New Story - Shamisha - Part 1

The sun was unusually harsh that day. I wiped a few pearls of water from my forehead and cursed my decision to venture out in this weather. It wouldn’t have been better at my room either, which stood at the top floor valiantly fighting the sun and the wind throughout the year, in the absence of an AC. I had almost completed my work. I consulted my watch to find the time to be quarter past two. I called Gulati – ‘Have you taken your lunch?’ I asked.

‘Nope. I was going to have it.’

‘Good. I am coming to your place in next 15 minutes. We will eat at the Dhaba next to your house.’

‘Okay.’

I thought of hiring a rickshaw and then decided against it – ‘I would rather walk’, I thought. Walking is my way of fooling my body that I am doing enough for it to regain its original ‘slim and trim’ form. The heat was becoming unbearable and I was regretting my decision to opt for a walk. Suddenly my mobile phone buzzed with a message – ‘Please call urgently. If you don’t, it will be bad. Love.’ It was from an unidentified number. The message was obviously strange and hence I ignored it. The next minute, I received another message from the same number – ‘If you don’t reply or call, I will have to call your parents at Kanpur.’ Certainly my parents do not live at Kanpur and I was not the intended recipient of this call. I wanted to inform the sender about the same but something held me back.

‘Why are you smiling in such a wicked manner?’ asked Gulati. He was dressed in a pajama and a t-shirt and was carrying a disheveled hair.

‘You could have at least combed your hair.’ I said.

‘Why should I? This is my neighborhood. I am free to present myself in any way I want.’ He retorted. ‘Wait a minute. You are not smiling at my hairdo. Why are you smiling in this way?’

‘Read these.’ I handed him my phone.

‘Who is she?’

‘Your guess is as good as mine. I never said that the sender is a ‘she’ though.’

‘She is a ‘SHE’. You know it very well. So, you caught between a warring couple. He he!!’

‘I think that I should inform her that her messages are not reaching the right person. Hand over the phone. I would text.’

‘Why text boss? Let us call her. At least listen to the voice of the damsel in distress.’ He dialed the number. ‘It’s busy.’

We had our lunch; chatted on a few things and then parted. I was feeling lazy and hence decided to take a nap as soon as I reached my place. The sun was showing no signs of mercy and I took the protection of both air cooler and fan to save myself from its wrath. Sleep was kind though – she embraced me in her arms almost instantly. I do not know for how long I was in her world when suddenly the cruel ring of my phone pulled me out to reality. It was an unknown number – I took the call with irritation. ‘Hello!!’ I said in sleepy voice.

‘Hello!! Karan?’ A girl asked anxiously. Despite some nervousness, her voice had a magical quality.

‘No!! I am afraid I am not. Wrong number.’

‘Oh Sorry!!’ and the phone was disconnected. By now I was fully awake. It was apparent that the distressed damsel was making attempts to connect with her (if I can make that assumption) lover. I smiled and wished that she got hold of him. My trail of thoughts was broken by another call – this time it was a landline number from Delhi. ‘Not one of those from the insurance companies’ I thought as I picked it. ‘Hello!! Karan?’ Same voice; same nervous energy; same magical quality – this time there was a bit of familiarity too but I failed to connect it with anyone.

‘Sorry to disappoint you again Mam – it seems that you are trying the wrong number. There is no one named Karan here.’

‘Extremely sorry!! I just do not know how it’s happening. You will not be bothered again.’ And the call went dead. I sighed and called Mithilesh – ‘What’s the play?’ I asked.

‘Let’s go to Bowling.’ We met at the Bowling alley – Gulati, William and Nitin joined us. Bowling has become a weekly ritual for us. Though I am not a good player, I still enjoy the game and the company of my friends. The outing helps me unwind and revitalize. While having dinner after the game I narrated the incident with the girl to the group. As usual, it became an interesting topic for all of them.

‘I don’t believe it’s a cross connection angle’ said Nitin.

‘I agree. Someone is having a crush on you. She is just trying to draw your attention’ laughed William.

Mithilesh chuckled, ‘Finally, I will not have to try anymore to hook you up with someone.’ We all had a hearty laugh and moved on to other topics.

The next couple of days were quite hectic. I was working on the rollout of a pan India research and had to devote full energies in that. It was Wednesday evening; I had just switched off my system when my phone buzzed – ‘I am sorry’. The number was not known. Human mind is devilish – mine started to wish that the message was from that distressed girl. I took a chance and texted back – ‘???’. No answer. My lips curled in half smile as I left for my place. I was in the auto when I received another message ‘I miss you. I hope you miss me too.’ This was from some other number. While I was more or less convinced that the message was from the same girl, I was perplexed by the change in number every time – ‘How the hell can a girl have so many numbers?’ I thought. ‘May be people in love do keep many numbers’ my mind, unwilling to be in discomfort zone, self-explained. And then it sprang up a new theory – ‘What if a group is playing a prank on me?’ It was an angle I could not ignore.

Thursday was clear as I did not receive any strange message or call but it was Friday when the floodgates opened. I was wrapping up my work when I received the first call (needless to mention from an unidentified number) – ‘Hello!! Karan?’ the voice was intoxicating and yet I felt irritated. ‘No Mam. How many times do I need to tell you that I am no Karan?’

‘Oh Sorry!!’ and the call was disconnected. I probably had spoken with raised decibels as a few colleagues, still at work, rose from their seats to look in my direction. I made a gesture to assuage their concern and made a move out of the office. While on the way I received three calls from unknown numbers which I did not pick. And then it buzzed again – ‘Angry baby?’ The act had started to get on my nerves and yet a part in me which was enjoying the show.

I had taken my dinner and had just sat with ‘India After Gandhi’ when my phone rang showing another unidentified number. I reluctantly picked up the call – ‘Hello!!’ there was no response. As I disconnected the phone, it received another message – ‘I like your voice - would request you to keep picking the phone when I call.’ The tone of the message was discomforting – this was taking dangerous shape. A few minutes would have gone when the phone rang again – ‘Hey!!’ said she. ‘What do you want from me?’ I asked.

‘Didn’t you get my message?’ she said with a soft laughter.

I disconnected. The phone rang again – ‘Why did you disconnect?’

‘I want you to stop calling or texting me. Stop harassing me or I would be forced to take actions.’

She laughed. ‘I am harassing you? And it is you who always pick the phone. What’s in your head, Karan?’

‘I am no Karan.’

‘I know.’

Click Here for Part 2

New Story: Shamisha - Part 2

I disconnected the call, switched off my phone and went to sleep. Lady Sleep, who usually is kind to me, was in off mood and served me quite late. I woke late. It was the weekend and hence there was no rush. I took my time to freshen up and switched on my phone – it showed 114 missed calls from unknown numbers. 

