To Infinity and Beyond....

Life is too stereotypical to be true

2012-02-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

Its been my first 6 months so far away from home and I must say it has been quite the journey. While in Stony Brook, I see so many Indians here in pursuit of a Masters degree. Yet, I am disappointed at the amount of creativity and thirst for knowledge around me. It is just too stereotypical. I will enlist a set of questions which approximately 50 people would have asked me word to word.

The sem 1 starts -
Phase I
Qn. Hey, What courses have you taken?
Qn. Hey, have you taken an Independent study? Under Whom?

Sem 2 starts
Phase I
Qn. Hey, what courses have you taken?
Qn. Hey, are you funded?
Phase II
Qn. Hey, any interns yet?

Yes, I hate stereotypes.

No one wants to think of
1. How about starting a company?
2. Hey, lets hack on something cool
3. How about interning at a startup?

Looking for a way out of this.

My favourite Bhajan: Amma Baramma

2011-02-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

This week I got the opportunity to sing my favourite Bhajan twice in a row. This post is dedicated to Amma.

Amma baaramma namma tayi baramma
guruguha janani parasivaramani akhilandeshvariye
akhilandeshvariye amma akhilandeshvariye

O Mother, dearest Mother, please come before us. Empress of the universe, You are the mother of Muruga and the wife of Shiva.

Parama paavane thrishula dharini chamundesvari nee
annava nidi poreyuva amma annapurnnesvari
tri loka janani tri loka palini loka rakshaki nee

You are the embodiment of purity, O carrier of the trident. You are the Goddess Chamundi. O Goddess Annapurneshvari, by Your grace, we obtain our food and nourishment. You sustain and protect the three worlds. O Mother, You maintain this Earth

Sringeriyalli nagu naguttiruva sharada deviyu nee
japa vannariye tapa vannariye ennanu ariye
amma endu kugidaga ododi baramma
ododi baramma amma ododi baramma

You are Sarada Devi, O Goddess in Sringeri who blissfully smiles. I don't know about the repetition of sacred names, nor do I know anything about austerities. Despite that, when I call out "Mother", please come running to me

On 14 February 2006 , while on tour, at Dhareshwar beach, Amma picked up a tambourine and began singing out to the sea: Amma baramma namma taye baram ma...

The Power of Compassion: The Story of Angulimala

2011-02-08T00:12:00.000-08:00

I was always under the impression that it would take multiple lives to compensate for a sin committed in one's present life. Let me recount to you the tale of Angulimala, a mass murderer turned ascetic who attained realization.

The Story of Angulimala

There was once the son of a Brahmin, in the court of King Pasenadi of Kosala, whose name was Ahimsaka. He was sent to Taxila for his studies. Ahimsaka was intelligent and obedient to this teacher; therefore he was liked by both the teacher and his wife. This made the other pupils jealous of him. So they went to the teacher and falsely accused Ahimsaka of having an immoral relationship with the teacher’s wife. At first, he did not believe them, but after hearing it a number of times, he thought it was true and vowed to have revenge on Ahimsaka. He thought that to kill him would reflect badly on him. His rage prompted him to suggest the unthinkable to the young and innocent Ahimsaka. He told his pupil to kill a thousand human beings and to bring the right thumb of each as payment for teaching him. in the hope that in obtaining his gift, Ahimsaka would be killed or that the king's soldiers would catch him and put him to death. Of course, the youngster would not even think of such a thing, so he was banished from the teacher’s house and returned to his parents.

When his father learned why Ahimsaka had been expelled, he became furious with his son, and would hear no reason. On that very day, with the rain pouring down, he ordered Ahimsaka to leave the house. Ahimsaka went to his mother and asked her advice, but she could not go against the will of her husband. Next Ahimsaka went to the house of his betrothed (in accord with the ancient custom in India calling for betrothal of children long before their actual marriage), but when the family learned why Ahimsaka had been turned out of school, they drove him off. The shame, anger, fear, and despair of Ahimsaka drove him out of his mind. His suffering mind could only recollect the teacher’s order: to collect 1,000 human thumbs. He collected swords and knives and went into the Jalini forest to wait for his victims. He lived on a high cliff where he could observe the road below. Whenever he saw anybody on the road, he would hurry down, kill them and cut off one finger. He threaded the finger bones into a necklace and wore it around his neck. He was given the nick-name "Angulimala" - he with the finger garland and became the terror of the country side.

