If you were to ever pick up Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I'd recommend that you don't do so when you were in the middle of exams. I FINALLY read the book. And I gotta say, I liked it.

I can't say if I'd have liked the book had I not seen Bride and Prejudice (which this is based on). Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't have. I think I would have, except I'd have read it more slowly. I didn't know that the movie was actually the book, so I actually couldn't put the book down until I'd finished it and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen on the next page.

Austen starts the book with, "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" and it'd be really really hard to contradict her, even in today's world.

Each of the five sisters has her own "thing". The eldest sister Jane is the beauty but more of the quite and gracious type and yet emotionally strong as you come to learn. Elizabeth the female protagonist is her fathers favorite, lively and full of wit. The famous Mr. Darcy is disgustingly rich, intelligent and an introvert. The fact that his role was played by Martin Henderson in the movie, only helped imagine his "handsomeness" more vividly. I love the father's laconic style which only brings to light the flair for drama that his wife has.

It's almost a typical love story. What made me read on were the characters. First you wanted to know how the two met, then there's the whole falling in love that is to happen which is to catch them unawares and lastly you want to know who makes the first move and how. If Lizzy actually apologies. How Darcy reacts to her playfulness even after they've married. William Collins ( a cousin who wanted to marry Elizabeth but was turned down and married her best friend instead), Lady Catherine (Darcy's widowed aunt who has her own plans for Darcy) Charles Bingley (Darcy's best friend and Jane's love) and his evil sisters, only add liveliness to the book and make it more interesting.

Anyway, if you haven't read it, do so now. If you aren't too found of English Lit you mightn't enjoy the writing style too much, so I'd suggest you watch the movie first (Bollywood or Hollywood, they're both good)- that way you can just skip through some descriptive pages and not loose the plot.

And if you HAVE read it, do so again!

All my love.

At first this post was supposed to be about how amazed, in a good way, I was on hearing/ seeing that the award for the NDTV Indian of The Year 2007 was given to- the Indian soldier. But then, Taare Zameen Par happened.

I had taken a solemn vow to not watch the movie- considering how almost everyone who has seen it has sobbed his/ her eyes out after watching it. I wouldn’t watch it, I wouldn’t watch it. I wouldn’t. Na- uh. Didn’t need to go to a theatre to find something to cry about now, did I? Sigh.

But I did. I did watch it. Not in a theatre, but at home. If that helps with what you think of the strength of my will power. It’s super. Considering that I keep away from reviews until I’ve seen the movie, I had absolutely no idea what it was about. All I knew was that it made people cry. Hell it made Advani cry. There was a whole 200 word write up on that on the 3rd page, no less, of every national daily.

I had this extremely disturbing talk with a cousin of mine the other day. He wanted to send his 9 year old (or less) daughter to a boarding school so that she could be given the opportunity to hone the skills he knows she has. So that she’d be trained to face competition. A 9 year old.

Children are little. They're, for the lack of another word, precious. What they need is not to be taught about the whos and the whys and the wheres- they need color, exploration, stories. They have imagination that needs to be nutured. They have courage that needs to be given an outlet.

There'll be enough time later on for them to learn how to face the "world". Hell, they wouldn't require this so called training- because they'd have what was most important- your belief, your support, your love. And they'd have the security of having had the oppurtunity of being a child. Of having had the oppurtunity to explore. What, if not the courage to take risks and knowing what you do best, do you need to find success?

I totally support the need for all round development- I, myself, was fortunate enough to have been a part of not one school, but three schools, all of which believed in this very thing and hence, while academia was stressed on, so was what was put under “extra curricular”. I’ve also had the fortune of being blessed with parents, to whom I didn’t have to mutter a “I’m sorry” after I’d not won a competition.

But that's not what the movie is about. Or what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say was, that I had the fortune of coming across teachers, mentors, who saw beneath the surface. And sometimes, even when they didn't understand what they saw or couldn't really see- only knew that there was something underneath that was being kept hidden: they always showed faith in me. Believed in me. This movie is about exactly that.

