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मै जमाना बदलकर आता हू
(From the internet)
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Litigators - by John Grisham (Spoiler Alert!)
I recently finished reading this novel. As I turned the last page, a funny thought came to my mind. What if one day some director thinks of making a Hindi movie 'loosely' based on this novel? How will he end it?
Well, for starters, there is no way David will lose the case against Varrick Labs. He will dig up some irrefutable proof that the drug Krayoxx is indeed harmful to the long term health of those who are consuming it. He will ask someone to deliver the proof to the courtroom on the very last day. That person will be invariably late or attacked by thugs from 'evil' Varrick Labs. India has abolished Jury system so the responsibility of delivering the verdict will be solely upon the judge. As he/she is about to discharge this duty, the person will manage to stumble to the courtroom clutching the precious 'papers'. After a short speech by the lawyer David, the judge will go through the papers at lightening fast speed. Then it will be the judge's turn to deliver a sermon. There will be a few tense moments but finally the verdict will be in David's favor. The judge will not fail to hail him as the Hero.
Oscar's wifey dear would have apologized to him, well before the verdict is out and promised to stand by him, no matter what. His wayward daughter would have come to her senses.
Wally, of course, in a dramatic gesture, fling away the bottle at a wall for good. He would go back to his divorced wife (4 divorces are unheard of in India so she will be either his only or first of the two divorced wives).
There will be inauguration of the new offices of the law firm where David will make yet another short speech thanking everyone from his parents to his neighbor's pet dog. He will keep saying that God is great. His mom will keep wiping away the tears and saying that his dad, had he been alive, would have been immensely proud of him. His dad, looking out from a portrait on the wall (with a garland of flowers around it) wouldn't be in any position to disagree. Mommy dearest, true to the time-tested tradition of Indian mothers, will bring out dishes heaped with Aaloo Ka Paratha and Gaajar ka Halwa.
The last scene will show David and his wife frolicking in foreign location, gyrating to the song which would not have lyrics that make any sense but the music would be enough to take it to the chart-buster league in no time.
And they will live happily ever after.
The End!
Well, for starters, there is no way David will lose the case against Varrick Labs. He will dig up some irrefutable proof that the drug Krayoxx is indeed harmful to the long term health of those who are consuming it. He will ask someone to deliver the proof to the courtroom on the very last day. That person will be invariably late or attacked by thugs from 'evil' Varrick Labs. India has abolished Jury system so the responsibility of delivering the verdict will be solely upon the judge. As he/she is about to discharge this duty, the person will manage to stumble to the courtroom clutching the precious 'papers'. After a short speech by the lawyer David, the judge will go through the papers at lightening fast speed. Then it will be the judge's turn to deliver a sermon. There will be a few tense moments but finally the verdict will be in David's favor. The judge will not fail to hail him as the Hero.
Oscar's wifey dear would have apologized to him, well before the verdict is out and promised to stand by him, no matter what. His wayward daughter would have come to her senses.
Wally, of course, in a dramatic gesture, fling away the bottle at a wall for good. He would go back to his divorced wife (4 divorces are unheard of in India so she will be either his only or first of the two divorced wives).
There will be inauguration of the new offices of the law firm where David will make yet another short speech thanking everyone from his parents to his neighbor's pet dog. He will keep saying that God is great. His mom will keep wiping away the tears and saying that his dad, had he been alive, would have been immensely proud of him. His dad, looking out from a portrait on the wall (with a garland of flowers around it) wouldn't be in any position to disagree. Mommy dearest, true to the time-tested tradition of Indian mothers, will bring out dishes heaped with Aaloo Ka Paratha and Gaajar ka Halwa.
The last scene will show David and his wife frolicking in foreign location, gyrating to the song which would not have lyrics that make any sense but the music would be enough to take it to the chart-buster league in no time.
And they will live happily ever after.
The End!
