James Moriarty vs. The Joker

The showdown of , what I call, the two best negative or rather characters with a different view of what is 'right', in fictional work history. There might be many others but no single character caused so much mayhem into their ach-nemesis’s life such as these two. Moriarty is projected as the mastermind scheming criminal who is behind every wrong that takes place in Europe while still remaining behind the scene, whereas joker is projected as the mastermind psychopath with a twisted sense of humor and is dangerously unpredictable.

For those living under a rock and/or not a fan of either graphic novels (read comic books) or the works of Mr. Doyle’s, Professor James Moriarty is the arch-nemesis of Sherlock Holmes (go shoot yourself if you just asked Sherlock Holmes WHO?). The only villain Watson believes had holmes right up on his toes. Joker is considered batman’s arch-nemesis because he stands against the very idea of goodness.

Apart from there being a difference of 100 years in the birth of characters in the fictional worlds, they are indeed similar in some aspects. I have always believed that joker, what we know and believe him to be, is inspired from moriarty’s character. When I say inspired, I mean idea-wise. Moriarty was a mathematical genius and was offered mathematical chair at a university but resigned in the years to come because of his, as holmes put it, ‘strong criminal streak’. Although joker has a rather mythical birth story, the aftermaths of the character are modeled pretty much on the brilliant but twisted mind that he possesses. He is always shown as the exact opposite of what batman stands for. Batman was tested for his analytical skills time and again by penguin, riddler, scarecrow and others but none came close to making batman question his own belief. Joker has nothing to prove to anyone. He believes that if your belief can be molded, manipulated and changed; it stands for nothing. His ‘war’ is not against batman per se, but he wants to show Gotham city by defeating batman’s ideologies that they are not worth following.

On the other hand, moriarty is a genius that is just amused by the brilliance of holmes and is constantly taunting him by leaving enough clues, which he knows only sherlock can decipher. He once mentions that he does this for fun because he felt intrigued by sherlock's mind. Even though Sherlock has always referred to his elder brother as a more gifted observer than he is, moriarty has proved him wrong. Moriarty’s way of functioning is behind the curtain where he protects every criminal under him by charging them an amount of their ‘gain’. And since Sherlock has proved his brilliance by solving a number of cases, explains why he is so adamant about defeating him.

The similarity also steps up from the fact that these characters truly believe that whatever they are is because of their counterpart’s. Not to miss that Batman and Sherlock are , in all originality, detective's. But while Sherlock does it for fun to stimulate his mind, batman does it because he feels indebted to the city.

What makes these villain distinguished from others is the closeness they share with their yang’s. It’s never about the material gains for any of them. Joker wants batman to agree that his ‘misplaced sense of self - righteousness’ is meaningless while moriarty wants Sherlock to accept his defeat by asking him to jump to the valley on his own because he lost.

The writers of joker were, at best, planning to keep it a psycho prankster but the interpretation drawn by the directors/writers in the later years have given birth to the idea behind this post. While I sincerely believe that Sherlock is a more thought out, researched work; joker takes the cake as the best supervillian ever written.

For reference, I suggest watching ‘Sherlock’ on BBC (guy Ritchie version is CRAP) and any of the Batman movies or animated series featuring joker.

Do you agree or you have another character who you think beats these two to pulp?

Do share \m/oO\m/

World according to my mom

I was terribly caught up with things to write stuff. Okay maybe not that much. this is one of those old drafts that i wrote in between posts. posting it because i have not been able to come up with something in a very long time.

Let me start by saying I am not going to do a tare zameen par-esqe post here, if you are looking for the crying material, aap galat aa gaye hain(you have come to wrong place)

I am not sure about other people but my mom seems to live in some other world and she has some notions, which she believes is right. Well I prefer not to argue with that because you can’t argue with mothers. It’s THAT simple. DUH! They are mom so they are right. I am trying to list how my mom sees the world. Here goes:

I am the smartest there was, there is and there ever would be: oh yes. This one’s a classic. Even when I used to weigh somewhere around 100 kg’s I was healthy and not at all fat. Humanity never saw a smarter person than I was/am. Greek gods WHO? And if I eat properly I might even look like hritik roshan.