The movie is about not blindly believing in what we see, but about trying to see and find out what lies behind- about questioning. About being convinced that the sun really doesn’t just go to bed while the moon takes on the night shift. It’s also about reading between the lines. Understanding silences. Finding the problem and tackling it, instead of just trying to eradicate the symptoms.

It’s about not telling your child what is what, but letting him find out what is well, what. About letting them find out what they’re meant to do, and giving them the courage to pursue those dreams. About giving them belief to pursue those dreams. And no, THESE things are not meant for only books and movies- I know of people who as teachers work on these principles, and I know of the results they’ve achieved.

It’s about not bearing a child down with chains.

It’s not something that will make you angry. It’s not something that will give you nightmares. It will make you sad. Or at least not for me. Because, it was an embodiment of all my beliefs. Of my dreams.

So, I can go to sleep knowing, that come one morning- I’m going to have the power and the resources to do the work I want to do. To be the change I want to see in the world.

What about you?
----------------------

'Funny that I should watch this movie, after my previous post. All things said and done, please please please DO watch the movie.

Oh and also- PAINT. No matter what you make, even if you're just splashing about with it- it's good for the soul. Either that or washing clothes. It's your choice!!


All my love.

Here's the best way you can exact revenge and it's also THE only way to torture the ones you hate- make them sit through Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. I, personally, wouldn't suggest this to even my worst enemy.

Usually, I'm not a person who hates a movie- I watch them with a relaxed attitude, and enjoy them for what they are. But this is terrible. It's horrible. It's worse that terrible and horrible put together. It makes you go "Oh my God! What have I ever done to deserve this? Ouch my ears. Oh my eyes!" Or something along those lines. Mostly, I think only the expletives used might change.

In a 2 and a half hour movie, 2 hours is only songs. And what songs. Jezus. You remember Khushi? This is worse than that! Imagine. No don't, I like you too much. Just take my word for it. Even the title track, as foot tapping as it is on your music player, it sucks on screen.

Bobby with his I've-got-cancer-I'm-going-to-die hair, Preity with her please-send-me-a-gora-chitta-munda(white guy)-Amen, Abhishek with his let's-do-something-neither-of-us-has-done-before-a-long-kiss-in-the-middle-of-the-road, Lara Dutta with her I'm-a-prostitute-I'm-a-prostitute and oh, yes, there's more- Amitabh and his feather who start singing for no rhyme or reason every 15 minutes. This, excluding the "ticket to Hollywood" and "kiss of love" nonsense.

I've probably been cleansed of at least a year s worth of sins for having sat through the entire thing. Seriously, don't watch it. Don't. There's not only no story, there's no acting, no music, no dialogues, no humor only cheap corny lines that are put to shame by even the road side romeos.

Ugh. Damn, got side tracked. So, that's it for now folks!

All my love.

P.S Don't watch it, seriously. Really.

Ho jao shuru what, I wanted to ask Mani sir. Throwing tomatoes? Rotten eggs? After all the 'I lovvvre it' s and the 'I lovvvre it' s from the people around me, I figured it'd be a good movie. And it HAS been getting full houses, for all of the, what? Three weeks it's been running?

Somehow the movie just didn't touch me. I mean the theme was perfect - poor kid rises up and makes his dreams come true - I thought I was going in for a gut wrenching tale of how to face hardships. I never did have a choice, as you might point out.

When I sit to think of it now, I can't figure what the movie really was about. Was it about the worst spun cloth ever? There's a lot of threads that just dangle loosely - people who just disappear into thin air during the course of the movie. The brother, the police, the righteous minister and the hammer to call a court to silence.

Weaving aside, the wife just features in all the lovey dovey scenes. Neither does she know what's really going on, nor does she do anything when she does - So, it's not a women s lib film, that's for sure.

Coming to think of it - the whole movie, I think would have to be, just, aah whatstat word? Ok? In today s world, an OK just isn't good enough. And that isn't good enough with a team like this.

