A fearless story – final part

The adventures of the night had sapped the living daylights out of him, and he felt a heavy sensation in his head. He collapsed on the surface of the raft and laid on his back, staring blankly at the sky, his teeth still chattering. The moonlit violet sky slowly faded into blackness, as unconsciousness came over him. He was unaware of how much time had passed, but a gentle rocking of the raft stirred him into consciousness. He leaned up and looked about himself, trying to get hold of his bearings. The night was slowly turning a lighter shade of violet, and he noticed from his watch that he had 43 minutes before dawn broke out. Strangely, he felt elated and free, and the chilling sensation had completely vanished from his body; puzzled by the fortunate turn of events, he glanced ahead of him, and noticed that the raft had reached the end of the river, and was now anchored on a soft embankment. The shore led to a clump of palm trees, which seemed to form a sort of pathway between them, leading to a place further into the place. His mind tingled with excitement – he instinctively knew that he had arrived at his destination. He walked onto the shore, holding his faithful machete, squinting his eyes at the path ahead of him. He felt remarkably fresh and alert, and the strain of the past events in the night had vanished completely. However, he wasn’t going to be lulled into a false sense of complacency, and continued to remain alert for any signs of trouble. The ground felt smooth under his feet – seemingly the entire place was man-made. The walk across the pathway between the trees was short, and soon he found himself witnessing an amazing spectacle. He spotted the ruins of an ancient temple, dotted with 4 square shaped structured on the corners of the area, and a huge monolithic statue at the end of the area. The aura around the temple radiated a sense of serenity and warmth, undisturbed for eons by human civilization. The artistry behind the mammoth sculpture was highlighted by the attention to detail paid to every part of the statue, which portrayed a woman with six arms standing atop a pedestal, two hands holding out a huge stone cup in front of it, two hands stretched out towards the sky, and the remaining pair of hands resting on the sides of its hips. The surprising thing about the statue was that it still looked so real and beautiful, unaffected by the sands of time and the corrosive effects of nature’s continually changing face – which led him to believe that the entire thing was carved out of a mineral alien to Earth. Arriving at the site, he looked up at the statue, which towered at least 25 feet high from the ground. There was an assortment of fruits, plants and meat placed in front of it on huge leaves – signs that he was not the only living thing in the area. What if they are cannibals? I don’t see any signs of human sacrifice here though…. He walked around the place, looking for some sign of life. Finding nothing, he walked closer to the statue, aware of some invisible energy radiating from it. The statue’s surface glowed dimly in the fading moonlight, and he stretched his left hand towards it, wishing to know what would happen. He heard a faint sound before he could touch the statue, and an arrow whizzed past him. Startled, he withdrew from the statue and looked in the direction of the shot. He spied a man from atop a tree, naked except for a loin cloth, holding a bow and aiming another arrow around him. At the same time, more men stood up from their hiding places among the trees, all aiming their bows at him. His eyes made out the outlines of small wooden huts nestled in the branches of the trees, as several pairs of eyes were trained on him. So, these natives are actually tree dwellers… they would have watched every move of mine. He walked backwards to the middle of the area, dropped the machete to the ground, and raised his arms above his head, hoping to convey to those locals that he meant no harm. A few minutes later, as he stood rooted to his spot while the archers continued to train their arrows at him, he espied a group of men emerging from behind the statue. There were about six of them, and they were bedecked in masks and fine red cloth – presumably the upper echelons of this civilization. The men came to him, and the man in front, whom he assumed was the chieftain or figurehead, barked out a command. The men withdrew their bows and fell back into their hiding places among the tree. The chief, who was adorning a red and white mask, uttered a word in some strange language, and a second person stepped forward. He let out a gasp of shock, as the second man removed his mask, to reveal Caucasian features and a rough white beard; there was a white man who lived among those locals! The chief conversed with the foreigner in a gruff voice while he listened calmly. Once they were done, the foreigner spoke in clear English to him. “Our respected host here wishes to let you know that Brodinga is the protector of this forest, and her statue is sacred and should never be violated by anyone. I know it was not your intention, but you would have been turned into a statue had you touched it; in fact, the man who shot at you saved your life. Now the chief wants to know what could motivate you to go through a great deal of trouble to come to this place. “ “Yes. A white man like us, whose name is Henry Summers… had said something about finding a place where he finally knew no fear… we got his last radio call seven years back. I came to find what he had found, and am certain Henry was here in this place the last time we heard from him. Do you know where he is, and if he is still alive?” The other man translated his speech for the chieftain, who nodded in response and spoke in that strange language again. It was a surreal feeling for him, as he watched the white man interact with the local chief with consummate ease – surely he must have been living amongst these tree dwellers for several years. The white man turned to him and said “He did come to this place and find us, and yes, you can say he found fearlessness. However, this is a magical place, and only the Mizotecs here..” he gestured to the chieftain and other tribals, “… can live in human form, thanks to a rare gene in their blood. The outsiders like you can remain in human form only as long as the night lasts here, and once day breaks, you will simply vanish with the night. “ “Then how come you are still alive and in this body? You should have been non-existent by now, if that was the case.” “Well. It’s a long story. To cut it short, I came to this forest 43 years ago from Hamburg, looking for some rare plants which could provide a cure to diseases like cancer and diabetes. My team was killed by the dangerous elements in the forest, but I managed to find the river and was carried across by the water to this place, afloat on a single piece of wood. These Mizotecs found me and nursed me; the first night I was here, the chieftain managed to commute through hand signs that I wouldn’t survive the day as I was an outsider. However, if I agreed to stay with them and never return to the outside, I could have a chance. I was forced to drink some horrible liquid, which actually inculcated that rare gene in me. Now, I live with them and have learnt many secrets from them, but I can and will never let the outside world know of these.” The old man continued “However, the subsequent foreigners who came to this place didn’t have noble intentions like me. They believed that this place was like the City of Lost Gold, and plundered the village looking for treasure. They incurred the wrath of the Goddess Brodinga, and were turned into statues. After these incidents, the Mizotecs have decided that any outsider has only two choices – give up your human form and live a life, or go back to where you came from. The second one is a catch – you have to be out of the forest well before the sun rises, else you simply vanish along with the magical parts of the forest.” He couldn’t believe what the old man was saying. “So, you imply that whoever comes to this place will never get out of the forest?” The old man nodded his head in agreement. “Henry Summers was confronted with the same thing as you. He chose to remain here. Before he traded his body for a life without fear, he spoke into the radio handset, which he had hidden in his shirt pocket all the time, without our knowledge. Fear is a basic element of human emotion, and it is fear that makes the human side of you visible. Without fear, you are not a human. Even the bravest men fear something. So, my son, the dawn is approaching; time is running out for you. You can choose to either vanish into oblivion, or join your predecessors in the forest. “ He closed his eyes, pondering over the old man’s words. There was clearly only one path for him.He had found what he sought for, but the world would never know of his greatest achievement. Did it matter in the end anyway? He gestured at the chieftain with a slight nod of his head, and the latter replied with a curt nod, beckoning him to follow the group. He was made to lie down on a flat stone slab in front of the statue, while the masked natives formed a circle around him. The old man stood a few feet ahead, watching the proceedings; their eyes met, and he smiled weakly. The natives began chanting prayers to the Goddess Brodinga in a chorus, the loud voice resonating in his eardrums. As he watched, he noticed sparks emanating from the statue, and soon a bright ball of unbridled energy formed in front of the statue; it remained suspended in the air for some time, as the chieftain and the priests continued their rhythmic chant. Suddenly the chants stopped, and the bright ball of energy hurdled towards his body, before he knew it. He felt a sudden shock course through his body, and blacked out instantly. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes. He found himself facing the statue, the huge eyes of the Goddess looking at him at eye level. He looked down and saw his body on the slab slowly withering away into the air, like sand being blown away by the wind. However, he felt no grief at losing his body; on the contrary, he had never felt so free and elated before, and there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. As the first rays of the sun broke through the clouds, his spirit sped away towards the midst of the forest, which was now his new home.