The people eventually left the villages, as they were no longer safe. They went to the Capital City, Savatthi, to complain to the king. The king ordered that his army should be sent to capture Angulimala. When Mantani, Ahimsaka’s mother, heard about the king’s intention, she went to the forest in a desperate bid to save her son. By this time, the chain around the neck of Angulimala had 999 fingers in it, just one finger short of 1,000. The Buddha learned of the mother’s attempt to dissuade her son from killing, and reflected that if he did not intervene, Angulimala, who was on the lookout for the last person to make up the 1,000, would see his mother and might kill her. In that case, he would have to suffer an even longer period for his sin, because to kill one's parents is one of the worst sins that one can perform. Out of compassion, the Buddha left for the forest.

Angulimala, after many sleepless days and nights, was very tired and near exhaustion. At the same time, he was very anxious to kill the last person to make up his full quota of 1,000 and so complete his task. He made up his mind to kill the first person he met. As he looked down from his mountain perch, he saw a woman on the road below. He wanted to fulfil his vow to complete the 1,000 thumbs, but as he approached, he saw it was his mother. At the same time, the Buddha was approaching, and Angulimala had just enough presence of mind to decide to kill the wandering monk instead of his mother. He set out after the Blessed One with his knife raised. But the Buddha kept moving ahead of him. Angulimala just could not catch up with him.

Finally, he cried out, "O Bhikkhu(Monk), stop, stop!"

And the Enlightened One replied, "I have stopped. It is you who have not stopped."

Angulimala did not catch the significance of these words, so he asked, "O bhikkhu! Why do you say that you have stopped while I have not?"

The Buddha replied, "I say that I have stopped because I have given up killing all beings. I have given up ill-treating all beings, and have established myself in universal love, patience, and knowledge through reflection. But you have not given up killing or ill treating others and you are not yet established in universal love and patience. Hence, you are the one who has not stopped."

On hearing these words Angulimala was recalled to reality, and thought, these are the words of a wise man. This monk is so very wise and so very brave that he must be the leader of the monks. Indeed, he must be the Enlightened One himself! He must have come here specially to make me see the light. So thinking, he threw away his weapons and asked the Blessed One to admit to the Order of the bhikkhus, which the Buddha did.

When the king and his men came to capture Angulimala, they found him at the monastery of the Buddha. Finding that Angulimala had given up his evil ways and become a bhikkhu, the king and his men agreed to leave him alone. During his stay at the monastery, Angulimala ardently practiced meditation. Angulimala had no peace of mind because even in his solitary meditation he used to recall memories of his past and the pathetic cries of his unfortunate victims. As a result of his negative karma, while seeking alms in the streets he would become a target of stray stones and sticks and he would return to the Jetavana monastery with broken head and blood flowing, cut and bruised, to be reminded by the Buddha: "My son Angulimala. You have done away with evil. Have patience. This is the effect of the evil deeds you have committed in the existence. Your evil karma would have made you suffer through innumerable existences had I not met you."

One morning while going on an almsround in Savatthi, Angulimala heard someone crying out in pain. When he came to know that a pregnant lady was having labor pains and facing difficulty to deliver the child, he reflected, all worldly beings are subject to suffering. Moved by compassion, he reported the suffering of this poor woman to the Buddha who advised him to recite the following words of truth, which later came to be known as Angulimala Paritta. Going to the presence of the suffering woman, he sat on a seat separated from her by a screen, and uttered these words:

Sister, since the day I became an arahant, I have not consciously destroyed The life of any living beings.

By this truth, may you be well And may your unborn child be well.

Instantly the woman delivered her child with ease. Both the mother and chid were well and healthy. Even today many resort to this paritta. Angulimala liked living in solitude and in seclusion. Later he passed away peacefully. As an arahant, he attained realization.

Other bhikkhus asked the Buddha where Angulimala was reborn, and when the Blessed One replied, "My son Angulimala has attained realization", they could hardly believe it. So they asked whether it was possible that such a man who had in fact killed so many people could have attained realization. To this question, the Buddha replied,

"Whose evil deed is obscured by good, he illumines this world like the moon freed from a cloud."

The power of love and compassion are stronger than any evil, and are absolute conditions for awakening.

