Al Pacino @ 35,000 feet

The very name brings back the image of Michael Corelone. Hang on. It was not the only movie that the great thespian and the Oscar Winner (Scent of a Woman) was part. The blindman act in the Oscar-winning flick was marvelous. I never knew about his comic sense till I saw Frankie & Johnny a few weeks ago, courtesy Sangita Sundaresan of Muscat. That was his first outing with Michelle Pffiefer. Well, why am I talking about Al Pacino all of a sudden?

On my exit from Muscat (16 October), I picked up Al Pacino – An Authorised Biography at the Turtles bookstore at the departure lounge on the first floor. The entire book (240 pp) written by Lawrence Grobel was unique in the sense the whole story is unveiled in a q&a format. The Grobel-Pacino dialogue actually had begun in 1979 and continued till 2006. They are comfortable with each other – despite the fact that Grobel asks a lot of uncomfortable questions. Pacino has written a Foreword, giving the sanctity that was not ‘heard on the street’ but authentic.

Why did the great actor permit himself to be captured in a pen portrait by Grobel? Primarily because the one and only Marlon Brando allowed Grobel to publish Conversations with Brando. ‘Knowing Brando as I did, if he liked Larry, he he could speak to him so openly, I felt that I could too. … He (Larry) has a genuine interest in people, which is why’s he’s such a good writer. He has taken an interest in me for some reason”.

‘I have forgiven him for writing this book. I hope he forgives me for writing this foreword,’ guffaws Michael … oops! Pacino.

I could not sleep in the midnight flight back to Delhi. My co-passenger, seated in the middle seat, kept wondering whether I was preparing for an entrance exam to be attended on landing at Delhi! It was so absorbing and I kept the reading light on even while the entire cabin lights were switched off enabling passengers to doze off.

In a career spanning 37 years (beginning from 1969), Pacino has acted in 38 films and 31 plays. I had hardly seen 5 of his magnum opuses (including The Godfather triology) which basically means I have not seen his entire oeuvre. Now I will.

I will return soon to share some of his gems from the book.

Cheers

'Shark'ing @ Mirabat

Heard of Mirbat (pronounced Mirba – ‘t’ silent) on the southern part of Salalah? It is a fishing hamlet with a few hundred houses – some old and some new. Beautiful beach. Young Omanis hobbling on the beachfront: some snorkeling with requisite gear. Some loitering on the streets. Urchins in colourful costume running around with full of joy and mirth, celebrating the Eid-ul-Fitr. That was the time we landed at Mirabat.

With the Dubai-published Explorer Oman in hand, lensman Rajesh Burman and Jayshankar Menon and Balagopalan at the wheels, we navigated the 70 odd kilometers from Salalah at a leisurely pace. Sporting Bermudas and T-shirts and tummy full of plain dosas for breakfast (what do you expect when four south Indians come together on a picnic?), we drove on the spotless (spick and span!) Salalah roads.

“Stop, stop.. There is a camel” cry from Rajesh would force Bala to halt the vehicle (Don’t worry the Echo was in fine fettle!) on the roadside. The short photographer would gingerly step out and venture out with his heavy camera bag kit (must be 10 kg plus! I know it because I carried it for a short while.) A lot of camels ‘posed’ like models – with greater patience than the human models whom he captures for Al Mara – sending Rajesh into raptures. “Saar! What a shot!” he would exclaim after clicking furiously.

Rock formations on the seafront and the death-defying heights would curdle the vertigo-hit Jay. Much to everyone’s discomfort, Rajesh would climb down boulders and rocks to get a ‘fresh angle’.

No sooner we hit Mirabat (last year, I had been there with Abhijit (Sinha), Deepak (Balakrishnan) and Akshay, but did not enter the village. Instead, we sped to another fishing village – 40 km away where we were told every house has an internet connection, forcing the local cybercafé to shut down!), Rajesh jumped out to shoot ‘ruins’. Later we learnt that those buildings collapsed due to Cyclone Gonu’s father(!) Nonu. When and how it happened? we could not elicit better info.

