Sneak Peek

February Volume 2 Issue 2

Stories

The End of Days

Book review

The Girl with the DragonTattoo

columns

Random Thoughts

Pot Pourri

To smell a BluebelllFloor TilesCROSSWORD

Published by The EnglishLiterary Society of PSG College of Technology.

The e-version of themagazine can be viewedat http://whatelseels.blogspot.comPlease contact us atwhatelseels@gmail.com,Articles and suggestionsare welcome.

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

The second Issue of “WhatElse?” is released onthe eve of our annual Play. This time, however, weare enacting a collection of six short plays named,“Half a Dozen”.The English Literary Society has been veryactive this year, with a host of events conductedfor Intrams which turned out to be a crowd puller.On the other hand, the members have also beenconducting Spoken English Classes with the help of Dr.Brunda Ravikumar. The aim of these classes is toimprove the communication skills of students of PSGinstitutions.We look forward to conducting our megaevent, “Illuminate” at the end of the academicyear.

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The End of Days

Earth was just a memory, long since vapourised by thedying sun. Billions of years past its main sequence, the Sunwas becoming a brown dwarf. The night sky, once so vibrantwith galaxies and supernovas was now empty. Stars had gonethe way of the Sun, or had collapsed into black holes. Therewere still black holes but as the Hawking-Penrose theorempredicted, black holes too were evaporating.The universe was doomed to a slow freezing death,attaining thermal equilibrium, temperatures reaching almostabsolute zero. “The Big Freeze” as everyone called it, put adamper on all human activity in the Solar, Centauri, Eridaniand the handful of populated star systemsMankind huddled around the dying embers of these

nuclear res like homeless people. With the rise of doomsday

cults and science blending with metaphysics, astrophysicistswere a dying breed of scientists. Dharma was one of them.He was one of the few on Mars that kept the hope of humansurvival alive, without the indulgence in Judgement day reli-gions. ...................(continued on page 4)

Book Review

Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennium IAuthor: Steig Larrson

By April Summer

Steig Larrson’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ‘is a book carved with mystery and mayhem with compelling aura of mysticism

is not only a thrilling change but the intricate whims and prociency

with which its delivered is simple and fascinating. This book wasoriginally written in Swedish entitled ‘Men who hate Women’ and istranslated in English amongst many languages.Henrik Vanger, a prominent industrialist has been receiving mysterious potted plants for his birthday for over three decades, ever since his beloved grand niece Harriet Vanger had disappeared.

He hires Mikael Blomvist, a well known nance journalist who had just lost his credibility over a caseunder murky circumstances, to nd Harriet’s killer under the pretext of writing the family biography.

Before Mikael realizes he is woven into the treacherous world of Vanger family where no one seemsnormal and everyone has a secret and a motive. ‘The girl with the dragon tattoo’ from the title isn’t Har-riet but Lisbeth Salander, a 24-year-old, free lance security specialist, who teams up with Blomkvist tosolve the mysterious disappearance of Harriet Vanger.The novel perks up as their investigation gains speed. Harriet’s case turns out to be connectedto a series of murders that occurred in the 1950s and ’60s. Larrson’s characterisation has been rather weak, the protagonist Blomkvist comes to life as he’s investigating the murder, his relationships withhis family and friends, seem half-formed and weak. It’s not very clear whether Blomkvist really cares

about them or if he is stoic. He is portrayed as an excellent journalist who respects the truth and seeks

to bring out the best. He seems more of a stock character than a real person. On the other hand Salander is described as an enigmatic, delinquent genius with a photographic memory and intimacy with com- puter hacking. The author has gone into varying levels to make Salander intimate with the readers. Sheis tough, alone and doesn’t give a damn about anyone else, she believes in only one rule ‘Analysis of consequences’.Larrson’s best attribute is stating the obvious in oversimplifying terms so much so the reader iscompelled to be drawn by the horrors of a malevolence mind. The story is told from multiple prospec-tive which help us understand the character better, there is the omnipresent voice of the narrator who

reects the author’s views, then there is Blomkvist’s voice and lastly Salander’s. Also the clichés of history which are still hard to explain have been described and narrated in over simplied manner .

Larrson had been born in a time period where the after effects of Nazism was still felt .He had also wit-

nessed the rate with Nazism had inicted Europe and the sound minding of the people of that era. The book makes for a compelling read and is only the rst in the “Millenium Series”.

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Floor Tiles

Courtesy: XKCD

Random Thoughts

When I was killing time as usual reading randomthings on the internet, came across this very in-teresting piece of information. After September11th, a company invited the remaining membersof other companies who had been decimatedby the attack on the Twin Towers to share their

available ofce space. At a morning meeting,

the head of security told stories of why thesepeople were alive. And all the stories were justabout the ‘LITTLE’ things. By little things this iswhat I mean:The head of the company survived that day be-cause his son started kindergarten.Another fellow was alive because it was his turnto bring donuts.One woman was late because her alarm clockdidn’t go off in time.One of them missed his bus.One spilled food on her clothes and had to taketime to change.One’s car wouldn’t start.One went back to answer the telephone.One had a child that dawdled and didn’t getready as soon as he should have.One couldn’t get a taxi.The one that struck me was the man whoput on a new pair of shoes that morning, tookthe various means to get to work but before hegot there, he developed a blister on his foot andstopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. Thatis why he is alive today.

When we reect upon this it’s not about

how these small things saved their lives butjust proves or reemphasizes the philosophy that,“Everything happens for a reason“, actually notjust a reason but avery good one.

So the next time your caught at trafc

signals one after another on the way to the col-lege, your bike runs out of fuel, tyre punctureetc. feel good about it because,”Everythinghappens not just for a reasonbut for a very good one.“-SabaIII yr Production

To smell a Bluebell….

I went from this haven up high,To that land below the blue sky,As his gift to those living down by-One more soul that’d live and die.I was a livley lad , eager eyes aglow,Deep down an adventurer raring to go.I could almost hear the world call-Through savage seas with waves wide and tall,Winding valleys where white waters fall,Through purple hills with untouched peaks,virgin wild with unnamed trees,Mellow meadows with untamed creeks,Mighty mounts from which God peeks,Cottonny clouds and moonsoon leaks, Nature warmly to me beckoned,

“someday!” I wistfully reckoned.

As time went on its steady amble,I was a man caught in life’s gamble.

I nally found the means and stature,

But busy men see no sheen in nature.In the endless pursuit of the road ahead,

I seldom saw the sidewalk ower-bed

Or the the crimson sky hovering overhead,Luridly ablaze in orange and red.

What have I earned since the journey began?The pride of a job well done;The honour of ruthless battles won;Glory that’d outshine the sun;The respect of many a peer;

The love of my near and dear.

“What more d’you want?”,you yell,“from a life lived so well”.I haven’t an adventure to tell;

I’ve never seen the beauty of a dell,

Or known the smell of a bluebell;

I hardly remember the thrillOf the sound of a cuckoo’s trill. Now in the Lord’s eternal abode,I know I am not proud,

Saying”I was lost following the crowd”

If ever again I tread the weary path,As I face life’s inevitable wrath,I’ll shatter the invisible cell,I’ll pause to hear a cuckoo trill,I’ll stop to smell a blue bell. -

KanagaLakshmy

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