Sherlock

T.V shows, these days, as I see it, are beginning to get too monotonous, with the same love stories and problems of complexed people, who have nothing better to do other than think about their lovers, because they seem to have been relieved of all responsibilities that may concern them with the actual world and its problems. Either its this or, its going to be silly vampire or zombie shows. I’m not exactly the type of

person who you would find following shows on T.V religiously, but I can surely appreciate a good one. Even the comedy these days seems to have lost the touch it used to have. But criticizing contemporary T.V shows is not the aim of this post.

I’m sure many of you are already aware of the British T.V series, ‘Sherlock’, that have been airing since 2010, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the renowned detective and Martin Freeman as his faithful companion, Dr.Watson. It is usually the case that one watches the motion picture only after being inspired by the book. But  in my case, it was quite the opposite. A cousin of mine introduced me to this drama, and from there I decided venture reading the 1600 page novel, although I must admit, I have not yet finished the book. It is pleasing to see that the official E-Book, of the Sherlock Holmes detective series is available on the internet, completely free of charge.

The drama is actually a depiction of the 19th century Sherlock Holmes, moulded spectacularly into a 21st century ‘consulting detective’ who solves crimes with his partner Dr.Watson. He refers to himself as  a consulting detective as he prefers not to be associated with the local police force, which he does not think very highly of. The Scotland Yard, when perplexed by a crime to the extent that no solution seems to be present, seeks his help which he provides only when he finds the case ‘interesting’ enough.

Benedict Cumberbatch is the the sort of figure one might have on mind when thinking of Sherlock. A tall and lean body with hawk like facial features comprising of a sharp nose and bright, curios eyes, which cease to neglect any detail in the surroundings. He lives at 221 Baker  Street in a modest flat with Dr.Watson, who blogs about Sherlock’s experiences as a detective in solving intricate cases, when all other sources fail to be of any use. Martin Freeman, too, is the sort of person one would have in mind when thinking of Dr.Watson. Or maybe watching the drama makes the mind think that these figures accurately depict  the character, whatever the case may be, it is without doubt that all leading actors have remarkable talent in acting.

The way in which the whole story line has been transformed from a 19th century to a 21st century scenario, is phenomenal. Although the basic theme of every episode is in harmony with the one that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself  created, several aspects have been altered to compensate for the change in the era in which the actual story was based. This has been done in a manner that has made no compromise on the quality of the story, and the viewer ceases to lose interest. For example, in the book Dr.Watson writes memoirs of his experiences with Sherlock in his complex crime cases, while in the drama he blogs about it. Instead of letters, there are text messages. In the book, Sherlock is depicted as a drug addict, as he finds his mind under excessive pressure when nothing to challenge

it is at hand, thus he drugs himself to escape the suffering, however in the T.V series, he makes use of nicotine patches, for the same purpose (however they may have been other reasons for making this change as well 😉  )
The drama comes in seasons which comprise of three episodes, each about 90 minutes long, in which one case is solved. Up till now there have been two seasons and the third one is expected to be released next year. I will not go on to spoil the drama for my readers but I will strongly recommend watching this series. Do watch it and let me know if you share my enthusiasm!

Light Reading

Often comes the time when one does not wish to burden the mind with heavy books containing intricate plots and backgrounds that require a keen concentration by the reader, rather something to ease the mind and sooth the nerves. Such an objective cannot be achieved by reading a Tom Clancy action novel, or perhaps even a Dan Brown thriller, but something that goes slowly, brightens one up with lively yet subtle humor and never fails to lose the interest of the reader. Reading a book of this sort, is what is usually called Light Reading. Now, everyone has their own preference in light reading, because the requirement of nerves and mind to relax differs from person to person, but I think I will be doing a disfavor to my readers by not letting them know of my personal favorite light reading material. This material happens to be the work of the renowned British writer, P.G Wodehouse. Now, I’m sure many of you must already have heard this name and read many of his literary masterpieces, but for those who have yet to discover the wonders that his books have to offer, I will simply say that his books are based on typical British humor, and they never fail to cheer me up, even on a rainy day.

