Har Har Mahadev!

In India God is really omni-present in form of numerous roadside temples and small temple like creations and even vermillion coated stone symbols, many times in open. So one has ample opportunities to be religious and keep bowing and doing namaskars whenever one passes these numerous places of worship. The bow becomes more pronounced if its the exam, crucial meeting or an interview you are going to. I observed more of such faith in Bombay and it runs across the religion.... so many times you can find a Muslim revering Saibaba or a Hindu crossing his chest. Good that India is a secular and multi faith country.

Here, in the Arab land also, God is omni-present but then, we humans have your God and my God. So in that respect I do miss my God. Well, lemme correct myself... I am always with the God .... maybe what I miss is India.

More of this missing happens when its a festival and you guys back home keep messaging what all goodies you are eating or enjoying. Mahashivratri is one such day where I used to fast by eating more. On Sunday I was bit down thinking that this will be a real fasting day and without witnessing all that festive environment. All the ladies dressed up going to the temples with pooja parapharnelia, temples all lit up and blaring jumbled up aartis. But then the local God and my God surely must have had some communication and I was blessed with ample portions of dry fruit Kheers, sabu dana khichadis, fruits et al. And top it up a grand audience that Shivji gave me, albeit late at night.

Shiv Temple is the oldest of temple here and is located in the old town of Muscat near to the royal palace. I did not know where exactly the temple is and at 10 PM my enquiries with taxi wallahs ended up abruptly in Chennai like Hindi illeh session. Fortunately stumbled on three Indian who also were going there and I safely and economically landed up at the temple. Did I say I missed India...... I will retract the statement. It was just like India.... huge crowds from half a km distance and magnificiently lit up spires. Fortunately did not worry about leaving shoes outside. Inside was a south indian atmosphere as Tamil group was conducting the Rudra chanting till midnight. The temple is managed by Gujarati community and after having good and emotional meeting with my God had sumptuous filling of prasad of dry fruit barfi and thandai. They forgot to mix Shivji's favourite bhang in that.

Colourful silk, heads full of flowers, boisterous kids and gossip groups all was there and I felt I would cry of happiness. I think when you are out of India you take extra efforts to look like an Indian. And before dispersal around midnight they struck Om Jai Jagdish Hare it was the grand finale.

Fortunately bumped into a colleague and God's little mercy took care of my return voyage on DDU basis.

It was really a gratifying day and one of my most memorable Maha Shivratris. While walking back to the colleague's car, I was very satisfied to see all the prasad plates and disposable plastic glasses all littered around the temple area merrily flying and rolling in the cool breeze. So Indialike...... isnt it!

Laughter in Gulf

In a poor zoo in Delhi - India, a lion was very frustrated as it was offered not more than 1 kg of meat a day. The lion thought its prayers were answered when one of the managers at Dubai Zoo visited the zoo and requested the zoo management to send the lion to Dubai Zoo.

The lion was very happy and started thinking of a centrally A/C environment, a goat or two every day and a Dubai Residence Permit also. On the first day of its arrival at the zoo the lion was offered a big, very nicely sealed bag for breakfast.

The lion opened it quickly but was shocked to see that it contained peanuts. The lion thought that may be they cared too much for him as they were worried about his stomach as he had recently been shipped in from India.

The next day the same thing happened. On the third day again the same food bag of peanuts was delivered.

The lion was very furious; it stopped the delivery boy and blasted him. "Don't you know I am a lion... the king of the Jungle..., what's wrong with your management? What nonsense is this? Why are you delivering peanuts to me?"

The delivery boy politely said, "Sir, I know you are the king of the jungle but ...err... didn't you know that you have been brought here on a "monkey's visa."?

Pyaar Bantate Chalo......

