Inception: "True Inspiration is impossible to fake"

I must admit, that I was pretty unaware about Inception, till the day it was released. Guess, I have been having pretty much on my mind of late. But, ever since I started hearing about the movie, I have been bombarded with rave reviews, advices on how to watch it, etc. All this pretty much gave me the impression that this will be another over hyped Hollywood Sci-Fi flick which will leave me wondering, “Why did I end up wasting two and a half hours!!!”. I was pretty much certain that it will be another case of some ‘talented’ Director trying to show off his so called ‘Charisma’

This gave me an opportunity to walk in to see the movie with a blank slate since I didn’t know what to expect. This turned out to be a pretty good turn of events, making me realize that the term ‘Ignorance is bliss’, can sometimes be true.

I was hoping Christopher Nolan would not let me down after ‘The Dark Night’ and he did not disappoint me by laying out a cerebral movie which had several aspects of human emotions and a plot to die for. The visuals, as expected from Christopher, are mind blowing and did leave me holding my breath many times during the movie. The incredible zero-gravity scene just blew my mind.

The best part about the movie is the plot, which is not just a story, but has been cleverly crafted into layers which unfold as the movie progresses. Every character had a purpose and mattered even though the story did revolve around Leo. We are introduced to the premise of the movie by the introduction of the rookie Ellen Page is introduced to the foreign concept of breaking into people’s minds. As things are explained to her, they are explained to us as well.

Even though this movie comes across as a masterpiece of storytelling, I thought there was a lot of explaining going on. It’s done well but there is a lot to absorb. This may be too much for viewers who walk in thinking this will just be a popcorn visual effects film. It’s a fair warning not to take the film lightly. You have to be awake and ready to take in the film, not just watch it. As I was leaving the theater there were people raving while others were dumbfounded.

The movie deserves and demands viewing more than once with intricate set pieces which are so breathtaking and jaw dropping that staying focused on the movie will need no exertion. I’m sure watching this movie again will reveal even more about the story that I missed because there is a lot going on as the movie layers dreams on top of dreams to the point where a unique keepsake called a “totem” is required in order to inform a character as to whether or not he or she is still dreaming. (which might actually be a good part) The totem, does provide an interesting ending which got almost everybody to the edge of their seats.

Overall the plot and the visuals make this heavy film that much more amazing to take in. I guess all I have to say is that I don’t mind that Christopher Nolan decided to put aside Batman 3 to take time to make this amazing movie.

Hockey- National Game of India, Babus- National Shame of India

Over the past few weeks, Indian Hockey has been making the news much more than the Indian Cricket Team. This got me interested and diverted me, a hardcore Cricket fan, to explore a sport which did not have bats, wickets or a 22 yards pitch. Its not that I was ignorant about hockey, but I did read the articles that appeared in the newspapers about it, or watched a couple of India vs Pakistan hockey games.

This new found interest had me search the Internet for some articles about Indian hockey, some facts which I found online about Indian hockey's glorious past, had my head spinning like a cricket ball delivered by Shane Warne. I'm sure the stuff listed below will atleast make you wonder, "What went wrong?"

The Indian Hockey team made a dream debut in the Olympics in 1928, where they cruized home to our first Olympic Gold Medal. This feat is even more commendable, if you add the fact, that they achieved it without conceding a single goal. Imagine, the Indian Cricket team winning the World Cup without allowing the opposition team to take even a single wicket, (for the whole tournament) sounds incredible, doesnt it?

From 1928 to 1956, the Indian hockey team won six straight Olympic gold medals, while winning 24 consecutive matches. During this time, India scored 178 goals conceding only 7 in the process.

When we talk of Indian cricket, the one name that every cricket loving fan can think of is, Sachin Tendulkar. We all must know that in case of hockey, there is also a name that is thought of with pride, the name is, Dhyan Chand.

Arguably the greatest player the game of hockey has ever produced, Dhyan Chand's genius crossed national boundaries. During a 1935 tour of New Zealand and Australia, he scored 201 goals out of the team's tally of 584 in 43 matches.

The great Sir. Don Bradman and Dhyan Chand once came face to face at Adelaide in 1935, when the Indian hockey team was in Australia. After watching Dhyan Chand in action, Don Bradman remarked "He scores goals like runs in cricket". The only other Indian sportsperson, the australian has praised is none other than Sachin Tendulkar.
On the field he was named the "Wizard of Hockey" for his complete control on the ball. It appeared that the ball used to stick to his hockey stick while playing. So great was the magic of Dhyan Chand that people actually refused to believe what they saw with their naked eyes. They broke his stick in Holland to check if there was a magnet inside and in Japan they decided it was glue. In Vienna Sports Club, there stands a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks.