The expressions that the writer makes use of, his singular tone, full of sarcasm and vigor, and the amusing interaction between his cleverly made characters are sure to bring a smile to the face of even the grimmest of people. In contrast to today’s comedy, many a times wrongfully called so, P.G Wodehouse’s books go on to show that one need not necessarily slip off a banana peel on the pavement to entertain an audience but that the subtle humor which is hidden in every sentence easily serves the purpose, rather in manner much more praiseworthy.

 P.G Wodehouse was brought up by aunts and butlers in his childhood, so any reader of his works will not fail to notice the major part these characters play in his novels. My personal favorite is the Jeeves-Wooster series, in which Bertram Wooster narrates many of his experiences with his faithful and highly intellectual butler, Jeeves. Wooster is depicted as a person who is not much appreciated in society as he is not considered to be the among the brightest of people, and often finds himself amidst a problem to which no solution is clear. In all such situation his Butler, whose mental capacities are much in contrast to those of Mr.Wooster, never fails to come up with a brilliant plan to solve the problem. The novels contain a narration of Mr.Wooster’s experiences

 in such problems, and as I mentioned before the singular tone in which he narrates it never fails to brighten me up.

Another aspect of these books, that I find rather amusing is the difference in taste of clothing between Mr.Wooster and his butler. Mr.Wooster often gets piqued at his butler for not appreciating his taste in clothing, but in the end always has to accept defeat when Jeeves brilliantly solves another problem and Mr.Wooster realizes that he owes him this much. And the story often ends up with those articles of clothing either burned or given away somehow. Bertram’s relation with his aunts is rather interesting as well, considering how they look down upon him as a dim witted, fathead, other that one of his aunts, who happens to be his favorite, Aunt Dahlia. There are many other things that I admire about these books, but finding them out on your own will serve as a greater enjoyment. My favorite novels include The Inimitable Jeeves, Carry On Jeeves, Frozen Assets and many others. Do give his books a read and let me know if you like them, which I’m sure you will.

Happy Reading!

Dan Brown’s Inferno

 Dan Brown’s latest masterpiece that has occupied people of all ages, from May 14th onwards is, the Inferno. I failed to justify my claim of being a true Dan Brown fan as I could not initiate my exciting journey into the intricate plot and mysteries of Dan Brown’s world, on the 14th of May as my final examinations, ending on the 15th of May, prevented me from doing so. However I did not hesitate to obtain a copy from the nearest book store. Looking at the copy lying on my table for a whole day, unread and untouched, truly pained me but my sense of duty towards my exams helped me keep firm, and I was relieved of this dreadful punishment after I came back from my last exam, when my summer vacations began and nobody stood between me and the book.

  After having read the Lost Symbol, I was saddened by the thought that I would no longer get the chance to enjoy Dan Brown’s writings anymore, until a few months back when read that a new book was on its way. Naturally, I found the book very absorbing and I was completely immersed in it for two complete days. The book is another in the Robert Langdon series, a renowned professor of iconology and symbology at Harvard University. It revolves around Robert’s attempts to unravel the mystery in which he finds himself after waking up in a hospital, far from where he last thought he was situated. He, along with a woman named Dr.Sienna Brooks, aims to prevent a wide scale disaster that is impending upon mankind. Mysterious dreams that he sees, a renowned painting by a well known painter named Dante, and a secret agency that is powerful beyond measure, all play a major role in the story.