Hmmm..... love is in the air...... well sponsored by Hotels, Shopping Malls, Greeting Card Manufacturers et al... Anyway lemme not give geriatric overtones to my Valentine's Day blog. In any case there are clearly two categories of people u can see on St. Valentine's.... the first who are all brimming with enthusiasm and sitting in the classrooms and office desks all rosey eyed thinking about the date fixed for the evening. These are already upto their gills smitten by love and Saint Valentine is one good pretext to overindulge. These are basically the target lot of the Candle Light Dinners and Balls, Cards & Gifts advertisements. The second lot is the "Grapes are Sour" lot..... having no date to look forward to these are the so called moral lot.... and u will hear - this is not our culture....... this is immoral...... etc. Whether in India or Oman this kind is omni present.


And yeah! how can I forget the third lot like U (umm... well may be!) and me. These are the people who just feel good seeing the awkward kisses and hugs around. Hey this is not being voyeuristic but just enjoying the smell of cake being freshly baked wafting from ahouse and feeling good all over. Something to do more in the mind rather than the stomach or the heart.

Well talking of smells... I never knew Petunias smell so sweet. All of the Muscat Roads are lined by Petunias of all percievable shades. In the trafiic poor petunias cant impress the olefactory nerves. But yesterday night went for a walk in Wadi Kabir public garden and the sweet smell was all over. Talk of the "smell the roses" kind of forward one keeps getting ( Satheesh u have stopped off late) and i never knew the literal experience was so good. Cant share with you the fragarance but surely the sight is here for your eyes.

Fragarance has a very important role in the everyday life of the locales here. Oud or the frankicense of Oman is world famous. This is basically a plant/insect originated aromatic resin(like lac back home) which when burnt on charcoal embers gives a sweet smoke. This smoke is wafted by the Arabs in their homes, shops. Men and women will also have their clothes wafted. Women also let the smoke go through their long hair and lo! through the day or night one keeps smelling sweet. Gram per gram some of the varieties of this Oud is costlier than the same weight of gold.

Everyone cant spend so much on Oud so the substitute are the perfumes. Never ever seen such a myriad varieties and range of perfumes. So when I am sitting in my cabin I am subject to various perfumes as different people walk in. Now I can identify my office boys and some of the team members without lifting my head.

And yeah that reminds me of my Oriental days at Pune when the women around used to come to the office wearing Venis or gajras. Particularly in and after monsoons the fresh smell of mogra, jai and chameli used to have a pep up effect on me and my rate of giving dictations used to go up!

And talking of Oriental and coming back to Valentine's day, I am wondering whether Atul still sends roses ( I am dead sure he has them collected from a neighbourhood cemetery!) to all the gals at Oriental or does he distribute them at Bajaj itself.............

Before I leave or love a parting thought- India must be the largest follower of the Sant Valentine Jayanti. Why! Where else the Children's Day comes exactly nine months after Valentine's Day. No wonder India is the most populous place. Did someone say make love not babies!

Okay before u push me out lemme kiss you good bye................................... and talking of kissing do u know the local way of greeting is by kissing the nose......

Paapi Pet ka Sawaal

Yesterday, I was copied in an inhouse mail urging us to give cash gift to the house keeping guy who is going back to get married at Chennai. His marriage depends on whether and when Management will give him leave. I have been observing since I entered CS International Airport at Mumbai that lot of guys come from India for menial job. Earlier I thought that may be they get good money but seeing all that data in WC and GPA policies I realise that the salaries for menial jobs is quite low. This house keeping guy gets around INR 4500 equivalent pm and may be he makes 2000 more by doing extra jobs on weekends. I am sure he can earn that much back home also. And what does he get coming here... he will go for his marriage.... come back in 15 days leaving the wife behind and then he gets to go back to her after 2 years. I dont know what kind of feeling this generates inside me- pity, frustration, anger or sorrow. To top it all these guys stay in labour camps all cramped up with very minimum amenities. And back home people think that this guy is working abroad.

