Statistics

There is a funny link when you observe today. 7.5.12

Yes, 7+5= 12. Amazing isn’t it? I don’t know whether some statistician has taken this into his/her account!

Statistician…. Well, I remember Mr. B B Mama (is Mr. right? I have not seen him/oops her!)

For the sake of ease, I will call him ‘him’. If he is a ‘her’ let me know please!

This person was keeping track of cricket scores in Sportsweek magazine those days. I used to buy them (though I was not earning those days) for the gatefold of big cricketers Sunny Gavaskar, Javed Miandad, G R Visvanath and so on.

The scores were really difficult to keep because most of the records were kept manually.

Today, uff.. it is so easy!

You will know how many times a fielder let the ball slip through between his legs (pun unintended!) in the last say, 5 overs!

Isn’t it amazing what the computers can do? You can see yellow lines showing the path of sixers and red and blue for 4 and twos may be.

Other statistics apart from cricket are also good. Yesterday Aamir Khan was mentioning today there are 914 girls for 1000 boys.  When the number becomes big the gap becomes wider.

He also said in the next 10 years, 2 crore boys will not have girls for their marriage (or live – in)

When I mentioned this to my colleagues in the cab while traveling today, she gave an exclamation “oh my God, what do I do to get a girl for my son!” Her son will be of marriageable age by then!

The digression of the subject is too much. This means I am sleepy. See you tomorrow! Hopefully with more stuff!!

Lonely

I am feeling suddenly lonely today. The reason is simple. My family has gone to Mysore to attend a function. I told I shall enjoy being alone. But is it true?

Looks like it is not! Suddenly the walls and doors have become silent. I feel very uncomfortable. Hope I had told at least one of my friends to come and give me company for some time at least.

The loneliness is different from solitude. Sometimes I need my space. I go and shut my inner doors and keep to myself. That is different.  Being alone is different. Being lonely is very different.

I was watching Aamir Khan’s new series ‘Satyamev jayate’  A bold approach.  He has taken female genocide as the first topic. Really burning one.

What was shocking is that the people kill their unborn granddaughter. But they want a daughter-in-law for their son. So they buy from other states. Yes, even Karnataka girls are being ‘purchased’ to bear their kuldeepak (the light of their family)

If I say something, it sounds preachy. Mother, sister, wife are all female. Why not daughter? What difference it makes? Is it the dowry? Is that why people are committing such crimes?

The program showed the audience crying when they heard two of the ladies who underwent torture in their in law’s place because they decided to give birth to their female child.

Even Aamir was shown wiping his tears.

Will it help?

He says people should take up the issue. They are the only ones who could solve this imbalance of male and female ratio 1000 boys to 914 girls as of today.

Aamir generally does what he says and says what he does.

We will all lend our support to a good cause.

Otherwise the daughter in law of the house would be very lonely in fighting this battle. Mostly she will concede defeat without any support.

Mind is bored

Sometimes the mind goes blank. Today is like that. I woke up early. (not earlier than my weekday routine timing!). Brought milk and curd. Had my coffee. Bath. Went to Bank to check the balance. Couriered a document to friend. Went for a long journey via Nagarbhavi to Malleswaram (there is a reason for this too. We cannot go through Nayandahalli which is a pain to pass through in any vehicle, any day, any time of the day!) Reached Malleswaram. Went to LIC office. There were three counters. None of the counters had the queue moving. May be each person had more than two premiums to pay. (LIC should make a special counter for single premium payer, like they do in Star Bazaar) Some guy announced that there is a fourth counter. As usual all the tail enders rushed and formed the new queue, again I was at the end!  The lady in the counter was painfully  slow. She was coughing horribly (God! Why doesn’t she take Glycodin syrup?). Finally I paid my premium and left from there. Went to my friend’s cd store. Found my most favourite Carnatic Classical singers’ latest albums. Purchased them. Had a tea at his store which came from his home. A real good masala tea.

Again started from there to Vijayanagar. I was really absent minded. A very bad trait. Was listening to Aruna Sairam (my most fave singer among the lot). I was trying to park near Shanti Sagar and suddenly discovered that Shanti Sagar is little further.

