Day Zero

Halfway to the office, I realized I’d forgotten my ID card – Naturally, that’s the last thing to forget about, but today was not a normal day.

You see, I’d been packing for hours…to select three T-shirts and a couple of underclothes for a three day trip to a place not more that 600 km away. Naturally, forgetfulness can set in.

And naturally, I reached office late – at 10:45. And at 11, I went back home – I’d forgotten to pack a jacket.

The arduous journey to Yeshwantpur Railway Station was a mini adventure. I waited 30 minutes for a bus to Yeshwantpur (“Naturally”, Yeshwantpur is so far away from our office that no buses will ever want to go there - It’s easier to flag down a spaceship to Betelguese). Then I waited 5 minutes for a bus to anywhere else in Bangalore. The bus to Shivajinagar was crawling along like a snail, taking more than an hour to reach there. The connecting bus to the station seemed to be in no mood to move. The driver simple refused to budge for a full ten minutes. Thankfully I had cut my nails before starting on the journey. By the time I reached the station there were just minutes to find the train.

The evening train ride was nice and jolly. Of course, SS seemed a bit miffed when he saw the train passing by his backyard. If this were Bihar, he could have flagged it down from there. We chugged along parallel to the road lined with flaming red Gulmohar trees, without stopping anywhere…until we reached Hindupur. And as if to compensate for the non-stop journey, we stood there for an hour, until the sun set.

The station was empty. No sign of those annoying hawkers who try to sell you everything under the sky. Locals were out for an evening walk on the platforms, and few of my fellow passengers joined them. The Iyengar family in the adjoining seat was in the midst of a lively discourse. The topics ranged from Shivaji’s court to Max Mueller to the phenomenon of Blogging. The elder gentleman was explaining what blogging was to the others: “The term ‘blogging’ stands for ‘board logging’. It is like a bulletin board on the internet, where one person puts up his opinion on a topic. Everybody else should reply to it and give their opinion!”

At 7:30 PM, we pulled out of Hindupur…and to my amazement; I noticed that there was still some daylight left in the sky. Perhaps it’s the same everyday, but in Bangalore you can never see it…Naturally.

At night we committed the biggest mistake of the day – we ordered food from IRCTC. We should have taken the egg biryani from the hawker…Naturally!

To be continued…

Peek-a-boo: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Frankly, I was surprised that most people had not heard of this 1994 star-studded (by today's standard) movie adaptation of Anne Rice's best-selling novel. A stellar cast consisting of the likes of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas and Stephen Rhea is certainly mouth-watering. And Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" does not disappoint on this count.

This is a story about vampires...oh yes, those creatures who have sharp teeth, drink blood, and sleep in coffins. But no...contrary to popular perception, they don't fear ordinary light, crucifixes or the stake through the heart. But they too have their Achilles Heels - one should not drink the blood from a dead body, ordinary light may not harm them, but sunlight is deadly. And so is fire...

This is a story about vampires...and if you thought this was a run-of-the-mill horror film, you're grossly mistaken. For "Interview..." is a grand story-telling experience - lavish and grandiose in its application. "Interview..." is a story of love, betrayal (of one's own soul), cruelty, treachery and the inner struggles of an "immortal with a mortal soul". Daniel Mallory (Christian Slater), a newspaper reporter manages to lure Louis (Brad Pitt) to relate the story of his life. Louis was an 18th century Louisiana planter, who after the death of his wife and child, is out looking for death. A chance encounter with the vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise) alters his life once and for all. Lestat offers him the choice of being young and immortal for ever, and he readily accepts it to become a vampire and a companion to Lestat. However, he still possesses a soul that hesitates to kill humans and is tormented by his choice.

In his loneliness, he turns a little girl Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire, with Lestat's help, and the three of them start a life together as a family. As years pass by, Claudia matures into a woman, but is imprisoned in the body of a 12 year old. In despair, she plots to kill Lestat and with Louis, runs away to Paris in search of more vampires. In Paris, they meet some of their own kind - Armand (Antonio Banderas), Santiago (Stephen Rhea), and their coven, who run the "Theatre des Vampires", a society of vampires that masquerades as actors killing their victims on stage as part of well-orchestrated plays. However, their past catches up with them.

This movie is all about its two leading actors. Brad Pitt has the more difficult role as the conscience-ridden Louis, brilliantly conveying his emotions through his eyes. But Cruise steals the show. As the supremely evil Lestat, he is brilliant and chillingly exudes a devilish charm. Kirsten Dunst as the 12-year old Claudia is good enough, but struggles to portray the role of a young woman trapped in a child's body (a role which is really difficult to carry out). The others, though they have shorter roles, do justice to their part. The movie has high production values. For a story set across centuries, it travels at a good pace, never boring the viewer, thanks to the brilliant screenplay. The scenes are brilliantly executed. Some of them really stand out in your mind - the constant verbal duels between Lestat and Louis, the drama scene in the theatre where the vampires kill a helpless young woman in front of an unsuspecting audience, the gruesome murder of Madeleine and Claudia at the hands of the vampire society, by exposing them to the rays of the rising sun, and Louis donning the role of the grim reaper to wreak his revenge on the vampires - to name a few.

"Interview..." is definitely not for the weak-minded or the average cinema-goer, who would balk at the thought of the constant gushes of blood on the screen - be it from all the bites on the neck or from the rats who are fed upon frequently by the lead cast. This one is for the movie buffs who appreciate the cinematic values on screen.

Drink from me and live forever...

What a day!

I was unable to write. I was unable to comprehend. Words refused to form a sentence. That was all before this weekend. And what a horrible one it has been.

Even before it started i knew it was a goner. There's nothing more I hate than attending a marriage where i knew no one. And here i was, dragged to one of those on the Saturday. I spent the whole day sitting by the corner, staring ahead at no one particular. I was relieved when the day ended, but things were about to get worse.

In the torrential rain, i hit something - a stone or the median, i do not know. All i could see was that i had damaged two wheels, and was lucky to survive. I was grounded for Sunday.

..and Sunday just got worse! I could list it down

1. Waking up all alone in an empty house.
2. The recollection that my car had two damaged wheels in yesterday's rain. Why can't they provide cars with two spares instead of one?
3. The ordeal of changing the spare..
4. The long, three-hour lonely wait at the office while my car was being repaired at the service station

...and the drive to the service station was filled with more depressing sights:

1. The beggar child on the streets hitting her little brother so hard that the kid burst out in tears.
2. A bunch of kids bullying their playmate near the railway tracks.
3. The 2-year old child running helter-skelter on the road, as the cars in front of me screeched to a stop.
4. ...And three villainous kids trying to stone a helpless chameleon to death!

It reminded me of the days when kids in Kerala used to tie stones under the belly of dragonflies. The poor thing would try to fly with the stone, and eventually die. I never took part in such heinous activities - not because I had any love for fellow creatures, but because i was scared stiff of anything small that crawled or flew.

I managed to save the chameleon. It sure feels good to save a life...be it even a chameleon's. Not bad for a depressing weekend.

But this was the weekend that wished came true. Life has a strange way of doing it:

1. The whole week I was grumbling: "Why doesn't it rain?" And it did, I got caught in it, and had an accident.
2. I was grumbling that I didn't want to go for the marriage. I had an accident and was grounded.
3. I was unable to write...and here I am describing about a depressing weekend.

Those who want their wishes to come true should read the story of "The Monkey's Paw".