The curious case of my teeth

"Now Shivu, you need to hold the tissue carefully, else you will end up giving post-procedure pain to the dear boy..." says Dr.SS who drives the cutting tool farther down the 3rd molar.

"ah?!", laments I...


what is it about CCD?
that's makes me so uneasy...
is it the others around me?
Or the prices which make me say, "Wowee"...

So went my lame attempt at poetry, whilst waiting for Anna and M at the nearby CCD. As always, the cafe maintained its reputation of playing totally inane music. That combined with the incessant tittering of a couple sitting beside my table, made me to work more on my quartet...


The arrival of M and Anna, saved me the label of acquiring the poetic abilities of Vogons (as fans of H2G2 might recall with pleasure). The observer that M is, she asked me about the puffed right cheek. "Didn’t get into any trouble, i suppose...” she adds naively... Knowing fully well, that if i did, the damages wouldn’t have stopped with a puffed right cheek.


So to end all the mystery, i begin the narrative of the Curious case of My teeth. A case, whose 'what-the-what?' quotient is so high that, it will make the identity of the final Suitor of Rakhi Sawant and twitter updates of Ashton Kutcher, seem passe.

The narrative had many timelines to it, so i tried to pull of a Memento trick on the duo, but on her insistence i was forced to take up the linear technique.


After adjusting my position to that of a dental veteran...


{which involves stretching the legs, leaning on one of the arm rests and a mock adjustment of eye glasses with a distant look and masterly ordering hot choco latte for everyone, taking a gentle sip and...}


"So it all began, in the middle of a fine dinner circa 199x (x=6,7) when i complained of a Mamatha Banerjeesque tooth which refused to fall and was promptly seated on a dentist's chair, in the neighbourhood. The Dentist frowned at the condition of the tooth, the jaw and mumbled about the complexity of the case, before he loudly announced, “the tooth must be extracted and everything will be fine".

(" 'Everything will be fine', was always the phrase, which would be followed with no-holds-barred pain and horrors in my dental history...)

Cheap numbing spray and a few yankings later, I got to say goodbye to my first tooth. And thus began the journey of extractions, a journey which took not the beaten path of losing teeth by natural means, for ex. falling from bicycle, swallowing the about-to-go tooth, fighting etc. But the glorious path of artificial means which involved machinery and procedures of such beauty and complexity, it would have made any engineer's eyes moist with wonder."

"Even i have had extractions: P" interjected M. But to the reply, "Have you had 16 of them?" made her decide not to interject any more.

"16 extractions I have had dear and i don’t lie. 8 of them milk and 8 of them permanent. To the effect that, I am making do with just 24 out the 32 god gifted tools with which man has achieved so much." At this point she :O ed and took some time to regain her composure and i ordered another latte in good measure. Anna says, " But you don’t look like someone having 75% of human teeth.." (Probably expecting 8 empty slots neatly lined up..)

"That’s the X factor. The shape of the jaw and teeth and their sizes make up for the loss such that you wouldn’t notice. (I wink for the final touch).

"After the first extraction, my dad suggested that I consult a dentist capable of handling my case. And the visits to the White House clinic on St.Marks road began from thereon, a frequent haunt for 7 years nearly."

"Some from extractions followed and the foundation for Orthodontic treatment or teeth correction was laid during the middle school years. Braces firmly fixed upon admission to high school. But the extractions continued unabated. The only cheerful aspect of this episode was the brief mention that someday my case might make into the Journals of Dentistry. International recognition for my teeth was indeed heartening."

"People inculcate the virtue of Patience from dealing with warnings in Vista or Dial up internet connections, but I inculcated that from my visits to the clinic. The agonizing wait for the dentist, then the wait for the anesthetic to act (during extractions), the wait for the visit in itself to get over with; were tests of patience far greater than the pre 1991 telephone/cooking gas/car procurements..."

"There was a brief lull (with the completion of correction treatment), during the PU years and the 2 years of engineering, which gave me a false sense of contentment that the epic was drawing to a close. But a week ago, during a routine checkup, Dr.SS announced, “4 wisdom teeth have to be removed immediately." Abhi kahani bakhi hain mere dost, slurred SRK in the Reception room TV."

“After a while, I experienced a return to familiar territory. Having personally witnessed the evolution of Dentist chairs, equipments and procedures over the period of my treatment, I felt, there’s nothing more that ain’t prepared for. Horror stories of others’ wisdom extractions failed to unsettle me. ‘Bring it on’, I said to myself.

Although the extraction was complex enough to involve Maxillo-facial surgeons and innovative methods like breaking the tooth to 3 pieces before removal, I took it in… During the entire period of extraction, the final ten minutes of Requiem for a Dream played over and over again in my head. (The only movie segment, which unsettles me and gives me goose bumps, even when viewed in broad daylight… the music, the sequence of images brrrrrr….).

