BOLLYWOOD VS HOLLYWOOD – A STRIFE FOR GREATER POPULARITY! - PART 1

                       We have often noticed that the most popular dinner table conversation is, “Can Bollywood masala flicks really be compared with Hollywood movies?”. This topic sends a rush of high emotions to everyone who try to get their points across. The result ends in a huge bedlam accompanied by screaming and shouting with people at each other’s throats trying to convince that they have got the right points. I’ve realized that instead of arguing with anyone, I can put my thoughts to words. It’s a much adroit and peaceful way to express oneself, isn’t it?

                            Before I can start with anything else, I just want you to have a nice look at the nominations of the 2011 Oscars.

-     -The King’s Speech

-     -127 Hours

-     -Black Swan

-     -The Social Network

-     -Inception

-     -The Fighter

-     -The Kids Are All Right

-     -Winter’s Bone

-     -Toy Story 3

-     -True Grit


(Note - The winner is shown in bold italics)

                     

                     I was simply startled to look at the broad spectrum of genres displayed by the Oscars! A variety of topics have been covered such as, from fantasy (Inception) to Historical Drama (The King’s Speech); from family comedy (The Kids Are All Right) to Biographical drama (The Fighter, 127 Hours) and so on and so forth. I’ve watched every single film that was nominated for Oscars this year and the most notable thing I found that there were no repackaged histrionic love sagas made with the sole motive to become a box office success. Almost all of them had scintillating performances, engrossing storylines and a crafty storytelling capability to demonstrate the genuiness of the setting and getting the look right.

                       Now, let’s have a look at the nominees of this year’s Annual Filmfare awards.

-     -DABANGG.

-     -Band Baja Baraat

-     -Udaan

-     -My Name Is Khan

-     -Peepli Live.

              There has been quite an improvement in the Indian cinema over the past two decades, but, it still has to improve a lot. Looking at the nominees, I have to comment that it is a satisfactory list, but somehow it didn’t dazzle me enough. Maybe, that’s because, I think that Indian audiences still limit their definition of good cinema as “pure entertainment”. With the exception of Udaan, Peepli Live and to a certain extent, My Name is Khan, none of the others even endeavored towards anything meaningful or different!  I guess, Dabangg is a perfect example of what we call “Dhaasoo entertainment”.  “Loud, crazy, zany, exaggerated, larger-than-life, almost nonsensical, and totally make-believe”, is what Nikhat Kazmi wrote in the Times of India about Dabangg. I sat patiently through 125 minutes of the movie and realized that this movie is meant to focus one’s attention towards the big star charisma than the movie itself. The movie was a bland one, but it was magnanimously peppered with hot “desi tadkas” and item numbers which gives the complete entertainment. But, it was far from being meaningful. Even the serious scenes were looking comical (Especially, the climax scene between between Chulbul Pandey and Chedi Singh).

   

                   I feel that this year’s best movie was Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan (which won the crictics choice award). The speciality of Udaan was it shows an alternative perspective of teenage angst (unlike 3 Idiots, which shows the brighter side of the teenage period). Superb performances by small screen actor, Ronit Roy and Rajat Barmecha in his debut role. This movie, I’d like to say, is a masterpiece. It is a movie not meant to be explained, but experienced.

                         Another nominee this year is the satirical comedy, Peepli Live. Farmer’s suicide is just a headline for us today. We listen to the news and throw them out of our minds in no time. Peepli Live, takes a thought-provoking and a serious topic and turns it into a comic satire. This shows how intelligent can Bollywood movies become. Other movies released this year mercilessly ridicule your intelligence and aren’t even comical, if that’s what you are looking for! This is supposed to be the rebirth of Bollywood, after two horrid decades, where  Bollwood kept demeaning itself by producing terrible movies, year after year.

                          After my above assessment, it will highly unlikely to compare Hollywood with Bollywood.  Many people have argued that Indian cinemas have different cultures and different budgets, so comparing them with Western cinemas would be inappropriate.  I think they are mistaken that Hollywood means “pure action”. The fact that they can take on more challenging and thought-provoking subjects than the Indians, makes them better than us.

