Round Peg

The Durian

2008-09-16T00:34:00.001-07:00

I am resuming blogging after a long time and I do this with a fairly inane post – our experiences with the Durian, Singapore’s famous fruit.

Having holidayed in Singapore last month we heard enough about the Durian fruit.

Marvelled at the opera house built in the shape of the durian and laughed at the sign boards that prohibit people carrying the durian on the MRT trains.

Back in Muscat at Lulu’s I saw a durian and bought it. That’s one of the perks about living in the Middle East - one gets exposed to so many foods and cultures.

Back home, the husband and I googled to find out how one actually eats this fruit and then we set about doing just that.

The durian reminded us so much of the jackfruit. Same thorny exterior, strong smell and pulpy fruit inside.

However, the durian we bought was rather dry and tasteless. Compared to the jackfruit, the jackfruit was a winner all the way. And while we did not dislike the durian, it is not a fruit we will buy again in a hurry!

Recruitment Agencies

2007-01-21T05:44:00.000-08:00

JibberJobber.com has an article on recruitment agencies and how they invariably leave job seekers feeling somewhat shortchanged.

This is because the entire recruitment process is skewed in favour of recruiters that pay the bills.

John Doe came to the Gulf having left a career in one of India’s best and most professionally run hospitality chains. When he got here, he was shocked by the unprofessional manner in which the organization was run. That salaries were not paid regularly was another matter.

Another John Doe came here only to find he was being paid half of what his peers in the industry were getting. John Doe’s boss bragged to us how he had got a replacement at half the cost of the former hire.

I heard John Doe’s boss has recruited 2 more people from the same recruiting agency based in Bombay. Quite likely they are recruited at atrociously low salaries. Very likely, the recruiting agency head knows next to nothing about the companies he is hiring for, the prevalent salary levels in the country or working conditions.

This is particularly hard on people seeking jobs in foreign countries or cities since they are not privy to local information or working conditions.

Information in the Middle East is notoriously scarce. Most organizations here are family run, often managed in the same autocratic manner as their countries are run. Expats have no way of checking out the credentials and working conditions of the company they are about to join.

Now if only recruitment agencies were more proactive and offered job seekers more information about companies they are applying for. Job seekers would be willing to pay for such a service, I am sure.

Snapshots from the Middle East: Ours vs the rest!

2006-12-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

‘Bakrid’ is round the corner and like last year the ‘bakri’ (goat in Hindi) is back at the villa next door.

I wince every time I hear it bleat and thank my stars we have a road that separates our house from theirs. I thank my stars even more because they slaughter the poor animal in the driveway away from the road and our house. The house that flanks the driveway where they make their kill houses Indians, vegetarians most probably. I wonder how they cope with what must be a horrible and gruesome sight.

I have known many Muslims in India and quite honestly its only now that I am aware they are Muslims. Back then they were just friends, that they were Muslims hardly registered.

Not one of my Muslims friends ever slaughtered a goat in their house. I am sure it is illegal to slaughter at home but even if it was legal I cannot imagine any of my friends picking up an axe or whatever and calmly or gleefully proceeding to kill a terrified and helpless animal.

Not a single Muslim friend wears a veil or a burkha. In India, burkha clad women are seen mostly in predominantly Muslims areas that are poor and decrepit. Well educated and affluent Muslims do not wear the veil.

And I do not know of a single Muslim in India that has multiple wives. Sure there are Muslims with four wives but almost never from the educated or affluent class.

Names like Talal, Hanadi, Suad, Tamim, Haitham, Salwa are all Middle Eastern. I have never come across these names in India. Rafiq is quite a common name in India but in Qatar Rafiq is a derogatory term used to address people lower than oneself in social standing.

So is the Indian middle class Muslim different from her counter part in the Middle East?

Inventive Thinking

2006-10-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

A bit gruesome this. I caught a story on the BBC that reported sale of organs of prisoners executed in China.