Girls are waiting to trap me: since I am so smart, every girl (single or otherwise) on this planet is plotting ways to trap me with her charm. Oh yes I have been interrogated so many times (albeit anonymously, and generally speaking) that I can vouch for that. The advice comes in the end ‘you should be careful’ I have tried telling her that some female has to be actually blind to fall for me, but MOM’s.

Those who are thin, their mother’s don’t love them: (also, good kids should be FAT! ) I have no clue who made this rule but the moment I say I don’t want to eat this much because I will put on weight, she has this sentence to say ‘you know if you become thin, people will think I don’t love you, I don’t want that’ and then ghee’s and butter’s start making anonymous appearances in my food. I simply cant fight this logic

I am thin/I am NOT fat: it’s impossible, and I repeat IMPOSSIBLE for me to convince my mom that I am FAT. No matter how much pot bellied I am, every time I reach home for holidays, the first sentence after asking how my journey was, is ‘you don’t eat? You look thin’ and when the weighing machine comes into picture, she has the option of IGNORING it altogether.

Don’t trust banks: she still prefers post offices for fixed deposits because she knows the guy sitting there. That’s it. Her logic being ‘how do I tryst the guy who I don’t know with so much money? No wonder these people don’t give passbook these days’ and mind you, post offices give better returns on investment. also, how can you trust a person who handles so much money?

Everyone I know is trying to con me out of my stuff: my mother can never make herself believe that the person I hang out with ALSO has a family who can feed their offspring. So I should be careful with my stuff because people will take it and wont return. its only when she meets the family, is she convinced that these guys CAN actually afford a life but the rest continue to remain THIEVES.

I think I have grown up but I haven’t because . . . . : Oh c’mon don’t tell me you have never heard of this line with the situation appropriate word in the blank. Oh so since I cant clean my clothes, bed sheets, bed, dustbin, fridge, car, scooter (pick any random cause). Its very tough for her to believe that I find the pile of cloth just fine. Tell me if some one has won this argument, I will bow to them.

If only I were a little more religious: I should be a little more respectable towards all baba’s and saints and what not. Because what they say is right. DON’T. Yes no logic applicable. Since they sing bhajan all the time and have 2 cents worth of advice on every darn problem, they should be followed. Also, people who don’t go to temples are WASTE.

I always thought my mom is a little weird but having lived in engineering hostel for a very long time (there is a joke in here somewhere), my mom was just being well, a MOM. All mom’s are like that.

Does your mom have a point of view you would like to share? \m/oO\m/

indian railways and me: 2 stories

*This post was written for 'Around The World With Expedia' contest by Expedia.co.in (http://www.expedia.co.in) for indiblogger #ExpediaIndia*

For as long as I have started travelling, every time there is something, someone in the journey that make me want to shoot myself during/after the journey. So I wont be doing justice to those ‘characters’ if I write about each of them in one post. Domestic flights are short duration and hence I can choose to NOT talk and pretend to be sleepy all the time. Ergo, I have tried to write about 2 of such experiences, which happened during my date with Indian railways. Without further ado, here goes:

Exhibit 1 - Where ‘s my Seat?

When Bangalore bound Karnataka express left New Delhi station I had no idea I will develop suicidal tendencies for weeks to come after the journey. I was travelling alone and was on middle berth which is the worst Indian railways could do to you after taking away your money and not giving you something to sit/sleep upon (read waiting). Next day around noon a mother and daughter entered the compartment. Female looked a little around 25-ish give or take 3 years (oh yes she was cute) and was accompanied was her bodyguard-cum-mother. She kept mentioning how many diseases one could have traveling in sleeper class so I gathered medical student. It was during lunchtime that they took out something to eat that the mother turned to me and fired her first shot

Aunty- beta what is your caste?

Me- *shocked at the question* excuse me?

Female – mom wants to know what caste you belong to?

It was unbelievable

Me- I am (still clueless about why she deemed that necessary)

Aunty- here, have this (she offered the mixture and fruits that she was peeling on a plate)

Me- (making my WTF face) frankly speaking aunty, I don’t like to eat from strangers on a journey.