                         I think, that script is the crux of a good movie. I believe, that an engaging script can give a whole new standpoint to a movie – and that’s where we fall back in comparison with Hollywood productions.  Indian producers have to comprehend the fact that no amount of money, can save a film with a frail script! Most filmmakers seem to test people’s intelligence by reiterating old painting in a new frame, compensating a good storyline with ritzy locations and a big star cast. I’d like to give a message to such filmmakers that “This trick ain’t working anymore!”.

                    This year’s most anticipated movie, was Farah Khan’s action comedy film, Tees Maar Khan. Apart from the poor script and improper dialogues, this film is a erroneous imitation of an 1965 Italian movie, After The Fox. I’d like to rename the movie from Tees Maar Khan to “131 minutes of extreme torture!”J. It is a low IQ film and a receptacle full of mindless comedy. Even the kids watching the movie weren’t feeling amused. And yet, it became the second biggest opening day grosser of all time! I think the entire credit for such an acclaim goes to “Sheila” for displaying her “jawani” in a hot item song “Sheila ki Jawaani”. I observed that most people came to watch Katrina Kaif performing the provocative item number. But, it is preposterous to believe that audiences can sit through the whole torment, just to watch Katrina Kaif!!

                 It’s time for the makers to take more risks and make movies with some conviction. Currently, Bollwood is in a great danger of mocking itself because the movies are so hopelessly out of sync with the reality. All the singing and dancing happen only in films! Perhaps, it’s time to be more mature and understand that only fantasy doesnot mean entertainment. Our real lives are more realistic than some bland love traingles! Why can’t the filmmakers make some movies which bear resemblance to our ordinary lives and present it in a more entertaining way.

            I sincerely hope that you have liked my judgement. You are welcome to disagree in the comments section.

                                           - Posted by,

                                             Supratik "Ronnie" Sarthak. :D                                                        

                                            

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER ......

“The stupid neither forgive nor forget;

The naïve forgive and forget;

The wise forgive but never forget……”

-        Thomas Szasz.

                           I was driving past a couple of good restaurants on a hot sweltering morning. I saw a couple of pushy and boisterous group of college girls and boys hanging out in front of the Café Coffee day. I reflected upon my past and recalled the days when me and my group used to hang out in the café. As I was all alone and the exuberant group was thrilling me, I decided to have a cup of coffee. When I was entering the café, I saw a stunningly beautiful girl standing at the paring lot with a couple of other girls. I lowered my sunglasses to take a better peak at the appealing figure. She wore a pink kurti and black jeans. A beautiful diamond studded gold ring on her suggested that she was engaged. I was gaping at her open-mouthed for a few seconds until one of her friends spotted and pointed her finger at me. I took my eyes of her instantaneously to avoid any confrontation and started pretending to be examining the beauty of the surroundings. I felt embarrassed and started walking faster which made me stumble across a coffee table spilling hot coffee on a young couple. 

“Dude? Are you blind?”, the guy yelled at me. 

“I’m sorry. I got carried away”, I apologized in a suppressed tone. 

“Yeah, you better be careful, or we won’t be exchanging words next time”, he said by folding up his sleeves and the crowd behind him was hooting. Obviously, he wanted to be the cynosure of the group. I nodded apologetically at her girlfriend and walked away. People were staring and laughing at me.

“Your flirting days are over, pal! Now, get back to business”, I muttered to myself. 

                       I made my way into the café and grabbed a table. A fat waitress smilingly approached me and said, “What would you like to have, sir?” 

“A cold coffee with some chocolate ice-cream”, I replied showing no interest in her. 

As I was judging my “gaping” activity, someone patted on my shoulders from behind. I closed my eyes for a second because I was pretty sure that the hunky guy had come to pick up a fight to impress his girlfriend. I angrily turned and said, “Alright, let’s settle this...” and I don’t remember saying anything after that. I saw the ravishing beauty with crossed arms and a haughty expression. Her face seemed quite familiar but my memory had been a bit foggy for a couple of years. 

“Abhay Mishra?”, she asked in a squeaky excited voice. 

“Yes”, I replied 

“You don’t remember me, do you?” 

“I’m trying real hard, but in vain” 

“Remember the high school days? I’m Prakriti Chatterjee!” 

All my senses had gone numb and my mouth was awfully dry inspite of having a glass of water. The nightmarish thoughts which were buried deep within were starting to come to the surface. The ground had vanished beneath my feet and a meteorite had crashed on my head. She had changed a lot. 

