Book Review : The Desert Spear

Having taken up reading for leisure after such a long gap, no other book could have offered a better ‘succor’ to a fantasy-fiction enthusiast than this one.  With so many writers having taken up this space, the Desert Spear by Peter Berett is rife with influences ranging from LoTR, Eragon, Artemis Fowl to Leonidus and his 300 and Ghenghis Khan’s Mongolian hordes.

Despite gaping similarities and predictable patterns, Desert Spear manages to enthrall through its 750 page journey where a world fighting with the demons from the core, must struggle to save its own humanity. While the world hides from the corelings behind the wards, they seek the deliverer to salvage a world under attack by darkness’ own children. But the identity of the deliverer continues to elude and confuse – Is it the painted man who rides atop the twilight dancer or the fearless Krasian Shar’Dama Ka Jardir for whom his honor means everything? A conflict between the two seems evident.

Beset with violence, rape and wanton sex, these elements do nothing to weight down the book which remains fast paced as it is narrated through several POVs.  Desert Spear is one of the best surprise finds and highly recommended to all geeks who find it difficult to sleep without having ridden a dragon; slayed an Orc on kidnapped a fairy.

Sometimes

Sometimes, you’re not what you’re made out to be;
You pretend because others depend,
Your strength mistaken as your self

Sometimes, you just can’t cry;
Your tears confused and misunderstood,
And deep within they must dry

Sometimes, you cannot show;
Waylaid by the gentle smile,
How it truly gnaws your mind

Sometimes, it remains contained;
No one can and no one will,
The pain, only you realize

Sometimes, you must brace yourself
Alone with no one at your side,
Face rough seas, pierce through the storm
Because sometimes the greatest battles lie inside…

End

A sapling they planted in the womb of the soil
To cherish a bond as precious as their lives;
In their togetherness it blossomed,
Bloomed with their love
Its beauty ethereal its fragrance enchanting;
Captivated onlookers mesmerized by its charm
Whispered praises of its exquisiteness divine;
But not all sounds praised, there was envy amidst
And as harsh sounds do they penetrate deep,
Corroding the roots with bitterness it sowed;
A shadow of doubt all encompassing,
By its mere presence smothering;
And in prime of its beauty it suffered decline
Withered leaved turned black losing fragrance sublime;
As glorious in its prime as decadent in its fall
And with the plant a friendship died…

Paradise Lost

As he fell through the dreary void,
The glistening stars- a mere memory remained;
He could not but think,
Flashes of memory that left him maimed.

He recalled his beauty,
The adulation, the love he held;
Once His most precious,
The morning star everyone beheld!

He always cherished as he still did,
His Father! His Twin! For them his love unbound;
But punished was he fairly so?
For questioning a decree unsound

He reasoned as a son would,
To fathom what he deemed not fair;
Commanded to prostate before him,
They who came from fire; Him who came from clay

‘Why must I kneel’? He pleaded,
‘When we serve his holy seat’;
A mortal, a trite, a trivial creation,
‘Why must we bow before his feet’?

By his words others were moved,
And they began to doubt; A murmur of dissent,
To their Lord they looked for an answer,
Taking a mutinous pretense!

But he remained unwilling,
Unmoved by his son’s plea;
He turned now to his other and proclaimed,
‘Michael let the doubters flee!’

Debarred from His kingdom, stripped from glory!
Thus from heaven Lucifer was cast;
A mistake so meager a sentence unjust,
By cruel fate- A Paradise Lost

Note:

->Based on the popular biblical saga

Tanabata

Somewhere high in the heavens above
An empire of vast expanse
Majestically on his throne the Sky King sat..

Adorned in flowing robes of splendor
Woven in great beauty by one as much
Vega his child, his precious of divinity untouched..

Hard she toiled and for long she labored
A melancholy soul loveless and alone
The king, a father’s heart, thence ordained for a lover of her own..

Altair he was, the star herder
Young, carefree and a delight
Their love blossomed and they married under the heavens so bright.

Once together they dwelled in bliss
In passion and love -  a world of their own
So engrossed in the lover’s embrace, all chores forgotten all duties ignored..

