Author Archives: Usha Amudan

We’re back in Delhi people! This time to take a plunge in the Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean is often regarded as one of the pioneers of Indie Music Scene in India. Formed back in 1984 as a couple of musicians, it soon evolved into a four member band comprising Susmit Sen (Guitar), late Asheem Chakravarty (Tabla, Drums, Vocals), Rahul Ram (Bass Guitar, Vocals) and Amit Kilam (Vocals, Percussion).

The bands featured on Indie Rhythms thus far, have largely sung in English. Indian Ocean on the other hand, is a fusion band that aims to bring together a whole range of music genres that accompany the desi Hindi language.

Amidst their numerous gigs, recordings and tours; Rahul Ram of Indian Ocean managed to share with us a little about Indian Ocean…

Usha: How does a regular creative session go? It’d be cool to know how you guys work in creating magic.

IO: We guys sit about in a rough circle facing each other and then we jam.  This usually results in nothing great, but every now and then something emerges (Could be a rhythm structure, a guitar riff, a bass line a vocal line, anything), which we all say “Ah” to and try and take forward, teasing it about, playing with it, going here, there, everywhere, and something MAY emerge.  Sometimes the bare bones of a new piece may emerge in half an hour, sometimes the idea may float for years before it becomes something, or an idea may just die or fade away.

Once a basic idea is formed, we can develop it over days, weeks, months, years, honing it till we are finally halfway pleased with it.  Then we play versions of it at concerts and further refine it. It’s an infinite process.  This does not stop even after we record a song, it keeps evolving slowly at live concerts, witness ‘Jhini’ or ‘Kandisa’ on the CD versus on the live DVD.

Usha: How does it feel to have a movie made about Indian Ocean? Does it reflect the real Indian Ocean?

IO: It feels great! Obviously! And that too, the first movie made on an Indian band to get released on the big screen!

The “Real” Indian Ocean is something that no one movie can possibly show completely. How do you tell a story over twenty years in the making, in a 110 minute film? The filmmaker gets snapshots at a certain time, perhaps a film shot ten years back would have told a somewhat different story.  Plus, notice that the shot selection, shots themselves, and very importantly, the editing is all in the hands of the filmmaker.

This is NOT a film that was commissioned by us, neither did we have any say in the way the story was presented, so it’s HIS (Jaideep Varma, the director) version of the Indian Ocean story.  If you had shot the film, it would have been different.  And, as all you Rashomon fans know, “Reality” is a construct, and everyone’s is different!

Usha: When the band was first formed in the 90s, what was Indian Ocean working towards achieving? After releasing several albums, touring both in India and Abroad, what is Indian Ocean working towards now?

IO: I don’t think we had an aim when the band was formed, apart from making music and doing some concerts. Then perhaps only Susmit had an ambition to do something more, something different, and he managed to get us an album deal with HMV in 1992. Even post that, the band seemed to exist more in drift mode: making new music, playing a few concerts.  Things picked up in the mid-90s when we started playing a lot more concerts and touring all over India.

Today: We are releasing a new album in July. It’s called 16/330 Khajoor Road and will be given away free on the net one song a month. We have also completed two songs for a film called Peepli Live (Aamir Khan Productions) that will be released in July as well and a tour of the USA, Canada, China and Indonesia in August-October. Yes, I see you’re in Shanghai, so we shall most probably be playing there last week of September. (At this juncture, you ought to imagine Usha grinning oh so widely.)

But these are not aims or goals, just milestones. Our aim remains the same: to make more music that we like and to play it to people all over the world.  We may start collaborating with other musicians a lot more than we’ve done in the past. And we are also in the process of looking for a singer and a percussionist since our Asheem passed away last December.

Usha: Which song from your released albums would you recommend for someone who hasn’t heard of Indian Ocean before?

IO: Nice tough one! Depends on the person actually, and the mood! ‘Kandisa’ works for a lot of people, some love ‘Hille Le’, others find ‘Bhor’ fascinating, and a surprisingly large number of people know of us through ‘Bandeh’.  So take your pick!

Usha: When is the next album releasing?

IO: The next album, actually, comprises of songs we have been composing and recording since 2006-7. In a way, it represents the last few songs that Asheem participated in composing, recording and performing. The last song we managed to record with him before his passing was a song called Darte Ho; which is also part of the Peepli Live album and we’re asking Amir if he will let us add it to our album as well. Which he probably would since he’s basically a very nice guy.

