The Mystery Continues – June Issue
We were thrilled with the May issue of “Dial M for Mystery” . Apart from the alliteration, we were excited about the entries we got and published. What more, some of them were even two part stories. We are letting the excitement continue for June by continuing the Mystery series.
Keep the sleuthing cap on while another serving of Mystery comes right up!
A big shout out to Karthik , who volunteered to help us with the design of the magazine!
The June theme articles are :
Unravelling A Riddle - Adithya Shrikrishna
Nobody’s Murder - Nivethitha Kumar
Who Dunnit? The Science Of Solving a Mystery – Dhivya Arasappan
Two Beans in a Pod – Arul Sirpy
The Reel Thrill – Aruni Bhattacharya
Photography - Dharini Sundaram
the Other Son of Ganges – Part 2 Matangi Mawley
Creative Writing Workshop
So It Begins – Football Worldcup – Karthik Balasubramanian
Beauty,Beast and A Murder – Anuradha Chandrasekaran
Unravelling A Riddle
Aditya Srikrishna
Mysteries have always been made for fascinating viewing. Alfred Hitchcok, the most influential of them all made a whole career out of them. But with a theme that is often repeated, it’s easy to go haywire and spoil the larger canvas. We see that happening to almost every mystery/thriller flick coming out of India. A murder mystery needs stellar writing and tremendous hold on the proceedings as part of the director to see it through and quite literally, thrill the audience.
That is the reason why traditional whodunnits always score. There are murders and psychopathic first acts followed by the crime scene events, investigation, bureaucracy (in a more thought out story) and ultimately the resolution – the killer convicted. Here you have some set pieces to have the audience constantly interested which when overdone can lead to a migraine. The only takeaway would be the denouement. But what if it’s a true story – a spine chilling one at that – that the world has seen and followed over decades of investigation? More importantly, decades of investigation that haven’t ended. A story where you don’t have the high point of the ultimate denouement. How do you hold the audience interest there? Well, for starters, by stellar film making.
Zodiac(2007), directed by David Fincher, based on Robert Graysmith’s bestseller, is one such example of excellent film making. Zodiac is about the hunt for the eponymous serial killer who committed gruesome murders in and around the Bay area in California between the late 1960s and early 1970s. The murders spanned a large area in the state of California with police departments of several counties involved in simultaneous investigation. The Zodiac serial killer was known for his audacity with the investigative authorities and newspaper reporters, constantly sending letters and cryptic texts to them. The case is known to have been closed and reopened repeatedly over the years and to this date remains an unsolved crime in California.
The beauty of the film is in the way it is structured, constantly maintaining a murky undertone much like the ordeal the police officials and newspaper reporters go through with the case. The whodunnit recipe is rendered useless here as the audience already know that there is going to be no closure. There is no rug underneath to pull in a story like this one. The props are all within the investigation and how the whole things ties together. It’s not about who the serial killer is but about how the investigators piece the things together while holding their senses in a case as baffling as Zodiac’s. And some of the characters don’t succeed in it either. There are characters that lose their calm and there are characters whose convictions are tested.
The film starts out slow showing us the second killing in detail. This is the point where the investigators begin to take Zodiac seriously as he repeats his gruesome attacks. Paul Avery(Robert Downey Jr.), a San Francisco Chronicle crime reporter receives letters and ciphers from the Zodiac. Robert Graysmith (Jack Gylenhall) is a cartoonist in the same newspaper who shows interest in the ciphers and ends up solving it and guessing the Zodiac’s actions when they start to take him seriously. As the clues start unraveling and a determined set of investigators David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) try to nail Zodiac, we are sucked in by the sheer realism of it all. A perceived multidimensional feeling develops as we imagine ourselves being involved in the investigation. There are moments of triumph when clues are unearthed and suspects are discovered.
As the investigators hit a roadblock and Paul Avery becomes paranoid eventually turning to alcohol, the film seemingly loses pace. The effect is only seemingly because the film moves as gradually as ever but the case does not. The clues lead to no comprehensive answer, the suspects remain suspects by nothing more than circumstantial evidence and we feel the frustration of David Toschi, Paul Avery and Robert Graysmith. Toschi, wonderfully portrayed by a restrained Mark Ruffalo, is falsely implicated of forging a Zodiac letter and removed from the case. All the characters move on except for Robert Graysmith.
Graysmith gets access to police departments of other counties where the murders have taken place and he tries to put together all the information from them for his book on Zodiac. He also talks to the suspects, friends of victims etc. and is further motivated by phone calls, allegedly from Zodiac himself, where he hears nothing but heavy breathing. This is the point where nothing makes sense to us because nothing makes sense to Robert Graysmith. As he obsesses with the case, he loses his family but is endearingly ordered by his wife to finish the book. Graysmith has no hopes of a conviction for the Zodiac killer. All he says is he wants is to know who Zodiac is and look into his eyes.