I was numb. I called Gulati – ‘Dude, it is getting on my nerves.’ I filled him with details before deciding on what to do next.

‘I am going to Police. It is a case of harassment- why!! It is full-fledged stalking.’

‘And what would you say to them? A girl is harassing you by calling you from more than 100 different numbers. And what is her interest in a not so attractive guy? – She likes his voice. Dude no one is going to believe you.’

‘I need to do something.’ I was feeling the heat somehow. ‘Shall I ask Shekhar to help?’

‘Dude!! Calm down. You are panicking for nothing.’

‘But he is…’

‘A famous crime investigator. But there is no crime here. And he is an extremely busy man. We should not take undue advantage from him. This case does not need him - we will handle it ourselves.’

‘What shall we do?’

‘The next time she calls, engage her – Get to know anything which would allow us to locate or identify her.’

‘I do not know. I will try. I think her voice has a familiar touch – I am yet to place it on a person though.’

‘Well!! Keep trying on that too. We will end this soon.’ Gulati said with flair akin to James Bond.

Despite his suggestion, I dropped a mail to Shekhar explaining the situation and asking for his help. We are good friends and as expected I got a prompt reply – he was busy in some case but referred me to a Police Officer, Shiv Kant, who would help me. I called Shiv Kant and told him my story. He gave me a patient hearing, asked me for a few details and promised to come back within a couple of days. I was slightly relieved. I took my lunch and watched an old favourite on my laptop. The day was going smooth until that phone call put a break to it.

‘Hello!!’ she was tentative.

‘Yes.’ I said. It was time to put Gulati’s strategy at work.

‘Ah!! I thought you would not pick the phone.’

‘I thought the same.’ I said with a chuckle.

‘Oh!! The mood is so different. I like this version of ‘You’. So, how are you today?’

‘I am fine. It is strange though that you did not address me as Karan.’

‘Ha ha!! I knew from the first day that you are not Karan.’

‘And yet you chose to address me with that name. Any specific reasons?’

‘You will come to know of that eventually. We are just getting started to know each other.’

‘I am not sure. But let us start by that way. We have not been formally introduced. I am Rahul.’

‘I know. I am Shamisha.’ I froze for a moment – the mind went completely blank.

‘Say it again.’

‘What? My name? Shamisha.’ I went into a shell. ‘You sound surprised?’ She asked.

‘I used to know a girl named Shamisha once. Are you the same girl?’ I was in two minds. I realized why her voice sounded familiar but it was not exactly the same. I was in two minds.

‘It is for you to decide.’ She disconnected the call.

‘Hello!! Hello!!’ I tried to call back but the calls got disconnected.

I called Mithilesh. ‘You are not playing any games with me na?’

‘Why? What happened?’

‘The girl who has been calling me all these days now claims that her name is Shamisha.’

‘What?’

‘Yes. You are sure this isn’t one of your silly ideas to get my love life going?’

‘Of course!! Why are you even thinking that I would do such a thing?’

‘Because very few people know of my feelings for her. And among them only you can act in such a rash way.’

‘Well, I haven’t. And why can’t she call you? The girl who is calling you may be Shamisha.’

‘No. She is not. First, why would she call me from hundred different numbers? Second, though the voice is very similar it is not the same. Someone is trying to impersonate her.’

‘Who could that be?’

‘We will find that out. We will have a concall with our entire group tonight. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

I took a deep breath – I had to find the guy who was playing this thing on me. Only a few close friends knew about my feelings for Shamisha. It should be one among them – strangely, I could not think of anyone doing this to me (not even Mithilesh, even though I flaked him for the same a few moments back). Who could do this? My chain of thoughts was broken by a call from Shiv Kant.

‘Can you come over to my station?’

‘When?’

‘Now’

Using public transport would have taken a long time. I called Mithilesh. ‘Busy?’

‘Nahi. Bol?’

‘Can you spare an hour for me? I need to go to the police station.’

‘Okay. I am coming over to your place.’

As his car pulled outside my gate, I found Gulati sitting there too. I looked questioningly at Mithilesh.

‘What? You do not want me to be present in your first tryst with a police station?’ Gulati asked with a glint in his eyes.

I smiled. ‘Chal’ I said to Mithilesh.

Shiv Kant’s police station was swanky unlike the ones we are accustomed to see in Hindi movies and serials. He greeted us with a smile – ‘This place was renovated last year. You guys are looking shocked?’ we nodded in tandem. ‘Well, you will be more shocked when I tell you the reason I called you.’

‘What?’ I asked.

‘None of the numbers you were called from exist.’

Click Here for Part 3

New Story: Shamisha - Part 3

‘What?’ there was disbelief in our voices.

‘You mean to say he made up all these. He did not receive those calls. But, I can vouch for him. I have seen some of the numbers…’ Gulati was the first to react.

‘I never said that he made up all of these. I just said that none of the numbers actually exists.’

‘But how can both be possible at the same time?’ It was Mithilesh’s turn to intervene. I was too shocked to react.

‘After talking to him, I pulled out the data from the network operator – his story corroborated. Not that I had any doubts previously. But, when I enquired about the origin of the calls – everyone was in for a surprise. These numbers do not exist. This is some hi-tech stuff. What are you up to Rahul? Why would someone harass you with hi-tech stuff?’

‘Sougata’ I muttered under my breath.

‘What?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Anyways, I have involved the cyber department into it. They have not been able to find any trace as of now. But we would nail this soon.’

‘This is strange.’ said Gulati.

‘Yes, it is. One of my subordinates here believes that this is a supernatural act.’ I am not sure but I did sense some nervousness in his comment.

‘Wow!! We are in for an adventure. Kya twist hai baap? First hundreds of calls, then Shamisha angle and now hi-tech wizardry or supernatural act. We would have fun.’ Mithilesh was visibly excited.

‘This is a no-brainer. No one other than Sougata has the expertise to pull it off in our group.’

I called him on our way back. He is settled in Finland doing what he does best – creating technology.

‘Dude!! What a surprise? I was going to call you. I am coming home next month. Am going to stay at your place for a few days. Will that be okay?’

We talked for 10 minutes and I was sure he did not do it. Yet I asked him ‘Bhai, am I a subject of one of your latest experiments?’

‘What?’ he was shocked at the bluntness of the statement but he is used to me being blunt many times. 

‘What has happened?’ he asked. I explained the story in detail to him. ‘Send me the numbers. I will see what I can do’ he promised. As soon as I reached my place, I sent him the details. I also updated Shekhar about the recent developments over the mail.