As we were about to exit out of Mirabat after shooting a snorkeling team, local healthcare centre, young men relaxing on the veranda of local Mosque, suddenly we saw a lot of activity on the beachfront and turned back to check out.

It was a wharf where boats have come back from the high seas. Sharks were aplenty – oozing with blood and absolutely fresh! Never ever have I gone near a fish in my lifetime. The stench was unbearable. The Palghat Brahmin Jay was feeling uncomfortable. The entire crew and helpers were from – wherelse but from our own Indian state of Kerala! Malayalam was the lingua franqua. Jay and Rajesh got into conversation and a ‘running commentary’ was on. These fishermen hailed from Calicut and living in Oman for three generations with no ‘papers’ – read no resident/employment visa!

Rajesh, as usual, was in his elements capturing the mood and spell of the sharkdom. Young boys began to speak to Rajesh in English – broken of course – and gave pose to him. Did I have to say that our man did the rest!

Each shark would have weighted nothing less than 500 kg. We took turns to get ourselves shot with sharks in the foreground. These sharks were to ported to Dubai from it would head for the global markets. We were told that the fins would fetch more Rials than the rest of the body. ‘It was a bonus,” is how Jay put it as we headed out of the wharf for our next experience.

What’s that? Wait till the next dispatch.

Cheers

Be Specific!

A Man 2 God

Man: "Give me a bag full of money, a job and a vehicle full of girls"

God: "Tathaastu"

... and made him a bus conductor of DTC ladies special bus!

Moral: BE SPECIFIC.

Deathly Encounter @ Salalah

You may not be reading this dispatch, but for The Almighty’s graciousness. I would have been history. Along with three younger colleagues from UMS: god-fearing Layout artist Balagopalan; chirpy and bubbly photographer Rajesh Burman; newcomer correspondent Jayashankar Menon.

We – the quartet – came face to face with Death on 12th October, the day of Eid-ul-Fitr. We did not anticipate this ‘encounter’ as we set off from Muscat at 5.30 a.m. on that fateful Friday to enjoy the long Eid weekend. We did not bargain for what happened on Day One!

It was 12.10 p.m. with the Sun at its high. Cool breeze was wafting in the atmosphere.We were on the Thumrayat territory. Hardly 60 km away from Salalah, our Toyota Echo careened away from its carriageway and threw itself against the muddy, rocky terrain on the other side of the road. Totally engulfed in a cloud of dust and rubble. For a minute or so, we remained dazed.

How we escaped unhurt when the car was speeding at 140 kmph is a mystery. Bala, at the wheels, just could not control the speeding machine at the sharp right turn and boom! We fully realized as the four wheeler got dragged sideways. Not a scratch on the car! Not even a minor scratch on our bodies! Yes, we were speechless and stunned.

Luckily, there was absolutely no traffic in our lane – front and rear. So also, the road on the other side (running towards Muscat) with no divider was absolutely empty. Rajesh, seated next to Bala, went into a cocoon. Jay quickly ducked sideways and quickly catching hold of my left arm. Stunned, I quickly hardened my back against the rear seat and shut my eyes.

Hardly a minute later, two Omani drivers came to the spot where we were stranded and enquired about our well being. By God’s grace, there were no iron railings on the side. Otherwise, our vehicle would have gone for a toss and both – the car and us – would have been hurt badly. We could not believe our fate!

Bala, expectedly, could not sleep for two consecutive nights. Jay – father of two kids, the latest being hardly six months old - could not resist praying in multi-languages to his favourite Gods. He even called up his wife in Chennai to relive the miraculous escape. Rajesh, the most gregarious and motor-mouth bachelor from Thiruvananthapuram, was rendered mute for a short while. Sharp 8 p.m., I went to sleep. My mind was with filled with scenarios of how UMS office would handle this crisis – an unwanted and unwarranted perhaps.

