One Night On Hoth

Story reads from top to bottom. 

Updates as often I can, but usually on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

One day at the Rebel Base, two new chefs came in, ‘cause a Rebel’s gotta eat. But not all is as it seems. Nefarious things are afoot... Find out next time on “Those Rebel Days”.

For they were no ordinary chefs - these were Empire assassins *dun* *dun* *dun*

The assassin chefs corner rebel pilot Cosmo Politan - but it seems like Poe Dumdum is going to get the jump on them. Will the brave Rebels survive? Tune in next time on “The Real Rebels of Hoth”!

But before Dumdum could get the jump on the assassin chefs, help came from an unexpected place! Who is this mysterious savior? Find out in the next installment of “Rebel Run: The Ballad of Cosmo Politan”.

“Hey, who you be brah?” Cosmo asked in his off kilter South Jersey accent. What he meant to say was “thank you for saving my life beautiful stranger.” But who is this mysterious savior in green? Find out next time on “Hoth’s Next Top Rebel”.

He is not the hero the Rebellion wanted, but he’s the hero they needed... illegal alien and savior - Dash Cunningham Jr.  But will the Rebels accept him? Find out in the next installment of “Days of our Alliance”.

Meanwhile, back at the Window Empire, the evil Kylo Ramen was sending his most trusted henchmen - Tweedledee and Tweedledum (no relation) to end the Rebel threat... what new dangers will this bring to our heroes?  Find out next time on "The Rebel Files".

Meanwhile, back at the Hoth base:
Poe: "Cunnigham Jr, was it?  Thanks for saving Cosmo's life here - he's our resident stylist, without him, the Rebel alliance would all be dressed in drab Soviet grey..."
CJ: "Call me CJ.  You know, everyone makes fun of art students, but everyone LOVES designer clothes, graphics, comic books, and animation... see the irony?"
Cosmo: "Brah - did not see this scene headed in that direction, but hey, you're the savior of the day."
... but how will this trio deal with the new threat from the Empire - Tweedledee and Tweedledum?  Find out in the next installment of "Rebel Without a Cause".

And then suddenly...
Tweedledee: "Reach for the sky you Rebel scum"
Tweedledum: "Yeah, and put your hands up too"
Tweedledee: "That's what I just said!"
Tweedledum: "Oh?  I was wondering why you asked them to get sky in a cave - it was weirdly inspirational... sorry..."
How will our heroes escape from this new predicament?  Find out next time on "Rebelholics".

“But, OMG, I totally love your uniforms, is that Hugo Boss?” exclaimed Cosmo Politan, much to the surprise of TnT. Is this a ploy, or does Captain Cosmo really go gaga for fashion? Find out in the next exciting installment of “The Rebel World”

“You know what this means? Fashion show! Work it people!” exclaimed Cosmo Politan. There was something magnetic about his voice and suddenly TnT, Poe, and Cunningham Jr. found themselves walking the runway... What will the evil empire do now that TnT have been ensnared? Find out next time on “Project Rebelway”

Bonus: And afterwards, the gang did a conga line to celebrate!

"We need to form a band" decided Cosmo, "give the Cantina band a run for their money!" In the middle of “YMCA” band practice that night, Cosmo exclaimed, “Damn it, where’s an Indian chief when you need one!”  Will Cosmo make his dreams of making it big in the Tatooine music scene come true, or does the Empire have other plans? Find out next time on, “Dancing with the Rebels”

Every boy band needs a classy album cover.  Album cover shoot for boy band sensation “The Rebel Boys” 😎

Tweedledee, however, was upset to be left out of the album cover and resorted to his baser instincts.  Sometimes, when you can’t work out your differences through dance, it results in a Mexican standoff. To be continued... *dun* *dun* *dun*!

Meanwhile, back at White Table, the Imperial Base, evil Lord Shiny Top (aka Kylo Ramen) was back for a progress report on dealing with the Rebels... heads were going to roll (and rock)... what will Shiny Top do next? Find out next week on “Empire”!

Kylo Ramen: “Ah, my assassin chefs, did you take care of the Rebels?” 
Chefs: “Yes, sir, they’re quite well fed and healthy!” 
Kylo Ramen: *face palm*

“Mr. Takagki won’t be joining us for the rest of his life” said KR, decapitating one of the assassins in a fit of rage. 
“Woah, goncho, we really lost our head chef now, get it, get it?” exclaimed the remaining assassin. 
“Careful, assassin, you don’t want to be pun-ished too...” said Kylo Ramen menacingly.  What evil plans do the Empire have for our heroes? Find out next time on “Hoth’s Next Top Rebel”

Bonus: In the evenings, Kylo liked to play Hamlet at the local Shakespeare in the Park production... “To be or not to be, that is the question...” - good thing he had a fresh skull to work with!

