Airbending Slice! (Avatar, the Last Airbender)

ATLA

I was hesitant to begin watching TLA, as I had thought it was just another one of those animated series in which improbable and impossible fantasy lands are created to fool the viewers and help them escape to a land of their dreams. I was skeptical because Bleach had made me! I was wary of touching TLA as they say- A burnt child dreads fire...

But how wrong I was! Even with all the prejudices and notions, one wintery night, with nothing better to do, I began watching the series starting from the first episode. And right after I was finished with the first one, I knew that TLA was a masterpiece of an effort. In most fantasy oriented material, you are not that ready to accept certain themes which go against the normal physics we are used to. So it is essential for me that a fantasy cartoon justify its plot using analogies to make it more convincing. Avatar did just that. All the episodes begin with a montage and a narration by Katara, the heroine of the series, explaining the entire theme of the series so crisply you can crunch on it! In the Avatar world, there are martial experts, having varying degrees of skills, called benders who can manipulate certain elements at their will. Each Earth, Air , Fire, Water bending is linked to an actual martial arts style. The nature of the elements reflects in the bender's qualities as well. Earth -unmovable, firm, determined; Air- free-spirited, without vices; Fire- strong, aggressive; Water- caring and generative. Laying down an intelligent plot, Avatar certainly breaks some grounds in storytelling.

But what follows is an even better chain of events. The all-powerful Avatar- who can master all the four elements is the strongest of all the benders of his time. He is Aang, a twelve year old airbender, for the period on which the show is based. He is pitted against Firelord Ozai, the baddest man on the planet! How a kid takes control of his destiny and proceeds to do a difficult task forms the rest of the series.

The most awesome part comes when Aang goes into a state called the Avatar state. Aang by nature is very mild mannered and kind. But in bouts of Avatar state, we see him in an entirely different persona. He is menacing and destructive when the fit is upon him. And yes, he is out of control when seized by the frenzy and only at the climax does he learn to control his capabilities. In his quest for saving the world, he is supported by a group of excellent friends, each having unique qualities. And yes they have a flying bison and a flying lemur too!

Even though the tone of the series is quite dark, the show does mix darkness with copious fun. Sokka, Katara's brother is the major comic relief. The humour quotient of Sokka is indeed exceptional. Sokka, as he describes himself, is meat-loving and sarcastic. Probably he is the most loved character after Aang. But let not all this fool you! Sokka is a master strategist and expert in machines.

Character development is top notch. The characters created are very complex and it is very difficult to predict what each one will do given a situation. The most complex one is Zuko, the Firelord's son. Most viewers will identify with Zuko's predicament. With a horrific burn mark on the left eye (given to him by his father), he is desperate to seek his approval. So he hunts down the Avatar, seemingly aided by his fat lazy uncle Iroh, another capable but a good firebender. With no concern of what he himself wants from his life, Zuko is on a mad chase. Iroh at all the appropriate times tries to dampen his misplaced intentions to hunt Aang, and keeps a firm watch on him, indulging in some quality humour from time to time. Katara , a water-bender, although very caring is most annoying. Toph is of Aang's age and she is an earth-bender. Zuko's sister Azula is the embodiment of evil. Since Ozai is kept reserved for Aang's final showdown with him, we don't see much of him. So the writers brilliantly incorporated Ozai's splitting image into Azula and she has plenty of show-time.

The climax episode is one of the best ones I have seen ever. Two fights all brimming with power and mystique form the core of the final episode. Zuko finds where his true allegiance lies and sides with the Avatar. He duels Azula with an Agni Kai. Throughout the series, Zuko is unsure of his abilities and Azula is shown to be more capable firebender as she trumps him time to time. But here at last Zuko finds his bearings and displays an expertise with firebending that stumps even Azula. Zuko is the clear winner here, having learnt true fire-bending (alongwith Aang) from the Dragon masters themselves. The other fight is between Aang and Ozai. It is also not less magnificent than the first one. Aang's nature doesnt allow him to be aggressive and decisive when he is confronted with taking Ozai's life. So as long as Aang's Avatar state doesn't step in, Ozai has the upper hand. Ozai gives some scare as he skyrockets in the air with ease and shoots lava lumps and fire chunks at Aang who can only duck and evade inspite of mastering all the elements. But then Aang's chakra is unblocked through an improbable accident and now he is in control of his Avatar state. He promptly moves to that state and again appears menacing and ready to kill. Catching hold of Ozai's beard and stepping out from the heap of rocks is the best directed scene and I will keep watching it again and again for a long time, now. Summoning all the elements into a cocoon around him, Ozai tastes some of his own medicine but bitter, at the hands of Aang, the Avatar! But that is not the point. Aang is now in total control and he still refuses to take life. So he takes Ozai's bending powers away. Inspired and taught by what many consider as dues-ex-machina to the plot- the Lion turtle, Aang performs energy bending on Ozai. This puts Aang into the league of the greater Avatars since all the earlier ones had taken one life or the other. The score that accompanies the fights is nothing short of chilling and apt.