I could not resist recalling another ‘deathly experience’ I had encountered a few months in the Omani airspace. The Oman Air flight from Delhi to Muscat took off with a burst tyre and I had to go through the emergency landing drill inflight – 30 minutes before the touchdown. A few times, the aircraft flew at the ATC tower level for the staff to ascertain the nature of tyre burst.

After few attempts, we touched down in the middle of the airstrip. First time experience for me. An young Punjabi painter, seated next to me, kept telling, ‘Death is certain. When is the question? Let’s face it’. The entire cabin – full capacity crowd – mostly Indians – were literally on tears. Including yours truly. That time, my worry was: how will my family face a bad news of this sort. Nothing happened then. Nothing happened now. Insha Allah! The air quota is over. So also the land quota. Now I am awaiting the water quota!!!

Three years ago, I wrote & published ‘The X Factor’, a poem eulogizing Death!

Click http://familyramesh.blogspot.com/2004/06/x-factor.html to read the same.

Cheers

P.S.: Notwithstanding this, we had a ‘ball’ on the Salalah coast. All about it, soon.

Browsing @ Muscat

When I picked up Girls of Riyadh at Hauz Khas market on the eve of my departure for Muscat (27 September 2007), my hands automatically grabbed The Bourne Ultimatum also. Though I had taken The Bourne Identity as well, on second thoughts, I dropped it. What a wise decision it turned out to be.

Though Robert Ludlum is a well known pulpwriter, I never developed a taste for his kind of fiction until now. However, this time I was tempted because of the Matt Damon effect. Reading about his Bourne show in Newyorker recently, I want to try it out. Hence the Bourne Ultimatum buy decision. It was a total crap. Waste of time. Never ever, you know what...

No sooner did I put down the Ultimaturm, GoR took hold of me. Rave reviews about this book in INdian newspapers tempted me and I can confidentally claim that I was not let down. GoR provides a glimpse into the lives of women - young and old - of Saudi Arabia. What I have heard and read about Saudi's strict rules under the Islamic law provided the additional incentive to read. Rajaa Alsanea's style - originally written in Arabic and later translated into English - was innovative. Never come across each chaper opening with an email intro - setting the tempo. A good read. It was breezy. I will recommend this one.

During a recent visit to the Turtle bookshop at Muscat's Seeb International Airport, I stumbled upon Nassir Taleb's Fooled by Randomness. Taleb, for your info, is a maverick invest banker with Arabic roots. Believe me or not, I read about him in 2002 in the Newyorker. The long article was written by Malcom Tipping Point Gladwell! It never occurred to that I would get to see the book five years down the line. Am taking this book home (Delhi).

Coincidentally, Taleb has penned his second book: Black Swan, which was received well. Read a review in The Mint, a new tabloid financial daily from the Hindustan Times stable.

Want to know Taleb's popularity? Google him and know for yourself! If you want to know more about him, visit http://www.malcolmgladwell.com/.

BBC Correspondent John Simpson's The War Against Saddam: Taking the Hard Road to Baghdad is another book I am busy with. 412 pages. Just completed 176. Gutsy fellow. Newsman's grasp and analysis in a war torn area makes you wish you were the one on ground covering the story.

Robert Fisk's The Great War for Civilisation: The Conseuqent of the Middle East is yet another 1300-odd page treatise. This was recommended by Matein Khalid November 2006. By mistake, I had bought a hardcover. It's heavy, of course. Could not take it to bed, too often! So incomplete.

For the next 7 days, I will be unable to touch any book because am getting ready for a trip to Salalah - 1000 km away from Oman's capital Muscat. The Sultanate is gearing up for Eid Ul Fitr falling on 13th October. Holidays will begin from 12th October (Friday, a weekly day off) and offices will remain closed till 17th Oct (Wednesday).

I will be catching 16th Oct night flight back home. Till then, there may not be much reading. But a lot of sight seeing perhaps - though Salalah is not new to me. Last year, I was there.

Catch up with you soon. Cheers