  Now, I will not say more, as I may ruin an excellent couple of days of reading for those who still have yet to engross themselves in this phenomenal book. But I can definitely assure you that this book is a true page turner. The way the author manipulates the mind of the reader to think in the way which he wants you to think, is truly mind blowing. You’ll be certain about something you will have read at one page, and after a couple of chapters, the tables will be turned in such a way that you will not believe that what you had read previously was something other than what you had thought it to be. You will look for that page again, skimming through many chapters, and to your surprise, you will see that nothing was said that would direct you to think what you had thought, it was simply the power of manipulation that the author possesses which he used to, so effortlessly, take control over your mind. What I say may not make much sense at the moment for those who have yet to read the book, but I am sure that those who have, will agree with what I say. His capability of changing the scenario again and again with twists and turns in the story, is amazing and nothing is as it seems to be and after a while, the reader’s mind becomes cautious of what it should accept as truth. Another thing that any avid reader will not cease to notice, is the ability of the writer to end each and every single chapter, in a way that will ignite the flame of curiosity in the reader’s mind, and force him to read another chapter. The last few lines of any chapter are my favorite part, as they always contain something very interesting, and do not leave it to the reader to decide whether he wishes to continue or not. So these are the few aspects of The Inferno, that I truly admire, and I will be pleased to hear your views. 

You Don’t Stop Playing Because You Get Old, You Get Old Because You Stop Playing

I was down in the t.v lounge of my dad’s office the other day, playing table tennis with my brother, or perhaps ‘ getting a thrashing’ describes the activity more aptly, when two elderly men dressed in white entered the lounge, one was bald with a cap while the other, having a head full of black hair with few strokes of white here and there. They took their places on the seats along the walls, but me and my proud brother offered our places to them on the table, but it turned out so that the other two playing with us, left, and the two elder men took their places. I was actually willing to give up my position because I was sure these two guys would be swinging the bats for the first time in their lives and banging the new table in the process, while killing precious Master Chef episode time as well, but after the first serve I had altered my opinion a bit. Not only was it fast but it even had the essential spin that sends the ball straight into the net when it hits the opponent’s bat.

After having lost the first doubles game, my brother called one of them on (nicely) for a single’s game to face him without me hindering his impeccable game. But to his disappointment the old man still stood undefeated. It wasn’t the first time I had to sit by watching my brother’s game or perhaps even watching him lose(quite seldom) but looking at the way the old man play the way he played was a real treat. The agility with which he reacted and the swiftness with which he moved was remarkable. I could see the same enthusiasm in him as in any teenager, especially when he gave his remarks on the shots played. Cursing at an unforced error and applauding at a nicely timed shot showed that the playful spirit, hard to find in old people these days, had definitely not died in him. It was then that I realised that it’s the idea of being old and weak that prevents people from continuing their sport activities when they hit their mid-forties or fifties. Obviously, there are exceptions but I believe that if people continue with their exercises and sports they can definitely remain fit and healthy, while keeping their sporting spirit alive. So that brings us to the conclusion that you don’t stop playing because you get old, you get old because you stop playing.

Getting lazier and lazi..

Today’s generation is really going down the ‘take it easy’ road and it doesn’t want to exert itself in anything. The one thing a have in mind today is the way people type and write text messages. Although it may not annoy others too much, but I for one cannot bear it.  ‘gr8! c u dere’ , these type of messages are not only unbearable for me but they somehow seem foul as well, and if I receive such a message, I do not make any delay in deleting it, of course after reading it because everyone these days is affected by this slang and improper language, so it could be important.

Yes, I understand, that’s the point of the ‘short messaging service’, but I don’t think it would kill you to write one more letter to complete a word, and sometimes it happens so that people will write the wrong

spelling with the same amount of letters as the correct word, only seemingly less, and think of it as a short form. This shows that this ‘short’ messaging concept is turning into an unintentional misspelling habit, and also that we are getting lazier and lazier. And the person on the other end of the conversation will definitely think you don’t know how to write proper English(at least I do).

I prefer to write complete and whole sentences with proper vocabulary. Otherwise the person seems immature and confused. Don’t judge a book by its cover, eh? Well that’s really how I feel about such language. I don’t mean to offend anyone but that’s really how I see it. Looking forward to your views and comments. Happy and proper writing!

Digital Dictionary: You Need It. Everyone Does

Today I really found it hard to think about ANYTHING to write about, I’m sure it happens to everyone, so I thought I should look around,literally, from the seat in front of my computer, and I noticed my digital dictionary lying on the computer table, and I thought why not share my thoughts about it.