If Paul Avery is unable to handle the pressure and paranoia as Zodiac’s go-to reporter, David Toschi as the San Francisco detective grows tired of the case and wants out by any means. Graysmith, left all alone in the end, has little to lose and goes on with the case. The way the film is written, as a journey for the audience over decades, through the minds of several people is what makes the film interesting and an unmatched masterpiece. When Graysmith meets up with Toschi one last time and succeeds in convincing the detective of his investigations, Toschi says just two words. The same two words linger in our minds after the movie – “Jesus Christ.”
Nobody’s Murder
The neighborhood was not the same anymore. All the houses assumed an air of forced silence. The children were no longer allowed to play outside after school. The women stopped coming out of their houses even for the regular evening banter. Young girls were never allowed to go anywhere unaccompanied. Yes, the neighborhood had undergone a change that I can only hope is temporary. For this is not the place I grew up in. It was all because of the murderer on the loose. Yes, a murderer.
No one can remember how it had all started or can even begin to comprehend why it had. It started as one freak incident in a part of the city that was farther away from us. No one cared much about it and it didn’t warrant more than a few moments of discussion on the erosion of law and order and personal morals. It had been just another headline. That was until the scary stories chose our area as their home ground. It started out in the nearby localities and by the end of the month had made its way to our own colony.
The police seemed to be out of any real leads. I knew a little more than the rest because my father himself was an employee of the Police department. He was not a police inspector or anything of the sort. He worked in the fraud investigation unit, which dealt more with corrupt business practices than with murders and the like. In other words, his was the less interesting of police jobs. However this is fun for me because of the folks that I get to interact with. Many of Dad’s good friends were real police officers. You know the ones that can actually kick rears.
Needless to say, all these disturbing events meant regular visits by the police officials to the colony. What made this case very weird and difficult were the inconsistent nature of the victims and the lack of any real motive. It almost seemed like the murdered just felt like killing someone and so he did. The first victim had been a young beautiful thing in her twenties. Her purse had remained intact and she had not been meddled with either. The next one had been an elderly man, and his wallet was untouched too. Then the blows had come closer to home. It was Sarita, the local washerwoman, who collected all our dirty clothes, washed, pressed and delivered them to us. It came as a rude shock to see Sarita one day and not the next day. Worse was realizing that we would never see her again. The only thing that came close to physical evidence were some cigarette butts. Nothing more. It was hard to identify a smoker who had a propensity to kill among 4 million people in the city. Everyone had been hit by some kind of a sharp object from the back. Forensics said there was a good possibility that the victims did not even see this coming and probably did not even look at the killer.
None of this added up to a suspect.
“This man has to be a genius,” said Ramesh uncle, one of the constables on the case.
“Or he is going through an unbelievable patch of great luck,” said Inspector Raju, when they stopped over at my house for a cup of tea.
“Is there really no evidence at all, Uncle?” I asked. Ever since these incidents happened, not only was I upset, I was curious as well. This had tickled my mind in such a way that I was now obsessing over the case. I had read all possible information I could about the cases. My Dad also helped me by getting me access to whatever information he could and was allowed to. My mom did not like the business at all. All very dark and not suitable for a young boy, she would keep saying.
“Oh it is just an interest. It won’t do any harm,” my Dad would come to my rescue.
“Besides Mom, I want to work for the crime branch one day,” I said, which only irked her more, as she had already made me an couple of different engineers in her mind.
“Whatever, I don’t like any of this business,” she said and walked off.
The police were right in being befuddled. There really was not much one could get in terms of physical evidence. As I was going through a bunch of crime scene investigation reports, my eyes caught another report. It seemed to have been put in this bundle by mistake. I say this because there had only been 3 of these murders. Where did this one come from?
I soon found out that this was a homeless woman who had been found dead near the platform she had called home. The photos showed a small tent formed out of torn sarees and shawls that she had probably gathered from trash. There was even a small Pooja area that she had created from the cardboard boxes people so carelessly tossed off. The report just called it some freak accident and closed the case without any further investigation. Even forensic reports were incomplete. There were some blood samples and hair available on the crime scene. But it had never proceeded anywhere.
As I lay in bed that night, the vulgarity of the whole incident affected me in a way that I could not understand. All lives are not created equal much as we yearn to believe that. The homeless elderly woman’s life was clearly not nearly as important as the elderly man or the pretty young woman who was from a well-off family. Why, even Sarita was taken more seriously. The homeless person probably had no one to bother the officials about her. Her life had been a dispensable one. Some officers probably told themselves “Who cares?” and tossed the file over. The distressing thing is no one probably would care.
