AmalJyothi BeatsCampus Frequencies Unleashed . . .

The hunt is back once again and I still continue to ride with my dear friend Karthik over and over. Our 16 year old friendship gets cemented strongly with each such ride. In my prayers, I have always asked the almighty to keep me in such a position, whereby I can repay him some day (at least these restaurant bills).

This time it is one of the favorite hotspots of amalites – the KOCHUVARKEY’S Restaurant, Kanjirappally. Almost on all evenings amalites go there and hang out a little bit. You can’t get tastier food anywhere else in this place and of course with a wide range of variety. One special thing about them is their timing. From 3.00pm in the afternoon till late night. And this is the perfect time for those people who consider the metro life better than the village life. From semester 6 to semester 8, engineers of Amaljyothi will be having a really bad time. Late night stay is unavoidable even for the day scholars and during such adverse time, restaurants like KOCHUVARKEY’S are our only hope.

It was during the period of AZURE and this time I had three of my very good friends along with me and Karthik. For us KOCHUVARKEY’S means “THE ALFAM CHICKEN + KUBBOOS”. Even though they have got many other varieties made out of chicken, this one’s taste will continue to haunt you for sure. I don’t know the exact methodology they use to cook this particular food item but when we get it, the chicken will be neatly fried with a brownish color over its body. The meat won’t be cooked hard and that is the best part of it. The full ALFAM will have eight pieces and will serve 4 people quite decently. The range starts from quarter that has got two pieces of meat. You will get 2 KUBBOOS free with it. For me, KUBBOOS is the best combination with ALFAM. A sweet lime juice with lot of ice cubes in it will be the perfect ending for such a superb feast. As usual, my friend Karthik sponsored me once again.

A restaurant like the KOCHUVARKEY’S does two big favors for us. First of all it keeps our stomach cool. Secondly when we go with our friends we get some time to ease out our sorrows. Long 4 years of B-Tech life and I have lost many of my pleasures in my normal life. I have blamed the nasty educational system for this. If at all I am forgiving them, then it is because of these good moments. So our hunt for the good food and great chefs will go on forever. Don’t forget to stop by this place the next time you come to kanjirappally. Until then, good bye.

I have learned my lesson, and no, I will never again criticize the educational system ever again. Being a legal adult, it is time I put my pride and prejudices aside, and actually considered all the good things that today’s educational system is bringing forth.

For instance, today I learned that in a very small school, the 8th standard students will be learning from the 10th standard textbooks. This, like most facts, makes absolutely perfect sense. After all, who would want those children to learn the basics of science and math? The answer is obvious, teach them stuff that is two levels greater than what they do now. That way, they can get smarter faster, and skip the useless junk.

This development is surely as a result of the realization of how boring education really is. After all, the only thing that 8th graders learn in 8th standard are the basics of science and math and all those other dreadful subjects, which I am sure they can do without. They’re doing the youth of today a favor.

I’m sure the educational system is doing a number of perfectly wonderful things, such as the statement stated above. I take back every bad thing I have ever said about the system, and must say, how extraordinarily wonderfully magnificently spectacularly beyond-belief-amazing the educational system is today. (And if you think I’m being sarcastic, you are so wrong).

After all, why would a building need a sturdy foundation, as long as it has interior decoration and is exteriorly landscaped by an artist?

Once again, as unsarcastically and factually as possible
forever, and always
T.I.Ink

Asking for change, questioning the bus conductor for getting back the balance amount, shouting at the rickshaw driver for asking too much – as a person who was born and bought up in a middle-low class family all these are scenes are pretty familiar to my eyes. Sometimes as the initiator and sometimes as a silent observer. I am nearing 22 of which almost 15 years are still in my random access memory and nothing has changed drastically as far as I am concerned. Getting emotional under such circumstances is quite rare of me and I never felt the need.

                An unusual pain in my right arm shoulder prevented me from doing my regular work and I had to make it to the government hospital early in the morning. I wished to see the bone specialist but unfortunately my luck made me to consult the physician. Government hospitals are well known for the quality of doctors. Even though a lot is being said about their irresponsible behavior and corruption, they are really good and are professionals. Two rupees – that is the cost of taking a new card from the counter. They will charge one rupee for the renewal. I arrived a bit late and I could see the long line from a distance. Two officers were in charge of the counter – man and a woman, both well above 40. Their words and actions all were in the most decent manner. I watched a middle aged woman who should have been standing there long before I reached there. She seemed to be a bit unhappy about something and as soon as my turn came she just rushed onto the counter. All she wanted was her balance amount. From the words of the two officers, I understood that they didn’t have enough money left there to let that lady go happily. They were yelling at her to go and get the change from somewhere else. Then only I got her problem. She just had 10 rupees with her and when she gave that the officers kept it with them. Even if she want to get the change, she need to have that 10 rupee. I thought she would cry and the officers were doing their best to keep her cool.