The Sky’s robes unwoven and the stars left astray
For companionship was all they desired
But the heavens they dismayed and cried out in anger, the skies fired..

Thunderous rage he brought down upon them
And forbade them from ever to meet
A white river of the sky so created, on whose banks the separated weep..

And then she cried in bitter tears
Finding no comfort in her plight
And so she begged and so she pleaded thirsting for her husband’s sight..

Touched by the tears she shed
Moved he was at her pitiful state
The seventh day of the seventh month, he granted a day of solace..

Glad she was when the day arrived
And eagerly she desired to be in his arms
But lo! Alas! Her dreams were shattered– no bridge there was on the river’s banks..

In despair she wailed and in agony she wept
The heavens grieved by her cries
And in answer to her prayers, magpies appeared in the skies..

The flock they spread their wings to form
A feathery passage across the river
And on it then Vega climbed to reach Altair her wait now over..

And each year the two must wait
For the magpies to bridge the gap
But if it rains their wait extends for in the rain their wings won’t flap…

Note:

->The poem is based on a Japanese star festival by the same name, it describes a myth behind the formation of the milky way

Michael’s Dilemma

The fire burns giving light to his face
He sits there, pensive- a mind saturated with thoughts;
A dark destiny that he must embrace,
Or to live the life that he really wants;

Conflicting thoughts stir up in his mind
Disturbed, for the choices he must make;
Vengeance shall make his life bind
To a path he vowed he would never take;

He sits there as if in a reverie
As the images flash before his eyes;
His father broken in body
In grief the family cries;

His father, he remembered how proud he stood
Feared but loved despite his ways;
To be him he’d decided he never would,
Yet the same blood flows in his veins!

He recalled the face of the woman he loved,
The dream of the life they promised to share;
Now to the crossroads had he been brought
A life of dignity or a lifetime of despair?

He stood up and faced himself
A broken face looking back at him;
The justice in which he forever believed
Had destroyed the very soul in him;

In that moment his decision was made
A thirst to reclaim his pride;
His family, his blood, his respect above others
He picked up the gun and chose his life!

Note:

->Based on Mario Puzo’s ‘The Godfather’

->Tried to capture the Michael Carleone’s moments of anguish

A Eulogy to the Darkness

Years ago in a dark land palgued

He was born from black ashes they claimed;

Stricken with grief at his kin’s plight

He prayed to the heavens to show them light;

For years he begged and for years he yearned
His pleas unanswered his prayers they spurned;

A fire burned deep inside his heart
A bitterness as black as the dark!

Futile were his prayers he picked up the sword
Vowed to take what was his by force!

Made peace with the darkness that haunted
An alliance made, one that daunted!

A bloody war waged that shook the heavens
Who could dare defeat him when he’d allied with the seven?

For a thousand years the Great war waged
The Gods defeated, falling to his rage;

The heavens in his grip the throne in his grasp
Their abode of light now filled with the dark!

The Gods filled with grief to the Earth they turned
Of their ill fated luck, Earth’s men they learned;

The leader of Men he pledged his pride
The heavens he would bring to them before he died!

Their world united under one banner
Sharpened their swords, carved their bows and raised their hammers!

To the heavens they marched to bring it light
Aginst his darkness they would fight;

He saw their faces and roared with laughter
These mere mortals he would make them suffer;

With a mighty roar the dark army he released
To destroy these men and to leave them diseased;

But lo! His eyes would not fathom what they see
The men faught with a vigour he could not believe;

With all the darkness of the world by his side
Their souls he could not crush how hard he tried;

His army lay defeated, was it a force from above
How could he have known he had never known love;

In a last vain stand he picked up his sword
To rather die than be dishonored;

The life of a thousand men he had to his name
Till the leader of Men he came to face;

The battle that followed made worlds burn
This epic the minstrels would sing and generations would learn;

Such was the clash between the darkness and light
A battle that waged on all night !
Brought down to his knees by the force unknown
His sword broken his will torn;

Though defeated in battle his pride he retained
The men admired him for his courage he maintained;

The Gods and the men counseled for 3 days and 3 nights
To punish him in the manner that was fitting and right;

You shall be born on Earth as a mortal they declared
A chance to reclaim his soul his life they spared;

And so the darkness ended, from heaven forever his rage was gone
And somewhere on the Earth,a child was born!