Kylo Ramen: "I'm leaving you with my two subordinates, Ping and Pong... don't fail me again, Chef"
Chef: "A Hot Topic sale going on somewhere eh?  Or is there an emo music festival on Korriban?"
Kylo Ramen: "At least I don't wear an albino mushroom on my head - why do chef's wear that?  Storage?"

Kylo Ramen: “Daft Pink brothers, I think it’s best I leave the only female character in this story to help you with your job... she’s pretty evil and excellent at paperwork, her name is Anne Chovy.”

Meanwhile on Hoth:
“You want to make it in the boy band industry, you gotta work for it ladies, work it, work it!” - Cosmo was running a hard boot camp at HQ to get the team ready for their big debut on “Hoth’s Got Talent”, unaware of the danger looming...

Meanwhile back on Tabletop, Kylo Ramen was taking a well earned break from evil, enjoying a MaiTai and some shade... 
Chef Assassin: “Curses, I should have read the fine print on the internship contract...”

Due to his popularity Kylo often has to do interviews and TV spots, here is KR filming an episode of “Pimp My Shuttle”.

Sometimes Cosmo dreamed of being in a galactic production of "West Side Story"... of course, he would be a Jets...

But while the Rebels and the Empire were busy in their own plots, on the third day, one chef arose from the dead - and he was pissed. What shenanigans will ensue next, find out next time on “The Passion of Chef”.

And as the gang was preparing for their big debut, unbeknownst to them... evil was lurking close behind. How will our young heroes escape this predicament? Find out next time on “Say yes to the Rebel dress”!

“Not so fast, you wannabe Guy Fieri” - exclaimed CJ drawing his blaster. Oh, damn, shit was gonna go down! Who’s going to bite the stardust? Find out next time on “30 Rebel”!

“Hey man, you don’t have to do this - you’re in a safe place now - you don’t need to pretend to be a chef, an assassin - there are no Rebels, no Empire - we’re all just people trying to get by - why don’t you just come and dance with us?” Reasoned Cosmo... 
“I would, but you have a dirty illegal alien” said Chef pointing at CJ. 
“Wow, a racist chef assassin - that’s original.” sighed Cosmo...
What will happen next? Find it next time on “Rebelville”...

“Yes, yes, you’re right, all my life I’ve killed and killed, just to make my daddy proud, but all I really wanted to do was cook and dance and get rid of the illegal aliens plaguing our galaxy - preferably at the same time...” mused Chef as Cosmo put a comforting arm on his racist shoulder.  
Will Chef exact revenge or will he join the Rebels? Find out next time on “The Barefoot Rebel”.

And to drive home all the possibilities the future held, FlyFlyDrink the droid, did his trademark space sombrero act. Will this be enough to convince Chef to give up his evil ways? Find out next time on “The Rebel Idol”

And lo! That did the trick; Chef gets into the act and becomes the center piece of the Rebel Pole. But will this be enough to sate his thirst for revenge? Find out next time on “The Inglorious Rebels”.

Fracking, Nuclear Power, and the Environment

Last October I visited the 605-megawatt Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon while driving through New England and taking in the fall colors.  It was a nostalgic visit.  Several years earlier, I had worked on a study to determine contingency plans for the failure of Vermont Yankee, and in a few months, Vermont Yankee was going to become one of the early casualties of America's aging fleet of nuclear stations.  Perhaps the retirement of a small power station in the far corner of the northeast is not newsworthy, but in my opinion the shutdown of Vermont Yankee is a harbinger of a new era of the U.S. energy landscape.  The “nuclear free” story has deeper consequences than many recognize, however, as well as a more complex impact on the environment.  

The United States is the world’s largest producer of nuclear power, accounting for more than 30% of global nuclear electricity production.  Domestically, nuclear energy represents about 20% of the generation mix, but with the planned early retirements of nuclear stations, and new constructions under threat, by 2020 that contribution may shrink.  In the late 1990s changes in government policies helped pave the way for significant growth in nuclear capacity; however, lower natural gas prices since 2009 have put the economic viability of some existing reactors and proposed projects in doubt.  Oil and gas prices are at historical lows, and with shale and fracking promising to keep costs down, nuclear technology is no longer an attractive option for power.  Though the cost of nuclear fuel is considerably low, increasing safety and security concerns are pushing up the building and operating cost of nuclear production beyond gas-powered combined-cycle and coal units.  Today, the competitive advantage of a new nuclear power plant is questionable.  The five nuclear plants presently under construction have been stuck in financial and regulatory nightmares since 2009. Furthermore, the indelible memory of Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, coupled with the recent Fukushima disaster in Japan, is killing the dream of an American nuclear renaissance. 