                I saw the doctor when my turn came and went back with the medicine. My right arm is doing good now but the pain was inherited by my heart. Whenever someone says that India is still on her back foot, I tried to convince them with our achievements. Reality is far worse than what we hear. On one side I see a mom who lives in a palace and enjoy watching the reality shows and on the other I see a mom who lives in the reality and want to earn something for her family. Some say india will be a super power in 2020. When we have about 20 million people, who don’t even know the feel of pure water how do we aim to achieve that. These are the situations where as an engineer; I am left with no answer.

Once upon a time, during a time far away, there was a time when world war 1 was going on. Not too long after that, there was another time when world war 2 was going on. But it was before our time. We haven’t had a world war after that, probably because everyone knows that sequels never make it very far. And to make sure there never was a sequel to 1 and 2, 12 knights sat around a round table and decided to come up with the reasons for which these wars had come about. Of course, they didn’t get far, because we all know that human civilization is not very civilized, and so wars were inevitable.

And with all these movies that are sequels and prequels these days, we’re sure to start world war 3 sooner or later. But people these days don’t know how to throw spears or shoot arrows or fly jet planes upside down, so a modern day world war could never be written about in history books. Like, all we would be doing is throwing cell phone chargers and swearing at people and stuff. Not very educational. This basically means that we will have to rule out wars in the future.

So, our only alternative is to make a movie. People make movies for everything these days. It’s the new trend. For instance: the end of the world (in 2012), failing dams (in Dam 999) and vampire love stories( in Vampires Suck). Now, we know that when making a movie about world war 3, we’re going to have to make it seem real and authentic, without making it too boring or anything.

And somehow, we’re going to have to get around the idea of throwing cell phone chargers at each other and swearing, because somehow, I don’t see people going to see a movie like that. But maybe if we threw in some music routines and a few vampires and zombies we might just pull it off. I don’t know if vampires exist, but I’m sure that we can pull a few kids out of college to play the zombies. We’ll make it a musical.

And of course, I forgot about the extra terrestrial that we could add, and we’re going to need a phone so that he can phone home. Or maybe that’ll be overdoing it. Better stick to vampires and zombies and leave out the other junk. Besides, even though a musical involving zombies and vampires has nothing to do with the story of a war, that type of problem doesn’t seem to bother people these days.

Ready to start filming of the movie World War 3 ( coming shortly to a theater near you),
T. I. Ink

The limelight has been on to the one who always demands the glare on him, the Kapil Sibil and co. His acts make a feeling like he needs to have the media glare upon him always. Previously he tried and succeeded in messing up the JEE/AIEEE! The decisions that were taken in order to pre-screen the online posts, needless to say, the efforts evoked an outrage and abusing that were really needed to be pre-screened. Facebook statuses, tweets etc. flooded the net with the quotes like #kapil sibil is an idiot !!

(*if the rule is passed, this content would be deleted *).

He was thinking of forcing the big 4 : Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to pre-screen the contents. If it gets passed, the common man won’t be able to point out something that is not done right by the govt. It’s exactly restricting our freedom of speech. His idiotism has no limits. He suggested voluntary scouts over automated algorithms, to perform the pre-screening of contents from around 200 million internet users in India and think of the amount of data they have to go through. Impossible!!

With this statement itself, he might have come to know the aggressive abuse, users have showered upon him. Anonymity the internet is providing, ensures the outrage in its safest mode of operation.

But actually he is not an Idiot. He is a lawyer, was the solicitor general of India, and has cleared one of the most difficult exams in the world, IAS itself. So he is no Idiot. There might be some extrinsic reasons behind the statements!!Let the freedom of speech be sustained…Let internet not die!!!

“Amaljyothi is a mobile free zone” – this is one of the first dialogues that I heard from our dear jose achan during my earlier days in Amaljyothi. Ironically, I was talking to my mom through my own cell phone when this happened. That made me to do a correction in my mind. I stopped to think that I am in college. It was and sadly it is AMALJYOTHI SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (no need to worry as we have certain well known colleges known in the name of school).

