Dudurudh

It's 5:30PM and I'm supposed to be studying for an exam that I'll be writing in 16 hours time. It's the last exam of the semester and I can't find the motivation to bring myself to study for it. It's that time of the day when I like to sit in front of my open books, deep in contemplation about how expertly I'd managed to waste the past 3 days doing basically nothing other than reading tweets from random celebrities and posting some tweets myself. Of course, no one probably read any of those tweets but that's the weird thing about twitter. If you're someone with thousands of followers, it's a great medium to share your views. But when you have fewer than a 100 followers, it's basically like shouting at a wall in a very noisy room because eventually, not only is no one listening to you but also, you can't hear yourself amidst all the confusion the other people are creating BUT, you still do it anyway. I slap myself a couple of times regai...

It's 5:30PM and I'm supposed to be studying for an exam that I'll be writing in 16 hours time. It's the last exam of the semester and I can't find the motivation to bring myself to study for it. It's that time of the day when I like to sit in front of my open books, deep in contemplation about how expertly I'd managed to waste the past 3 days doing basically nothing other than reading tweets from random celebrities and posting some tweets myself. Of course, no one probably read any of those tweets but that's the weird thing about twitter. If you're someone with thousands of followers, it's a great medium to share your views. But when you have fewer than a 100 followers, it's basically like shouting at a wall in a very noisy room because eventually, not only is no one listening to you but also, you can't hear yourself amidst all the confusion the other people are creating BUT, you still do it anyway. I slap myself a couple of times...

In India, we celebrate a lot of festivals. We celebrate so many festivals that at times it is difficult to keep count of what we're really celebrating. Different people look at this differently. For school kids, it means plenty of holidays. For their teachers, it means less time to complete the syllabus. For employees, it means a day away from work. For their employers, it means a drop in productivity. But there is one festival that really stands out in a calendar year. For years, I've been told it's the “festival of lights” but that isn't an accurate description of what it is any more. I'm,of course, talking about Diwali. The story is familiar to everyone. (For those who aren't familiar with it, there's a VERY concise version here : The Diwali Story ). Diwali is, like almost all other festivals, a time to celebrate. And at least for as long as I can remember, it is also the time when environmentalists everywhere feel like they have the most hopeless job i...

In India, we celebrate a lot of festivals. We celebrate so many festivals that at times it is difficult to keep count of what we're really celebrating. Different people look at this differently. For school kids, it means plenty of holidays. For their teachers, it means less time to complete the syllabus. For employees, it means a day away from work. For their employers, it means a drop in productivity. But there is one festival that really stands out in a calendar year. For years, I've been told it's the “festival of lights” but that isn't an accurate description of what it is any more. I'm,of course, talking about Diwali. The story is familiar to everyone. (For those who aren't familiar with it, there's a VERY concise version here : The Diwali Story ). Diwali is, like almost all other festivals, a time to celebrate. And at least for as long as I can remember, it is also the time when environmentalists everywhere feel like they have the most hopele...

  Disclaimer: The following story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional. “Ravi, either chop down the coconut tree or have those coconuts plucked before they fall. If another coconut falls on Javed's house, I will book you under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. Do you know what that is?” I asked, sternly. “No sir. It won't happen again. I'll make sure of it.” Ravi replied, scared by my quoting the Indian Penal Code. Having served on the police force for 34 years, I'd learnt that the easiest way to resolve trivial matters was to quote some random section of a penal code that I'd never read. As usual, the simpleton was fooled by quasi-intellect and pseudo-power. In reality, the police really had no jurisdiction over such matters as non-existent boundary disputes. But in a town where nothing of great significance ever happened, coconuts falling from one man's compound into another's gives the ...

  Disclaimer: The following story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is coincidental and unintentional. “Ravi, either chop down the coconut tree or have those coconuts plucked before they fall. If another coconut falls on Javed's house, I will book you under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. Do you know what that is?” I asked, sternly. “No sir. It won't happen again. I'll make sure of it.” Ravi replied, scared by my quoting the Indian Penal Code. Having served on the police force for 34 years, I'd learnt that the easiest way to resolve trivial matters was to quote some random section of a penal code that I'd never read. As usual, the simpleton was fooled by quasi-intellect and pseudo-power. In reality, the police really had no jurisdiction over such matters as non-existent boundary disputes. But in a town where nothing of great significance ever happened, coconuts falling from one man's compound into another's ...

"What?" Issac said, snatching the file from Sarah's hands in disbelief. "Flat No 2204! That's the house on the top floor! I knew it! Lisa, dressed up as Martha, killed Purva and then put us off track with the statement about Tony." "Why did these two want to kill Purva in the first place? And how did she even know Tony?" Sarah asked."The adoption papers don't name the person who adopted that child. But, there is a clause in it that Alex and Lisa could ask for custody if they get married within 2 years of the adoption",Issac said. "So you think it was Purva who adopted the child and she refused to give him back?" Sarah said. "Possible. But the neighbours said that they haven't ever seen Purva with a baby." Issac said. "We've to find Lisa. That's the only way we can find out what happened. We've got to search that flat. Let's go" At Redwood Trail apartments, armed with a search warrant t...