And thus the right cheek got puffed up…” said I ending the narration, much to the relief of my audience, who were bored enough to count the number of times the adverts had repeated, on the OOH TV plastered to the wall.

“So now I get that fixation of yours in expecting well maintained teeth from others,” says M. I sheepishly agree, much to the amusement of the duo.

As we leave CCD, with droplets of rain coming down ever so gently upon us, I realize that although I go through those moments of “why me? Why do I, of all the people, had to go through such agony and pain?”, I must count my blessings. Unwavering support and insistence from parents (Amma especially) on getting the treatment done, Brilliant dentists on whose wisdom I trusted, and permitted to operate upon on my teeth, the opportunity of getting my leg pulled among friends about my fixation and offering them a few laughs…

Its worth it all… :)

Mumbai meri jaan...

"Have you lost faith in the city, memsahib?” Asked the driver which broke my reverie. "Why do you ask?” 

“With all these attacks and blasts, you must have felt very scared..." 

Little did he know, of what I had been through when the attacks and blasts had occurred. "The city is and shall always remain dear to me, come what may". Hearing this he smiled, and turned up the volume of his radio...

Having elaborately planned my tour to the sub-continent, my parents weren't happy that I was doing this alone. Their fear about my safety wasn't unfounded either, with incidents of harassment of tourists in the Metros being reported frequently. But I realized that with some street-smartness and compliance to the basic Do's and Don’ts while visiting these countries; I could do very well for myself. And enjoy a good trip to India...

My first stop was Mumbai. A pretty easy choice, considering it was the HQ of a dream factory, one could say. A factory that churned out motion pictures by the dozen, which carried with it the hopes and aspirations of those working with it and those to whom it was made for. Although their total disconnect with the portrayal of the Real India is a bit of a bother, it does provide a temporary escape from daily grinds of life for the audience, which is worth their ticket price.

The city's role in the colonial rule of yore and also in larger time frame of Indian history also made it easier. The monuments, the bustling and vibrant city life, the novels which had the city as its premise; just led me to it.

I was staying at the Trident, Oberoi, the preferred hotel among foreign nationals. Many of online travel buddies had nice things to say about it. The wonderful view of the sea among other things. And at the end of a tiring day roaming around the city, you would want to soak in with some comfort ;).

Three days had passed, since I landed in the city, when the sun rose on the 26th Thursday. It was my last day here and i hadn't planned on anything stressful. A visit to the Jehangir art gallery and Mani bhawan followed by an evening saunter by the Juhu beach was on the agenda.

I returned to the hotel by about 6pm and headed straight for the Spa. After having finished my dinner by 8.30pm I headed back to my room to start packing. My flight was at 2.00am. Later I found my diary replete with jottings of the journey. Going through the pictures I had clicked, as and when I mentioned something in the diary, I relived my stay, picture by picture, page by page. 

The Taxis, the Best buses, the Dabbawalas, the chats at Chowpatty, the oi-look-at-the-gori-chori ogle. {Although the attention was unwarranted} was so much fun. One thing about the Mumbaikar is that they never fail to lend a hand or offer a smile to the ones in need. Maybe I was lucky in encountering the good ones…




24 hours had passed since the terrorists had taken us as hostages. Sitting beside me was Vijay, a project leader in an IT solutions company who made a business presentation yesterday, at this very conference hall. Then there was Ahmed to my left, a server who worked in the day shift at one of the restaurants above. The others were scattered across the hall. 

We introduced ourselves to each other, keeping our faces straight, making no expressions whatsoever and keeping our voices to a whisper. 

A good number of foreigners were present in the hall. It took me a while to get a feel of the situation, to know what was happening around me. And the thought, of the anxiety that folks back home would be going through, churned my stomach. 

The terrorists were moving around with sense of purpose. There was a method to their madness. It was evident that a lot of planning and training preceded this operation. Why was I assessing them like a professional team doing an honest job? I had to keep myself sane and positive in these trying times. The smell of the two rotting dead foreigners, was overpowering us.  

We held each others hands and Ahmed lent his shoulder and also kind words of consolation, when I broke down from time to time. Why wouldn’t they understand that this approach led them nowhere? If they really cared about righting the wrongs that their brethren had suffered, weren’t other means available?...

The sounds of staccato fire and grenades blasting shook us now and then. What I later came to know as a NSG counterattack, was making its presence felt. Sheer exhaustion due to hunger and dehydration made me doze of for longer periods of time. Vijay was getting agitated about the state of affairs. That innocent people were caught in something this terrible, for no fault of theirs, irked him. Ahmed tried to console him, but to no avail. I was a mute spectator to the happenings…

Two more foreigners were shot dead on the second day ruthlessly, without remorse. The remaining hostages were too shocked to respond anymore… We were given some water to drink. The thirst remained unquenched… 

Later in the evening a unit of the NSG stormed the hotel. The terrorists agitatedly ordered us to move in to another hall, a floor below. 

