Why?

Why does winter fall,
With biting cold, the weather tart?
Then why does summer shine,
Warming the cockles of our hearts?
And then why does monsoon strike,
Thunder ripping everything apart,
Followed by another winter...

An angel treads...

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

Well, the fools have been driven out. An angel has arrived...

Till next time.

Of beauty innocent

Yesterday, as I was returning from a long, tired day of work, I saw something to relieve me of my fatigue and bring a freshness to my state of mind. As I was standing on the railway platform, waiting for the train that would take me home, I saw a child, a baby rather, cuddled up in its mother's arms, staring intently at me. I looked back at it, and it did something very ordinary, and yet magical... it smiled... It was one of the most innocent and most beautiful things that I have ever seen. The smile was not meant to entice me into buying a "free" credit card, or to ask for a loan, or to get me to buy insurance, or to act as an apologetic yet indulgent starter to anything I might not find very appealing. It was just that – a beautiful, innocent smile.

It saddens me to think what some people choose to make of their lives and grow up to be. The only comforting factor is that the choice is in our hands.

Till next time.

Season 3

Yes, you read right... I have named this post "Season 3", even though was no season 2...! I remember reading once that Winamp (yes, our most beloved music player) never came up with a v4... After v3, they directly brought out v5... Because they felt their latest version was so good, they simply skipped a version number! Drawing inspiration from the idea, I name this post "Season 3" simply because it has been so long since my last post!

Till next time. (And this time, the "next time" won't be that long!)

Snapeshots

The title suggests what this post is about… same as the last…! Harry Potter, again! And again, I advise you not to read further if you haven’t read the sixth book in the series yet.

Readers may be feeling quite outraged that in spite of being given a chance to mend his ways, in spite of the trust placed in him by Dumbledore, he chooses to betray him. And the Order. His horrific act has left many readers astounded and dismayed. Dumbledore was the favorite character of many readers, including yours truly. We will miss him in the last book, even though he is sure to make appearances through his portrait in his (now McGonagall’s) office.

However, this post is not an obituary for the greatest wizard who ever lived. Instead, it is a rather bold suggestion that it may be too harsh to judge Snape purely on the basis of his single act at the end of the book. I suspect that whatever Snape did might have purely been on Dumbledore’s orders. After all, the exact relation between them was never shown… Why was Dumbledore so convinced that Snape was on their side? Has something happened that we don’t know? For example, has he saved Dumbledore’s life in the past? Whatever the case, I would like to see it explained in the final book. However, I am going to defend Snape with what we DO know:

1. Snape saved Harry! In the first year, during the first Quidditch match, when Quirrel was trying to jinx Harry’s broom, Snape was the one who was actually muttering the counter-curse. Now, if Snape was on the bad side, why would he do that? He could not kill Harry for fear of losing Dumbledore’s trust and being sent to Azkaban; but if someone else was trying to do it, he could have simply sat quiet and let them do it. Instead, he chose to save Harry’s life and told the Death Eaters a cock-and-bull story (in the latest book) that he thought Harry was a Dark Wizard whom they could rally around once again.


2. Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that Snape really saved Harry because he thought Harry was a dark wizard. In that case, would he have treated Harry the way he did? He used to insult and deride him at every available opportunity… If he really thought Harry was a potential future leader of Death Eaters, he would have given preferential treatment to Harry, and not Malfoy.


3. In the end, while Snape is fleeing, Harry catches up with him and repeatedly tries to curse him. But each time, Snape deflects the curse – mind you, only deflects the curse – and never retaliates. In fact, when somebody uses the Cruciatus curse on Harry, Snape actually stops it. Now given the fact that Snape has always tried to hex or jinx Harry in classes (remember when he wanted to poison Harry to test Harry’s antidote? And the time when they were practising non-verbal incantations?), why didn’t he curse Harry then, when Harry was all alone and virtually defenseless? And even when he does attack Harry, he uses a minor curse which stops Harry for a few seconds, giving Snape just enough time to flee, and, indeed, taking all the other Death Eaters with him and away from Harry. Fact is, Snape has tried to hex him only when prompt medical assistance was right at hand.


4. Hasn’t Dumbledore frequently hinted that his existence is not as important as Harry’s? He may have left instructions to Snape that if ever he had to choose between Dumbledore and the Death Eaters, he should choose the Death Eaters just so that he could continue being the spy… Maybe Dumbledore felt it was imperative for Snape to continue his act for Harry’s safety, which he felt was more important than his own life… So when he “pleaded” to Snape, he might have actually been pleading him to remember his promise to him, and not waver at the last moment and give everything away.

So I am forced to think that Snape may still be on the right side, and he only hates Harry because of his father. Of course, the fact that the Order was astounded when they heard what Snape did, complicates matters a bit… It seems Dumbledore never told anyone his complete plan. Then there is also the matter of the Unbreakable Vow… So maybe Snape will break it for the sake of Harry and the Order, and die at the end of the last book? Again, your guess is as good as mine… :-)

Till next time.

I am back! And so is Harry!

Whew! It is good to be connected again! I had a few problems with my internet connection for almost a month, and that is why I have not been able to update my blog. My apologies.

