For Travel Freaks

I read this interesting article on MSN about aviation buffs who fly on inaugural flights / landmark flights just for the heck of it. Read ‘Inaugural flights draw airline ‘geeks’. It reminded me of the many crazy trips I have taken, especially in Oman – where I used to travel long distances in buses and make quick return journeys – thus indulging in my love for luxury coaches – especially the Mercedes-Benz 0404 and Hyundai Aerospace LD. It also reminds me of the frequent train journeys I used to take in India in 2004 – just for the heck of it – especially in the Trivandrum-Kollam-Kottayam sector in Kerala. It evidently got to a point that anybody in the neighbourhood who wanted some work done involving long distances and had to go through the pains of a train journey to get it done started approaching me for the same. My passion for 'railexperiencing' have sent me on journeys have sent me as far as Bangalore, Renigunta / Tirupati, Madurai and Chennai from Kerala. Get to the station, spent a few hours in the place, before finding the next available train back to my home town. Though these travels would seem quite ‘freaky’ to a lot, there is so much fun and excitement in it. Just ask Andrew Gibbons, who belongs to a super-elite subspecies of frequent fliers who chase inaugural flights because they adore airlines, airplanes, even airports, and want to be part of airline milestones.

Hit me, hit me not!

Dramatic shot at a railway crossing in India: Passersby make a valiant attempt to move an injured cow away from the path of an oncoming train - the Kota Jan Shatabdi. The cow had presumably been hit on the flanks by a passing train a little while ago. Pic by Karthik Nanda of IRFCA (Indian Railways Fan Club).

The Blue Billion Grieves; I watch 300, Desamuduru & Detective

So the Men in Blue are effectively out of the World Cup, thanks to their disastrous performance against Sri Lanka yesterday. A lot on rely on the upcoming Bermuda vs. Bangladesh match – if the Bermudans manage to upset the rollicking Bangladeshi apple cart, Indian paper tigers can squeeze into the Super Eights through the back door. Highly unlikely, I say.
The team’s performance from the start has been disappointing – they started their campaign on the wrong note when they got mauled by giant-killing Bangladesh, before managing a consolation win over minnows Bermuda, before getting thumped in the bollocks by a rip roaring Lankan Lions.
I never expected or hoped India to bring home the World Cup, for that matter they were not even probable semi-finalists. Simply because, India has never looked like a professional cricketing team in recent times. At best, it’s just a motley crew of 11 individuals, stalwarts in their right, who basically follow the ‘all or none law’ in their game – either they all play well or they all play like hell. The ‘men in blue’ seemed to be senile tigers on the field, lacking in energy, discipline, temperament or enthusiasm and rather so full of inertia. The only time I have seen them perform well is in the stupid commercial endorsements they wholeheartedly give their ‘mind, body, soul and heart’ to.
I know that cricket’s just a game and that there is so much pressure on the boys to perform and the entire expectations of a billion fans rests on their puny shoulders – fine – but if you can’t perform on the big stage, if you cant handle the pressure, I think you oughta sit outside the game.
A few recommendations to better cricket in India – give voluntary retirement to all our cricketing heroes who have crossed 30 – we have had enough with their ‘experience’; put a ceiling to the amount of money these ‘players’ are earning out of their endorsements – did you know that they are the highest-paid sports team in the world, in terms of sponsorship – and no tax waivers please; and improve the domestic cricket system to allow more competitive domestic players don the national colours in the international arena.
Since Chappell took over from his predecessor John Wright, India has won 32 out of 62 ODIs and 7of the 18 Test matches. Hopefully BCCI should look for a good cricketing coach from the land of a blue billion, who is competent enough to ‘coach’ this team. May be that is the greatest tragedy to have befallen Indian cricket, after all the great Indian coach is an elusive being, and not to be found in a land in need of real heroes.
A quick word to our nation’s bike, biscuit and cola sellers – if you are banking on this bunch of losers to sell your stuff, then please be aware that me as a consumer has already started doubting the quality of your products, cuz after all they are your brand ambassadors who stand for what you sell, right?

On a better note, I watched '300' (English) with a friend at Ruwi Cinema yesterday. Never seen such a kick-ass ‘war’ movie off late. Inspired by a graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is based on the epic battle of Thermopylae, where Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fight to the last man against Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of more than one million soldiers, while in Sparta, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to rally support for her husband. The are pluses aplenty in 300 – free flowing blood and gore, thrilling action sequences, captivating photography, the terse narration by the Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham) and a stirring background score. I’m now hunting for 300’s OST by Tyler Bates. 300 is one of the best flicks out in Muscat this year.

Also watched Telugu flick 'Desamuduru', written and directed by Puri Jagannadh, at Star Cinema. Allu Arjun (nephew of Tollywood megastars Pawan Kalyan and Chiranjeevi) and Hansika Motwani star in this flick with a plot that goes like – freak out TV journalist Bala Govind (Allu Arjun) gets into a skirmish with a band of Tamilian goons, retreats to Kulu Manali to escape their vendetta, falls in love with Vaishali (Hansika), a young damsel who is living the life of a hermit, hero falls in love, and then it turns that our hermit heroine is connected to the band of goons who then take her back to Hyderabad and then it is all left for the wonderboy to shut shop on villains and get the groove going with his lady love. Oops. You will like Desamuduru for Allu Arjun’s fight and dance scenes, and of course Rambha’s try at an item number – also I quite liked Puri Jagannadh’s opening credits in this movie – where the man on the street picks his favourite Tollywood hero – before launching Allu.