What possessed Vijay to do what he did remains a puzzle to me. He took one of the terrorists by surprise, shouting expletives and giving them a punch or two. The other snuffled him out within no time. I screamed out and tried to reach but Ahmed pulled me along with the others. I was too weak to offer resistance. 

The rest of the events are still fuzzy and vague in my memory. Vijay’s death had shocked me enough perhaps, to remain oblivious to my surroundings. The NSG came in, there was a lot of commotion, and there were screams, gunshots, orders being shouted out… Ahmed meanwhile, literally carried me out through a fire exit he had known to exist nearby. 

At the lobby, he made me to stand up and hold my hands up in the air as we exited the hotel. I flopped almost immediately outside the hotel, prompting some people outside to rush in and offer some help… Ahmed was dragged away in another direction perhaps. 

“Everything’s okay. You’ll be fine ma’am”. 
“Ahmed, Where is Ahmed….?”  
“Arrey teekh se pakad (the door shut). Achha Ab chalo jaldi”… 
The ambulance zoomed away…

“How do you feel Miss Jacqueline?”, this from a sprightly officer who seemed to me as a compatriot. 

“Very well, thank you. And you are…”

“John Summers, from the office of the British Deputy High Commission here. I am here to ensure your safety and your safe return back home. We have informed your relatives about your state and have made travel arrangements for you, to leave India as early as tomorrow.”

“Oh that’s very helpful of you to do so.”

“The Travel documents including temporary passport and tickets are here. I believe you lost them all in the unsavory happenings. Please do not miss the flight under any circumstances, for the city is yet to be healed from its wounds.”

“Yes, I will. Mr. John, it would also be of great help if you lent me some local currency.”

“Not for sightseeing or shopping, I presume”. “No, I had to attend to some personal matters, before I leave the city.” 



“Memsahib, this is the house according to the address.” I got down, asking the driver to wait for an hour perhaps. I stopped before opening the gates to Vijay’s house. I took a deep breath and went inside. Namrata, Vijay’s wife broke down inconsolably after I introduced myself. I told her about all the wonderful things he had mentioned about the family and told her to accept what had happened. “You are lucky, aren’t you?” she asked me.  

“There isn’t much difference in the ones dead and the ones who survived, Namrata. The scars might have healed on me, but they will remain inside me. The rage within him made him do what he did. He is more blessed a soul than those who took his life…”

After a tearful partaking and a promise to keep in touch, I headed to Ahmed’s house. He was delighted to see me and asked to me to join them for lunch. I refused politely, but thanked him profusely for saving my life. He asked his daughter to come out and said,” this is the memsahib, I was talking about. You should also achieve something in life and be brave enough to travel to another country on your own.” He laughed much to the chagrin of her and she looked at me suspiciously. “She knows memsahib, that Allah wouldn’t forgive the perpetrators of terror and that they have no religion to call as their own”. “That would be the best thing for her to know.” I replied before I left him.

"Airport, memsahib?", "Airport it is..."

Tough questions remained unanswered in me, Why does the political establishment take the Mumbaikar for granted? For how long will they keep bandying about saying the Mumbai spirit lives on? How could such a breach of security take place at the maritime borders? When will the day come, when the people can lead their lives away from the shadow of terror?   

And this song played in the background, curiously enough…
♫Ai dil hain mushkil, jeena yahan, zara hat ke , zara bach ke, ye hain Bambai meri jaan♫  

Trichy treat...

Trying to catch some sleep with all the excitement in me and the chuck chuck of the train in the background, i thought of how i got in here...

10 days before the D-day,

"Nakul, you going to Trichy fest?",

"Not decided as of yet, i have labs to miss, you see...",

"Ah, well..."

6 days... 

Amma," you going to Trichy?". "i'm not sure ma, no other 2nd year is willing...."

3 days...

Jose says ,"dude, you gotta tell me if you are coming, right now. It takes time for the names on the waiting list to actually get seats. Wanna go standing all the way? :X ..."

My reverie is broken with," whats the time da?". This from vishy, sleeping on a berth below mine. "2.25am" i reply. "Another hour and a half to get there....."

Received all the customary advice, which ranged from not hanging loose on the door of the coach while in motion, to drinking reverse osmosisified pyuure water, to avoid getting bitten by bed bugs (for which i was equipped with a pair of bedsheets and a pillow (with cover)), to not get into trouble and the sort.

I was very excited since it was the first time for me, venturing out of KaruNadu, alone and especially with college friends. The very thought of an overnight train journey with the fun bunch of quizcorpers made it something to really look forward to...