Apparently as much as 90% of transplanted kidneys in China come from executed prisoners.

The report and Amnesty International were disapproving of the fact that the prisoners were probably not given any real option on whether they would like to donate their organs.

Considering that the prisoners probably gave their victims no option before they harmed them is their permission to use their body parts after they is dead and have no use for them important?

In the meantime some devoted parent or a much-loved child or spouse gets a second chance at living. And a man that harmed society gets a chance to redeem himself.

Which brings me to the popular legend about the Chinese company that won a tender in Oman. The prices quoted were impossibly low and competition was totally bemused till they figured that the labour used in the project were Chinese prisoners who needed to be paid nothing at all!

Who dug the well?

2006-07-28T04:58:00.000-07:00

Last week we did not watch TV and so missed what the media described as the story that grabbed the eyeballs of an entire nation – the story of 6 year old Prince in India who fell into a hole about 60 feet deep and 9 inches wide.

The ’hole’ was an attempt to dig a well. When no water was found, the hole was carelessly covered with 2 sand bags and left unattended.

Happily it’s a story that ended well. Despite having spent a grueling 50 hours in the hole, the child was rescued.

Apparently the TV channels went overboard and sensationalized the story. Sensing opportunity for free publicity corporate houses and politicians outdid themselves in promising support for the child.

But what really gets to me is that no body is talking about the people that left the hole unattended.

Should there not be criminal charges of neglect passed against them?

Instead of promising money to little Prince or mouthing the mandatory platitudes, the government would be much better off creating legislation making such irresponsible behavior punishable.

Harried Mom

2006-05-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

My son's friend at playschool was being unusually aggressive and this worried his mother.

I did not realize how much this disturbed her till the day I ran into her at school. As we passed, she smiled and said ‘Don’t bite anyone today and be good dear’.

The Actor and the Mahatma

2006-04-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

My maid, who is from Kundapur, Karnataka,was the one that broke the news about Raj Kumar’s death. She had watched it on ETV Kannada.

I caught the news item on NDTV. Raj Kumar, they said, had died at home. He was brought to the Ramiaih Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. It seemed to me that the report was at great pains to point out that the legend had died at home and not in the hospital.

Ramiah Hospital correctly anticipated a rampage – which took place any way - had the icon had died in the hospital (which he probably did!) .

This reminded me of my father recounting the day Mahatma Gandhi died. The news on radio emphasized that Gandhi had been shot by a Hindu. This was done, because the Govt. feared Hindu-Muslim riots.

Penalize the mob

2006-04-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

The rampage and destruction that followed the death of RajKumar, Kannada actor and icon, is as appalling as it is baffling.

Even more shameful is the way Javed’s friends and relatives stormed the hospital in Meerut.

Javed succumbed to severe burn injuries sustained when he saved about 7 lives in the Meerut fire tragedy last week. Angered at the refusal of the hospital authorities to let a crowd into the room where doctors were fighting to save Javed’s life and later the death of Javed, provoked the crowd to violence.

Who knows how many sick people the hospital turned away even as it struggled to come back to normal?

It is time the courts took steps to penalize the mobs. Pictures of people destroying public property should be published and these people should be punished. Severely. Punishing even a handful will ensure the mob is more careful the next time round.

Surprised in Muscat

2006-04-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

This was amongst the first signboards I saw in Muscat. I was shocked.

I never expected to see a Hindu Indian name on a signboard. Not that Asha has any Hindu connotations. Asha means hope but the word has its roots in Sanskrit, the ancient language in which Hindu texts are written.

My reference point was Doha where there used to be an Indian restaurant called Ashoka.

The word Ashoka has no Hindu connotations either. Having its roots in Sanskrit, Ashoka means free from sorrow.

