. To Omar it seemed he was insulting them and yet almost none took any heed of him. He went up to him and asked "Where did my food shop go?" .The man looked at him with a quizzical expression before simply saying "Where in the world do they dress like you do? I would love to sell that stuff here". Omar looked at himself. He was wearing a regular all weather one piece suit. It was the most popular attire among the commoners. Omar shrugged and walked away comforted by the fact that the people here spoke the same language. He heard a female voice announce "The train to Chenna will arrive on platform No 8 in 15 minutes”. Fifteen Minutes he thought. Skyships arriving at the station were only announced a few seconds before their arrival. The people here seemed to have a lot of time on their hands. He tried to spot this machine that was called a train by walking further into the station. He noticed that there were several sets of strange metallic lines that ran along the ground. They stretched on endlessly as far as the eye could see. He made up his mind to follow these lines hoping that they would lead to some familiar place. He set off at a steady pace trying to remain oblivious to all the out of the ordinary objects that were spread throughout this world. He didn’t realize that Ruski had flown off his shoulder. His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a loud continuous whistling sound. It seemed to get closer to him with every step he took. Unmindful of it however he pressed on. A few moments later he could no longer ignore it and started to turn around. Before he could he found himself bodily pushed sideways with considerable force. He lost his footing and fell face first onto the adjacent set of metallic lines just as a gigantic metal machine rolled by with considerable speed on the same set of lines he had been walking along. The wind generated by the machine as it passed by caused his neatly coiffed hair to lose structure instantly. He lay on the ground paralyzed as he just watched the worm like machine for the few seconds it took to completely pass him by. It took him a few moments to regain his bearings and sit up. It was only then that he noticed a girl his age standing next to him. Unlike the other people at the station she looked at him with a sense of familiarity. Ruski hovered into view and perched on her shoulder saying "Careless Omar! Careless Omar!" Ruski failing to learn talking until now was probably a good thing he thought. She offered him a hand but he stood himself up with some effort. She moved sideways off the lines and onto some regular ground. He found himself following her on his still unsteady legs. He decided that he had to talk to her. The metallic lines were getting him nowhere & she seemed familiar though he couldn’t quite place her. Before he could ask her anything she said "So were you going to take the Skybus to Chennaiki before you came here?" He was taken aback. A normal question in an unfamiliar place. The answer was simple yet he replied after considerable pause. "No I own the fast food stall at the corner of Grand Central". "Oh that shop which always seems to be on Away mode". He felt indignation welling up inside. But he stymied his words. She was the only one who would probably be able to explain his current predicament. How did you end up here she asked. To this he had no answer. He explained vaguely the events of the morning. She nodded her head when he spoke and at the conclusion of his tale let out a sigh. This reaction disappointed him immensely. He finally burst out. "Tell me, tell me everything you know and tell me how I can get back. Lunch hour is the best time for business”. She looked at him with a bleak expression. "Why are you so eager to get back? Aren’t you curious about this place?"
He said "Sure I am. My first few minutes here and I almost get run over by a metallic worm. I’d love to come back some other time. But right now my livelihood is at stake". "OK, Follow me" she said. "Wait, what’s your name?" he asked. "It’s Romana, and I know a little something about you too. Your parrot told me." He followed her as she led him across a nearby field until she stopped in front of a little door. Romana had abundant hair that bounced of her shoulders as she ran. When she stopped he noticed that a part of her hair was moving by itself. He stood staring at the back of her head with a vacant expression until he saw a little chameleon pop it’s tiny head out. He was about to warn Romana when her hand reached out behind her head and the chameleon jumped onto it. "Don’t be alarmed. That’s my pet Hector". He heard a tiny squeaking voice say "where’d you find this one?" It wasn’t Ruski, it wasn’t the girl. "Your chameleon can talk?" "Sure here every animal can talk" she said. "Oh, so Ruski is still a failure". "Hey I heard that!!" Ruski squawked. The door before them seemed to lead into a room that was below the ground. She opened the door. "It’s dark in here. I don’t wanna take another tumble here again" he said. "The darkness is important. Hold my hand if you are afraid" she said as she closed the door behind them. She led him down deeper until the darkness was absolute.
"Now close your eyes, tell your parrot where you want to go and count to three”. He heard her also say "Grand Central Aerostation". He opened his eyes to familiar sight of the oak tree and the sound of Ruski’s squawking. He was still holding Romana’s hand. He let go and raced forward into the station. It was still lunch time. The station seemed more chaotic than usual. He heard someone say "They are saying electrical problems caused the Skydome to go down for an entire minute". Romana had caught up with him. He turned to her and asked "Now tell me where we just came from. Did we go into the past or something?" Romana smiled and said "I don’t know for sure if it’s the past or another world that runs parallel to ours. The only thing I do know is that it only reveals itself when our world is in darkness and only an animal you are connected to can lead you there".
A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read “The Lost Symbol”, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it.
A World of Hits, The Economist
Just because I’m quiet, doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot to say.
Just because I appear happy, doesn’t mean everything is okay.
Just because I forgive, doesn’t mean I forget.
Just because I don’t listen to your problems, doesn’t mean I don’t care.
Just because I’m gullible, doesn’t mean I can be cheated.
Just because I’m stubborn, doesn’t mean I’m not easy going.
Just because I don’t study, doesn’t mean I’m stupid.
Just because I don’t show my feelings, doesn’t mean I don’t have any.
Just because I’m honest, doesn’t mean I’m outspoken.
Just because I’m not like you, doesn’t mean I’m weird.
Just because I’m unsure, doesn’t mean I’m afraid.
Just because I don’t like you, doesn’t mean I don’t love you.