On the train, and we were literally haggling the passengers around us, so that the whole bunch of us could sit together. The ladies had their seats in the adjacent coach from ours, because of the quota... we finally agreed for a makeshift arrangement with the TC .(who fuming thru his moustache, muttered "what kids i say! , i will make them get down at Salem"...)

Having settled down, the group which consisted of me, Kent, Jose, Ma, Ni, Nanded and Vishy got down to business. Which was the opening of our respective foodie goodies. chakkulis, chapathis, english sandwiches and the like were devoured within no time...This was followed by dumbcharades and activities which involved us in making lots of noise. A stern warning by a passenger which went, "wawawwhat do you think of yuvarselves i say?"( wide eyes and thumbs up), made our entropy zero (almost ;))

Day 1:

After a breezy ride from the station to the insti courtesy the insti bus, some of us were awed to be in the presence of a certain studd quizzer named after a mystical aspect of judaism. The reason being he mispronouncing the director of Godfather. So go figure ;)

Having settled down at our respective hostel rooms, we all decided to take part in some literary activities before the lonewolf quiz. The lack of sleep played a major role, in my dismal performance in the quiz. By dismal i mean writing Hindware for a Thomas crapper question. The crossword workshop after that was great fun. It completely changed my idea of cryptic crosswords. The enthu, with which the students guided us through the tricks and the shady hints to be found in a given clue, floored me. 

The finals of the quizzes at the NIT's and the IITs start at midnight and end up in the wee hours of the morning. The lonewolf was my first midnight final as an audience. So after the cryptic workshop, we caught up on some sleep.

The finals started at around 11pm and we were surprised at the no show of females in the audience. Queer i wondered, considering that a good no. of them had participated in the prelims. We came to know why, the hard way. Minutes after settling down, one of the co-ords brashly asked Ma, Nanded and Paddy to 'get the hell outta here'. Apparently the insti had rules about not allowing girls to roam around beyond 11pm and so there has never been a female audience to quiz finals ever. The sentiment and the intention was understandable, but the way it was said was offending. Ma put some fight, but to no avail. They all stomped out of the auditorium and this left a bad taste among the rest of us.

After 3 rounds we, the bleary eyed, decide to leave after witnessing mystical aspect smash the competition. The long walk back to the hostel, hollering and laughing at 2am, with Jose retelling his funny and heart warming experiences of prev. Trichy visits and with Kent playing music on the loud speakers was unforgettable. :)

Day2:

Started with me and Ma desperately asking the debate co-ord to include us for the competition. "impassible, i have already turned down many other teams. Don't waste my time i say"said He. We sat down, listening to the impassibly good speakers speaking in broken indian english and doing typical-i-read-Hindu-and-i-am-holier-than-thou expressions, much to our amusement. Later we headed out to the Spent quiz, with my team closely missing out on qualifying. Ma, as usual convinced me to attend a creative writing workshop after the quiz, which was being conducted By Sidin Vadukut. 

Forgive me for digressing here- a month back, one Saturday afternoon me and Ma were discussing about Indian blogging culture and she mentioned Sidin Vadukut and the post which made him super-duper famous. Read up for the whole story.

And imagine how i felt, when the same Sidin incidentally being an alumnus of NITT, conducted the creative writing workshop. I was overjoyed and Ma chided me for not knowing this earlier. Sidin started off in a very informal vein and entertained us right through with his anecdotes and moments of epiphany. We never sensed the time go by, so much so, that even during a power failure mid-way through his talk, we didn't mind listening to him in the darkness :D. His travails which led him to what he is today, filled us all with hope.

With nothing left to do till the finals of spent and we to loiter around the spacious campus, making a fool of ourselves. The last bit, due to our parodying of Dark Knight by shooting a  kannada version. Boy o boy was it fun!! Casting the current and the prev generation of actors in Kannada industry as the cast for Kari-Nayaka as we put it, made us laugh till we cried. Nanded, Jose and Vishy were a bit miffed at not getting most of the kannada references but joined us in the merriment nonetheless. 

The sun was setting behind us, when we got to know of a power shortage in the campus, to make up for the high wattage Sivamani concert, that was to follow later that night. Feeling lazy to walk all the distance to our hostels, Kent suggested we play rummy. Some of us were apprehensive about the idea, for getting caught by the insti people for shady business was the last thing on our minds. He convinced us nonetheless and we found an abandoned exit to the LHC to start the game. As the game progressed with fortunes swinging rapidly from player to player, the night too advanced with merry abandon. With no street lights, we continued playing the game with cellphone backlights as a source. It was indeed hilarious. My cellphone as usual played the role of providing soothing background music. Kent complimented me after listening to my playlist, by saying "You're the MAN". That's something i'll cherish. ;)

 

We bid goodbye to him and Ni for they had some work on Sunday. The ladies went back to the hostel with an air of nonchalance around them. Not attending the Spent finals, was hardly on their minds. They were warming up for Tomorrow's India quiz.