But history speaks of a great Indian king called Ashoka. Circa 3 BC, he ruled over a sizeable portion of South Asia. After a particularly bloodthirsty battle, history says he was so overcome by the death, loss and destruction war entails, Ashoka resolved never to go to war again. He turned to Buddhism and from that time onwards dedicated his reign towards promoting peace and non-violence. He was a great king by any standards.

But authorities in Doha took exception to the ‘Hindu’ name of the restaurant and the owners were forced to change it. It was renamed Alshoka and probably still stands on C-Ring Road.

It was against this background that I gaped at the signboard that proudly read Asha Enterprises. That was the first time I tipped my hat to Oman. That’s when I knew we would come to love Oman as if it were our home country.

Them and us

2006-03-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

Two comments prompt this post.

The first. Chulupu’s comment to a post of mine on the trend of Indian maids converting to Christianity.

He says ‘I don’t know if you all know this. According to Islam religion, we are not allowed to eat food made out of the Hands of Non Muslim and No(n) Christian. As a result many maids pose to be Muslims or Christians.’’

The second, a comment by my neighbour who is looking for a maid. I recommended Khadija. The neighbour waffled around a bit and finally blurted out - ‘We do a lot of pooja (worship) at home and we would ideally prefer a Hindu to be around our articles of worship but a Christian will do’.

The sentiments underlying both the comments are similar, but each comment is from across the fence as it were!

M K Yusuf, Sam Walton of Muscat?

2006-03-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

The Khimji Mart in Madinat Qaboos (Hay Al Rahba, Muscati!) is doing very well.

Particularly the vegetable section which every body says is– ‘as cheap as Lulu’.

The Lulu Hypermarket, about 2 years old in Muscat, has then become a benchmark for retail players.

Time was when the only (good) vegetable selection for people in and around Madinat Qaboos and Al Khuwair was Khalijana. The vegetables were (and are) very good but prices high.

Many actually preferred the Wadi Kabeer vegetable market since prices there are supposedly very low compared to Khalijana. Even so, Khalijana used to be full of people.

Lulu changed all that. Now Khalijana is often empty and what is more prices have fallen. Avowed Wadi Kabeer goers have transferred loyalties to Lulu.

With all its faults, Lulu has offered people a good alternative. Shopping in pleasant environs at low prices and within city limits. And it has forced other stores to drop prices and up service. Way to go, Sam Walton would have approved!

Manner of Protests

2006-02-11T05:17:00.000-08:00

If you look at the protests against the Mohammed cartoons, they have mostly taken the form of demonstrations – some peaceful, many violent in that they have involved the declaring of malicious intents, throwing of stones, worse molotov cocktails, torching of buildings, flags… and saddest of all - one person died in Afghanistan.

The protests in the GCC have been markedly different. Here the protests have been non-violent. They have taken the form of a boycott of products from Denmark and this move has probably hurt Denmark the most.

Of all the countries in the world to take exception to the cartoons, I expect the countries in the GCC are offended the most. And yet there has been no violence whatsoever. Commendable. I imagine the Danes in Oman pretty much go about their lives as usual except that they probably downplay their nationality and keep their opinions to themselves.

I wonder why the reaction in the GCC has been so different. Is it because the GCC as a people are more mature? They were certainly able to make their objections felt and all this without traffic being disrupted, a single stone being thrown or a building being burnt.

Or is it because, living as they do under authoritarian regimes, there is no possibility of demonstrations – peaceful or violent here?

Khimji’s Mart - now open at MQ

2006-02-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Madinat Qaboos outlet of Khimji’s Mart opened today.

On Day One of the opening, the store has tremendous goodwill from the people in and around the area.

For one thing there is no other store close by. Omanization put an end to all the small stores that used to operate in the region.

Secondly they have a big captive audience in the Hay Al Rahba Complex itself – the store is located on the fringes of this residential complex.

Hay Al Rahba houses some 200 flats, 40 townhouses and 40 independent villas. The residents can walk down to the store in less than 5 minutes.

