Of assassins, plots and drama……

One the most facinating subjects for me to read and watch are the assassination attempts and plots that have spanned over the years. Right from Abe Lincoln (and much before that) to Martin Luther King Jr, to John Lennon , to RFK and the most talked about and researched JFK assassination.

I happened to watch this movie called “Vantage Point” last night and it really set my grey cells in motion. I really liked the movie. So much thought must have gone into making the plot of this movie. I would call it intelligent - and sometimes I fear such movies might give ideas to the wrong lot of people. But that aside, the main thing that really impressed me was the way a critical 23 minutes before during and after the assassination attempt was depicted from 5 different points of view of the 5 key players - the main assassin, the president himself, the president’s security officer, a local police officer and a tourist. And the whole film keeps going back to the start to show what each person went through, ultimately culminating into the final episode – where all these key players come together at the same point in one form or another. Its one of those fast paced movies where ur on the edge of the seat and ur mind is going crazy trying to figure out how the hell it was pulled off!!!.  Pooof….!!

So anyway, like i was saying earlier, I don’t know what it is that facinates me about such acts of violence against these men. So many questions come ino my head – like who did it, why he did it, did he really do it or was there someone more sinister behind it. I know I’m not the only sucker for such stories, there are others who have gone much greater lengths to feed their curiosity about the circumstances and the reasons behind the committing of such an act. I’m just curious about the lives and personalities that were involved - Like what kind of a person would you have to be to do something like this?? Unlike movies, I think the real life assassins have a much more twisted personality – and thats what I want to know more about. 

Take the JFK assassination for example. That one is no less than the movie i just talked about. Even though there was a convicted killer – Lee Harvey Oswald – who was proved to be the shooter, there are still so many conspiracy theories that it still remains a mystery to many – whether he was actually the one who orchestrated the assassination or was he just a pawn in a much bigger plot. And come to think of it, the person who actually pulled off one of the most controversial assassinations of our time may have gotten away with it - while we’re still going nuts trying to figure it all out. Even the National Geographic Channel has a complete documentary researching all the possibilities – but there are still some doubts no one can clear out – and that makes the whole case so intriguing that it will revisited many a time in the future as well. 

But people like me get carried away sometimes. Maybe we just want to believe that there was more than meets the eye. Maybe the “drama” of it all is what intoxicates the mind so much that the more the plot thickens the better it gets. I guess i just cant get enough. The suspence is what spices it up.  

To continue further, on the other hand is the completely different assassination of John Lennon. The reason why Mark David Chapman killed him was so bizzare. He was apparently not happy with a comment made by Lennon about the Beatles - about them being more pupolar than Jesus. This didn’t go down well with Chapman and he considered it be blasphemy. He was also angry at Lennon because he preached in his song Imagine – “imagine no possessions”, but still had millions of dollars to live by. And then of course, having read and reread the “Catcher in the Rye” – Chapman was greatly influenced by the book’s take on the “phoniness” of the society – and thought Lennon to be a phony by that logic. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is safe from such “nut cases”.

Well i guess i’ve rambled enough on this for now, coz talking about it all has made me hungry for some more insight n research about these topics. Its like, once you get hitched you just get hitched!! 

Schoolastic!!!

Still going down memory lane………and because i’m goin through a jobless phase in my professional life – not in the literal sense but being utterly “vella” while sitting in office and blogging on my office PC, I realised i’d been to a lotta schools. Just so i never forget, i think i’ll jot em down here.

Nursery, LKG - Tiny Cottage – Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh

UKG, Prep, Class 1 - Tender Heart – Chandigarh

CLass 2 and 3 – St. Anthony’s – Agra, UP

CLass 4 (partly) – Presentation Convent – Madgaon, Goa (had to leave coz they were turning it into a konkani medium school)

Class 4 (remaining part) and Class 5 (plartly) – Manovikas – Madgaon, Goa (this school up to class 10 was in an abandoned factory building, so none of the walls were completed up to the roof. U could be in one class and learn what was goin on in the other. Can u imagine the noise during a free period!! )

Class 5 (remaining part), Class 6 and 7 – Army Public School - Udhampur, J&K

Class 8 and 9 – Vivek High School - Chandigarh

Class10 – Army School – Ratnuchak, J&K

Class 11 – Army School – Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh 

Class 12 – Vivek High School – Chandigarh

No, I didnt have the hobby of jumping schools, Dad in the army means this becomes one of the biggest trade offs in exchange for fun, places, adventure, experiences, memories……………But thanks to this, i made a lotta good friends all over the country…………..:-)

My first adventure!!