Even a Murderer can justify his actions

2011-02-07T00:49:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't say Nathuram Godse's actions makes perfect sense or that it justifies his killing of Mahatma Gandhi, but his speech at his trial does contain a lot of valid points. Indians today are quite dormant, seeing the atrocities that happen around them everyday, especially those committed in the name of religion. Quoting Amma, "There are thousands ready to die for their religion, but only are few willing to live by its principles. Because of their narrow vision and envy, they have missed the true essence and message of religion which is love and compassion"

Even in the Gita, Krishna says ,"Do your duty, Arjuna, as your nature dictates. All work fetters, as all fire gives smoke. Only selfless duty saves. Fix your mind on me. Surrender all deeds to me. All problems will be solved by my grace. Pride will lead only to your moral ruin. If, filled with pride, you say, 'I will not fight,' it is all in vain. You are foolish. Fight you will, your nature will make you fight. Your karma will make you fight. You will fight in spite of yourself."

Gandhiji Assassin Nathuram Godse's Final Address to the Court

Nathuram Godse was arrested immediately after he assassinated Gandhiji, based on an F.I.R. filed by Nandlal Mehta at the Tughlak road Police staton at Delhi.The trial, which was held in camera began on 27th May 1948 and concluded on 10th February 1949. He was sentenced to death.An appeal to the Punjab High Court, then in session at Simla, did not find favour and the sentence was upheld.

The statement that you are about to read is the last made by Godse before the Court on the 5th of May 1949.Such was the power and eloquence of this statement that one of the judges, G.D.Khosla, later wrote, " I have, however, no doudt that had the audience of that day been constituted into a jury and entrusted with the task of deciding Godse's appeal, they would have brought a verdict of "Not Guilty" by an overwhelming majority

Why I Killed Gandhi

Godse with Gandhi

Born in a devotional Brahmin family, I instinctively came to revere Hindu religion, Hindu history and Hindu culture. I had, therefore, been intensely proud of Hinduism as a whole. As I grew up I developed a tendency to free thinking unfettered by any superstitious allegianceto any isms, political or religious. That is why I worked actively for the eradication of untouchability and the caste system based on birth alone. I openly joined anti-caste movements and maintained that all Hindus were of equal status as to rights, social and religious and should be considered high or low on merit alone and not through the accident of birth in a particular caste or profession. I used publicly to take part in organized anti-caste dinners in which thousands of Hindus, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, Chamars and Bhangis participated. We broke the caste rules and dined in the company of each other.

I have read the speeches and writings of Dadabhai Naoroji, Vivekanand, Gokhale, Tilak, along with the books of ancient and modern history of India and some prominent countries like England, France, America and Russia. Moreover I studied the tenets of Socialism and Marxism. But above all I studied very closely whatever Veer Savarkar and Gandhiji had written and spoken, as to my mind these two ideologies have contributed more to the moulding of the thought and action of the Indian people during the last thirty years or so, than any other single factor has done.

All this reading and thinking led me to believe it was my first duty to serve Hindudom and Hindus both as a patriot and as a world citizen. To secure the freedom and to safeguard the just interests of some thirty crores (300 million) of Hindus would automatically constitute the freedom and the well-being of all India, one fifth of human race. This conviction led me naturally to devote myself to the Hindu Sanghtanist ideology and programme, which alone, I came to believe, could win and preserve the national independence of Hindustan, my Motherland, and enable her to render true service to humanity as well.

Lokamanya Tilak

Since the year 1920, that is, after the demise of Lokamanya Tilak, Gandhiji's influence in the Congress first increased and then became supreme. His activities for public awakening were phenomenal in their intensity and were reinforced by the slogan of truth and non-violence which he paraded ostentatiously before the country. No sensible or enlightened person could object to those slogans. In fact there is nothing new or original in them. They are implicit in every constitutional public movement. But it is nothing but a mere dream if you imagine that the bulk of mankind is, or can ever become, capable of scrupulous adherence to these lofty principles in its normal life from day to day.