Will the store succeed? . Al Fair apparently used to operate a store in the complex many years ago but they shut shop when people did not buy anything other than milk and bread from them.

Price the products high and everybody will make a bee line to Lulu.

Don’t get the product mix right and people like me will continue to drive all the way to Ruwi to Haridas Nensey for grocery items. And I might even have to continue to stop off at Lulus for my ‘white goods’ – milk, laban and youghurt because Lulu is the only place where I am assured of Al Marai’s skimmed milk.

For now however the Khimji’s appear to have a winner on their hands. Wishing them all luck!

Eid on a bleat note

2006-01-10T04:43:00.000-08:00

Our neighbour, Pakistanis, slaughtered 4 goats in their house today.

It was rather horrible hearing the goats bleating out and straining at the ropes to get away.

We played loud music and shut all windows and drew the curtains at home but it did not make us feel any better.

For the neighbours, this is an annual event they look forward to.

Qatar bans any slaughter of animals within residential premises and this rule is strictly enforced.I am surprised Oman does not have similar laws.

A day will surely dawn when we stop associating festivities with slaughter or sport with the hunting. I hope so!

Mother’s Kitchen!

2006-01-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

At Ruwi round about I saw a shop with the name ‘Mother’s Kitchen’.

Mother’s food is aspirational. True. But her kitchen? I am not so sure!

ET’s 15 questions

2005-12-31T20:34:00.000-08:00

In the 28th December supplement of Brand Equity, Economic Times has asked 15 questions about things that interest and excite consumers. These questions are asked to a mix of marketing and advertising professionals. And I am shocked how clueless some of them are!

Last time ET ran a similar questionnaire, people did not fare much better either.

Most were unaware of new trends that almost border on mania (I-pod, podcasting, bey-blades), innovative and popular offers (McDonalds Happy Price Menu offer for just INR 20), or even knowing which management guru died recently (Peter Drucker).

If I were the head of marketing, this would worry me. For instance, Piyush Pandey, considered to be the finest creative brain in Indian advertising industry answered only 6 questions correctly. The questions he answered right were mostly about his industry (the new corporate colours of the telecom brand Hutch, recognizing a tagline…).

If advertising professionals do not have a feel for the pulse of the market how can they be relied upon to deliver advertising that works ? Or how can marketing professionals come up with strategies or new products that strikes a chord with the audience?

From the maid circuit.

2005-12-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since Mir handed in his notice and Devaki was killed, I have been talking to a lot of maids.

I am surprised at the number of maids from Andhra Pradesh (South India). When I did my first maid search two years ago, virtually all maid options were from Kerala with a sprinkling from Sri Lanka.

Another thing is that almost all the Andhra maids are Christians. On probing I found that a large number are recent converts.

Some said they were Christians but ‘only in Muscat’! Others did not call themselves Christians choosing instead to say they go to the church to pray. They reasoned there is just one God and it does not matter where or how you pray as long as you pray and are good human beings.

J said she was ‘accosted’ 3 times by women who shoved Christian literature, CDs and cassettes into her hands and promised OMR 300 if she converted. This, of all the places, in a mortuary!

The Pentecost Christians in Muscat appear to be well organized not to mention well heeled!

Almost all the maids attend church regularly, every Friday. The church also serves as a meeting place where the maids network.

Now I know how to dispose of all the old clothes I have – my maid says she will take it to Church and somebody is sure to have a use for it!

Bengalooru? Big Deal

2005-12-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, long ago, circa 1300 AD, a hungry and tired prince knocked on the door of a humble hamlet in some god forsaken place. He asked for some food and the old lady gave him all she had – some boiled beans.

And then the prince went his way and in due course became king. But he always referred to the place where he had stopped for a meal as the town of the boiled beans – benda-kaalu-ooru. And so the name stuck.

In due course of time Benda-kaalu-ooru became Bengalooru. And with more passage of time and with foreigners coming into the land, Bengalooru became Bangalore.