A fearless story – part 4

They walked in silence, the soft clanging sound of the unicorn’s hooves syncing with the hoarse breathing of his in the cold night. A million thoughts were running through his mind. Are there other animals which can talk like the unicorn? How is it possible for everything to be gigantic in this area and not elsewhere? What further dangers lurk ahead? And most of all, how much further to go before he reached the place where Henry Summers’ radio signal was last received? His watch informed him that he had only 2 hours before dawn broke.

In case you are wondering why he was concerned about reaching the place before sunlight – here it goes. Rumors circulated among the adventure seekers and the bounty hunters about how certain parts of the Furchtloser Wald were sort of camouflaged and invisible in sunlight, and would come into view as darkness approached, as chronicled by an old timer who had claimed to be inside the mysterious place for 2 days and witnessed this phenomenon. Many people laughed off this theory, claiming it was nigh impossible to hide a sheep in broad daylight, let alone an entire patch of land. But there were a few people who felt that it was possible, and he was one of them. If sunlight dawned, he would probably never find his target, and the prospect of this happening caused him to walk faster.

“Tell me, kind one. Is it true that this strange jungle contains some areas which are hidden in the day? “

He stroked its mane, as the unicorn replied Yes, human. They do exist. They are magical places, and my brethren tell me these places came up thousands of years before this forest. In fact, if certain things are to be believed, the story goes that the forest was grown by the inhabitants of these places to conceal them from sight. I don’t know how much substance is there in this, because we know better to stay within our limits in the forest.

“Hmmm… interesting.” He continued to scour about the place, catching sight of other strange species – a disgusting brown giant caterpillar with several rows of teeth in its round mouth finishing off a hole filled pinkish leaf; a weird rodent with red circles round angled eyes and a short torso with a long red tail nearly 4 times the entire length of its head and body darting a few metres across them; and many other species which he didn’t bother to look at, fearing his brain would be stupefied by the wealth of new fauna in the jungle.

They walked for a few more miles, before the sound of running water reached his ears. They waded through a clump of bushes, and he found himself in a small clearing on the shore of a rather wide river drifting downstream. The water was crimson in color, as though it had been mixed with blood; the moonlight’s reflection caused it to sparkle an eerie red color, and he observed fish swimming about in it. A few of them jumped above the surface of the river, giving him a clear look – they looked like harmless goldfishes, albeit slightly bigger than the ones you would keep in a fish bowl.

He heard the unicorn snort softly through its nostrils, and touched its snout again.

This is where we part ways, human. The river shall take you to the place you seek; these trees here have hollow branches and make for good flotation. I have seen the man who came here before you built something with these branches to carry him across the water. Farewell to thee, and thanks again for saving my life.

“Thanks, o kind unicorn, for saving my life and guiding me across the right path. I will now take leave of you; hope to find you again when I return after having got what I came for.” He saluted to the creature with a big smile, and his sharp eyes did not fail to detect the hint of sadness in its big black eyes, as it withdrew backwards into the comforting darkness of the forest.

He shrugged, placed his backpack on the ground, and went about looking for wood good enough to make a raft. He collected a handful of green colored sturdy tree branches, which were hollow as the unicorn had said. Fishing out a length of kernmantle rope, the kind used for climbing, he set about assembling the raft, using the rope to bind together the logs of branches. In twenty minutes, he had made a strong and sturdy raft, good enough to carry him down the entire length of the river.

He pushed the raft onto the river, and climbed atop it. Using a long wooden stick as an oar, he steered the raft carefully towards the middle of the huge river, and stayed on course from there, stirring with a little more urgency. The fishes he had seen earlier swam lazily around the raft, but he paid no heed to them, his eyes looking for something distinctive- a kind of marker which would lead him to the place of fearlessness. There was no sign of it, and after nearly 40 minutes of rowing continuously, his arms were beginning to feel heavy, and he felt some numbness creeping over his tired body.

Soon, he felt fatigue crawling all over his mind. He stopped rowing for a while, and allowed the motion of the river to carry the boat along. Mustering his last reserves of energy, he directed his brain to keep him awake; to do this, he began looking at the foliage that lined up on either side of the river. He noticed the absence of gigantic plants and trees as the raft travelled further – was he going deeper into the forest or away from it? Confused, he continued to look ahead, and spotted a line of trees, the silhouette of their branches reaching out above the surface of the river visible in the dim glow of the moon.

