QUANTUM 9 | M A R C H 2 0 1 5W W W . I S S U U . C O M / T H E F E A T H E R S

THE FOCUS ON US:SPECIAL ISSUE

PHOTO: AKASH LVISUALLY SNU

CONTENTS04

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WELCOMETHE EDITORASSOCIATE EDITORWRITERSTV SUPERHEROESCRIME OF PASSION 3

CONTENTS

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Who the hell are we anyway? Those bossy people who think they can write anything about anything? Well, ladies and gentemen, finally, after eight months of boring into your brains (and hopefully your hearts), we wish to present “US”. This issue is dedicated to helping you know us better, so there’s not much else in here except for the regular series. Towards the end of our first year, we wish to give you all a grand new reappearance. Coz we are not just any feathers, we are the Feathers of the Phoenix. Happy reading!

CONTENTSEDITOR IN CHIEF

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

COVER PHOTO

WRITERS

AR MUTHU KUMAR

SGA THOMAS

AKASH L

NIRMAL, SHRIKANTH, SARU, SOMA

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who the hell?

EDITORIAL

04

Welcome to US.

We have written. We have written for the past eight months. We have written on TV heroes, shortfilmmakers, the Russian president and what not? But we have never written about something - us! We would like to formally extend a hand out to you - to the world. Hello world.

#TenthEveryMonth

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07FOCUS

And there was light. I am Muthu Kumar, the editor-in-chief of OutFocus. It has been a prestigious position for me to hold for the past eight months. Let me assure you, it did not start this way. I was born in a middle class family in Tuticorin, the far far away from Chennai. I see Chennaites walk around with a pride that is incident with living in the capital city and I think, “what food does Caesar eat that has made him so great?” (Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar Act 1: Scene 2: Page 7)

It was in my mid teens when I found my true calling - I wanted to write, film, create and appreciate. I understand if it sounds weird for the citizens of Chennai but this was something I’ve heard a lot growing up, “you’re not from Chennai, how will you film?” Mind you this is not the trendy Shortfilm generation of today but the mind-set of people half a dozen years back. And then suddenly there was the cosmic boom and filmmakers and media people rained down from mars.

A great historian once defined that a generation is 30 years and that history changes course every generation. Well history is over - today a generation is a couple years. If I took a time machine from now to March 2017, I would find myself in the wrong era - totally. Hence in my life since the 2000s, I’ve seen almost 6 generations - of technology, of maturity, and of minds. Sometimes it is positive, and some times it is negative.

“...it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair... in short, the period was so far like the present period...” Dickens, Charles. A tale of Two Cities, Book 1: Chapter 1.

let there be light...AR MUTHU KUMAR | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

09FOCUS

Having passive participants as your audience might suit you, but for me they need to be active. All you need is a BOOM. I am Ganesh. M, writing this in the middle of my MARX Class Assignment.

Ganesh M? Who the hell is this new guy? Haven’t seen him in OutFocus. Okay, Let’s end this mini-drama. I work at OutFocus under the pseudonym Sga Thomas. Remember LAST?

So anyway, let’s come to the point. An Intro? An idiot - one who scribbles in all of his text notebooks (including his cupboard). Hobbies are scribbling, film making, stamp collecting, reading novels, watching films - and most importantly - sleeping.

Phew! Let’s put that in a better way.

I am Ganesh M working under the pseudonym Sga Thomas at OutFocus as Associate Editor. I am currently pursueing B. Tech CSE at Shiv Nadar University, I keep myself busy with scribbling, film making, reading novels, watching

films, and sleeping. I have done a few short films in the past and is currently working in two short films.(Type Ganesh Gans M in Youtube Search for more details)

So what did I write at OutFocus?TV Spotlight, Couple of Cover stories and Research Articles, LAST Short Fiction Series and the informative series Shanmu uncle.

About Feathers and OutFocus? More than myself, I value them. I still consider them as brothers at the start of their childhood. What I could see is not only an aspiring future, but the tremendous path both have to face. So get ready for a blast, WE ARE, YET TO DELIVER OUR BEST!

So, UGBST BKM EPKLR

20-18-1-14-11-19 6-15-18 18-5-1-4-9-14-7

21-14-17-4 26-14-22 5-10-13-5 19-9-8-20 14-15-4

The BOOM FACTOR ;)

(Aftermath of Digital Fortress)

the BOOM factorGANESH M | ASSOCIATE EDITOR

11FOCUS

While some people can rant on about themselves for hours boring or exciting the other person to death, it has been a recurrently challenging task to me. But here it goes for my friend, the Editor-in-chief of the monthly e-magazine OutFocus, Muthu Kumar.

Basically I am a nobody who wants to be somebody. I haven’t yet figured out my life yet except for the burning desire to be happy. For a considerable time of my life, I am either sleeping or thinking. Now the subject of my thinking is mostly art, food and philosophy. A sizeable slice of that art belongs to films. What I am trying to tell is that I am basically a film nut. For a very negligible time of my life, I am doing and not thinking. The drive to do in my case stems

from an irresistible urge for recognition and adulation.