I'll have to admit, however grudgingly, that it does please a person with it's wry sense of humor - the way he waits for the last minute to throw the gauntlet, would satisfy any person who appreciates sarcasm. The music, me thinks it just about the only thing that lived up to it's name.

Most memorable scene - The speech in the last scene, in front of the enquiry commission, would have to go down in history, as, not one of the worst speeches every written, but as THE worst written speech ever. By the end of which, you gather that the man has confused compliance with servility and corruption with convenience.

The man isn't even remorseful about having taken to dishonest means - hoax companies, hoax imports, production that is twice of what he has license for - none of it. Apparently, the end justifies the means.

On the other hand, even though a rang de basanti it wasn't, it did highlight the fact that the only way this country is going to get anywhere in a hurry, is by becoming street savvy. There's a lot that needs to be done out there, and the only thing that's stopping us, is what constitutes the government of the country.

Personally, I agree. I think the emergency was the one time India showed maximum growth. All this unity we boast about, comes out only when there's a match coming up or an outsider lifts a finger against one of our own. Admirable that it is, it's high time scruples became the mainstay of our lives.

Else, all we'll have in our hands will be range de created rebels and guru created businessmen. Coming to think of it, it doesn't sound too bad. Rebels and street savvy business men, to the rescue of the middle and lower classes. Except maybe I'd rather every second person in my line of vision not be wearing his underwear over his pants.

HOTEL KERALA-FONIA - by The Yeagles

On the road to Trivandrum
Coconut oil in my hair
Warm smell of avial
Rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a bright pink tube-light
My tummy rumbled, I felt weak and thin
I had to stop for a bite
There he stood in the doorway
Flicked his mundu in style
And I was thinking to myself
I don't like the look of his sinister smile
Then he lit up a petromax
Muttering "No power today"
More Mallus down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Such a lousy place,
Such a lousy place (background)
Such a sad disgrace,
Plenty of bugs at the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Any time of year
Any time of year (background)
It's infested here
It's infested here

His finger's stuck up his nostril
He's got a big, thick mustache
He makes an ugly, ugly noise
But that's just his laugh
Buxom girls clad in pavada
Eating banana chips
Some roll their eyes, and
Some roll their hips
I said to the manager
My room's full of mice
He said,
Don't worry, saar, I sending you
meen karri, brandy and ice
And still those voices were crying from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them pray

Save us from the Hotel Kerala-fonia
Such a lousy place,
Such a lousy place (background)
Such a sad disgrace
Trying to live at the Hotel Kerala-fonia
It is no surprise
It is no surprise (background)
That it swarms with flies

The blind man was pouring
Stale sambar on rice
And he said
We are all just actors here
In Silk Smitha-disguise
And in the dining chamber
We gathered for the feast
We stab it with our steely knives
But we just can't cut that beef
Last thing I remember
I was writhing on the floor
That cockroach in my appam-stew was the culprit,
I am sure
Relax, said the watchman
This enema will make you well
And his friends laughed as they held me down
God's Own Country? Oh, Hell!

Another piece of treasure, I came across, ensaai. God bless the Eagles, and may the song ( the original, of course) live always :)

Yours forever sthupitly.

It feels kinda bad to be wanting to write about something good and happy, after the morning I had yesterday. But then, it's official without any trace of doubt, that I'm crazy. Ha.

Yesterday was one roller coaster ride. Spent the morning crying and feeling terrible, and hopeful, and the evening, listening to Jagjit Singh. Live in concert. For the first time. Lucky biatch, eh? That's me for you.

3 hours with the maestro. I haven't been this happy in eons!! The man is so bleddy good, the words, the music... everything. It all makes so much sense. And yet, at times it doesn't.

I remember, there was a time when dad didn't believe I understood what they were about. I was "too young". After a hard day, he'd lie down flat on the carpet in the hall and listen to Woh Kagaaz ki kashti, and I'd do just the same. Little did he know, that it did make sense to his lil girl, always did and always will.

There's some real sad ones, some real happy ones and some awesomely romantic ones. It's amazing how a few lines, put together in the right order, can suddenly be the best way to describe your life.