I also watched Suresh Gopi’s latest Malayalam flick – ‘Detective’ at Star Cinema – highly recommended for all Scotland Yard sleuths out there, the rest of you can probably go for a walk in the park – would be more productive that staying holed up in a theatre trying to come to terms with this crime/suspense/thriller pot-boiler.

Movies in Muscat - Nishabd, Red – The Dark Side and Norbit

Nishabd (Hindi) released in Muscat yesterday. Watched the first show at the Al Nasr Cinema. It’s very rare for movies to release here on a Monday. Wednesday’s when movies get released in Muscat. Totally relished watching it in a deserted theatre – I counted 8 people in a theatre that can seat around 800 plus people. Got a ticket in the box – usually box seats are reserved for couples and groups – but today the man at the ticket counter just decided to make my day; trust me its was great to put my feet up on the railing and enjoy the view from the empty box. At some point, I remember pacing up and down the box and watching the movie. Felt like it was my personal space.

You shouldn’t miss watching Nishabd, produced and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Nishabd is about the love that springs between Vijay, a 60-year old photographer (Amitabh Bachchan) and Jia, an 18-year old student (Jiah Khan), and its effect on Vijay’s wife Amrita (Revathy) and their 18-year old daughter Ritu (Shraddha Arya). The entire flick is shot in sombre dark hues in the moody, dreamy tea estates of Munnar in Kerala. The entire cast in Nishabd is limited to Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan, Naseer, Shraddha Arya, Revathy and Aftaab Shivadsani in a guest role. Nishabd challenges conventional feelings about love. One of the most poignant moments in the movie is when Vijay tells Amrita about his love for Jia, which understandably leaves the dutiful wife dazed. Amitabh comes with a fine performance, but it is definition of the ultimate aim of human life that impressed me most in Nishabd – to be happy! If you are lot into love and life, do find some time for Nishabd.

Followed up Nishabd with Red – The Dark Side (Hindi) at Al Nasr Mini Cinema. Directed by Vikram Bhatt and starring Aftaab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitley and Amrita Arora, Red has all the elements of a typical Vikram Bhatt pot-boiler – a love triangle, cupid struck hero, murder mystery, scheming women, elements of surprise, remix party numbers, police investigations, dark characters and a twist n’turn in the tale for a climax. I watched it to check out Ms. Jaitley and Ms. Arora, and boy I got my salt’s worth. Here's Aftaab's clinching dialogue / the last nail on the coffin: I’m ready to die for love. I’m ready to kill for love. But I’m not ready to be a fool for love. Red is definitely not painting the town red.

Uhm, moi found some time to go for comic flick Norbit (English) on Sunday at Ruwi Cinema. Norbit is not all that great – it’s got Eddie Murphy in not one, not two, but three roles – but even his treble histrionics cannot save this flawed movie. Norbit enjoys a 9% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and rumours abound that his acting in Norbit cost him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Dreamgirls. I personally think Norbit is OK – it may not be all that great – but it’s got those moments that will have you hold ur tummy and chortle with laughter.

Tribute to Bob Woolmer

He was one of the finest personalities in international cricket and an outstanding coach. He’s going to be terribly missed by everyone with a love for the game of willow. May his soul rest in peace. Here’s a compendium of fast facts on the life of Bob Woolmer.

1. He was born as Robert Andrew Woolmer, on May 14, 1948 at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is the son of Clarence Woolmer, a cricketer who played Ranji Trophy for United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).
2. He made 1059 runs at 33.09 in Tests, with three hundreds, and also took four wickets at 74.75. In all first-class cricket, mainly with Kent but also in South African state cricket, he scored 15772 runs at 33.55 and took 420 wickets at 25.87.
3. In 1959, as an 11-year-old schoolboy, he watched Hanif Mohammed score 499 for Karachi. In 1999, he was in the dressing room when Brian Lara scored 501* to break Hanif's record. He is one of the very few people to have seen both innings live.
4. In 1975, he was selected for England's first World Cup squad, but broke his hand the day before the tournament started. He ended up being the 12th man.
5. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1976.
6. A respected all rounder at first class level who played for Kent and South African provinces Natal and Western Province, Woolmer also played 19 Tests and six one-day internationals for England between 1975 and 1981.
7. He was among the game’s more free-thinking coaches, a reputation he earned first with Warwickshire and then confirmed during his five years at the helm of the South African national team.
8. As a coach he pioneered the use of computers and technology in the dressing room, especially to keep track of how the opposition batsmen scored their runs.
9. With him as their coach, Warwickshire won three of the four domestic trophies on offer in England in 1994.
10. He coached South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and during his tenure the team had won 83 of their 117 one-day internationals - a winning percentage of 72.80 - and 10 of the 15 Test series they contested.