NOTE:

->Experimenting with a very ‘J.R.R. Tolkeinish’  form of poetry based on myths
->The seven is a concept taken from ‘THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS’
->It’s been ages since I tried to make a rhyme, try and not laugh

Reminiscing the old days

 

This is an interview I did with Siddharth Mohan one of DA-IICT’s  alumini and a popular senior. This was my first interview for Entelechy- DA-IICT’s college magazine and one of my best work till date.

———————————————————————————————————————————–

We take extreme pride in the fact that an institute as young as ours has effectively established its image as one of the premiere technology institutes in India. We are all very content with our college’s atmosphere-the almost 24×7 open cafeteria, the cultural events that keep taking place day in and day out, the intra-batch matches, the workshops for the intellectual’s etcetera etcetera. But amidst all this fun and frolic one can’t just help but wonder as to how our college looked like at its inception. So this edition we decided to interview a person who was lucky enough to witness DA-IICT in its formative stages. A person who witnessed and was himself involved in the development of many aspects of this institute which are now a part of DA’s culture. Let me (re)introduce Siddharth Mohan, from the very first batch of DA-IICT and incidentally DA’s very first Mr. Fresher who is currently working as a company analyst in Goldman Sachs, Hong Kong.

 

1. In a country that swears by brand value and where IITs and BITS are revered, what made you go for DA-IICT in its very first year of inception??

 

Honestly, I joined DA-IICT because I did not make it into any of the IITs or Roorkee (which was not an IIT then). I had an offer from IIIT

Allahabad, IIIT Calcutta, and ISI in addition to DA-IICT. The fact that this college was started by Reliance was the first attraction and led us to believe that they would invest heavily in the sector, and that there was growing demand for people in the field. The other draw was that the Director at that time (Prof. Kudchadker) had taught my father at IIT, and my father had faith in his ability to set up a good college.

 

2. How did it feel to be a part of the very 1st batch of a young and promising institute?? What kind of expectations did you have from DA??Tell us something about the life in DA at that time??

 

I guess our batch has seen more change on campus than any batch ever will – both in Infrastructure (we started with two buildings, the mess was in a CR, and we had to go to the Vimal factory for computer classes) and in terms of systems and people (there were only 5 faculty in the first term – everyone knew everyone on campus)

 

3. You were the 1st Mr. Fresher of DA-IICT, tell us about the experience, was it the same without the roaring crowds??

 

The first Cultural fest had more enthusiasm can be described – over 60% of the campus was involved in organizing the fest, and the major shows had a turnout of over 80% (the guys who didn’t turn up were probably sleeping after working all night). We had no seniors to guide us, a budget of less than 1.5 lakh (all of which was raised by sponsorship) and the result was something refreshing original. The crowd was roaring all right – and for every show, because they had help shape it. I think many people formed their closest friendships during that time. As far as Mr. Fresher goes, the competition was stiff, and I am surprised I won, especially because a buddy of mine had detuned my guitar by mistake so I couldn’t play for my talent.

 

4. As a new college, DA must have had its own fair share of problems. Anything you vividly remember?? How involved were you in initiating activities that helped shape our college??

 

I was definitely not among the guys who took part in a lot of Institute activities and helped shape the college. Have to give credit for that to a host of others like Rishi, Alok, Ritwik, Manu… the list goes on. One thing that was definitely true is that we had no precedence, and so we often had heated discussions on how to go about doing things.

 

5. Siddharth Mohan is a name oft repeated in DA’s music circle, tell us about this aspect?? Your music, your gods, any memorable performances??

 

One day, very early in the institute’s history, Prof Chaudhary called all people that were interested in music together in a room, and told us to put up a show. That was the beginning of the oldest, most active, and continuously changing groups in DA-IICT. We had our phases and played a mix of Hindi, and English, rock and pop, I even recall playing the bass for a classical show – whatever came our way, and would practice for as long as 8 hours straight before shows. We really owe it to the institute for being very responsive to our requests for some excellent equipment. Looking back, that is one part of the college I miss the most.

