Dante's Inferno - Divine Romedy

I went back home last weekend, after a LONG period of time. And naturally, with my brother being home, we brought our XBox out of hibernation. One game which I particularly enjoyed playing was Dante's Inferno. Okay. I'll admit it. I'm a big fan of redemption storylines (Jaime from GoT, or Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars) . Good guys are good, but bad guys going good is even better. So when you get this crusader who has just returned from the Holy War and is willing to go through the nine circles of hell to redeem himself and save his beloved, it is hard not to side with him.
Dante, on his return to Acre, finds his wife and father murdered and is soon stabbed by an assassin thereafter. Unable to comprehend the fact that he would be going to hell (the bishop left that part out of the contract), Dante battles Death itself and claims his scythe (yep. Death's dead). He then goes to the church to claim his wife's cross, and falls into hell to begin his journey.
Guided by Virgil, Dante begins his descent into the circles of hell. Throughout his journey he meets people he knows, such as his father (Greed) and his mother (Violence). Beatrice, who has tasted the forbidden fruit is now with Lucifer, and unable to find a way to free her Dante agrees to take her place in hell. This sacrifice absolves Beatrice, leaving Dante free to face Lucifer and finish his fight. After defeating Lucifer in a fierce battle, Dante's soul is absolved by the souls he freed, and he is carried to paradise with Beatrice. A happy ending.
Facing our sins, and more importantly our fears, is something we all run from. But sooner or later (and hopefully it won't need a journey to the underworld) we will have to face them. The reason why redemption stories are so close to my heart is because even though we may not be able to control the circumstances or change the past, what we can control is the present and what we choose to do with it.

Turbulence and fear of flying

"Ladies and gentlemen, due to poor weather conditions the captain has turned on the seat belt signal. Kindly return to you seats and fasten your seatbelts. Use of washrooms is now prohibited"

Every time I fly, I dread looking up at the ceiling and finding that the "fasten seat belts" sign has been turned on. For some reason turbulence in aircrafts really freaks me out - no matter how big or small, whenever the ride gets bumpy I close my eyes, clench my fists and listen to music at attrociously high volumes. And it is not the shakes that really get to me - it's the feeling that you're falling when the aircraft loses altitude.

I've researched this on the internet and have read several points that point to the fact that I am probably overthinking -

• Aircrafts are built to take a terrible amount of punishment - it would take more than a gust of air to knock the aircraft out of the air.
• Even if an aircraft's engines shut down, it can glide for quite a while and can attempt an emergency landing
• Turbulence is totally normal and pilots are prepared for it beforehand
• Air travel is the safest form of travel - you are more likely to die in a car accident than in a plane crash

Even though my "research" has helped me calm my nerves down a bit, I still do get that adrenaline rush whenever I encounter turbulence - thanks to which I can't sleep in flights either. I think it is more of a control thing - the fact that I am cruising 30,000 feet in the air in the metal container which is being driven by 2 people and in whose motion I have no say whatsoever is probably what gets to me.

It is getting better with each flight though. I'll just have to put my faith in science and technology.

Oh, and yes. The one song that reminds me the most of my fears is "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.
Well don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

Orson and his beetles.

(I haven't posted anything in a month. So much for my resolve to keep this blog up and going)

I'm a big Game of Thrones fan. I've seen almost every episode more than thrice, and I remember the dialogues in some scenes by heart. I've read all the books as well, and in light of the fact that the TV series seems to be making a lot of alterations of its own, the series might actually be interesting after all.
One of my favourite scenes in season 4 is the scene in which Jaime and Tyrion talk, minutes before Tyrion's trial by combat for Joffrey's murder. This is just one of the few snippets of conversations between the Lannister brothers, and from all of them it is evident that Jaime is one of the few people who actually love and respect Tyrion for who he is.
But more on the Jaime - Tyrion relationship later. The scene which I am referring to is the one in which Tyrion and Jaime remember their mentally disabled cousin Orson who used to spend all his time crushing beetles in the garden.
                                         
Now I am sure a lot of people might consider this to be a stupid - small - talk addition to the episode, but I can't help but think more and more about Orson and his beetles, and why he would kill them. But even more so, it provides an interesting insight into Tyrion's psyche - he is not a killer, and he detests acts of slaughter. Everyone around him is a killer - the Red Viper, Gregor Clegane, and his own brother Jaime to name a few. With his trial (and possible execution) at hand Tyrion is probably wondering about the injustice of it all, and how murders, deaths and slaughters are commonplace in this world. Throughout the series Tyrion is portrayed as a character who would rather avoid combat/conflict altogether if he could, in spite of his position of power.

In the end, both brothers wonder what could possibly be driving Orson to smash beetles to the dirt. The answer, in my opinion, lies in one of the most memorable quotes from "The Imitation Game"

Do you know why people like violence? It is because it feels good. Humans find violence deeply satisfying. 

Even Orson, with his limited mental ability could derive pleasure out of the act of smashing beetles.

Scarlet Sky

Say, the sky we saw that day, the scarlet sky.