“Maybe, she had a plastic surgery…”, I muttered to myself. 

“Hello, Mr. Walter Mitty! Am I talking to a corpse? Say something”, she said smilingly. 

I returned a peculiar peevish smile that made me look like a total dork. 

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you around”, I replied clumsily, still smiling, “But, you have changed enormously. How? When?” 

She marked the desperation in my voice and that made her feel good, I guess. 

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you sometime later” 

“Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?”, I asked eagerly expecting a “yes”. 

“No, I have to leave today. My husband is returning tomorrow”, she replied quickly. 

“It’s just a cup of coffee! Hardly takes five minutes to sip it down” 

She hesitated, but somehow I managed to coerce her to spend some time with me. I wanted to know more about her. Operation “Prakriti” had commenced then. 

“Fine, I can spend some time with my old friend. I need to notify my friends that they can leave”, she said haughtily which was annoying.

I was looking at her silky dark brown hair which was glittering in the sunlight. My mind kept on making stupid conjectures about her changed appearance. Ten years ago, Prakriti was the most unsightly girl in our school. She had lots of frizzy, unkempt hair, which her mother used to tie a knot.I wondered she may have received a huge electric shock during her birth. Her glasses were exactly like my grandpa’s; big and square. She had a pair of giant front teeth that looked like a beaver. She used to wear permanent braces which were like noxious barb-wires sealing big chunks of marble. Above all, was her ear-splitting, vociferous laugh, which had the capability of bringing everyone to tears. But now, the world had gone upside down for me. I couldn’t stop staring at her. The braces have been replaced by nice and proportionate pair of teeth, her hair isn’t frizzy at all and she didn’t even wear glasses! How on earth can an ugly girl transform herself into a poised and dignified beauty like the Aphrodite? A myriad of ideas were swarming around my head, but, since she was coming back towards the café, I didn’t want scare her away.

                       While she was walking towards me, I could observe a small sneer on her face and a almond shaped smoky black eyes were concealed under her aviator-styled sunglasses. She was making me damn horny but I had mind control. 

“So, what are we having?”, she asked airily 

“Whatever you wanna have”  

“One Choco latte please!”,she gestured the waitress. 

“What are you doing lately?” she asked me lowering her sunglasses. 

“I’m currently working in Infosys as the project manager” 

“And where do you live?” 

“Bangalore. I’ve come here on a business tour” 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” 

“No”, I began, “And no more questions. Its time for Quid Pro Quo”. 

“I can’t imagine! Abhay Mishra is single! Must be awful for you…”, she said teasingly. 

“I prefer not to have a girlfriend”, I replied calmly despite her sarcastic remarks. 

“Where is your husband now?”, I started questioning her. 

“He’s in Helsinki”, she said proudly, “You know, in Finland” 

“I know where Helsinki is”, I snapped. 

“I live in New Delhi with my three year old son. Prior to my marriage I was working in State Bank of India as an assistant manager. But now, I’m a freelance writer.” 

I nodded my head in appreciation, though I was not amazed. I wanted this conversation to end ASAP!! I couldn’t bear her new attitude and her sneering remarks. 

“So, I guess, you are ready to leave…” I asked with my fingers crossed. 

“Do you want me to leave?”, she asked surprisingly 

“Me?..Absolutely not”, I faltered 

“Actually, I’ve decided to spend the whole day with you”, she said playfully. 

                      It felt like I swallowed a brick. She had planned everything from the beginning. She seemed determined about something… maybe, revenge. I’ve heard that revenge is a dish best served cold, but, it amazes me that it took her ten long years to cool off her wrath with me. 

                     She urged me to go to a nice and quiet restaurant instead of some chaotic shopping mall, so that they could spend some quality time. I was trying to comprehend her every move so that I’ll be able to counter-attack later on. We left the café and started to drive away to a restaurant on my grey sedan and didn’t speak to each other much. Petty feelings like envy and aggravation were engulfing me and making me vunerable. To calm my nerves down, I switched to listening Pink Floyd. 

“You haven’t changed a bit! You still listen to Pink Floyd”, she giggled. 

“What’s so funny? They are my all time favorites. I’m glad you remembered that”, I said uninterestingly 

“Oh, I remember a lot of things, Abhay”, she replied sharply. 