The raft came closer to these branches, and he thought he saw one of the branches move ; his eyes were semi closed, and he felt he was seeing things again. He rubbed his eyes vigorously with the palm of his hands, and blinked them to clear his vision.

Holy crap! The branch was moving, and it was headed straight for him! A second later, he realized it wasn’t a branch but a huge snake, evident from its wide open mouth, revealing its pink interior, waiting to swallow its meal.

He fell back, ducking out of the reptile’s grasp, and scrambled for the backpack, the machete strung to its side. His hand pulled out the machete from its place, and at the same time, the raft rocked wildly, nearly tipping to one side, the other side rising up from the water. The snake had come to give him company on the raft.

He spun around, and brought the machete down hard on the snake, as it slithered with lightning speed across the raft towards him. The weapon made a tiny cut in the tough hide, and the snake wavered from its original course; however, its powerful tail whiplashed across his calves, the unexpected impact swept him off his feet, and he fell on his back into the water with a loud splash. The water was freezing and the chillness stung his skin; he gasped in shock, struggling to hold his breath. Miraculously, he had managed to keep hold of the machete, and brandished it in front of him, looking about wildly for the snake. He espied the huge reptile coasting towards him with alarming alacrity, the red blood trailing from its skin making the red water redder. Finding no quick escape route, he hunched himself in preparation for the inevitable, goose bumps forming on the nape of his neck.

It all happened in a blur; he couldn’t register immediately what had happened, as the mammoth reptile was suddenly attacked by something else in the water. It took him a few minutes to register the fact that the new found adversary was actually a massive horde of the goldfishes, which had launched itself into the snake, probably attracted to the blood seeping out from the cut he had inflicted on it. The scene in front of him was bizarre, as he watched the snake swivel and turn frantically, trying to escape from the razor sharp teeth that these fishes possessed. Who would have known that these goldfishes were actually piranhas in goldfish guise?! The water in front of him turned a darker shade of rest, and he realized that the snake was losing the battle to these fishes. He thanked his stars for the timely intervention, and with sheer willpower forced his limbs to take him up to the water, where the raft lay afloat.

His head broke through the surface, and he gasped in relief, taking in the oxygen from the air. He spotted the raft to his left, and swam slowly to it; after a tiring lap, he hoisted himself onto the wooden floatation, dripping wet from head to toe. His teeth chattered from the adrenaline rush and the coldness of the water, and he clenched his palms to stifle the shivering sensation which had coursed through his body. He slunk out of his soaked shirt, and dumped it on the floor of the raft. The arrival of the unwelcome visitor on his raft had caused the backpack to be dumped into the water, and he had nothing except the machete in his hand. With the piranha goldfishes lurking in the waters, going after the backpack would be an exercise in futility. As if to reinforce this conclusion, the bubbles in the water vanished slowly, and a minute later, whatever was left of the snake came up to the surface, a tattered black snakeskin with large red blots on it.

A fearless story – part 3

As he went deeper into the forest, he noticed a lot of strange things around – plants with giant leaves, bigger than plantain leaves; trees with smooth maroon barks, with white liquid oozing out of them in some places; huge spiders of an arm’s length and of varying shades of red and black; a weird species of monkeys with almost no fur and very short tails, but were as nimble as their ordinary cousins; and a plethora of hitherto unseen fauna, concealed in Mother Nature’s own private paradise. They caused him no trouble, but he was careful not to get any closer to them. He came across a huge sturdy tree, and climbed up to the second branch, intent on saving his energy and scouting for anything interesting in the vicinity.

He could see nothing amiss. The moon glistened with a tinge of yellow, as purple clouds coasted in front of it. He felt dryness in his throat, and the urge to take a swig from the cognac flask in his backpack was too strong to resist. He fished it out from the bag, and turned the lid open. The lid, however, was slightly dented from the impact of his encounter with the beast, and refused to budge despite his best efforts. He swore softly to himself; the thirst was now stinging him, and this darned thing only added fuel to his restless mind. He gritted his teeth as he wrapped the front of his shirt around the lid, and turned it with maximum effort. The lid came off finally, but not before it made a loud ‘pop’ sound, which in the silent night reverberated like a mini-explosion. He was startled by the noise for an instant, but the next moment he forgot about it, greedily taking some sips of the alcohol.

Suddenly, the branch under him shook, and sticks and leaves began to fall on him. He nearly fell off his perch, but managed to wrap his hands and legs around the branch in time. He realized that the entire tree was shaking; he sat up and threw a glance up the tree. His eyes widened in surprise and shock as he saw a huge nest atop the highest branch on the tree, which was about as big as the bedroom in his mansion; and now one of its inhabitants was flying out of it, looking for the intruder on its tree!

He hurriedly grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders, placing the machete on his right side and the SIG Sauer straddled to his belt, and gingerly walked across the branch towards the bark, his eyes still fixed on the huge flying thing bound for him. As the thing drew closer to his branch, and he was still a few feet away from the tree’s body, he identified it as a sparrow. But it wasn’t the small cute bird you would find in your garden; rather, it was bigger than him, and the big beads on its heads were fixed on him.

The sparrow is docile by nature, like most birds. But a mother sparrow, like every mother on Earth, will defend its own children at all costs, even death.He understood that the sparrow was going to kill him because it considered him a threat to its fledglings safely ensconced in its nest. The bird opened up its beak, and nearly took off his hand as he leapt in time onto the tree’s body and slid down it, not caring about the cuts and scratches from the impact of moving down on the tree’s rough exterior. He reached the ground, and espied the sparrow making a turn for him again; spotting a clump of trees with narrow spaces between them, he made a dash for them, not looking back to see if the sparrow was gaining on him. As he ran, he failed to notice a rock, hidden in the darkness, and tripped over it. He braced himself for the collision, placing his hands ahead of his head, so that he fell on his palms and elbows with maximum impact. He turned around in alarm as he saw the huge bird closing in on him, and knew it was over; his eyes shone with the realization of imminent death.

