There is no spoon

It was back in the good old days. When we were in college. My good friend Neil came to me and spoke to me 'about this movie which is causing many ripples, and not many are getting it, man'. This epochal event took place more than half my life ago and I do not remember the first viewing, shamefully. Maybe it is like how you do not remember when and how you met your best friends, even if you think hard. But I do know the profundity and influence this has had on me over the years. This day marks 15 years since the release of this movie. In an age bereft of substance I choose to pay tribute to this gem that changed everything.

The beginning

There was a time when I fed and lived only off chunks of trivia from the movie. A very generous portion of my computer's hard drive was devoted to 'the matrix philosophy' and pictures from the movie. Things had crossed the point of obsession, when everything I said/wrote/thought had tributes and references to it. It is another matter that my close friends did not harm me for this :) Morpheus' timeless words and prophecies manifested themselves at various situations and places, at work and in personal life. Im still learning new stuff about the movie.

There is no spoon

The most beautiful thing is the tributes and references to a million things in this movie. Right from names, room numbers and the time in the clock, nothing is 'random'. Everything has its own significance and existence, for a reason. And then there are the references to philosophies, religions and religious texts which shower us with a wealth of information branching out from each scene and dialogue. So, total trivia fest there.

The casting, could not have been more perfect, in my opinion. It is as if Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne ,Carrie - Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving have been their respective characters forever and everything is so convincing, there is no moment when you doubt otherwise. Neo, as the person who is 'awakening, realising the truth and beginning to believe' is top class, I cannot imagine anyone else for this role.

Believing.

 Morpheus as captain is devastatingly convincing, the true leader and visionary. His words and authority are the guiding light. We hinge around all words by the great man.

Do you know? 

 And trinity is by far one of the best female characters for me. Most kickass and badass! Her 'no nonsense', 'I'll kick your ass' look underlie the gravity of the plot and the seriousness of their objective.

Dodge this.

 And there is no character more finely enacted as Agent Smith's menacing, measured poise thrills us.The dialogue delivery, voice modulation and synchronous movement with the other agents are chillingly precise. These things elevate the already sky - high style factor by a few thousand notches. He is the epitome of 'cool'

Crafted perfection

The entire portion of the movie in the matrix has a green tint, in line with the theme and mood of the movie. The detailing is mind blowing, everything has been thought out and nothing is left to chance or overlooked.

The movie was also groundbreaking in its use of bullet time and in spite of the time and evolution, it is still the coolest thing to see.

Gravity-defying. 

I must have seen it so many times that I've lost count. And the movie looks just as spectacular and spine chilling as it did, during the first viewing. With each viewing there is something more to savour and some detail that you have missed. The voice in your head precedes the happenings on screen but still the anticipation is too intense.

Here's to great cinema and many more viewings!

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

An Island

Home is where the heart is, but there are some places which may make you feel like home. I may be writing from the viewpoint of someone away from his home country, but I expect similar situations and places exist even otherwise? These are the places of solace, of familiarity and comfort in a faraway land, and you are content that you are among your people. It was the first time that I saw so many people in such a small area, in the last 50 odd days. And it felt really awesome.

Not being much of a religious person is never an excuse to pass a moment like a festival, when you are elsewhere. Being straight jacketed due to the lack of a transport option, any way to head out is a luxury. And I am glad that I went to the Temple this Shivaratri.

There were people, young and old, the religious and the agnostics, .There was a mingling of language and cultures and there was camaraderie. There were anxious looks for 'someone you know', then you realise that the chances of that happening were one in a million. There were distinct exchanges of greetings with everyone.  Grandparents looking after grandkids while the kids prayed. The sights, sounds and smells were familiar but if you looked hard, something would be amiss.

There were kids running around, bumping into everyone. And hey, we do not have to be apologetic, as we are in the island. These are things, as you know it and you unlearn. For the first time in my life I saw a board which said 'DIY Darshan'. And hey, I did.

Although the Bhajans were sung in a slight accent, and although many of the folks have been away forever,  every detail was taken care of, to replicate the atmosphere of a temple back home. Kudos to the organisers and volunteers for this wonderful event.

Where's your island? 

How was Ooty conquered?