I have had enough so I got up and left to stand near doors. There is something about sound of a moving train that makes you forget a lot of things. I could not believe this, how could they? What if I didn’t belong to the caste they were looking for? And gods help the patients this female is going to see after she graduates, or whatever doctors call it, because they never actually do.

I went back to take my purse when I saw that the female was reading my book; she waved and mentioned that she took it. Boy, Wasn’t I grateful for the heads up?

I was starting to question words like sanity, civilization etc.

Several hours passed, I was standing near gates (yes I like it, can do it for hours) and NO I DON’T SMOKE, STOP ASKING ME FOR MATCHSTICKS.

It was when I returned I noticed that the female was sleeping on my (middle) berth and her mother was on lower berth.

Now seriously, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

I woke up the mother as gently as I could because trying to touch a woman my age in the dark wont look good and past results weren’t too promising

Me- aunty, she is sleeping on my berth and…

Aunty- *before I could finish* Yes she said she wanted to sleep there.

Me- *stunned* ok so where do I sleep?

Aunty - go to upper berth, I am sure you don’t mind

Of course I didn’t/couldn’t, what choice did I have?

Exhibit 2- It’s a child; oh were they your sleepers?

It happened on last day of Feb ‘12 when I was returning from home and got upgraded to 2^nd ac, which I hate for so many reasons one of which being they are full of patients and children’s. Either you agree with me or you haven’t travelled in railways enough.

Guess what? My compartment had, surprise surprise, BOTH (oh yes a patient AND a child). The moment I saw the drapes on and lights off, prayers came to my lips automatically ‘PLEASE GOD, not this one, PLEASE’

“Oh this is my berth!”

I noticed a patient on my lower berth and a crying-talking baby on the other side. What more could have I asked for?

Oh did I tell you that the mother believed in ACCIDENTLY using slippers without asking? Oh yes I found out when she came back from washroom after attending to her kid’s washroom needs and stuff. The wetness gave it away. She didn’t ask, if you wanted to know. The child was exceptional to say the least, he kept saying he is hungry and refused to eat when his parents brought food and kept crying during the process. Look children are cute and stuff but when you are trying to sleep and some person keeps yelling at everything, well lets just assume normal human behavior is predictable.

I was trying very hard to sleep amidst all the ‘OH MY GOD TRAIN STARTED’, ‘DO YOU KNOW HOW TO GIVE INJECTIONS?’ ‘OH I LIKE MAGAZINES, LETS BUY’ and other things I didn’t bother to listen in highest pitch its humanly possible, but it was like the universe didn’t want me to sleep. In the mean time some guy in other compartment decided that this could be the best time to watch Agneepath in the Dolby digital sound speakers

Every time I got down for going to loo or some fresh air, I had to ask that female for MY sleepers, s-l-o-w-l-y because hey, there is a patient in the compartment.

THIS IS COMPLETE MADNESS.

I patted my back for being patient in the whole journey when I reached New Delhi and ran straight to the metro for the fear that these people will ask me to help with there luggage.

These are some of the instances when the people I met weren’t interesting. There are many more, If you ask. The one where there were 8 people on my berth, the one with a professor uncle, person who didn’t know about torrents, the guy who liked himesh, the ‘CAN I SIT IN YOUR PLACE’ guy…the list is endless and every time I board that big-ol’blue vehicle a new story is waiting to unfold.

have you had a story to tell in your travel? share

\m/

Characters in Indian Railways

I was on a much-deserved vacation for some days so couldn’t update the blog in a long time. I use trains for travelling because: a) I can’t afford flying and b) I like the time I have when I have nothing to do. This time of solitude is impossible in flights because people are too busy shoving up their MADERN-self up your nose. If you have had time to notice there always will be a few characters every time you travel by trains, I mean EVERYTIME. I have tried to list a few so here goes:

- Yoga loving uncle: normally found on the Lower berth due to the senior citizen quota and is a big fan of Baba Ramdev and Ravi Shankar (add shri to taste). There is a 109.54% chance that this person will have a Son/Daughter/nephew/niece/blah blah studying in some big-ass college. They will make it a point to ask you what you study and let out a i-knew-it-you-look-stupid *OHHHH* the moment you mention your colg/degree. He will be up by 6 in the morning and god forbid if are on middle birth.