 

6. Any of the professors you fondly remember, the ones who inspired you and motivated you??

 

Lots of them, especially some of the Profs in the early years because we spent so much time with them. Prof Chaudhary – a truly remarkable multi-talented man who truly cared for each student. Prof Sam Chat – my rock n roll guru. Tridip – pumped in some chaos in our excessively logical heads. Prof Jotwani – Logic and patience. Prof Biswas – Passion for excellence. The list goes on

 

7. Till this day it’s generally said that it was the 1st few batches

That made DA into what it is today, what according to you was so special about your batch and the one that followed that the juniors still refer to you guys as the ‘Gods’ that made DA??

 

One attribute that the first few batches probably had is Risk taking -

You had to be a risk taker to join a totally new college. Perhaps that is one thing different that led us to our success. But you guys are the present, and we have high hopes from you guys.

 

 

8. You cracked CAT with a 100 percentile in your 2nd attempt, was it a dream come true?? How much hard work/luck was involved?? Any tips for all us aspirants??

 

It was a dream come true, especially because I had the bad luck of not getting through the first time. Cracking the CAT, like doing anything tough, requires hard work, discipline, luck, and strategy. I think most people neglect strategy the most, when it is the easiest to conquer.

 

9.   Yet, we know that you cleared CAT in the very first attempt itself what happened there??

 

It was a matter of bad luck for us – our college was not a member of AIU because AIU had frozen granting membership, and the admission criterion for the IIM was poorly drafted. The end result – we needed to do a court case to contest the admission criteria. We won, but still were not in time for that year’s admissions, so I went again next year.

 

10. MBA, was it always something you had in mind or was it by chance??

 

I was too busy having fun for the first 5 semesters at college to think about my future. By the sixth term, I realized that I would never be truly good in IT or CT, because unlike many of my friends, I didn’t eat, breathe and sleep Technology. I joined a similar-minded gang of MBA aspirants, and we would do papers together and discuss CAT.

 

 

11. How was the IIM-A experience??How much did India’s numero Uno

B-school contribute in your development??

 

It changed my thinking, my attitude, my work ethic, my horizon, my decision-making, in short everything. It was a really intense experience – not everybody would enjoy it, but I sure did.

 

 

12. Tell us about your current status?? Where you are, how work is, how’s life?? Was this where you always saw yourself??

 

I’m happily married, in a dream job (which I love despite my long hours), in a comfortable city – pretty much all I could hope for. I never saw myself here – or anywhere for that matter. I guess stuff flowed. Despite my strong belief in strategy to do a task, I seem to have used very little of it in my life.

 

13.   It is said that everlasting friendships are made in college…still in touch with your batchmates?? Have they been as successful as you??

 

I am, though not as much as I hoped. Our physical locations are so far apart that it has become infrequent. But they are still close, and we still rely upon each other when in a bind. All of them are doing really well – they have chosen drastically different fields. Some of them are now married as well.

 

14.  Looking back now, how important a role has DA-IICT played in your life?? Given a choice would you want to be somewhere else other than DA??

 

DA-IICT gave me the foundations on which I built up as a person. I was a very shy and quiet guy in school, and DA-IICT got me out of out of that mould. My thinking and personality were shaped there, which were later built upon during my MBA.

 

15.   Any area in which DA disappointed you?? Aspects that you would like to see improved/changed??

 

I couldn’t be more satisfied with DA-IICT when I left it – a beautiful campus, good infrastructure, good students, good (although less in number) faculty overall, decent placement salaries – A good start with solid momentum for a new institute. The challenge would be to keep up the momentum and rise to becoming a renowned college, and that is a much more difficult task with the increased number of people onboard. Best of luck!

 

16. Any chance of us seeing you here again sometime in the future??

 

Highly unlikely, but I sure would like to hear from any of you if you come to Hong Kong.