Hard to believe that it has been more than a week since I last came here. I was on a visit to a Tier-3 city for 2 days last week. Vast open spaces, green fields and slow-paced life was a welcome relief from the daily grind that has become a norm for us city-dwellers. Laugh at me if you want, but the air there smelled different as well - probably the scent of pollution-free air that we sometimes get a whiff of on late winter nights in the city, if we are lucky. Otherwise it's a commodity that's not even available in bottled form.
Try as I might, I simply couldn't tear myself away from the open balcony of the Inn where we were put up for the night. It wasn't warm but it wasn't bone-chilling cold either. I just sat there with John Grisham's 'The Litigators' open in my lap - wondering whether to read the novel or stare at the little cottages that dotted the country-side, the road that broke off the highway to bring the vehicles to the city and the trucks that plied on it from time to time - blaring some Hindi song or other or blowing on the horn that emitted weird sounds. The sun had already gone down by the time we arrived so I didn't have much idea of what lay in the empty space adjacent to the Inn that was shrouded in the dark. For all I know, it could be a huge garbage dump - though I would have got a hint, or should I say a whiff, of it with the night air and I didn't.
As I stared at the little cottages and huts - little squares of lights forming puddles outside their windows - I wondered what the occupants were doing. Were they watching the saas-bahu dramas that are churned out on all the channels during prime time each day? Or are they having dinner? Then I laughed at my own thoughts and tried to concentrate on the book in my lap. Grisham is good but somehow that night his words failed to match the magic that the winter night in the Indian hinterlands was working on me. There was no full moon bathing its beams in the clear pond, no scent of jasmine filled the night air, no heavenly music floated from far across but does magic really need all these things to hypnotize you?
Complete silence is unnerving most of the times. What I needed that night was silence punctuated by sounds and voices. And by some grace of God, I got what I wanted :-)
Try as I might, I simply couldn't tear myself away from the open balcony of the Inn where we were put up for the night. It wasn't warm but it wasn't bone-chilling cold either. I just sat there with John Grisham's 'The Litigators' open in my lap - wondering whether to read the novel or stare at the little cottages that dotted the country-side, the road that broke off the highway to bring the vehicles to the city and the trucks that plied on it from time to time - blaring some Hindi song or other or blowing on the horn that emitted weird sounds. The sun had already gone down by the time we arrived so I didn't have much idea of what lay in the empty space adjacent to the Inn that was shrouded in the dark. For all I know, it could be a huge garbage dump - though I would have got a hint, or should I say a whiff, of it with the night air and I didn't.
As I stared at the little cottages and huts - little squares of lights forming puddles outside their windows - I wondered what the occupants were doing. Were they watching the saas-bahu dramas that are churned out on all the channels during prime time each day? Or are they having dinner? Then I laughed at my own thoughts and tried to concentrate on the book in my lap. Grisham is good but somehow that night his words failed to match the magic that the winter night in the Indian hinterlands was working on me. There was no full moon bathing its beams in the clear pond, no scent of jasmine filled the night air, no heavenly music floated from far across but does magic really need all these things to hypnotize you?
Complete silence is unnerving most of the times. What I needed that night was silence punctuated by sounds and voices. And by some grace of God, I got what I wanted :-)
In an interesting article on the latest Salman Rushdie row, I found link to the following site - kafila.org. I am yet to check it out so this is as much a note to me as it is a blog post.
A friend sent me the following in an SMS:
What makes some people dearer is not just the happiness that you feel when you meet them
But also the pain you feel when you miss them
Oh yes, I know some people to whom this applies. But I also know some for whom following lines would be more apt :-)
What makes some people dearer is not just the pain that you feel when you meet them
But also the happiness you feel when you lose them
What makes some people dearer is not just the happiness that you feel when you meet them
But also the pain you feel when you miss them
Oh yes, I know some people to whom this applies. But I also know some for whom following lines would be more apt :-)
What makes some people dearer is not just the pain that you feel when you meet them
But also the happiness you feel when you lose them
If you are in the market for a home, here is an article for you - 3 signals that indicate a delay in a project. You might also want to check out the site gnbindia.com - they group prospective home buyers and use their bargaining power to get favorable terms on home loans.
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