Do you remember it from that day?
We made a promise and a vow while the early summer wind circled us.
And we clung close together.
Your forced smile.
Holds elongated shadows.
I pretend not to notice and continue on.
All the while waiting for you to deliver some news at the table.
Empty nights, mornings that will never arrive.
I could see them from a mile away.
Say, the sky we saw that day, the scarlet sky.
I’m sure you’ll remember it one day.
While holding the promise we couldn’t keep.
We take our first steps down our paths.

(Not my composition, just something I'm fond of)

Where have all the sparrows gone?

Sparrows were an important part of my childhood. Every morning, after I had taken a bath and put on my school clothes, I would stand in the balcony eating a banana or an omelette with bread. I would often see groups of sparrows (twenty to thirty atleast) sitting on the ashoka trees in front of my house. Any slight disturbance - a car or a neighbour's cat - would cause them to immediately fly off and settle somewhere else. My mornings, needless to say, were not complete without a fly - by of a group of sparrows.
Over time, as my interest in going to school waned, so did the numbers of the sparrows. I did not notice their declining numbers though - I had other things on my mind. But I woke up one morning to find them gone. Now I'm not an avid bird watcher or enthusiast, but losing your daily morning dose of "chirp chirp" and suddenly realising that the little ones aren't around did make me sad. Over the next few years - both during college and travel - any sighting of the sparrow would delight me, something which would have been commonplace a few years back. A few months back, while travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai, a sight greeted me - a pack of sparrows feeding on leftover idlis. Needless to say, I took a highly zoomed (and terrible) photograph - it was, after all, a long awaited party (+1 to you if you get the LOTR reference)

                                     
I can only hypothesize the reasons for their sudden decline. A lot of people claim "loss of vegetation" to be one of the reasons, but it fails to explain the decrease in sparrows in a city like Delhi with its abundant green cover. I personally feel that the increase in EM radiations from mobile phone towers is a culprit. This would explain why I could find them in the Bangalore airport - the place is pretty far off from the city. I don't expect things to get better for them - I think the common sparrow is gone for good, and the only place where we can see them again is the wilderness. Auf wiedersehen, my friend :)
But, well, these days my mornings are greeted by another avian. It's this guy -

 A lot of people dislike them - particularly because of their habit of pooping all over the place. I have a good reason to hate them for this reason - they pooped all over my shoes and socks when I kept them in the balcony - but I don't. To be fair, that is what a lot of people do too.
The "guttergoo" of pigeons is not as musical to the ears as the chirp - chirp of sparrows. but I always imagine them to be saying
"This is a nice pair of socks..........................for me to poop on!"

On Anime

I've always found Anime and Manga to be pretty interesting. Apart from the fact that the characters have really cool hairstyles (which, by the way, are almost impossible to have in real life), the storylines and character development are equally commendable. Not having cable television for most part of my school life ensured that Pokemon, Digimon and Transformers were the only Japanese cartoons I saw (I have not seen DBZ yet)

My aversion to TV series in college - partly due to me spending most of my time on games - means that I never saw a single episode of anime after school. A lot of my friends used to discuss Death Note and Naruto, and very much like those typical football or cricket discussions I had nothing to add. Thanks to my brother Pradyumn, though, I have started watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

FMA follows the story of the Elric brothers - Edward and Alphonse. It is set in a fictional universe where people called "Alchemists" can alter the state of matter and convert it from one form to another (this in itself greatly pleases the nerd in me). Ed and Al's father abandoned them when they were young (asshole) and their mother dies due to an epidemic.. Grief stricken, they attempt to bring her back to life - only to have the process go horribly wrong. Ed loses his leg, and Al "loses" his body. Ed sacrifices his arm to bind his brother's soul to a suit of armor. Part human and part machine, the Elric brother wander the world in search of  a way to restore their bodies.

I've always been a fan of bro - power. Brothers uniting for a common purpose, that kind of thing. I think, being an elder brother I can relate to it. The best part about FMA is that it can take you through a variety of emotions - humor, sadness and hope - all within a 20 minute episode. 

The series has 64 episodes, and I have seen 15 so far. I will refrain from posting more about the story here (because I'm a nice guy), but the Japanese sure know how to keep you gripped.

PS - Made this photo on photoshop, but all credits to the original posters for their images.
PPS - Is there a difference between anime and Japanese cartoons?

Good to be back

I've been blogging on and off ever since I learnt about the concept. Most of my blogs were feeble half hearted attempts to earn money through Google AdSense (It sure is harder than what it looks like). Even though the content was based on things I found extremely interesting - Gaming, Dogs, Food, Renewable Energy - I could only write so much.
Now that I look back at things, I could have done a better job of keeping a record of my own thoughts and emotions. Any form of the written word - electronic or on paper - is an act of creation. Writing about my life, my thoughts and my experiences when I am 23 will be like starting a novel midway through. One keeps going back and forth, unsure of what to read and what not to.
Having a lot of time to myself has been a good thing. I've been reading a lot lately, and I have realised that putting down my thoughts on paper (figuratively) is an excellent excercise. A lot of us can relate to the fact that what we think and what we say are sometimes miles apart, and an attempt to convey the greatest of meanings through the least of words is a challenge. Providing abstract thoughts with a tangible form is like getting over the first phase of denial - and the self discovery in the process is its own reward :)