And if you aint aware the passport is kept by the employer/sponsor and some of them take heavy loans to pay to the agencies recruiting people for middle east. No wonder every day I read so many ads giving absconding employee details and warning others not to employ them. Bandhua Majdoor ka modern version..... Pakis, Indians and Bangladeshis form a major cunk of this labour class. Over population is the only reason which forces this plight. Anjana and I did our bit by having one child.... Indians having more than one child should be incrementally taxed.

Now this is for you insurance guys and gals. Back home I never ever experienced a Fidelity Claim. (Non insurance guys dont race into Marital Infidelity) This place Fidelity claims are rampant. Expats simply vanish with money stocks and what not...... Last week saw an interesting such fidelity claim. 20,000 litres of gasoline was put as a fidelity claim. I was zapped. Actually it was the Pakistani driver who had to deliver a tanker load around or beyond Dubai border. For this reason he had to be handed his passport. This frustrated guy sold of the petrol on the way, abandoned the tanker and flew back home. I had to make good the loss but still have full sympathy for the guy. Most of the referrals which I am seeing have claims in Fidelity portfolio.....

Coming back to the housekeeping guy- everyone here is advising him not to come back. He also agrees but then his family wants him not to stay back..... beta foreign me hai is a status symbol for them.

I had read that late Dhirubhai Ambani used to work abroad at some Petrol Bunk as a vending guy. But how many progress and set up Reliance? Rest are doomed to be unsung labours behind all the glitter and shine of mega malls, Al Burz's et al.

P.S.: I ran away from India as I was subjected to the labour camp plight by my wife and wanted to teach lesson to the Finance Minister by reducing their income tax earnings. I am sure by now both must have realised. So if you get some tax relief this time you know whom to thank.

Taxying Around

Due to Sameer's berating mail about moderating comments I had to come on the site early morning. So today it is the breakfast blog.

Licensing procedure is quite stringent here,more so when one comes from the part of the world where left is right and right is the wrong side. In Oman you drive on right hand side.... Add to this the right to left orientation of Arabic and I feel that I have entered the mirror world.

Getting a d/l is as difficult as getting a degree. Who so ever said this might not know how easy it is to get degree back home! One has to hire a trainer (striped cars) and then take lessons and finally give drum and roll tests and the road tests. The package costs you anything between Rial Omani 300 to 500 ( multiply by 120 to get INR equivalent). More on this later.

So from the time I gave up my Waggy (just a day before I left India), I am living as a common man. That means lot of walking and travelling in public transport. The only public transport is taxis. Mostly Corollas and Echos, you can take on shared basis or engage them. Taxi operations are reserved for Omanis and the day I am lucky I get a taxi wallah who can speak Hindi and plays Bollywood music on his deck. Otherwise I have to use all my dumb charade skills and land up at correct place. Although no one can beat Delhi taxi n auto wallahs but the common gene is there and so they will make a fast buck if a murga gets fasofied. Taxis are white with orange side panels and orange light on the top. By the way heavy commercial vehicles sport a flashing amber beacon here like the VIP cars back home. But then our VIPs are mostly white elephants so I think same principle applies.

But this is a good way to get street smart and collect lot of local info which one will never be able to pick from books and google searches.
Before I wind up, a taxi joke (thanks to Mandar)...... which does become reality here........ (accident rate is high here... more on that in future)

A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Saint Peter addresses this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?" The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City." St. Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Calvary for the last forty-three years." St Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven." "Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?" "Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."

Chinese New Year of Dog has started. Just click here for your horoscope.

Kajarare kajarare tere kare kare naina

Gosh! I have been away from India so long and so far- this I realised yesterday, when suddenly this hit song fell on my ears. It took one full minute to realise that it is the hit we had danced so many times on. Suddenly I felt very good and for the first time Ash generated so much warmth (not heat..... mind you!) in me. I think I am gonna buy a good music system soon and then will listen to bollywood music at full blast. Hope my bihari neighbour doesnt complain. He should rather not as I am subject to his wife's rantings from the kitchen. Am yet to meet these guys but can tell you most of the details of their family in chaste Bihari. What do you call the audio version of Peeping Tom. Hey! I cant help it and this is just during my half an hour per week spent in Kitchen doing the laundry. I am seriously thinking of doing full fledged cooking!