In fact, hunour, duty and love of one's own kith and kin and country might often compel us to disregard non-violence and to use force. I could never conceive that an armed resistance to an aggression is unjust. I would consider it a religious and moral duty to resist and, if possible, to overpower such an enemy by use of force. [In the Ramayana] Rama killed Ravana in a tumultuous fight and relieved Sita..[In the Mahabharata], Krishna killed Kansa to end his wickedness; and Arjuna had to fight and slay quite a number of his friends and relations including the revered Bhishma because the latter was on the side of the aggressor. It is my firm belief that in dubbing Rama, Krishna and Arjuna as guilty of violence, the Mahatma betrayed a total ignorance of the springs of human action. In more recent history, it was the heroic fight put up by Chhatrapati Shivaji that first checked and eventually destroyed the Muslim tyranny in India. It was absolutely essentially for Shivaji to overpower and kill an aggressive Afzal Khan, failing which he would have lost his own life. In condemning history's towering warriors like Shivaji, Rana Pratap and Guru Gobind Singh as misguided patriots, Gandhiji has merely exposed his self-conceit. He was, paradoxical as it may appear, a violent pacifist who brought untold calamities on the country in the name of truth and non-violence, while Rana Pratap, Shivaji and the Guru will remain enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen for ever for the freedom they brought to them.

The accumulating provocation of thirty-two years, culminating in his last pro-Muslim fast, at last goaded me to the conclusion that the existence of Gandhi should be brought to an end immediately. Gandhi had done very good in South Africa to uphold the rights and well-being of the Indian community there. But when he finally returned to India he developed a subjective mentality under which he alone was to be the final judge of what was right or wrong. If the country wanted his leadership, it had to accept his infallibility; if it did not, he would stand aloof from the Congress and carry on his own way. Against such an attitude there can be no halfway house. Either Congress had to surrender its will to his and had to be content with playing second fiddle to all his eccentricity, whimsicality, metaphysics and primitive vision, or it had to carry on without him. He alone was the Judge of everyone and every thing; he was the master brain guiding the civil disobedience movement; no other could know the technique of that movement. He alone knew when to begin and when to withdraw it. The movement might succeed or fail, it might bring untold disaster and political reverses but that could make no difference to the Mahatma's infallibility. 'A Satyagrahi can never fail' was his formula for declaring his own infallibility and nobody except himself knew what a Satyagrahi is. Thus, the Mahatma became the judge and jury in his own cause. These childish insanities and obstinacies, coupled with a most severe austerity of life, ceaseless work and lofty character made Gandhi formidable and irresistible. Many people thought that his politics were irrational but they had either to withdraw from the Congress or place their intelligence at his feet to do with as he liked. In a position of such absolute irresponsibility Gandhi was guilty of blunder after blunder, failure after failure, disaster after disaster.

Gandhi's pro-Muslim policy is blatantly in his perverse attitude on the question of the national language of India. It is quite obvious that Hindi has the most prior claim to be accepted as the premier language. In the beginning of his career in India, Gandhi gave a great impetus to Hindi but as he found that the Muslims did not like it, he became a champion of what is called Hindustani. Everybody in India knows that there is no language called Hindustani; it has no grammar; it has no vocabulary. It is a mere dialect, it is spoken, but not written. It is a bastard tongue and cross-breed between Hindi and Urdu, and not even the Mahatma's sophistry could make it popular. But in his desire to please the Muslims he insisted that Hindustani alone should be the national language of India. His blind followers, of course, supported him and the so-called hybrid language began to be used.

The charm and purity of the Hindi language was to be prostituted to please the Muslims. All his experiments were at the expense of the Hindus. From August 1946 onwards the private armies of the Muslim League began a massacre of the Hindus. The then Viceroy, Lord Wavell, though distressed at what was happening, would not use his powers under the Government of India Act of 1935 to prevent the rape, murder and arson. The Hindu blood began to flow from Bengal to Karachi with some retaliation by the Hindus. The Interim Government formed in September was sabotaged by its Muslim League members right from its inception, but the more they became disloyal and treasonable to the government of which they were a part, the greater was Gandhi's infatuation for them. Lord Wavell had to resign as he could not bring about a settlement and he was succeeded by Lord Mountbatten. King Log was followed by King Stork. The Congress which had boasted of its nationalism and socialism secretly accepted Pakistan literally at the point of the bayonet and abjectly surrendered to Jinnah. India was vivisected and one-third of the Indian territory became foreign land to us from August 15, 1947.

