From shadows to the stars

Come into this life So far away From our weak and crumbling lives Come into this night Where days are'nt dark Lost and betray Of what's in your past Come into this night Your plight is alone Carry your weight You are flawed as all of us Come into this life Your only home It's never too late To repent, suffer the loss Come into this life Where you're able To redo your deeds And atone with your lonely soul Once you're into this life Where minds are stable Bury all your sorrows Forget all your needs Lose the grip of all control Come into this life Where your mind is free The chains that hold you down, forever shed Come into this life And leave behind All pains, extinct here

When you have been in Manipal for a while, you tend to forget that a few things can exist. Though a few of them you can afford to live without, some of them are just too precious to lose. That there is more than just a possibility that an auto driver will refuse to take you to your destination or that he can extort money from you. That all places are not confined to a radius of 8 km. McDonalds and its delicious burgers. For chicken freaks, KFC (just for the heck of it). Traffic jams. Though these are common in almost every town and city, Manipal is a thankful exception. You could ignore the basic road crossing rule, taught in KG classes for all students ("before crossing a road, look to your left and then to your right and then walk across") any number of times and still not be run over even once. Malls and multiplexes. What the hell? A place overflowing with students deserves at least a handful of malls and multiplexes, dont you think? Watching 5 grown men wal...

As it has been for the past week, sleep eluded me again. Consiering the fact that I have exams from Monday, 29th November 2011, this doesnt seem such bad a thing. But sadly, its kinda hard to study when you feel your eyelids beginning to droop and your eyes gettting red and yet, sleep escaping your clutches. The first rays of morning light are breaking outside and i peep through the window. And as i look out, i see the fog settling. And from the mist a figure emerges. At first, i can only see the outline. I look harder, my swollen bloodshot eyes straining to make the picture clearer. It appears to be a woman. She is wearing white. Hypnotised by her beauty, i keep staring. She seems like an angel, descended from heaven to take a look at this world, so unworthy of her. From behind her emerges another silhouette. By what i see, it appears to be a giant of a man. The giant stretches out his arm, going for the woman's neck. I shout out a warning signal. She is alarmed. She winces and tu...

People have always been wondering as to why humans smoke. It is not for me to decide why, but i can only speculate. Is it because of the stench which can spread a mile around? Is it because of the supposed calmness of which the cigarette is the hailed harbinger? Or because of the cardiac arrests and the sickening coughs which are eventually bound to follow? The answer simply is - no! Imagine yourself as a modern day average middle class man. You have just returned to home from a hectic day at work. You want someone to talk to. Or maybe someone who will listen to you talking. But as you are the modern day human, there are not many people willing to oblige and listen to you ramble about life and its problems as if they were evident in your case alone. Enter the patient listener. Enter the loyal companion. Enter the cigarette. If you tell a cigarette that life is hard, the cigarette wont retort "Such is life. You have to toil and climb the ladder or else you will be left in the cold...

Hailed to be the best team so far in the FIFA World Cup 2010, Germany fell prey to Spain in the semi finals. Im not gonna say we missed Mueller. Im not gonna blame Paul, the psychic Octopus. I agree, the better team won today. I just feel that the "tactical genius" in Joachim Loew died before this match. If they could have restricted the possession of the "greatest ever" Spanish midfield by employing the tried and tested method of man marking, the outcome could have been different. Its almost a surprise that they held on for 73 minutes, considering the way the Spanish were playing. I only hope The Netherlands learn from this game and do the right thing in the finals. Hope they win at least! Lastly, its not always about supporting the winning team. Its about sticking with the one you support. GO GERMANY! We have been the most consistent team in the last three World Cups. We're gonna do better next time without doubt. DIE MANNSCHAFT! (German for "The Team...

Roger Federer. The name speaks for the man. Glory and beauty are the adjectives which first come to mind. When he plays, there's no match for him. But then again, sometimes, when you see him play, you almost pity him. One moment he seems to be on top of his game. The very next, he's struggling. There's logic and reason if he struggles against the distinguished players. But here again, Federer intrigues. As if to prove even the best players can lose, he plays like a kid, losing to unseeded players. With a plethora of records held to his name, and hailed by many as the best player ever, Federer often is a man of contradictions. He always lives on the edge, keeping his supporters tense and worried all the while. Some say it is his tactic to lose sets and seem weak, so that his opponent is over confident. Which may have been true a few years ago. But the Federer we see today is no champion. He is the remains. The mangled carcass. But he has surprised one and all in the past by ...

Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame) has always been an intriguing character for me. The "Jacks Mom-ish" sarcasm and his superior IQ have always attracted my attention. A four year old with vocab like his is as rare as a girl who doesnt say "LOL" in every text/instant message. Is he a psychopath who talks with a 'teddy bear' kinda stuffed tiger (maybe all four year olds do this) or does he possess a magical tiger which pops alive when alone with him? Is he a mentally ill kid who has split personalities (Tracer Bullet, Tarzan, Stupendous Man - Champion of Liberty and Fighter of Tyranny, Spaceman Spiff, etc)? Is he another Einstein who can create duplicators, transmogrifiers(for those of you who dont know what this is, its a machine which can transform you into any being of your wish, Calvin's favourites being worms, frogs and all other slimy and slippery things) and time machines? Or is he like any one else just imagining them?? Is he - in his ...