He did his signature ghazals.... Hoshwalon ko khabar kya,Tera chehra, Tum ko dekha tto yeh khayal aaya, Ahista Ahista and I could go on and on and on.

Rang bhi dekha, roop bhi dekha,
rasta, manjil, sahil, mahfil, koi nahi hai aisa,
tera saath hai aisa,
Meri akho ne chuna hai tujhko duniya dekh kar,
Meri akho ne chuna hai tujhko duniya dekh kar....

Has to be the bestest of my discoveries last evening. All in all, I was happy. It's kinda sad admitting it, but I was happy after a long long time. Guess music does that to you. Ghazals do that to me.

I hardly ever admit it... that I'm scared. That I'm hurt. That it pains. There's too many people depending on me, or so I let myself believe and I care too much. There's alot of times when I've almost given up and wanted to believe that it really won't ever be all right again, that there really aren't any happy endings and that love is just and abstract noun.

It's also real hard to believe that I'm so blessed. And I don't know what I've done to deserve any of it. I know I haven't, and I guess that's what makes me want to reach out to people, do some good. Make a difference. Justify all this. I dunno how many people realise it, but I do, with every turn life takes, that I'm doubly blessed. And believe you me, some of the stuff that "hurts" seems real trivial when compared to the stuff other people are subjected to for a large part of their lives. I guess, it makes me in different on one level... But, I dunno.

And it scares the shit out of me. Wondering if such stuff happened to me, what I'd do. If I'm strong enough to deal with it. If.... Ugh. The only place I like if is when it's linked to Rudyard Kipling.

Anyway, things are almost right on this side of the world. All thanks to an awesome evening. Mwah. I could kiss the damn computer screen. Oh and the template change, is to mark the begining of a new season of hope. And promises. And... well, me. And you.

I don't believe this. I feel like those bubbles of champagne. It tickles.

Lotsaluv,

Yours forever sthupitly.

P.S: If I didn't make any sense back there, you can sleep peacefully, knowing that I'm back to normal.

P.P.S: If I did make sense back there, well, God help you.

My life USED to revolve around the photocopying machine. My life NOW revolves around the comp doing project work. I've spent 30 hours out of 40 sitting here, working. Out of the remaining 18, I've spent 3 out of those 10 watching woh lamhe and the rest sleeping like a baby. Imagine. 30/40!!

And this is the same thing I spent a week on at the begining of this month. Now, I'm working on the behalf of 4 people, to do the whole thing again, from scratch, cuz I'm a dumbass.

It's like its bloddy written on my head or something. She's an idiot. Drop all your stuff on her, last minute and she'll do it.

Sigh.

On the brighter side, inspite of the sad ending and the crew, the movie is bloddy awesome! You just HAVE to watch it. I hated both the two of them(yes, you read that right) in Gangster. She kept screeching all through. Oh I forgot to mention! I saw that again also, a while back, and it was good. Even made me cry. But which movie doesn't.

She's really good in this. Even looks awesome at places. Even Ahuja is kinda cute at places. And the story is something you can connect with. It is true, you know. That while love is the greatest healer, it can work the other way too. It can hurt and make you mad. It did to me, at one point.

Anyway, go watch the movie. The songs are damn good too. It's what s kept me sane in the last two days. Hope your day was better than mine!

Yours forever sthupitly.

Pink Panther is just tooo good. I am an absolute pink panther fan... I'd sit and watch every cartoon religiously. But that made me kinda wary about the movie... as it turns out, the movie is awesome. I laughed and laughed. And even split my side. You just have to watch it, if you haven't so far.

I'm going to be missing 5 exams next week... so I spent the whole of my Friday begging and pleading teachers to have mercy and let me write them later. Some of them are so rude... they just don't see the light. I mean, I know it's a pain setting up a whole new paper.. but what the hell man, it's not like I'm going to Australia for sightseeing, that you can't comply. Anyway, in the end they all agreed. Some of the profs were really nice... telling me not to worry and take care of my health first and all that. Alls well that ends well.