Sleep simply refused to greet me; I got out of my bed and went back to the photos to see if I could find something that I had missed previously. My eyes went to the old woman’s crime scene instinctively. I wanted to say sorry; I don’t know why or on whose behalf, maybe for mankind in general.
And then I saw it. At first my eyes just glanced over it, almost missing it. And then something pulled me back to it and this time it was clear. I could not believe my eyes and more so, I could not believe how I had missed it before. I had seen these pictures so many times that every minute detail in them was etched in my mind. I could immediately relate it to the other pictures.
I immediately went to my parent’s room and woke my dad up and told him what I had found. He was in a state of shock both because of being woken up from sleep and because he seemed to believe that there was something of merit that I had stumbled upon. A flurry of phone calls followed. It was followed by a bunch of plain clothes policemen entering and leaving our place. I was showing my new find to Inspector Raju and some crime scene folks who had also turned up.
After a few minutes of intense activity and arguments, calm fell upon our house again. I was too tired to do anything. I just went to my room crashed in to my bed. I woke up the next morning to a lot of noise outside. I had really gotten used to the neighborhood quiet that the noise, though not very loud, disturbed me from my sleep. I got up and went straight to the newspaper. I saw the headlines in the city section about how the murders that had taunted the neighborhood had finally been solved. I was surprised that an arrest had been made so fast. I moved my eyes down to the part where they had explained how the murders had been solved.
“It was an incredible piece of evidence that had gotten buried in another murder case. A portion of a cigarette case along with some butts had been found near the murder victim. It is already known that cigarette butts had been found near the previous murder victims as well. What proved to be path breaking was the cigarette case with a metallic encasing and initials printed on them. The police were immediately able to contact the manufacturer and then track the trail leading to the owner of the case.”
There were even a couple of lines mentioning my name and how I had helped in the investigation. My father was smug with pride and patted me on the back a couple of times, telling everyone who would lend an ear, what an amazing detective I would turn to be. My mom even managed a smile.
The last few lines of the article caught my attention:
“The government congratulated the police department for ardently pursuing the murderer and upholding democracy where no two citizens are different.”
I thought of the old homeless lady whose case file had read “Case closed” and had lack of investigation written all over it. My mom interjected my thought with a question
“Who was that old lady?”
“Some platform dweller. A nobody. That is why it was over looked,” said the neighbor who was more relaxed now that the threat to the colony was diffused.
Her tone almost suggested that she believed there was nothing wrong in overlooking that case. She was after all a platform dweller.
She was not a nobody, I thought to myself. She had saved a couple more lives by dying. That was no nobody.
–Nivethitha Kumar
Who Dunnit? The Science Of Solving a Mystery
Dhivya Arasappan takes us through some of the key scientific technologies used by modern-day sleuths.
DNA Profiling
A fairly recent discovery by British geneticist, Alec Jeffreys, DNA profiling is, by far, one of the major breakthroughs in the field of forensic science. Much like fingerprints, DNA can be used to uniquely identify a person. However, DNA is more powerful because it is easily left behind- skin cells left in the victim’s fingernails when he/she scratched the perpetuator, blood, a strand of hair, a nail, semen, they can all be used in DNA profiling.
This method, has not only helped identify the culprit, but has often helped exonerate the innocent. In fact, many old cases have been reopened and solved using DNA evidence. Perhaps the most famous one is that of Ex-marine, Kevin Green, who was imprisoned for raping and killing his wife. After spending 16 years in jail, Green was finally set free when DNA from the semen in the victim’s body failed to match his.
Ballistics
Ballistics refers to the flight path taken by a bullet. By tracing the path of the bullet, investigators can find out critical details such as the distance and direction from which the bullet was fired. Ballistic fingerprinting is also used to identify the gun from the patterns on the bullet remains.
3D modeling and animation
The scene of the crime provides valuable information about the crime itself. Not too long ago, an investigator’s record of the crime scene consisted merely of photographs taken at the scene. Today, with computer visualization technology at the forefront, investigators can recreate the crime scene as a 3D model. This is powerful because they can then test out different theories of what might have happened using their 3D rendition.
What’s next? Facial recognition software
Facial recognition and retinal scanning software are expected to be the next scientific breakthrough in the police field. The FBI has already begun setting up a database of people’s physical characteristics, such as eye scans, which can later be used to identify criminals.
Photography – Dharini Sundaram
Two Beans in a Pod
Bright lights flashed everywhere accompanied with a weird droning sound that rose and fell. I was completely delirious and wet. I had no idea where I was and what I was doing. All that I knew was that I was lying down in what looked like the inside of a room. Was it my imagination or was the room swaying from left to right? Everytime I tried to move, I was overcome by a sharp pain that hit my right side.