Back in the old days, people usually read literature like Charles Dickens with a whole lot of difficult vocabulary and whenever they must have found a new word(I’m sure there must have been many) they would either have ignored it or they would have opened up a big dictionary to look for the meaning. Showing indifference is definitely not the right thing to do and one cannot enhance one’s vocabulary that way, but having to open up a huge dictionary again and again is also a daunting task, and so it makes the former method understandable.But in today’s technologically advanced world showing the same indifference is unacceptable and shows you’re  just lazy. A couple of years back I was introduced to the digital dictionary and it really changed my ‘reading’ life. You can’t understand a word? Just type it in, you’ll get multiple definitions, usage in sentences, synonyms and what not. Such convenience and efficiency should not go unnoticed. It really helps improve your vocabulary and it’s amazingly time efficient as well. There’s no reason any more to read books and not understand the meaning of a difficult word. Another thing is that these dictionaries are not expensive either and easily available. They keep getting better and better with new functions like touch screens and what not but a plain digital dictionary will do for me.

A couple of months ago, I was holding my dictionary with a book and my

grandfather asked me what it was. I told him all about it and he was quite impressed, so impressed that the next time I visited him, a week later, he’d gotten one just like mine. He isn’t exactly a techno person but the idea of using such an efficient dictionary really amazed him and I think he’s put away his inconveniently large Oxford dictionary, since, clearing a lot of space from the study table.

So if you’re still living under a rock, as I was until a few years back(just kidding), and you still read books without a digital dictionary, go out and get one for yourself, if you can’t, download it on your iPhone or laptop or any other of today’s techy gadget that you may own, but do use it, unless you are exceptionally intellectual and don’t require a dictionary. I have found Merriam-Webster dictionaries best up till now. Do give it a try, I’m definite you’ll find it helpful.

Happy Reading!!

A Parent’s Most Valuable Possession

These days most children have both working parents and their lives are full of haste and hurries. They get little to see of their parents, let alone spending much time with them. Parents are providing their children with all the necessities and essentials. They make sure their children are getting quality education, any tuition, if required, soccer practice, piano lessons, basically they are entertaining each and every whim of their children and fulfilling all their needs and wants, but they are keeping their most valuable possession from them, and that is, their time. Without doubt, it is not easy, nor cheap, for parents to provide their children with all these facilities but giving them their time, their most priceless possession for which there is no recompense, is whats most difficult.

Getting them the best education will definitely make them smart but it will not make them the sort of human beings they would want them to become when they grow up. They will lack the essential attributes of any well nurtured child which cannot be attained at any

school or institute, but only at home under the guidance of parents. All the things children learn at home will reflect in their personalities all their life unlike any subject that any school teacher might teach them. No one else in the world will take out the time to tell them about the difficulties they will have to face in life and how they will overcome them, because only someone who really cares for you will tell you these things, and they are your parents. When others will laugh at your mistakes, your parents will be the one to correct you errors because no one is really concerned about you like your parents.

Parents should sit with their children to just talk to them, get to know how the day went and what problems they faced. This will make the family more ‘connected’ and children will keep getting the essential advice required to find their way in the world. Nothing is more valuable for children than their parent’s time, and I suggest that the lucky children with this gift should make good use of it, and learn from their parents as much as they can, while they still have time. I’ d love to hear your opinions and thoughts, looking forward to your comments!

Why The Classics are Being Neglected

In today’s fast paced world, everybody wants to hurry to the conclusions, nobody really has the time to sit back and enjoy the beauty that life has to offer. I’ve realised that the case is similar regarding the reading of books. Classics for today’s generation have proven to be a bit ‘slow’. The writer goes nice and slowly, scrutinizing upon every single detail and works his way up to the end of the chapter when you realise that the character has only walked only a few steps up to the door of the room of his dying mother, and it took him forty pages to ‘aptly’ describe the scenario. The plot of the book may not be too long but the painfully long details stretch the length of the novel quite a bit. What this generation wants are conclusions. They want results and they want them now. An exceptional quality that I’ve noticed in one of my favourite writers, Dan Brown, is that he has the ability to go on with the story at a fast pace but this doesn’t make his stories short because, side by side he is always narrating events with conclusions that hold great significance in the plot and and the story keeps changing. Thus, he is able to provide what today’s generation demands from books. They want steep gradients in the story, and they want them to be good. Another thing is that when we get bored with a book, we don’t hesitate in quitting on it. Who has the time to read a book he/she doesn’t like? But I believe quitting so easily is an imprudent decision. The things these books have to offer, cannot be found in books about vampires. There must be a reason why these books are called Classics, and thus with an inquisitive approach to find that reason we should definitely peruse these books.
Happy Reading!