Lord Mountbatten came to be described in Congress circles as the greatest Viceroy and Governor-General this country ever had. The official date for handing over power was fixed for June 30, 1948, but Mountbatten with his ruthless surgery gave us a gift of vivisected India ten months in advance. This is what Gandhi had achieved after thirty years of undisputed dictatorship and this is what Congress party calls 'freedom' and 'peaceful transfer of power'. The Hindu-Muslim unity bubble was finally burst and a theocratic state was established with the consent of Nehru and his crowd and they have called 'freedom won by them with sacrifice' - whose sacrifice? When top leaders of Congress, with the consent of Gandhi, divided and tore the country - which we consider a deity of worship - my mind was filled with direful anger.

One of the conditions imposed by Gandhi for his breaking of the fast unto death related to the mosques in Delhi occupied by the Hindu refugees. But when Hindus in Pakistan were subjected to violent attacks he did not so much as utter a single word to protest and censure the Pakistan Government or the Muslims concerned. Gandhi was shrewd enough to know that while undertaking a fast unto death, had he imposed for its break some condition on the Muslims in Pakistan, there would have been found hardly any Muslims who could have shown some grief if the fast had ended in his death. It was for this reason that he purposely avoided imposing any condition on the Muslims. He was fully aware of from the experience that Jinnah was not at all perturbed or influenced by his fast and the Muslim League hardly attached any value to the inner voice of Gandhi. Gandhi is being referred to as the Father of the Nation. But if that is so, he had failed his paternal duty inasmuch as he has acted very treacherously to the nation by his consenting to the partitioning of it. I stoutly maintain that Gandhi has failed in his duty. He has proved to be the Father of Pakistan. His inner-voice, his spiritual power and his doctrine of non-violence of which so much is made of, all crumbled before Jinnah's iron will and proved to be powerless. Briefly speaking, I thought to myself and foresaw I shall be totally ruined, and the only thing I could expect from the people would be nothing but hatred and that I shall have lost all my honour, even more valuable than my life, if I were to kill Gandhiji. But at the same time I felt that the Indian politics in the absence of Gandhiji would surely be proved practical, able to retaliate, and would be powerful with armed forces. No doubt, my own future would be totally ruined, but the nation would be saved from the inroads of Pakistan. People may even call me and dub me as devoid of any sense or foolish, but the nation would be free to follow the course founded on the reason which I consider to be necessary for sound nation-building. After having fully considered the question, I took the final decision in the matter, but I did not speak about it to anyone whatsoever. I took courage in both my hands and I did fire the shots at Gandhiji on 30th January 1948, on the prayer-grounds of Birla House. I do say that my shots were fired at the person whose policy and action had brought rack and ruin and destruction to millions of Hindus. There was no legal machinery by which such an offender could be brought to book and for this reason I fired those fatal shots. I bear no ill will towards anyone individually but I do say that I had no respect for the present government owing to their policy which was unfairly favourable towards the Muslims. But at the same time I could clearly see that the policy was entirely due to the presence of Gandhi.

I have to say with great regret that Prime Minister Nehru quite forgets that his preachings and deeds are at times at variances with each other when he talks about India as a secular state in season and out of season, because it is significant to note that Nehru has played a leading role in the establishment of the theocratic state of Pakistan, and his job was made easier by Gandhi's persistent policy of appeasement towards the Muslims. I now stand before the court to accept the full share of my responsibility for what I have done and the judge would, of course, pass against me such orders of sentence as may be considered proper. But I would like to add that I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me, nor do I wish that anyone else should beg for mercy on my behalf. My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled against it on all sides. I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in future.

The Haircut story

2011-02-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you , I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Then a Member of Parliament came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Member of Parliament was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen other Members of Parliament lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it.

BOTH POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN, AND FOR THE SAME REASON!

My first Christmas Celebration at Amritapuri with AMMA

2010-12-29T01:03:00.000-08:00

In spite of studying at Amritapuri for four years, I never once got a chance to attend the Christmas celebrations as it was always in the midst of holidays when I was either at home enjoying a comfortable stay or attending New Year celebrations else where. So, I made up my mind to make sure I attend this time and I definitely was not let down as the program was a lot of fun.

After evening Bhajans, everyone gathered in the main hall waiting for Amma so that the Christmas program could commence. I, along with Avinash, Unni, Rahul, Linkesh and Bala Sir managed to catch a seat close to Amma's chair. While we were waiting for Amma to arrive, a lot of Amma's videos were played showing her abundant compassion to every living being be it us humans, dogs or birds. We witnessed a video of Bala Sir being playfully pounded on the back by Amma when he was receiving darshan along with Madhu akka while back in the U.S, and hence we understood why he always does the same to us when we do something wrong :-).

