‘that’ feeling

wonder how a chance encounter, a casual meeting with a particular person throws a complete spanner into the normal running of your life….

especially when, after long discussions and analyses with yourself, you’ve come to the conclusion that the said person is completely wrong for you….. the least of the reasons for which are that he’s not available no more…. just that essentially he’s all wrong .. for u atleast…

why then, i wonder, does this encounter bring back the memories, the anticipation, the ‘what-if’ games you’ve played with yourself, ages ago… and leave you with ‘that’ feeling - the one that brings out all the negativity in you… making you feel like ther’s someone else inside you, not the ‘you’ you know…

man… women are complex!!

And then there were none more to come….

************ SPOILER WARNING *********************

Though I have tried not to reveal any of the dark secrets in the book, you might want to read this post after u’ve read the original Harry… or if it doesnt really matter to you… go ahead…!

So, the last and final (or so they say rite now) adventure of the “boy who lived” has finally been published —

Having read it cover to cover in abt 12 hrs (with some breaks and sleep ofcourse) my take on the book?? — ummm…. first impressions… gripping (didnt wanna keep the book down) … but looking back …. not as exciting as the end to wat has undoubtedly been a far more thrilling series should have been….

Though initial reviews of the book have been extremely flattering, I somehow felt that JKR missed a wee bit of magic behind all the hoolaah…. the overall feel of the book doesnt give the sense of it being the “finale” if u know wat i mean — Voldemort is portrayed as far more insecure than in the previous encounters with harry …. and that is to say the least…

a few months ago, a friend had forwarded a “harry potter and the deathly hallows”– a pdf version written very obviously by someone who wanted to be JKR desperately…. while reading the “real” seventh book, comparisons with the fake one came up unbidding in my mind…. and, inspite of the very convincing argument that the author of the fake book was an american and was obsessed with harry’s love story, i’ve gotto admit… some how the “fake” sounded more like a real — and my belief became stronger the more i read.

To begin with, keeping apart the uncharacteristically adult nature of the “fake”, the storyline and explanations offered were much more convincing than those penned by JKR. for example the location of the horcruxes and the way to destroy them… having a separate item that connected with each horcrux and was the only way to destroy it is a brilliant idea… quite unlike the “one item destroys all” idea proffered by JKR….

Also, the ending — especially the part dealing with harry’s being a horcrux is dealt is exceptionally well by the doppelganger JKR than the original….

So far, JKR’s way of dealing with situations she’s created herself and the explanations have never had even so much as a crack.. except in the book where it mattered the most….! Wats more suprising is how the twists in the final book also appear in the fake one… albeit in a different sense of perception..

which is wat makes me wonder….. if ther could be a chance that JKR had initially penned a different version of the finale than the one tat was finally published … which, im guessing leaked, causing her to scrap what wud hv been a fitting end……….. and in the scramble of making sense… she somehow missed the bus???

or maybe had i kept myself away from the book i took reading to “for fun” i might have found JKR’s version much much more convincing??

Ho hum!

i miss work… not the fun and frolic time at office.. not the endless coffee / tea sessions…. nor the gossip sessions with friends (who would have been just “team-mates” in a more officious environ) … but the “real” work… the challenges, the thrill of solving a huge problem (also called “finding the bug”), the sense of wonderment at writing a script (however small),  the incessant wondering of “when is this thing ever going to get over” not to mention the words of praise from the boss  (yes… can u believe it.. i actually got those a coupla times too!!! lucky me! ) —

some may find it really hard to believe… i mean i left a perfectly good job as a project engineer to pursue an MBA… which would undoubtedly open up a whole new world of opportunities (and maybe some moolah) in this big bad world…  and here i am.. halfway through my MBA mumbling and grumbling while i reminisce about a “better time” …….

but truly… somewhere below the mumbo jumbo and the blah blah  that usually comprises an MBA…. the engineer in me just wants a teensy weensy challenge… an urge to prove to myself above others… that i can do it!!

hmmmm… now where do i go looking for that???

Touché!

An article in today;s Mumbai Mirror….. hits the nail bang on the head!!

