No, it’s me paragliding ...in tandem...since I still have to learn how to fly on my own...but hey I atleast did it...for the 2nd time!!
It so happened that my producer who was supposed to shoot paragliding for his show fell ill, so I had to go in his place...and boy was I glad that he fell ill (sorry Neeraj) but this was one shoot that I am really glad of.
The whole trip was quite adventurous by itself even the non-flying part. We started at 1800 hrs from Mumbai...but got lost somewhere in Thane where we had to pick up Reema (my asst. Producer) but neither the driver, nor Sunil (cameraperson) nor Reema knew how to reach the expressway ...we went around in circles and wasted around 2 hours trying to figure it out.
When you ask people directions... it becomes a compulsion for them to show us the way even if they don’t know... Indian Hospitality at its best! Why is it so difficult to say “Sorry Boss, don’t know the way...ask somebody else” instead to sending hapless people like us on a wild goose chase. By the time we found the expressway and were happily enjoying the drive (it’s an amazing drive on the expressway...there are numerous tunnels and the minimum speed limit is 80km/hr... so it’s a Vrrroom experience). I was quite content with the fact that Sunil knows the way, having been there before...but then I noticed that he was dozing; forget telling the driver the way... it was on my frail shoulders that the responsibility of reaching Kamshet fell... and I like always rose to the occasion. By the time we reached Kamshet it was 2300 hrs (it actually takes 2 hours to reach Lonavla from Mumbai and Kamshet is around 20 Kms away from Lonavla...so you do the math). Not only that we got lost while coming back to Mumbai as well... I reached home at 0500 hrs in the morning the next day ... I saw all the places that I had always heard about...Bhiwandi, Gorbunder, Khopoli, etc . It was fun....plz plz plz don’t miss the sarcasm here... you wouldn’t if you have spent almost 48 hours awake...getting lost, shooting, getting lost... it was flying that gave me some hope... I knew that I can’t die ...I knew that I had to return to civilization to tell the story...if not to my grandkids then to all netizens .
Since Kamshet is a village and the nightlife is not as vibrant as Mumbai...we did not even meet a stray dog there...so quite predictably we got lost again...despite numerous calls to the guy (Sanjay Rao) whose resort (Flying Nirvana) we were going to ...we did however saw a guy standing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night in the chill of the mountains smoking ...we dare not ask him directions... but as luck would have it... all the other people that we managed to bump into were all dead drunk...so Kamshet was not that dead a place...it must have a hep bar to have so many people drunk!
Against all odds, bad roads, equally bad driving and endless phone calls later we reached Nirvana...were shown into a cottage which was really beautiful. That kind of made up for all the time wasted in commuting. Then we realized that flying was supposed to start early morning at 0600 hrs and it was already 0100 hrs...the rest of the people at Nirvana were all sleeping ...so we decided to call it a day and turned in as well. But the sleep god had some other plans... Reema complained that she can’t sleep in strange places...and if she talks to a boring person, she can sleep... again I rose to the occasion...but she was so drawn into my conversation that she could not sleep!
Anyways, we did manage to get some shut eye for a couple of hours and were ready to fly ...post our introduction to Sanjay and his crew we ready with our camera and watched wide eyed many homo- sapiens in the air...it was a sight to see... wish we didn’t have to work/shoot...wish we could fly . There were few rookies who were learning the tricks of the trade and some high-flyers who were honing their skills...but all were a treat to watch...or thats what I thought. Sanjay told us that there will be another group who will fly post lunch at a different place at a much higher altitude and we could go there.
The place was beautiful... there were no rookies here... everybody had been flying for couple of years and the heights that they could soar upto was literally out of the world... I saw an eagle do a vertical spin ...maybe it was just jealous, maybe it committed suicide. After finishing our work, we also went on a tandem ride.
