Sultan Saeed Al Darmaki isn’t your typical Emirati man. In fact, there’s nothing typical about him at all; whether it is his zest for life, his taste in music or his opinions on just about anything.
Sultan has just launched his latest book called ‘Leave the Birds Alone’. Strange name for a book? Not when you listen to his explanation. “The name originated from two thoughts. The first was when I was playing World of Warcraft with two friends at a friend’s house. We came to a point in a dungeon where one of them was about to attack the birds but I knew that if he did that, we would be swarmed by monsters. As I yelled at him to leave the birds alone, the other friend of mine started singing the words ‘leave the birds alone’ to the tune of Michael Jackson’s ‘You are not alone’. That instance stuck with me. The second thought was my perspective on life. I like looking at the bigger picture so, to me, life is like the sky and the birds flying in the sky are the minor things that distract us from the picture…so leave the birds alone is what I say!”
Sultan says he drew his inspiration from the world around him…
Parents
“My dad was a person who had a zest for life, who was forward thinking and had gone from growing up in a small desert to travelling all over the world. He was a well spoken of gentleman and was always looking to make new friends. My mother is strong and elegant, and was always calm and collected. She even looked after the family business until I was old enough to take over. My mother is my ultimate role model”.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
“He was the most open minded, forward thinking man of his time. Accepting change and globalization would not have been easy for a man who grew up in his corner of the desert, but he was always thinking 200 years ahead of his time. And in the end, all he wanted was for a smart thinking population of leaders. Through taking this book global I hope to change the image the world has of Emiratis.
Travels
“I have been all over the world and everywhere I go I try to find a coffee shop that is close to the heart of the city. I sit there with my notebook and pen and just watch people. I watch how they interact, how they move and the various things that happen in the city. Usually a random thought in my head merges with something I’m looking at and I find something to write about. That way I think I bring together an element of culture, an element of my childhood and an element of imagination. I’m particularly inspired by Amsterdam and London cabbies. The former because there are over 100 nationalities living there peacefully, and the latter because of the wealth of information they carry with them.
Life: “Life is beautifully complex and chaotic. It’s a puzzle and we all have to accept that there isn’t an answer but it’s how hard you strive to solve it that makes it interesting. I find peace in chaos and that’s why I love to sit and watch people and the things happening around me.
Quick Quotes:
“I’d like to think that I inspire people to take what I write and express what they think about it. Like giving their brain a cup of coffee.”
“An abstract name will mean different things to different people. People get caught up in it and it makes them think.”
“I never put numbers to creativity. I leave numbers for business. Creativity has to flow. It has to have no formation and must be fluid.”
“I write to capture the moment. I write to remove old thoughts and let new ones in.”
“I believe that when we dream about weird stuff, it’s our subconscious telling us to go out and do something creative.”
Quick Questions:
If you were stuck on a deserted island and only had an unlimited supply of one thing to eat, what would it be? Snickers
Who would you least like to be stuck with in a lift? A person with a BlackBerry!
Who would you most like to be stuck with in a lift? A clone of me!
If you could jump from the edge of space (like Felix Baumgartner) would you? Well, me being me, I’d do the jump but find a way to do it in a kandoora. (I’d like to land head first into a giant pool of coffee, drink it all up and shoot back into space)
If you could be anything that could be swallowed, what would it be? I’d be a rock because I’m very hard to swallow. Hehe!
By Sharon Carvalho
