On the parchment

We all know that slums are very common and abundant in the third world countries. But do we know what makes a locality to be distinguished as slum? There are various factors involved in this apart from the fact that the people in those areas are really poor and uneducated. For one, it is unclean and unhygienic. One of my friends, who is doing a course on Environmental Science happened to take up a project on Slum areas in Bangalore. Now I know what everyone thinks.   Slums in Bangalore? Impossible. But that is the cold truth. And what is worse? Those slums in Bangalore are generally tagged along a posh locality. Initially, each family was given money by the Government to build their own houses. But most of them found the necessity to save the money and build a small house with no toilet. They did not feel that toilet and sewage system was an integral part of home. But we cannot stereotype slums on the whole. Every slum has its own characteristics. There ...

Prologue “Dowry is not so common in our community”, said my perima, while biting into a piece of pizza we just bought. “That is true. It is considered a shame to demand from the bride’s parents. Although there are some people who still ask according to their convenience”, my mother added. We were reminiscing their childhood days over dinner. Perima had come over to our place for the weekend and we were enjoying the occasional pizza (occasional for them, as they hardly eat junk food) for dinner. “Who asks for dowry? Is there anyone in our family who did?” I asked. “Oh I don’t know. But your grandfather had to pay a huge sum to get his sister married. You see, back then, girls used to get married in their early teenage. It was a big deal to the family if a girl is 23 and unmarried”, said my perima. “I thought granddad’s sister was married when she was eight!” I said. “Not her. She was the elder one. She got married when she was eight. She left to her in-law’s p...

***Spoiler Alert*** You have got to be kidding me! I know that Jeffery  Archer went to prison and that he is a politician, but is he capable of writing about anything else? Same old layout.. The protagonist (Danny Cartwright) goes to prison for a crime he did not commit, his fiance: whom he is supposed to marry in a few weeks, is pregnant, he gets the best of the cellmates, one of them teaches him dining etiquette because lets face it, the hero HAS to know how to use a fork and a knife.. And here  is the biggie.. He changes his identity (conveniently), inherits a big chunk of property which is not his to begin with.. sounds familiar? yes, same as Clifton Chronicles (I know Clifton Chronicles were published after this book). And this one is three books in one bloody long book! It is acceptable to copy the others' in your own (like he took the idea from Sidney Sheldon's 'The doomsday conspiracy' for his 'The Eleventh Commandment' book) but it is not cool to cop...

I was on my way to the bus stop near my house. It was 9 o'clock and I was already late. Luckily, just before I crossed the road, I saw PP19, the bus which directly goes to my project centre. I ran across the road and got on to the bus and the bus started to move. I made my way past the crowd, to the conductor and asked for a ticket to NIEPMD hospital. The conductor gave a sympathetic look and said, "this bus goes only till VGP-Injambakkam. Get down there and take the next bus to the hospital." and he handed over the ticket to me. So much for having run to catch a bus that crowded! I was already late to the lab and the fact that I had to change two buses added to my frustration. And the thought of standing there in the crowd for the next one hour, didn't help. I squeezed myself through the passengers and stood where I could at least breathe some fresh air. I had to kill time so I plugged in my earphones to listen to music. The bus reached the terminal after what...

***Spoiler Alert*** Dr. Norman Johnson and the other scientists are ushered by the Navy Commander Hal. Barnes to site of the aircraft crash. But it turns out, lying on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is a military spacecraft of the USA from the future. It appears to be at least three hundred years old. As the crew explores the spacecraft, they find out that it has picked up an alien artifact, a sphere from the black hole outside our galaxy and has lost track of time and arrived a few hundred years prior to the launch. Ted (the astrophysicist) wants to make contact with the alien and make a breakthrough in his field of science, Beth (the zoologist) wants to assert her feminism to her peers, Barnes (the navy  commander) wants to acquire the ammunition and defense technology from the alien, Harry (the mathematician) wants to get the hell out of there before any disaster occurs and Norman ( the psychologist) is too old and scared to get himself involved in any adventure when the s...

Neither you nor do i know whose fault, That has given our journey a halt. No matter how bitter we have fought, You are the one closest to my heart. Gone are the days we laughed together, hugged each other, and those (funny)plans we hatched up I hope one day we patch up... For all the joy in my life you've brought I am fortunate to have you as my friend; With tears and pain in my heart I just wish we continued till the end. The day we regret our mistakes No longer will I be there with you For no one realizes where friendship breaks. I am always thinking of you and missing you.....