A tribute to Tolkien

And his master piece..infact two masterpieces, The Hobbiton and the Lord of the Rings. What made me write this? Was it the excellent stroy telling by the maestro himself? or the incredible imagination that he emulates on our minds? or I was too involved.. It has been quite a long time since I read the book( I cant forget those days, maybe I can say it as one of the main reasons for my sixth sem flunk).... "You gotta be really nuts to read such a huge book", My friends used to say.
As for me, the book was a bible, as it triggers imagination out of bounds..creating a sense of aura around you, feelling one among the characters, you could be Aragon or Logolas or Eomer..or even Gimli save his long beard.. I know this post is outdated, but I really liked to give a go as a tribute to the master storyteller.
When the LOR trilogy was released by peter, I was overwhelmed and also disappointed to see what I had imagined. Credits to him, that the picturization almost came upto the imagination, except for the sheer size...ofcourse you couldn't expect all the weird things you think to be realised. One thing I was always sceptic about Tolkien is that did he write the novel keeping europe in his mind, coz the map of the middle earth almost resemble the europa and the middle east.. This could lead to further debates like if the middle earth resembles Europe( or the western world here), then who are they fighting with.. the middle east?.. When you look at the minute deatils of the map, You could find that the land of death valley has oil spurts at places, covered with ash.. does it hit u with oil reserves of the middle east?
Man.. this is getting serious.. I'll stop with this. this is the problem with me.. I started this praising tolkien ending up as his critic..
But Tolkien always denied any allegerical motif to the dangers of the present or the appeasement of the leveling effects of modernism. Tolkien being a post Imperial writer, you might be tempted to think that he might be lamenting on the gradually losing glory of the old england.. We could also make a silly comparison of the hobbits to the europeans.. living peacefully, unarmed, Protected by the Rangers of the north,yet can rise to the occasion, if the situation demands. we could also level up more comparison. but as of now end this up , will be continuing in the next post...........

God damn my machine!

My draft blog was shaping well .. and my stupid box started its protest.. and suddenly all my two hours of thinking was gone with the wind.. some times it hurts when it goes suddenly.. your several hours of hard worked write-ups not even saved as drafts.. damn it.. lemme save this first.. yup..done!
Thanks to my holy trinity( not the christian one, but the most popular one, The Procrastination, Unaccountability and Irresponsibility).. for it extended my stay in stuttgart.. I was thankful that I could earn a little more, and I cursed them that I have to wait a week more to see my love...

And my extended stay allowed me to explore one more place, The Neuchsweistein castle, and I am not gonna say the melodrama that happened at the foot of the falls.
We started last saturday early at 0700 hrs, with our usual trekking pack. Our destination was Fussen, one God gifted city surrounded by the Alps! God damn those who are in Europe and have not an idea about this city. We got to the Hauptbahnhof at 12:45 pm. The castle was at walkable distance, and yet we hiked a bus :).. Ran through the usual tourism formalities near the castle, and we at last had a glimpse of the breathtaking view.
I don't know much about the castle's history, but for sure it is not a fortress, nor a teutonic castle, but a pleasure p(a)lace for some be-forgotten duke and his duchesses. The castle at once reminded me of the Minas Tirth, the last stronghold of the men of middle ages in LOR, with its high built portico. Also got back some memories of Rivendel, the stronghold of elves (I am sorry what-the-hell-is-LOR guys, It is a story that squeezes every grey cell to build an imagination!) with its beautiful water-falls flowing down from the snowy alpine. And there is a bridge(You have to believe that it is a cantilever...Physics dude!...Physics!! yes, in the land of Einstein!!) connecting the two hills that protect the castle on one side..And the view of the castle from the bridge takes away the breath whatever is left in your lungs!!! :)

Enough with my hobblewobbling history rant. Then we reached the foot of the fall and thats where the real show begun. I, already thirsting for a real adventure, started climbing those steep rocks banking the stream.. and stood proudly on the top of a small hillock, just for a stupid snap. My friends thought it should be easy to climb down and that's were the problem started. The rocks got slippery due to the sudden snowfall and i couldn't even get a hold of the ground ...not too steep but a twelve feet high, I wouldn't die if I jump save a few cracks and bruises.