Then I made a blunder. I swerved to the left without bothering to look back and a youth in a car which had already put on his right signal dangerously swerved to the right and I suddenly realized that I am going to hit the car and I again swerved to the right averting a major accident. That youth must have had his heart in his mouth! He was furious. I rushed to him and apologised profusely and hurried further.

I can’t tell anyone at home, so  I am chronicling the incident!

Reached home.  Had food. Slept. Again left for another round to Vijayanagar. This time to pay the instalment for my site which is being a carrot in front of me since 2006! There is a controversy. I feel it was my wife Usha who suggested regarding buying a site and she is sure that I am the culprit!

I faced another embarrassing moment in the office where I was supposed to pay the money. I pulled out the old receipts and there was this really unwanted letter! The letter was an accusation on the person who is the president of this housing society! He saw the letter and laughed. You are keeping this? Even if hundred more such letters come, I shall still be elected as the president.  I should kick myself for keeping that letter.

Now I am at my pc writing this. Feeling hungry. My daughter has cut cucumber. So I stop here!

A few Novel plots

When I started writing novels (in Kannada) I had so many ideas. Some of them are good and some ha-baked ideas. Just want to share with you, oh readers! Let me know whether there is any ‘juice’ in the plots.

The first one:

Not a great attachment between the husband and wife. The wife is of suspicious type. She keeps nagging the husband. Actually she earns more than him. Did I say that he is a ‘full-time’ writer?! His one job is to drop his daughter to the bus-stop where she gets into the school bus. He watches a young woman with her son. The boy is in the same class as his daughter. Naturally, he is attracted to the mother of the boy. To his delight he finds that the lady is single mother (she is a divorcee is a suspense point!). The opportunity presents itself for him to be connected to her. Now the fun starts as things get boiled up....

The second one:

A girl, very pompously brought up by a doting father and loving elder brothers, falls in love with a detective. She starts helping him and slowly the love blossoms. The ego clashes come in between and she becomes her lover’s competitor in solving crimes.....

The third one:

The boy is very handsome and most good looking. The rich girl falls for him. The marriage takes place and a daughter is born. Alas, the wife comes to know that the husband is suffering from a terminal disease. She throws him out of the house. The court also gives the custody of the daughter to the mother. Now the husband lives in the wood. He loves Mukesh’s songs. He has one last desire. To spend some time with his daughter. Of course, the wife will never agree. He kidnaps the girl..... (by the way, the girl loves her father!)

The fourth one:

A Human Trafficking officer along with a lady journalist go in search of his mother. There is another story where a prostitute has a son. She is ‘kept’ by a local rowdy forcefully. The rowdy becomes a big politician. (may be MLA). The prostitute is left high and dry. Her son is sent by her to the city for studies. The lady journalist meets the prostitute. The prostitute makes some remark about the rowdy turned politician. Now her life is in danger. The officer and journalist (who wrote the story) race against time to save the prostitute. Why? What is the connection?

The fifth one:

A boy is friends with his classmate – a girl. The boy is poor and the rich girl takes care of his many financial needs. The girl’s father is an Intelligent Officer in the RAW wing. One day the boy, accidentally picks up some information from the girl’s house. A very dangerous info as far as the nation is concerned. But the boy’s close friend decides to ‘sell’ the info to the enemy country. The boy is in dilemma. The error may end up in the girl’s father jailed and what not.... AND MANY MORE PLOTS..

some more serials!

I continue the previous article:

CSI : Crime lab set in Las Vegas. A team of scientists (who also carry guns!) will solve crimes happening in and around LV. They use the smallest possible clue – could be a thread or a snatch of a sound – and find the culprit.

CSI NY : This happens in New York with another set of scientists.

CSI Miami : This is supposed to happen in Miami, but actually shot in Los Angeles. To make us believe that it happens in Miami, for a scene change stock shots of Miami are used.

The disadvantage here is that in all the three serials, the connection between individual characters is very less. They almost do not ‘know’ each other that much.