Of course, I used the time to do a lot of constructive stuff… getting in touch with my inner self, re-assessing my goals, sorting out my priorities, and basically doing a lot of other impressive-sounding things which basically mean that I have been doing nothing but lazing around. And reading the latest book in the You-Know-Which series in a start-to-finish session. And it was worth it.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is snappier and more gripping than the previous installment. Much is revealed, and you find that some events in the previous books were not there just for the heck of it. The connections are shown in an interesting, exciting manner, and the secret of Voldemort’s survival of the Avada Kedavra curse bouncing back onto him is also revealed. So are a few details about Voldemort’s pre-Hogwarts, Hogwarts and post-Hogwarts days. Dumbledore is much closer to Harry than in the previous book (as is obvious from the cover art) and his mastery over ancient magic is shown (not, unfortunately, in duels, though). So is Snape’s cleverness and cunning. There is a new teacher, as expected, and we are shown why the professor teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts never stays for more than one year. There is loyalty, betrayal, love, hatred, luck and bad luck… a proper Bollywood mix! You fail to understand the importance of the Half-Blood Prince until the very last chapters of the book, wherein the identity of the person is revealed. And, of course, another big mystery is the identity of the person who dies at the end. All in all a good read, I would say.

Warning: You may not want to read further if you have not read the sixth book.
Now I am waiting eagerly for the seventh book. My predictions? Well, obviously a more important role for the Order, especially Lupin. Then there is Wormtail, who is under debt to Harry. Hagrid should have a more significant role to play in protecting Harry, owing to the fact that he cannot be hexed or jinxed easily. Obviously a more active role for McGonagall, and Slughorn may stay too. I suspect the Ministry of Magic will be visited again, and St. Mungo’s too. Neville’s parents could probably be healed, or maybe Neville will die? Just a guess. And Harry will probably learn to use the illegal curses, or he will have to find a ‘legal’ way to finish Voldemort. I just hope he returns to Hogwarts. And, of course, the tangle of all those love stories will be sorted out :-). Will Harry live? Well, your guess is as good as mine!

Till next time.

"Nuggets of Wisdom" by Haristotle:
Did you know that ‘half-blood’ is a proper English term? It depicts the relationship between persons having only one common parent, as in ‘half-brother’, ‘half-sister’, etc. It is different from the term ‘step-brother’, wherein there is no blood relation between the ‘brothers’.

Words from the wise:
"Hmm… so there may have been real half-blood princes? And what about a real Harry Potter?"

The league of extra, ordinary, gentle men?

The cricket season is about to start, and all fans must be waiting and watching with bated breath to see the effect of the new rules brought in by the ICC. Before I continue, let me clarify that I am no Madhav – he is the cricket guy in our Floo Network, and even though my practical knowledge of cricket is very much up there with the average cricket fan, I would not be able to give you statistics or the lesser-known details regarding cricket.

The last season was mostly forgettable for the Indian fan, where few positives other than “learning from their mistakes” were derived by the Indian team. Indeed, with the richest board in cricket today backing them, what could be the problem that ails the elite eleven?

Extra? The Indian squad is not just the fourteen players plus a coach, physiotherapist and manager any more. Many more state-of-the-art ‘weapons’ have been added to the arsenal. The proposed baggage? Sample this: A computer analyst. A psychologist. A physical trainer. An official bowling coach. An unofficial bowling coach (?). And, of course, a full-time coach and a physiotherapist. Well, the armory is definitely heavily stocked, but the bench strength, or indeed, even the repertoire of the existing players, leaves much to be desired.

Ordinary? Well, the performances of the team over the last year have definitely been ordinary, or in fact below par and potential. There may have been individual flashes of brilliance, but then, to repeat a cliché, we have to click as a team. From being the self-proclaimed second-best team (hey, we even celebrate being second-best!) in the world after the World Cup 2003, we have gone down to 7th or 8th in the rankings. But then, as a certain (and incorrigibly optimistic) Mr. Sidhu would say, “When you fall on your buttocks, the only way you can look is UP!”

Gentle? This has been a complaint since time immemorial. We purportedly get perturbed by sledging (or what Australian players prefer to call ‘talking’) and are meek, submissive players who get easily intimidated. But this has been replaced by assertiveness, aggression and a certain arrogant pride (in a good sense) under the leadership of Saurav Ganguly.

So, in effect, we have everything. So why do we have nothing? Sounds weird? What I mean is, all the extra baggage is bound to come in handy; we have players who can destroy the opposition almost single-handedly; and even in the mind games, we are pretty much up there. So why don’t we win tournaments? Why is it that we never seem to catch an opposition by the scruff of its neck and make them feel that it would be more worthwhile to take up marbles than face us again? Well, maybe it is time to ask the last question…

MEN??? Ah, well… just joking :-). Hey, in fact, no… they are not just men anymore… (Hold your horses, folks… read on before you jump to conclusions…!!!) Whatever happened to the much publicized integration of the Women’s Cricket Association of India with the BCCI?

Anyway, however the team performs, I, like any other Indian fan, shall be sitting and watching the next match, believing that we will win. (It is funny, isn’t it, that we watch cricket in the belief that we will win, not just hope, even after so many let-downs? Well, maybe there is a Sidhu in each of us!) I just hope the Saurav case, Sachin’s elbow and Bhajji’s doosra are sorted out by then. Or it will be left to us to sort the team out, eh?

Till next time.

"Nuggets of Wisdom" by Haristotle:
It seems to be the season for volte-faces. First an eminent politician makes some remarks about a late politician of another country, which are a complete about-turn from the former’s party’s stand. Then a country, which had been completely against another country 25 years back, is now actually making joint security efforts with that country. (Names withheld to protect identities and myself :-).) Well, here is a word that describes these acts aptly:

tergiversate v. change one’s party or principles; make conflicting or evasive statements.

Words from the wise:
"Er… We don’t know this guy."