So, while all me friends slog on the weekend, I've been lazing around getting pampered. You know na... you usually stuff up a chicken before the kill? Just like that.

Since I had so much free time this weekend, I decided to go through some of my previous posts... and I came across one, which I think is the last time I took the time to seriously be greatful for stuff in my life. I'm thankful I've lived to see today, for my oldest t-shirt that I wear to sleep, for the messages from my bro ( whose been behaving like a procupine for a while now) telling me that he loved me and to take care, for people who bisit and leave comments, for my ma and da, for the testimonial my sis wrote me on Orkut- it's one of the sweetest things she's said by mistake, for the people who stand by me without me even asking for it, for the Pink Panther movie which brightened my day, for sweet paan, for Cookie man cookies-specially the choco chip ones and even for the spicy pasta we had yesterday- it made me cry for an hour, it was that hot...!! What are you greatful for today?

This Calvin and Hobbes comic I read the other day got me thinking.. truly speaking the only definites in life are the things you hate, and some how even that is reassuring. I might be not sure of myself and all that but I sure as hell know that I hate brinjals. So, when in doubt, I think of the only surety in my life and that is, I hate brinjals. Hating brinjals saves the day!! Who would've thought.

Even though a day late, Koze, here's wishing you a damn good year ahead. And like I wish for everyone dear to me... may you always have stash saved up for the latest hair dyes, new dentures, cleaning up your hearing aid and the latest walking stick. Harpy Budday.

Oh and you guys are in for a treat... me not going to be bugging you for a while now, cuz me is going to Hyderbad for around ten days... I've been missing the Biryani too much. So, miss me, and lotsaluv,

Yours forever sthupitly.

P.s: Don't forget me!! :(

Yep, that's what Fanaa means. And yes that's what it does. Even to an insane person like me.

And what it does to a person who has watched it twice, you've already seen an example of it on this very blog :) Blame the movie for the posts you've been seeing here lately.

I know this comes as a surprise to you. And that your thinking about re-evaluating my "insanity" status, and maybe considering pushing me to a notch higher on the scale. A few notches. In my defence... It wasn't in my hands! Two different sets of cousins wanted to watch it. And both being in different cities... Twice. Two times. Not one, not three, TWO. Yuccckk.

The movie has two halves. Neither of which are linked to eachother. By the time you get yourself involved into the first half, it's time for caramel popcorn. And your glad you were busy trying not to get sticky stuff on your dress, by the time the credits come rolling.

In the first half, Aamir plays the role of a guide and he does one helluva job showing Kajol, Delhi (ahem) where she's come to perform at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Innocent girl from small town, and blind at it meets out going and hunky playboy. Lots of shayari.. sparks fly... lame songs, except Chand Sifarish, come. They try to bring in humor by bringing in Jaspal Bhatti, the operative word here being TRY. Oh and if you think the movie ends with her gaining her eye sight... your right. Though, it happens before the interval... What more could there be? Aamir is dead. Terrorist attack. Bada bang, bada bong.. pop corn time!!

And you come back to real hep music, and black polished shoes walking and a brief case. Voila` Aamir is back from the dead with a new hair cut and glasses. Or maybe it's an evil twin. Ha! And I'm Miss India... Oh and if there is a small chance that you still haven't guessed that this guide is actually a terrorist, you... well, just enjoy the pop corn and whoever, oops my mistake.. whatever goes with it ;)

And so it goes on. He meets her again. And meets his son too. Some nonsense, the movie is. For all the hype and all that. But I guess it did show what it intended to show.. how messed up some lives can be. The only thing I didn't like was how not involving it was for us audience. Oh and Tabu also comes in, as Ms. Detective. They really think wearing a leather jacket makes a woman look like she's a part of the FBI??

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, don't. Because if you liked the two songs that are likeable from the movie, the movie is a dissapointment. Unless of course, you have someone who can distract you enough in the theatre, to enjoy whatever little there is to enjoy in the movie.

