Chapter 1
Scroll on the Gate

As the end of a sweaty summer approached, the capital got ready to embrace the welcome showers of monsoon. At five in the evening, grey clouds hung over the city’s landscape, announcing the arrival of the much anticipated season.
In a cool and airy dorm of the St. Margaret’s Boarding School, Rubin was playing chess against his best friend, little aware of his destiny. Little aware of what was about to befall him in a few days. His dark blue eyes sparkled with the glow of victory as he gazed down at the queen.
‘Checkmate!’ Rubin exclaimed triumphantly. Letting out a sigh, he passed his hands over his dark brown hair. ‘You almost got me there.’
‘Yeah, well. What chance did I have anyway? I was lucky to have gotten this far.’ said Samir. He had unkempt black hair, stark black eyes and preferred being called as Samir, not Sam. Taking a big yawn, he continued. ‘Do you remember anyone beating you here?’
‘Rohit did once.’ said Rubin and looked towards Rohit, a bespectacled boy, with coal black hair, standing by his side.
‘C’mon, you gave me a nice head-start by not playing your Queen and two Bishops.’
‘Was it like that?’ asked Rubin, arching his eyebrows.
‘Yes, and it was my birthday.’
‘And you still managed to defeat him?’ asked Samir, getting up from the bed.
‘Barely.’ said Rohit. The crowd of students was now dispersing, with every student suddenly remembering that they had got a nice amount of homework that day. A murmur started to build up, with occasional sounds of ‘How to’ and ‘what is’ filling the air.
‘C’mon Samir, there is a decent pile of homework for us to complete. Let’s get going straight away.’ said Rubin.
‘You go on, I need to catch up with some sleep.’ said Samir, yawning a fourth time since their game got finished.
‘Nice, screw it,’ said Rubin with a smirk. ‘Don’t expect Rohit to help you every time.’
‘But he will, anyway.’ said Samir coolly. Thus Samir went to his bed and dozed off as soon as his head hit the pillow. A few minutes later the dorm went quiet, only occasionally disturbed by Samir’s snoring.

*

Rubin opened his eyes and saw nothing. He felt himself soaring through pitch black space. He could not feel any wings near his arms. He looked over his shoulders to make sure he didn’t have any, but the only sight meeting his eyes was the infinite blackness draping everything around him. Was it sky, he wondered. The darkness brought a sense of dread about him, making him feel like he would be lost here forever. He rolled his eyeballs up and down, slid them sideways, trying to get accustomed to it. He hoped that the darkness would go eventually, revealing his dormitory walls and the beds. But he knew that he wasn’t in his dormitory anymore. It seemed to him like he was flying or wandering in the space since eternity, approaching nothing. Then, surprisingly about a moment later, he began to descend of his own accord. Nobody seemed to force him downwards, neither was he making an effort for the same, but still he was gliding down. As he approached nothing, he saw a blue streak of light in front of him. Relieved to see something different, he tried to make something out of it. It was moving in random coordinates, and it looked like it was outlining something. The sudden appearance of the blue light made Rubin uneasy, but he couldn’t do anything about it. It was moving ever so slowly.
But then suddenly, out of nowhere, came a dense fog which covered whatever the blue streak was trying to define. The fog became larger, and began expanding in all directions. Soon it engulfed him.
When it finally cleared, Rubin found himself standing in front of a gate. Curious, he looked around to see where he had landed. He was standing on hard ground. He bent down to feel it. The ground was quiet smooth, and gave Rubin the impression that it was marble. To his left he saw a silver statue of a man, holding a long sword in his hand. On his right there was the statue of a lady, who was holding a diamond in her right hand. Rubin got up, and started walking towards the gate. It was imposing, made of pure gold, and shone brightly against the dark chasms that extended beyond it.
Rubin saw a scroll hanging on one of the horizontal bars of the gate. The fabric of the scroll looked brand new. There was something written on it. Rubin moved closer and took the scroll in his hands. Throughout the length of the 14 inch long scroll, ran a poem. The writing was neat and cursive. The poem was like this;

‘As he who was chosen lies in shackles,
Another fills his shoes.
Hailing from the World of three…’



Before he could read any further, a deafening bang shook him from head to toe. The next second the gate was gone, and he was standing on what looked like a battleground. He saw mutilated bodies lying on the grass, which had turned mud coloured thanks to all the dried blood. The next second a gigantic black bird flew down from the sky and perched a few feet away from him. Somebody was sitting on it. The being was hooded, and was also wearing shining armour. The person took out a gem from inside of his cloak and held it in his hand. Just then, a voice sounded inside Rubin’s head, the gem emitted a dazzling glow of light and everything became void.