Subbu opened the front door into a room littered with beer cans and covered in dense smoke. He coughed and walked to the windows, opening them and letting some light in. The smoke gradually cleared to reveal a huddled form lying in the middle of the room.
“Hey, Karthik! Get up! Are you ok?” Subbu asked, running to him.
Karthik roused himself and threw off the blanket that covered him. A strong whiff of smoke and beer emanated from within the blanket that looked like it had been never been washed.
“Ah! You finally responded to my call. Where were you all these days?” Karthik asked groggily.
“Sorry man. I was held up at work. How are you doing?”
“Not good. Not good at all. What’s the time, now?”
“Err… It is 7:00 in the evening,” Subbu said, looking at the wall clock that was covered in cobwebs.
He then walked up to a rusted stove that lay in one corner of the living room, which doubled as a kitchen and lit it. As he bustled around searching for coffee powder, he noticed Meenakshi’s framed photo on the floor. She was Karthik’s wife.
Karthik had lost his wife a couple of months ago in a car accident. The police suspected foul play but they were, quite predictably, unable to prove anything. She had been a journalist and a dedicated one at that. Her professional peak was when she busted a reputed hospital in an illegal kidney racket that had been plaguing the city for years. Even Subbu was caught in the melee that followed as he was a doctor in the culprit hospital. Thankfully, the main perpetrator was identified as the Chief of Medicine, much before the hospital suffered from any major damage to its image. He was quickly acquitted and the hospital issued a public notice of apology offering ample compensation to all the afflicted families. Soon enough, life returned to normal at the hospital, but not for Subbu or Karthik.
While Karthik went into manic depression, Subbu struggled to maintain his flow of patients. It was their 20-year long friendship that helped them make it out of it all. Well, not all but mostly.
“This coffee powder seems pretty old. When did you use it last?”
“I have no idea. The cups are on the counter,” Karthik said as he got up unsteadily and walked to the sink and splashed water all over his face.
I was pushed feet-first somewhere outside the room. I could barely make out the letters: MER CY, shining some 8 ft above me. Lights started moving once again. Suddenly, they stopped and I was thrown up in the air. I landed on something soft. My clothes were being ripped and my belongings pulled out. I thought I was getting mugged. There were screams all around punctured by the shatter of machinery being pulled. Somebody said, “Paddles!” My eyes closed over in pain.
The kettle boiled over as Subbu almost scalded his hands. He asked, “What have you been doing since the last time I saw you?”
“Pretty much nothing. I quit my job and stayed at home. I was restless and troubled. I wanted to search out the son of a gun that killed my wife and dispatch him to hell,” he thumped the sink in anguish and disappointment.
As Subbu poured the coffee, he fished out a small sachet, unobtrusively, from the depths of his jeans and emptied the contents into one of the cups. Karthik continued talking.
“There were no clues whatsoever. The police had nothing to go on with except a broken Rolex watch that was found in the car crash remains. I suspected that Meenu was having an affair.”
Karthik got up and walked to where the framed photo of his dead wife adorned his kitchen. He picked it up and looked it at, expressionless.
“Your wife? Don’t think so. She is too conservative and you guys adored each other too much. Didn’t you?” Subbu asked. He picked up the cups and walked to the window where he sat down on one of the two couches.
“Yes, we did. We sure did. So, how’s work?”
Subbu sipped the coffee and looked into the distance at the Chennai skyline. It was raining. Karthik came and sat next to him, holding his wife’s photo.
“It is not good. My sessions at the hospital are back to normal, but patients are dwindling at the clinic. Don’t know how much longer I can hold on.”
Karthik leant over and patted him on his back. “Don’t worry. We are the best of friends! We can come out of it together!” He picked the poisoned coffee and held it to his lips.
There they sat, the two friends – close in happiness, closer in trouble. The clock struck 8:00 as one of them keeled over, clutching his throat.
As my vision cleared, I saw my best friend standing over me. His disgusted face left little for imagination. There were white-robed men and women all around me, checking my vitals and yelling instructions. I saw the tips of my feet. They were a jaded blue and wet.
“I couldn’t do it”, my best friend said. “I simply couldn’t do it. I don’t want to be you.”
Saying so, he walked out of the room.
As Subbu clutched his throat and fell over, Karthik got up and threw the contents of his untouched coffee outside the window.
“You sick rogue! You think you can get away with killing my wife? You think I am a moron? I know it was you who sabotaged my wife’s car. I gave you the keys some days back. It is not tough to make duplicates. We were the best of friends! You betrayed all that I believed and trusted in! How could you? Was your money bigger than our friendship? You even made me suspect my own, sweet Meenu!”
Karthik fell sobbing on the floor. His tears fell on broken glass; glass from the shattered photo of Meenu. He rubbed away his tears and looked at her face. She was very beautiful. He shook his head and walked to the telephone.