                Is it totally banned in Amaljyothi or do we have exceptions? Hostel raids and class room raids were common in those days and hundreds lost their dear ones in this war. Vivid descriptions of how the hostel wardens treat the mobile phones if you are caught red handed incurred fear in every one’s mind (as per the rule, if caught red handed, the student should be left alone and the phone being sacred should have the same fate as of a coconut in front of lord ganesha). Vow.. Certain rituals do amaze me. The academic council, college management and various departments have taken strict rules to get rid of the mobile phones as if they are some deadly viruses. The strange thing is, our faculties, staffs and those who claim to have matured can use it without any problem. The law should be applicable to everyone. After all we are not talking about a one side rule that is applicable only in one direction. The thing that irritates most of the students is something else. It is OK for some if our faculties and staff use the traditional Nokia 1600 or 2100, but the widest range of smart phone collection will make every one jealous. Only students can understand their feelings. Moreover, not many faculties like the idea of taking mobile phones away from the students. They may be doing this because the law say so.

                Correction shall be made from the top. The very top, right from the University. MG University’s preamble says that the affiliated colleges should bring a ban on students using the cell phones. The atrocities caused by mobile phones in the society may be the prime reason for the university to think like this and the pressure from the government side may have added to that. They may be justified for that but one must also consider the advantages of using a cell phone, particularly in a big campus like ours. A device is a device, however bad it is. Taking into account the positive aspects, the university must rethink. A complete ban over students till class XII is acceptable. Not a year ago, many students were caught for bringing cell phones during their examinations. Luckily, no one was using it purposefully and it was not during their university exams. Situations like this will invite actions upon the students and that is justified. On all other occasions, this cannot be true. The critics may point out numerous negatives against our poor cell phones but the thing is that whether you are 18 or 80, a cell phone will be a cell phone and it is not that only in the hands of students these will become bad. Azure is right around the corner and even the slightest thought of managing such a huge event will make you mad. Without the aid of those poor devices, what will be the plight of azure? It is indeed a matter for discussion.

                Calculators are allowed, computers are allowed but not phones. Now, please don’t ban those too just because I quoted it over here. Azure authorities say, that they are thinking of giving wireless phones to the core coordinators. Idea is nice and will be a temporary solution. If the management could provide one such thing in every class and in every departmental building, oh yeah then the problem is solved (at least for me). Personally, if you ask me I don’t think that the ability to text, call and ring is a curse. May be in 2020, when the country is completely developed, we can think about it.

Stuff you should try out before you graduate and are too old to have fun:

1. Eat porotta and chicken curry and then get on a roller coaster ride:
2. Accidently get yourself locked in the canteen.
3. Take a picture next to the penguin shaped trash can outside the central complex.
4. Devise a fool proof plan to put an end to terror and exams( both are obviously related)
5. Get drunk on mango juice. I’m not sure if this is possible. We’ll have to run some tests first to be sure.

What you should not do, no matter how old you get:

1. Feed crows (you don’t want to know, trust me).
2. Run, when a dog just happens to be behind you. (I think some animals should be avoided in general)
3. Forget to wipe your shoes off after you’ve stepped in animal droppings or on chewed bubble gum.
4. Watch a movie before seeing the preview. Previews are must-sees. They are informative, and are a better way of wasting time than deciphering lecture notes.
5. Talk to strangers on the bus, especially if they are really talkative aunties( because we all know that they won’t stop talking until you’re bored to death. And sometimes it won’t even stop then)

“Pilgrimage” – I don’t know whether the word implies something to me but what I definitely know is for the last couple of weeks, one of my very good friends is trying to find the meaning of his life through practical experiments and demonstrations of activities that can be defined by this very same word. After a very long time, I got another great opportunity to share the seat on his bike and travel across the country’s coastal areas. In all such journeys I have had the wonderful opportunity to taste some delicious food. So here I am with yet another classic ride with my friend Karthik.