The spent final was a repeat show of mystical aspect's dominance. But me and Jose had a great cracking questions from the audience. Pepsi and coke bottles with shady contents were moving around among the audience, i was a bit apprehensive about that ;) 

The long walk back to the hostel-part2 also had the same share of fun, but i missed Kent.

Day 3, a Sunday which had only the India quiz for us to take part in. We had to leave the campus by mid day to reach Bangalore by night. The quiz master shortened the India quiz to a one round event due to lack of time. Questions were good. Missed a few easy ones. Ma's team smashed it almost.

Then we all foolishly waited to participate in a solve-the-mystery contest, which led to chain of events so improbable that we did not reach Bangalore on the same day!

Writing down the clues and watching the sloppy video (credits for the effort though) made us unaware of the fact that it was nearing 1pm and no one had even packed their belongings. Running our way back to the hostel, we discussed the various permutations of routes by which our destination could be reached the same day.

Its 2.30 in the afternoon by the time we check out. We waited for a bus to Trichy central, opposite to the insti. 45minutes later we hoisted ourselves into an overloaded one and it became increasingly clear, that at this rate we had to stop over at one of the towns enroute and take the overnight bus to Bangalore. Getting stranded at 1am in namma ooru and the CM being quoted as "they were being adventurous", lest something happened to us; was the last thing that we wanted. ;)

Having resigned to that fact, we took a bus to Salem after reaching Trichy for it had higher frequencies to our city. The supposedly 3.5 hour journey took 5 hours, but we had music and Ma's books for company so we didnt mind.

All along the journey,

as i savoured the natural beauty,

i noticed some publicity material,

which made the setting ethereal... 

I wondered if had stepped into a DMK nadu rather than Tamil nadu. Posters and life size cutouts of the aforesaid party members, lined up till the end of  horizon. Flags and buntings besought their presence. The idea that Tamil politics is more about creating a larger than life image and making sure that you enforce it to the common man, just became concrete in me. Not having exposed myself, to such a robust display of the various poses of politicians, it was indeed funny. By poses i mean, leaders pondering with the tip of the pen resting on their lips, photoshopped ten-headed leaders, hand shaking and hand waving leaders and in each of these cases, they are reinforcing the message to the people that "look, this is ME. And i am in POWER. And i am doing something good for you all" :| . The common man is enamoured.

Vishy interrupted my discussion on this topic with Ma, pointing out that politics is a sensitive issue among the locals and the bus was not an ideal setting for it. After reaching Salem, by 9pm we searched around for a place to eat and we found 3 Saravana Bhavanas within 100mts. Having filled our stomachs in of the swankier ones, we lounged on the steps of an abandoned shop, for we had about an hour and a half to spare. Another round of idle chitchat about local and Karnataka politics, Literature, college and its quirky staff members followed before we took the bus to Bangalore. 

The company which i had in this trip was akin to cousins or brothers say, people to whom you could open up to without inhibitions. Jose, Vishy, Kent, Ma and the gang were so very easy going and fun loving that you were made to feel comfortable effortlessly. That all of them possessed a great sense of humor just added up to it...

All in all it was a memorable trip...  

More Pics here and Ma's version of the trip in 3 parts  here

"Nights are dark, right?" said a pilley. Joker said "And i thought my Jokes were bad"

Thats right. Stop...

What follows is a complete dissection and study of the Dark knight. So no soft warnings as to spoilers/plot give-aways ahead. I expect you to have seen the movie before you proceed to read this post. If you havent done so, do close the window and make an attempt at watching it. 

Now the eligible ones can proceed...

Once in a while, you come across movies which make a lasting impression on your mind. Movies which you can proudly say to the future generations,” I saw this n times you know(twinkle in the eyes). The craze it created…. You should have been there to witness it”. Dark Knight is one such movie. 

After wiping off sweat from my brows caused by the “i-don’t-give-two-hoots-to-my-life” attitude displayed by Bangaloreans on the roads (this while driving back home from Fun cinemas), i settled down for a dissertation on The Dark Knight (for no degree sadly).

The movie starts off with a heist orchestrated by the Joker and we see his arrival with a bang really.( As each of them go down with a bang :D ). The joker stands alone and answers to the query, "what to do you believe in?", with this ” I believe that whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… STRANGER… ” 

And this sets the pace for more such pearls of wisdom from the man himself.

Heath Ledger fascinated me right from the start, with his effortless portrayal of Joker. It’s a psychotic, scary (yet at times funny) character that he had to portray, (unlike his predecessors) which he has fulfilled to perfection. His jokes are laughable given ordinary circumstances but in the sinister scenario that it unfolds, you shiver. Case in point, the scene where Joker dressed up as a nurse says “Hi” to Dent. Brrrrr….

 (to borrow Alfred’s words on Joker) 
“Some men aren't looking for anything logical like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to WATCH THE WORLD BURN.”