“Hospital? There is an emergency in 24, West Mada Street, T Nagar. My friend… no… a man has been poisoned.”
-Arul Sirpy
The Reel Thrill
Here are some memorable films which keep you hooked until the very end, revealing a thoroughly overwhelming and enjoyable climax.
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock): This one’s a classic by Hitchcock, the auteur who redefined the genre of suspense and thrillers. Photographer L.B (Jeff) Jeffries (James Stewart) has an accident and is stranded in his apartment on a wheelchair with his leg in a cast. Jeff’s only source of entertainment is his rear window which looks out into the courtyard common to the entire neighborhood. He takes to watching his neighbors through his telephoto lens. He soon realizes that one of them may have murdered his wife. He sends his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) to investigate for him, and tension of the moment hits a crescendo because he cannot go to help her when she is in danger
The dominant theme in the movie is voyeurism, and throughout the movie Hitchcock frames his shots in such a way, that the audience is watching the Rear Window through the same telephoto lens, and experiencing the same tension as Jeff. Like all Hitchcock classics, this film is marked by an intelligent plot, brilliant framing of shots, and a grand finale.
Other must watch Hitchcock classics: Rebecca, North by Northwest, and Psycho (but of course)
Memento (Christopher Nolan): Based on the short story Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan, this is one of the most innovative and brilliantly edited suspense thrillers in recent times. It is refreshingly original, the audience is as perplexed as the lead Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) and Nolan deftly portrays Shelby’s dilemma with an extremely intricate plot. Shelby is looking for the man who raped and murdered his wife; However, since the incident he has developed a rare disorder and he cannot retain new memories, his memories are wiped out in a few minutes. He takes notes, Polaroid shots and tattoos himself to remind himself of events.
Nolan’s opening shot for the film is a Polaroid fading from a fully developed to a total blank. The opening sequence is the climax of the film, the following scenes narrates the story in a reverse order and progresses to the beginning. While the scenes are in sequence, they are ordered in reverse. There is a series of scenes in black-and-white that are shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order. This confuses the audience and they fully understand Shelby’s dilemma as he is trying to search for the villain in spite of his memory loss. Watching Memento is an experience, and if you like suspense thrillers, then get a DVD today.
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer):
Who is Keyser Soze?The title of the film is taken from the famous Casablanca dialogue, “Round up the usual suspects.’ The film follows the interrogation of Roger “Verbal” Kint (Kevin Spacey), the only survivor of a massacre and a fire on a ship docked at LA. Initially, five criminals are taken in by cops for questioning, and the plot thickens when they are approached by a spokesman for Keyser Soze who is a criminal mastermind.
Verbal narrates the entire story of heist to the cops in flashback sequences. The brilliantly disguised suspense results in a startling climax, and the audience is as overwhelmed as Agent Kujan after the revelations in the final sequence, and of course you would want to kick yourself for not seeing it earlier.
The film has some stellar performances by Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollak. Kevin Spacey is outstanding in his Oscar winning portrayal of Verbal, and the film manages to thoroughly entertain and baffle you.
Se7en (David Flincher):
Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) begin investigating murder crimes based on the Seven Sins by serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey.) This is a chilling murder mystery with a catastrophic climax, and it’s not for the faint hearted with its fair share of detailed crimes on film. Kevin Spacey’s performance as an arrogant mass murdering psycho is outstanding and his final smile in the film remains with you for some time.
The film has a dark noir lighting, which lends to the depressing tone. As the detectives begin chasing Spacey, the pace of the film quickens and the tension is brilliantly controlled. Gwyneth Paltrow puts in a great performance as Detective Mill’s wife. It’s a great suspense by Flincher who went on to make Fight Club after this; However, essentially this film is a tragedy. Detective Somerset signs off by quoting Hemingway,
‘”The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”
Other must watch suspense thrillers: Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet,) The Sting (George Roy Hill,) The Maltese Falcon (John Huston,) Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino,) The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme,) The French Connection (William Friedkin.)
Aruni Bhattacharya
Here are some memorable films which keep you hooked until the very end, revealing a thoroughly overwhelming and enjoyable climax.Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock): This one’s a classic by Hitchcock, the auteur who redefined the genre of suspense and thrillers. Photographer L.B (Jeff) Jeffries (James Stewart) has an accident and is stranded in his apartment on a wheelchair with his leg in a cast. Jeff’s only source of entertainment is his rear window which looks out into the courtyard common to the entire neighborhood. He takes to watching his neighbors through his telephoto lens. He soon realizes that one of them may have murdered his wife. He sends his girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) to investigate for him, and tension of the moment hits a crescendo because he cannot go to help her when she is in danger.The dominant theme in the movie is voyeurism, and throughout the movie Hitchcock frames his shots in such a way, that the audience is watching the Rear Window through the same telephoto lens, and experiencing the same tension as Jeff. Like all Hitchcock classics, this film is marked by an intelligent plot, brilliant framing of shots, and a grand finale.