Previous albums…

Their previous albums include Indian Ocean (1992), Desert Rain (1997), Kandisa (2000), Jhini (2004) and Black Friday(2004) -For an Hindi Language film called Black Friday.

The first time I came across Indian Ocean’s music was early last year. I was first introduced to a particular number titled Hay Riya from their 1992 album, Indian Ocean. The stringed instrument accompaniment in it remains my favorite till date.

Another favorite of mine and perhaps one of their widely known compositions would be Bharam Bhap Ke (Black Friday). This particular number starts with a solo instrument with an emo feel to it. It reminded me so much of Evanescence. The manner in which her Hello began and how Bharam Bhap Ke started, they kinda evoked the same emotions. Apart from that, both artistes are drastically different on so many levels!

For their stand alone non-lyrical compositions, the highly recommended ones would be Euphoria and Going to ITO from Desert Rain. The familiar Indian drum beats dancing to the wave of the guitar, was indeed a pleasure to be immersed in. Being a fan of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his likes, I took an instant liking to many of their other songs too. As per all the posts in this series, I have a personal favorite amongst the many songs that came out of this band as well. And that one has been narrowed down to Kaun from Kandisa.

To be on track with Indian Ocean’s upcoming gigs and tour dates; add them on http://twitter.com/indianoceanband and http://www.facebook.com/indianoceanmusic.

One can also listen to their music at their official website: www.indianocean.com or www.lastfm.com. Or better yet, get down to your nearest HMV equivalent and purchase their album.

Thank You for tuning in!

Note: Image Courtesy of Indian Ocean

Indie Rhythms by Ginger Chai hopes to explore the Indie music scene across India by bringing you information on existing as well as upcoming Indie bands across the nation. Their music, previous albums, upcoming albums, events, and if we are super lucky; we hope to bring you interviews with the respective bands.  Hopefully, after this, you start rendering your ears to their compositions. Only then will Ginger Chai be able to consider this attempt a success.

From New Delhi, we decided to head to West Bengal, Kolkata to have a chat over a cup of Gingerchai with the upcoming band, Camouflage. Formed in 2005, the ultimate standing Camouflage is made up of Neel (Vocals), Roy (Guitars), Rana (Bass) and Jeet (Drums). They have participated in several leading Music Competitions and are a well known name in the Kolkata Music Scene. We managed to catch up with them while they were working on their debut album.

Camouflage shares with us about Camouflage…

Usha: Are all of you guys from Kolkata? How was Camouflage formed?

Camouflage: Yes, all of us are from Cal born and brought up except our drummer who grew up in Bhutan and then shifted to Cal during his teens. Camouflage was initially formed by 3 school friends (some of whom are former members now) namely Roy, Avy & Sou in early 2005. These guys were also playing for another band at that time. So, once Jeet came on board as a drummer; introduced to the trio by a mutual friend, then everything fell into place and thus Camouflage was formed.

Usha: Why the name ‘CAMOUFLAGE’? Ever went under a different name?

Camouflage: To be honest when we were starting up this set up we used to have regular debates on a series of issues. ‘CAMOUFLAGE’ was a winner of one such debate competition -hence, the naming of the band. On the hindsight, it basically follows that same psychology of parents contemplating upon what name they would give to their new born child. Back then we were the parents who had a new born child to be given a name.

As it often happens in this scenario you look over here and there for ideas, go through the net search book to you make sure that if a certain name that has cropped up in your mind that you don’t have that same name for any other band at least in India to avoid confusion. So, accordingly a lot of names and themes were doing the rounds but the instant one of us suggested “CAMOUFLAGE” we all knew that has to be it, because it was thematically felt very appropriate. It very much reflected our attitude towards the band also. Back then most of us were students or part time job doers, some engineering students or BPO workers, some seeking management studies yet all were eager to form this set up. We were CAMOUFLAGED to be musicians.

But five years down the line we are CAMOUFLAGE, with the only difference being in the fact that some how now we have to disguise ourselves when we try our hands on something else. So, if we look back in a way we didn’t name our band rather, CAMOUFLAGE earned it.

To answer the second part of your question all we have to say is that we never felt the need to play with any other name as mentioned earlier also as it represented a part of us. It’s about being who you are, and if you try and change that you lose your identity that’s what we feel. And also name change doesn’t change the fortune it’s your honesty towards the craft that will suffice at the end of the day. So, if you believe in something then stick with it that’s our philosophy.