 

17. Some words of wisdom for those reading this..

 

If you have had the time to read this lengthy interview till the bottom, you evidently have a lot of time on your hands Enjoy your time in college, organize and participate in events, play sports, online computer games, watch movies, sitting at 2 am outside the canteen chatting, go on dates with the NIFT girls – I have done all of that (except dating NIFT girls) when I was there. But I also remember a lot of fun in working late nights working on good projects, studying till 4 am for papers, and attending some truly remarkable classes. Keep a healthy balance of everything, or you won’t truly be able to enjoy everything DA-IICT has to offer.

College So Far…

Sitting in the computer lab surrounded by dozens of people yacking away to glory and an even annoying couple ( read the chic, who has an irritating uber-girlie voice and it’s taking me every ounce of restraint I’ve got to stop myself from shouting at her) , this probably isn’t the best time and place for writing a new post. But then that would be just another excuse for delaying it.

Its been more than a year since I joined college and in this brief time I’ve had more life-lasting experiences than I’ve ever had in my 19 years of existence. Things have been good and at times they’ve been pretty ugly but love it or hate it you just can’t live without it. I sometimes wonder why I chose to come so far from home, it certainly wasn’t due to lack of choices (thats a simple way of saying that I wasn’t a complete idiot). I had a few decent options in hand which were either close to home or had some of my friends going there but I chose a school that was farthest from Delhi and had no one, absolutely no one I was even familiar with. The decision to choose the right college gave me many sleepless night, hell I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown but looking back at my decision I feel this is the best place where I could have landed up in. My decision to study in gandhinagar was largely based on an urge to leave Delhi and my home. 18 years of total dependence and disgust of Delhi and its hypocrisy probably told me that I needed a break. I also felt the need to be on my own, to start making my own decisions, to solve my own problems and to stop relying on my parents to get everything done. And I believe living in a hostel so far away from home has probably helped me in achieving what I wanted- Self Dependence and Freedom.

It was a little tough initially, as I had always known. College is a new life altogether. No one stops you or questions you. Things have to be managed, the mess food needs getting used to, severe adjustments need to be made with the people around you and the worst of all- you have to get used to Indian-style toilets . But its returning home after nearly 3 months of struggle that gives you a sense of achievement and purpose. To me, a guy whose parents would go all hyper if his movements weren’t accounted for, it was nothing less than a battle won. College brought me face to face with a mixed bag of people from different backgrounds and a variety of different places. I learned to live with the smokers, the dopers, the geeks and the achievers. I learned to respect each of them for the talent and skills they had, tried to imbibe them and neglected the rest. I got a chance to experienced the fun and enjoyment that my father would often talk about when recalling his college days – sitting at the galla chatting for hours together while Ashok Bhai hands out milk-shakes and sodas, setting out at 3 a.m. on bikes for Ahmedabad in nothing but shirts, shorts and slippers, having tea and breakfast at whatever dhaaba would be open and relishing every moment of it. Then there were those drunken escapades- where everyone forgot about the upcoming exams, laughed at the stupidest of jokes, danced on the lamest of songs and hugged each other as a symbol of true friendship. Its the kind of stuff you grow up listening to from your parents and grandparents and wish you could have been there and when you do get there you realize that your dad’s dinner time recollections have now met their match. But amidst all the fun and frolic I still have a regret, a regret that I still haven’t found the slightest semblance of what everyone calls ‘A True Friend’. Yes I have people I hang out with, party with, booze with but when I when its one of those days when I feel like having a good heart to heart talk, I still have to rely on a handful of people I have back home. Unfortunately I found more detractors than supporters, more people willing to pull me down than people ready to extend a helping hand. And yes it does get lonely at times but then I have to be thankful to these people. If they weren’t there I might have lost my sense of purpose but their existence gives me the motivation to achieve and then rub it in their faces

I feel like writing more but that dumb chic just won’t stop whining to her guy and her voice is starting to get on my nerves :S. But come to think of it I still have more than 2 years left in college that means 2 times the experiences I’ve had till now. Remind me that I have to give a full account after I’m done with my degree will you?

The Chronicles Of Singha Pura Part-II

Yes I think I should have come out with this post sometime last month but thats what coming back to college does to you. And mind you ‘studies’ don’t have anything to do with this. Though long overdue, I have to get over with this. I just can’t keep the Part-I hanging without any sequel.