Other must watch Hitchcock classics: Rebecca, North by Northwest, and Psycho (but of course)
Memento (Christopher Nolan): Based on the short story Memento Mori by Jonathan Nolan, this is one of the most innovative and brilliantly edited suspense thrillers in recent times. It is refreshingly original, the audience is as perplexed as the lead Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) and Nolan deftly portrays Shelby’s dilemma with an extremely intricate plot. Shelby is looking for the man who raped and murdered his wife; However, since the incident he has developed a rare disorder and he cannot retain new memories, his memories are wiped out in a few minutes. He takes notes, Polaroid shots and tattoos himself to remind himself of events. Nolan’s opening shot for the film is a Polaroid fading from a fully developed to a total blank. The opening sequence is the climax of the film, the following scenes narrates the story in a reverse order and progresses to the beginning. While the scenes are in sequence, they are ordered in reverse. There is a series of scenes in black-and-white that are shown chronologically, and a series of color sequences shown in reverse order. This confuses the audience and they fully understand Shelby’s dilemma as he is trying to search for the villain in spite of his memory loss. Watching Memento is an experience, and if you like suspense thrillers, then get a DVD today.
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer): Who is Keyser Soze?The title of the film is taken from the famous Casablanca dialogue, “Round up the usual suspects.’ The film follows the interrogation of Roger “Verbal” Kint (Kevin Spacey), the only survivor of a massacre and a fire on a ship docked at LA. Initially, five criminals are taken in by cops for questioning, and the plot thickens when they are approached by a spokesman for Keyser Soze who is a criminal mastermind. Verbal narrates the entire story of heist to the cops in flashback sequences. The brilliantly disguised suspense results in a startling climax, and the audience is as overwhelmed as Agent Kujan after the revelations in the final sequence, and of course you would want to kick yourself for not seeing it earlier.
The film has some stellar performances by Gabriel Byrne, Benicio del Toro and Kevin Pollak. Kevin Spacey is outstanding in his Oscar winning portrayal of Verbal, and the film manages to thoroughly entertain and baffle you.
Se7en (David Flincher): Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and Detective Mills (Brad Pitt) begin investigating murder crimes based on the Seven Sins by serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey.) This is a chilling murder mystery with a catastrophic climax, and it’s not for the faint hearted with its fair share of detailed crimes on film. Kevin Spacey’s performance as an arrogant mass murdering psycho is outstanding and his final smile in the film remains with you for some time.The film has a dark noir lighting, which lends to the depressing tone. As the detectives begin chasing Spacey, the pace of the film quickens and the tension is brilliantly controlled. Gwyneth Paltrow puts in a great performance as Detective Mill’s wife. It’s a great suspense by Flincher who went on to make Fight Club after this; However, essentially this film is a tragedy. Detective Somerset signs off by quoting Hemingway, ‘”The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.’ I agree with the second part.”
Other must watch suspense thrillers: Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet,) The Sting (George Roy Hill,) The Maltese Falcon (John Huston,) Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino,) The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme,) The French Connection (William Friedkin.)
The Other Son Of Ganges – Part 2
Matangi Mawley
“Let me go, Mother…”
He somehow knew after this incident that, whatever position he might be in, she would be with him. Help him. Love him, unconditionally. His mother… Ganga…
His father got him enrolled in the school. He liked going to the school. He liked having kids of his own age around him and talking to them. Not to mention that he was gifted. He could remember anything on just hearing it once. But somehow, he could not always concentrate. He could not help it. But whenever he looked outside the window, he was lost in thoughts. Sometimes he was so lost that-
“Shravan.. SHRAVAN..!”
“Ouch!”
It hurt that day. That tiny piece of chalk thrown at him with such anger, it hurt.