A tiny part of that doing includes reading and writing which are now almost dormant thanks to my technological companions. Sometimes my inner self is awakened into pursuing these things and one such moment is when my friend asks me to write something for OutFocus.

Honestly, I haven’t been a big contributor or support to OutFocus but I have always felt it was underrated. Delivering quality content on a variety of topics every month with a small but gifted team is nothing short of an accomplishment. Hopefully, I overcome my nemesis - laziness and write more for this wonderful magazine in the future.

man in the mirrorNIRMAL HENRY | WRITER

13FOCUS

Hey, this is Sarumathi, pursuing second year in Electronics and communications engineering. A girl with diversified interests. An avid reader... a nature lover... and above all, a passionate writer..While I was so much involved in engineering and when started feeling carried away from my passion i.e., writing, OutFocus happened as a sweet shock.

By then, I was all set to start a column and that’s how #A_Girl’s_Page came to form. Basically simple observations from everyday life was spot-lighted with an optimistic outlook and usually ends with a motivational note. Each article was specially made with care and concern. About #OutFocus, the brainchild of Mr. Muthu Kumar, Editor-in-

chief of OutFocus, is completely a beautiful bizarre came to life. The idea of making a magazine with so much variety is novel and neoteric.

It has been a lovely platform for so many new aspiring artists to showcase their talents and skills. Right from first edition, it has a special touch of art and wonder in every possible form. And every edition had an array of nascent content and color that none can point any two editions to be same even by a shard of glass. The most amazing thing about OutFocus is not a single person of the core team is from literature or its related fields.

Totally, OutFocus - an Unique Creation!!!

a girl’s pageSARU MATHI | WRITER

15FOCUS

‘Our eye is a poor bicycleless postman, that can deliver only 1 in 600000 posts (frames of light) that it receives and that too with a delay seal on the post’s cover. Reading a delayed post! That means, we are in a paradoxical present and one knows how the present is!! What will happen if our nerves update its communication system similar to 3G cell phones?’ - THE QUESTION MARK WITH A WORM HOLE TO IMAGINATION IS MY ADDRESS MOST OF THE TIME. I am Doing my 3rd year MBBS at Government Medical College, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram. Living with Gundu motta books is therefore cannot be left as a choice.

Hobbies between the Hypnotic books: A triad hobby pack with film, novel, travel. Forming an organisation like the Feathers with brains from different fields does worth a big KUDOS!! Friendship - bonded brains form the plus here at the Feathers. As there will be a ‘doodlebug’ in every Nolan’s life, this is our start for an interstellar travel. Happy to be a part in the crew! Outfocus: Some firsts in my life are memory protective. One among those is the ‘Outfocus’ magazine. It MADE my ink get published for the first time. Presently, I am working as a writer in Outfocus.

a bicycleless postmanSOMA SUNDARAM | WRITER

bob odenkirk | TV SUPERHEROESSGA THOMAS

17SPOTLIGHT: TV SUPERHEROES

He is the guy on your speed dial right after your weed dealer.

Guessed ?

YOU ! WILL ! ATONE!Yes ! You are right ! BETTER CALL SAUL.

One of the highest rated debut series, BETTER CALL SAUL might not possible without Bob Odenkirk.Robert John “Bob” Odenkirk was born in Berwyn, Illinois, to Barbara and Walter Odenkirk, who worked in printing. His ancestry includes German and Irish. He grew up in Naperville, the second of seven children. He worked as a DJ for WIDB, his college radio station at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Three credits shy of graduation, he moved to Chicago. He also did open-mic stand-up comedy for several years. After college Bob’s pursuit of comedy led him to join The Players Workshop of the Second City which eventually led him to landing a writing job at Saturday Night Live in 1987. This became possible because of his friend in Chicago Robert

Smigel.

Odenkirk’s friendship with Ben Stiller, with whom he briefly shared an office at SNL, would lead to him being hired for the cast of The Ben Stiller Show in 1992. Working as both a writer and actor on the show, he created and starred in the memorable sketch “Manson Lassie”, and helped the show win an Emmy Award for writing.

In mid 90s, he co-created HBO comedy sketch series Mr.Show along with David Cross. Co-Starring in the series, it ran over 33 episodes (4 seasons).In the 2000’s he shifted to more of a producer capacity on comedy shows including Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Tom Goes to the Mayor.

After Mr. Show with Bob and David ended, Bob wrote Run Ronnie Run and directed three feature films Melvin Goes to Dinner, Let’s Go to Prison and The Brothers Solomon. He had dozens of small featuring roles on TV shows, including Everybody

Loves Raymond, Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, Seinfeld, NewsRadio, Just Shoot Me!, Joey, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, Entourage, Weeds and How I Met Your Mother.In 2009, Odenkirk joined the cast of AMC’s Breaking Bad as corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman. He was a guest character in four episodes of Season 2 and was promoted to a member of the main cast for the final three seasons. Bob Odenkirk appears again in the Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul.

Odenkirk has said his strongest comedic influence was Monty Python’s Flying Circus, primarily due to its combination of cerebral and simple humor.He married Naomi Yomtov and has 2 children. His brother Bill Odenkirk is also a Comedy Writer.

