MERLYN OR PUZO ... THE MAGIC WEAVES ON .....

I always have stereotyped Mario Puzo with the Mafia, dons, pacy action-packed thriller kind of stuff. Honestly speaking, I picked up "Fools Die" with the same implied anticipation. I won't deny it, a substantial chunk of the novel through, I still could not fathom that this was a markedly different Puzo. I just took it that the story was merely building up before the Mafia, CIA, FBI and the like all jumped in. 

In all earnestness, if nothing else , " Fools Die" finds me looking upon Puzo with a hitherto non-present reverence as a story teller. He can write about emotions and man, does he do a good job at it. With "Fools Die" he proves ( to me I should confess it was a discovery) that he can narrate a story about real people, real emotions , real incidences and not just some high-adrenaline- out-of-the-world -uber-paced -hyped-up super humans and mega conspiracy straightforward account. Puzo for sure is a classy author and his Academy Awards were not for nothing.

 

The story is debatable and many might not agree, for sure not find appealing , that the controlled,level-headed ,simple Merlyn comes out as a winner viz-a-viz the more generally accepted success idol personalities epitomised by the likes of Osano, Janelle or Malomar or even the wily Cully and the upright Artie. The novel has an all sweeping undercurrent of realism , and a dark realism at that. Keep a simple humble honest code to life and whoa , you are through . Give wings to your passions and fancies, and you are doomed. The waves of Romanticism are dashed against the rocks of the stark reality and pragmatism that life actually is. Be it the writer Osano, the artist Malomar, the love crazy Janelle, the hustler Cully, or the rock upright Artie, ...... they all are possessed by one or the other emotion and falter. Through this whirlwind , Merlyn is able to navigate his way through, ..... a sane head standing tall and steady when all around passions are flying berserk.

The setting is perfect for such a tale. The mad gambling Vegas,the passionate literary cream , the passioante Hollywood ---- all provide the perfect backdrop to put into relief the Romanticism of the faltering characters.All in all, it was not vintage Puzo. But the tale tickles in a subtle way. Kudos to Puzo!!!!

MJ -THE KING OF POP - THE DOYEN OF APARTHEID

           Out of the blue,I found myself missing MJ just so badly. And I played out his trademark number "Black or White" . And somehow, the video appeared very different -- much more intense , more moving , more meaningful. I moved on , but the lines "it don't matter if you're black or white"   kept on coming back , forcing me to feel the great guys's words each time more closely, more meaningfully.

            Truly, he was a great legend, not just for the music chat he created , but also the cause for which he used his music. Not all social hurt is intentional. As I see it , most of it is a result of ignorance, petty selfishness, cheap fun or more generally humans falling prey to their weaker instincts. And it is actually unimaginable how far this can go. A glance back at the past, and its not Herculean to prepare a list of such social evils  ---- slavery,apartheid,the Holocaust, terrorism ....


           To me , until yesterday apartheid was just a topic I had studied to please my history teachers. Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi were just great men associated with apartheid. This is where the genius of MJ lies. I watched him , I listened to him just for the sheer thrill his moves evoke in me, but the theme of his music actually proded me into deep thought on Apartheid and those great leaders, Mandela and Gandhiji.

               It was the catalyst which activated my thoughts, my emotions into this direction. And believe me, the emotional surge  - as I went into Apartheid - was enormous. To see an entire race of men putting down, belittling , humiliating - another race just because of a sheer stroke of luck which they thought put them in a superior position was unimaginable  - it filled me with rage . And to see that entire race walk away  remorselessly, heads held high, and to colour their pervertness under some bullshit rationale- it was for a sec unfathomable. And it is to voyagers like Mandela, Gandhiji, Martin Luther and MJ that today we have givem more than back to Apartheid. And today as I find Obama as the First Citizen of the World, Halle Berry and Denzel Washington bagging Academies, the Williams ruling women's tennis, Akon , Beyonce and an entire generation topping American music charts-- it invigorates me. And reinstates my belief in the World. and my Maker. If you journey long enough , truly enough , the Lord's light smiles on you . And that to me is the reward of all great struggles -- to restore, reinstate, and to strengthen faith in Life, faith in the Lord, faith in his Creation .