Burn Notice : This serial is particularly interesting to me because the hero is ‘burnt’. He does not know how to know who has burned him. He has a girlfriend (ex) and a friend. With the help of these two he keeps helping people in distress. His mother and brother also add color to the troubles he undergoes. Generally there is a big story where he helps someone and he will be working how to know about his burn notice. The hero Michel Westen is good. He keeps having a monologue with us while there is no dialogue with other characters. Really nice serial.

The Mentalist : Patrick Jane who is hunting the killer of his wife and child helps the California Bureau of Investigation to solve murders. He is a psychic. So he straightaway asks the characters “Why did you kill so and so?” much to the embarrassment of the onlookers.

Nikita : A good one. A rogue agent who comes out of  a rogue division tries all her methods to destroy the division with a lot of resistance from the division. Interesting plot, lot of action and speed

NCIS : Naval Crime Investigation Services: this is mainly to do with the Naval Crimes. This is based in Washington DC. Here, there is an element of humor which sometimes felt that wrongly placed.

NCIS Los Angeles : Here the background is LA. Good star cast and humor is part of the serial.

Outsourced : An American from Kentucky comes to Mumbai as the boss of a call center. Lot of American humor and Indian sentiments and comedy are thrown in. Quite interesting interspersed with Bollywood songs.

Bones : A very interesting one, if one can ‘digest’ the dead bodies and bones! The hero Booth is an FBI Agent and the heroine is a forensic anthropologist. She is Temperance Brennen. She doesn’t remember some of the manners of ordinary people. The humor, the suspense, the mystery surrounding the dead body are all interesting. We grow with the characters. A murder investigation with lot of human elements thrown in. Another funny thing is, the city shown is Washington DC, while actual shooting has taken place in LA!

Castle : This one I ‘identify’ myself with! The hero, a friend of the Mayor of NY, is a detective thriller writer. The heroine is a NYPD police officer. The love, hatred, disinterest between these two are depicted well. The author with his uncanny thinking helps in nabbing the culprit.

The pretender : A boy is imprisoned by an office and put under various tests and simulations to understand human behavior. One day the boy  who is a pretender runs away. Now his aim is to help wronged people by bringing the culprits to justice. He does it in his own unique way. He will also be searching for his parents. He is hotly pursued by his old guru and a girl.

Prison Break : the hero’s elder brother is wrongly sentenced to death declaring that he has killed the VP’s brother. The way the hero breaks from the prison is the crux of the story

Revenge : Very interesting. A girl whose father has been accused of something he has not done, comes back to the city to take revenge on each individual who has wronged herself and her father.

Scandal : Olivia Pope, who was once in the White House comes out to help people in distress.

Touch : Very different. Individuals across the world. One boy who doesn’t speak or doesn’t allow anyone to touch him, has a penchant for numbers. He keeps writing some numbers and his father is amazed how people across the world are ‘connected’ in some manner or the other.

The unit : A team of brave men who are directly reporting to the President of the US of A, secretly help the Government to nab culprits. Their families, the troubles they undergo form the story.

Well, I think the reader should not go crazy seeing so many serial. So, I stop here.

Some serials' gist

I was mentioning about 24 serials I am watching! Well, out of the lot, one of them is known as 24 itself! I had written something about this serial last time.

The others are also equally interesting. I am not getting any ‘royalty’ for writing this! But when I have enjoyed something I want even my readers to enjoy the same.

Alias: Jennifer Garner is the heroine. She thinks she is a spy working for CIA. But she is working for SD-6 which even CIA is trying to intercept. It is a rogue team. Unfortunately the staff does not know. Sidney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) comes to know and goes to real CIA. She becomes a double agent. Really interesting. She is so vulnerable as the real Sidney. But when it comes to the Aliases she dons, she is ruthless. Real treat to watch.  5 seasons

Body of Proof : Dana Delany is the heroine. She looks like Jennifer Aniston. But she is good. She is a brain surgeon who meets with an accident and becomes a Medical examiner (of unusually dead people’s bodies). Her divorced husband, socialite mother and a daughter who is with the father form the other characters. Each time a dead body is autopsied and the real culprit is caught in the end. Till now 2 seasons

Commander in Chief : only one season. First serial (perhaps) to show a woman president of US of A. her trials and tribulations, inner enemies, family’s problems... really interesting drama. Not much of an action is there.