Usha: Is there a lead vocalist? Or vocals take turns?

Camouflage: Neel is our lead vocalist but at times very rarely Roy also takes turns. But Neel takes most of the responsibility. While others in the group do follow it up with strong chorus/harmony lines.

Usha: Describe a regular creative/music -making process?

Camouflage: To describe that in keypad and mouse its little difficult but still we are trying.

We generally sit down together and jam, more often on a hook or a theme and take turns to describe and underline it on our respective instruments. For an example-if Roy comes up with a hook on the guitar then we all try and compliment the hook, taking the mood and theme of the hook into consideration we jam on that for sometime and  then stop to question each other on why’s and how’s of it. We try and look at it from every possible direction where this hook can lead us to. Once we all are convinced for the session that we have worked out the best possible option presently available, we call it a day. The next rehearsal we again try to spontaneously react to the hook without trying to imitate what we had earlier decided upon to be the best option. In this way we take all the positives from all the sessions and then try to weave them together around the basic hook from which we started out. We take the call only when we are saturated for options for a particular song. Saturation can set in -in a week, a month or even sometimes 2 yrs. But we make sure that we are well convinced and saturated collectively. But there have been exceptions also where we have changed arrangements even after performing as well. So for such tracks we have two parallel arrangements that we do in live gigs depending on our n audience’s mood.

So, you see it is easier for us to describe with drums n guitar rather than keypad and mouse.

Usha: Has a random jam session made way for a new song?

Camouflage: Generally speaking we would say, most of our jam sessions are random but we mostly have a pre-planned hook, to which we randomly react. But there have been instances also when we randomly jammed together and came up with a hook-line or a riff which after further dissection ended up into a main hook or riff of a song. But most of our songs are born from a random jam session rather than a random reaction to a planned hook or a theme.

Usha: How has your compositions evolved since 2005?

Camouflage: Our music is an expression of what we are and it talks about our life and the experiences that we have shared all this while. So, as we have grown 5 years older our thought process and the general perception of looking at things has also evolved which definitely contributed to the ideas in song writing along with its dynamic nature of the evolving style in general. You only get better as you write more but sometimes stagnation of thought process also creep in. Initially when you start you have certain ideas on which you would want to write but after a certain point you find that although a certain music demands a certain style of song writing but you just cannot get it right & avoiding to be repetitive so the challenge of song writing becomes more and one has to evolve as a writer to write on a different aspect of the same subject to get out of the writer’s bout mode. Today, if we have say anything about our songs we would say that let the audience decide on what perception that he/she would want to have for a certain song. As we believe that once we have played a certain song to an audience it transcends and lingers different kind nuances of emotion to each individual on the same subject. But theoretically if you ask then we would say that the compositions have become more abstract (having mixture of ideas and thoughts, sometimes social and emotion based). There’s no winning formula to this on why a particular song catches the imagination of the audience as sometimes you feel that the other would work and it doesn’t. So in a nut shell it can be said that the right emotion has to be reciprocated through the right words balancing it out with the mood and the ambience of the music or vice versa.

Over the years we have also changed and altered some of our old compositions as we felt with time and experience that we could give it a better texture to the whole thing.

Musically we have tried to be more aware and learn all these years which also reflect in our newer OC’S. But above all it is our approach towards life and our experiences together and individually which has evolved and matured leading to different type’s compositions on varied subjects. This is bound to happen to any creative group who are around for a while.

Usha: To quote from your MYSPACE site, it reads “most of their songs are inspired by their own wrong doings. Camouflage is a mix of the good, bad and the ugly emotions that’s imbibed in their music as well.” So your compositions are hardly imaginary but a reflection of our respective lives, in what way?

Camouflage: Yes, you are absolutely correct. Our compositions are hardly imaginary as you have rightly pointed out. With the hardest part being able to perceive and keep alive an optimistic imagination of our respective CAMOUFLAGED lives that we live in a way. We believe that our imaginations are the reflections of our good, bad and the ugly emotions of our respective lives and hence it’s mostly inspired by our wrong doings. You can only imagine something good when you face the crisis in reality.

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace”-John Lennon

So, you see that you can only be an optimist and imagine when you know that all the people are not leaving their lives in peace. That’s why our compositions are so realistic in a way with an optimistic end. Our imagination starts from the morning cup of tea and runs throughout the day till the last insomniac try to sleep over an ugly emotion of a broken relationship.

Usha: Where have you guys performed so far?