A white blur appeared in front of him, and the apparition uttered a loud neigh, causing the sparrow to steer clear of it. It uttered a loud squawk and flew back to its abode. He blinked at the thing which had just saved his life, and he saw a very beautiful horse looking at him with benevolence, its tail swishing from side to side. The horn between his eyes informed him that he was actually looking at an unicorn; he was at a loss for words, and blinked his eyes again to convince himself that the creature of kids’ fantasies was actually in flesh and blood. He stood up from his place, and dusted off the dirt from his shirts and khaki pants. Gently, he walked towards the unicorn and placed a hand on its snout; the softness of its skin sent a shiver of pleasure down him.

He was unsure if the unicorn would understand him, but he spoke to it “Thanks for saving my life. But why did you do it?”

The unicorn nodded its head in unison, possibly to convey to him that it understood his words. It edged closer to him, beckoning to him to touch its snout again, which he did without hesitation. Instantly he felt another voice in his head.

Yes. I understood your words, kind human. It was I who was running away from that predator which you just killed. Because of me, you almost lost your life; I followed you to make sure you were safe, and when that bird came for you for no fault of yours, I intervened and conveyed to it that you meant no harm. You are safe as long as you are with me, human.

He was astonished to hear, or rather think, the animal speak. What more mysteries does this forest hold??he wondered.

The unicorn appeared to read his mind as well.  The forest hides many things you are not aware of, human. But what brings you here to this place?? Many men before you have come here, and I have not seen them return. Are you going the same path these men have travelled?

“Yes, o magnificent one. I seek the place where we don’t feel fear anymore after going there. Do you know of it?”

The unicorn lowered its eyelids, as it gazed intently at him. Some areas in the forest are forbidden to its inhabitants, and this place is one of these. I can see you are a man of a good heart, and I would advise you not to go there, and return to where you came from. Because once you go there, there’s no going back at all.

“So that means you know where it is?” he said excitedly. “I have travelled to strange places far and wide and have seen things. But I really feel I have accomplished what I want, only if I see this very place. I thank you for your concern, but I have only one road to travel, and that is this way.” He pointed towards the middle of the forest.

You have made your choice, human. I will guide you towards the place, but till the lake only. After that, you are on your own. Come, let us go.

The odd pair disappeared into the thickets; two seconds later, their shadows, cast by the brilliant moonlight, followed them into the depths of the forest.

A fearless story – part 2

There was a deathly silence in the midst; it seemed a little too odd for comfort, and he stood his ground, his face writ with tension. He switched off the torch, and sat on one knee, placing it besides him. He held his breath, the machete held tightly, waiting for something to happen. He remained in that posture for some time, ignoring the numbness which was slowly creeping up his legs.

He heard the sound, but was a fraction late. A huge creature burst out from the bushes behind him, sending him sprawling to his side to avoid being trampled. He barely had time to recover from his position and failed to get sight of the creature. But he didn’t have to worry about it, for another creature sprang out from the thicket, apparently in pursuit of the first one. However, the thing came to a grinding halt, as it detected his presence. It turned to him, and he saw a living nightmare.

It was nothing he had ever seen before. The thing stood about 5 feet high; on its legs it could easily reach 9 feet in height. It possessed the face of a hyena, including the gruesome jaws; but its body was akin to that of a wild cat’s  – a combination of tough sinewy muscles and nimbleness to outrun and out-jump its prey. Whatever it was, one must make sure he/she didn’t have to face it.

The thing assessed him, taking a gigantic stride with each step towards him. He backed off, drawing on his martial arts skills and his toughness to try and get him out of this tight spot. The PG226 found itself in his left hand, as he waited for the thing to prepare its assault.  The hyena-cat beast let out an ear-splitting snarl and leapt towards him, its powerful jaws waiting to taste human chow. He rolled to the left out of its path, but not before slashing the machete against the underside of its belly when the animal was still in motion. The momentum of its leap caused the sharp weapon to make a deep cut in the belly, and he felt the warm red liquid pouring down the machete onto his hand. The creature let out a hideous shriek, the blood pouring onto the ground from the open gash.

Things were not looking right for him, and the thing was going to finish him off in a frenzy of rage. He made a dash for the two giant trees a few meters ahead, and felt the ground shake as the creature dashed after him. He stopped, whipped around in an instant, and fired his pistol at the creature’s legs. The bullets hit the thing’s legs and chest, and halted its furious chase, but only for an instant. It struggled up on all fours, and its bloodshot eyes continued to fixate on him, slobbery saliva drooling from its agape mouth. It let out another roar, and ran at him again.

He was running out of options, and continued for the trees. However, a huge shadow blotted out the moonlight, and the beast appeared in front of him the next moment. Startled, he fell back on his behind. The creature took a great lunge at his legs with its jaw, but he did a somersault on the ground, lifting his legs over him and getting up on the surface in an instant. He thrust the machete at its face, and the steel met flesh, making a mark on the creature’s snout. The creature snapped at the machete, getting a firm grip on the weapon, and fiercely dragged it away from his hands. He held on to the weapon too tightly, and the momentum caused him to fly back a few feet towards the middle of the clearing, falling hard on his back.

Dazed, he sat up and cleared his head; the machete rested somewhere in the bushes; the gun was near the beast; he was defenseless now.  The beast stared at him hungrily, a triumphant look on its eyes; he scrambled backwards on his legs, his hands searching for something to fight it off. He heard another roar, and at the same time his right palm felt something cold. The next instant, the creature was on him, its jaws ready to take off his head.  But he was faster – he shoved the huge torch into its mouth, trapping its jaws wide open.

The creature left him alone for an instant, maddeningly trying all it could to wrench the torch embedded between its jaws. He didn’t hesitate for an instant, and ran to the spot where his pistol laid. He took aim and fired shots into the creature’s hind knees, causing it to collapse hard on the forest ground. He walked to where it laid, and aimed the gun at the spot between its eyes. “Eat this!” he murmured, as the gun shot echoed through the woods.

The ordeal over, he heaved a sigh of relief and inspected himself. He grimaced at the amount of blood on his hand, which thankfully wasn’t his. Opening up his backpack, he fished out a few things. He changed from his perspiration soaked and torn shirt into a clean crisp white one, and dressed up the bruises on his thighs and left elbow. He searched the area for his machete, found it nestled in a clump of thorny bushes, and cautiously extricated it from its place. When he was ready to carry on, he went to where the dead beast laid, and gave a curious glance at the strange specimen. He tried to take out the torch from the thing’s mouth, and was able to do so only after prying open the thing’s jawbones with a sickening crack. A glance at his watch told him it was 18 minutes to midnight. He had to find the place Henry was last found at, before dawn broke.