All in all, Avatar is not just a children's cartoon. It is much more than that-it has the quality to gravitate even adults towards its remarkable storyline and brilliant animation!

The Delhi Metro- A Class apart!

Apple of Delhi's eye!

Did you wake up late in the morning somewhere in the NCR region and have to be somewhere else in NCR in like an hour? No worries mate! Your friendly neighborhood transport system Delhi Metro is here to your rescue!

Gurgaon which is a satellite city of NCR region is being hailed as the Millennium city. Let us not talk about the deplorable transport facilities in Gurgaon because this topic has been discussed by so many other able writers and bloggers. Also an entire thesis can be attempted on the same, simply because there is so much material and data to back up the argument. Here I want to talk about why New Delhi is the best and top class city in India as of now, one of the reasons of which is the Metro. Set out on foot anywhere in New Delhi and you can be sure to get to the nearest metro station, study the map of junctions and decide which metro station to get down on, to reach your destination. A perennial flow of auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws in New Delhi is echoing with shouts of “To the Metro?” and it is a re-assuring thing especially when you are lost and want to get to familiar territory. At the Metro everything is so simple! Every place in New Delhi can be reached through the web of nearly 150 stations of the Metro. There are no polluting buses, no overcrowding, no waiting in the sun for long hours for Delhiites. The Delhi Metro has de-congested a large portion of the routine travelers and taken upon itself the task of plying them in a clean, well-maintained, affordable and efficient way. So much so, the Delhi Metro has earned the UN distinction of being the world’s first rail-based system (and Metro) to earn carbon credits because of its clean, environment friendly operation procedures.

When I was pursuing my first year of engineering nearly seven years back, the Metro trains used to remain almost empty because the phenomenon had not picked up then. For the masses, it was a new and strange process to purchase the ticket tokens, study the map to decide where to go, pass through security and use the tokens to enter and exit at the appropriate points. So they were hesitant leading to fewer passengers. But now, all of the above are old hat for our Delhi people! The result is a bustling train reminding you of the Mumbai local. The only differences being people are not hanging outside the train and the automated announcement is requesting the passengers not to sit on the floor! Recently I read an article on the web about how the Metro is expressing itself as an integral part of the lives of Delhiites. It talked about how boys and girls are now developing relationships after first meeting on the Metro! It even gave them tips on how to approach a particular girl or boy they liked. I admit it was a very interesting and unusual read. The point the writer drove across is that now you cannot separate the Metro from the Delhiite and so many people use the same train lines everyday to commute, that the probability of them meeting the same person again on the train is considerably high.

New Delhi is known for its wide, tree-lined boulevards and is home to numerous national institutions, museums and landmarks. Now it has added one more asset to its kitty- the Metro. And I am sure the other cities will have a hard time catching up to this particular facility available in New Delhi. It is a source of pride, indeed for the city to have come up with a project planned and executed so successfully. This is also notably one of the best Government project in terms of accomplishment of the originally planned goals. After taking lessons from Kolkata Metro which was delayed because of technical problems and political interference, the Government of India and the Government of Delhi established the DMRC, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. Modeling the system after the Hong Kong MTR, which has stations at all major entertainment, shopping, eating, commercial and residential areas of Hong Kong; the DMRC got rid of technical snags. The DMRC was in full control of all decisions pertaining to the Delhi Metro and hence political interference was a non-issue. Phased construction ensured that complete focus was given to the construction at hand. Although it was an expensive project, the Delhi Metro is now operating profitably because of the revenues generated through ticket sales, advertising and consultancy for similar projects in other parts of the country. It is a shining symbol of what can be achieved if one is bent upon doing it and how the Government can similarly increase profitability in other ventures, too, through targeted planning and adoption of correct procedures.

This is not to say that the Delhi Metro is without its fair share of problems and difficulties. The prime problem, in my opinion, is the inequitable traffic distribution at stations. Since I mostly take the Yellow Line, I will talk about it. Rajiv Chowk Station, notably, on this line is so immensely crowded at nearly all times that it is very difficult to get down or board the train at this station. Still it is not much problem for young people to do this feat. But the old and senior citizens face a very hard time in such a situation. De-congesting stations like Rajiv Chowk is the primary concern that the DMRC should address. Constructing some satellite stations at this junction for each of the lines and running new trains more frequently on this station can probably alleviate the rush this station faces at peak times. But India is a populous country. No matter how many trains you increase, there are still people left to ply. So I guess the DMRC has quite a challenging job ahead to address this issue. Feeder bus service is also one thing which needs to be worked upon. Currently these are operating on select routes and stations and expanding them will increase the value of the Metro system to passengers. Finally, making the Metro more handicapped-friendly will truly seal the deal and make the Metro go into the history books as one of the best man-made marvels- alongside the Taj Mahal and maybe, the Pyramids, too…you never know!