Rubin woke up from the dream, terrified by what he had just seen. He had never had the dream. The events which had occurred in the dream had never happened to him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around his dorm. It was dark, except a faint glint of moonlight seeping through a gap in the curtains on his bedside window. Rubbing his eyes, he got up from his bed and went to the bathroom.
Rubin was quite mature for his age of kids. He did have all the fun, and wasn’t odd in any sort of way. But few kids had gone through what he had in the past. Rubin’s mother died after giving him birth. For six years, he lived with his father in Palam. His father was a rich business man, and used to run a firm called Choudhary & Co. But when Rubin was seven years old, his father died in a plane crash. Since then Rubin was living with his aunt, Rahul Choudhary’s younger sister. For two years, Rubin studied in a primary school. He had few friends there. Of the time he spent at home, all he would do was dutifully complete his schoolwork and otherwise read books. His friends from school used to visit him sometimes, but that happened only sometimes. When Rubin turned nine, his aunt decided to send him to a boarding school, as she thought it would be the best for him and he wouldn’t feel lonely and cut off from the rest. It was a welcome change. He made a huge load of friends in the school. Samir was his best friend. Although he had a fight with him the first day, but over three years, the bond between them became unbreakable.
Rubin washed his face and went to bed, hoping that the dream won’t bother him anymore. Before finally going to sleep, he gave a look at the ring he wore in his right hand. It was a diamond ring, but with a hollow crevice where the diamond had been before. His father had gifted the ring on his sixth birthday, with the diamond intact. He had woken up one morning after the death of his father to find that the diamond had disappeared mysteriously. He didn’t make an attempt to find out the diamond. Since then he wore the ring like that, as a reminder of his father.
The next day in the assembly, the School Headmistress Mrs. Sharma announced that an educational trip to an art museum was to be conducted in the weekend for all seventh year students. Mrs Sharma was a woman in her fifties. She wore her long black hair in a neat bun and always had a caring smile on her face.
‘Another museum,’ said Samir in disgust over breakfast. ‘Man, looks like all the word ‘leisure’ means for them is a trip to a boring museum.’
‘And they take us for leisure two times a year.’ said Rohit. ‘Remember last time when we went to that science museum, students started to faint, just to get out of that place. The places which are meant to be interesting are also humdrum in this country.’
‘But I kind of liked that place.’ said Rubin.
‘What, with all those fake dinosaurs showing that T-Rex is the fiercest, and moving planets just to show that Jupiter comes before Saturn, you actually liked that place.’ said Samir. ‘You find that stuff on a click of a button on Wikipedia.’
‘You are right but...’
‘C’mon, now don’t get started on we-get-to-know-the-real-thing-there lecture.’ pat said Samir. Rubin shut his mouth, hiding a grin. The kids munched on their cereal, while looking over their notebooks, to do a final crosscheck on their maths assignment.
‘Let’s see what this museum’s got.’ Rubin said coolly after some time.
‘We’ll see.’ said Samir.

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Prologue

As Jerun saw an inkling of dawn in the sky, he quickened his pace of walking. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the Mist covered the world; the mist which had turned a majestic city into a graveyard.

The city’s last shrieks were drowned in the cloud of the strange mist, intent upon destroying everything that came in its path. It all had happened so suddenly that no one had the time to flee; not a single being was left alive. Jerun thought about the people who had lost their lives and it made his heart reek in pain. He had been there. So beautiful was that place, alive with activity and enthusiasm. The grounds on which once stood high rise buildings were now strewn with debris. The trees and plants which once gave shelter and shade were now crumpled. Oblivion was the order, imposed by the macabre presence whose hunger wasn’t quenched, as it spread in all directions.

There was only one thing which could stop the impeding doom. Jerun was about to get it.

The imposing entry-gate of the Defence department greeted him silently, as if reminding him of the task in a mute whisper. For a moment he stopped walking and gazed at the steel structure. He had helped build it. Somehow it reminded him of his world, his people. He would avenge their deaths and fight till his last breath. The mission he was now going to undertake was going to be the last straw. It must succeed, he said to himself. If it failed, the whole universe would pay. Even the thought of it made his spine chill.

He uttered the password and the gates opened to show the vast campus. He saw the three towers standing symmetrically about a giant obelisk in the centre. The man crossed the threshold and started walking towards the obelisk. The meeting with the Head was to take place there. Not a meeting in the traditional sense, but a vital one.

As he walked towards the obelisk the greenish glow emanating from it became even more profound. The marble structure radiated an unsurpassable beauty, which when beheld made a person feel powerful. He too, felt the power of the Element; the other Element, the hidden source.

When he was a few yards away from the obelisk, he saw the Head emerge from behind it. He was a tall person. He wore a long crimson robe, his black hair falling past his shoulders, complementing its colour. For a moment he stopped, wondering if he was a stranger. But then, when Jerun saw that the man just stood, he continued walking.

‘Welcome, Jerun.’ The head said in an impassive tone.

‘My greetings to you. Are you well?’

‘I am fine. More so by the news the border security brought me just an hour ago?’ said the Head, but his expressions didn’t change.

‘What news?’

‘Aren’t you aware? They have succeeded in constructing a Generator.’

‘That’s really good news. How long before the initial layer of the force field is applied?’

‘It’s going to be started soon.’

It should be, thought Jerun. There wasn’t much time left. The Mist had gained speed in the last few days, sweeping over the vast Brairen desert in a matter of hours and making its way towards Ainar’s borders. If it reached before the force field started… Jerun stopped thinking about it. He spoke:

‘Well, now, if you may.’