So I finally managed to convert an extended weekend into a successful attempt at Ooty, my previous two attempts being colossal fails: P The plan was modified slightly. I had a brainwave of cycling from Mysore, instead of hauling the cycles till Mudhumalai. This is how the trip panned out:

Day 1 (9 Aug 2013)
Route                                   : Mysore – Nanjangud – Gundulpete – Bandipur – Mudhumalai – Gudalur
Distance                               : 125 Km
Time on the road                  : 12 Hrs
 

Day 1 map

The previous evening, I loaded everything that I would be carrying, and did a dry run around home. Two bottles, one handlebar bag (carrying my dslr, tang, and brush), two seat post bags (carrying clothes/multi tool/spare tube/puncture kit/dry fruits), a pump and a raincoat attached to the frame were secured. Initial idea was not to have a backpack, but I ended up carrying a small one, just in case.

On Friday, I set out on ring road at 05:45 Hrs. Met Arun at the ring road – nanjangud road junction. and we were on our way. The weather was pleasant, but the traffic was quite heavy which meant we had to maintain a straight formation. Normal, as it was an extended weekend, and people wanted to head out in droves.

Tender Coconut break during cycling - one of the all time best things!

 It is advisable to clear this section early in the day, as traffic gets very heavy, and the road is quite narrow. The roads till Nanjangud are flat. We reached Nanjangud at 07:00 Hrs and had a solid breakfast. Setting out at 07:45 Hrs, we hit the road to Gundulpete. The landscape changes from here, we find more open spaces and less trees dotting the landscape. The roads are excellent, and traffic is thin. Almost never flat, the roads take you for a ride with its gentle up’s and down’s.

Open roads and vast skies, towards Gundulpete

 After breaks for tender coconuts and watermelons, we reached gundulpete at 10:45 Hrs. The sun was just beginning to show up. After loading up on some food, we were on our way again.

Arun's ride, the KHS 150

 One ultimate thing was, we paid a visit to all the petrol bunks till here, looking for a place which will fill up a tyre pressure of 55 Psi: P: P

Awesome watermelons on the way. Perfect!!

The route began to get more and more scenic, with lush sunflower fields playing havoc with minds. 

Havoc

Basking in the Sun :)

Dreamcatching among children of the sun :D:D

The countryside was very charming, a rustic picture of all things serene and calm. A perfect setting for cycling. Many kids in villages greeted the two cyclists. Thumbs-up signs, cheers and general support from motorists were on the rise. Soon, at 13:00 Hrs, Bandipur forest was here. At the gates, we took a break and mulled over the tactics to tackle the forest area, which mainly revolved around ways to avoid becoming food to the wildlife here :P 

Moment of reckoning!

As lady luck had it, a lone, stray elephant meandered by the road, that too on a slope, just as we entered Bandipur! As some daring (?) motorists stopped for a photo opportunity, we pedaled away furiously!! 

Deer will never be afraid of cyclists cos hey, we are for peace too!

Arun looking out for wildlife 

Clearing the danger area, we hit a series of hairpins. It was pure joy and adrenaline as we switched to low gears and tackled this section, to be rewarded by a freewheeling joyride downhill. It is just perfect and beautiful to cycle on this road, and you do not worry about braking on the speed breakers downhill because hey, we have MTB’s!! J 

Freewheeling

Happiness and Joy

Crossing bandipur and Mudhumalai, we reached theppakaadu, the junction where the path bifurcates, one leading to masinagudi and the other, to Gudalur, out stop for the day. Reinforced with snacks and tea, we set out for the last 17 Km of the day (which would test one’s limits, unexpectedly). This last stretch is where energy ran out and the legs refused to pedal. Gorging on dry fruits and chocolates, we filed on. The last few Kilometers into town was a pilgrimage by foot. We got some suspicious stares by the locals: P

Day 2 (10 Aug 2013)
Route                              : Gudalur - Ooty
Distance                          : 46 Km
Time on the road             : 8 Hrs 15 min

Day 2 map

The day of the big climb was upon us. Immediately from gudalur, there is a 19 Km climb, with an altitude gain of ~1000m. This was the toughie that we had to clear, and the rest of the day would not be that challenging. The first 10 Km of this climb is a killer! Switching to the lowest gears, we tackled this section, pedal by pedal.