Community : a comedy serial where a sex crazy lawyer is relegated to a school. He has a weirdo set of colleagues in his community. One of them is 60 year old Chevy Chase who acted with my favourite Goldie Hawn in 2 movies (Foul Play and Seems like old times). Interesting 20 minutes serial

Criminal Minds: Really good one. A team of 6 people go round analyzing crime and catching criminals. Really heart stopping sometimes. But the behavioral analysis is really nice

Homeland : Carrie thinks that Brody is a traitor and sure to destroy America after being in Iraqi prison for a long time. Good twists and turns and drama.

Hawaii-0 : A set of 4 people help to solve crimes. Modern techniques and speedy action are the main attractions.

In plain Sight : Mary has a crazy mom and a drug taking sister. Her job is to protect the witnesses and relocate them. Interesting

Leverage : A set of 5 thieves try to give justice to the people who have been cheated, by cheating the cheats. Good one

Lie to me : Dr. Cal Lightman could see through the person and find out whether that person is lying. Interesting serial

Let me take up the rest some time later!

The Magic of Serials

American kids eat most what they call cereals. The Americans also produce some extra ordinary serials. Now I have become a keen watcher of serials. Can you take one guess how many serials I watch?

24!

Yes! I watch 24 serials. Generally all these serials are weekly affairs. (I do hope they don’t have the chewing gum daily soaps. Or do they have?) Well, my watching is restricted to weekly serials.

I watch a variety. Real variety at that. Suspense thrillers, comedy thrillers, comedies, revenge stories, helping hand lending thieves’ stories, etc., etc.,

It has become my weakness, Usha, my better half says! But no! I know the truth. You see, I was not able to write anything all these years. Almost 3650 days!

So, let me tell you a secret! I was looking for some ‘inspiration’ from these serials!

They say if you make 17 changes in a published work and declare it as your own, nobody can question, I believe!

Well, seriously I do not want to get ‘inspired’ by any of the serials.

But they do have interesting story lines.

Take for example 24.

Yes, the serial is called 24. It runs for 24 episodes. Each episode is an hour in a day. The story starts on an hour on a particular day and ends exactly at the closure of 24 hours.

I had no inkling about such a serial’s existence until my brother in law came from the US of A. His son,  then may be 13, was wanting a dvd having this serial.

When my son also watched it in awe, I, out of curiosity watched it.

Wow! Amazing serial!!

A man, Jack Bauer, goes to any level (stoops as well) to save his country and his family. You have to see to believe it.

The serial has many heart stopping moments.  Twists and turns galore. Human element, emotions notwithstanding.

Unbelievable! Yes, when I heard in another serial the heroine saying to the hero, Castle, this is not 24, this is for real, I could not help laughing!

Incidentally this heroine has acted in 3 episodes of this mammoth serial, in the fifth season.

Yes, the incidents are unbelievable, but it captures you.

It has one wildly important goal, say, a nuclear bomb about to be detonated,  an epidemic disease about to burst, the Presidential candidate about to be assassinated etc., etc., Balance is how the situations twist and turn and how the characters react to it.

In fact, the latest 8^th season had our own actor Anil Kapoor as one of the most important characters after Jack Bauer.

24 X 8 = 192… alas, the serial has stopped. Of course, there was a 2 hour movie as a prelim to the 7^th season.

I watched all seasons many times. Funny, still the adrenaline level goes up every time I watch the serial. I know what will happen next. But still, it has the thrill, heart stopping moments.

Usha complains that I don’t write because I am more interested in watching TV serials than writing. I have to prove her wrong.

The first step is, this! I have started writing.

Newton’s first law of motion – A body continues to be at rest, until an external force pushes it!

Yes, I have been ‘pushed’ to write.

Hopefully the reader of this blog will get some chills and thrills shortly.

Of course, my own writing. No lifting! Well, at least I try not toJ