joys inn

                It was not even 10 days since I came back from the great Lord Ayyappa’s abode, sabarimala. Our class had to undergo the university lab examinations and somehow for the first time in history I and Karthik got outputs for all the experiments. Bravo!! Lord Ayyappa turned the tables for us and may be because of this thought that Karthik decided to collect the blessings of all the Hindu Gods ever known to him. There was a time when I used to be moderately rich but during this happened I was pathetically ‘bankrupt’. (Even now I am). I tried to escape from this but that one sentence from him got me right over it all again – “Don’t worry about the financial part”. No matter what happens, as far as I am getting something to eat, I AM READY FOR ANYTHING. After all, the destination was not bad, AMBALAPUZHA. This place is well known for its beauty and Lord Krishna’s temple. No one will ever want to forget the specially made desert made by the temple priests which later came to be known in the temple’s name itself – the famous AMBALAPUZHA PAAL PAAYASAM. Once you drink that stuff, you will stick to that place and drinking it meant a lot to us. Before we reached the actual place we had the honor of visiting some of the famous temples in Kerala namely the CHAKKULATHU KAVU TEMPLE, THE HARIPPADU TEMPLE and THE MANNAARASHALA TEMPLE. We waited patiently for about 2 and a half hour to finally get a grab on that. 2 liters and that too for Rs. 100 per liter (I don’t know what the Lord might have thought about us seeing our greed).

porotta kappa and chicken

                The real reason for me to laugh came about in the afternoon session. We had to cross the beautiful city of ALAPPUZHA to get back to home. This place is ever known for its wide range of food varieties. Some of our students live there and I must say that those guys are really lucky. I don’t know whether the Mullaperiyar Dam has anything to do with that district, if not I am thinking of doing an occasional visit. We had our lunch a little late at about 4.30pm and it was Karthik who kept me from eating anything until that moment (actually it was his money so I thought of being nice to that guy). “Joys Inn” – that was the name of the hotel. It was constructed beautifully and had nice ambience. Karthik always cared for privacy and I agreed with him this time around. We ordered Porotta, Chicken fry, chicken curry, Tapioca and the delicious “Crab Roast”. I remember tasting that little guy once when I was a kid. I must admit that, living or dead a crab is tough to deal with. We paid ( I mean he paid) 150 Rs for one plate. It was tasty. Not just tasty but delicious. They made it with some kind of special ingredients mixed in some tight proportion. You may feel that it is made in the same way as we make the fish curry but it is not. The gravy did smell spicy and the meat was juicy. The porotta was twice the size of the one we get here in kanjirappally. Chicken fry was also good.

lime and crab roast

                Lime juice of this hotel was so special. True lemon juice, vanilla essence and sugar, the proper blend of all these three. When you drink it you will feel that your arteries and veins are getting revived. Vow!! One must have it to enjoy it. 429 for the two of us and as always I let my dear friend himself to do the honors, to pay the bill. Two years back I had a very particular reason to stay at that place and now I have a new one. Many people complain about my food habits. I can only say to them that ‘cooked food has only two states – either you eat it or you destroy it’ and I chose not to destroy it. As of for Karthik, thanks for giving me that wonderful experience and believe me some day I am gonna pay all your money pal. I will be back with another food tale until then eat well and live well.

(‘azure11’ അടിപൊളിയക്കാനുള്ള അത്യാര്‍ത്തിയുമായ്‌ ഞങ്ങള്‍ നാല്‍വര്‍ സംഘം.സുബിന്‍,ദിവ്യ,ദീപക്‌ പിന്നെ രചയിതാവും..ആധുനിക മാര്‍ക്കെറ്റിങ് തന്ത്രങ്ങള്‍ പഠിക്കാന്‍ ഞങ്ങള്‍ സഹായിക്കാം..തുടര്‍ന്ന്‍ വായിക്കൂ)

സുബിന്‍:ഒന്നും നടക്കുമെന്ന്‍ തോന്നുന്നില്ല..എന്നാലും നമ്മള്‍ തകര്‍ക്കും.എവ്ടുന്ന്‍ തുടങ്ങണം?

രംഗം:1ചങ്ങനാശ്ശേയിലെ പ്രശസ്തമായ തുണിക്കട.

ദിവ്യ:വലിയ കടയല്ലേ..തന്നെയുമല്ല നമ്മുടെ ഒരു സീനീയര്‍ ചേച്ചിയുടെ സ്വന്തം കടയാ.എന്തെങ്കിലും ഉദാരമായ്‌ കിട്ടാതിരിക്കില്ല.

ദീപക്‌:അതെ!! 5000 രൂപയ്ക്കു മേല്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കാം.5000 രൂപയുടെ ഫ്ലെക്സ് ഒരെണ്ണം ശരിയായ്.