Camouflage: Actually apart from the local circuit with usual pub and college fest gigs, we have traveled across India and have performed in places like Pune, Benaras, Bhubaneswar etc. and also had our fair share participating in All India rock competitions like IRock, CRI etc. during our college days where we managed to reach the finals and won at the IIT-KGP and the IIMC fest rock competitions as well.

Usha: How does it feel to be onstage performing?

Camouflage: NOT CAMOUFLAGED!! The best feeling while performing as a group on stage is that is where we are 100% true to our character. And the best part is that we get to know instantly if people do like our music or not. And those live spontaneous reactions don’t lie. Every performance is very important for us and it’s like a dream trip or a joy ride always memorable and to be cherished forever. It is a fun ride where your best pals are also taking part playing some gorgeous licks and you nod in appreciation or otherwise make a face at him for goofing up and he immediately tries to cover that up.

Usha: Major Influences in your music?

Camouflage: Our major influences are quite diverse due to our early education and backgrounds in music as individuals. But having said we do have common likings from a lot of artists from whom we derive inspiration from. This is so because like for example our drummer has an extensive background in Latin music and percussions and similarly other members have lineage with other basic forms of music as well.  We generally like artistes who are innovative in their thinking in terms of songwriting and consider music in totality (including the total ambience relating to the content) rather than individuality; as we believe that you can make good music with minimalistic playing too and the rest of the onus can be carried out by the power of song writing ideas, which should have a thought provoking or emotional subtext to it.

However this is a never ending process which might lead to another debate within the band arising out of the exhaustive collection of the individual preferences of artist catalogue.

However, some of them are-Coldplay,U2,Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Maroon 5,Radiohead,Oasis,John Mayer etc…

Usha: Name a current song that is on replay mode in each of your ipods?

Camouflage: Nil – Breakeven (The Script), Roy – Low Rising (The Swell Season), Rana – Videotape (Radiohead), Jeet – 42 (Coldplay), Sam (production and sound engineer) – Starlight (Muse)

Usha: If you can tour with another band, say from the local arena, who would that be and why?

Camouflage: Hmm…a hard question to answer. Honestly, can’t pick a band from the local domain but nationally if you ask then Pentagram or Zero (if they re-unite) or Junkyard Groove any of them if they agree then definitely we would like to tour with them at some point in future. We like them very much due to their innovation & musical prowess over a particular genre. It’s not easy in India to make a mark as a western band so for them making it big with their original music is no mean feat and we respect that very much.

Usha: Biggest challenge as an Indie band in India?

Camouflage: We would say that the biggest challenge is to get the mass audience to listen to Indie bands like us. As often mainstream Bollywood music orthodoxy creeps in, trying to dilute our efforts in most of the markets, always ruling with the majority. Hence to conquer the vicious circle monetarily and logistically becomes a daunting task as well as a tough hurdle to cross.

But having said that we realize that slowly but steadily times are changing with the people’s mindset, perception and likings are also changing too in a positive direction promising an optimistic future for the indie bands. Other than that staying together through thick and thin with patience and believing in the honesty of music also forms an integral part of being in an Indie band. Because, more often than not rough patches will be there this needs to be overpowered to see the light on the other side someday.

Usha: How important is clinching a record deal in India?

Camouflage: Very important as it helps in ground PR, in order to reach to a wider audience. But equally important is the publicity and marketing strategy of the deal as otherwise it will be just on the racks of record stores as just another record.

Usha: Future albums? Upcoming gigs?

Camouflage: Yes, we are currently recording in the studio and hopefully we will be able to get it out by the end of this year or early next year. As for the gigs right now we are playing frequently at the local Kolkata pub and college circuits as usual. However, in future, we are planning to play gigs outside Kolkata in other metro circuits to promote our music once we are done with the recording.

Usha: How can we gain access to Camouflage’s music?

Camouflage: We have our communities in Orkut, Facebook, MYspace and Twitter. We are now on the process of revamping all of our band pages and would be uploading our new stuff like songs, pictures and latest live videos for our fans. Fans can also interact here with the band and voice their opinions about the music. Down the line we are looking at promoting ourselves by putting up a dedicated Youtube channel or via a personal website as we approach our album launch sometime at the end of this year or early next year. So, by then fans can also get a copy of their own on album release which will contain some additional stuff like band documentary or a band video of the first single which we are planning at this point. Apart from that we are also looking at setting up a kiosk counter and distribute CD’S and merchandise at the venues where ever we play. There also the fans can get their access to our musical world.