This is my earliest memory of an adventure. I must have been 7 or 8 years old. And it was time to try out some extreme sports – “paragliding”!!!. Well that idea didn’t just fall out of the sky. With Dad being in the army, means you get to do lotta cool stuff and get to see a lotta places as well. So this event took place in Agra – which also happens to be my place of birth. 

I don’t remember much of what happened before we got to the huge ground that was to be the venue for the sport. The paragliding experience had been organised by Dad’s Unit for visiting members of our family and for his junior officers and their wives and whoever else was interested.  There was a pretty decent crowd waiting to do a little gliding over the city. All I remember is being on that ground and getting all excited about the prospect of flying like a big bird for about 5 minutes in the sky.

Anyway, the paraphenalia was pretty basic. One open jeep to which was attached a long long rope, which was further attached to the parachute. So its like flying a kite. Once ur all bucked up and the parachute is held behind you to catch air, the jeep starts moving forward away from where u stand. when the rope runs out its complete length, U start running behind the jeep to keep up, but as the jeep picks up speed and the parachute catches all the air it needs – then its “lift off”!!.

But i’ll track back a little to the point where it was my turn to go for the first time. Even though i was a really rowdy kid and wasn’t scared of getting hurt n all, this was a little overwhelming for me. But anyways, i couldn’t let anybody know that and i put on my “brave” face and walked up to get saddled n buckled. They put the custom para jumping helmet on me. I must have looked like a human bee with that huge thing on my head – making my neck sway a little with its weight n size. Anyways, I was ready to go and it was snap time before I went up. So with mom n dad standing on eithe side of me, we got a snap with me grinning away to glory and the parachute in the background. With the formalities done, it was time for some action…….

And so the jeep started. The rope started slackening behind it. I had Dad and a “bhaiyya” on either side holding me by my arms. Then i started running behind the jeep with dad and bhaiyya still running with me. Slowly I felt the ground leaving my feet. It felt like i was just running in mid air and thats when “fear” struck!!!. Realising I was too high to be held by Dad anymore and that i was gonna be doin this all alone – meri to phatt gayi thi big time.  As the chute filled up with air to its fullest capacity, the higher it lifted me. That sudden rise in altitude wasn’t something i was prepared for. There were some rude jolts from the rope that attached to the jeep as well. These only added to my trauma. My eyes were closed tight shut. I thought if I opened them I wouldn’t be able to digest the hieght I was at and all alone too…..I guess I was up there for approx five to seven minutes – thought it felt like they were never gonna get me down. Funny thing was (now i can say it was funny) – i kept repeating the phrase “god please save me, god please save me” over and over again……Thats how petrified i was.

Eventually, the jeep slowed down and came to a halt and then we had to wait for the chute to come down at its own speed. As I was coming down, with my eyes still clamped shut, I could hear voices cheering me on. Thats when I opened my eyes and saw that there were five or six people waiting to catch me and break my fall. And thats when i heard one of the many bhaiyyas waiting to catch me saying – “arre baby aankh band kyun kiya hai. papa ka beti hoke aankh band nahin karte…!!!”. And I was like ooops, there goes my reputation of being the most fearless kid on the block – at least in my age group that is

So there I landed, and was i happy to be on ground level or what!!! Next Mom went for a ride and when she came down she asked me if i saw the  tips of the Taj Mahal or the market where i always had an “orange bar”, or the colony we lived in. And obvously I hadn’t seen any of those things and had to confess that i was too scared to open my eyes up there.

But it didn’t end there. Having done it once and discovering that it wasn’t as life threatening as it looked I gave it a go twice again, for which i had to throw quite a tantrum – since many people were in line. But  I really enjoyed it this time and even though I didn’t spot the Taj or the other places mom had mentioned, i still saw a lot of ant sized people and vehicles looking like toys and that was good enough for me.