A fearless story – part 1

The forest beheld his view as he stood in front of the gnarled trees which marked the solitary entrance to the pit of the eerie jungle. The moon shone bright silver even at 6.30 in the evening, illuminating the violet coated sky with streaks of white, as bats noisily flapped over the gigantic trees which loomed over the entire canopy against the silent sky.  A faint North-Easterly wind drifted through the air, and the dry brown bushes rustled noisily in harmony with the draught, accompanied by the strange howling sounds which you would hear in a typical eerie forest setting at night.

Legend has it that the forest, Furchtloser Wald(Fearless Forest),  hid many secrets and creatures which one would normally associate with the fantasy stuff written for kids, a la Harry Potter. Many brave men have dared to enter it, but no one had come out of it alive yet. However, a Brit adventurer, Henry Summers, who had ventured into the forest 7 years ago, had sent a radio call “The foray into the forest is fraught with danger, but once you muster all obstacles, you come to a point where you become scared of nothing, knowing you have seen it all…….”. A second later, the sound of the radio hitting the ground was heard, and that was the last anyone heard from him.

Now, it was his turn to uncover the mystery behind Henry’s words. He looked behind his back at the crowd of onlookers, comprising of the locals and media persons, who had come to check on one of those crazy fellas hungry for some publicity. He gave a confident smile for the benefit of the cameras, while turning a deaf ear to the questions darted at him by the reporters. He had visited several parts of the world, and his achievements were widely known. However, this forest would truly be his crowning glory, and he was certain of it.

He silently stepped forward onto the muddy path, oblivious to the murmurs of the crowd and the maddening flashes of the camera behind him. With practiced breathing, he kept his mind fresh and alert; his left hand gripped a huge beam torch, directing a bright yellow beam ahead of him on the path. His other hand held a machete, to slice through the dense undergrowth and also serve as a handy weapon against unexpected adversaries. His ears straining for any odd sounds, his eyes directly following the field of vision ahead of him, his rubber boots cushioning the sound of his footfalls, he steadily made his way through the trees, hacking at a few stray branches obstructing his path.

He trudged through the mass of vegetation for some miles, without any incident. Spotting a fallen branch nearby, he walked up to it and sat on it, slinging his backpack by his side. His watch told him he had been walking for an hour and 13 minutes, and yet he felt he had only scratched the radius of the forest. He had no clue as to what lay in store for him, and the very thought of this sent a rush of adrenaline through his brain. By intuition, he fished out his Sig Sauer PG226 pistol, and slid in into his belt. Gulping a few sips of water, he got up and began his trip into the heart of the devil.

He soon lost track of time, and there was nothing dangerous except for some rodents hiding among the bushes, and strange birds squawking in shrill voices.  Soon he came to a secluded spot, where the ground was bare and bereft of grass or bushes. He looked up and perceived the silhouette of the trees swaying back and forth, the moonlight flashing through their leaves on the ground like a weak disco light.  A huge grey owl stared at him from atop a branch, its huge bulbous eyes scrutinizing the intruder in its lair. After a few seconds,  It ignored him and continued feasting on the small creature entrapped in its talons.

Max payne 3?

When I was introduced to the world of PC gaming, the first game which truly set the tone for a period of gaming addiction was the all time favorite, Max Payne. The game noir of an American cop after the gang who killed his family, coupled with amazing gaming features like bullet time and an excellent story line, had everything that could make you stare at the screen for hours together. I managed to finish the game in a month during school days, which is a mean achievement in itself. Then 2 years later came Max Payne 2 – The fall of Max Payne. But I confess I have never played it :$, because GTA was the new crush at that time, with excellent gameplay and outrageous stunts giving me adrenaline rushes every half an hour.

For those who don’t know what I am talking about, Max Payne is a PC game, which has earned a cult status among hardcore gamers. The PC covers for the 2 editions of the game are shown below:

And now there’s news of the third edition coming up. I am really looking forward to it. In fact, I was one of the exclusive users in the official max payne site to get a sneak preview of the game trailer and game cover for PC/PS3/X-Box, and I was blown away by the picture. I have decided to put up the cover picture, for the benefit of my fellow bloggers.

In the latest edition, Mona Sax, who supposedly died in the second edition, will be back as Moaning Saxophone, who always screams in despair whenever Max Pain starts firing his deadliest weapons, the PJ-47 and the PJ-84876. The plot line deals with how Max Pain attacks unsuspecting friends and colleagues with PJs, and must escape unscathed from the rampaging mob, who leave behind a trail of blood on the road due to ruptured ear drums. :p The third game is longer than both editions, owing to the sheer number of victims available in Infocity, the background of every exciting action in the game. I sincerely wish for the grand success of this game, and Rockstar games have announced plans to launch a new game – Hitman code name N03, if Max Pain is a roaring success!

Ok.. That must have been a big shock to you. I will try to reduce your blood pressure and heart beat for now, by asking a simple question.

The Indian cricket team returned to their hotel after a fruitful practice session. To their consternation, the single door leading to the suite, where the whole team was put up, was locked; the players didn’t know who had the keys, and some of the stronger players tried barging against the door, but met with limited success. Sachin, who was the last to arrive, after a brief 5-minute BOOST advertisement with Darsheel Safari(of TZP fame), noticed the commotion in the hall. When he realised what was going on, he said in a calm,confident voice – “Mates. Don’t worry. I know how to open the door.” He walks up to the heavy suite door and stands in front of it, while his team mates watch with bated breath. After 10 seconds, to everyone’s utter disbelief, the door opens on its own!!!!

“How did you do it, Sachin bhai?” asks Sehwag.

What did Sachin say?

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“Simple, Viru! I am the key player of the team,right?”