I like the shayari. The original ones at least that figure in the songs.. All the others are SMS's. Yuckk. Kajol looks damn good. And so does Aamir.. but he's kinda stuck to the lime green and turquoise blue combination in the first half. Oh and their kid is sooo cute.

Rone de tu aaj humko,
Tu aakhein sujane de,
Bahon mein le le aur khud ko bheeg jane de,
Hai jo seenae mein kaid dariya.
Woh choot jayega...
Hain itna dard ke tera daman bheeg jayega.

... that is just about all that I really really liked in the movie. And the two songs. And one more piece of shayari. And of course the movie going on a few seats next to me. When we got up during the interval to get us some drinks... my bro actually took me seat, because then he could get a better look. Guys. Sigh. And I'd bet he made his own movie while watching the same flick with his fiance` (she wasn't with us the day we went..). And I'd win.

;)

Disclaimer: All rights are reserved with the publisher. Any resemblence to songs written before is purely coincidental.The publisher can not be held responsible for any heart attacks or suicide attempts by Bryan Adams.

Sambhar of 69

DO NOT READ THIS if you haven't read
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince... You'll be sorry..!!


... It feels as though I've just gotten off the Hogwarts Express and am already at the Drusleys! Yeah, it's that bad to see the journey end. Another year end. And now I have to get back to reality. Yuck. It's a depressing thought... I'm comparing it to staying at Privet Drive, aren't I?? Why does there have to be a last page??

It's depressing to think that you can no longer roam the halls of Hogwarts.. That you can't sit with Harry, Ron and Hermoine in the common room.,.. Or watch Ginny shout at Ron on the subject of snogging :D....or..or ... Just watch.. Magic unfurl around you...YEAH!! 'cuz that's what it feels like... MAGIC... ugggghhh!! I wish the book would never end....

J.K Rowling has once again outdone herself... And kept the reader glued till he's reached the last page..And wanting for more after that!! It's amazing how each character slowly develops, grows, and moves on, along with the story.. What's more amazing is that while the reader enjoys reading about the usual people, he doesn't feel lost with the entry of new characters. One very successfully manages to recollect a page or a conversation from one the previous books where the names have appeared. It's so easy to feel that your a part of the whole thing...

The book has answered a lot of questions... The pensive had a lot of to do work this time..And adds a few more too, much to one's distress!!...The book's full of good news and bad news... And werewolves and deaths, and the horrrrrible death eaters.. You don't know what to expect next..! It was saddening that Dumbledore had to die... He was my favorite... Loved his glasses and robe and voice! It's impossible to think of him, as only some character from a book...Damn Snape!!

It is no wonder that while some people DO deserve a second chance.. There are others who just DO NOT...Yeah, I'm talking about Snape...! He's evil through and through and I reckon he's going to get his worth once Harry lays his hands on the creep...Because like Dumbledore wisely put ( the man's unbelievable, almost like he's a wizard..hehhe!!!) Harry has the most deadly weapon of all, Love.

Loads of people go missing and a revolting number seem to be under some sort of curse or the other. None of it diminishes the need to cheer at the Quidditch matches which become more interesting 'cuz now Harry's captain...And it doesn't decrease the studying workload, specially since Harry and gang are now in their 6th year.. Oh! Did I mention it? They all did superbly in their O.W.L.S.!!! Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasely, as Fred and George , now like to be referred to as are doing superbly well with their own shop on Diagon Alley...! Percy's a brat and hasn't come back to the family.

Not to forget some superb new spells... I particularly like the one that hangs you in the air, upside down... Then there's the Felix- lucky-potion, which is too good to be true...!! Kaushik, you think we could make some of it, if we got hold of the half-blood-prince's book? As much as I'd hate to even touch anything that was Snape's the potion would come handy to Harry..

What's more is that there's a love-is-in-the-air atmosphere in the magical world this year... Ron and Hermoine, Ginny and Harry, Tonks and Lupin, Bill and Fleur...!!! It's very very...umm...Harry-like of him to give up Ginny, since he knows the danger she'll be in if they continued as a couple... I hope they're together at the end of the next book... Harry deserves some happiness...!!!

