Beware of the Sniper
There are crazy people and then there are crazy people. One such guy is on a rampage in the Washington DC area in a bid to exterminate some fellow human beings. He is a sharp shooter all right…5 dead from 6 bullets, definitely cunning because no one has seen him although he shot 5 of his 6 victims in broad daylight, possibly insane for the victims are unrelated in any manner and positively scary for the getting out of homes is a terrifying ordeal.
The initial area of crime was less than 5 miles from my office. It has featured as out main lunchtime conversation for the past 3 days. Everyone has an opinion on the psychology of the killer( Middle east terrorists , drug addicts, a crazy ex military man, criminal serial killer are all the various psychological profiles we have come up with) . But the bottom line is that it is scary as hell. Rockville was one of the towns in US with a low crime index. On an average the city had just about 10-15 murders per year. In one day a crazy sharpshooter ruined the crime statistics of the city increasing the yearly average by 25%. The only clue that the cops have is that the man possibly has a white box truck with a broken back door. From then on i have realized that every third vehicle on the road is a white truck and when I observe the parking lots it seems like every second vehicle is one.
From the recent killings it seems that the guy is getting bolder and venturing farther from Montgomery county into adjoining Virginia…Though that seems like a relief to me ( and to other Rockville residents ) it kind of unleashes a fresh wave of terror among the residents of other neighboring cities and states. What is funny is for me is that coming from a city like Bombay, which has a soaring crime rate and murders and shootings every other day one still felt safe walking about the roads at night…Its funny how much terror a couple of random shots can create in a peaceful town.
Books :
A Suitable boy : Finished that one….wonder why nobody made that into a Hindi tele serial . There is
enough saas bahu stuff , a couple of extra marital affairs, a few romances and even a nautch girl?s story
and whats more it drags and drags and drags!
Arranged Marriage : Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni A great find this author.. Excellent stories about
Indians settled in US.
Movies :
Ek Chotisi Love story : Fell for the publicity gimmics and got this movie. The story idea was good,
there was a few scenes really well directed,lot of glitches in the story and an obvious body double. IMO
a lot of hue and cry about nothing.
Highlight of the week:
The highlight of the week was a great dinner we had at a restaurant called Memsahib. The ambiance was great…dimly lit interiors, low seating arrangements , lots of cushions around the seat and enough space between the tables. The menu offers you a fixed 7 course meal and it is served elaborately and with great style beginning with the server pouring water in the old Indian tradition to wash your hands. The food was excellent, the best Indian food I have ever had since I came to US. Each course was brought on the table, we had enough time to finish the course and relax and talk before the next course made its appearance. Its not a place to go if you are looking for a quick bite but if you are looking for a place to relax and spend 3/4 hours with friends and you are in the Washington area I recommend Memsahib!! But the highlight of the place was that it featured a performance by a belly dancer. Seejo and Atha ( with whom i went ) got a chance to shake a leg with a gorgeous girl gyrating gracefully (oops alliterations galore).