This was really one of the best experiences of my life... I was up in the air without any mechanised motor...strapped onto a harness which in turn was attached to a piece of cloth shaped like a wing...but the feeling was awesome... I would be lying if I said that I was not scared ...I was... a teeny weeny bit...but initially when the harness was being double checked ... but that was because I wanted to shoot the flight and my handycam didn’t have a safety strap...I was scared that I might drop it ...besides I had a battery life of only 5 min (my battery adapter was stolen from my last trip to Sindhudurg and I still haven’t had the time to get a replacement)...but once I was up in the air... the view was so breathtaking and the moment so precious...that I didn’t need any Handycam to store those memories in digital format... I have them permanently etched in my mind.
I will put up my videos as soon as I find the time to digitise them...watch this space...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Working Stills
I had the oppurtunity to shoot from the top of Air India Building (a chance that few people can avail of) and I managed to click some stills (sadly I had only my camera phone... the rest of the footage is work related hence cant share it here)... even if the quality is not so good... its rare for me!!!
Enjoy!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Mumbai Struck Again
It’s all over the idiot box and newspapers... people have forgotten their daily schedule and are glued to the television sets as the great Indian rescue drama unfolds.... in the era of no original soaps, thanks to a just concluded strike by television technicians... news channels have offered some gruelling action drama.
It all started around 21:00 hrs at Cafe Leopold when a group of young twenty something’s stormed in and started firing at the public... then Oberoi was stormed into and grenades lobed and rounds from AK-47 fired... by then pandemonium had spread and the news channels had dispatched their teams to catch the action ... by then Taj was entered and rounds fired there and some hotel guests taken hostage...few terrorists entered CST and opened fire, another group of terrorists went to the Cama Hospital and opened fire...The ATS team arrived under the able guidance of its chief Hemant Karkare. He went in to fight the terrorists without knowing who or why they had taken so many people hostage, thinking it was action film and unlike the movie, the hero was shot dead within minutes of entering ground zero... encounter specialist Salaskar and ACP Kamte were also shot dead... the death of these senior officers is a huge blow to the Mumbai police ... and to us Mumbaikars ...if these seniors were not prepared to handle this kind of situation then how can we depend on the friendly neighbourhood ‘pandu’ to protect us from such terror attacks... coz attacks like this is here to stay... it is upto us to be prepared..It is upto us to be not only swift in our action but efficient as well...
Well anyways... after gunning down these valiant officers, they made their getaway in a police car firing indiscriminately at random people.....the car passed through Metro and fired there as well....then there was a blast at Ville Parle which is around 25 km away... hence the attacks were well planned...
But why the hell am I giving you these details... you can find them at any newspaper or news channel... unfortunately, we were shooting at these very locations (Oberoi, CST and Metro) and had left these locations 30 min before the shootout started... I say unfortunate coz, had we been there we would have got live footages ... although we did manage to get live footage albeit a bit late since the drama is still on... it’s been more than 38 hours and rescue operation is still on...Black cat commandoes have taken over and many hostages freed and few terrorists killed....
One thing that bothers me is ...if these people had taken innocent people as hostage ...was it to buy their escape route out of Mumbai... did they contact anybody about it.... was it a suicide mission ...are we going to talk about this incident for the next couple of weeks and also talk about the undying spirit of Mumbai (read Helpless) and then forget the whole incident as another terror attack under reams of newsprint and spools of videotape...Is it finally time to be on the offensive for us? Will we ever get the upper hand... do we need to scale up our anti terror tactics, laws, personnel, morale???
I’ve been in office... trying to help the news team in whatever little way I can... coz my shoots have been cancelled... all units are covering the shootout, all video editors are busy editing all the various angles that this drama has unfolded... I did offer to my boss to be sent on to the field if there was a shortage of reporters (without knowing how to go about it)... My parents have been calling me up and asking me to go home and stay put there (poor guys don’t understand the importance of news ... I guess they don’t realize that I work for a News Channel)...and to top it up...my crazy aunty went on a fun 3 day trip to Lonavla!!!
In the midst of this I realized, I haven’t had time to go meet my Sis-in- Law who just had had an operation for cancer and is still hospitalized... I’m just not able to find time to go meet them.