                        I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the journey. I realized that this is my judgement day. It was time to pay for all the pain and humiliation I caused to her ten years ago. I could never forget the day because it was the day when I dumped her. It was August 25,2004, my 15^th birthday. I was a bit edgy about our relationship which was going too smooth. She started questioning me about where this relationship was going. She even started to develop an increasing possessiveness towards which freaked me out and I needed to escape. So, I started avoiding her. Pissed off at my behaviour towards her, Prakriti showed up at my birthday party, which I kept a secret from nearly everybody. She threatened that she would reveal everything to my mother. A strong surge of mixed emotions struck me like a lightning bolt which compelled me to show my true colours to her. I dumped her in front of my friends and said that I deserved better. Shell-shocked by by my decision, she commented that I callously butchered an important part of her life. I felt sorry for her but my vanity and ego constrained me to apologize.

                  That was the last time I saw her. Even, I stayed below the radar for a couple of weeks to avoid much attention. I never wanted things to end in such a haste. One day, when I felt like paying a visit to her, her mother said that Prakriti had gone to Delhi to start a new life and it would be better for me if I didn’t interfere with any of her decisions. I never tried to get in contact with her because I never cared for her. She had become just an other girl in my life. But now, I was feeling quite contrite for my actions and I wanted to make it up to her.

  

                 I was driving pretty fast because I wanted to sort things out. Eventually, we reached one of my favorite restaurants, Tangerine 9, where I booked a table for two. This place was ideal for me because of its peacefulness. There were a few people present in the restaurant who were least interested in us.

Before anything obnoxious could come out of her mouth, I asked, “Prakriti, are you happy?” 

“Yes, Don’t I look like I’m happy?” 

“I meant, are you happy with yourself?” 

“Yes, absolutely”, she flushed. Her ears had gone red and her face had the same colour as her top. “Why did you ask that?” 

“No reason, just had a gut feeling”, I shrugged, “But I do want to know the mystery behind your phenomenal changes” 

“Have you ever seen a butterfly?” 

“Yeah, they are beautiful”, I replied. 

“But do you know what they look like in their early stages of life? They are caterpillars which are gross. But, eventually, when the caterpillar mature, they go through a series of transitions to transform into an exquisite and serene beauty” 

“Hmm”, I replied. I was perplexed by her comparison. The conversation had taken a bold and intriguing twist. 

“I’m sorry for what I did to you ten years ago”, I blurted 

“Forgiveness is the virtue of the strong. I’m still weak at heart”, she started gloomily, “It was unimaginably difficult for me to forget about what you did to me. Every time I looked in the mirror, I could see you laughing and bickering at me. But, later on I realized that you gave me the strength, the impulse to change. If you had not shown me my place ten years ago, I wouldn’t have changed and believe me, change is better”.

                           I gave her a bewildered look and started laughing hysterically. It was beyond my expectation that she would someday thank me for what I did to her. Throughout the day, I was getting paranoid, but in the end I emerged to be the saviour.  

“Are we clear now?”, I asked 

“Yes, clear as the sky”, she replied. 

“I have one last question for you”, I asked seriously. 

“Shoot”, she added jokingly. 

“Would you be satisfied with yourself if I had never broken your heart in the first place? Would you be as happy as you are now?”

She was taken aback by my rhetorical question. Her face contorted and she was taking shallow breaths. She turned her back at once and started to scurry away. 

“You didn’t answer my question?”, I shouted. 

 She turned and looked at me. Her face was red and tears were gliding down upon it, like drops of drew on a fresh rose. She was deeply overwhelmed and wished to leave.  

“My answer would be no”, she murmured, “You were an insensitive and wretched piece of crap. I was never comfortable with you and never will I forget the stuff you did to me. I’m more than being happy now and I think you feel the same for yourself too”.

               I lowered my eyes due to guilt. Ten years prior to this day, I had the guts to break up with a girl publicly, but now, I’m like a timid sheep ambushed by a vicious tigress. Her words were piercing through me like hot knives. She stopped sobbing and gave me a tight hug. She caressed my hair and whispered, “You have become a good man. I was a fool to underestimate you”. She kissed me on the cheek and walked away before I could say anything. 

“Do you want a lift?”, I blurted. 