The Basterds --- the inglourious band of merry men

Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" was direct, intricate high-intensity war drama - a pure gem, right up there with the great cult classics --- Bridge on the River Kwai, Guns of Navarrone , Tora Tora Tora. The stand out feature was the clear cut editing which made such an intricate narrative easy to follow which in turn meant I could soak in every drop of the suspense and anticipation of such i high intensity War Movie completely. For me , Christoph Waltz, was amazing ,--- the dignified "fox", the silent "Jew - Hunter " , seemingly harmless , easy , courteous even amiable at times, but when he strikes, he doesn't just stop your pulse...... he jams it , he jars it - as the French dairy farmer Perrier Lapadite and the unfortunate Frau Von Hammersmark found out.

Djoker says ... Yyyy SSSoooo SSiirrrriiiiussss

 And guess what .. Martina ( Navratilova) predicted Kvitova as the Wimbledon Champ at Rolland Garros .... wooops ... Martina certainly knows a thing or two about the sport.

Wow.....The Championships had just about everything to offer that any afficianado would ever ask for . Two leggie blondes going all out , grunt for grunt , ferociously for the Ladies Singles Final , is a ready pickup anytime for me. Kvitova is my girl for the next few years on girls tennis. Shes got immensely powerful shots , forehand and backhand both . And it was a very tintillating feeling for me the way she played around with Maria , overpowering her , outhitting her , outthinking her . I remember I first noticed Kvitova when she beat a strong Stosur at the Australian Open this year .And ever since I have felt an aura of invincibility around her .

Mens tennis as it stands now for me is the best that I have ever seen it .I have been pursuing the sport since 1992 , the first full match I ever saw was the Wimbledon Finals , when a long haired, earpierced Andre Agassi lifted the trophy and struck the most stylish poses with it I have ever seen  . It was just so much macho and tickling to my nerves back then . But the scenario of mens tennis as of today is the best for me for the last two decades. Roger  Federer is a portrait in contrasts. He is the best ever shot maker in the history of tennis ( plz... anyone who says anything contrary to this needs a reality check on the sport)  , but , paradoxically , he is the least competitive champ in the game too . I thought if you had superhuman abilities , it was supposed to be an aid to make me mentally strong and confident . But , inexplicably and mysteriously , does not happen in Roger’s case . Nadal is the true sportsman anyone would ever love to be . He cant make shots like Federer does , and he knows it . But he is muscular, and he is athletic and hes got the heart of a true Champ. I have not been able to make a clear picture of Djokovic , but this years Championship Finals showed him in monsterous form . He was sizzling on the forehand side , but what for me was most noticeable was the way he outran Rafa , matched him stride for stride , and actually wrongfooted Nadal on numerous occasions . This situation for me puts Mens Tennis in a very mouth watering position . And please, I cant understand the fuss about Murray. The boy needs to grow up and travel a very definite distance before he can be counted amongst the elite three. But Roger, Rafa, Novak .... perfect ingredients , sheer  viewing delight for me and am sure countless others round the globe. I am a die hard Roger Federer fan , and my money is on him at this years US Open. He is the greatest tennis player of all time , irrestepctive of whatever happens from now on . I just hope desperately  that he develops his mental side which couples wth his Godlike shotmaking would be a something extraordinaryaryary. M really looking forward to him and the other two rivals at this years US Open.

P.S.  I never saw Jimmy Connors play... but his quote is something that i adore when he says . “ In tennis , there are Clay Court specialists, Grass Court specialists or there are Roger Federers.”

The Worst In The Greatest

He wanted to discuss a project with me. He had told me on the phone. And now, he was standing in front of me arriving within 15 minutes of his phone call. I was seeing him after nearly 15 years . He had drastically changed . He was shabby . His hair were unkempt , brown, entangled and reaching his shoulders . His beard was unshaven and his moustache untrimmed.

He also looked desperately tensed, sweating profusely, each of his face lines folded in a definite pattern of anxiety. The steady downpour had by now worked itself into a violent storm. The gushes of the strong wind were carrying rain droplets far off making them fly in every direction. He was thoroughly drenched , his overcoat and gumboot were wet, droplets of water were trickling down the rim of his large black hat.

 

The pendulum struck 12. "Come in and dry your clothes. Meanwhile I will bring you a cup of hot , sizzling cocoa."I said , showing him the way to the living room. Meanwhile I switched on the room heater.