What is that which I can do?? Are they any other who want to help but don’t know how?? Can we do something together??
It all started around 21:00 hrs at Cafe Leopold when a group of young twenty something’s stormed in and started firing at the public... then Oberoi was stormed into and grenades lobed and rounds from AK-47 fired... by then pandemonium had spread and the news channels had dispatched their teams to catch the action ... by then Taj was entered and rounds fired there and some hotel guests taken hostage...few terrorists entered CST and opened fire, another group of terrorists went to the Cama Hospital and opened fire...The ATS team arrived under the able guidance of its chief Hemant Karkare. He went in to fight the terrorists without knowing who or why they had taken so many people hostage, thinking it was action film and unlike the movie, the hero was shot dead within minutes of entering ground zero... encounter specialist Salaskar and ACP Kamte were also shot dead... the death of these senior officers is a huge blow to the Mumbai police ... and to us Mumbaikars ...if these seniors were not prepared to handle this kind of situation then how can we depend on the friendly neighbourhood ‘pandu’ to protect us from such terror attacks... coz attacks like this is here to stay... it is upto us to be prepared..It is upto us to be not only swift in our action but efficient as well...
Well anyways... after gunning down these valiant officers, they made their getaway in a police car firing indiscriminately at random people.....the car passed through Metro and fired there as well....then there was a blast at Ville Parle which is around 25 km away... hence the attacks were well planned...
But why the hell am I giving you these details... you can find them at any newspaper or news channel... unfortunately, we were shooting at these very locations (Oberoi, CST and Metro) and had left these locations 30 min before the shootout started... I say unfortunate coz, had we been there we would have got live footages ... although we did manage to get live footage albeit a bit late since the drama is still on... it’s been more than 38 hours and rescue operation is still on...Black cat commandoes have taken over and many hostages freed and few terrorists killed....
One thing that bothers me is ...if these people had taken innocent people as hostage ...was it to buy their escape route out of Mumbai... did they contact anybody about it.... was it a suicide mission ...are we going to talk about this incident for the next couple of weeks and also talk about the undying spirit of Mumbai (read Helpless) and then forget the whole incident as another terror attack under reams of newsprint and spools of videotape...Is it finally time to be on the offensive for us? Will we ever get the upper hand... do we need to scale up our anti terror tactics, laws, personnel, morale???
I’ve been in office... trying to help the news team in whatever little way I can... coz my shoots have been cancelled... all units are covering the shootout, all video editors are busy editing all the various angles that this drama has unfolded... I did offer to my boss to be sent on to the field if there was a shortage of reporters (without knowing how to go about it)... My parents have been calling me up and asking me to go home and stay put there (poor guys don’t understand the importance of news ... I guess they don’t realize that I work for a News Channel)...and to top it up...my crazy aunty went on a fun 3 day trip to Lonavla!!!
In the midst of this I realized, I haven’t had time to go meet my Sis-in- Law who just had had an operation for cancer and is still hospitalized... I’m just not able to find time to go meet them.
What is that which I can do?? Are they any other who want to help but don’t know how?? Can we do something together??
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
humming along!
So much is happening... that I'm quite lost ... I'm just reacting to things not planning it out... but since its been a long time that I haven't spend any time here... I decided to do the honours today... there is an occasion... I got Internet connection for my laptop at home!!! yaaaaa!!! I'd been procrastinating for quite some time...besides there was genuinely no spare time to do all this... but all this happened thanks to a hummer... I met a guy who owns a hummer and a Cadillac and is getting a Maserati...now my knowledge about vehicles is as expansive as my knowledge about the financial condition of Peru...but I atleast know how an hummer looks... n boy I like the way it looks!!!...
To cut a long story short... met this chap (Sagar) at a shoot... got talking (producer in me is really active...I dont leave any prospective source) and went for a drive... planned some more shoots with him... he also helped me get the Internet connection... it all happened in the span of last 48 hrs... so boy am i humming along...u bet ur 18 inch modified tyres that I am...