Some memorable quotes by The Joker:
• You know the thing about chaos? It's fair

• Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all of the…little…emotions. You see, in their…last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way…I knew your friends better than you ever did. [pause] Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

• This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.

• Madness, as you know, is like gravity…all it takes is a little push!

• [to batman] You won't kill me because of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because…you're just too much fun! I think you and I are destined to do this forever.

• You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go "according to plan"…even if the plan is horrifying. If tomorrow I told the press that, like, a gang-banger will get shot, or a truck load of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all part of the plan. But when I say that one little old mayor will die…[voice rises hysterically] well, then everyone loses their minds!

• Introduce a little anarchy…upset the established order…and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos.

He seeks the best of Gotham city, its true legitimate hero and by bringing him down, he wants to shatter the hopes of the citizens who believed in everything good and hoped for the victory of good over evil.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey dent is another example of perfect casting. He fits the bill as a robust lawyer fighting to clean the streets of gotham, a character who makes his own luck (with the two-headed coin :) ), he is the legitimate hero of the city. Later as the transformed Two-face, (following the loss of Rachel) he stops believing in morals and leaves everything to chance. In his own words:

“You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time…but you were wrong! The world is cruel. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair…”

The joker tests Batman, Gordon and Dent in his quest to bring the best of them down. Batman fails, when he refuses to reveal himself; which leads to the loss of innocent lives. Gordon fails, when he does nothing to combat the rampant corruption in the police force, which also leads to the unfortunate death of Rachel Dawes and the destruction of Harvey dent. Both the kidnappings being orchestrated by the mafia and deftly carried out by the very cops that Gordon believed in . Dent survives the test, as he goes to the extent  of acknowledging that he is the Batman,  for the safety of Gotham citizens. The joker is now after Dent, not Batman. 

Regarding the death of Dent there has been voices along the lines of “phooey, why does Nolan take such an effort to show the dent-two face(a prominent villain in the comic series) transformation and then kill him within 45 min?”

Answer: You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Two-Face according to Nolan isn’t Two-face according to Batman comics. His death and the subsequent Dark knightification* of Batman enables people to still have faith in him(Dent) and what he stood for. Thus in a way defeating what the Joker strived hard to do. 

“This city just showed you that it's full of people ready to believe in good” says batman to Joker when his plans to detonate the two cruises, fail. 

What a fantastic sequence that is. Two cruises, one containing the law abiders and the other containing the most wanted criminals. Each asked to blow the other up. The frustration, introspection and dilemma faced by the passengers is brilliantly shot. None of them want their hands dirty from detonating the bomb. The audience is on the edge, witnessing the happenings , dying to know what happens next, the time ticks on………..

Among the criminals, one of the nasty looking fellows whom you would have actually believed to press the button, eventually throws it out. On the other end one of the good ones, is actually tempted to press the detonator when at the right time, his morality checks him. One can interpret that the bad ones actually deserve to live, contrary to what one normally excepts. That none of them suffer is a different thing altogether. But they do support what batman said above… 

Alfred Pennyworth played by Michael Caine as the avuncular butler is classy and measured just as it should be. Always the one to provide a shoulder to cry on for Batman. A firm believer in Batman and also in the idea that batman has to take decisions, which may involve sacrifices; but are made with good intentions for Gotham. Very wisely he hides, from a beleaguered batman, the fact that Rachel would have loved to marry Harvey instead of him. Burning of Burmese forests story was so apt in putting the Joker situation to a proper perspective.


Abduction of Lau and the chase of a captive Dent make for some good, edge of the seat action sequences. Both technically difficult, but made to look so easy. Hats off to the technical crew handling photography, CGI and the director himself.


Christopher Nolan has handled the batman franchise in very refreshing and mature manner. Mature in the sense that, he has gone beyond portraying batman as a typical wish-i-could-be-him kinda role with fantastic weaponry and jaw-dropping stunts etc. and has also dealt with moral conflicts that the hero suffers from time to time. The villains and the friends/well wishers too are carefully sketched characters rather than being made as just sidekicks. Each one is as inevitable as the other. The narration is also taut considering the fact that it exceeds 2 hours, which rarely happens in Hollywood.

A mention of the brilliant background music score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard can’t be forgotten. The music gets into your body, settling into your chest and brings you down to a macabre, dark place**. Fav tracks of mine are Harvey Two-Face, Introduce a Little Anarchy and Why so Serious. Variation of pace as per the plot and brilliant use of instruments are a hallmark of this film’s soundtrack. They never cease to trigger a screening of the movie in my mind’s eye whenever i play it…. Its like being a part of the story and experiencing the emotions yourself.

His movies succeed mainly because it respects the audience. By that I mean, he doesn’t take the audience for granted by dishing out brain dead material. There is lot of attention to detail in all aspects of film making be it editing, background music score, casting, screenplay all of which makes a movie viewer get a wholesome and satisfying experience.

