Part 1: Going, going, gone.<\/i><\/u>
\nSo I am back. <\/p>\n
( Usually when I , or anyone else says “I’m back”, my first reaction to that is, ” And I am Mozart.” Once upon a joke and all that. )<\/p>\n
The wedding went off quite well, and the Evil Relatives dispersed sans complaints ( except for a couple who tried to question my lack of “interest” in things of a mortal nature ). My parents are still in Baroda, still dining on Vegetarian thingamijigs, and I made up for all the deprived lifestyle of last week by gorging on loads of Hyderabadi Chicken soon after landing here. <\/p>\n
One thing I should point out is that the community spirit of the Gujarati folk left me amazed. Neighbours, well-wishers, relatives of my brother-in-law’s family made our stay, and the wedding itself, an experience to remember. Enviable coordination and goodwill among the folks – my Evil Relatives ( myself included ) could learn something from all of them. The ladies joined the pre-wedding night Garba<\/i> without a hint of self-consciousness – the Bride’s family had to be literally dragged to join them. Assamese people are not that<\/i> good at letting their hair down – we do not have a Sangeet<\/i> ceremony or the tradition of the Baaraat<\/i>dancing all the way to the wedding hall. Assamese marriages are dry, solemn occasions – enjoyed mostly by the ladies who find them a nice excuse to get together and bitch about other ladies ( i.e those not within earshot) The guys sit quietly in a corner and try not to stare too much at the ladies mentioned above. B-O-R-I-N-G. <\/p>\n
Until, of course, someone announces that food is served, at which two things simultaneously happen. A stampede towards the dining hall. A drying-up of conversation, because everyone is too busy chomping and chewing. And slowly, you realise that the ladies have stopped bitching about other ladies, and are bitching about the food instead.<\/p>\n
I would love to tell you that this anti-Assamese blabber is all personal, and that there is something fundamentally wrong with my temper at this point of time because of which I am blabbering my guts out, but no. I insist. Assamese weddings are boring. They are long. And if they are held in the winter, there is a fair chance that the bridegroom will shiver to death. <\/p>\n
Part 2: Encomium<\/i><\/u><\/p>\n
It’s a joy to realise this, and it’s very hard to say this without sounding artificial, or forced, or just plain loony.<\/p>\n
I am happy. I do not have any complaints with my life at this point of time. I have everything I could ask for, and even though I want more, I do not have any<\/i> problems waiting for the right time. “The Right Time” – I feel like that wacko in The Matrix Revolutions<\/i> ( incidentally, I saw the movie again on the IMAX screen just before leaving for Baroda) saying “It’s karma<\/i>.” Karma, my ass. It’s all about patience, it’s about knowing the right people, and it’s about doing the right thing. Patience, I have learned to cultivate – a little, but that’s enough. I am immodest enough to believe that I have always done the right thing in life. And as for knowing the right people, heh heh, these people<\/a> should prove my point. <\/p>\n Part 3: A Rush of Blood to the Head<\/i><\/u><\/p>\n Kim Newman’s Judgement of Tears: Book 3 of the Anno Dracula trilogy<\/a><\/i> was awesome – a neat satire, a great storyline, a very good wrap-up to an engaging three-parter – and of course, the biggest quiz-resource I have come across in recent times. <\/p>\n Star Wars: The New Jedi Order – Vector Prime<\/a> was kind of an anticlimax because I already knew the ending. Didn’t stop me from enjoying the story, though.<\/p>\n Batman: No Man’s Land volumes 1 thru 5<\/a>. Finished in 2 nights of end-to-end reading. The trade paperbacks have many unanswered holes, but a well–written series, all the same. Most of it felt like Apocalyptic science fiction – more like an Elseworlds story than a DC Universe story.<\/p>\n How do you get a tired chap to forget sleep, hunger and excretory functions and remain awake until 3:30 AM staring at the computer screen? Simple, you give him the first 16 issues of Y:The Last Man<\/a><\/i> in CBR format. Man. Hollywood can go take a hike, this is how the narrative potential of the comic-book can be used to devastating effect. My salutations, Mr Vaughn and Ms Guerra. <\/p>\n And of course, there was the Gotham comics fix of the month. JLA:Earth 2<\/a><\/i> which I had read earlier, Ultimate X:Men – return to Weapon X<\/a><\/i>, Spiderman: Legend of the Spider-clan<\/a><\/i>, and the monthly Ultimate Spiderman and Batman issues. Scrounging around at Landmark Chennai got me some 34 assorted comics, including one by Will Eisner called The Power<\/i> – which made me realise why Eisner is so revered in the comic-book world. The Crossword at Baroda got me some more, highpoints being a copy of V for Vendetta#6<\/i> and some old Grimjack<\/i> and Grendel<\/i>.<\/p>\n A quick trip to best Book Stall yesterday brought in some good stuff. A hardcover copy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich<\/i> by William Shirer, a book that has a tendency to get lost whenever I buy it. This is the third copy I have bought so far. Four issues of Heavy Metal magazine. A book called Adventures of Lord Iffy Boatrace<\/a><\/i> by Bruce Dickinson, yes, the same guy, which was kept in the children’s section and contained some of the wittiest pornographic writing after Ted Mark. A copy of Walt Kelly’s Pogo<\/i> – a Dell paperback. Brian Lumley’s Necroscope: The Lost Years<\/a>.<\/i> Greg Rucka’s Shooting at Midnight<\/i> ( Rucka is a crime fiction writer who has written some good Batman storylines, and also some nice crime comics )<\/p>\n I decided not to bring up the fact that Best Book Stall is offering 82 volumes of Leather-Bound, gold-engraved Punch<\/i> magazines, containing all the issues from 1841 to 1945, and each bearing the seal of the Nizam of Hyderabad’s personal Library, for sale. The price is a princely 60 000 rupees.<\/p>\n I feel like Swamp Thing. A Swamped Thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Part 1: Going, going, gone. So I am back. 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