(കടക്കുള്ളിലെക്ക്) ഉടമസ്ഥന്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷയോടെ നോക്കുന്നുണ്ട്)

ദിവ്യ:അങ്കിള്‍ ഞങ്ങള്‍ കാഞ്ഞിരപ്പള്ളി അമല്‍ ജ്യോതിയില്‍ നിന്നാണ്‍.ഞങ്ങളുടെ കോളേജില്‍ ഒരു ഫെസ്റ്റ് നടക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.ഇതൊരു വെറും ഫെസ്റ്റ് അല്ല.സൗത്ത് ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ഫെസ്റ്റ് ആണ്.

(ഉടമസ്ഥന്‍ എല്ലാം ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചു കേള്‍ക്കുന്നുണ്ട്..ഇന്നെന്തെങ്കിലും നടക്കും..ദിവ്യ CONTINUE!!)

അപ്പോള്‍ അങ്ങേക്കും ഒരു സഹായം ആകട്ടെ എന്ന് കരുതി.5000 രൂപ മുതലുള്ള ഫ്ലെക്സ് ആണുള്ളത്.7 ലക്ഷം ആണ് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടിയ തുക.ഏതു വേണമെന്ന്‍ അങ്കിള് തീരുമാനിച്ചോളൂ.(ദിവ്യ stop!!)

ഉടമ:അയ്യോ മക്കളെ ഇത്ര ദൂരം പരസ്യം ചെയ്തിട്ട് ഒരു പ്രയോജനവുമില്ല.ഞങ്ങക്കിവിടെ വേറെ കൊടുക്കാന്‍ ധാരാളം കോളേജ്കള്‍ ഉണ്ട്.

(പരിപാടി പാളി..അടുത്ത ആയുധം)

ദീപക്‌:അങ്കിള്‍ 1500 രൂപയുടെ ഫ്ലെക്സ് ഉണ്ട്.

ഉടമ:പറ്റില്ല മോനെ!!

സുബിന്‍:അങ്കിളിന്റെ മോള്‍ ഞങ്ങളുടെ സീനിയര്‍ ആരുന്നു.

ഉടമ:അതെ..അതെ…ശരിയാണ്..

(അല്പം മാറ്റിപ്പിടിക്കാം)

രചയിതാവ്:ചെറിയ തുക ഡൊണെഷന്‍..ഒരു 500 എഴുതട്ടെ..(ഉടമയുടെ രൂക്ഷ നോട്ടം)വേണ്ട ഒരു നൂറെങ്കിലും..

ഉടമ:പറ്റില്ല മക്കളെ…(മാന്യമായ്‌ ഇറങ്ങിപ്പോരുക തന്നെ)

രംഗം 2:പ്രശസ്തമായ സ്വര്‍ണക്കട

ഉടമ:(ഞങ്ങളെ കണ്ട ഉടനെ)വാ മക്കളെ..ഞാന്‍ ആരെയെങ്കിലും കിട്ടാന്‍ നോക്കിയിരിക്കുവാര്ന്നു..പരസ്യത്തിനാരിക്കും അല്ലെ..

(എത്ര കൃത്യം ഇത് നടക്കും)

ദാ ഈ പായസം കഴിച്ചോളു..(ദൈവമേ!!ഒരു 5000 ഉറപ്പിക്കാം)

ആ ഇനി പറഞ്ഞോളു..

ദിവ്യ: അങ്കിള്‍ ഞങ്ങള്‍ കാഞ്ഞിരപ്പള്ളി അമല്‍ ജ്യോതിയില്‍ നിന്നാണ്‍.ഞങ്ങളുടെ കോളേജില്‍ ഒരു ഫെസ്റ്റ് നടക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.ഇതൊരു വെറും ഫെസ്റ്റ് അല്ല.സൗത്ത് ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ഫെസ്റ്റ് ആണ്.

ഉടമ:അയ്യോ മക്കളെ ഇപ്പം കച്ചവടം വളരെ മോശമാണ്..അല്ലെ നിങ്ങള്‍ കുറച്ച് സ്വര്‍ണമെടുക്ക്..എന്നാ നമുക്ക്‌ ആലോചിക്കാം..

(ചതി!!ആന കൊടുത്താലും ആശ കൊടുക്കരുത് എന്ന കാരണവന്മാര്‍ പറയുന്നത് ഇതു കൊണ്ടാണ്)

ഉടമ:പായസം കുറച്ചൂടെ വേണോ മക്കളെ..ഇത് ഇന്നു കൊണ്ട് തീര്‍ക്കണം..