In Japan, nuclear still has a competitive advantage over gas-fired plants since natural gas prices in Japan are considerably higher than the U.S.  This is why Japanese power companies are trying to restart their nuclear power stations after the automatic reaction of shutting down all fifty nuclear units in Japan after the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.  

In contrast, Germany is retiring its entire nuclear fleet in an attempt to move to safer and cleaner renewable power but in the process caused coal prices to increase dramatically and create a spike in energy prices.  Additionally, even though wind and solar provide clean energy, the capital requirements and maintenance costs of renewable power, particularly offshore wind and solar, is significantly higher than for nuclear technology, making gas units a more attractive replacement for nuclear in the United States.

What do these factors mean for the U.S. energy landscape?  Power prices are low; the lights still come on when we flip the switch, so why should we care if a few nuclear power plants are retiring?  First, a recovering U.S. economy is driving up energy demand and sparking a series of new gas-powered plant constructions since gas prices are so low.  Second, some industry experts are concerned that the increasing shale gas production through fracking, which has helped keep oil and gas prices low, is unsustainable.  If gas prices increase in the near future, overall energy prices will increase, adversely affecting the weakly recovering industrial sector.  More than a long-term increase in power prices, however, retiring nuclear power generation has a concerning yet ignored underlying environmental story.  

Industry analysts estimate that the early retirement of the 2000-megawatt San Onofre (SONGS) reactor complex north of San Diego will increase California’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 6 million tons per year, which is almost a 12% increase of emissions from the electricity generation sector in California.  Energy expert Geoffrey Styles comments: “While accounting for only 3% of the state’s [California] 2011 generating capacity from all sources, the SONGS reactors typically contributed around 8% of the state’s annual electricity generation, due to their high utilization rates. That’s a large slice of low-emission power to remove from the energy mix in a state that is committed to reduce its emissions to below 1990 levels.”  With aggressive targets to reduce greenhouse gases, the loss of existing U.S. nuclear capacity, which has negligible emissions, is a major setback, particularly since renewable energy cannot completely offset the energy generation gap.  California is not the only state that faces this challenge.  The retirement of the Indian Point nuclear station in New York will have a similar effect.  Moreover, the primary economic driver (gas prices) that is making nuclear power financially unfeasible is also contributing to the most amount of environmental damage—“fracking.”  

Fracking is the primary reason for the plummeting gas price in the United States, which is now a quarter of the price in Europe, and shale gas accounts for more than a quarter of total gas production in the United States.  Hydraulic fracking is the process of stimulating liquid and gaseous wells through injecting high-pressure super-heated chemical solutions into shale deposits—a controversial process, as signified by New York state's  banning of it.  Apart from the potential environmental damage, there are health hazards such as methane leaking from fracking wells into the water table causing the phenomenon of “flammable water.”  Although a recent MIT report found that “only a handful of the 20,000 wells drilled in the previous decade had caused contamination,” the question remains: is cheap gas worth the risks associated with fracking?  While some pro-frackers argue that fracking is technically a “green” technology since gas has lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal, gas is still “dirtier” than nuclear technology.

In addition, decommissioning a nuclear power station is a regulatory challenge and expensive.  Entergy Corp., which owns the Vermont Yankee power station, estimates that cooling the reactor and permanently shutting down the plant will require ten years and about $1.5 billion.  Consumers will pay a large part of this cost through higher electricity rates.

In a deregulated energy market, where economics is the key driver for determining the resource mix, policy plays an important role in encouraging or discouraging forms of production, by taxation or credits.  Under present policy, low cost gas-powered units will replace the forced nuclear retirements— not an optimal outcome from an environmental perspective.  It is imperative that policy makers understand the long-term impact of these nuclear retirements when refusing nuclear license renewal and considering new plants.  Nuclear opponents cheer the net loss of nuclear power and may consider the replacement of nuclear with renewable technology as progress.  However, if fossil fuels, rather than renewables, replace nuclear, it seems more like a step backward.  A reasonable alternative might be a staggered long-term nuclear retirement strategy coupled with policies to promote renewable power through higher production credits or introducing often-discussed carbon taxes.  Although this is not a perfect solution, it should prevent fossil fuels from completely replacing nuclear and setting back achieving emission targets by several years.