OK. I am out of here before the stones hit me….. *Runs as fast as his long legs can carry him*

Crossposted from internal blog

The curious case of Benjamin Button – a review (spoiler alert)

The first time I had heard of this movie, it had already been hailed as one of the frontrunners for the best motion picture at the 81^st Academy awards. My curiosity piqued, I had a glance at the movie page in IMDB, and a look at the cast was enough to make me eager to watch this flick. I have been a fan of David Fincher (of Fight Club and Se7en fame), and was confident that his latest masterpiece would not disappoint his hardcore fans; not only did he live up to our expectations, but blew us away with a subtle mixture of fantasy and emotions in a 166 minutes long movie.

The movie outlines the life of Benjamin Button, who was born under bizarre circumstances. The revelation of the baby Benjamin’s strange disorder at the start does the trick of keeping the viewers on the edge of their seats, fostering their curiosity to know what would happen in the next scene of the movie. Born with the characteristics of an old man, and dumped by his father at an old age home after his mother had died in childbirth, the first half of the story portrays the wonderful relationship between the charismatic Queenie, the caretaker of the home, and young Benjamin (who appears no different from the old men and women of the house!). Also, we are introduced to Daisy, the granddaughter of one of the inmates of the house, whose presence always makes Benjamin feel younger (pun intended). The rest of the movie portrays Benjamin’s life as he becomes younger on the outside and wiser inside, and how his relationship with Daisy blossoms despite the effects of his reverse growth, and later the difficult decisions Benjamin must make to make himself less of a burden to the people he loves. This is certainly of those few movies which can make you feel a lump in your throat, and shed tears during some poignant moments. The running time of the movie might appear intimidating, but in fact I wished the movie could run longer; such is the effect the movie has on its viewers!

Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button

Each and every frame of the film has the Fincher trademark stamped on it – be it the use of dull colors to exemplify the gloomy mood of an old age home, where death is a ‘regular visitor’, or the bright colors used when Benjamin works on a boat at sea, to show the refreshing change of life which our protagonist enjoys; or the choice of background score whenever something happens inside the old age home. The screenplay by Eric Roth is astounding and original, and the dialogues are apt for most of the scenes. Brad Pitt essays the role of Benjamin Button to perfection and has proved to be a very versatile actor, ranking alongside the likes of Edward Norton and Johnny Depp. However, the highlights of the movie were the acting of the lead women in the story. Taraji Henson as Benjamin’s foster mother, Queenie, has managed to enact the role with élan, and one can’t ignore her warmth and affection for the baby Benjamin, who would in normal circumstances be branded a monster. It seemed fitting that Benjamin considered Queenie his mother, even after knowing the identity of his real mother. Cate Blanchett gives a wonderful performance as Daisy, oozing the right emotions at the right time, and plays the ideal foil to Brad Pitt. A special mention must be made on behalf of the makeup and costume department; I marveled at the fact that they could make Brad Pitt look any age, be it a teenager or a wizened old man, and yet the audience would be unable to discern if the character was actually him or some other actor.

To conclude, “The curious case of Benjamin Button” is a classical masterpiece and should not be missed out at any cost. It is a clear cut example of how reality and fantasy can be seamlessly blended into a complete, compelling and wonderfully narrated story. I would give it a 9/10!

Facts about the number 23

1. 23 is one of the most commonly cited prime numbers – a number that can only be divided by itself and one. Twenty three is the lowest prime that consists of consecutive digits. Primes have been described as the “atoms ” of mathematics – the building blocks of the world of numbers. An American businessman has put up a US$1m (£500,000) prize for the first mathematician to find a pattern in primes – a problem known as the Riemann hypothesis.

2. Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species was published in 1859 – 1+8+5+9 = 23. Two divided by three makes 0.666 recurring (allegedly – actually it makes 0.6666666667). The Hiroshima bomb was dropped at 8.15am – 8+15= 23.

3. 23rdians are a group of people who subscribe to the mystical power of 23 and see it in multiple combinations throughout daily life.

4. The Ancient Chinese believed numbers conveyed sexuality – evens for feminine and odds for masculine. They considered prime numbers to be the most masculine, conferring special status on 23 which is made up of two consecutive prime numbers and the only even prime number – two.

5. The terrorist attacks on America on 11 September 2001 have been held up as one of the most portentous examples of the disturbing power of 23. The figures in the date (9+11+2+0+0+1) add up to 23. The independent US commission which investigated the attacks found the date had been chosen randomly by the hijackers and had originally been planned for later in the year.

6. “W” is the 23rd letter of the Latin alphabet. It has two points down and three points up. White supremacists use 23 to represent ” W” as a mark of racial superiority.

7. The Birthday Paradox states that a group of 23 randomly-selected people is the smallest number where there will be a probability higher than 50 per cent that two people will share the same birthday.

8. The Knights Templar, the order of soldier monks who eventually fell foul of the Vatican and have been the subject of conspiracy theories about the Holy Grail, had 23 Grand Masters.

9. The first morse code transmission – “What hath God wrought?” – was from the Bible passage Numbers 23:23. In telegraphers code 23 means ” break the line”.

10. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford Upon Avon on 23 April 1564. He died 52 years later on his birthday, 23 April 1616. Kurt Cobain, the god of grunge, was born in 1967 and died in 1994 – 1+9+6+7= 23, 1+9+9+4 = 23.

11. Each parent contributes 23 chromosomes to the start of human life. The nuclei of cells in human bodies have 46 chromosomes made out of 23 pairs. Egg and sperm cells in humans have 23 chromosomes which fuse and divide to create an embryo.

12. The Bible does not let 23 pass without conferring upon it some significance, at least to students of the Book. Although the Old Testament is unspecific, it is widely held that Adam and Eve had 23 daughters. The 23rd verse of the first chapter of Genesis brings the act of creation to a close while the 23rd chapter of the book of Genesis deals entirely with death, namely that of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. The most famous and most quoted of the Psalms is number 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.”

13. The author William Burroughs was obsessed with 23. While living in Tangiers, he met a Captain Clark who ran a ferry between Spain and Morocco. One day, Clark told Burroughs that he had been doing the route for 23 years without incident. Later that day, the ferry sank, killing the captain. While Burroughs was thinking about the incident, a radio bulletin announced the crash of a Flight 23 on the New York-Miami route. The pilot was another Captain Clark. The events prompted an obsession which saw Burroughs record every occurrence of the number 23 for the rest of his life.

