Ever since I have started work on my first assignment in US, I had my first long weekend after 4 months. It was Memorial Day today. An occasion which commemorates the members of the United States armed forces who were killed in war.

If you look at the US holiday calendar, there are only a set number of holidays and they are fewer in number. True to their reputation, American's work hard and party harder.

I watched the movie Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time this weekend. Long long ago before the white man colonized most of the continent there was a great kingdom called Persia which stretched from Mediterranean sea till the borders of India. You're transported to a different age and time when technology was non-existent.

Prince of Persia is based on a video game which has a similar namesake. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina and Steve Toussaint the movie spins its magic on the audience. You have the special effects however they don't overwhelm the story. Gemma Arterton as the Princess Tamina has a meaty role. Gemma's exotic charm, her oriental look combined with a mean streak makes her an effective counterfoil to Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) who not surprisingly can't take his eyes of her and so can't we :) Ben Kingsley as Nizam (the king's brother) is a surprise package. I wonder why we don't see more of him.

(Image courtesy: http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/170124_S/Prince-Of-Persia-Movie.jpg)

This has been a month of tragic accidents and man-made calamities. From the Naxal attacks in Dantewada (twice now), massive oil spill near the gulf of mexico to the recent Air India plane crash in Mangalore there has been no let up of bad news.

The Dantewada attacks first on the Paramilitary forces and then the targeting of SPO's (Special Police Officers) atop a civilian bus by the naxals exposed the government's flawed strategy. From my childhood I had imagined Naxals to be an avatar of Robinhood fighting the injustice meted out by the state and the Zamindars. They used to confiscate the excess land and distribute it among the poor and the landless. Also the people especially the tribal population were made aware of their rights.

The recent attack where they targeted a civilian vehicle goes against the grain of naxalite movement. The State has to take a major part of the blame. It forces the people to vacate their lands for building industries, constructing dams, giving mining rights to private parties. Development is essential but at what cost? Resettlement of people, providing them adequate compensation is all mired in red tape. People are frustrated with the corruption and apathy of the bureaucrats right from the village level to the highest decision making body in the state.

Naxals get it wrong when they target schools, post offices, police stations, police, paramilitary forces, hospitals, roads, bridges etc and now even civilians. What do they gain by destroying infrastructure? Do they want to keep the people backward and illiterate instead of joining the national mainstream.

The State cannot keep pumping the forces without first trying to alleviate the sufferings and bringing development to the door step of the villagers. To quote Mahatma Gandhi "Real India lives in its villages" The major task before the State would be to eliminate or at least minimize corruption so that the people reap the benefits. When people realize that the state really cares about them they will be more than willing to lend a helping hand to fight the naxal violence. Use of force is required when the naxals resort to wanton destruction and mindless violence but bear in mind that you need to well equip the forces with arms, ammunition and human intelligence else they will be sitting ducks and there is no better example than Dantewada to prove it.

Accidents like the Gulf oil spill and the recent Air India plane crash in Mangalore fit the bill of man made disasters perfectly. The oil spill will destroy the gentle fabric of the coastline and the marine life, not to mention the birds and their nesting grounds. It may take years to recover or worse damaged beyond repair.
Mangalore is my hometown and I have travelled by air only on a couple of occasions. When I did travel, the view from the plane was scary. The runway which would jut out of the mountain would give me goose bumps. The "What If" factor starts circling my mind.

Air traffic is growing in India and airline operators with a view to cutting costs are becoming lax in ensuring safety requirements. The Government cannot escape the blame either. Without a proper infrastructure in place, it(Government) is constructing airports hastily without doing any feasibility/environmental impact and safety study. A combination of all these is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

First and foremost there must be an independent air safety board on the lines of United States NTSB(National Transportation Safety Board). Also the crew and the pilots need to be given adequate rest between their flight rosters. All these would definitely cost money but then dead people don't live to tell a tale.


(Image courtesy: http://www.mynews.in/News/dailyimage/news/naxals--big-1.jpg)
(Image courtesy: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/04/28/oil-rig-explosion-seen-space/#slide=5)
(Image courtesy: http://buzzytimes.com/mangalore-plane-crash-latest-pictures-air-india-express-crash-mangalore-photos/)

Call it force of habit or just inadequate sleep, I can't help but grab some shut eye when I commute by train/car to work. Of course being a passenger has it's own perks. But this habit of mine has made me the butt of jokes. Whenever we board a train and grab a seat my colleague tells me "Goodnight Ashith". Its very embarrassing but still the lure of a nap is too hard to resist :)


I try every time to hit the sack early but somehow that's not happening. Blame it on my PC and the cellphone, the modern day conveniences which has hobbled up most of our daily lives. I am not overstressed and overworked as the cartoon here suggests but I need to instill discipline at least when it comes to sleep.

Side effects of inadequate sleep has been well researched. You know it when you feel drowsy and are unable to concentrate on work. On the other hand, after a good night's sleep when you wake up in the morning you feel fresh both in mind and body.

The good part is that I am working on my sleep and I hope things will begin to improve.

This weekend I watched Iron Man 2. I was eagerly awaiting the release of the sequel. The first installment of Iron Man was impressive and I was curious to know whether the sequel fares better or exceeds expectations. The problem with most of the sequels is that they have to be better than the original or at least as good as the first part. However with experience one can safely suggest that most of the movies falter under the burden of expectations.

The film opens with the scene where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) confesses to being the IronMan. There have been a lot of superheroes based on the Marvel comic series however where Iron Man stands out is that the protagonist Tony Stark is shown as someone who is narcissist, isn't ashamed to flaunt his wealth, is pretty good at his job. The mini arc reactor which powers his suit and the toll it extracts on his body and his desire for pretty women are some of his weaknesses.

When there is an Iron Man how can there not be an opposing force which stands for something evil or destructive. The major weakness of the Iron Man(Part 1) was the villain Obadiah Stane. In the sequel, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) plays the role of disgruntled scientist and more than matches the might of Iron Man. Watch out for the whiplash scene where Ivan attacks Tony Stark on a race track. And there is the usual special effects. Scarlett Johansson, Samuel Jackson and Sam Rockwell are the new entrants. Pepper Potts played by Gywneth Paltrow is now elevated as the CEO of Stark Industries.

My verdict on this movie. It's a nice watch but it does lose some punch. Tony Stark once again is the soul of this movie. A major positive in this sequel is the space given to other characters. I missed Terence Howard who plays the character of Lt. Colonel James Rhodes in the first part. Don Cheadle as his replacement is okay but can't match the charm of Terence Howard. As of now, it's wait and watch for Iron Man 3 :)

(Image courtesy: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/sleep.asp)
(Image courtesy: http://www.fandango.com/ironman2_119853/moviephotosstills/241643)