Usha: For those who might not have heard of you, get them to attend your gig in less than 2 lines

Camouflage: “Get Camouflaged n Get going”

About the untitled album in the making…

Camouflage was kind enough to allow me to listen to a couple of their yet to be released tracks and I have to say they do have some potential that will soon be unleashed for your listening. ‘You know how I feel’ would be a track to look forward to when the album debuts late this year or early next year. The other track was ‘Claustrophic’. It takes a while to develop a liking for this particular track. Not everyone might enjoy what the tracks hopes to deliver.

We’ll wait and see when Camouflage releases its album.

For an introduction you can check http://www.myspace.com/camouflageindia to listen to a couple of their previous compositions.

Thank You for tuning in!

Note: Images courtesy of Camouflage – The Band

Indie Rhythms by Ginger Chai hopes to explore the Indie music scene across India by bringing you information on existing as well as upcoming Indie bands across the nation. Their music, previous albums, upcoming albums, events, and if we are super lucky; we hope to bring you interviews with the respective bands.  Hopefully, after this, you start rendering your ears to their compositions. Only then will Ginger Chai be able to consider this attempt a success.

Indie Rhythms by Ginger Chai hopes to explore the Indie music scene across India by bringing you information on existing as well as upcoming Indie bands across the nation. Their music, previous albums, upcoming albums, events, and if we are super lucky; we hope to bring you interviews with the respective bands.  Hopefully, after this, you start rendering your ears to their compositions. Only then will Ginger Chai be able to consider this attempt a success. Welcome onboard and let the rhythm take over.

First to be featured in this series is Half Step Down (HSD) from New Delhi. Formed in 2005, HSD is made up of Dhaval Mudgal on Vocals, Karan Dutta aka KD on Guitar/Backing Vocals, Shiv Lumba on Piano/Organ, Carl Abraham on Bass and Srijan Mahajan with Drums.  Refusing to be confined to any particular genre, they instead prefer to refer to their music as encompassing a whole myriad of elements from across the musical platform. Or in the words of HSD, “versatile mish mash” is what they aim to offer.

From a regular college band HSD went on to perform in the Great Indian Rock Show in 2007. Amongst the many head banging performances, they certainly put up a front which eventually paved the way to their debut album Overtures in Outerspace late last year.

From their humble beginnings, Dhaval, the voice of HSD shares with us HSD’s journey thus far and from here on… in a conversation with GingerChai’s Usha Amudan.

Usha: When HSD was first formed in 2005, what were you guys working towards to?

HSD: When we formed the band in 2005, we had decided to take our interest in music to a more serious level from the college band. We didn’t know what exactly we were working towards but we knew we wanted to make music.

Usha: How has that changed in the last 5 years?

HSD: Well, the desire to create music still remains strong. Only now it comes with the need to create challenges and stimulate ourselves while doing so.

Usha: How does a regular creative session go?

HSD: Creative sessions can go in various directions. Sometimes, the guitarist will play something and everybody starts playing along, sometimes the piano player arrives with a grand arrangement, sometimes I have a basic idea which we all expand on collectively.

Usha: HSD is made up of members who hold regulars job besides playing for the band. How do you guys manage?

HSD: Well, two of the guys have regular jobs. Our drummer, piano player and I are doing this full time. It is tough coordinating time schedules, leave applications etc. But as this countercultural movement grows, it becomes more of an acceptable full time profession. We hope that eventually we will all be able to do this full time.

Usha: What keeps the spirit high among HSD?

HSD: The help of various spirits is employed to keep spirits high in HSD!!! Apart from that, we guys are great friends so we enjoy each other’s company and tomfoolery!

Usha: How different is HSD from the rest of the Indie Bands in India?

HSD: Well, the idea has always been to be honest to making music that’s fun, which pleases us and audiences at some level. We have always tried to not take ourselves too seriously and that seems to filter through on stage as well.

Usha: In the website, HSD has been described to have drawn influences from Led Zepplin, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and others. Name a domestic band that HSD can relate to.

HSD: There’s so many bands here that we can relate to and admire- Thermal and a Quarter for their awesome lyrics and songwriting, Indian Ocean- for sticking to their guns right from the outset and creating a sound that is theirs completely. As for younger bands, there are the Them Clones, Advaita and Joint Family.

Usha: Audience reception to Overtures in Outerspace?