14. The average human physical biorhythm is 23 days.

15. Humans have 23 vertebra running down their main bit.

16. Blood circulates the body on average every 23 seconds.

17. The number has been the subject of not one but two films: the 1998 German movie, 23, and The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey. Each has a main character obsessed with the number.

18. John Forbes Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who was the subject of the film, A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe, was obsessed with 23. It featured prominently in his battle with mental illness. His breakdown began when he claimed that a photograph of Pope John XXIII on the cover of Life magazine was in fact him, the proof being that 23 was his favourite number. Nash published 23 scientific articles.

19. The most detailed account of the assassination of Julius Caesar, written by Nicolaus of Damascus, claims numerous enemies stabbed the Roman emperor 23 times. The wounds ranged from superficial to mortal.

20. Duotriophobia – Fear of the number 23

21. This is post number 184, which is 23 * 8.

22. 23/08 is the 23^rd day of August

23. I turn 23 years old on 23/08!

-crossposted from my Internal Blog

A bad Hyde in Hyderabad – local attractions and the ‘blogger’s meet’ :)

Soon Monday dawned, and many of you would be suffering the Monday blues. As for me, I woke up late, to find that the girls had already left for school, and Naresh Mama was ready to go to office. After a fun filled but tiring day in Ramoji, I was not ready to take one of those city tours offered by travel agencies, so me and dad decided to pay a visit to the Salarjung museum and Charminar, travelling by local conveyance.

A view of the city tour itinerary gave a dissatisfactory picture, so I suggested that me and my dad visit the aforementioned places, utilizing the local buses and the metro system. Travelling by local transport gives one a true picture of how the city runs, and it proved to be so for the rest of the day. We took a share auto to Hi tec city station, from where we caught the train to Hyderabad station. The metro system was neat and clean, and the trains looked better than the Chennai local train system, and every compartment had posters of the train route affixed above the windows, so finding out what the next stop was made things very easy for newcomers like us. Also, the train journey reminded me of my train travels to Paranur from Mambalam, to visit the MCity DC.

After we arrived at Hyderabad junction, we went on foot to the nearby bus stop, and caught yet another share auto to the museum. The museum was pretty neat and big, and the vast array of exhibits were wonderful – textiles, weapons, pottery, ivory statues, jade statues, musical clock.. it had everything one could ask for. One can’t help but admire how these items had been preserved with care, and I was totally impressed with the collection there. The ground floor contained all archaeological gems discovered or belonging to India, while the first floor hosted an array of edifices from the rest of the world. The first floor was divided into two halves, one containing all artifacts from the East and the other being home to Western art. The attraction of the museum, however, was the musical clock and the Double Statue, which was one of the most amazing wooden sculptures I had ever seen. (I am not going to elaborate on it – you have to see it for yourself). The sad part was that photographs were not allowed, but that was perfectly understandable.

We left the museum with sore legs, and headed for Charminar by auto. We reached the landmark in 10 minutes, and I embarked to the top of the building, negotiating the steep winding steps, which made my already sore legs ache further. I took several snaps of the city from the top, including the Jama Masjid and another building opposite it, as well as the long stretch of road leading to the old structure, which was dotted with several vehicles and pedestrians. There were several pigeons nestled in the interior of Charminar, and I attempted to take snaps of them and get Sandy-like photos, but my camera was no good with the slightly dark interiors. However, I did get some snaps of a congregation of pigeons on the platform after getting down with difficulty onto the main road.

We had lunch at a lone vegetarian hotel nearby, and headed off to Karachi bakery for the famed fruit biscuits. I bought one of the boxes to office on Wednesday, and the box was finished by evening. We arrived at 5 pm in the evening, totally exhausted. We had a function at another friend’s house, so reluctantly I went there, and returned at 9 pm.

Tuesday was the last day for me, and I had to catch the 7.05 pm train to Bangalore. I had only one agenda for the day – meet the Hyderabad bloggers. With Sanju’s(veerabhadra_k) directions, I took a bus to Miyapur and a share auto from there to Gachibowli; my dad accompanied me too, since I knew neither telugu nor hindi :$ :$ Sanju had assured me it would take half an hour at most to reach campus, but it took way longer than that. :@ I arrived at the campus, and arranged to meet Sanju in the old FC. The Hyderabad campus looked wonderful and the beautiful expanse of hills in the distance added an ethereal charm to the DC.

I waited for Sanju, and finally saw the bearded knight in black armour prancing up the steps towards me. We had known each other for a long time through blogs and communicator, and our personal interaction hit off right away. Sanju called the ‘sisters’ Arch, Sow and Sushie to inform about my arrival, and I felt they did not believe him at first. Anyway, we engaged in chit chat, while waiting for them.

Finally, a tall damsel walked to where we were seated, and I recognized the legend of the fall and the MVP of Infyblogs miss Sow(sowmya_chigarapalle) She looked just like the out-of-the-blue user picture she had once kept before reverting to the Susie Derkins one. We exchanged deferential greetings, and made chit chat as usual, with Sanju cracking silly jokes.

From behind me, Arch(archana_pochiraju) walked to our place, her face betraying signs of overwork. She smiled faintly at me, as we exchanged greetings again (uh!). The first thing I asked her was “Are you very busy today?” (she always keeps her communicator status as busy, but you never know!), and Sanju interjected, saying it was all a farce. Arch and Sanju had a mild verbal battle, with the former telling the latter to shut up repeatedly.Later, i found out why she looked so dreamy that day. Seems she and hari(narahari_allamraju) are getting married!

Then the three of them threw a glance besides me, and I knew the basilisk had arrived! Sushie(sushma_tumukunta) came to our table finally, and I was startled to see her looking so quiet and demure, unlike the fiery specs toting girl in her user pic. Soon we all were talking about different stuff, and Sow asked about my work and having RB as a manager. Sushie appeared to be totally quiet, and the reasons were not known until she told me the next day. However, I was excited to finally meet the people whom I had always kept in touch for approximately 8-9 months. I also used this opportunity to make fun of Sanju, even mimicking his baby ‘rapper’ photo .Though the meet lasted only twenty minutes, as I had to rush back soon, these folks made it a memorable day for me. I left the campus after taking some snaps of us together. However, I missed meeting Jaya, who later said she had not received my message about my arrival at all.