Originally written on http://mols.tumblr.com/post/210725602/just-because-im-quiet-doesnt-mean-i-dont-have
Emperor Meiji: Tell me how he died.
Algren: I will tell you how he lived.
These lines from ‘The Last Samurai’ are something that made a very distinct impression on me the first time I watched the movie. Yet with each subsequent viewing they still manage to stir the strings of my heart. On first glance they just appear to be a simple 2 line conversation between 2 people. They are talking about a great samurai warrior who dies in battle fighting for everything he believes in. “The Way of the Samurai”. The emperor is saddened by the loss of this warrior & poses this question to Algren who was with him at the moment of death. Algren is an American who was initially hired to help quash the rebels. However when he is captured by them & subsequently spends time with them he comes to love & embrace their culture wholeheartedly. What Algren replies to the emperor perhaps serves as a stark reminder of how we as people today must remember the passing away of any individual.Death can come to anyone at any time. How it happens is immaterial. How the person lived we must remember eternally. Which reminds me also of a wonderful quote from the Bhagavad Gita that was printed on the back cover of Salim Ali’s ‘The Book of Indian Birds’
For that which is born death is certain and for the dead birth is certain. Therefore grieve not over that which is unavoidable
Image via Wikipedia
Me and some friends had gone for dinner one day at some fancy place called the East End Cafe. Great ambience and a great variety in the dishes. While scanning the menu I spotted the dish Ratatouille. It instantly got me thinking about the movie Ratatouille. It had actually been a while since we had seen the movie Ratatouille & probably the first time I had spotted the dish in any restaurant. As awesome as the movie was, about the dish itself ,somehow it never occurred to me that I might actually be able to try the dish in any of the restaurant’s here. I somehow always assumed it was a traditional French dish I would never find here. So I thought lets give this thing a try, if they could create an entire movie who’s pivotal moment depended on someone tasting the dish. When it did arrive on my table I looked at it with a little reservation. It appeared rather uninteresting in the dim lights of the restaurant and in an alarmingly small plate considering the price I paid for it. However it smelled delicious & a mouthful later I can say it was certainly one of the most delectable dishes I have had in my entire life. The interesting thing I learnt later was Ratatouille is not the most well defined dish. It is open to interpretation & its exact ingredients can vary from place to place. Though I don’t remember what ingredients comprised the dish here it’s taste and aroma were unforgettable and so far removed from anything I had eaten before.
It was a strange world she was in. A world imbued with the strangest hues and flora of the strangest design. Yet there was a strange sense of familiarity about it. The tree under which she sat and pondered about this world’s intricacies was short and stout. It had the most slender of branches, branches that could almost be passed off as leaves. Set upon these branches were scores of thick pointed leaves the weight of which caused the branches to bend towards the ground and even touch the ground at places. Like the braided hair of a woman she thought they were. The entire sky was suffused with a dull yellow color that gave the illusion of warmth but in this world the color of the sky did not affect things the way they did in her world. A perpetual fog permeated the world around her. None of the objects in this world cast any shadows. Besides the sound of her measured breathing not a single sound could she hear from anywhere in this world. There was no wind. Nothing moved unless she touched it. The framed door through which she had entered this world stood before her. She only had to proceed through it to escape this dream world and grasp reality. But it was also the door through which she had chosen to escape reality and enter a world that challenged every notion of reality she had built up over the years.
It was cold, she was alone yet she felt calm and unafraid. It was a fantastical realm yet everything had parallels with reality. She walked on through the haze the sound of her footsteps and the sound of the grass crushing under her feet magnified by the silence of everything else. The braided branch trees she saw every where. No bird nested among its branches no fruits hung of them. Where had all the birds flown away to she wondered. The sun gave life to every living thing she had been told. Yet there was no light that gave life here only the light that kept away the darkness. She walked on for a while. The grass beneath her feet grew sparser and the trees she could see became fewer. It began to brighten and the ground began to grow translucent. A few more steps and there was nothing more on the ground. It was like standing on glass floor. She was enveloped by a brilliant yellow light. That was when she realized that the light had always been coming from below the ground. That was why nothing cast shadows like she expected. After her eyes had adjusted to the brightness she began to perceive shapes and movement beneath the surface. She lay face down on the ground pressing her face as close as possible to the ground. She saw what appeared to be the same trees she had seen before moving gently this way and that their slender branches waving like tentacles of a jellyfish. One of the creatures was moving upwards heading to where she was lying down. It’s movements were so graceful she wished she could reach through the ground and touch it. The creature was now so close that only the ground separated her from it. The tree like structure formed only the upper part of its body. Below that it had a heart shaped head with hundred’s of blinking eyes set upon it. They all blinked at the same time when it looked her. The creature began to come even closer. It began to pass through the ground and came so close that the top of it brushed against her face. She tried to push her hand through the ground to touch it but the ground remained solid. The creature shrank away at this gesture and floated downwards gracefully until she could see it no more.
There was nothing more she could discover here. The door to reality called to her. She headed back through the door. She looked back one last time at this world and thought of the world that lied beneath it. A world she could only see but not touch.
This image is copyright of the artist who created it. I could not find the source so could not attribute the right person. The image just served as inspiration to create a story
It’s been used in the trailers for Slumdog Millionaire, Children of Men and the Planet Earth series. One thing is for sure it’s this song that helped those trailers really stick with you for a long time and I still love watching those trailers over and over even after having watched those movies.
The Madonna of today just seems so crazy and I personally think she looks a bit manly these days. Rain is certainly my favourite song from her collection. Besides being such a beautiful song it also reminds me of the time when Madonna looked more innocent and seductively gorgeous
Selective culling of a few members of the political fraternity
