CRUCIO !! :D

1.58 pm : A and R are walking through the corridor and see You-know-who standing at the door.R has promised A that there will be many people attending.But it turns out that R and A are all alone.Now they stand right in front of You-know-who.You-know-who asks "What do you want?".A timidly replies "Sir..Lecture".You-know-who says "What time was it?".R says "2 minutes to go sir" in a volume that only A can hear! Suddenly a brave man called K turns up and loudly announces "Still 2 minutes left sir".You-know who glances at his cell phone and says "So yes..you are right..Come in".

And then it begins...2.00 pm sharp and You-know-who starts dropping pearls of wisdom !

1>I have 2 rules which you must accept before we begin :
" The syllabus has been completed 10 days back when you were all absent.And Because you were absent I assume that you know all that there is to know and will successfully and completely solve the problem I give.Only if you do that will you be allowed to mark the attendance."
K ,A and R all look at each other but decide that they are in a soup and there is no way out !

2>You-know-who gives some problem - pretty easy one actually but he (as always) has great expectations.10-12 minutes ..no one does anything.K and R are trying to think of (or pretending to think of) something.A is too sleepy and is just looking into R's book.

3>Suddenly You-know-who speaks "This is the 56th lecture I am conducting for your class.In 22 lectures I had atleast 1 student.For the other 34 I came and waited for students."
A,R,K all look up at You-know-who in admiration and then look down and try scribbling something.

4>Then You-know-who turns "dildar".Suddenly decides to help.Starts dictating the answer! Occasionally asking a question.A,K and R keep nodding and saying something here and there.You-know-who is happy.Its been ages since he has had a full classroom :D

5>Then You-know-who becomes his usual self.Starts calling programmers as typists with graduate and post graduate degrees.Talks of recession.Warns A,R and K to mend their ways or join an NIIT course.Tells A,R,K that he expects them to submit documentation of 150+ pages when all they usually submit is 1 (copied) page.And well the usual stuff...

6>Suddenly he feels pity for A,R,K and decides to allow them to mark attendance even if they can complete the input part of the program.But A,R,K dont know how to add a single word to what has been dictated to them.Then You-know-who opens the green book.Points at A and asks "What is your number?Pahilyanda pahtoy tula".A replies 4243.You-know-who looks through and announces "2 present out of 56".Then he asks R.R replies "Sir same".You-know-who's face brightens up."We can plot a graph of your attendance and predict which ones are friends." and then suddenly winks and adds "Ani jodya pan shodhta yetil.Barober doghe doghe yetat".
(A has a feeling that he might actually go home and try that)

Looking at A,R and K's poor attendance and innocent faces or maybe the fact that they amused him for 1 hour,You-know-who passes the attendance sheet.The attendance sheet looks up at them with hope.Poor thing is all red.Its been 7 lectures since anyone has signed on it !!
And now its wait is over (and so is ours ;))....3 signatures at the end of the hour marked the happy ending !

And thus A,R and K survived You-know-who's CRUCIO !!!....

A,R and K are Aruna ,Ruta and Kapil respectively...You-know-who is best left to the readers knowledge and experience (if PICTian) or his imagination (if otherwise)...

Happy reading ! :)

The lost symbol !

Dan Brown's much awaited novel - took him 6 years of research and then after fighting all controversies ,arrived -The lost Symbol ! This blog is spoiler-free.No harm reading ! :)
The book is a typical Dan Brown story.Starts with some tragedy,Langdon is called and he goes through the a historic journey bringing to light old secret rituals,customs and blah blah ! This time the secrets belong to the MASONS.
The book vividly reminds you of Angels and Demons.A couple of times you find yourself saying - "Oh,I can guess what will happen next!"
Not sounding feminist but one thing I like about Brown's books is the way the female leads are portrayed.Unlike some other "authors" (read Chetan Bhagat ) whose female leads are nothing but stupid and desperate damsels (God only knows which world he lives in !) ,Brown 's ladies are always successful and dignified women with excellent professions - cryptographers, scientists, mathematicians,etc who significantly contribute to the main storyline.This time again ,the character of Katherine Solomon - a 50 year old scientist is nicely written.Robert Langdon is as always is impeccable.But the negative characters in his books I must say are becoming monotonous.
The book is too long.You dont give long and boring speeches when you have a mystery to solve and a deadline for it.At times the book becomes a drag.One more aspect where it fails completely is the suspense which is too easy to guess.8/10 readers will know what will happen in the climax about 100 pages before they reach it.
To sum it up, the book is rather a disappointment as compared to Brown's other works.But what can not be denied is the sincere effort and tremendous research behind it.And only for that sake I would suggest all Brown fans to read it.But if it takes 6 years for Brown to come up with this ,I think he should wait 8-9 years before publishing his next one !