What Hollywood is Teaching Us

Hollywood movies have really become a part of our lives, and many of their ideas have crept slowly into the back of our minds, but we, unconsciously, do not pay attention. You only realise how ridiculous they sometimes are when you look back at them, individually.

– Chinese. A Chinese character in the movie can mean only one thing, and that is Kung Fu. According to Hollywood, Chinese people never have anything else to do than Kung Fu. They don’t have to go out and earn money, they just stay in their houses, which are perhaps in the mountains, or maybe a jungle, and practice kicking and punching the air, and of course, saying all wise things when they’re at it.

– Undercover cops and detectives are useless and will never solve a case unless you suspend them from duty which tends to have a drastic effect and gives them back all their intelligence and clever wits. On duty they will always have arguments with their bosses and they’ll ‘make it up to them’ after solving the case, when suspended from duty. There are numerous examples of movies which portray the same message, like Bad Boys and I Robot (the Will Smith movie), and many others.

– The hero in any action film will not show much emotion while getting beaten up, he’ll take a bullet or two, to the chest or maybe a whack to the head, but he’ll be able to contain all his emotions, but when a pretty nurse (that coincidentally happens to be his love) will try to clean his wounds, he will not hold any of those emotions back. People, taking a bullet is NOT painless.

– The sole purpose of American schools is to teach basketball or football.  Whenever a school is made part of a movie, it is to show the sports in which the students indulge. Schools don’t really have anything to do with education.

– If twins are born, one is bound to be evil.

–  Aliens have a special interest in attacking the US only. They are the only ones worried for the ‘existence’  of the world, while the other countries do not take interest as to whether the Earth continues to exist or not, and in the end the US army always solves the problems. Why would the aliens have anything to do with the rest of the countries?

– If a couple of friends are in the mood to start dancing on the street, everyone will already know the steps, and suddenly they’ll start a very organised dancing session.

These are a few things Hollywood is teaching us these days. Please share if you have anything interesting. Looking forward to your comments and opinions.

Modern Fiction : A Waste of Time?

Much of today’s youth is attracted to fiction books written by modern writers, which have an unconventional and perhaps, a more creative, approach towards the readers. Many say that with the advancement of technology fiction writing has changed , with all the indulgence of high-tech stuff, many think that the taste which today’s youth exercises, has become more childish whereas others beleive these books are all bollocks and claim they’re a waste of time. I use to hold the opinion mentioned last, a while ago as well, but being a Dan Brown fan I cannot include myself in this category, and I have changed my views.

I’d like to clarify the misconception in the minds of all those who think these books are a ‘waste’ of time, in as few words possible. When they refer to people ‘wasting’ their time reading such literature, they suggest that the reader is not gaining anything ‘useful’ out of these books and thus is not ‘benefiting’ in any way. This brings us straight to the point that books are mostly read for pleasure and not for benefits. ‘Benefits’ which books provide include enhanced vocabulary and better expression, and these are present in the contents of modern books as well. So what remains is the actual content, and that depends upon taste. Claiming that a book is ‘useless’ if it does not match one’s taste is not a justified statement.
Taste is individual and unique for many people so we should respect that. However these books are not to be compared with the classics. Giving preference to Vampire Diaries or Hunger Games over Charles Dickens would definitely be injudicious. These books are here today and will be gone tomorrow, but the classics will remain unmatched. So, while having the liberty of exercising our own taste, we should not ignore the literature that has not dulled even with the passage of time and shines ever so brightly.

Respect everyone’s taste and Happy Reading!