Chicken-Hawk

My roommate remembered this great article in The Atlantic while we were watching  Bradley Cooper and Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper".  "The Tragedy of the American Military" is a great read for people trying to understand America's fascination with the armed forces, and why America keeps entering one losing battle after another since the Second World War.  

Learning a New Culture...

A great article in The Atlantic that I stumbled upon thanks to Yohan John.  Learning a new language is one thing, but learning a new culture, that's something else.  I am presently reading a book by Tracy Kibber, "The Strength in What Remains"... (which I highly recommend) and I can appreciate the connection between the protagonist in Kibber's book and the author of this article.

Have a read.

The Problem With Patriotism

I recently read Ramchandra Guha's article in HT, entitled, "Excessive love of one’s state is less harmful than that of one’s country", which talks about regional pride in literature and culture.  This debate was sparked by Guha's comparison of Kannada polymath Shivarama Karanth with Bengali literary god, Rabindranath Tagore.  I am not interested in this argument.  Personally, I believe, Bengali intellectualism and literary elitism is in decline and like the British, we are living off by selling the family silver (so to speak).  

No, what I am more interested in is exploring the idea of patriotism.  Being blindly loyal to some arbitrary division of land or world view, is an idea so abstract that I can't really fathom the need or requirement for it.  To me, patriotism, for country, religion, or an idea, if anything, is detrimental to the fabric of tolerant societies and a marker for regression.  In Tagore's poem, Where the Mind is Without Fear, he writes, and I paraphrase, "...let me awake in a world that is not broken up by narrow domestic walls" - a sentiment that resonates with me.

When I was backpacking through Europe several years ago, the political pub talk revolved around the wisdom of including the ten new countries to the European Union.  What was most striking about these conversations, and we see in the political set up of Europe today, is the rise of right wing sentiments in Western Europe.  In the recent EU elections, the anti-EU parties enjoyed a significant bump as outlined by this Telegraph article in May.

In my limited opinion, this "right-wing swing" is essentially a form of xenophobia in disguise.  The EU, I always felt, was the natural direction of humanity's future, a step towards global political and social unification, but it seems our basic need for a "us and them" framework is too overwhelming.  Give us aliens to fight and we're going to come together, otherwise we're going to find our own aliens... in the case of Europe, that's everyone who isn't, well, Western European.

Part of this "us and them" mentality is buried under the guise of patriotism.  "Self-interest" and "self-preservation" is tantamount to patriotism, and it is this kind of backward thinking that negates the momentum towards a politically and socially cohesive world.

In the context of India and Pakistan, patriotism rears its head when we're playing a cricket match or we're at war, and somehow brings out the worst in our generalizations about each other.  I've met many Pakistanis in my life and I've enjoyed their company very much.  Of course, that in itself is a generalization, and probably holds true for the 1 percent liberally educated urban youth I have interacted with.  My point is that we have no right to use the label of patriotism for actions and words that dehumanize people in a country, idea, or religion that is not ours.  Patriotism, like the practice of religion should be private and personal.  Rather than slap on some face paint when there is a cricket match, if we were really patriotic, we would treat our fellow citizens with respect, and not urinate by the side of the road or treat the country like shit.

I am aware of the argument that the need for barriers is seeded in animal instinct.  Chimpanzees, wolves and other animals that live in some form of social structure, display tendencies of divisiveness; acting in the interest of the pack or herd against other packs or herds.  However, considering we have put a human on the moon, is it really a legitimate argument to claim animal instinct as the basis for the most divisive notion we have in society?  Can we not say that, we, as a species, are better than wolves? [1]

All patriotism has really done is reinforce the imaginary boundaries that separate groups of people, who in all likelihood, under other circumstances could get along.  I'm not trying to demean the idea of patriotism, just the way we practice it today [2].

[1] The same applies to religion.
[2] I have nothing against wolves per se.

"Regression analysis is more art than science" [1]

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner showed us in Freakonomics how the world of correlation and regression can show curious links between seemingly unrelated subject matter - culminating in a thesis relating legalization of abortion and crime rates in the United States.

Here is another view - Correlation can yield absolutely absurd results...

My favorite is "Divorce Rates in Maine" against "Consumption of Margarine in the US"

As Twain said, "There are lies, and then there are statistics"...