I was restless. If Sougata had not done it then who else could have pulled such a fancy thing. For a moment, there was a thought of embracing the supernatural angle but I rejected it.

‘I heard you went to the police station’ was her first sentence when I picked her call in the evening. I did not know from where she got this information. I was not willing to cast an arrow of suspicion to my group anymore. So I ignored it against my instinct.

‘Yes.’ I replied.

‘You don’t trust me. Do you?’

‘I barely know you. Trusting doesn’t come in the picture yet?’

‘Ha ha. You can be blunt. You know that?’

‘I know.’

‘Would you like to meet me?’

‘Of course. Tell me the place and I will be there in a ziffy.’

‘What is the hurry my prince? Have some patience. We will meet tomorrow night at 9 PM sharp.’

‘Where?’

‘I will text you the location.’ And she hung the phone.

‘You should wear this perfume.’ advised Mithilesh.

‘I need no perfume.’

‘You need additional fragrance support any day man and more so on a day when you are going to meet a mystery lady.’ Arvind quipped as he sprayed the liquid in generous quantity on my clothing. It was 7:30 in the evening. We were at his place as his was relatively nearer to the meeting location. The location was at the outskirts of the city and was still a jungle.

‘I wonder why a lady would choose a deserted place like this for the meeting.’ Gulati echoed this thought for the 15^th time that day.

‘It is not safe and is notorious for crime.’ Arvind joined the reasoning. It was also one of the reasons why all were hell bent on accompanying me to the spot. Arvind forced his inclusion once he came to know about the scheduled meeting from Gulati. ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’ was his reaction when he called me after that. I had no answer.

At 8:30 PM we reached the scheduled place. We parked our car at a distance to observe the setting. It was dark and the faint light from the moon was our only source of illumination. Nitin and William were also stationed in a car a few kilometers back as a backup plan. I was of the opinion that this elaborate arrangement was unnecessary. Of course in the absence of public transport, I would have to use Mithilesh’s car or hire a taxi but they did not pay heed to my logic. Shiv Kant was also informed about our ‘adventure’.

It was a dull night. Nothing, not even a leaf, moved in the absence of wind. Just before the scheduled time we moved to the exact spot. We had not found any trace of suspicious activity and hence were partially relaxed. 15 minutes passed and no one came. Not even a single vehicle had crossed during our stay of 45 minutes there. The area must have been very notorious.

‘She would not come. It was a ploy.’  Arvind gave his verdict.

‘But to what end?’ Gulati asked.

‘Hey Guys look.’ Mithilesh drew our attention to a source of light which was stationary at a distance of about half a kilometer. It was off the road and it was certainly not of a vehicle.

‘We shall check.’ Mithilesh said as he ignited the engine.

As we drew nearer we realized that the light was coming from a cabin of a sort. There were some 10-12 men busy in loading a large cargo container.

‘This looks fishy.’ said Gulati.

Mithilesh had not switched on the light while covering the distance. He parked his vehicle some 200 meters from the cabin.

‘We should go.’ I said.

‘No. We should stay. Just check out what these guys are doing. Whatever is going on is definitely not legal. I told you this area is notorious.’ hissed Arvind.

‘And for precisely this reason I want us to leave this place. This is none of our business.’ I tried to reason.

‘Bhai!! Ruk jaa. I always wanted to do something like this. James Bond type wali feeling aa rahi hai.’ Mithilesh was again getting excited.

‘We had come here to meet a girl. She had not shown up. That’s it. Let us go.’ I did not want friends to land in trouble because of me.

‘We appreciate your point of view. Don’t worry. We will do it cautiously.’ Gulati has an expert opinion on everything.

So, Mithilesh opened the bonnet of his car and pretended to work on it as if something was wrong with it. To make things look genuine, Arvind was using torch to guide his actions. Gulati and I were out of the car looking at the cabin trying to make sense of whatever was going on there. With my limited eyesight, even with the glasses, it was difficult – and yet I saw a movement in one of the sack bags which were being loaded.

‘Trafficking?’ I looked quizzically at Gulati who had the same look. Before we could discuss anything, however, the roar of a bullet bike created panic in us. Some of the people from cabin would obviously have noticed us – the monster of a bike was coming directly to us. I could foresee a big thrashing or even worse coming our way.

Click Here for Part 4

New Story: Shamisha - Part 4

‘What has happened?’ asked the rider.

‘Don’t know. The car went dead abruptly.’ said Mithilesh.

‘How come you guys are on this road? This is generally not used during this hour.’ the pillion looked suspiciously at us. I noticed that both of them were carrying guns.

‘We were getting late for a party. This is the shortcut and so we took it. Who knew that we would be trapped in this way?’ Arvind explained. We were all in our dapper best- the reason could have looked genuine.

‘Let me have a look.’ said the rider after a moment. Probably he was evaluating us.

He scrambled for a few minutes and then looked triumphantly at us – ‘Here’ he showed us a disconnected wire. Mithilesh and Arvind had done a good job. I admired their thinking and guts. He fixed it and the car came back to life.

‘The area is not safe. Go and I do not want to see you guys a mile within this area in future.’ the rider said showing the arm he was carrying on his shoulder. He appeared kind enough. We made a run. We had completely forgotten about Shamisha.

‘That girl of yours wanted us to see this.’ opined Arvind.

‘I am not sure but it looks like a logical explanation.’ I said. ‘I think we should inform Shiv Kant about this then.’ I dialed his number and informed him about the events till now. He was ready to move in with a team.

‘I still have no answer about the girl. Shamisha!! Who the hell are you?’ I muttered.

‘Don’t worry dude. We will soon have some answers.’ Arvind assured me.

It was well past midnight. We had our dinner at a reputed roadside eatery. Shiv Kant and his team had nabbed the gang. They were into child trafficking. I and Gulati passed a knowing smile on hearing this. We were sitting at the comfortable lounge area of Shiv Kant’s police station. We had given our statements and were waiting for further instructions. There were plenty of activities outside – Media crew had somehow got the lead of a major breakthrough. They were vying for news bites.

‘Look at what you media guys do?’ I said to Nitin pointing to the numerous OB Van outsides. He just smiled.

‘Surprise Surprise!!’ said Shiv Kant as he entered the area.

‘What?’ I asked expectedly.

‘The gang leader’s name is Karan.’

‘And…’  Every eye was set on him.

‘No. He doesn’t know anyone named Shamisha. Neither does any of his team members.’

‘You are sure of this?’

‘Well!! Shamisha is a unique name. Don’t you think? They would have remembered knowing someone with that name. Anyways I would do further enquiry to see what else I can get.’

‘Thank you.’ We said in unison.