Happy reading ! :)

Bout "Luck"

Hello all,

Just sharing one of my favourite poems (tiny lil one) :)

Disclaimer : If you ever see poems on my blog ,I assure you they will never be my own.So you can go ahead and risk reading.

I think some of you must have already read it but for most others who havent,here goes..

He worked by day,
And tired by night,

He gave up play
And all delight.

Dry books he read,
Of what great men had said.

New things to learn
And forgot to earn

He plodded on..
With faith and pluck

And when he won,
Men called it "LUCK" !!

Happy reading !

Lord of the rings Vs Harry Potter

1> Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter
Useless characters who make it to the end mainly by the virtue of having more talented friends and protectors.When they are finally done,you have a feeling that a donkey in their place would have sufficed.Two ordinary boys who have responsibility and power thrust on them.
My opinion:I liked neither much.
So LOTR -0 HP -0

2> Samwise Gamgee and Ronald Weasley
Equally useless friends of the useless main heroes described above.Again,two ordinary boys who do nothing but stick close to the main heroes right till the end and get to enjoy the limelight.
My opinion :I think the character of Ronald Weasley is better written than Samwise Gamgee..
So LOTR-0 HP-1

3> Gandalf (the grey and white) and Albus Dumbledore
Old 'know it all' men.These are perhaps the characters who know the end of the story even before the author does.When you reach the end you have no choice but to wonder "Why didnt these old men act when they had time!!!".But anyway the main purpose of their existence is to look after our useless heroes and guide them and make sure they are well protected right till the end.
My opinion : Gandalf the grey is kinda boring but Gandalf the white is equally charismatic as Albus Dumbledore.
So LOTR -1 HP-2

4> Aragorn and Sirius Black
Young men who have been wronged in the past but have never left the good side.They have sworn their lives to the protection of our useless heroes.Now these are perhaps the best characters of both the books.And you feel that they are actually capable of "doing" something.
My opinion : Sirius is no match for Aragorn.
So LOTR -2 HP -2


5> Merry and Pippin and the Weasley twins
Characters introduced for humour.Dont do much right till the end but do manage to entertain you.
My opinion : Merry and Pippin are a tinge funnier than the Weasley twins
So LOTR-3 HP-2

6> Sauron and Lord Voldemort
The two "BAD men(?)".By direct comparison you realise that they would shoo away our useless heroes like a fly on a tea cup.Both surprisingly dont appear in physical form for a very long time but exist as spirits for a major portion of HP and the entire LOTR.
My opinion : Sauron shouldn't even be allowed to stand before Lord Voldemort (\m/)
So LOTR-3 HP-3

7> Other possible comparisons :
Saruman the wise and Bellatrix Lestrange
Legolas and Gimli and Lupin and Weasley
Boromir and Snape
Gollum and Dobby
(All are more or less equally well written)

As far as the books are concerned,LOTR wastes 50 pages on absolutely boring and useless characters like Tom Bombaddil and long songs.HP on the other hand is written quite to-the-point.From readers point of view HP goes way easy on eyes and brains than LOTR.
But when it comes to movies the tables turn completely.HP movies are disappointing.LOTR movies on the other hand are must-watch. (Specially the war sequences)

I assure you that inspite of my criticizing the characters the way I have,I love both the books!
And I am sure many will have completely different opinions.As always ,they are welcome in the form of comments !
Happy reading !