StyleSpeak: In Perspective By Wendell Rodricks
One month away from work and home puts everything in perspective. Out of Goa for fortnights in June and July took me away from the rains… yet nearer home than I imagined. In a fast moving world where everyone is time bound and a slave to the mobile phone, it takes courage, according to most people, to “switch off”.
Not me! After a string of shows (the last at the swank new Radisson Blu in Cavelossim), I posted an ‘out of office’ on the email, blissfully switched off the cell phone and took leave from technology for a month.
After a business meeting in Mumbai, splendid service on Kingfisher to London. En route to Leeds by train, a thief stole my agenda. A reminder that things are the same the world over. You nod off in the comfort of first class European trains and imagine thieves do not exist in the West. Now besides no iPad, no cell, I also had no telephone list. But Yorkshire and the city of York made up for the misery of a stolen beloved agenda. The Minster of York is historic in many way. A pioneering feat of archeology in its time, the climb to the Gothic roof top will quite literally take your breath away… with the view and the just under three hundred steps one must navigate. After a visit to the Bronte Sisters hometown of Howarth, a sublime romp in the renowned Lake District. Lake Windermere is a vast jewel in the hills. The craggy peaks, placid lake and long walks in pristine beauty are invigorating. Unlike Goa, not a shred of garbage in sight. Like Goa, everyone was agog over the Dominique Straus-Kahn sex scandal. What is it about famous people getting ‘caught out’ that fascinates the public? It felt very much like the vicarious feeding on local Goan politico stories.
Sometime during the holiday, the News of the World scandal also broke. Now this was beginning to feel cozier to home. Like the constant Indian scams, the power, the politics, the vast quantities of money and phone tapping kept United Kingdom residents in a furor. That fury quickly spread around the globe. I thought to myself that our crore happy guys back home don’t really know what BIG money is about. Between Straus-Kahn’s legal team and Murdoch’s payoff, many billions went into damage control.
The scandals left me distracted for a few days but the beauty of Scotland was a better option. Up in the highlands, a Goan friend’s daughter married a Scotsman. There was a clear divide in the tiny church up in the hills. One side was Goan or Scottish. The other sides were the three dozen ‘kilt’ gang. The bride’s brother and a school friend from Bahrain were also kilted out. A Goan and an Arab in a plaid skirt? True. The ceremony was beautiful with the bar the central attraction. If you thought Goans can down liquor like professionals, forget it. The Scots are the real professionals. They can put away staggering quantities of lager, beer, malt and blended whisky. After the wedding (one of the most beautiful ceremonies and a touching speech by the Goan father of the bride), our hostess took us on a whisky trail. At Dufftown, we watched Glenfiddich being distilled. The tour is followed by a tasting. Between endless discussions on whether the 18 year is better than the 21 year malts, I realized that this is like us Goans crowing about “my feni from XYZ village is the best”.
At Arbedeen airport for a flight to Glasgow, Ireland, I thought we left the last of the world’s great drinkers. But the first day in Ireland….well, I don’t know who can drink harder. The Scots and the Irish share first place at the bar. Since 1st July 2011, Indians with a UK visa do not require a visa for Ireland. This magical country is a green heaven. On the West coast near Galway, we feasted on the freshest seafood, looked up a couple who live in a castle and sampled the pub scene. Ireland is a country of astounding beauty; further enhanced with the hospitable, friendly Irish. A longer stay would have been ideal but London beckoned. The weather now began to turn summery. The television was doing a countdown of the three dozen dresses that the freshly minted royal bride Kate was wearing in Canada. Quite like how our Bollywood beauties are watched ad nauseum on the various red carpets. There are too many red carpets around the world today. They are all big brand advertising billboards.
There was no advertising high in the Eastern part of Turkey at Nemrut Dag. The enormous tomb mound of King Antiochhus is a tribute to the ruler’s Persian and Greek ancestry. Built in the first century before Christ, the two metre high Persian and Greek god heads have rolled off in an earthquake over half a century ago. But the site is mesmerizing. After the hustle and beauty of Istanbul, it was a challenge to wake up at 3 am and trek up the mountain to see the sunrise at 5 am. When the first rays of the sun hit the temple, it is a golden moment. Quite like the sunrise at Matunga hill in Hampi. In the freezing predawn, the nicotine-loving Turks add to the clouds at the site. And leave behind an achingly similar Goan garbage problem. That negative apart, Nemrut Dag is one of the world’s great ancient sites.
Back in Mumbai jetlagged and sleepless, I caught up with the news. It’s the same. Terror attacks, scam jobs, fake glamour, politics. From them all, politics seems to be the globe’s pet peeve. Like we rail against every politician, good or bad, the Scots, Brits, Irish and Turkish are like every nationality on the planet. All frustration and ire is aimed at the seats of power.
As I said, away from home but very much at home! The world fell like home anywhere you go! (ENDS)
=============================================== First published in Goa Today, Goa - August 2011