‘Are… I should thank you guys. This is a great catch. We have saved the lives of many innocent children.’

‘I think you can leave now. It is already late. If you can, I would suggest, take a day off tomorrow. All of you.’ and he left.

‘It was a good adventure.’ Gulati and Mithilesh said in unison.

‘Yeah!! It was. And you guys were all set to leave me out of It.’ said Arvind.

‘We did not even get to be in live action.’ rued Nitin. William was smiling wistfully.

It seems that the riddle of Shamisha was not of prime importance at the moment. ‘I wish I could have solved the riddle of Shamisha.’ I sighed.

Ending 1:

Mithilesh dropped me at home. I was in a somber mood. My mind was clouded by Shamisha. I threw myself on bed. It was around 3 AM. My phone suddenly buzzed. It was a message from Shekhar – ‘I have sent you a mail. Please check.’

‘Shamisha died in a freak accident a couple of months ago. See attachments.’ His mail read. I opened the attachments (which were copies of news clipping and police reports) and was devastated. I cried my heart out as I rued the fact that I did not even express my feelings to the girl I loved.

Another message from Shekhar came at around 6 in the morning – ‘Sorry. I wish I could have been there. Be Strong man.’ I had recovered somehow by now.

I called Mithilesh – ‘Bhai, she is dead.’

‘Who? Shamisha?’

‘Yes.’ I felt like crying again but managed to hold myself somehow.

‘How?’ I told him about the mail from Shekhar. Mithilesh took Gulati and Arvind on conference.

‘But you always used to keep a tab on her whereabouts. How could you miss this?’ Arvind asked.

‘I left it after your advice to leave the bogey of past.’

My friends consoled me and soon they were at my place. And as always has happened, they took me out of my misery. They stayed there, all of them (taking the day off), till late evening and till they made sure I was okay.

I decided to skip dinner and spend some time with an old classic. As I was setting up the system, a phone call gave a skip to my heart.

‘Hey!!’

‘Hey!!’

‘You know this would be my last call.’

‘Yes.’

‘I want to thank you and your friends for what you have done today.’

‘It was nothing. I could have done anything for you. It is another thing that I was not sure if it was for you.’

‘Yeah!! It was more due to your friends but still… You were concerned about them. I know.’

‘Why?’ I trembled while asking this question.

‘I knew that you liked me – from the very beginning. You never had the courage and I was not keen on taking it further. By the time I started developing feelings for you, it was too late I guess.’ I felt a pang in my heart – It could have worked. ‘At the time of my death, I rued that I did not express my love to you.’

‘How did you die? Shekhar’s mail suggested that it was a freak accident.’

‘Shekhar is considerate for he did not divulge everything to you... I died trying to expose this racket ran by Karan. I got killed along with my colleague – it was not an accident, it was murder carried out by Karan and his associates.’

‘But Shiv Kant said that they did not know you.’

‘Shiv Kant is a friend of Shekhar. He was advised on telling the truth to you.’ I was wondering on why the gang spared us last night.

‘Don’t bother too much about it. You were just plain lucky.’ I did not know that spirits can read mind and that too over phone.

‘You are weirdly funny. Haan, I can read your mind over phone too. I think we could have a great time, had we been together.’

‘I think that too.’

‘I will have to hang up now. Do know that I loved you. Take care. I would be watching you from wherever I go from here.’ And she hung the phone.

Ending 2:

‘Then you should have sought the help of the ultimate riddle master.’ it was Shekhar.

‘What are you doing here?’ I asked. Everyone was bewildered by his sudden appearance.

‘Solving a case my friend.’ He was in his characteristic self.

‘You said that in our communication – you did not mention that you are in the city.’

‘Does it matter? Anyways, I heard that you guys had a great adventure. How was it? Tell me.’

‘Well!! It was super…’ Mithilesh started and then halted. ‘Wait a minute. Were you playing games with us?’

‘Who? Me? No.’

‘Shekhar!!!’ all of us growled at him.

‘Okay… Okay. I accept it was my plan. But what could I do. You guys were always pestering me to show you a glimpse of my life. I did it for you guys.’

‘This is not funny.’ Gulati complained.

‘Is it? Tell me… Wasn’t it fun? Weren’t you all nervously excited? Wasn’t it an adventure worth going for?’

‘Yes it was. But now we know that all of it was orchestrated.’

‘That’s the beauty. You guys met real criminals at real crime scene. Nothing was orchestrated. This was a real case.’

‘So, you left us at the mercy of the criminals?’

‘Now you are underestimating your friend. All of you were well protected. Shiv Kant’s team was already there. You were just given a small time to have an adventure – of course at my request.’

‘And you knew about Shamisha… So, you brought in a voice artist to rattle my life.’ I was angry with him.

‘Shamisha’s angle was the masterstroke I think.’

‘It was.’ Everyone agreed in unison.

‘Don’t you want to meet the voice artist?’ he asked me.

‘Of course I do. She was good… she was very close to the original. With whatever…’

‘You speak too much. Shamisha come here.’

A girl in her mid-twenties appeared.

‘Shamisha.’ I gasped. She smiled and waved at me and others. Others were flabbergasted too.

‘I told you her angle was the masterstroke. I had a chance meeting with her in Bangalore. I knew you would never tell her about your feelings… So, I told her on your behalf.’ I froze.  She passed a knowing smile at me. ‘She wanted to talk to you. And then it struck me – I let her talk to you but in a way which served two ends – one, I am sure, it re-ignited your subdued feelings and two, it drew you guys to this adventure.’ She was still smiling. I was at my wit’s end with this sudden change of script.

‘How did you manage to get those calls done?’

‘You are talking to a Computer Science grad and that too a topper dude. I am good with technology… but this time I took the help of your wizard friend.’

‘Sougata. That bastard…’

‘Don’t abuse him. He helped you to get your girl.’ I inadvertently blushed.

‘I think you would wish to have some time with her. Go then.’ I hesitated. ‘Go. No one will pull your leg. I promise.’

As I approached Shamisha, she hugged me. With the corners of my eyes, I found Shekhar, Gulati, Mithilesh, Arvind, Nitin and William moving out. 