So When legal forces have you cornered, BETTER CALL SAUL!

It’s never too late for Justice, BETTER CALL

SAUL!

CRIME OF PASSION

-SHRIKANTH VEERAVALLI

19CRIME OF PASSION: CHAPTER 3

Anand rechecked his list. The D Day was

approaching and he was not yet ready. He was

nervous, not about what he was about to do, but

because of the anxiety of pulling it through. The

worry was not about a perfect kill, but about

the perfect escape. He has read that the first

suspect in any homicide is the next of kin. People

who stand to gain the maximum! He didn’t want to become another point

of that statistics. He is not going to get caught.

If he did get caught the job would be half

done. Vijay will get off. If he managed a smart

lawyer and convince the judge that it was a crime of passion (once

again an irony) and not a premeditated one, then

he may get away with life-imprisonment. With

remission, good conduct and all birth centenaries

that would fall in his time, he should just do 7 years

time. But even that was not acceptable to Anand.

One because of what he is going to do is not

a crime but a rightful retribution. Maybe even today in some societies they would allow such

honor killings legally. After all who else but a betrayed husband can

get retribution? How does it all matter to

the man who wears the British age legal gown?

For him, it is a job. He is a custodian of the

law written 150 years back, many of which are

obsolete. But what should not become obsolete like this one has become one

too. Second reason was giving an extended lease

of life to Vijay. He can’t allow that.

So escaping is very important in the plan.

Whenever he reads the newspapers where the

perpetrators call up the police to inform of the

death and spend buckets of tears for 2 days only

to get caught in the 3rd day, Anand would laugh

at them. To kill it not only takes courage but

tremendous intelligence also. And some skill too! To make a masterful cut

in the vein that would take some time to realize that it had been cut and almost hesitatingly push

out blood and then to burst out in torrents, it takes skill. One should mentally play this out

plenty of times to achieve

perfection. After all you don’t get to kill every

day. Not everyone is a gangster. And gangsters

these days use guns. Anand had thought of

gun as a choice. But guns were difficult to

procure and they are not personal. Though the task

was unfinished business, the act is personal. His dear wife Irene cannot

die without knowing why she was dying.

Anand first wanted to set an alibi. That will keep him from the scene of

crime atleast on theory. And he was clear that he is not going to be

the first one to report the murder. Then he will become one of

those stupid newspaper husbands. The shame

of getting caught would kill him sooner than

killing itself. So logged into the IRCTC website

and booked him a return ticket in Lalbagh express

on 14th afternoon and return on 16th morning.

He used his credit card for booking and marked

that his PAN Card will be the document for

identification. He has told Irene that he was having a Day Out with his team

at Guhanthara resort

CRIME OF PASSION

on 15th and then he would be back on 16th

afternoon.His plan was to reach

Bangalore by 08.30 pm and check into the

hotel. And slowly slip out at 9.00 pm, come

up to Hosur and hire a cab for Vellore and from

there another cab to Chennai. It would take

him 5 hours at the outer limit and he would reach

his home at Adyar by 2 am. The job should take

maximum of 30 minutes. He is going to let himself

in by his spare key and Irene should be sleeping

peacefully. He was not sure whether he would

just slash the knife while she was sleeping or wake

her up and let her know what was coming at her.

He preferred the second. But he still didn’t expect

a big fight. She would be scared to react. The

moment she realizes that her bluff is called the

guilt will weaken her and she will have no strength

to fight. Anand would have loved to stay back

for a while and bid her farewell. But when it is

a choice of her dying and his living, he would

choose the latter.He should leave his house by 3 am max and be back

at his hotel at Bangalore before 8 am. There were

a couple of risks involved in this plan. One is the delay in any leg of the

travel because he really had arranged for the get-

together at Guhanthara with the team and that

will be the strongest alibi when the message

comes. He had asked the team to assemble

at his hotel by 8.30 am. Second is the possibility of she being found out earlier and a call comes searching for him. Then he may have to do a lot

of explanations. But that’s not likely to happen. On a holiday like that even the

servant maid would be later than usual and that

means it would be 10 am when the call comes. He would be in midst of the revelry. There is no way

anyone can suspect.

He had shopped for his tools over the past

month in different cities. He made a grand tour

plan in July visiting atleast 6 branches and each item was bought

in a different city. Unless there was a massive

manhunt made with his face plastered all over

the TV the chances that all the purchases would be connected is remote.

Secondly if at all there is a manhunt, his photo

would not be used as he is the grieving husband.

It would take a very nosy detective to connect the

dots. That too without even knowing what is

the murder weapon etc. These things happen only

in novels. There is no Harry Bosch is Chennai police. Irene is also not a VIP to bring the case

to definite closure. If the plan goes well, then Irene

will become one more unsolved entry in a dull

brown police register.

(to be continued...)

21CRIME OF PASSION: CHAPTER 3

“His dear wife Irene cannot die without knowing why she was

dying...”

Y O U H A V E E N J O Y E D A P R O D U C T O F

THE FEATHERSW W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / F E A T H E R S I N D I A

PHOTO: SRIDHAR TVISUALLY SNU

SHIV NADAR UNIVERSITY, NOIDA