My train was due at 7.05, so my dad suggested to take the 5.40 Limited Stop train to my station, Kacheguda, as mentioned in the time table. However, to our consternation, we realized the train stopped at Secunderabad, and it was NOT a limited stop train. So we arrived at Secunderabad at 6.30, and discovered the local train would come only later. In panic mode, we dashed to the auto stand, and after a minute of squabbling with the auto driver, who was charging us 100 bucks to take us to Kacheguda, we were on our way, as I kept looking at my watch, watching the minutes pass by. Thankfully, our driver was very resourceful, and he navigated through several shortcuts, dropping us at the station at 6.55! I walked hurriedly to my platform, and reached my compartment finally, wiping the sweat from my face as the station clock displayed ‘7:01’ in bright red letters. The Bangalore-Chennai trip on Friday was eclipsed by this near miss, totally! I sent a message to Sow, with the lines

“I have had enough excitement for four days!”

Thus ends my Hyderabad sojourn. I have had several fond memories from the short stay in the pearl city, and was reluctant to leave it actually! I will miss playing with Aditi and Shruti, and the local train.

P.S. Check my internal blog for photos on the trip. I am not gonna post in such a public domain.

A bad Hyde in Hyderabad – part 2

The plan for Sunday included only one destination – the Ramoji film city, which my mom said was a must visit tourist spot in Hyderabad. It was quite a distance from Secunderabad, so Uma aunty packed up a boxful of bread butter jam for us to eat enroute to our destination. We began our journey in the same chevrolet car, and the traffic was not a problem at 8.30 in the morning. The two girls began singing songs and playing the ‘word building’ game in the back of the car, and I paid attention to them; being with kids gives you the pleasure of revelling in their innocence and carefree abandon. The ride stretched over 1 hour and 10 minutes roughly, and we had our bread butter jam, along with some popcorn and fryums which the two girls demanded to be taken.

At around 9.45 am, we arrived at the film city. The entrance fee was 300 bucks for adults and 250 bucks for children below 13 years of age. The actual location was quite a distance from the entrance, and we alighted a bus to the film city. The trip upwards gave us a view of the sprawling acres of land enclosed within the bounds of the film city, with low hills dotting the background, against a clear blue backdrop.

Soon, we arrived at the centre stage of the film city, where a huge statue of a man riding a chariot drawn by five horses greeted us. The bus dropped us in front of a row of rides commonly found in amusement parks, though smaller in scale – the disco(where you keep rotating haphazardly in alternate directions), the ranger(where you sit in a carriage with goes up and down in the air, and leaves you suspended upside down for a minute at the highest point!), the commonly seen bumper cars and other rides. The two toddlers dragged me with them to the disco ride and the bumper cars, and their enthusiasm rubbed off on me.

There was a throng of visitors waiting in queues at a stop, where a red bus halted to pick up the tourists for a guided tour of the film city, and we joined them.The red bus took us around the various sets in the city, with the guide explaining the buildings which had been erected – Mughal gardens, an airport, a railway station, a row of villas, a hospital, the huge bungalow where Chandramukhi(the tamil version of Bhool Bhoolaiya) was shot, and many other buildings.To the credit of the designers, every false building looked lifelike, and the mannequins placed in some of the houses were natural too. Our guide also had a sense of humour, and made the passengers chuckle with one liners. When showing a village set, he saw some mannequins and also three girls sitting on one of the village porches. He commented on his mic – “You can see the beautiful village set here. It also has three beautiful girls” This evoked a hearty laugh from all the passengers.

The bus dropped us in front of a garden, and I took some snaps of the other folks. There was a beautiful statue of a lady mounted at the end of the garden; I took photos of the girls stationed on either side of the figurine, then asked the elder one Shruti to take a snap of me. As the other tourists waiting their turn watched, Shruti held the cam, while I waited straight to the statue, and hugged it! Shruti and the other people began laughing, and my mother was red in the face. As I came to her after checking my snap, my mother chided me for doing such a thing, and I cheekily replied I was like that, and she could do nothing about it.

We spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the remaining parts of the film city, which included some cave, the Ramoji film magic area which constitued life size statues of famous movie characters like Charlie Chaplin, Batman, Superman, the mask, the terminator and Lara croft I posed with each and every one of these, and my mother was not so amused by this. Sigh. And did I mention the Wild West Stunt show they staged at 1 pm? The plot was pretty simple, but the stunts were realistic and the gunshots and bombs effects were very natural. It was 15 minutes of faltoo entertainment, and I could see the commendable efforts these stunt artists had put in even for such a short span of time.

We were too hungry after the show was over, and had buffet lunch at the vegetarian hotel, Dil Se. The food was really tasty and the variety suited my taste, This made me more impressed with the Ramoji Film City, and also seemed to justify the high entrance fee charged to us. We adults were tired after walking for too long, but the kids were adamant we visit a attraction called Filmi something. We went there on their persuasion. Inside the building, a small train took us around, and we came across puppets and scenes from different parts of the worlds, with the life like puppets seemingly waving to the passerbys in the train. The attraction was really attractive despite the apparent childishness of the design and the stage pieces used.

Our sojourn at the film city finally ended, and we trundled back to our car like battle weary troops. Naresh mama asked us if we would like to visit the Hussain Sagar lake and go by speed boat, but our legs would not carry us further. We decided to take a drive through to the lake and have a glimpse of it. After another hour of driving, we arrived on Necklace road, and the sheer expanse of the lake awed us; we could see speed boats gliding across the sparkling surface of the water body, and we continued to marvel at the lake which separates the twin cities, till it was out of sight.

We arrived at home, and I was totally exhausted from the adventures of the day. I however, made use of Naresh mama’s PC and uploaded the photos and videos onto it, and brought the girls along to see the snaps. For half an hour, they scrolled through the snaps, laughing at the snap of me hugging the figurine, and the photos of my face and Naresh mama’s face filling up the hole in the Mona Lisa painting at the film city. It was a very good day, and the memories of the history class at Golconda fort was erased.

To be continued.