After Amma arrived, a musical detailing the lives of the 3 women named Mary - Mother Mary, Mary of Magdala and Mary of Bethany and their relationship with Jesus Christ, kicked off in full flow. It was full of energy, and I was soon rocking to the tune of the first song. The play was immaculately planned, with amazing of props and costumes dressed in every possible colour.

During one act I was taken aback when a bunch of ropes from the catwalk of the stage suddenly dangled down from the ceiling. At first, I thought it was a snake. To my surprise, a bunch of guys dressed up as ninjas slither down the rope from a height of about 100 feet and start rocking up and down the rope!!! It was part of the play where robbers lie in wait for a lonely traveler to loot him of his possessions. I absolutely loved the background music that followed.

In the next part of the play, a bunch of kids in cute costumes filed on stage, dressed like pink butterflies, trees, peacocks and elephants. It was a cute sight to watch the kid who was the pink butterfly refused to go off stage when she was supposed to, rocking to the rhythm of the background music. At the end of the play, as the elephant came near Amma rocking its head to and fro, Amma took a banana and slipped it into the slit where its mouth was supposed to be :-)

After the play, Amma blessed the cake that was to be served to everyone as prasadam, and gave her Christmas message. This was followed by a couple of bhajans, and a joyous chorus of "MATA RANI KI JAI!!!" exuding so much energy that everyone was resonating to the vibrations it generated! As Amma left, we received the cake, and I must say it was delicious, so much so that I had about 10 pieces of them! To look at it positively, I was doing seva to ensure that no cake is wasted :P I left the Ashram at 2 AM tired, but fresh with memories of my first Christmas at Amritapuri, something i am not bound to forget in a long long time!

Dirty Harry - A Movie Review

2010-08-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

My first tryst with Clint Eastwood films was 'The Good, bad, and the Ugly'. I immediately fell in love with the film and Eastwood's cool demeanour. Hence, I set out to find another movie of his, and decided to watch Dirty Harry on recommendation from fellow fan, Unni.

A brief review
Though the film carries itself as an action thriller, it gives a pretty appeasing appetizer, a mediocre main-course and a sumptuous dessert. The movie centers itself around Clint Eastwood, the life of the movie. He plays an inspector(Harry) on the police force who is on the lookout for a serial killer. The movie starts off with a slow pace, gaining pace through out. The movie in a sense is quite thought provoking. It gives a moral stand on justice, how it should be handled, but how it is not. Though Harry(Eastwood) is shown in a negative light throughout the movie, one can see that his rough-cut hard exterior belies a justice-driven interior. Overall, the movie is worth a watch if you are a Clint Eastwood fan or a fan of thrillers. Contemporary to its time, I would have given it a 7.5/10 rating, but today I will give it just a 7/10. Dont forget to catch the "Do you feel lucky" scene.

The Plot (has spoilers)

Do you feel lucky?