“I’m tired of taking favours from you, Abhay! I’m independent now”, she said playfully walking away from me. 

“Shall we meet again?”, I shouted eagerly 

She didn’t answer my question; instead she gave me a shrug. I didn't know why I asked her such a question and I wish , she never answers that. The sky was getting dusky and darkness was about to begin. My solitary life was getting started while I watched Prakriti move away from me. Soon, her figure dissolved into the chaotic crowd and she was gone. 

“Thanks”, I whispered to myself and started my car. I have nothing but a memory of a girl who gave me a free and valuable piece of advice. Maybe, it was time for me to change and leave my darkness behind. We are still thankful to each other for the spirits we have instilled upon ourselves.

-         Original Short Story by

                                                            Supratik “Ronnie” Sarthak.

HIV/AIDS - W.H.O PLANNED GENOCIDE???

AIDS in the world rarely makes headlines anymore. In the mind of the public the disease is still believed to be a sexually-transmitted disease mostly affecting male homosexuals, drug addicts, prostitutes and promiscuous people. Starting officially in June 1981 as a "gay disease" affecting only a few dozen men, there are now 800,000 reported U.S. AIDS cases and 460,000 deaths, mostly young men. Twenty-two million people have died of the disease.


         In this turmoil, no one really cares about how this perilous and prevalent malady originated in the first place. People claim that AIDS came from Africa, but, if we put more light upon the fact, how is that sexually and biologically possible? US scientists assert that AIDS is an African "heterosexual" disease, whereas the first case of AIDS in America was observed in Manhattan in 1971 and the subject was a white homosexual man. If it was a heterosexual disease, how come a gay in America become a victim? No one knows about the contrasting fact but there is enough evidence to conclude that AIDS was not a quirk of mother nature.


            HIV/AIDS originated due to a series of experiments in the development of vaccines by the US government. Prof Jakob Segel, a biology professor at Humboldt University in then East Germany concluded that HIV was researched at US lab at Fort Detrick, Maryland, USA. The then President of the US, Richard Nixon permanantly joined the Fort Detrick lab on October 18, 1971. The lab was famous for its cancer research. Although, no cure was possibly found, the experiment ended with disastrous results. Although, it was not just an atrocious scientific experiment that slipped out of hands, since it was a success in Africa. Both America and Russia collaborated in the research of the virus at Fort Detrick and transferred the virus into non - human primates such as monkeys, chimps etc during the late 1960s before the outbreak occurred. AIDS virus was commonly noted in chimpanzees and "green monkey" of Africa. The green monkey was kept under observation and its blood was synthesized. Years later, after a series of exercises, HIV virus was created, waiting for orders to put it into use.


             The first human experiment reportedly occurred in the Belgian colonized part of Congo (Africa), where prisoners were bargained for their early release by taking the vaccine. Apart from that, villagers were offered $30 for their participation in the experiment. Apparently, the virus was created to keep a check on the population growth as well as to annihilate the homosexuals. There is documented evidence that the World Health Organization (WHO), under direction of the US government, actually injected the smallpox vaccine laced with the AIDS virus into millions of unsuspecting Africans. Years, before, W.H.O was responsible for injecting syphillis into 400 African men in the late 1940s in Tuskgee. W.H.O's small pox vaccine co-related with 50 - 70 million Africans in different parts of Central Africa, with the upsurge of AIDS. This article was posted worldwide EXCEPT in the American press.


                    W.H.O even started tainting the AIDS virus in polio vaccines in 1980s in Nigeria. Probably, this is the reason why there has been a marked increase of polio cases because of the fear of being infected with AIDS. In USA, staggering documents unveil that the famous drug company BAYER CORP (manufacturers of "aspirin") sold millions of dollars worth of an injectible blood - clotting medicine meant for haemophiliacs to Asian, Latin and some European countries in the late 1980s, even though they knew that it was defiled with AIDS. Bayer and Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) agreed to keep things away from the public while they made profit by setting a catastrophe. In 1997, a lawsuit was filed against the Bayer Corp and the case was held in court where Bayer allegedly admitted that he knew that the drug was tainted with AIDS and he shipped it regardlessly. Bayer Corp's avarice led to sudden proliferation of AIDS in various countries worldwide, especially in Japan, Canada, France, Iran, Iraq and Italy.


              Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to have won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, allegedly commented in an interview with the Times magazine that AIDS is a biological weapon manufactured by the developed world, intended to obliterate the entire black race. People in 21st century believe that the most lethal ravagement can be established through nuclear warfare, but the greatest havoc can be created with the simple usage of a needle! Based upon the facts that I have mentioned, it is clear that W.H.O and the United States certainly hatched a plan for genocide, but the plan got awry. There has been several conjectures that AIDS possibly could have spread in humans by consuming uncooked chimpanzee meat in Central Africa. Africans have been eating the chimpanzees from a very long time, even before the origin of AIDS. The big question to all of us is -

"WHY DID THE AIDS PANDEMONIUM START IN 1980s WHILE AFRICANS WERE EXPOSED TO INFECTED CHIMPANZEE MEAT MUCH EARLIER??"

No one probably could not answer these questions and yet it remains as one of the greatest and unsolved mysteries of all time.

NEW WORLD ORDER - A HOAX OR A HIDDEN TRUTH??

History has witnessed numerous successful conspiracy theories revolving around famous murders, assassinations and genocides like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, murder of Marilyn Monroe and Princess Diana, Watergate Scandal and The Pearl Harbour Bombings. These conspiracies however involved few individuals or limited areas and  have become a relic of the past. But, what is astounding and has far reaching consequences, lies in the formation of the most pernicious conspiracy theory - the formation of the "NEW WORLD ORDER".


The fundamental motif of the NWO is the establishment of a secretive power-elite with a global agenda, conspiring to maneuver and ultimately rule the world through an authoritarian world government which would replace all sovereign nation states. Preceding  early 1990's, NWO conspiracism was limited to two American counter-cultures, primarily the anti-government secularists and secondarily the fundamental christians. But now, CIA sources have confirmed that it is being controlled by the members of "Black Nobility" of Britain and the Rothschilds with the aim of creating a One World Government, stripped of national and regional boundaries. The NWO propaganda places the following rules for the new world order they envisage -

1. There will be no middle class, only rulers and servants.
2. All laws will be universal, with the accompaniment of One World police force and military.
3. No national boundaries shall exist.
4. Those who are faithful to NWO will be rewarded with means to live; those against, will be starved to death or declared as outlaws whom anyone can kill.
5. Privately owned firearms will be strictly prohibited.


though people at large do not believe these prepositions and dismiss them with skepticism declaring them nothing but hoax, the threat seems to be real. Journalists have argued that the  proponents of NWO use "mind control" to motivate the masses. The technology of "brainwashing" originated during the Illuminati era and even today  various methods are utilized to terminate  a person's thinking and analytical capabilities. Apparently, the   conspirators of NWO are using several advanced technologies to avoid suspicion. Since their existence  is shrouded in mystery and still unclear to most  scholars and journalists several conjectures have been made from time to time.
Let us examine a few of them


1. CHRISTIAN EXTREMISTS

For over 2,000 years, Christian eschatologists (those who believe in afterlife and "golden age") have conspired to propagate the theory of the end of the world as mentioned in the Bible as per their interpretation. They believe that the Antichrist shall emerge as the last pope or the President of United Nations or United Kingdom, or even possibly as an artificial intelligence. This as per them will occur in the aftermath  of the Third World War.

2. FREEMASONRY

Freemasonry ,so lucidly depicted in the bestseller “the da vinci code” still exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 in Scotland and Ireland, over a quarter of a million under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England and just under two million in the United States. They elude to several outstanding scientists ,artists, scholars  and statesmen from ancient times till today as being a part of their lineage . They worship Lucifer as the "Supreme Being", asserting that he is the architect of the Universe. They profess that there will be no politics, but a world of high moral character and active citizenship. There will be no religion and no pope will be elected.

3. ILLUMINATI

The Illuminati term was coined by Adam Weishuapt, one of the world's greatest mystery men. Illuminati was created on May 1, 1776 in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria). The Illuminati called themselves the "enlightened ones" and were guided by the principles of free thought, secularism, liberalism, republicanism and gender quality. They were responsible for the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror that followed. Most of the Illuminati have disappeared except the Bavarian Illuminati which still exists. The Illuminati mean to rule the world by power of the collective brain rather than separate individuals representing certain social groups or society as whole. This is mentioned in their "12 principles of Illuminatus discipline".


