All Things Martian

Akshay had a thing for Mars and even wrote a small poem about it, hence this post. Mangalyaan, the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission has completed one month in orbit. The spacecraft successfully entered the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014, a historic day for all Indians. The spacecraft has traveled a distance of 680 million km, according to Indian Space Research Organisation. It was launched from Earth on November 5, 2013. That makes a journey of 323 days! The distance between Mars and Earth is not fixed as both planets have an elliptical orbit. At the closest approach they are 57 million kms apart ( that was in July 2014) and the farthest is 225 million kms.

This is the first picture of Mars captured by Mangalyaan.

Will it find signs of life on Mars? Who knows what lies in the Great Beyond...maybe a planet where a race, far superior to man exists and where all things pure live!

Wimpy Kid beats Harry Potter

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, is the best selling fiction book for 5-10 year olds and Akshay was reading it in his vacation break.

The book has been awarded the Blue Peter's Book of the Decade Award proving that real life is any day better than magic wands, broomsticks and spells. JK Rowling usually tops this list with one of her Harry Potter books. The Wimpy Kid is about the games-obssessed boy Greg who has trouble with his family and friends and has difficulty fitting in, so very easy to identify with! He laughs at himself and has a ready eye for the brighter side of things, whether it is the bullies in school or the disastrous sleepover. Akshay would regularly have sleepovers at Roshan's place and would have enjoyed reading about the midnight adventures, specially when Greg and his friends try to dig the linoleum floor with spoons to make an escape tunnel! I can hear Akshay laugh at that.

Akshay_Fur Elise

I had made this small video for Akshay in 2012 for his birth anniversary but never went public with it on You Tube. He had learnt to play Fur Elise in his piano classes when he was eight or so, apart from Yankee Doodle and other songs. The music of Fur Elise is so mesmerising it defies words...parts of it are melancholic and parts of it joyful. After listening to it you feel as if all those tight knots inside have loosened up and you can relax. Did you know Beethoven never played Fur Elise in front of an audience during his lifetime. What a pity! He had composed it in 1810. It came to public notice long after his death due to his illegible handwritten notes. Today Fur Elise is a must-learn piece in every piano class there is. That's the world's way of showing gratitude to a musical maestro!

The Last Airbender

This was one of the movies we all watched together at a multiplex in Bangalore with Akshay. He had watched the movie keenly, paying equal attention to the action scenes as well as the spiritual side of the plot.

The story is wonderful. Air Nomads have amazing quality of bending air. Since air is the element that stands for freedom, the Airbenders free themselves of the worldly things and become seekers of peace and spiritual knowledge. When you see preteens doing this it makes for a good story...yeah! The Air Benders are pacifist by nature and avoid confrontation to achieve their goals.

These sketches of Aang are from Deviantart, a social networking service for art display.

FIFA Memorablia and a Doodle a Day

Akshay was following FIFA 2010 closely and had pictures and posters stuck on the wall next to his bed. He would cut out Messi's pictures from the KFC boxes. He would scan the Gulf Daily News for match details and other memorablia. His passion for the game was no passing fancy and he was keen to be in Brazil for 2014.

Google's doodle a day for FIFA 2014 would definitely have regaled Akshay. According to Ryan Germick, the doodle team leader at Google, interactive doodles can take months to make but this time they are doing it in two to six hours! They have an Inspiration Room at the office and entire walls are plastered with football memorablia.

One doodle celebrated Paul the Octopus who correctly predicted eight matches in 2010. He died in his aquarium in October that year at the age of four. That's supposed to be a long life for an octopus!

The Mexican wave was another interesting one. The letters are for the audience that support their teams in a Mexican wave. Letter L is the odd one out, as he is always late to catch the wave. The Mexican wave concept originated in 1986 in Mexico.

Football Frenzy

Things are getting serious at FIFA as the knock out stage approaches. It is evident when players start biting at the shoulders instead of snapping at the heels! I had shared this fun mail about the game plan of different countries with Akshay during the last World cup. Does it hold good for 2014 as well? Figure it out!

The French are a Beauty! Love the noodle map on the Brazil board! Akshay would probably have drawn out the game plans for the different countries himself this time

Mesmerising Messi and Other Animals

The football fever has gripped the world and Akshay's favourite Lionel Messi is at his mesmerising best.

Some of Akshay's friends are probably in Brazil to watch their favourite heroes live in action. The craze for animals guessing the match winners continues this time also. After Paul the Octopus in 2010, this year every country seems to have an animal of its choice. The Chinese have a panda and a turtle. In Ukraine there's a psychic pig. In the deserts of Dubai, Shaheen the camel has made four correct predictions so far.

The Germans have got Nelly the Elephant as a soothsayer. Roo the dog does it for the football fans of England. Flopsy the Kangaroo and Big Head the turtle completes the animal list. We Indians have our feathered friends who do some astro stuff. Surely, someone will have found Polly the parrot to help them with their bets! Nico the macaw is popular with Africans as is Newton in England!