Lush, plentiful, verdant

 A few kilometers into this climb, one is blessed with the verdant environment of the tea estates. Cycling here is a great experience, as the nip in the air and the cool shade aids your climb.Further up, there is a dream – like section, full of eucalyptus trees. They reach for the sky and hardly any sunlight reaches the ground. 

Hour for magic.  Where the cycling Gods dwell.

The aroma of this medicinal plant wafts through the air and lends a mystical quality to what you are doing, and you begin to answer some of the ‘why’s’. We took more than 3.5 Hrs to clear this section, with many breaks.

Lets reach for the sky

Arun catching a moment after the climb

Past this climb, one is rewarded with a short but amazing downhill section, into the town of Naduvattam. A quaint lake sits by the village, and cows grazing by the lake makes for a picture-postcard setting.

Feast for the soul

 Kilometers are devoured in this section, and average speed increases dramatically as one tackles the curves with tact and agility. 

Naduvattam. Beautiful section to reach this town. Feels like Le Tour!!!

A couple of more easy and short gradients later, it is just 15 Km to the finish point. This too is done easily, as they decided to intersperse the path with hardships and rewards. We reached Ooty at 16:45 Hrs, earlier than expected.  

The machines rest for the day

Please have a look at this and this for more data of this region.
 

Weird and awesome root formation

Day 3 (11 Aug 2013)
Route                              : Ooty – Masinagudi – Bandipur – Gundulpete – Nanjangud – Mysore (Part cycled, part hauled on trucks)
Distance                          : 50 Km
Time on the road             :  5 Hrs

Day 3 map

The great hairpins beckon on this day! 36 loops of pure thrill, adventure and playing with gravity, with a little danger on the borders. We made extra sure that the quick releases and the brakes are perfect. The terrifying aspect of hurtling off cliffs due to failed brakes played on our minds K This descent demands discipline of a different kind. Your senses are heightened, so is the beauty around you. A fine balance between appreciation and control should be struck.

The gradient is at its steepest, and you should be on the lookout for everything – the stray pebble on the road, the extra sand on the corners, that truck swerving upward, to your end. Perched at the top, scanning the snaking roads carve through the trees, you feel like an eagle, briefly. Tackling these hairpins is a lot of fun, one must also keep in mind to make way to the traffic making its way up. Keep your ears open at all times, you don’t want to be in the path of any vehicle here. The smell of burnt rubber and discs is everywhere, and many vehicles get overheated on the way up too. There is one section with a straight road halfway down here, with speed breakers on one end, and clear tarmac on the other. I remember my friend describing his climb of this section-with the lowest gears, and folks walking faster than he could pedal! 

Kalhatti hairpins downhill. I had tears in my eyes after down this stretch, so much thrill!!

After reaching the bottom, we ran into a bunch of folks from IISC Bangalore, who were scaling this path! After handing over lots of chocolates and dry fruits, we went on, into Masinagudi and Mudhumalai. 

Fellow cyclists we met after the hairpins. True heroes, these people are. They were going up to Ooty from the Kalhatti hairpins side. Grit, determination, mind over matter.

We crossed the forest and gorged on some more watermelons. It had become very sunny, and the prospect of ‘rest’ loomed. We decided to haul a passing truck, to haul the cycles and ourselves back home and get some rest. There was a sense of achievement and peace on returning home.

The joy of having completed Ooty on attempt 3 was pure and real!! It was a great experience filled with jolly company, great scenes for the eye, good food for thought and perspective. Cycling is the best way to experience a place – this belief is reinforced.

Lucia

Are you within illusion? or illusion is within you?

Are you into the body? Or is the body part of you?

Is space within the house? Or the house within space?

Or are both space and the house within the seeing eye?

Is the eye within the mind? Or the mind within the eye?

Or are both the eye and the mind within you?

The movie begins with these lines from the Kannada poet Kanakadasa. You know that you can expect something different, considering that this movie has quite a bit of trivia involved. Director Pawan Kumar(of Lifeu Ishtene) was disillusioned by the industry, and it's proclivity towards 'profits', 'commercialism' rather  than 'good, clean cinema'. Inspite of his first movie having got good reviews, no one came forward to support 'Project Lucia', let alone listen to the script. Everyone was playing it safe, betting on remakes and big stars. You can read about the background in his blog post : Making enemies. Pawan decided to make the audience the producers, to make this experiment a crowd funded one (The 'Production' credits roll 2000 names). Read more about this here.