Coming back to Aish or rather the lack of Aish here! I see some Chinky has posted some weird comments which I would have ignored but what aroused my interest was a mention about OGLING at women. Well.... a thing of beauty always will call for appreciation but appreciation is to ogling as gourmet is to a glutton. I have never seen a women who does not like to be seen and appreciated.... the admiring glances when change to lewd ogling then ofcourse the scene changes. However
there isnt a distinct divison when apreciating nazar changes to ogling and a gentleman has to master this art.The fairer sex's need for appreciation makes half the world's economy go around so guys keep looking...... I will leave it open ended.

Coming back to the alien atmosphere here, I find it rather amusing and strange as well that hardly you can see couples hand in hand or even with a endearimg closeness in public places like parks, shopping complexes etc. Even when I see the couples together they are as far as AIG's requirements for distance between two risk blocks!

Dont be surprised if you see me in Veshti with thick moustache next time. I am transforming into a south indian. With so much of south indian food I am eating and so many south indians ( read Malloos) around here, I might well be in Kerala. And many of these shopwalla Malloos will not know any Hindi. One day my brother who is here from many years was conversing with a Malloo in Arabic as my bro doesnt know Malyalam and the guy did not know Hindi and this was observed by an Omani who was amazed and dazed seeing two Indians conversing in a foreign language. Any further proof required for Indian's adaptability factor...........

Interested in statistics..... 60% of expatriate population consists of Indians here with Pakistanis a far second.

Thanks Shilpi for posting your comments. Rest of the guys are too busy it seems or busy doing TT (tote tadna.... in the Delhi lingo)

Oh Man! I am at Oman

It is lunch time here and a good time to blog. Lunch time is pretty long over here 13.00hrs to 15:30 hrs. Most of the people go home to have lunch and a snooze if not a smooch! :) I am told that due to intensive heat during summers this kind of long break is required. Start early at around 07:30 or 08:00 hrs break for a lunch and siesta and then again work. Govt. and some pvt offices work in one single shift starting still early.

Today received long mail and long awaited too from Henkumar giving Indian Market news. Seems the things have accelerated after I left. Or is it that when you look at things from outside they appear faster.

One Dr.Gupte (happens to be my class mate's brother-in-law) called up to say hello. Have not met him yet but had a long chat and lo! he turned out from Bhandarkar Road, Pune. Instantly I was visualising myself in Deccan area. Getting homesick hah!

Tomorrow Shabana and Javed are coming from Bombay for presenting a show on Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Show is all booked and could not secure any ticket.

Yesterday had been to the Muscat Festival at Qurum. The mascot is an Omani girl which you can see in the pic. This month long festival is held by govt at two locations every year. This is basically to showcase Omani heritage. Apart from Oman, other Arabian countries also put up their heritage. Elaborate Omani village has been created with actual Souq (meaning Market in Arabi). Water moat pulled by men and bullocks, Omani halwais, wood, metal and terracotta craftsmen were all actually making things and selling.

There were lot of women making dosa like crepes with flour topping with egg spread. Dumplings like gulabjamun etc. Most popular is Omani halwa- which is like one phase earlier to Karachi/Bombay halwa whcih we get back home. Very tasty with lots of ghee and nuts and takes lot of time to make. The pic shows halwa being made in huge Copper Pot.

I liked the weavers stalls of Sudan and Jordan and the Siver Khanjar's of Yemen. Irani Carpets were fabulous.Pottery remainded of Blue Pottery from India and Metal work similiar to Bidri work. The traditional way of girls dressing with all glittering gold on the head and the wear I have seen in Kerala muslims also. Kerala has been long associated with this part much before the Gulf Migration got in vogue.