[1] Steven Levitt

Illustrating Lonliness

A wonderful video explaining how social networking works and creates a sense of loneliness...

Must watch.

History and Perspective - Cool Stuff!

Live Leak hosted a fantastic video of the changing political geography of Europe and Asian Minor from 1000 AD to the present day.  Fascinating stuff if you like history and geography and politics.  Ideally I would have liked a time clock to go with the video too, but it is about 5 years for every 1 second.  Original source.

The blog, "Wait But Why", posted another fascinating graphic about time and perspective.  Think of it as the Total Perception Vortex on paper!

Have a look - source.

Lastly, for an epic burn, have a look at the Kickstart submission about Obama's duplicitous foreign policies.

Have a good weekend!

Desperado

A great article in the New York Times about the Mexican government's contest to identify the most useless and cumbersome bureaucratic process or law.  Done right, it is a great insight to see how inefficient the bureaucratic process really is and how it can be streamlined.  Also a great way to fight corruption.  Kudos Mexico, we could learn a thing or two from you.  Have a read.

What Did They Use For A Totem?

Man, I love science... Economics really pales in comparison...  Don't believe me... Proof.

The Best Game Ever!

The Kingdom of Loathing - go forth and enjoy.

DFW FTW! Also Starring Randy Pausch

David Foster Wallace is one of my favorite authors.  Perhaps even one of my favorite philosophers or thought leaders, and it is ironic that I found so much solace in the words of a man so deeply disturbed that he could not find it bearable to live.

I wanted to share DFW commencement speech at Kenyon College in 2005.

It left a profound impact on my when I first heard it after DFW passed away in 2008, the year I graduated from college.

Recently, a group called "The Glossary" took an excerpt from the speech, a section called, "This is Water" and made a striking video.

Also, in the vein of great speeches is Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture" - which was truly a roller coaster ride of sorrow, inspiration, and joy.  

Enjoy, and be inspired.

Spending Patterns

I recently conducted a minor experiment in class where I asked my students: 

"What would you do if I gave you five hundred rupees right now?"

The sample size was 75 students.

The results yielded some interesting patterns, and not a small measure of memorable comments.  As expected the majority of the students wanted to eat out or save the money for a future time.  However, what was curious was the number of students who held debt or were spending money on betting on sporting events.  Only one student had "donate it" as their choice, and more than ten percent had "cigarettes" or "alcohol" as their choice of expense.

Figure 1 is a frequency chart of the data

Figure 1 - Choice Frequency Bar Graph

Figure 2 is a breakdown of the most common choices and ignoring outliers.

Figure 2 Choice Pie Chart

Here are are also some of the choice comments received:

• "Hide it under my pillow"
• "Save it till you get more, then spend bigger"
• "Give to friends as loans and charge interest"
• "Make a deodorant flamethrower"
• "Depends on my roommates financial condition"

Thank you all for participating in this exercise.

The source of this idea comes from an Open Space campaign.

Ambition

Hygge

(n.) a complete absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming; talking pleasure from gentle, soothing things.

Pronunciation | “hU-ge (hU is pronounced with the U sound, closer to hyoo than hoo; ge is short, closer to g than geh)

Source

LEARN CHINESE IN 3 MINUTES

Read out loud...

1) That's not right ----- Sum Ting Wong

2) Are you harbouring a fugitive? ----- Hu Yu Hai Ding

3) See me ASAP ----- Kum Hia Nao

4) Stupid Man ----- Dum Fuk

5) Small Horse ----- Tai Ni Po Ni

6) Did you go to the beach? ----- Wai Yu So Tan

7) I bumped into a coffee table ----- Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni

8) I think you need a face lift ----- Chin Tu Fat

9) It's very dark in here ----- Wao So Dim

10) I thought you were on a diet ----- Wai Yu Mun Ching?

11) This is a tow away zone ----- No Pah King

12) Our meeting is scheduled for next week ----- Wai Yu Kum Nao?

13) Staying out of sight ----- Lei Ying Lo

14) He's cleaning his automobile ----- Wa Shing Ka

15) Your body odour is offensive ----- Yu Stin Ki Pu

16) Great ----- Fa Kin Su Pah

Sounds more like Arnold Swarchenegger's accent in Predator doesn't it?

End Of The World

Must watch flash:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/flash/endofworld.html

How To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity

1. Sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice.

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "in".

5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.

6. In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favours".

7. Finish all your sentences with "in accordance with the prophecy."

8. Dont use any punctuation marks.

9. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.

10. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.

11. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go".

12. Sing along at the opera.

13. Go to a poetry recital and ask why the poems don't rhyme.

14. Put mosquito netting around your work area. Play a tape of jungle sounds all day.

15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

16. Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name, Rock Hard.

17. When the money comes out the ATM, scream, "I won! "I won!" "3rd time this week!!!!!"

18. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling, "run for your lives, they're loose!!"

19. Tell your children over dinner. "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

21. Pee into bottles and then empty them into the pot.

22. Jump out of ATMs/Public Bathrooms naked and say "don't go in there".

23. When someone pulls out his hand to shake yours, try and dodge it, Matrix style.

24. When someone wishes you, sneer viscously and say "fools, you're all gonna die" and walk away laughing hysterically.

25. When someone says "dude, I haven't seen you for sometime", claim that you were in "stealth mode" or hug him/her and say "it's all over between us".

26. Wear a bow tie with your T-Shirt. (Is that too gay?)

27. Walk around with a blunt sword.

Raju Be Happy

Nana Pillai’s only son Raju was studying in the United States, at Franklin and Marshall. He wasn’t offered a scholarship when he had gone, but Raju had assured his dad that he was a cinch to get a full tuition grant by his sophomore year. With that hope (and a bit a pressure from his wife), Nana pumped all he could into his son’s education. Raju had left for the US as the devoted son, with eyes that said, “I’ll do you proud” as he touched his father’s feet at the airport.

Three years had passed and Raju had not even received a partial scholarship. Nana’s bank balance was depleted. Savitri, his wife, had succumbed to terminal cancer. She could have been saved, he knew it, but it would take away the very last penny they had. That would be the end of Raju’s education. Savitri wouldn’t want that, would she? Nana’s wife died happy. Her mission on earth was complete. Her little Raju was a man now!

Nana didn’t inform Raju about his mother’s death. He didn’t want to disturb his son’s happiness. He was happy, wasn’t he? After all, those initial loving, home sick letters, longing for his mother’s cooking had stopped a long time ago. They were now replaced by short and curt demands for more money, each time outlined by some excuse. Nana, however, was not one to ask questions. He duly obliged, sending words of caution and advice, but he never complained…

Times were hard. The Pillai family home had been sold. His factory was sick and he had absolutely no security. Yesterday, Nana had received another telegram from Raju. Raju always used the post. The telephone was too expensive, he said, and they had to be economical. Raju needed money and he needed it quickly.

Friday, the 26th, three days after Raju’s telegram, Nana and his dilapidated scooter were found eighty-three feet below Bandel Bridge. The police report said that Nana, blinded by an oncoming truck’s headlamps, had lost control and smashed through the guard railing. The scooter’s petrol tank had burst, charring what was left of Nana’s mutilated body. Nana’s life insurance company, after a lot of debate with Nana’s lawyers, reluctantly handed over one hundred and thirteen thousand rupees to Raju Pillai’s account.

It was a sacrifice worth the Pillai name. A sacrifice for that little Raju who used to say, “When I grow up, I’ll buy you a big car daddy.” And Nana would say, ruffling his hair, “I know son, I know.” All Nana knew as he drove his scooter off the bridge was that he could not fail Raju.
A few days later, seven thousand kilometers away, Raju Pillai died of a cocaine overdose.

The River

The shadow of the thick-leaved tree seemed to float on the rays of the smooth and intense light of the morning sun. It sailed past the open meadow, over the jagged rocks and finally rolled down to the River where it broke into a thousand glimmering wavelets.

The River was always mysteriously beautiful. Calm, with small ripples and undulations, yet deadly and forbidding.

No one crossed the river, for fear of the other side. The woods were dark and deep there. The sun could not penetrate through the gigantic evergreens. They say the woods hide riches. Riches, beyond our wildest dreams, but there was no path to it. The river ate the path years ago.

The River. One now said that name with a God-like reverence. It had no name. It never required one. God doesn't need one. The water was sweet and had a flavour that could tantalize even the most morose of men. Its cleanliness rivaled by nothing in this world. Its power, its might, raised its ego. It was not the sustenance of life. It was life.

The river and its two banks have existed for eternity, its diversions caused by human intervention. It still marks the light and darkness. A few foolish, greedy yet courageous men ventured to step into these waters to cross over. They succeeded, but no one knows if they found gold, for they never returned.

This balance will always remain.
There is life and there is death.
There are things understood and things left misunderstood.
And in between them all runs the River.
This is how creation works.
This is how God works.