Cheers Mr. Thakraney!

Is this justice?
Our news channels have gone into a tizzy on the 1993 blasts death sentences. But before you rejoice at the capital punishment awarded to three of the many terrorists, do consider these points: It’s taken over 14 years to get there… what sort of justice is that to all those dead, maimed and bereaved during the blasts? The world turned over many times on its head in that period, as the survivors kept waiting for the agony to end. I am quite sure at this point, most of them don’t give a damn one way or another. Next: Okay, so we got the foot soldiers, but the masterminds are out of our reach, and even as you read this, the D dude may well be enjoying a Jacuzzi at his palace in Karachi. To me, this is nothing more than shooting the messenger, even if he knew what was inside the mail. And lastly, it’s not over yet. The criminals can file a petition in the Supreme Court, and even if the apex court seconds the death sentence, it’s still not over. The mercy petitions will reach the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and there’s already a long queue out there. And that President will, in all likelihood, be Pratibhatai, and I can assure you she will sit on the petitions for as long as she can. Her boss, her benefactor, the Super PM, doesn’t like juniors tinkering with her party’s already thinning vote bank. You call this justice?

Why?

why do guys (and men for that matter) think that a girl playing with her hair is the first sign of flirting????

Really… i’m just playing with my hair… in my own thoughts…..

is that reallly so hard to interpret???

Pottering around town

“Pottermania” … thats the buzzword rite now… no, this ain’t another review of the movie, though the arrival of the movie was quite timely.. this one’s about the books… which are on the whole much much much better than the movies… on an individual as well as overall levels..

my affair with the wizarding world started quite late actually.. by the time i read the first book, JKR was already giving finishing touches to her depiction of harry’s fourth year in school.. i still remember my induction into potterland — my cousin, while highly recommending the book, inadvertently described it as “a dark cousin of Enid Blyton” — needless to say, that description put me off initially, but considering that the said set of cousins gave wonderful advice on books and suggested excellent ones on the whole, i somehow managed to bring myself to get acquainted with harry and “his folk” —– it took me all of one chapter (the first!!) to get utterly and completely hooked!!!

coming back to the intent of this post.. pottermania … the interest and enthusiasm of potter-lovers this time of the year is usually palpable … but this time around its even more so.. Apparently, amazon has already recorded 1.6 million pre-orders … compared to 1.5 million for the sixth adventure ….. my take ::: thats not good… only 0.1 million more???? i wud hv expected much more sales or pre-sales … i mean, i dont really think the Potter fan club is reducing.. and now with only one final showdown with you-know-who … everyone who’s anyone’s son .(and his relatives) are clamouring for a glimpse of what happens next…

all conversations nowadays seem to have something or the other to do to with harry and/or wizards and/or dumbledore and/or voldy …. apparently kids across town are revising previous books in the series to be “in touch” with wizardly happenings…

well carry on i say… this may be the last time potter fans get to go back to the wizarding streets of the United Kingdom….. as for me… well i’m going back to my revision notes too… have a long weekend ahead…

Love-o-logy in the rains…

A random item in a random paper today caught my attention…. “The Romance of the Rains”. It seems some scientists have proposed that the humid climate and plethora of rain drops seems to trigger a wave of hormones through one’s body.. making one more susceptible to falling in love/ reminiscing about ex-lovers / wanting to spend maximum time with current lovers (its not an either-or option mind u.. )

hmmmmm… interesting i say, but it seems like the hindi film industry ( no.. wont refer to it as “Bollywood” lest the BIG baaps of the industry take offense :P) seems to have figured this out long time ago….

Since time immemorial hindi films have used rains as an ideal romance prop. think rains and hindi films.. and I’m sure one of the first images that will swim up is the “Pyaar hua ikraar hua” scene with Raj Kapoor and Nargis on the bridge with the umbrella…  well maybe the not-so-old-movie-lovers may think of 1942.. ’s “Rimjhim-Rimjhim”  but either ways… guess our film-wallahs have finally got some science into their running-around-trees scenes ….  way to go guys!!!