Strictly speaking this is an account of my stay in Malaysia, but since I am in love with Singapore and since Kuala Lampur and Singapore are separated by a mere 5 hours road trip, I shall write this post as an extension to my earlier one.

Now most people would prefer to take a cruise to Malaysia from Singapore, but we decided that a road journey would be more satisfying and we would be able to get a glimpse of the country side. The differences between the two nations became apparent right after we crossed the border. Whereas Sinagapore to me was a perfect nation, Malaysia seemed more closer home in the sense that it had its fair share of villages, slums and lower middle class apartments. The infrastructure and the greenery though presented a stark contrast to any place in India. The journey was amazingly smooth comparable to Rajdhani express in speed and comfort (God bless their highways!). Malaysia I was told was a Muslim nation but unlike the others it was a peaceful one where the majority Malay Muslims lived in peace with the Tamil Hindus and the Chinese Buddhists. The idea of an Islamic nation having people of other beliefs and no strife was a little difficult to digest. Of course later I was proved right.

In Malaysia we put up in a resort at Genting, a highland region housing the largest casino in Malaysia. That brings us to another interesting point. What is a large casino doing in an Islamic country?? Doesn’t Islam prohibit gambling?? Well yes it does and I did see large signs in front of the casino banning the entry of any Muslims. The reason why that casino is still up there is because of the money it rakes in from gambling. The owner of the casino is a Chinese, and from what I found out he has to shell out 20 million bucks to the ruling party every year to ensure the smooth running of his business. So here we have a largely muslim dominated party making major moolah indirectly from gambling.

We hired a Chinese cabbie during our stay in Malaysia. Michael, was one of the most entertaining and jovial person I’ve encountered in my life. He would keep the cab rides alive by his constant chatter, explaining to us how the system works in Malaysia. Through him I found out how in a ‘peaceful’ way Islam propagates its agendas.

“I have 3 children sir, 1 boy and 2 girls. Cannot afford to have more sir, the government does not support it, but if a Malay clerk have 6 children the government offers him loan so he can buy a new car”. Listening to Michael I realized how frustrated and suppressed he was. Not just him, this frustration seemed to exist in all the people I met belonging to the Buddhist or Hindu minorities. “The government gives all the powerful positions to the Malays and all the useless designations are given to us”. Later at night we dined with a local Chinese family, acquaintances of my dad. A conversation similar to the one we had ensued. “They demand that any new company that sets base in Malaysia give a 30% stake to the government. Then they place 30% of their own men in the organization. The top level will have Malays and so will the bottom level. You are stuck somewhere in the middle. The top don’t work the bottom don’t work and you have to do everything yourself”. I inquired about their religious practices. I had already seen the women garb themselves in a dupatta that covered their forehead but in no way was it fulfilling the purpose of the hijab that Islam requires. Michael had an amusing answer for this, ” These girls spend all day roaming around with their boyfriends but when they have to meet their mother the wear this silly head-dress to show that they are good Muslim girls”. This practice did seem queer, because it wasn’t serving the purpose of a burqua and all it did was make you sweat. Coming back to the conversation we were having at dinner -” They read namaaz 5 times a day, how do you expect you factory workers to work if they keep taking breaks to pray?!! Then they want the fridays off, they say they have to go to the mosque but always the women go shopping and the men play golf”.

Indeed Malaysia is a peaceful nation, there doesn’t seem to be any violence or forceful repression of any sort. Rather the government has adopted better ‘non-violent’ model to promote their agendas, using religion as a weapon to play politics ( and vice-versa). They call themselves a modern Muslim nation. But for a religion that takes pride in strict adherence to their practices, the ideology of the Malay Muslims seems neither here nor there, to be honest it seems confusing.

It is also sad seeing that most of the workers and cleaners were largely Indians, having no knowledge about their roots ( they serve dossa sized parathas with sambhar and paratha sized dossas with dal and the rice comes with bhindi!!). And we wonder why India is so filthy- All the sweepers are out cleaning other countries …