Btw just packed up my shoot at Red Light for the channel id.. it was ok...cud have been better... but with limited resources ... this is what I cud do...like they say at channel V..."itne paise mein itna hi milega"...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Fun is never planned
Another week, another list of events ...some good some average, most not worth mentioning. Mumbai celebrated Diwali with much gusto, despite the fall in the sensex... I guess nothing affects the spirit of festivities here.
On Diwali eve, the office was all decked up and so were we... we had traditional wear day and there was a lot of giggling and festivities...as expected I was completely turned off with all the unnecessary giggling even though I had made an effort to dress up in what I hoped to pass off as traditional wear...nobody bothered or noticed anyways.
I was out shooting on Diwali night and was really glad for the opportunity as I had never ventured out on Diwali night in Mumbai and never really knew how amchi Mumbai celebrates it...well, it is the same way as in Delhi, Bangalore or any other place...people burst crackers and create a din, there is a lot of smoke and unnecessary happiness... the fireworks look nice ...but only if you can shake off the smoke that surrounds it and the niggling doubt that kids have been subjected to work in sub-human conditions in these factories.
We were in the middle of the shoot and in the middle of an almost choking attack (courtesy the smoke) when a stray bit of fire from some fire cracker hit my cameraperson bang on his left cheek and burnt his face. The crowd all eager to talk to the camera dispersed in an instant, the shoot was cancelled and we started hunting for a chemist shop... Sunil (cameraperson) meanwhile is hitched on to the compact mirror which Reema (intern) has kindly lent him...it’s a legitimate reason for him to preen in front of a mirror... and like a kid with a new toy, wouldn’t let go of the compact mirror, we had to finally trick him to get it back. For some reason, I came alive (with all my bad jokes) only when Sunil was injured... strange... I am a sadist after all. I kind of enjoyed describing in detail how the burn spread, how the colour and texture of the burn looked, etc disgusting Reema and hopefully scaring Sunil.
The day following Diwali was kind of slow as the hangover of the festivities was still in the air like the smell of fire crackers... there was not much accomplished work wise but we did play truth n dare (without the dare part) and some other game... in office... and managed to embarrass few colleagues and shock others with my wicked mind apparently.
Just realised that fun moments are never planned.
On Diwali eve, the office was all decked up and so were we... we had traditional wear day and there was a lot of giggling and festivities...as expected I was completely turned off with all the unnecessary giggling even though I had made an effort to dress up in what I hoped to pass off as traditional wear...nobody bothered or noticed anyways.
I was out shooting on Diwali night and was really glad for the opportunity as I had never ventured out on Diwali night in Mumbai and never really knew how amchi Mumbai celebrates it...well, it is the same way as in Delhi, Bangalore or any other place...people burst crackers and create a din, there is a lot of smoke and unnecessary happiness... the fireworks look nice ...but only if you can shake off the smoke that surrounds it and the niggling doubt that kids have been subjected to work in sub-human conditions in these factories.
We were in the middle of the shoot and in the middle of an almost choking attack (courtesy the smoke) when a stray bit of fire from some fire cracker hit my cameraperson bang on his left cheek and burnt his face. The crowd all eager to talk to the camera dispersed in an instant, the shoot was cancelled and we started hunting for a chemist shop... Sunil (cameraperson) meanwhile is hitched on to the compact mirror which Reema (intern) has kindly lent him...it’s a legitimate reason for him to preen in front of a mirror... and like a kid with a new toy, wouldn’t let go of the compact mirror, we had to finally trick him to get it back. For some reason, I came alive (with all my bad jokes) only when Sunil was injured... strange... I am a sadist after all. I kind of enjoyed describing in detail how the burn spread, how the colour and texture of the burn looked, etc disgusting Reema and hopefully scaring Sunil.
The day following Diwali was kind of slow as the hangover of the festivities was still in the air like the smell of fire crackers... there was not much accomplished work wise but we did play truth n dare (without the dare part) and some other game... in office... and managed to embarrass few colleagues and shock others with my wicked mind apparently.
Just realised that fun moments are never planned.
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