His movies involve the audience. By that I mean, certain parts are left open-ended for the viewer to have his own interpretation. Some parts are unexplained and are taken for granted that the viewer gets it on his own. For ex: We see the various knives of Joker being displayed while he is put into his cell. The hand which examines the knives, picks up the last and does not keep it back. A keen eyed observation will make you realize this. The hand we later came to know, is of the policeman who later gets into, rather pretends to get into, a fisticuff with the Joker. And the Joker victoriously comes out of the cell; placing The knife to his phony friend's throat, demanding a phone call ;) . 

The kidnapping of Dent and Rachel too happens all of a sudden, but we come to know more about it by and by.

Its moments like these which make a dumb viewer like me happy, when I re analyze some aspects of the movie.

The movie succeeds, because it makes the audience to put themselves in the position of various characters and ask themselves as to their reactions given those circumstances. 

All in all it was a great watch and it has a set a new benchmark in handling an existing franchise. This movie has reaffirmed Nolan’s position among the star league of directors…

P.S: Many Thanks to dear friend gaurav (reg no.:1RV07 0-orange-red-brown)***, for having indulged in elaborate discussions with me about the movie and clearing my pilley doubts and also providing his laser sharp insight into the many finer aspects of the plot. 

*dark knightification- "usne kuch nahi kiya(Dent killing officers and other dudes whilst tossing coin), sab kuch maine kiya" by ballebaz (translation mein kripaya 's' akshar ko nikaalein. dhanyavaad ;) ) 

**copy pasted from here   

*** Dont think RV ATNMS has gone bonkers giving resistance color code as reg no. This is simply a prank, as he belongs to EC. Do figure it out :) 

"#$%^&@* nodkondu oodsu guru"....("*&%$#@!, watch where you are driving...")

Before i begin this post which concerns driving a vehicle, let me seek the divine grace and blessings of his holiness swami boneywasawarriorananda, the omniscient when it comes matters of driving vehicles of 2,3,4....n wheels. My mistake of mentioning the relative motion b/w clutch and accel. in the prev post led to a lot of chiding from his holiness. My sincerest apologies swamiji... ;)

YenPeeEss once said:
"You see there are two kinds of drivers. The perfect ones and the imperfect ones. The former need the latter to really feel they are on the roads. The latter need the former to say to others 'hey at least we make someone proud'. Well they are indispensable to each other, they balance each other, like ying-yang .....(and a Honda activa made an imperfect collision with him)

I was formally inducted to latter's hall of fame last month when i suffered a minor accident. It went like this. I was on my activa traveling somewhere around the speed of 45-46kmph. There were 3 indicas ahead of me in the same straight line. The leader of the pack didn't feel the need at all, to show any sign/signal that he intended to take right turn at the next junction and the stops out of the blue for that purpose. The rest (including me) faithfully crashed in to each like some long last buddies[pile up is the word technically speaking].....

Getting over the excruciating pain of betadine and mercurochrome and the sweet-sour chidings of amma and appa, i did some introspection of the happenings. Non-maintenance of sufficient distance from the car and over speeding( the repair bill of the activa def. hinted at that) were the conclusions.

And all this happened when i had return some documents to the car driving school, for my learner's license. You see i had joined for lessons in car-driving for many reasons. Primary ones emergency situation, the sheer pleasure of it, DL is a great address proof......

In a marriage interview:
Would Be Maava: "what else can the boy do?"
Appa:"well he can drive a car...."
WBM:" very good very good (lord almighty; driver can be fired..... 2 coconuts to you), may we decide on the wedding date?"

Sudarshan, my instructor, was a scraggy, kumkum-in-the-mid-forehead-putting, i-dont-know-when-i-will-explode-kinda and this guy. This was unnerving at first because you except him to flip at any slight mistake while you drive... but as the classes wore on i got adjusted to him. He changed the routes for every class, depending on what i was supposed to learn for the day, so you can imagine his dedication.

'legs on Clutchu-brake while in descent and while encountering obstructions' and 'release the clutch and accelerate simultaneously while changing gears' were among the two things that he used cry himself hoarse with. And the VTU dudess had said that car learning is baaye haath ka khel or something. Well it is so if it is Automatic transmission, otherwise its daaye haath ka khel for the right hander which is very difficult indeed :P. This took a lot of time for my feet to understand, slow learners that they are. They just refused to act as he said, as if they had a mind of their own, so either it would be a sudden release of clutch which would make the car to do a Dhadak-rev act and would invite a "you will ruin this clutch lining by the time this is done" remark from him or a vroooom from the car which would make him say"go easy, dammit". It took a lot of time and i have yet to master it with the gentle Santro Xing of ours. :(


5 classes had passed when dad decided to check out what i had learnt at school. Despite repeated attempts at convincing him otherwise he stuck to his guns. Vokay i said and we went on a short drive. A few hiccups happened initially with the clutch and gears (for i was learning with an old santro which had controls on the other side, which does change clutch length and other crap like that) and i felt this wont turn out be good. But appa was patient as he his with his patients and we continued. And a mishap occured which certainly made the imperfect drivers committee to add a gold frame to my photo in their gallery and a plaque beneath to commemorate my achievements. But in this court of Web 2.0, i will try to justify myself; my honored netizens.