HSD: The album ‘ Overtures in Outerspace’, has been received really well by fans, audiences, musicians and critics alike! As an independent release we have had some distribution issues, but now it is available worldwide on www.underscorerecords.com

Usha: Future Albums?

HSD: There are plans aplenty but it will take some time as our guitarist is moving out of the country and the search for a new one is on. We want to create many albums over the years and we will. There will be a focus on better production and recording in the upcoming albums.

Usha: Define HSD in less than ten words for people who might not have heard of HSD.

HSD: www.halfstepdownmusic.com. Figure it out!!!

Now that we have heard from the man himself, what about the album?

Overtures in Outerspace was released early August 2009. A couple of the album’s tracks can be compared to the likes of Incubus with its Morning View album. The guitar pieces for most of the tracks add to its listening value. Other tracks like Knocking at the Back of My Head, Circles and my personal favorite Girl Not Guitar are worth listening to. As for the lyrics, there ain’t any one theme that the album adheres to. Definitely nothing to do with Outerspace!  But, more to do with the world inhibited by us, humanity.

Guaranteed accompaniment for any music aficionado with their evening Gingerchai.

You can purchase their debut album, Overtures in Outerspace from www.underscorerecords.com. If you wanna consider the tracks before investing your cash, some of the tracks are available at www.last.fm and at http://www.myspace.com/halfstepdownmusic.

Thank You for Tuning In!

Note: Images courtesy of Half Step Down.

The Hot Zone, is a 1994 New York Times best seller book by Richard Preston. The Book discusses the sudden reappearance of the Ebola virus, which was then limited to Southern Africa, to be discovered in Washington D.C. How America responds to the virus and whether it succeeded in ensuring the safety of its citizens from the Ebola virus outbreak forms the remaining story.

The Book starts off with the first victim of the deadly Ebola virus, back in 1980s. A couple of years later, another young boy falls victim to the virus. With the symptoms of both the victims being highly similar, parallels are drawn between them. United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) is alerted with part of the samples from both the victims. Gene Johnson, one of the USAMRIID’s guys starts investigating into the virus.

Preston discusses the chronology of events that begins in 1984, interspersed with interviews from some of the individuals who were part of the relief team that stopped the outbreak from entering the suburbs of Washington D.C.

Ebola Virus has long been declared a deadly virus with several different strains to its name. Ebola Zaire, Marburg, Ebola Reston are some of the many strains. Ebola Reston was what that broke out in Washington D.C. Thought considered deadly, the virus was declared non fatal towards human tissue. Marburg on the other hand, causes the affected to bleed to his death. The recent case of Marburg was in Southern Africa in 2009. Till today, there hasn’t been a vaccine for any of the Ebola strain.

I found this book scary. Bleeding to one’s death, liver turning into jelly just doesn’t sound very fun. To express how creep- inducing Ebola can be, allow me to quote the author:

“What AIDS Virus can do in ten years, Ebola does that in 7 days”.

If that is not freaky, I don’t know what else is.

Compared to AIDS, which was also known to have passed on from monkeys, Ebola is a hot agent that adapts itself to the environment of the host it inhibits. It works as an anti-coagulant, thus preventing the blood from clotting causing the victim to bleed from any available orifice in his body.

The fear of the victims, the doctors, the research unit, miracle survivor who lived to share his story, all of their interactions has been intricately woven into the account of the outbreak. The account follows that of a diary to give the reader an informal feel to the novel and not be overwhelmed by the jargon.

A movie based on this novel, or more specifically Ebola was released in 1995 titled Outbreak.

Overall, it was an enlightening read to the many hidden secrets of the living species.

The Invention of Lying is a movie starring ‘The Office’ (British version) fame Rick Gervais with Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Louis C.K. and other casts. It is directed and produced by Rick Gervais as well.

Rick Gervais plays the lead as a screenwriter for a production company. He lives in this town where everyone speaks the truth. The word ‘Lie’ doesn’t exist in this part of the town. More often than not, the truth they say may sound harsh but the residents cannot resist themselves from uttering the truth. That is how it has been. One day, Rick gets sacked and his landlord throws him out. He goes to the bank to withdraw his bank balance. It so happens that his balance is 300 dollars and he needs 800 dollars for his rent. The system at the bank is down and the money teller asks him for his name and bank balance. For some unknown reason, he utters 800 dollars. At this point the system is back and shows 300 dollars under his name. However, the teller assumes the system to be experiencing a malfunction and hands him his cash. One has to remember that this town lives on hard core honesty from one to another.