I remember my cousin brother had tried it out too. He was 5 i think. But i guess that was too little an age to try out this stunt. He was too light and couldn’t lift off well and the little distance that he did go…he came down real fast like a rock. So it was difficult to reach him in time and break his fall. But in the end all was ok…………

There was even a young newly married officer whose wife went for a glide. And when she came down, he caought her in his arms. Man was that filmy or what!!! Now when i think about it – i think it was the cutest most romantic thing to do. Awwwwwwweee!!!!!

So, thats it. Like I said, I particularly have no memories of what follwed after we were off the field. I guess only very typical things stick in ur memory. This is one of em……….and i really cherish it. I really beam from ear to ear when I look at the pictures we took that day      

 

Wedges gone nuts!!!

Here are some Givenchy shoes – the first one looks more like a plaster on a fractured foot……the rest look like they’re made for take off – why do they have such a wierd slant forward????

Ok so it seems that a few designers really wanna get ahead in the race for the wierdest most uncomfortable impractical shoes. Check em out!!

These are from John Galliano’s Spring 2008 collection. Thye colours are great – but i wonder how the models must have managed their walk on the ramp.

Ok so it looks more like a pair of simple heels – which would have looked but better alone – were mounted on a fat base or rather a platform and a hybrid wedge was the result!!! not very original though!!!!

here’s a sorry picture of a model in them. She has that desperate look in her eyes…………..now how the hell am i gonna walk back!!!

 

Reel Reality

I was watching this movie called “The American President” yesterday, starring Micheal Douglas and Annette Bening. It was a romantic movie bout the president of America who happens to be a widower and its election time and he needs to retain his presidency – but then he falls in love with an environment lobbyist and starts courting her – about which his rival starts making a big fuss and starts questioning the president’s character n all n all. this is usually what gets the american junta all excited and they start pining for traditional american values (whatever those are!!).

So anyway, its the usual typical american flick – where the “hero” charms the “heroine” with his wit, sense of humour and his brains. Not to mention his looks and the fact that he happens to be the president of the most powerful country in the world – making him the most powerful man in the world for the moment.

But my brains were working on an altogether different tangent. I was thinking, well here’s a movie that celebrates the perfect personality of the US president. He’s like the role model for the whole country and maybe for some in the rest of the world too. Not just this movie – look at “Air Force One” for that matter. Harrisson Ford makes a great president too. He smart, intelligent, loves his country and even saves the day for everyone even when his family’s lives are on the line. With that kind of a president, who needs a body guard eh!! But thats not all i’m thinking.

This brought me to think bout the “REAL WORLD” presidents. So who gets inspired by who??? The REAL by the REEL or the REEL by the REAL???  I mean take George Bush…..I dont think he is the kind of person who can inspire people, though he could take a few pointers from these movies. Infact with his smalll squinty eyes – i think he’s more of an inspiration for a baby chimpanzee movie. And Bill Clinton, yeah i know i know – ur like he was ok and a decent president too except his lusty prancing arounds – which wouldn’t have been that big a deal had he not been the president of the US of A (exactly!!!!).

But then again i’m digressing. What i was really thinking was……about our very own indian presidents/prime ministers. Yes yes, i couldn’t help drawing out a picture of some of our classic leaders playing the lead in this movie instead of Micheal Douglas. Hehehehe………

But its hard to imagine that – coz i can’t seem to associate them in such a setting. I mean the first descriptive adjective i can think of to describe them is – “old” !!!! And then everything else just follows – like boring, slow, dull ……..blah blah blah………….though there is one exception. Its Mr Kalam. He’s one cool dude. I mean he may be senior by age – but u know he doesn’t gimme those “oldish” vibes. He’s the kinda guy that u can really connect with. I think the one indian leader that could have been in MD’s shoes could have been him.

Its not about the americanism here. Its more about the fact – that our presidents/prime ministers are just normal people with the same problems like everyone else. The only difference is they have the responsibility of looking into the problems of the nation as well (which is heavy, but all the more reason to lighten up) - but that doesn’t mean they should be serious and proper all the time. I mean, they have a life too right!!! I guess what i miss is the “connection” that one desires to have with the person leading their nation. A little bit of human touch can go a long way……all i wanna say to our leaders is – LOOSEN UP!!!      

But anyway, thats what i think – my grey cells tend to do a few somersaults over the wierdest topics - And come to think of it, if India had a candidate like Micheal Douglas/Harisson Ford running for prime minister - 50% of the population would already have been won over (at least in my world !!!) – as always – AINWAYEE!!!