The story revolves around a serial killer (Andy Robinson) who enjoys sniping arbitrary people for the fun of it. He soon starts creating havoc around town. Thats when Inspector Harry Callahan(eastwood) enters the investigation. Callahan, the consummate detective he is, was also infamous for his ruthlessness when it came to justice. His trysts around town, taking up any job under his nose earned him the nickname 'Dirty Harry'. The killer who called himself 'Scorpio' threatened the town to continue the onslaught unless he receives a huge settlement of cash. Keeping up the city police's stand of not dealing with criminals Harry and his new partner explore a plan of surveying rooftops, because of the well known trait of a criminal to return to the scene of the crime. Luck favours them and the killer shows up, ensuing in a battle of gunfire, but the suspect manages to make his escape. Scorpio, the inveterate killer he is, is unruffled by the encounter, and embarks upon his new conquest - the kidnapping of the mayor's daughter. The mayor worried for his daughter, pulls some strings and solicits enough cash for the ransom. The task of delivering the money is assigned to Harry, who is specifically instructed not to play games with Scorpio. But Harry obtains a wireless transmitter and hooks it on to his jacket innards, so that his partner can follow his every move. Scorpio leads Harry on a wild goose chase to make sure he is not being tailed, and eventually leads him to the drop off point, where he announces that he murdered the girl and beats the life out of the inspector. His partner alerted by the transmitter makes an appearance in the nick of time to save Harry's life. In the confusion, Harry manages to dig a knife into Scorpio's legs, leaving him with a serious injury, while he himself passes out. Later, when a patient is treated for a serious leg injury at a medical center, the police are alerted and Harry manages to track the killer down, and arrest him. This is where the director brings about a twist in the tale. Even though Scorpio has been arrested, no legal action can be taken against him, as the purposed "evidence" was inadmissable in a court of law, due to various frivolous reasons. This meant Scorpio was allowed to walk free on the streets again. This time around Scorpio had a trick up his sleeve. Getting bashed up on purpose, he frames Harry into a harassment case and cunningly prevents further pursuit from Harry. Not stopping there, he hijacks a bus-load of school children, and yet again demands ransom and a flight out of the city. When offered the chance yet again to deliver the ransom, Harry refuses stressing he is no delivery boy. In a heroic attempt Harry places himself strategically on a bridge, and hurls himself on top of the bus as it passes below him. The crazed killer in a frantic pursuit to ward him off, steers the bus off path and makes a run for it. In the ensuing pursuit, the desperate killer secures a kid as a hostage in a final hope of escape. Harry proves his names worth by taking a lucky shot at him and grazes him in the shoulder. The climax ends with an amazing scenario. The killer has a gun next to him. If he reaches for it he will get shot, but he is not sure if Harry has any ammo left in the gun. Harry, chides him on purpose, which forces Scorpio to take up the gun, and he is shot square in the chest. In the end, disgusted by the state of the police force, who let a criminal free and put so many lives at stake, and knowing his actions would anyway be reprimanded, he throws away his police star into the river and walks away from the scene.
--
Look out for more movie reviews \m/

Football Fever

2010-06-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

As with millions of football fans around the world, I have caught on to the football fever. This fever is no ordinary one, its contagious. While Europeans and South Americans have reason to rejoice and celebrate over their countries participating in the World Cup finals, I have always wondered where Indian's came into the fray considering the fact that football is one of the less popular sports in the country. India, who qualified only once for the Football world cup back in 1950 was eventually disqualified because they preferred to play barefoot rather than shoes because of lack of monetary support.

I have not been following football for two years now, and hence my first task was to catch up. And what better place to do so than YouTube. One which caught my eye, was the story of Christiano Ronaldo, of how he grew up from a small boy on a remote island in Portugal, made his way up the ranks through various football clubs to end up in the budding star he is today. Though i never liked the bloke, this video actually made me appreciate the troubles he had to take to reach this far, and how he has evolved over time. My hatred for him(especially his dives) has now turned into respect. I loved the official FIFA theme song by K'Naan as it had a nice African touch about it with the Huuu's and the Haaa's.

The second thing on the agenda, was to create my superstar team using the ESPN football fantasy game. This is my usual avocation during the World cup and Euro tournaments.

The final task was to tune into ESPN and wait till the clock ticked away to the opening ceremony. Frankly, i was a little disappointed with it, it lacked the energy we usually see in such events. This world cup has competition at its peak, as there is a very minor difference in standards between teams, and it all boils down to who has the edge over the other during the match. I am looking forward to good action from this times WC and hope not to be disappointed. FIFA WC, here i come!!!

My new personal blog

2010-05-17T00:42:00.000-07:00

I have decided to make this my official personal blog, leaving the technical stuff to my wordpress blog( http://varrunr.wordpress.com). The reason probably is because blogger seems more quaint and customizable, and I would rather not mix my personal posts with my technical ones which is like mixing oil and water. The next thing to do is to probably come up with a really cool template for this blog. I have taken a long hiatus from writing, due to my commitments this semester :- finishing my undergraduate thesis, finish the extra credit course(Cryptography) i enrolled for, and also Google Summer of code. Now that i am done with college, and i have a more free reign over my activities, I intend to make regular writing one of my priorities. I have come to realize that living in a hostel for 4 years, without reading many books, contrary to the time in school when i would read about 7 novels a week and not get sleep unless I was to read a novel, has severely affected my vocabulary and creativity. Since i would be giving my GRE in August, I intend to replenish the same.