Sachin - My Superhero

It was a bad day at office. I left early. As I dragged myself back from work I was taken over by frustration and started cursing myself and my job. It was that feeling of ‘being trapped’ which many of us have felt sometime or other in our career - you know how it makes us feel helpless and miserable. Once in my room, I tossed my things on bed and sat on chair staring blankly at the window. I was in emotional turmoil and not knowing exactly what to do next I switched on the TV – ‘perhaps it would distract me’, I thought. The idiot box obliged and actually went a step further to provide a healing touch - for that day an artist was at work and he was in his sublime best. As Sachin hooked, pulled and drove the ball to boundaries I felt a calm settling on me. He had done this before and he was there again to come to my rescue. That day, February 24^th 2010, is etched in the history as the day when One Day Cricket witnessed its first ever double century – that day is etched in my mind as the day when a revered man reiterated the importance of chasing one’s dreams and holding on a bit longer. That superhuman effort by the master blaster cured me (at least temporarily) of my pain – in the last 23 years, Sachin had made it a habit of curing millions like me. As this great healer bids goodbye to the form of game in which he is unparalleled, I attempt to retrace my bonding with him which started some 23 years back.

I started knowing Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar in the late1980s. It was the time I was getting introduced to my first set of superhero friends – Krishna, Hanuman, He-Man (all thanks to Doordarshan), Nagraaj and Super Commando Dhruv. Superheroes have enthralled me since then – they represent courage, character, determination, righteousness and an ability to demolish the opponents despite odds. So when I saw a young Indian ripping apart Abdul Qadir, the leading leg spinner of that time, I felt certain similarity in his exploits and the ones carried out by my superhero friends. I was barely 5 or 6 then – I do not have much memories of that time but I could still recall that day when a supposed ‘David’ conquered the ‘Goliath’. The bachcha party was forced to move to terrace after a listless Indian performance when a sudden loud cheer brought us back to the TV sets. What ensued was a heroic battle which created a new hero for me and for a billion plus nation.

In the next two decades, India witnessed its heartthrob grow in stature beyond the realms of imagination. He continued adding new chapters to his legend without abandon. For me, each of his outings was like getting a new issue of a loved comic book. His is a classic superhero story – a guy who could easily pass off as your next door neighbor becoming a great force as soon as he enters a cricket field. And he gave us some wonderful, electrifying moments as he went on conquering the world, slaying the egos of the best teams of the time. Those who have followed cricket passionately in the 90s would agree that he almost carried a messianic halo around him at least for all supporters of Indian cricket. This was probably the reason he would bring the country to standstill every time he came out to bat – students would bunk classes; workers would have a radio playing nearby; officers would take frequent breaks to know about the score; people would hurry back home or stand by a pan-shop or an electronic store playing matches. The nation would be in an apparent curfew – a rare phenomenon post ‘Mahabharata’ days. He would disappoint us sometimes but more often than not would make up for those disappointments with a defining knock or with a trickery or two with the ball – his humbling of feared Pakistani attack in 1992 World Cup; his wonders with ball at the Hero Cup semi-finals against South Africa; his upping the tempo in World Cup 1996; the blistering ‘sandstorm’ knocks in Sharjah against Australia; that emotional return from his father’s death pyre with a century against Kenya; the demolition of Shoaib Akhtar in 2003 World Cup; his amazing 175 against Australia recently and of course the unforgettable 200. These and many more moments have defined the world of ODI cricket, have taken the format to the next pedestal and have ensured that the legend of Sachin Tendulkar lives on for eternity.

So, what makes Sachin the superhero I admire? Is it the way he had demolished the best in the business with his genius? Or Is it the courage with which he had carried the load of expectations of 1 billion+ people for last 23 years (and Talia Al Ghul/ Miranda Tate taunted Batman of failing the expectations of just 12 million in The Dark Knight Rises!!)? Or Is it the records which he had piled in his long career? Or Is it the humility with which he conducts himself in the public life? Or Is it the consistency with which he had performed over the years on the Cricket field? Or is it the single minded passion and dedication he had shown to the game we all love? All the above would find a ‘Yes’ as an answer from me and yet they do not capture the essence of his greatness.

Sachin is not a superhero because of his statistics (which definitely prove that he is the greatest ever to have played the game – those whining about his lack of ability to win matches would do well to revisit the stats and correct themselves) or because of his humility or dedication to the game of Cricket. Of course these have played vital role in what he is today but there is an important element which is often overlooked by many. To me, Sachin is superhero as he was one of the important catalysts in bringing about a generational shift in India. When Sachin arrived at the scene India was still a struggling nation unsure of its potential. As a country it was reluctant to go out and prove its worth to the world. Of course it was the world’s largest democracy; it had a thriving space programme; it had conducted nuclear tests; it had fought 4 wars and won 3; it was an eight time Olympic champion in Hockey; it had won the Cricket World Cup in 1983; its growth rate had started to improve slowly; it had world’s largest film industry and yet it did not have the confidence to say to the world that ‘I have arrived’. Sachin was one of the few people who led a nation to believe that ‘Yes, we can’ (long before Obama chanted the same mantra in US). So when he looked into the eyes of the most fearsome bowlers of his time and heaved their deliveries outside the park, he sparked a generation to believe that ‘they can be world beaters’ (The ones who die by the names of Sehwag, Yuvraj and Kohli should acknowledge that these players owe a bit of their world beating attitude to the master himself); When he stood at the crease for the Indian flag despite severe pain, he (in a way) preached the spirit of ‘fighting despite odds’; When he created new shots to demolish his opponents, he asked the nation to ‘adapt to the changing times’; When he stands humbly amidst all accolades, he propagates the virtue of staying in touch with own roots.

Sachin’s is the story of the resurgent India – probably the reason he connected with our generation like no one else did. A superhero is known by the lives he touches – this one brought us hope; united a diverse country with his art; instilled the courage to challenge the status quo and face the adversity; infused confidence to compete and emerge as the best; introduced ‘grit’, ‘determination’, ‘passion’ & ‘hard work’ as pillars of success; taught us that success breeds humility and not arrogance; and most importantly he inspired excellence in a country which had till then thrived on mediocrity. Sachin is my superhero because he makes me feel proud as an Indian.

P.S: Watching Cricket will never be same again. Many would not watch Cricket altogether. Sachin’s departure was inevitable – however, the manner in which pressure was mounted on him to retire disappointed me. Now that he has said goodbye to ODI Cricket, we can settle down and analyze his true contribution not only to the game but to India.          

Run Parliament Run!!

I assume most of you would be well aware of the ‘Mass Bunk Syndrome’ and many of you would have been at least a part of it or something similar at least once in your life. To the uninitiated ‘Mass Bunk’ is a term used for collective action on the decision of not attending a particular session or a class generally by a group of students (but can be done by any group of people). I am not sure if you would find this definition anywhere else as it is a result of yours truly’s firsthand experience. Obviously the term has its origin in ‘Bunk’ but has evolved to embody the spirit of collectivism. Those who have had a tryst with the syndrome would agree that the act could be used to group’s advantage in a lot many situations: in an ‘all important’ India Pakistan cricket match to the legendary telecast of ‘Disco Dancer’ on national television to playing a game of soccer (football) instead to escape from the threat of a sudden class test and what not. Despite its usefulness, most of us understand our responsibility and bid adieu to the concept once we graduate to the professional world. But some could not or rather ‘do not want to’. I would come to this specific point later – I had to explain one more term before arriving at the crux of this article. Before I do that, let me ask you a question – How many of you equated ‘Mass Bunk’ with ‘Strike’? While they may appear same as both are expressions of cumulative decision of ‘abstaining from something’, there is one glaring difference – ‘Mass Bunk’ is generally executed unannounced to the authorities (or is carried out with tacit understanding of both the parties) while ‘Strike’ is generally a declared phenomenon.