“Where is all your attention? Do you think this is a joke? The whole of Kashi’s kids sitting here and listening to me and my OWN son- let alone listening, doesn’t even care looking at me as I speak…”
His father was indeed very upset that day. He would not talk to his son, that entire day. And if Shravan would try talking to him, he would go away from that place. Shravan felt that he was a lone human in the entire world. There was no one else with whom he could talk to. And he had nowhere to go. He rushed out of the house and ran as fast as he could. He ran to his mother. Ganga would always be there. Flowing with such force- such raw energy! Watching her hurry towards the sea- it could make one forget all the negativities in them. Shravan sat himself on his mother’s lap, both his feet touching her surface. He wept. It was a sad day for him. The Ganges, patted him. She consoled him…
That day, his mother helped him realize something. Shravan was more like his mother. He found her in him, her free spirit. Shravan saw the Ghats around. Then he felt his mother’s soft touch upon his feet. He felt her say- “Do you think I flow within these man-made boundaries? These stones, these bricks? Do you think they hold me back? No. I am all around. Look around, son. Look beyond the stones. See those sinners washing their sins? They think all their sins turn into puffs of smoke when they wash themselves in me. Fools. I flow on them, over them. But I never am inside them. These walls, the Ghats- they are physical. Ganga flows into lives, into minds. That is my strength, strength that these mortals can never bear in them, a strength known only to a few. I can only be trapped in minds. Like I am bound in you, by your love…”
Every day, Shravan would spend all his time thinking about what lay bethe other son of ganges matangi mawley yond his world? Sometimes, he would watch the television at his neighbor’s place. All those strange places and strange people would capture his imagination. They were so different from his world here. He wanted to go away. See those people. Meet them.
One day, he told his father about his desire. His father listened to him, patiently. He then said, “Shravan, you belong here, in Kashi. Those strange places are not for us. Those places would never like people like us, visiting them. Those places would never be good to us. Your life is here, son. Kashi knows you. The soil knows your scent. The air around has seen you grow up. The walls around have seen you lose your first teeth. Your mother, Ganga, flows here. Not anywhere, but here. I am here… You understand”?
He understood. He understood that his mother was in him. Ganga’s spirit in him, urged him to know himself. Identify his soul with hers. He understood that, he needed to leave…
And he left. He remembered the night he left, very well. His father was asleep. He had managed to tie up some of his things in a bundle. He touched his father’s feet while he was asleep. He left the house and went to bid farewell to his mother. He took her in his hands and placed her on his forehead. Somewhere inside his head, he had a feeling that this had happened before, this initiation. He was just about to leave- when his mother took his bundle from him. He tried to take it from her. But she would not give it back. It was as though she was pleading him not to go. Perhaps there was something out there that would harm him. It was as though she held him by hand and did not allow him to leave.
He made her understand that he was ready for it. He was ready to see the world beyond here. He was like her, he made her understand. Just like her, Ganga. He convinced her to let him go. He also promised her, that he would come back to her one day,Some day. He felt her hand pat his feet, gently. His mother let him go…
(..To be continued. Part 3: “In a new world…”)
Creative Writing Workshop – Winning Entries
Creative writing workshop
Here we are once again presenting to you the top 2 essays by students from “Jawahar Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School”. This School is also my Alma matter as well as Nivi’s. On behalf of our Magazine, I had conducted a creative writing workshop in this School during my trip to Chennai.
The children were really excited to write on the topic given to them which was If you could be one of these characters, which one would you be and why
1. Harry potter
2. Neo from Matrix
3. Batman
4. Rancho from 3 Idiots
We promised to publish the top 3 essays in the forthcoming issues of our magazine. We had published the essay that took the third place in our April 2010 Edition and now we present to you the top 2 prize winning essays.
– Anuradha Chandrasekaran
1st Prize: Sravanthi – IX -D
Who is Harry Potter? How are you related to him? Do you know his as a friend? Do you think someone will ask us these questions? Harry Potter is the name of a character in the book/movie Harry Potter. It is a hit movie. Everyone knows about him. He lives in a magical world. He has two best friends, Ron and Hermione.
If I were Harry Potter, just imagine. Wow! It would be wonderful. I would have a wand to do magic. I would be famous. I would have magical powers. I could play Quidditch in which I could fly on a broom stick. I would find different kind of creatures and fly on them if they had wings. It would also be great to have Dumbledore as our principal/ I would write letters to my friends and need not post them because there would be Owls to deliver them to their homes. I can also travel from one place to another using magic. I can speak in parseltonge. I can bite off more than one can chew.
If I were him, I would use magic for many things. I would m a k e my brain larger and store more useful things. I could pack my school bag and clean my shoes at the drop of a hat. I would also finish my homework in a few minutes. The best of it all, I could run faster than my usual speed. I would use Felix felicis which would make lucky the whole day. I would use magic on someone who meddles with me.
I would play pranks at people’s houses and then use the invisibility cloak to prevent from getting caught. I know using magic for our own purpose is an illegal practice. Magic is used to do good things to the society or the nation. So I would use magic to heal the injuries of people (society). I would kill Voldemort, the most dangerous person. It brings danger to even mention his name would kill all his horcruxes (When someone divides his/her life in to six parts, and keep those parts in different places, they can be killed only if each of those parts are found and killed) Though, we cannot use magic for our good, I would love to do so. It is a dicey situation. I know it is not possible to become Harry Potter but I would still want to be adventurous and magical like him.
