The Lumbering Loner

                             Chapter 2:Sam visits Shawn's place

Shawn was, by nature, a submissive and a timid person. However, fortunately for him and all those who believe in humanity, he had a brother who was very different. While Shawn was known for making heavy weather of cases of villainy, his brother used to solve them in the most ingenious of ways. Sam was, in fact, one of the most reliable and sought-after detectives in the whole of the country. There was just the one mystery that had remained inexplicable in Sam's entire career as a detective, while a single case had been completely deciphered in Shawn's case. Though Sam was the younger of the two, he had a much more mature mind than Shawn.

It was a bright, sunny day when Sam ambled towards the main door of his brother's new dwelling, plodding past an animated crowd. One might have imagined Sam to have built the notion that Shawn had cracked a case or two. Sam, anxiously, knocked at the door and was warmly greeted by his sibling.
"Why is there a massive crowd in front of the door?", Sam asked.
"Oh! I am actually quite famous among people. They apparently relate me with His Majesty Mr.Holmes himself.", was the response.
"That's great! By the way, evidently, your tidily combed hair indicate you've had a recent bath, the redness and fatigue in those eyes indicate excessive television viewing while neatly polished shoes suggest that you plan to go out someplace soon."
"Ah! Very well! The worn-out chapeau on your head shows that its hackneyed, your muddled shoes prove that its a trite pair and your tired eyes indicate that.......probably, you are tired."
"So blatant.....", Sam secerned.
Poor Sam, after travelling all day, had all his hopes shattered too. Added insult to injury, did Shawn, with all his asinine remarks. Sam could now appraise how many cases his brother might have solved, how much of a Sherlock Holmes he had become and how mindless of Sam himself it was in being so sanguine.



As Sam made himself comfortable on the antique couch which mostly had Shawn overly comfortable, perhaps a bit too much, a thought ran through his mind which reminded him why he was in London in the first place. As an obligation towards his elder brother, he said, "I have a case to solve in South London, which is the reason I am here. Would you like to accompany me? We'll leave today evening."
Sam would have hoped for a reply in the negative, but, it was just not his day. Shawn disturbingly agreed, much to the despondency of Sam and his clients. Sam, apparently and very understandably, had little faith in Shawn's crime-solving abilities. As the two brothers left at dusk, Sam took along with him Olanzapine tablets in case his brother had a fit and a colossal cause of distress, courtesy of his very own brother. He had a mystery to solve and from it, his brother to absolve.

Supertraits of Superstars by Priyanka Sinha Jha

Bollywood has become synonymous with money and fame; the stories of young actors, struggling to make it in the industry only to later blossom as wonderful actors, are all that we hear about the stars. Little do we know about the effort, conscious and subconscious that go into the making of such a star.

With examples from eleven different Bollywood stars' life, Priyanka Sinha Jha brings about a new dimension wherein she highlights the important qualities in each actor which propelled them forward to make them the star they are now. Big B's Discipline, King Khan's Passion, Vidya Balan's Reinventing Mentality, Aamir Khan's Pursuit of Perfection, Katrina's Perseverance, John Abraham's Enterprising nature, the Maximal Focus of Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya's Grace, Hrithik's Mental Resolve, Karan Johar's Tact and Sallu bhai's Generosity are the main qualities covered in the book.

The main selling point of this book is definitely the fact that every commoner can relate with it. Every person at some time or another has dreamed of becoming a superstar as the grandeur and fame that surrounds the mystic profession draws us towards it; however, this book paints the actual picture of becoming a superstar: hardwork and excellence. With humorous and quirky anecdotes from the real lives of the reel actors, Priyanka Sinha Jha has made even a simple man appreciate the pain and effort put in by each actor to achieve their goal.

While the entire book was a good read, it was the little known actor stories which I cherished reading more. Though this doesn't indicate that the stories of the big-shot ones were written poorly, just the fact that Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh and Aamir Khan's stories are a bit too popularly known anyway. Out of the rest, I felt Hrithik Roshan's will and determination to change his fate from being speech impaired to one of the greatest actors of modern Bollywood definitely takes the cake. I would love to see a second book under the same banner and theme to come out with some lesser known actor stories like that of Boman Irani and Nawazuddin Siddiqui and that of the old and gold Kapoors,
if the author could manage it.

Bytes and Banter Verdict :  A Piece Of Art  -  4/5

The book was received as part of Reviewers Programme on The Tales Pensieve.

Delhi Comicon 2014

Comicons are a way of life; it is this place where thousands of comic book aficionados come together discussing about various comic issues, shop merchandise to decorate their homes with supremely geeky stuff and have a great time. The Delhi Comicon, which I was finally able to attend after procrastinating for 4 years, was teeming with fans as early as 11 am. Not only did this event house DC and Marvel comic heroes but also paved the way for Raj Comics, Comixology, Fanfare, Garbage Bin and Tinkle Enthusiasts.

Photo Credits - Rohit Lathkar

Ordinary to Extraordinary!

I started slow, allowing others to surge ahead...

Steadily they ran and never looked back...