Impressed by his superlative performance, Adolf Hitler supposedly offered to make Dhyan Chand a Field Marshal in the German army, but the latter refused. The thought that this sportsman who accomplished so much in his lifetime is seldom even spoken about made me dig more information about him. Sadly, to find out that such a hero died poor with no help from the govt. Compare this to how the Aussies and English have glorified Bradman.

Who would want to be a non-cricket sportsman in India? A couple of years back, I remember reading an article about Viren Rasquinha, a talented player and captain of the Indian hockey team, quitting the game for an MBA. Maybe he did realize that Indian Hockey was an impossible dream and wanted to come back to earth. I remember the press conference where he announced his retirement vaguely, but I do remember him shrugging his shoulders and saying, "It was a practical decision"

I consciously commented about the gentleman mentioned above, because in one of the closely fought India Pakistan matches that I had watched while surfing the channel, I had happened to stop long enough to watch the Pakistan players targetting this individual and hitting the hard hockey ball straight into this gentleman's body. This guy was being hammered by the opposition team and each time he went down, he would spring right up and be ready for the next volley. The game was ultimately won by India, but the sight of such passion towards the game did give me goosebumps to see a game being played with so much patriotism by all the players.

The tiger is the national animal of India, but their numbers are decreasing and is highly endangered. Hockey is national game of India, and seeing the current state of affairs, I'm sorry to say, but it is also endangered. Indian hockey seems to be facing an illness that is common to other sports — basically a disconnect between sports administrators, sportsmen and spectators. The three don’t seem to be on the same page. Hockey needs to be resurrected, but not because it won us medals in the past, it should be revived for its own sake.

As with everything in Indian sport, there is either a babu or politician at the head, all out for what they can get out of it. Hockey is perhaps the most glaring example. After the current fiasco that was flashed nation wide on national and international media, we can only imageine the state of mind the current players would be in, after this unfortunate incident, barely two months from the biggest tournament in the world. It seems highly unllikely that the administrators, did not know about the players discontent over payment issues. In case they knew it and still chose to ignore, is criminal. If they turn around and say that they did not know what was brewing, it is even worse. Either way, the administrators and babus have screwed up.

The only good from this entire fiasco is the amazing unity of the players, and the support they received from the second string team, former players and from the general public. Lets just hope these officials realize that the people are interested in our players on the field and not the politics, off the field. If the team fails to perform well despite having the home advantage, which is considered considerable in any game, we can blame none but the bungling administrators of Hockey India.

If we want our players to make the country proud and bring back the glorious past of Indian Hockey, the least we can do is to look after them financially and give them the dignity they deserve.

Some random thoughts popping out of my head

After a long long long..... long hiatus, I'm ready to strike again.... Back without a bang, but with a lot of stuff on my mind.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry on Earth knows the fact that life is not perfect (Except the little kids going about their lives in carefree bliss). But why can't it be close to perfect? Why does everyone have to go through the motions of life with a lot of crap? Why is our life haunted with problems?

Is it to teach us petty humans a lesson, that everything cannot be served to us on a golden platter?
I agree that hardships in our life are the moulds which shape our character and make us who we are... But, why then do hardships have to be so bloody hard?

Relationships in life which are shared by two people have their own share of ups and downs... But, are the downs the end of life? I agree that we do feel extremely helpless when we are faced with the downs in our lives, but should we let these downs come in the way of the ups as well? We all face a lot of turmoil when these downs do occur....

What am I supposed to do then? Cry, sulk and let fate take control of my life? Or should I just slog my ass out and do something to change it? But will that be good enough? Or will it involve the help of the people who have an influence in my life?

If someone you care deeply about is hurt by your actions, you are supposed to change the action. Undoing it is not possible, so not repeating it is said to be the best option. But, that leads me to my next question: Should we, or should we not change ourself, let go of ourself in order to please the people around you.

These questions have been popping in & out all the time. Our future is said to be the consequence of the actions done in our present, so isn't the present action the most important thing in our life. Setting our present well will secure our future.

Nobody said that life will be a straight and smooth highway. Rather it is more like a maze or a network of narrow lanes. Some of them might be smooth, some might not. All the lanes lead to different destinations. It is our call to choose the lane and reach the desired destination using our actions and learning from them as we move along.