Another term which I want to bring in before making my argument for the article is ‘Examination Boycott’. I am sure many of you would have heard the term but may not have been a part of. I have never been a part of this syndrome but would like to sum it up on the basis of hearsay: an act of stalling the examination (process) by a group of examinees on certain pretext which may or may not have the support of the entire set/ majority of examinees. This has been an effective tool to delay / derail (whatever suits you) the examination process by a group of students in following cases: questions not adhering to the syllabus, sudden realization (mostly at the examination center) of lack of adequate preparation or in some cases to exercise / showcase certain clout in university / colleges. Now this again is generally restricted to one’s student life as there is little patronage for such activities in life’s other phases.

I believe that most of you would agree that as one move on in life, the priority changes and things like ‘Mass Bunk’ and unnecessary ‘Boycotts’ take backseats. But some of us do not want to part ways with things ‘immature’. Think hard – Don’t you feel that our elected representatives have resorted to both the above tactics to paralyze the parliament for last two weeks? And it is this very fact which disturbs me the most – Why our leaders resort to methods in the ‘temple of democracy’ which we find inappropriate to employ at our workplace?

There have been explanations to the act: The principal opposition party states that it wants to corner the ‘ineffective and corrupt’ government and hence boycotting parliament. Now this is strange – I always felt that the best way to corner a government would be to ask difficult, pointed questions on the floor of the parliament and holding it accountable. It appears more as if they do not want to attend the proceedings and hence has taken a collective decision on the same. I must confess that there have been times in my student life where I have enjoyed the fruits of a successful ‘Mass Bunk’ without giving much thought on the consequences – however, such collective action never cost the Indian exchequers INR 2 crore a day. Monetary loss due to stalling of Parliament would accrue to thousands of crores of rupees even if we take the period of 2004 – 2012 (the period for CAG evaluation of Coalfield allocation which is causing the recent uproar). I am curious if any authority has been given a mandate to audit this and bring the guilty to the books. In coming days, someone can also term this as scam – What with our leaders wasting the hard earned money of our people without carrying out the duty for which the money was apparently spent.

It is not also about only about cornering the government – Sometimes, a party would boycott the parliament because it does not want to face difficult questions on the floor of parliament. Now you can draw the corollary to the ‘Examination Boycott’. In this particular case, I think, it is as much about ‘cornering government’ as ‘to avoid difficult questions’ which might have motivated the principal opposition party to take the current stand. You cannot blame them solely – in the past, the current ruling coalition has resorted to similar tactics. These acts have somehow blunted the perceived supremacy of parliament as is reflected in the recent agitations of Anna Hazare and Ramdev.

My sole argument is that in order to avoid wider chaos (and our entire neighbourhood is chaotic), it is important to maintain the supremacy of parliament. It is important that people respect the parliament (and legislative assembly for that matter) as institution(s) and have faith in the parliamentary process. Unfortunately, there is a ‘perceived sense’ of disillusion (especially in youth) and the political parties across spectrum share the ‘shame’ of disappointing the nation. Today, as a nation, we are fighting a flagging economy, high inflation, internal security threat, corruption and what not and thus a few important legislative interventions is the least we could expect from our representatives.

I appeal our leaders and representatives (as if they are going to read it but just for the sake of bringing a definite closure to this idea) of shedding their affinity for tactics like ‘Mass Bunk’ and ‘Boycott’. Parliament is ‘temple of democracy’ as it assures the citizen of this country that their issues / concerns are being addressed by the political establishments. A proper functioning parliament assures us that ‘everything will be fine’ and we should focus on our work leaving all the worries behind. ‘Mass Bunk’ and ‘Boycotts’ are tools for immature – one would not like to believe that (s)he has sent an ‘immature guy’ as a priest to the highest temple of democracy. How much does it take to act with decorum and engage in positive discussions related to the country? (Of course I am assuming that one who reaches such a high institution would have basic skill sets to carry out these duties). It is time that leaders of this country listen to the chant of ordinary citizens ‘Run Parliament Run!! Run Parliament Run!!’ and act accordingly.

Why do we fall?

In the last couple of years I could sense a lot of pessimism in the public perception regarding the state of India mostly fuelled by continuous media coverage on the frequently unearthed ‘scams’ / ‘misconduct of powerful’ and the widely aired belief of the paralysis of the Central government. A few days back a dejected colleague wondered ‘Will India come out of this pit?’

Frankly speaking, while I partially relate to the somber mood prevailing in the nation I do not concur completely with the pessimism persisting in the country. I would like to explain my stand:

Let us start with the economy first. In the morning I was reading certain articles related to the economic crisis in Europe and things are seemingly much worse there. While a modest growth rate of 5.7% should certainly draw some creases on our forehead, I do not find the need of mourning on it. We have not performed to our potential and should work hard and smart to rectify it – the message, I think, should be as simple as that. Unfortunately our leaders (both in the government and those in the opposition), media, social activists, industry tycoons and anyone of some reputation have failed to pass on this simple message and stop the panic at least on the economic front.

The last few years have seen common man fighting a tough battle with the inflation. This I think has been the primary reason of the all-round pessimism and discomfort of the common masses. Each time I visit the weekly market in the neighbourhood, I feel flabbergasted by the spiraling cost of food items and that of basic necessities – A Rs. 20/ Kg potato would have been hard to imagine a few years back. Inflation sits high on the factors hampering our growth potential and needs to be countered effectively. However, regulatory bodies and government seems to waging this battle with the wrong weapons. Once right arsenal is selected inflation could be tamed to a comforting level – this would take time but I think the pain of inflation would subside.

Another factor affecting the psyche of common man is the regular expose of scams and misconduct by influential. This has created a perception of a tyrannical regime which is either dysfunctional or inefficient to take corrective steps and hell-bent on cracking any voice of dissent. Now the current government has been rather ineffective but I would not be going a step further to accept it as tyrannical – take a world map and mark the countries where a ‘Yoga-guru’ (of whatever might) subtly threatens the government (however defunct) of disrupting the Independence Day celebrations and escapes without any government retaliation or public outrage and you will get the answer. In dark times, everything appears dark but it is our good fortune that Independent India, barring minor exceptions, has never been run by despotic regimes.