The result has been nothing short of a roaring success, as the movie goes beyond barriers and shows what is possible, if one believes in himself. Lucia demands your full attention from frame one. Frames switch between colour and black and white. Characters live two lives, one in the real world, and one in their dreams. Some shots are of the first person view and some, as an observer. There is one sided love, heartache, and there are songs. We are happy to see Nicky live the life of his choice in his dreams, but we are sad too, as we know reality will hit soon. Dream and reality are shown parallelly, and we brace for the ending, when the truth in unveiled in a beautiful way :) That is all I can disclose.

Life runs on hope

There are some really heartwarming scenes towards the end, as Nikki tries to revive Shankranna's Talkies, come what may. Songs act as accessories for the moment, rather than taking away the crux of what is meant to be conveyed. And that's the way it should be.

Sathish Neenasam, who plays Nikhil, deserves a big applause! He has played both his characters in this movie with aplomb. His acting is very real and believable. Shruthi Hariharan is bubbly and fresh, and has come a  commendable job. The cinematography and editing are top class and really mesmerising, they deserve a standing ovation for such fine efforts! There are some really wonderful moments in the movie, and the editing is top class. And I cannot recollect many movies with better casting.

There are some beautiful messages in the movie, one being - "Your little life is someone else’s biggest dream”.

You cannot simply 'review' a masterpiece like Lucia. You just have to go and watch it. It does not matter which language you speak, or which part of the world you live in. This is good cinema.

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Revolutionary road

Revolutionary road is a movie based on Richard Yates novel of the same name. Directed by Sam Mendes (of American Beauty fame), the movie is about a young married couple living in the 1950's, in Connecticut. They are a couple trying to come to terms with life and its realities.

From the onset, the movie paints a tense atmosphere between the couple. Somehow they are not content with things around them, and that manifests into rapidly- escalating situations where they say things that they do not really mean. She is grappling with her dreams of becoming an actress, and he is in a dead-end job. He thinks that they are meant for a more grand life and she paints a picture of a new beginning in another city. For a brief while there is hope, but can they overcome their doubts and insecurities? Both of them cheat casually, maybe to seek temporary outlets to their problems and situations. There are some brilliant performances here, one worth mentioning is from Michael Shannon, who plays John Givings. He plays an insane, who speaks truth stripped of all pretence, and through the masks. The couple cannot face his harsh sermons, and we witness some stand-offs.

The times have been beautifully recreated by the cinematography and costumes department, it is a joy to watch and observe people and their manners of another age. The background score is heart warming, and it accentuates the mood of the moment.

Di Caprio and Kate Winslet act together in a movie for the first time post- Titanic. And their performances are stellar! Kate is devastatingly beautiful as April Wheeler, and has put her soul into the role. She has emoted the varying moods of her character wonderfully well. Di Caprio has done a great role too, that of Frank Wheeler. He is all charm, and we see Frank's insecurity in his eyes.

*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy their respective owners*

Ooty cycling attempt 2, June 2013

After the abysmal failure of Ooty cycling attempt one, the plan was fine- tuned. We headed out and bought a BSA cycling rack. It looked quite promising when we tested it. World environment day had happened on June 6th, and we wanted to mark the occasion by launching a second raid to Ooty, that fabled land.

The day began early, with me heading to 550's place to help secure shadowfax onto the rack. Harnesses were double-checked, lest something give way! Heading to my place, Shadowfax was secured too. Both cycles had their front tyres removed, to decrease weight on the rack.

On ring road. Forgot to set the lens to auto focus

I spent the journey looking back to the cycles, we were very anxious that that rack would give up and the cycles will fall :| so ultra care was taken to glide over undulations slowly, much to the chagrin of fellow motorists. A few in bandipur pulled over, fooled into thinking that wildlife has been spotted :P

Not supposed to stop in the forest, but did so , to secure the harnesses

Looks a little scary now!

Crawling through bandipur and Mudhumalai, we reached theppakaadu, where we thought we could park the car. Unfortunately the proprietor of the hotel said we could not, which meant we had to go to Masinagudi in search of a parking spot.