(ചുമ്മാതല്ല പിടിച്ചിട്ട് പായസം കുടിപ്പിച്ചത്)

സുബിന്‍: ചെറിയ തുക ഡൊണെഷന്‍..ഒരു 500 എഴുതട്ടെ..

ഉടമ:എതായാലും ഇത്ര ദൂരം വന്നതല്ലേ..ഒരു 100 എഴുതിക്കോളൂ..

(നൂറെങ്കില്‍ നൂറ്..കിട്ടിയതാകട്ടെ)

രംഗം:ഇനി കളി ചെങ്ങന്നൂര്

(ഉടമയില്ല..കച്ചവടമില്ല..കാശില്ല..ഹെഡ് ഒഫിസില്‍ പോകണം..പല്ലവികള്‍ കേട്ട് മടുത്തു..പണം പലിശക്കെടുത്ത് ഫെസ്റ്റ് നടത്തേണ്ടി വെരും..ചെങ്ങന്നൂരിലെ പ്രശസ്തമായ ഫിനാന്‍സിയര്‍..തന്നെയുമല്ല സുബിന്‍റെ അയല്‍ക്കരാണവര്‍)

ദിവ്യ: അങ്കിള്‍ ഞങ്ങള്‍ കാഞ്ഞിരപ്പള്ളി അമല്‍ ജ്യോതിയില്‍ നിന്നാണ്‍.ഞങ്ങളുടെ കോളേജില്‍ ഒരു ഫെസ്റ്റ് നടക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.ഇതൊരു വെറും ഫെസ്റ്റ് അല്ല…………………..(സ്ഥിരം മന്ത്രം)

ദീപക്‌: അപ്പോള്‍ അങ്ങേക്കും ഒരു സഹായം ആകട്ടെ എന്ന് കരുതി.5000 രൂപ മുതലുള്ള ഫ്ലെക്സ് ആണുള്ളത്.7 ലക്ഷം ആണ് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടിയ തുക.ഏതു വേണമെന്ന്‍ അങ്കിള് തീരുമാനിച്ചോളൂ..

ഉടമ:അതൊന്നും പറ്റില്ല മക്കളെ..

ദിവ്യ: ചെറിയ തുക ഡൊണെഷന്‍..ഒരു 1000 എഴുതട്ടെ..

ഉടമ:ഏതായാലും സുബിന്‍ നേരിട്ട് വന്നതല്ലേ..ഒരു 500 എഴുതിക്കോളൂ..

(ദൈവമേ കോളടിച്ചു…ചാകര..ദിവ്യക്ക് നന്ദി)

പണം വരുന്ന വഴി നോക്കണേ….ഇങ്ങനെയും AZURE നടത്താം…(പര്യടനം തുടര്‍ന്ന് കൊണ്ടേയിരിക്കുന്നു)

Fairy tales tend to stick with us, no matter how old we get. I’m not sure if it’s the charming princes or the daring rescues or the magical creatures, but something about fairy tales tends to bring out a totally different world to life.

These days, there are a lot of movies that center around fairy tales. But they have a kind of twist that makes it fun to watch, even if you’re not a kid. For instance, Shrek is a totally enjoyable tale about an ogre, who would love more than anything to live in solitude in his swamp. But when the villain, Prince Farquod ( who happens to be a really really short prince) comes into the scene, Shrek has to rescue a princess, fight Robin Hood and his band of merry men, entertain a talking donkey and a million other things.

Then there’s ‘The princess and the frog’. The real story of the frog prince goes like this : Prince gets turned into a frog by an evil witch( most fairy tales are incomplete without an evil witch), and has to kiss a princess to break the spell. But what happens in this movie, is that the girl turns into a frog as well. A sort of twist to the fairy tale.

For people who feel that they’ve outgrown their fairy tale days, there’s always the darker tales. The movie ‘Snow white and the huntsman’ is like a dark evil version of the Snow white story, whereas “Mirror Mirror” is a bit more lighter, but still dark all the same.

There are other movies, like ‘Tangled‘ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and they are all great to watch because they bring something that the old fairy tales never could. A bit of new flair of the modern world that wasn’t captured in the old tales. But whether or not they start with the classic ‘once upon a time’, they will leave you with more than just a ‘happily ever after’.