This is the scene of accident, honoured netizens.(pain max to reproduce from MS paint; but i have done my best, do click on the image so as to get a clear picture of it ;) )





index: light blue fat thing -Our xing which is taking the turn.
dark blue lean thing- a to-be-delivered skoda
dark green lean thing- dilapidated scooter
red short fat thing- some stupid car

We were proceeding on the main road honoured netizens when appa told me to take the turn indicated by the lean green arrow. Now since i am at the left most side of the road, it was inevitable that i had to take a wide-ish turn which would result in me being at the center of that road. Now skoda was approaching in his proper lane and before i could avoid him and come to my proper left lane a kirrrk scratch happened to the skoda. I proceeded further to avoid the damn parked scooter and the stupid car and i ended up nudging the scooter.

Your honour, firstly father should not have asked for me to turn in that sharp hair pin turn which was pretty narrow; when he knew that the car is at the helm of a rookie. Secondly, he should have told me earlier about this so that i would have a shifted myself to the right on the main road which would have facilitated a proper entry to the left side of the hair pin. The stupid scooter owner should also know well not to park it on that silly lean road, where there isn't enough place for two large cars to go side by side. It was a split second order by father honouerd netizens and you must understand my predicament. I rest my case. i also propose making that road a one way for for causing no further inconvenience for my fellow rookie drivers. Thank you.....

He took over the car for the journey back home and i felt my confidence melting away in handling a car. Well a few more classes and a comforting advice from sudarshan made me feel a bit better. Slowly but surely i learnt how to handle tough combat situations on roads(which involves freak drivers, fresk pedestrians, freak roads and freak animals) and made myself license worthy.

RTO-West under whose jurisdiction lies RTO rajajinagar had a brain wave one fine day and built a testing track in peenya near the NH-4. Now this is the first and only RTO to have a track as such to test its DL holder wannabes and unlike other RTO tests which involves going round the shopping complex or having the instructor sit beside you controlling the car(Jayanagar dudes are surely lucky), this is really tough. I present to you the famed track.





Note: As you proceed for the bottom to top there is an elevation in the field of 30deg. (say). the inspecting officers are seated at the bottom edge of the pic.

On the 26th of July some 20 members from our driving school collectively left for the track to get our DL. After driving through horrendous traffic on the NH for some 15kms we reached the track at around 10am. Had to wait painfully 2 hours until the other schools finished their turn.

The audience (which included the nail biting drivers and driving school staff) regaled themselves when the others made mistakes while track. "paapa, no license for him", " hey you saw that? dont know why these people come to take test" and remarks to that effect ebbed and flowed.

My turn finally came at a time when the one prev. to me drove up the median and failed the test. Sat down in the car gingerly not knowing whether to touch the speedometer or the steering wheel first and then to the prayer for some prayer thingie. touched both unable to bear the dilemma. Sudarshan was sitting behind me, so no controls from him. This time i was on my own. "one last time nakul, do it well he said". i looked back at him and his eyes said COME ON. That gave me a huge peg of confidence and i started the maruthi 800.

If you enlarge the pic for a clearer view, i started from the bottom left (follow the white arrows) and proceeded anticlockwise, first entering the right most lane and making the big round. As i neared the starting point, i took a left and climbed up the snake turns and went round the circular patch. Then we had to stop where the red thing is and take a reverse into the other part of the V and then moved ahead to join the topmost lane. Then i returned to the starting point and parked the car in the earlier position. No hiccups where the others had in the track, i passed the test smoothly. Good said sudarshan. I walked away...

Then i brought in my two wheeler for i wanted a license for that too. Here the first part of the test is the same i.e the big round anticlockwise. Then we had enter a small [ 1 vehicle at a time] snake track, go around the 8 and come back in the same way we had entered (follow the blue arrows) to finish the test. The main challenge was not to let your feet to touch the ground at any time during the snake track drive or else it was "hehee, no license for that pille".The objective was to test your balance perhaps in tight corners maybe. That too went flawlessly. Later i ran out of the track to call up my mom to break the good news. She was happy.

I finally got my DL for both which i felt was a culmination of the efforts that went in, for learning the car (and also the activa after the accident ;)). With the smart card in hand i look forward to roof topless drives by the beaches in the highways DCH style (and to save maava of his drivers' fee)... ;)