Rick understands he said something that is not true. He is not aware that what he might have done could be termed a lie. From then on, changes occur around him. He realizes that this new “art” that he has gained is actually rather beneficial. He goes to the casino and wins his way through just by lying. When his actual recount of a historical event gets rejected at his production company, he starts writing fictional accounts and submitting them as actual events and they get televised.

This movie is a satire covering Lying, God, People, Religion and other aspects of life in a comical way. Religion and God was implied for the most part of the movie. For instance, just because Rick lied to his mother on her deathbed about the after-life being an immensely gratifying place compared to his mother’s imagination of a world of nothingness, raises him to a position of a messiah. And when he has crowds of people waiting to hear him say about the things of after-life, he writes down 10 simple rules for the people to hear. (He made up the rules but I am not too sure if this can be considered lying since there weren’t any afterlife material to start with. Let’s call it creativity on his part.) Well this can be loosely related to the Ten Commandments and God at this juncture is referred to as the “man in the sky”. A signboard is depicted outside this white building which resembles the Catholic Church without the cross. And the board reads “A silent place to remember the man in the sky”.

His lying continues till he can’t really lie to his lady-love, Jennifer Garner. When he explains that he had been lying about the ‘man in the sky’, the ten rules, etc. She fails to comprehend the whole concept of saying something that does not exist. Why he said what he said, what happened after a period of full fledged lying and how the people surrounding him respond to his lie makes up the rest of the movie.

Some audiences may find it hard to digest or much worse can even be offended by the comedy displayed in the movie. Take it with a pinch of salt; it’s just a movie after all. I found it extremely funny though. I ain’t lying.

It was there for him since his creation.

For months, for years, it kept working non-stop for him.

On some occasions it had to work harder than usual.

He, Mr. Jones was aware but could care less about it.

One fine day it decided to retire.

Time of death: 6:46pm.

Mr. Jones’s heart gave away.

This  55 fiction format story is written by Usha Amudan.

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Some facts about CVD (Cardiovascular disease):

• CVDs are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause.
• Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionally affected: 82% of CVD deaths take place in low- and middle-income countries and occur almost equally in men and women.
• By 2030, almost 23.6 million people will die from CVDs, mainly from heart disease and stroke. These are projected to remain the single leading causes of death. The largest percentage increase will occur in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The largest increase in number of deaths will occur in the South-East Asia Region.
• Cardiovascular disease in India has quadrupled in the last 40 years and WHO estimates that by 2020 close to 60 percent of cardiac patients worldwide will be Indian.
• The major causes of cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet.

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools”  – ancient quote

Besides nano technology and other kick ass stuff that our Asian counterparts come up with, Japan is also famous (or infamous) for many other things that puts them under the queer category.

For starters, they have a suicide club. Yes, many of our countries probably has suicide spots (locations that are frequented by the like minds) but not a huge group of people getting together to decide why they should die and perhaps how as well. A brain storm session on why hanging off a robe is better than jumping to your death with brains spilling over. Now this news was years ago, the club probably has gone extinct though I doubt its complete disappearance. They probably have active suicide societies planning their next venture into the after-life in some dark alleyways of Japan, and of course in hushed voices.

Its Japan, trend may change but nothing fizzes out fast. Remember Tamagotchi way back in the 90s? That was one awesome virtual pet that came outta Japan. Though introduced in the 90s, it still is running in the Japanese market with newer versions. Anyways, that’s a different story.

Now however, they have stopped coming up with ideas to end their lives but instead to enhance their existing lives in rather "interesting" ways.

They have turned to “pillows” for emotional needs. These are not ordinary pillows but rather pillows that are shaped as an arm adjoined to a male’s torso. They even have a name for it. It’s called the ‘Boyfriend Arm‘. Females apparently snuggle to bed with this pillow. This is what the users have to say, "It keeps holding me all the way through. I think this is great because this does not betray me". 

If you think that was fairly “interesting”, the youth of Japan do not quite stop there. The women are delusional and the men head elsewhere.

Japan is where most of the video games originate. Or at least the widely played games are from there. They have a whole range of games that go from Role Play Games to Racing Games to regular Sports Games to Simulation Games. These Simulation games have several other sub genre games. One of them is the Love Sims. These Love Simulation Games are pretty much all about hooking up with a virtual girl/boy and ‘being there’ for him/her all the time. Literally all the time. Besides the time she ‘goes to bed’ you should never leave her. In other words, cannot afford to switch off the game or end it cos she will ‘leave’ you. For many of the younger Japanese these games work as anti depressants. For games like the simulation ones, they do not end unless you shut the system down completely. So, obviously there are many Simulation Game Addicts out there.