There's going to be a lot for J.K.Rowling to do in the next book, Harry has to hunt down all the Horcruxes and face Lord Voldemort... it's revolting that you have to call him "lord"... Rowling has kept track of all details mentioned in her other books with remarkable precision... And it's almost, if I may say, magical.... 'cuz it must have taken helluva lot of work.. It would be easier if she had a house elf... You reckon they can read, can't they?? I hope the next book comes out soooooonnnnnn.......!!!! Until then... I'm going get back on the Hogwarts Express.... Who would want to stay with the Drusley's!!!

Gregory David Roberts.

I had no idea who this guy was either. And then I came across his interview on television and heard him talk about his life. What hit me first, while I listened to him, was a that a very very simple policy in life that I followed and believed, wasn't just another castle in the air built by someone as dumb as me, was reality.

Everyone deserves a second chance.

The story of his life caught up with me when he talked about his marriage break-up. The court trial that followed a while later for the custody of his baby girl was won by his wife who had walked out on father and child for another man when the baby was 3 and a half. 5 years, at the time the court handed custody to the mother, she clung to her father's leg outside the court wailing that she wanted to go home with him, she moved everyone's hearts including the policemen!

Gregory, went home and sat. Night fell around him. And marked the beginning of an end , the start of his heroin addiction. Having spent all the money he had drowning his grief in heroin, he started robbing. Banks, homes. He says he was called the Gentle bandit... 'cuz he looted banks with a toy gun he used to take his heroin, wore a three piece suit and talked calmly to the people, took only how much money was required, and never harmed anyone.

Soon, he was on Australia's Most Wanted list. He was captured and imprisoned in 1978. Was chained,beaten, tortured and not fed. He'd lost half his weight when he escaped the most tightly secured prison with the help of a motorcycle gang, BLF Union, & revolutionaries to escape to New Zealand in 1980.

I'm going to cut the story short here and quote him describe his life...

"I was a revolutionary who lost his ideals in heroin, a philosopher who lost his integrity in crime, and a poet who lost his soul in a maximum-security prison. When I escaped from that prison, over the front wall, between two gun-towers, I became my country's most wanted man.

Luck ran with me and flew with me across the world to India, where I set up and ran a free clinic in a crowded Bombay slum. I joined the Bombay Mafia, and worked as a gunrunner, a smuggler, and a counterfeiter. I was chained on three continents, beaten, stabbed, and starved. I went to war. I ran into the enemy guns. And when those wilderness years of hunted exile came to an end, when I changed my life, when I stopped running onto the knives and started running into the light of love instead, I wrote the novel, Shantaram, that was based on my wild and wicked life."

Now,Gregory David Roberts, once known as Public Enemy Number One and Australia's Most Wanted Man, lectures on literature and art at universities, and teaches his philosophy and cosmosophy to students from every walk of life, including business leaders and creative artists in the fields of movies, writing, music, and drama.

While on the show, he was asked how different the under-world and the Mafia are today, when compared to the olden days when he was a part of it. He replies by saying, " There was integrity then. Yes, even among the gangsters. There were boundaries and lines which were never to be crossed."

When you see this man today, no one can ever think he is/was anything but what he looks like. Respectable and a man of integrity. When you hear him talk about how Bombay (now Mumbai), as he calls it, adopted him, you think of him as a man with passion. You cannot second guess the life he has been through until he tells you about it. And when he's told you his tale... You can see the scars that have been left behind. But you also see how they have turned him onto the right path, made him who he is today.You also see that your worst fears about everything and anything are true and not fiction. You also see that there are people who love and care about others, because they don't want it any other way,even today. After you've heard him talk it's hard to not let his experiences thaw at the cynic in you. Instead of losing faith in him and society, you find it. Faith in the world. Faith in him and in you.

THAT is all I have to say.

P.S: if u want to read up in detail about his "adventures"... I've mentioned a link. And read the book...!!