Have a magical holiday season.

Eragon, the first novel in the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, is a story about a farm boy who finds a dazzling sapphire-blue stone which, as it is revealed later, is in fact an egg that hatches a blue-scaled dragon. The dragon, Saphira, establishes an unbreakable bond with the young man who learns that he is the only dragon-rider to have come into existence in many years; and that he will have to choose whether to resist the evil king/dragon-rider Galbatorix or surrender and join him. With his home destroyed and his uncle murdered by the Ra’zac (evil dragon hunters employed by Galbatorix) Eragon sets out on a journey with his mentor, Brom, to learn the dragon riding craft and enact his revenge on the Ra’zac. In essence, Eragon has all the traditional ingredients that make a fantasy novel enjoyable. That’s what the publisher says. Monday: 1pm, a hot and hungry afternoon. Place : Kottayam ( Somewhere in the Southern part of Kerala ) I and my friend Bala were waiting at the Kottayam bus-stand for the 2pm Bangalore bound bus and were mentally preparing for the18 hour journey back home.Bala was reading the Kerala edition of “ The Hindu”, I half close my eyes and try to count the tulsi beads . Suddenly there is a flurry of activity as the seat in front is occupied by a couple of teenagers( a typical Malayali girl and a dude).They stare at me and I am unaware of the attention that is being bestowed on me.( Nope this time it was not the nose but the sandal paste on my forehead ) .Bala nudges me and tries to wake me from my stupor and whispers that I am being watched. I ignore the stares and try to concentrate but my mind wavers and I do the one thing I swore never to do. I scratch my nose. I then decide to visit the the Book store which is round the corner. I feel 6 pairs of eyes following me. I look at the Agatha Christie book thoughtfully and suddenly my attention is drawn towards the book titled “ Eragon” and on an impulse I buy it, something to read on the return journey.. Thus starts the epic journey to a world filled with magic, Urgals,Orcs ,Elves and of course a blue Dragon. The first 4 chapters are so similar to Robert Jordan’s “ Eye of the World” that I almost decided to abandon the book .. But Vc also stands for very curious and so I continued to read and was gripped by the plot. Did you know that the author started writing this book when he was a just 15 yrs old. I can’t wait to read the second part titled “ Eldest “ and so I am bunking office and will grab that book today . A word of caution to Mr Prashanth Sriram , Christopher Paolini borrows a bit obviously from the authors that inspire him (Tolkien, McCaffery, LeGuin, Jordan, Lewis, Pullman, Donaldson). The best part is that this is going to be movie in 2006,something to look forward to.The girls are sure to go gaga googoo when they see the hero.

The Road ahead...

" Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget." With this thought, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, all the Happiest Holidays and all the luck the New Year could possibly bring to you.

Thanks Renith ..

World Famous Gemini Circus is in Town

Just check this pic out.. It looks so weird .. I can see-through that policeman and the lights eeeeeeew..... Just WICKED . Oh by the way Sajjan and I are off to watch the circus. I think I’ll get to see Sp the giraffe , Div the chipmunk, Kk the crocodile and Dee the elephant or was it the hippo ... hmm...

At the office reception

You may be recognized soon. Hide.

I hate saying “bye” in any form of communication be it the phone, mail or chat. The worst of course is the sms. Just imagine you send out a sms terminating the conversation and the recipient ( touch wood) unfortunately dies by natural causes. Nope he doesn’t go the usual “ Hey Ram “ aaaaaargh but instead dies clutching the damn mobile phone which unfortunately for you displays the message “Astalavista Baby R.I.P Uahahahhahaaa “ sender Vc (blinking). Yep I hate saying my goodbyes…

Drag-flick

I was watching the Champions Trophy Hockey, Pakistan vs Germany and the way the Germans attacked in waves was amazing. The penalty corner specialists were a delight to watch. The current penalty corner techniques used are so different from the old days of push, stop and shoot. Today its push, stop, deviate, pull back, control, drag, flick and high-5’s all-round.

When it comes to free kicks in football, we all know about Roberto Carlos and his bendy 'banana' free-kicks. I’m sure someone will definitely comment on Henry’s kicks.. puuf . Review on Dhiamarra by Maggie Furey : It’s another of those fantasy novels with magic ,adventure and Dragons .Here are a few points to ponder. Do keep in mind that the author is a lady. *The main character is Lady Aurian ,not only has she great power but is also a heroine of great energy and spirit. The downside is that she breaks down like every other chapter. *Aurian has a lot (on last count 13, I can count only till 13) friends and they were all men. Moreover they follow her everywhere …I mean everywhere. *Aurian hugs everyone and I mean everyone. *The evil character is another female who goes by the name lady Eliseth. *Thank the Lords that Death was not a “lady”. *Last but not the least all the Artifacts of power have gems,diamonds embedded in them. What's with that ? *And for the love of Gandalf people are supposed to die , but no Maggie aunty has other ideas. The characters won’t really be dead but that spark of life will remain and Aurian will heal them. Again and again and again... *The main adversaries whom the heroine tracks for ( 4 books ) are killed off in 2 pages. *Overall the plot was too feminine for my liking and it had a lot of sub-plots.

Shot this at a busy traffic junction .Sigh *

Imposters ?

Shot this at the Garuda Mall.. ofcourse it was for the posters of Harry Potter and Chicken little.. :)

Work in progress

:) .. one of my first snaps ...thanks to my sis and bil,I have this. Look out for pics of Bangalore and poultry farms .. uahhahhahahaha... somebody Ctrl Vc

The past is strapped to our backs. We do not have to see it; we can always feel it. ~Mignon McLaughlin.

Quotes from my archives.. The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. Silence, space and pause giving shape to things seen and unseen. If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never be found. With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now. The beauty of the world has two edges, one of laughter, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.-Virginia Woolf Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. ~Victor Hugo, Les Misérables, 1862