‘Very well,’ saying this, the Head retrieved a key from his robe and handed it over to Jerun. It was a golden key, with a pointed end. It was meant for one and only one lock. Jerun passed his hand over a curved area of the obelisk and tapped it, muttering something. A marble piece slid open, revealing a hole in the middle of another marble, whose size was little bigger than a tip of a needle. Jerun inserted the key in it. The marble divided into four sections and opened. Jerun inserted his hand and took out a rectangular box. It was a plain wooden box.

‘Go forth, and good luck.’

‘One thing before I embark on my journey. Please mind the affairs of the Emerald Glow. They, as I have come to know are after this Element. Because of Kyhon’s departure, they have no more resources for new experiments. I don’t know how they found out of this. We can’t allow more interference.’

The Head looked at the obelisk and spoke.

‘You need not worry about them. I will handle everything.’

Jerun bowed and walked away.

3 IDIOTS

4 out of 5 stars

One can always expect class from Rajkumar Hirani. He did it in Lage Raho Munnabhai. He does it again. 3 idiots is the essentially the story of one man, who challenges the mediocrity of the educational system and lives life on his own terms. An adaptation of Chetan bhagat’s bestseller, 3 idiots lashes out at the stunted and increasingly bureaucratic structure of education in India. Not only it excels in efficiently depicting the copious amount of stress taken by the students, but it also digs deep into the psyche of college scholars. Despite of the seriousness of the message, the movie is a laugh riot and a true entertainer.

Aamir Khan, as always brings magic on the screen by his mere presence, brilliantly supported by Sharman joshi and R. Madhavan. But the man to watch out is Boman Irani, who plays the role of Viru sahastrabuddhe, the director of a prestigious engineering college. Depicting an idealistic, erudite, no-nonsense taking professor, Boman actually manages to make the audience hate the character’s guts. The eyebrows raised countenance invokes fear and loathing in the mind of the younger viewers.

Another fellow who mesmerizes by his performance is the American actor Omi Vaidya. He plays the typical nerd, who relies on rote learning and debars himself from all social activities. He makes the character multi-dimensional, who takes pride in his being a rattu tota , doesn’t care much about company, studies rock hard for exams while at the same time, creating hindrance in other students’ preparations.

The movie’s only flaw is becoming overly melodramatic in the end. There was absolutely no need of the child birth sequence; there are other ways to woo the Director of the institute and saving your friends from disaster than helping her daughter deliver her baby.

A commendable adaptation, the movie outshines the novel by the sheer force of the message it conveys; a true ending to the year 2009.

Snow in my college...

Hi,

Today winter gave its harsh knocks. From the balcony of my hostel room, I saw the year's first snowfall. I wasn't in any mood to attend the classes so I went back to my snug bed, inside the warm razai. My audacious decision didn't cause any harm as it was declared a holiday :) I'm in such a nice mood right now.

Avatar: My review of the movie.

Four out of five

A few years ago we were treated to an epic extravaganza that had redefined cinema with the use of CGI. The expressions of a man were seen on the screen on the face of a very different creature. The movie was Lord of the Rings: “The Two Towers” and the creature Gollum’s expressions were that of the talented Andy Serkis. James Cameron was impressed by the advancement of CGI and decided to make Avatar.

James Cameron’s Avatar is a treat to the senses. The movie deftly manages to hold the viewer to the screen by its representation of a fantastical realm. Sam Worthington doesn’t disappoint in his portrayal of the disabled, frustrated war soldier who is forced to mix into the race of Na’vi. Flirting with the two worlds, Sam efficiently manages to portray a man’s dilemma of betraying his own race in favour of what is right. Sigourney Weaver of “Aliens” fame shows her acting prowess as the determined scientist Grace, who also has the trust of the other race. The actress Zoe Saldana is remarkable as the Na’vi princess Nyetiri. The movie flows like a breeze, with the real and the virtual intermingled so well that one wonders that the director actually visited another planet.

The action scenes are shot marvellously well and are the typical Cameron that we have seen in Terminator. Movie goers and critics were initially sceptical about the movie because of its giant budget ($237 million). But James Cameron has once again proved himself as he did in Titanic. He made a movie that has reset all standards of filmmaking and has a soul in it that reaches out to the viewers and connects with them.

The movie has its flaws too that explain why I have given it four stars, not five. Firstly, the plot is clichéd. It has been tried by numerous fantasy writers and any avid fantasy reader would know it. The sequence of controlling the beast by connecting to its mind is, regretfully, very old book. Anne Mcaffrey did it in Dragonriders of Pern and more recently Christopher Paolini in his Inheritence series. It shows that Hollywood, too, has a dearth of ideas and is a slave to previously written material. Bits and pieces of other fantasy are thrown in too.

Secondly, the movie doesn’t start on a promising note. The starting monologue of Sam Worthington seems like a melodramatic droning. It’s not until he transfers into his Avatar that the movie gets into second gear.

But Avatar is excellent cinema, despite its flaws. Don’t watch it solely for the effects. Watch it because it has a life and a spirit of its own. Kudos, James.