To see how far behind they had left me!

Half a lap had I done...

When they already completed one!

My mind was all cluttered up...

Should I keep it slow and accelerate at the end?

Or should I maintain a steady pace?

I wondered till my head blew off!

'Slow and steady wins the race', I had heard...

But, I let that go for a nerd...

Further, up in the sky, I saw a bird...

And its behaviour left me stirred...

Unhurriedly, it flew in the air...

Its wanting eyes fixed on the wanted prey...

And, all of a sudden, I saw...

It charged towards the ground with stupendous speed...

"Oh! What speed!", I muttered to myself...

As the hunt was enjoyed by the elf...

Realize the Republic!

"Just an another day" for most people...

Alas!The celebrations are feeble.

A 'National Festival',as it is regarded...

But,does anyone care if the nation is guarded?

The Rajpath revelry begins early in the morning...

A prominent procession, but, the viewership is alarming!

Nice patriotic songs are scheduled to be sung...        

Some do sing, but very few remember those who were hung.

Immortals Of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

The concept of imagining Gods as ancient and legendary heroes is an idea which might have struck many people across ages but building a conceptually believable storyline revolving around the myths and beliefs of this God is truly impressive. Needless to say, Amish has done a fine job in creating a fast-paced, exciting novel series based on the many myths of the Hindu Mythology.

Through this book, Mr. Tripathi has taken up a very sensitive topic as Indians don't take literature on their Gods very lightly. He has carefully threaded through the plot without any sort of controversial discussions or diversions. Some of Lord Shiva's habits, like that of smoking ganja is a strict no-no in our modern society but in the book has been shown on a pretty light note allowing the reader to draw his own interpretation.

#17 Catwoman vs Black Cat

The feline forces of the comic universes, Black Cat representing Marvel and Catwoman representing DC take on each other for a fight to glory and death. With each having nine lives and cat like agility, the fight boils down to speed and accuracy.

Name : Selina Kyle
Affiliation : Justice League, The Batman Family
Background :  Surviving as a petty thief in the East End of Gotham city after her mother committed suicide and her father drank himself to death, Selina Kyle was inspired by Batman. Fighting to survive in the small world, she chose a cat as her aspiration and donned capes and claws to terrorise the villains of the East End. Having a love-hate relationship with Batman, she has always been portrayed as an anti-heroine with her own moral code. Despite her villainous nature, she works hard to protect the East End of Gotham City.


Name : Felicia Hardy
Affiliation : Avengers, Heroes For Hire
Background : Having a burglar father can have its perks, Felicia Hardy had initially mastered multiple martial arts in order to save her father from the prison but later fell in love with Spiderman and changed her ways to be a superhero.

LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!!!!

Cold January Nights

After the Sun sets, when the clock strikes seven...

You cover yourself with coats and quilts and feel like heaven.

You try to get up and engage in the home sciences...

But you just can't and unexploited lie the appliances.

You switch on the idiot box, in hope of resurrection...

As if it would change the whole complexion.

Constantly and casually, the channels are browsed...    

And soon, the curiosity fades away, which earlier had aroused.    

                                              

Sub Conscious Life Hacks

Every man, no matter how hard he works, eventually takes shortcuts to meet his goal. Whether it be by pushing it on to his subordinates or by 'Googling' his problems, the emphasis of smart work over hard work and dearth of time has severely changed the everyday man's philosophy. These shortcuts or life hacks are now ingrained and no matter how hard we try, we subconsciously do deploy them to make our lives easier.

DISCLAIMER  - None of these tips have been discovered or invented by me.

1. Bouncing Batteries - How do you know if the batteries are still functional? Simple, just bounce them on the floor to check if they still have juice in them, if they do, they won't bounce very high while the discharged ones are virtually heavy ping-pong balls. While this was initially thought of as a myth, the scientific reason behind this is quite interesting - as alkaline batteries discharge, the chemistry inside changes and produces Hydrogen gas, creating pressure and making it easier for the battery to bounce and topple. Sadly, it only works in the alkaline ones, so the ones throwing their Li-ion ones are clearly wasting their time.

2013 At A Glance and A Wish For 2014

Everybody has done it, so why not us !!! The year 2013 has come to a close and has left us with lifelong memories, some good and some bad. We recapitulate some key events which has affected India and we also hope for a much better and improved 2014.

We start with sports, because that is what interests the majority of the Indian population. In cricket,our biggest achievement of the year was the Champions Trophy win in England. Most people didn't give Dhoni's men a chance at the start of the tournament and very rightly so, given the fact that India were brutally beaten both in the test and ODI series in their previous tour of England. However, Dhoni's men defied all odds and emerged victorious, adding yet another trophy to the country's tally. India lost the last cricket series of 2013 going down to South Africa in the test series, further worsening their record away from home. A series win in the rainbow nation would have been a perfect ending to the year. Nevertheless, the tour to New Zealand begins shortly and we have a chance to begin well in 2014. Also, the T20 World Cup this year is a great opportunity for India to strengthen the team for the all important 2015 World Cup.