I was scared deep, but showed a brave smiley( people started watching the melodrama.. and particularly the girls that we stalked throughout the trip, and.... they were pretty.. :) I had to wait till the place is devoid of those beauties...and they left disappointed. My friends turned their attention towards me and I was literally mountain goat and blinking like one... they got what was happening and that was it.. my legs started drumming.. I couldn't even hold the rock.."calm down man, you have handled more than this".. hell... I hadn't even handled a 6 feet hurdle well in my NCC camp.. took my shoes off, wrapped'em round my neck.. slid down the rock. Never thought that it'd cost me 240 €, my ipod went to smitherens..Thank Heavens, that was insured, and I am safe and... no..no.. the girls were capturing every moment in their handy... Arasiyalla ithellam sagajamappa!


It was already 0400 evening.. found a nice thai.. pounded rice with chicken.. got back home at 0900. One thing I forgot.. karthik copied his predecessors by taking snaps of himself holding the castle like atlas, drinking the whole falls, the same illusion photography thing. Man, he is going to kill me when he reads all of my blogs, esp. the venice one.

Law of the Jungle

sliding to get back to my conscience, i found this short story more intriguing than interesting, not that i got a shocking revelation that i am in the same situation: The story goes like this,
Two guys were hiking through the jungle when they spotted a tiger who looked both hungry and fast. One of them reached into his pack and pulled out a pair of Nikes. His friend looked at him" Do you think those shoes are going to make you run faster than that tiger?"
" I dont have to run faster than that tiger,." his freind replied. " I just have to run faster than You".
Guys, what would u do if i pose a question" what would you do if you were in the same situation?"

This question is really tough to answer. Before answering this question, one question stands banging before us"Are we in a jungle?". Ironically the answer is yes, we are living in a jungle meticulously redoing the above story in every possible way.. but doesn't that mean we are leaving a scape goat behind us to suffer? The problem is we dont even let ourselves think of letting our conscience do the talking. We may argue that " If we live in a jungle, then we have to be like the guy who left his friend suffer, sfter all its us who really matter in the end", but for me, ethos are more important than animal instinct.

How to Quit without Guilt: An interesting article

Hi Friends,

I find a very interesting article in ‘The Hindu’ opportunities of a wedneday. Find below it.

How to quit without guilt

BIDDING adieu to corporate life is as difficult as saying good-bye to your loved ones. Getting into a job is tough but quitting one is tougher. The latter has certain constraints and repercussions, which people often tend to overlook.

Most of us fear the thought of quitting a job. Not because we are not sure of getting a better opportunity but because we just don't want to step out of the comfort zone and the benefits thereof.

People are wary about losing stable salaries, perks and the plushy ambience of their workplace. A regular paycheck gives a sense of financial security that cannot be easily substantiated by any other income. Being a member of a corporate family gives the feeling of being an `insider', which might be lost once you turn into an entrepreneur.

As the stress, competitiveness, and instability of the corporate sector is on the rise, corporate personnel have been considerably turning into entrepreneurs. Sophisticated technology and ample availability of resources are encouraging people to give up the corporate world.

Some of the excuses that you could dabble in to free yourself of a corporate job include:

Lapse in ethics: When you are forced to go against your morals and beliefs, you are made to compromise with your self-respect.

Loss of will to work: When you don't know why you are working and what exactly you are doing it's better to stop working. This could be an indication of an internal problem like depression.

Careless about deadlines: When you are just not serious about your project deadlines, presentations to be made or the happenings in your company.

Looking for excuses: When you start looking for excuses to avoid going to office, calling in sick falsely, reporting late and shirking work by dumping it on somebody, you need to give it second thought.

Identity crisis: When you feel that your boss or your colleagues no longer appreciate your work and that your presence in the office is of no avail.

Don't wanna be like them syndrome: Whenever you see your boss or colleagues you ask yourself `Will I end up doing the same'? And shudder at the thought.

When discriminated: When your efforts go unrecognised and you are a victim of racial or religious discrimination.

Bearing the brunt: When you were made a scapegoat for something that you haven't done, and made to overwork unnecessarily.

Gender discrimination: When you were harassed because of your gender, and your colleagues do not support you.

Most people in the corporate sector, however unhappy they might be with their jobs, do not leave due to several factors like - regular income, the corporate halo that the company might generate, the lavish lifestyle, family pressures, domestic requirements and finally the branded image they have got used to sporting.

So, the next time you feel depressed with feel like an insomniac do not hesitate to excuse yourself from it.