Seeing all the single girls hugging their pillows to sleep, one of the gamers decided to bring his addiction to a whole new level. He married the game. You heard me right. He indeed married a game. This Japanese youth was playing a dating sims game called "Love Plus". According to the nerd culture of Japan, these obsessive gamers refer to the characters they associate with as "wife". So did this particular fella.  Soon enough he decided to embark on a real future with his virtual wife.  Both these real and virtual characters not only got together, they even went on honeymoon together! Now this bit I am not too sure if they were referring to virtual sights or the fact that this guy carried his Nintendo DS overseas and had shots taken with famous landmarks and his “wife”.

This gamer also feels that more people should come forward (similar to his move) to express themselves hence creating an interesting society. He even ends with this statement: "I think I’ll probably continue playing Love Plus. I won’t cheat."

Arigato-gozai-masta to games and Sayonara to life.

December 1^st was declared World AIDS Day in 1986, to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS among the masses. This year’s theme is Universal Access and Human Rights. To share some statistics:

• According to UNAIDS, in 2008, over two million children under the age of 15 were diagnosed HIV positive. That was just children alone.
• An approximate 33.4 million people (including children) around the world are living with AIDS. It has to be noted there are still many who are unaware of this hence this number can be much higher.
• 7.400 people all over the world are diagnosed HIV positive daily.
• Close to 4 million of the diagnosed individuals receive treatment and 9.7 million go unnoticed.
• After the South Africa and Nigeria, India ranks 3^rd in playing host to a population of 2 million being diagnosed HIV positive. And this gets worse, it ranks 2^nd when it comes to the number of people who die from it due to lack of treatment.
• After Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia has the highest number of AIDS patients and India accounts for more than half of them.
• More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.
• Globally, around 11% of HIV infections are among babies who acquire the virus from their mothers; 10% result from injecting drug use; 5-10% are due to sex between men; and 5-10% occur in healthcare settings. Sex between men and women accounts for the remaining proportion – around two thirds of new infections.

Universal Access of treatment to all HIV infected individuals is what this year’s AIDS commemoration day is all about. According to World AIDS Campaign, for every 5 people who are infected, only two gets treated. Such a situation is not very encouraging.

Universal access is a global commitment to scale up access to HIV treatment, prevention, care and support. The movement, enshrined in the 2006 UN Political Declaration, is led by countries worldwide with support from UNAIDS and other development partners including civil society. – Courtesy of UNAIDS

Many participating nations will up their systems and undertake new measures to improve the quality of life for HIV positive individuals.

Another part of this theme is Human Rights. Some corners of the world still house people whose voices have yet to be heard. On many accounts, with relation to AIDS, some women still do not have a say on their sexual and reproductive rights. This plays an integral role in the growth of widespread AIDS. With regard to Human Rights the UN Secretary General also reported that in many nations, the access to HIV treatment is heavily limited or in some cases highly inaccessible as it does not comply with the respective nations’ laws. And this further emphasizes the need for Universal Access to HIV treatments to reduce the growth.

Human Rights is extremely important as over 50 countries still restrict its entry of HIV positive individuals taking away their personal right to freedom and job opportunity. This has to change. Even the stigma following AIDS is as rampant as the illness itself. If one were to do a survey on discrimination against AIDS individuals, the numbers will reveal a lot about the mentality of the society. Not in a good way of course.

AIDS was an epidemic, is an epidemic. And will still be, if changes are not made.

I saw him again.

Our eyes met.

I resisted the urge but conformed eventually. I left the place embracing him. The missing piece in my life has returned.

Back at home, I ripped his top open.

“You taste better than you ever did, my Lays Potato Chips.”

***I Surrender by Celine Dion; in the background.***

Note: Similar to Detox, I was De-Lays-ing for a couple of months. Not anymore. Winter and diet do not go well together.

This  55 fiction format story is written by Usha Amudhan.

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Usha Amudhan’s  first attempt at 55 Fiction.

They were a second away from being declared man and wife.

His beautiful bride was beaming. He looked away, turning his gaze to his best man. His sister was getting married and his face suggested depression and loss.

He decided then.

"I Ronald Phillips, take Robert Adams to be my wife".

"My brother?" Rita exclaimed.

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