At masinagudi, a kind gentleman agreed to help the cyclists. We kept the car, unloaded and fixed the cycles.

Unloaded. To be assembled.

Jing was kind(confused) enough to listen to us, and designed a logo for the trip. A wheel and the earth, with a leaf appearing to connect the two. It was beautiful, and we stuck the logos them to our bags and let them flutter in the wind, spreading the message to go green! We are yet to pay him for this, though :P

Dreams fluttering in the wind, raring to go

550's wardrobe malfunction delayed t=0 slightly, and off we went at 10:30 Hrs! First stop theppakadu, junction where paths bifurcate to Mysore, Gudalur. 7 Km till here. From here to Gudalur it is 17 Km and we made short work of it, aided by the pleasant climate and generous roads.

Sandwich break

We rolled into Gudalur by noon, and had a big lunch at a really nice place. 50 Km from here to Ooty, a seed of doubt was planted now :D

Speciality parking, primary prerequisite. Cycles to be in line of sight/ accessible at a moment's notice. Paranoid about this fact!

Post a sumptuous lunch, we pedalled on, to be encountered by a big gradient. Something like this was not tackled, so we pedalled on cautiously and slowly. Half hour into the ride, we felt that we were in soup :P to add to the lingering confusion, a few muscles decided to play havoc to test our decision making :P

A swift regrouping later, we enumerated our options - haul a truck, head back to Gudalur? Entirely unsure, we decided to 'at least push the cycles towards Ooty'. Equations of average speed/ time were shredded, to unmask more shades of uncertainty. The constant drizzle further engulfed minds in fogs of doubt. So we ate some corn:

The cinders did a great deal to the souls cold to the bone!

And moved on towards Ooty, thinking that Ooty would be the destination for the day somehow. Dragging our feet, we pushed the cycles up the slopes, hoping that some truck would stop and haul us till Ooty :) To make matters worse the rain increased and now it was a steady pour. Fortunately, a goods auto chap took pity on the cyclists pushing their cycles and offered to haul us till some place Unfortunately, he did not take us the whole way, and we ended up just shy of Naduvattam, a picturesque village by a lake.

The next 1.5 hours was spent in Naduvattam shivering in the cold and rain, waiting for the truck chap to finish cleaning his truck! When we did get hauled into the truck, the rains kind-of increased, and I guess we came close to freezing on the top of that truck, struggling to maintain balance while the truck swerved on those curves!

The remnants of the day was spent in discussing 'Will power', 'The 50Km theory' and 'How much to pay Jing (for designing the logo):P', in high spirits.

Cycles secure in the room!

Day two was a more relaxed affair as it would be downhill on the kalhatti hairpins :D It was a very long time since I had gone on this road so I was raring to go! With 36 Hairpin curves, this section was the most steep I have seen ,around here. More care was taken to check and double-  check brakes and the quick release.

On the way down - day 2

 Soon the hairpins began , as announced by the board below. At this point, the view opens up and it is breathtaking to see the road snaking through the forest. A few clicks, and we were off.

The famed Kalhatti hairpins!

 There are some beautiful views along the way, but you have to be careful not to take your sight off the road. Speed builds up rapidly here. One cannot go without braking for more than 5 seconds,  the gradient is that high. All along the way down, one smells burnt rubber and metal, as vehicles splutter to make it up (and the novice's burn their discs on the way down). It takes some understanding of how things work, on this route.

It is a pleasure to sit and see these houses on the hill

Kids in a village on the way down

 I remember Bharath speaking about one straight stretch, where he struggled even with the lowest gears, with people walking past him faster than he could cycle. I knew it when I saw this :

Scary gradient, straight road here with speed breakers on one side!

 Going up here would be a true test of ones resolve, pure mind over matter stuff. It will take a strong will and huge lungs!

:)

A lot of fun to go downhill here

 There is a very perceptible change in temperature upon completing the slope and hitting the plains. Cycling down, we made our way to Masinagudi, Theppakaadu and Bandipur reserve. Post Gundulpete we hauled another truck to take us home :D

See the little one ? :)

My cycle named after this cafe :)

With two failed attempts at scaling Ooty, many lessons were learnt, and we promised to fine - tune the plan

 for the final assault!