 I returned with the cocoa but he had still not taken off his hat and coat."Come on Simon. Relax a bit. " I said , simultaneously taking off his hat and overcoat. "You wanted to discuss something with me." Taking a few sips of the hot cocoa , he began ," Raj, you are the first and the last person with whom i am discussing this. You have got to help me,but alone."


"What is the matter, Simon ?". I was now sensing that there was something urgent." First of all, you have to assure me this is just between you and me. Not even your shadow should ever come to know about this." "You can trust me."


"Well, you know, Raj that right from our college days I was a brilliant scientist. I had even worked out a number of novel concepts that would have shocked the world. But , somehow , I never got the recognitions that I deserved . Sometimes due to jealousy , at other times due to treachery,  I could never succeed." He stopped , taking another vociferous sip of his hot cocoa and then went on.


"Well those were my college days. Even the next ten years that I spent working in a firm in Massachusetts were full of frustration. I always had the awful feeling lingering at the back of my mind that I had not achieved what my talents could lead me to. I became irritable, nagging everyone , discouraging friends and neglecting acquaintances. People started despising me because of my behaviour. Nobody talked to me . I was socially boycotted. I was miserable."

"Then two years ago, I thought of conceiving something new. I started working on one of the hypotheses  I had worked out in my college days. I left my job , moved to a secluded house and started exhaustive research on my project. I managed everything myself , even creating my own nuclear laboratory.And finally, I achieved what not even the great Einstein could.!"


Surely,I had to ask , "But what?". He spoke out ,"CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY ". I was paralysed. My mouth dropped open. I sank down in my chair. Had Simon done what none in the world had been able to do for the past half a century. ever since Einstein had developed the first atomic bomb in 1945, the only obstacle separating man and complete utilisation of nuclear energy was how to control nuclear fusion reactions. This could be the find of the millennium!


But, suddenly his face crumbled into a distorted pattern.  In a quivering voice, mingled with a sense of self pity and anguish, he stammered out , "But the story does not end here. I told the Research Institute of California about my invention.I was damn sure that now I would get the glory and reward that I deserved. But .... "


He broke out into heart rendering , clamorous cries . "But they said that my project could not be tested as it fell under that baseless Non - Prolific Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. "


I was frozen with shock once again. "Instead the California Police Department is after me . I have been accused of carrying out  secret nuclear researches. According to court orders, I am to be.... " He looked up, took a deep sigh, and wiped off his tears." I am to be shot at sight," he spoke in slow , soft , faint words and dumped his head into his hands.


 I was flabbergasted. I felt a sudden , violent palpitation in my heart . I opened my moth to speak but could not utter anything for right at the next instantly, he got up in an unusually energetic manner and raised his head.I recoiled in horror . His eyes had a wild , lunatic look, wide open as they were.He was slowly and slowly widening his lips into a cunning , abominable smile. He was in a frenzy.

Slowly, Simon reached out for his pocket, taking out a dumbbell shaped , silvery white bottle filled with a green liquor with a big red button at the top. He held it right in front of himself, eyeing it with such an affectionate , dear look that I hardly took a second in guessing that this was his nuclear fusion model.


His gaze constantly fixed at his invention , he spoke rather eccentrically , "Half an hour before coming here, I had informed the leading research institutes that there will be a big explosion at Parkinstone Street at midnight and that would be the  "controlled nuclear fusion reaction " carried out for the first time by Simon Syndrone . "No, Simon ..... , you can't do this", I kept stammering out.




"Yes, Raj , yes , I can do this.The world will now know that Simon Syndrones is a genius!". He spoke this last sentence in great fury, with each word, raising his tone in a crescendo of loudness. I saw in his horror as his hand reached out for the big red button at the top of the bottle. I had closed my eyes in horror, yelling eccentrically and dashed towards him in a last bid to stop him.

Blast! And a complete blackout . This is what I had expected but the next instant, Simon's huge frame fell upon me , completely toppling me. Four guards, dressed in jet-black uniforms and bearing the tag ' California Police' rushed in . I felt a warm liquid wetting my legs. I looked down and saw hot, warm blood slowly oozing out of a deep wound in Simon's back. He lay still!