4. PROTOCOLS OF ELDERS OF ZION.

This group are the supporters of jews and was formed in Russia during 1903. Reported of having Judeo-Masonic belief, they consider themselves to be the "Chosen People Of God" and are presumably  plotting to rule the world on behalf of all the Jews. They support monarchists and state religions. They are rumored to be responsible for the anti-Tsaric movements in Russia during early 1930s. They vehemently oppose the election of the Pope as "God's Chosen One". Though, Elders of Zion have been debunked by the journalists as a hoax, no one can really prove it.


5. FOURTH REICH

Some conspiracy theorists allege that some ex-Nazis, who survived the fall of the Greater Third Reich and were given refuge by organizations like the ODESSA (Organization for Former SS Members) and Die Spinne, have been working behind the scenes since the end of World War ll, to enact the principles of Nazism in governments and business worldwide. They plan to thwart the Elders of Zion and establish a "Western Imperium" - an Aryan world free from Jews and enter a golden age, backed by United States of America as the superpower. Many have  however argued that America cannot possibly merge with the Nazis because of differences in their opinions.

Perhaps one can go on enumerating conspiracy theories from the beginning of mankind till the modern day and the list would become exhaustive. There is  possibly no way to test the complete veracity of all these theories which have emerged from time to time. However, one thing can be said for sure, as long as man walks on the surface of this earth and as long as he interacts with others of his kind ,conspiracies will keep on being hatched for some reason or other.

    

IF I COULD GO BACK......

I recently had this feeling that, maybe if I never grew up, I would have been a better person. No one ever said that life would be fun when I was a kid and I always wanted to prove them wrong, thinking them to be sadistic and cynical. But now I guess..... they were all correct! My life has turned into a labyrinth with affliction and fiasco, posing as a silhouette, lurking behind every corner of a possible crossroad.

If i could go back, just the one time, I'd realize........

1. The worst wound I'd get would be falling off the guava tree, trying to steal from my neighbor and my friends laughing out loud for my failure.

2. The biggest concern in my life would be the anxiety when the recess would come and I would have the most exciting 15 minutes of my day, still hoping that the recess time might extend.......

3. I wouldn't mind sitting with an opposite sex and share tiffin meals with her, because I would be paranoid, thinking that she is gross.

4. I could see two of the other kids, holding hands, kissing and hugging each other and when people watch them, they would call them cute and nothing else.

5. Saying goodbye to someone would mean "see you tomorrow"!

6. The worst fight I could ever get into would be over who gets the most amount of candies during Christmas or who wins the bicycle race first.

7. I could laugh my brains out, when I see a friend taking food from another friend's tiffin, asking him rhetorically,"Do you mind?", while the latter says he doesn't by putting a fake smile.

8. The best gift, I can give to someone I love, would be an assortment of hand-made greeting cards on Valentine's Day and no one is afraid to say "I Love You", because no one really cares what it means!!!!

                                 - By Supratik Sarthak (Ronnie)

                                    In the memory of all the lovely

                                    days of my childhood.

LIFE LIKE A SEA.....

Human life is best when compared to a sea; an immense receptacle of treasures which contains both pleasing as well as detrimental elements of surprise. When I look at the sea from a distance far away, it all seems so calm and placid. But when I  come closer towards it, I hear constant chaotic screaming and roaring. As we come very close to someone, I believe, if we try to hear closely, we hear the same screams coming out of their soul. The constant process of movement of the waves, serves as a mirror to oneself, to make us realize that we, like the waves, have such a topsy-turvy and deranged survival.



          But, in the end, when the sea touches the shores, it is tranquil and serene, all alone by itself, subsiding away. This evokes that how lonely we are in this world and the encumbrance of our survival lies solely upon our frail shoulders. Out of the existing 24 hours of my day to day life, I crave to value one special moment, to stop reflecting upon my past and rejoice the truth that there is still so much beauty and freedom in this world; just as the sea does, by bathing in the sun, watching the birds soar away and giving shelter to innumerable lives.


Life differs from sea in two different ways; the first one is that life is mortal unlike the sea and the other one is the fact that the sea never keeps anything from anyone. At one point of time or another, it returns the favor. I think, this petty flaw needs vigilance.