2nd Prize: Ajay Srikanth – IX- D
Batman is different in the sea of superheroes. He is unique as he doesn’t have actual super powers. No web slinging, no vapor beams from his eyes, and no super strength. But He is a super hero. Solely through intelligence and gizmos, he is a crime fighter. The dark Knight, as he is called, is extremely stealthy. His enemies don’t even know he is there until they get hit. He keeps Gotham city safe. Especially from the Joker. Grinning maniacally, the Joker is on a league of his own. If there was a hall of fame for super villains, Joker would definitely top it.
If I were Batman, I would go across the town making no noise and taking care of evil doers, Beating Shumaker using Bat Mobile and swooping across the sky on the Bat Plane. Batman has been a fantasy of mine for a long time. The Dark Knight is a super cool super hero. Looking at the Bat signal in the dark, plain sky gives me an inexplicable thrill. His colors, black and grey correspond perfectly with his crime fighting techniques. Being a super hero would be awesome. There are simply no words to describe the feeling. Long Live Batman!
So it Begins
Words uttered by Theoden King of Rohan from the second edition of Lord of the Rings before the historic battle of Helmsdeep where the horsemen successfully defend against the invading army of Orks and Urukai (If you don’t know what I am talking abt, shame on you – go watch the movie). The exact kind of emotion is what I felt when I heard the vuvuzela’s blare for the first game of the first world cup hosted by the African continent.
This article is going to be a simple breakdown on who I think is going to make it to the round of 16 from each group. I know everyone has their own ideas about the teams over here, but hey, I get to write this and you don’t, so if you don’t agree with me, lets keep it civilized and agree to disagree. ok?
Group A South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico, France
In spite of having a star studded roster, France is on the verge of being knocked out before the round of 16, which might mean, no more moments of brilliance from Ribery or Henry at this world cup. South Africa could also set history here by being the first host to bow out of the tournament before the round of 16. At the moment, Uruguay is in pole position, having racked up 4 points from 2 games and a young Mexico side is coming close second. Still all is left to play, as the top two sides meet each other in the last game and France can still catch up and upstage one of the 2 teams at the top.
Group B Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Argentina under Diego Maradona’s stewardship might not win all their games, but they are going to be entertainers for sure. South Korea is playing good football so far and unless Greece rediscovers the form that won them the Euro 2004 championship, I don’t see them getting out of this group. I am making my bets on the Argies to progress in a canter and South Korea to grab the second spot.
Group C England, USA, Slovenia, Algeria
At this moment, Slovenia are surprisingly in pole position in this group, having racked up a close win over Algeria and a draw with the USA reflecting the insanity that is International football. England stands a better chance to qualify from this group than the US and Algeria needs to come up with a near footballing miracle to qualify from this group. Interesting times await this group.
Group D Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
After seeing the national manschaaft destroy Australia in their opening game (you read that right, that is actually what they call their team for real), I am putting my money on Germany to go all the way to the Semis. I am also betting money on Ghana to pip Serbia for the second spot and Australia to lose all their games.
Group E Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Another group that looks seemingly normal on paper, but too close to call. Netherlands is a better team than the rest of the group but not by much. Bets must be on Netherlands to top the group and Japan to edge out the Danes and the Lions for the qualifying spot.
Group F Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Current world cup holders Italy are clear favorites to top this group, though they are famous in recent history to sleep through most of the group stages and perform only when it really matters. Slovakia are the surprise package of the group with a resourceful set of players and Paraguay bringing some much needed flair to a group that otherwise seems to comprise the who’s who of the catenaccio style of soccer.
Group G Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, North Korea
The Group of Death, as it is famously called, promises much to the neutral football fan. I personally cannot wait for Brazil vs Portugal which would be the highlight of this group. From the first round of games, Ivory Coast and North Korea seem to be ready to provide a real challenge to the other two. I am so impressed with the Ivory Coast, that I am actually expecting them to upstage Portugal and qualify for the round of 16. At least then we won’t have to put up with serial crybaby Cristiano Ronaldo and his histrionics. Go Elephants!!
Group H Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Honduras
European Champions Spain were the first shock casualties at this world cup, but they are still a team so talented that they should still be able to win the group. It is going to be a fight between Chile and Switzerland for the second spot and its going to come down to whether the Swiss can park the bus in front of the goal against Chile just like they did against the Spanish. Spain to qualify and I am not saying anymore.
So that should be it for the world cup group stage, let me know if you think I should go kiss my behind from leaving out your team from qualifying for the next round, but hey so can you – I call it as I see it. More importantly, have fun watching the world cup and I hope the players are so motivated as to make this world cup the best we have ever seen. Ta ta, bye bye, see you and let’s hear it for Africa!!
– Karthik Balasubramaniam