I have tried to briefly put forth my arguments on why I believe the current situation should not drive us to pessimism. The situation is not rosy and I accept that we have fallen from our path but there is hope that things would improve. While I am cautiously optimistic about the recovery of our economy, our battle against inflation and the issue of governance, I am worried about a ‘fall’ which could have a far greater bearing on our lives than the factors mentioned above.

I have always believed that India is witnessing a silent revolution – a revolution which would slowly eat the ills plaguing our country. However, the process has been excruciatingly slow which is rather disappointing even for me. I understand that some of the complex societal changes would take time but the derailment of the process from time to time disturbs me. So, I feel pain when a perfectly logical and well educated guy embraces the ills of casteism; I feel hurt when a ‘wannabe’ reformer / social activist propagates hatred towards different groups; I feel disappointed when a ‘boy’ child still remains the wish of would be parents. The idea of a truly ‘Great India’ appears to be at a distance with these dampeners playing their part. While such derailments slow us down what actually frightens me is the increased attacks of ‘Intolerance’ and ‘Indifference’ on our social fabric and the resultant ‘fall’ which we could take as a society. As expressed in a previous article, I believe countering these are the foremost challenge we have as a society.

The fall has already begun – our first wall of resistance has been breached. Intolerance has dealt a big blow on our social fabric – the recent exodus of North East Indians from major Indian cities is a very relevant example. We should hang our heads in shame for we could not assure the safety of fellow Indians who flee in their own country due to perceived threat on their lives. This is not the first instance though – earlier Biharis were driven from Mumbai, Karnataka & Assam as well. It is quite easy to pass the blame on the government/ administration but in reality it is the failure of us as a society. The fact is that Intolerance is slowly creeping in us. It has reached to that silly level where a Salman Khan fan would slam Shah Rukh Khan and vice versa – Being a fan would mean ‘not watching’ / slamming movies of competitor actors. It has also reached a point where genuine inquisitions / suggestions are abhorred by a team claiming to fight for restoring the spirit of democracy. We have taken a hit: The concept of co-existence which is central to the idea of India is now increasingly tested by the ‘You are either with me or with the enemy’ kind of rhetoric.

Indifference is also testing its water in India – Lack of probity in public life (central to the recent outburst against corruption) stems out from this very attitude. There are signs of eroding compassion in the society which is a scary thought to start with. Chetan Bhagat says in his latest book (I am still to read it) that Indian Youth is guided by Greed – Greed in itself is not bad but it has to be within a limit. This unchecked greed or ‘self-centeredness’ is somehow making us indifferent or is it the other way round? Whatever be the case, an indifferent society is not good news in any part of the world including India.

So, which direction India will take from now on? If you ask me, I am quite hopeful that we would be able to overcome the recent assaults on the idea of India. Why? Because we are a resilient nation and despite odds I believe that sense will prevail and we would work hard for the betterment of our country. Because, agreed we have taken a fall, I believe we fall for a reason. As explained brilliantly to Bruce Wayne by his father and later by Alfred in ‘Batman Begins’ – We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up. This is brilliant opportunity to work towards building a better society and a better tomorrow. Also because I know a lot many people who are doing their bit for the society and are aspiring to contribute more in days to come. This alone is the biggest assurance that makes me think we will see through these dark days and emerge stronger.

The time has come to ‘pick ourselves up’ – and that would begin by defeating the current ‘hate propaganda’ against our fellow Indians.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight was the first movie to which I gave standing ovation in a theatre – the cinematic experience was so overwhelming that I could not stop myself from doing so. My friend was surprised at my reaction – ‘you generally do not react like this’, he said. Since then, I have given standing ovation to two other movies (‘Avatar’ for its sheer brilliance in conceptualizing an entirely new world and ‘Inception’ which was another masterstroke from Christopher Nolan). Naturally, I had humungous expectation from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ especially as it promised to be an ‘epic conclusion’ to the Dark Knight Legend.

It is almost a week since the ‘conclusion’ unfolded on the Silver Screen – there is no need to recommend or criticize the movie as almost all of you would have seen it by now. The reaction to the movie has been mixed – which comes as a surprise to me. Christopher Nolan had set the bar very high in The Dark Knight and it would have been a miracle if he would have exceeded that by a significant margin. So, it is okay that the miracle did not happen but to me The Dark Knight Rises is almost there (though it did not earn a standing ovation) – probably a 19 to The Dark Knight’s score of 20. Many have reasoned the absence of a villain as charismatic as Joker (played brilliantly by Late Heath Ledger) to be the ill of the movie while some have blamed the slow pace. They may be right in their own space (as watching movie is a very personal experience) but I would now try to put forth why the movie worked for me. Here are my reasons of already watching the movie twice and planning to go for at least one more screening:

It’s definitely a Redemption Movie: With this being the final part of the franchise, I think redemption works well as the theme of the movie. If scrutinized closely, redemption guides the instinct of almost all the main characters including the negative ones (who want to redeem themselves probably in a different way). And as an avid movie fan, I know how much these redemption movies help me to get over troubled times. This one would definitely feature high in my viewing list the next time I am down and out.

The movie is dark: The Dark Knight was dark in its theme and this one holds onto that - Thematically perhaps it is even darker than its predecessor. There is certain gloom in the setting which is often disturbed by the glimmer of hope. And though the movie at times move at leisurely pace, the frames continue to brim with certain intensity which were absent in the recent superhero blockbusters like ‘The Avengers’ and ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ (I thoroughly enjoyed both of them). To those who complained of movie being lethargic – I think Nolan was setting pieces for a perfect end to each of the character.

It throws some interesting questions: What if the deprived start staking claims on the wealth so measly distributed and that too violently? Urban terrorism is an uncomfortable thought and the movie smartly scratches the surface and meanders away (rightly so!! The genre is Superhero and an excessive focus would have been detrimental). It also asks difficult questions on ‘Morality’, ‘Righteousness’, ‘Freedom’, ‘Societal Decay’ and ‘Corruption’. Definitely the underlying theme is more relevant in today’s world.

Selina Kyle: Anne Hathway as the wily Cat is a worthy addition to the legend. She is crafty, elegant resourceful, agile and dare I say Sexy in her Catwoman avatar. Guided by a sole motive of beginning her life with a clean slate, she makes some pretty interesting choices adding necessary spice to the movie. Can we have a Catwoman series too, Mr. Nolan?