- Snoring person: if there ever was an irritation scale of 1 to 10, this person will easily score a century. It’s THAT irritating. It could be anyone in your compartment. That innocent looking aunty who offered you food or that guy you were talking to who happened to like the same pub you did and knew the owner. The irony of the snoring is that the person who does it has no clue how hard others are trying not to kill him/her.

- Crying baby: I refuse to count you as a pro-traveller in Indian railways if you didn’t have to put up with a crying baby the whole night. The best thing about it is the timing. It always happens around 2-4. The yoga uncle will have a quick fix tip for the mother for sure. Now the only way out is to count till 100 while also breathing S-L-O-W-L-Y so your death will be painless OR go stand at the door till its morning.

Pro tip: don’t bother reacting if you are aged between 17-25,unmarried and are traveling alone. You will be treated with how-can-he-be-so-heartless stares

- Gadget guy: he is really easy to spot. Mostly with a laptop/dvdplayer/ipad/over-smartphone and constantly mumbling something about Wi-Fi. Mostly an apple fan (he hasn’t used ANY of apple product himself but has relatives who have) and can differentiate between iOs and android point by point. Don’t bother asking his degree, he is an engineering guy. The only person you can talk to.

- Lover boy: always sitting with a worried face because his cell phone is low on battery/ can’t catch signal. The key to spot him is the number of times his phone rings. He will have the most hideous ringtone on this planet and he will be busy explaining his better half how phones keep dropping signals when trains are moving. You will know everything there is to know about his gurlfraaand because he has a gurlfraaand. The know-it-all guy about recharges schemes. One of the phones he will be carrying will be a Reliance.

Pro tip: try counting how many times he mentions word gurlfraaaand, it will be a great time pass

- Grumpy female: Will have the whole entourage to see her off at station and will be carrying a hell lot of luggage. The key to spot her is the book she will be carrying. John Gresham/ Jeffery archer/ chetan bhagat/a random LOVE STORY. If she has a boyfraaand, she and the lover boy will hit it off. If not, she will have a straight face all throughout the journey because every person is a potential-closet rapist.

- Smarty dude: lean build and long hair are the must have’s for this role. He is the guy who for some reason looks lost and is constantly going too and fro in the train and is loving it. He will be wearing a low-waste (pun intended) jeans and knows exactly how many females aged between 18-24 are travelling in the train with exact co-ordinates AND which one’s are hotter/cuter/travelling alone (yes, about that grumpy female too). He will be a Salman khan fan and the GO-TO guy when you are sick of sitting and listening to all the crap.

- Religious aunty: the MOST irritating of the lot. The first question she ll shoot at you is about your caste. She will be the companion of the yoga uncle or if travelling alone, these two will take turns to screw with your head and tell you how everything is wrong with your living style. She will hate the Lover boy so the only way to escape her is to stick with him/listen to his love story.

- The Loud Talkers: normally found in pair of two’s or three’s , didn’t know each other before the journey but share the destination and know some guy who knows the guy other person knows. One of them will NOT be a sachin fan and that will start the debate, which will gradually go on to politics and then back to how ipl has ruined the game. The USP of the debate will the volume of it (I mean literally).

- Mama’s Boy: Think of this person as your magical compass, which tells the train station name automatically. He will keep updating his mom/dad about his whereabouts VERY LOUDLY. So in case you just woke up and wondering how much time till the next station, wait for 5-6 minutes before his cell phone rings. You will have all the information. He will be carrying the costliest phone available in the market right now or a BENGALI (no offence). The only 3 tasks he is allowed to do on the journey is use the washroom, sleep and EAT.

Pro tip: 50 bucks say within first 5 mins of the conversation, he will mention the word ‘my parents’.

The one’s who almost made it: the coochie-coo couple/newly-married, the eat-ERR, the Corleone’s (family with entourage), the single guy.

Oh, and if you are the i-cant-sit-through-that-long-journey types, you won’t get the joke so don’t bother. On a very serious note, you don’t know what you are missing.

How many have you had to deal with? Have some to add? Maybe I ll do a part-2 if I can crop up more stereotypes

Also, the blog completed a year on 27^th jan.so, YAY! \m/oO\m/