Distinct moral stamp: Let me confess – I was never a big fan of Batman until the Nolan franchise happened. I was more fascinated by a Super Commando Dhruv (though his character seems to be slightly inspired by the Batman himself) or a Spiderman. But, Nolan brought some kind of innate earnestness and moral authority which made this Batman distinct from other Superheroes. This is not to undermine other superheroes – they are all good and morally upright but Christian Bale’s depiction has a more humane touch. His Batman seems to have a moral authority enjoyed by very few characters in the era of modern superheroes blockbusters – and this trait is exploited well in the last movie as well. Sample these:

Selina Kyle: ‘You don’t owe these people anymore. You have given them everything.’

Batman: ‘Not everything. Not Yet.’

Similarly, he asked Catwoman not to use gun while fighting a group of trained mercenaries – He would not kill. As a symbol, he is incorruptible.

Antagonist: Bane is no Joker – and probably this is where the movie is receiving lot of flak. But hey c’mon – why the hell one has to make comparisons (though I admit it is a difficult task to stay away from it too). Look at him as a standalone antagonist and he passes with flying colour. Yes – the muffled voice makes him less menacing than a flamboyantly maniac Joker despite having a dominating physical presence. And yet he is a great foil to the Batman, hell-bent on ‘breaking his body and then his soul’. He is more of a villain than Dr. Connors of Spiderman or Loki of Avengers any day.

 

Special Effects and Action Pieces: Without doubt first rate!! - Especially the one in which Bane highjacks and crashes the airplane. The mayhem at the football field and the set piece in the climax are perfect for the culmination of an epic series.

There is a new entrant: In the last edition Nolan gave us Bat-mobike and this one he moves a step forward to give us a Bat and the best thing is that the flying machine gives us some stunning sequences.

Supporting Cast: The big guns return to blaze the screen again – Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Cain have relatively lesser screen time and yet they prove their worth in those. Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake is another welcome addition to the cast who adds weight to the moral fibre of the story. I think that the character of Miranda Tate played by Marion Cotillard could have been explored a bit more but nonetheless she adds a different angle to the movie.

Hope prevails: Like any superhero movie, the film establishes that ultimately hope prevails.

And Finally: Because I think it is fitting finale to a defining movie franchise which has taken this genre to a new level.

How to create a personal movie theatre?

No, no, no!! I am not going to give any technical ‘gyan’ on setting up a home theatre system. Most of you would know it much better than me. I am certainly not going to endorse a brand of home theatre system nor am I going to ‘crib’ on the fact that despite 3 years of working I failed to own a world class ‘personal movie theatre’ system dedicated for the sole purpose of screening movies and TV serial for me (though the idea is tempting… :P).

What would you do if you are filled with an ‘emptiness of sort’ towards the end of a weekend? Well!! It doesn’t really matter (for this post at least) what you would do – what matters is what I did. I (as any well-educated guy would do) thought of intellectually analyzing the problem. To be honest I owe my bread & butter to the profession of ‘analyzing’ and hold my degrees (both graduate and post graduate) in areas which are deemed to be ‘closely related to Analysis’. Needless to say that I have claimed this personal trait as one of my ‘biggest strengths’ in almost all the interviews I appeared since graduation days. So, after much deliberation it dawned on me that the sudden bout of emptiness was just because I did not watch any movie in the weekend. I revealed this terrific insight to my dear friend Mithilesh (Yeah, yeah!! He is a superstar to all those who know him) and as a compassionate friend he immediately quipped – ‘Chal, kaun si movie dekhni hai (Which movie do you want to see)?’ This exercise also calls for deep analytical skills especially if all the movies being screened during that time are insipid to say the least. I had carried out this exercise on Friday itself and knew that none of the movies ‘Cocktail’, ‘Bol Bachchan’ & ‘Abraham Lincoln – Vampire Hunter’ has the potential of taking away that feeling of ‘hollowness’ from me.

‘Let’s watch some movie from your collection then. You have so many movies on your hard disk.’ He suggested.

‘Yeah, but watching on laptop would not give that kind of thrill which I seek right now.’ I said ‘grimly’.

‘Who said we are going to watch it on laptop?’ there was a twinkle in his eyes.

And hence we started with a recipe of creating a very own personal movie theatre.

Key Ingredients:

1 Projector (Though we have made rapid strides, projector still is slightly out of reach for common man. Not so much for Mithilesh as he belongs to the media community)

1 Good quality speaker system (Again no difficulty in finding it out at Mithilesh’s place… :P)

1 large wall or white sheet to screen the movie (Considering the realty scenario in the country, a desirable screen dimension may be difficult especially in Metro towns)

High Definition movies collection (I am fortunate to have some good movies in HD print on my hard disk)

Key Steps:

Step 1: Switch on the laptop

Step 2: Connect it with the Hard Disk to ensure that hard disk still has life in it … :P

Step 3: Connect the Projector to the laptop and adjust the settings and focus to create a great visual experience

Step 4: Connect the ‘High Quality’ speaker system to complete the setup

Simple steps!! Aren’t they? (especially when you have all the ingredients ready). We decided to watch the twin movies of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) in the run up to the ‘Epic Conclusion’ releasing this weekend. We had created the perfect setting – but before the sense of satisfaction crept in, Murphy’s Law took over the control. My ‘office issued’ laptop suddenly became ‘moody’ and developed a snag – the audio would not become ‘loud enough’ to create the cinema experience despite the deployment of the ‘High Quality’ speaker system.

We immediately switched to another laptop but that also failed – the slot where we fit in the cable of the projector was found to be defective and hence though the sound quality was excellent, the visuals were restricted to the laptop screen thereby defeating the purpose. We sweated out to find the solution. At one instance I thought of improvising one of the strategies we used to employ while in college – in case of lag between video and audio, we used to play the same file on two media players to adjust the lag (video on mute complemented by sound of another). I fascinated using the same ‘jugaad technology’ – to connect the projector to my laptop while connecting the speaker to the other – I dropped the idea considering the crudeness of the idea.

With Murphy’s Law playing the script to the perfection, we struggled to find a decent workable solution for more than an hour when the good old charming 'luck' entered the arena. In came an old laptop (of a ‘good for nothing’ kind of type) as an act of desperation and voila it worked in a truly filmy style. We started watching the spectacular ‘Batman Begins’ and to tell you the truth were very mighty pleased with the entire effect – there is a consideration of having screenings of good movies every weekend.

However, the story does not end here – Murphy’s Law came back to take the take the revenge. The ‘emptiness’ could not go completely as the screening could not be continued after the arrival of a few ‘non-filmy’ friends. The pilot phase was not exactly successful but has given enough learning to make it right the next time.

P.S: ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is on – First Day Last Show… :)