This year, accepting the recommendation of purists, Chief Minister Dharam Singh has decreed that Bangalore shall no more be Bangalore but Bengalooru henceforth.

Big deal.

>Click here for more versions on how Bangalore got its name.

And lets all pray for Bengalooru – with politicians engaged in such meaningless acts of populism, only God can help solve Bangalore’s infrastructure woes.

RIP: Devaki

2005-12-13T00:34:00.000-08:00

I am still shocked by what I heard – Devaki was killed while attempting to cross the Sultan Qaboos highway near the Honda round about. She was hit by a brand new BMW.

That was a foolhardy thing to do – trying to cross a double carriageway where vehicles are hurtling past at speeds of over 120 kms. But then that was Devaki, this is just the sort of thing she would do.

Newspapers did not report her death. Such news is normally not reported. And then she was an Indian housemaid. That makes it even less likely that the news would be reported. Indians and housemaids seem to be expendable.

Devaki’s was a hard life. She was thrown out of her marital house one rainy night with her infant daughter. Her maternal home did not offer much succor so she left her small child behind and went to Qatar to work as a maid. She was there for 13 years. In all those years she only left the employers house to go to the airport or come to the house from the airport.

In the meantime she shifted her daughter to a boarding school where the young girl studied well and was a favorite amongst the nuns that ran the place.

Devaki came to Oman and then bought herself a ‘free visa’. She worked here for some 8 years. Last year she got her daughter over to Oman for a holiday.

In honour of the visit, Devaki moved to a self contained apartment and for the 3 months her daughter was here, pampered the girl. Made her drink milk and bought her chocolates and cake and biryani everyday. Those were possibly the happiest days of her life.

After completing her graduation, the daughter got a postgraduate degree in education. She just landed a job and was asking her mother to come back to India. Role reversal, the daughter said she would take care of the mother now onwards.

My heart aches for the young girl who never really knew a mother’s love even when the mother was alive. My heart breaks for Devaki who struggled all her life.

May Devaki’s soul rest in peace. And may her spirit guide the young daughter and help to fill the young girl’s life with hope and love and happiness.

Stale vegetables – also in demand!

2005-12-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

Neelakantan in his blog says that at the vegetable market he noticed ‘quashed, slightly rotten, black spotted tomatoes’ packed in a blue crate. He assumed these tomatoes were kept aside to be discarded but the vegetable vendor assured him the tomatoes were NOT meant to be thrown away. They were reserved for sale to restaurants.

We had a similar experience in Qatar. At the vegetable market on Salwa Road, there invariably would be a crate with very sorry looking, wilted, almost rotten vegetables. Naively I always assumed they were meant for cattle. (Fool that I am - where in Qatar would there be cattle? )

The vegetable vendor told us these vegetables were reserved for the labour camps.

Labour camps are places that house workers. The Middle East is full of expat ‘bachelor’ workers. Millions of them. The employment contract generally covers food and accommodation. Accommodations are these camps which are dormitories built on the outskirts of the city. Each labour camp could well house hundreds of people and providing food for them is a (lucrative) business.

Employers generally sub-contract the catering of food and the contract is given to the lowest bidder. And to make ends meet, the contractors buy vegetables at the lowest prices.

An Aside

Nasrul, our Bangladeshi house help in Qatar, who lived at one such labour camp never ate the food provided but chose to cook for himself.

Labour camp - sounds faintly Nazi doesn’t it?

I remember Muscati saying Indians always referred to restaurants as hotels. Neelakantan does too!

Middle East Monographs: Bangladeshi work ethics

2005-11-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

Mir, our Bangladeshi household help, handed in his notice today. He is going on to a more ‘manly’ profession – washing cars.

Mir has been in Oman ten years now. And he has not gone back to Bangladesh even once during the period.

In Sohar for over 8 years, Mir worked in the ‘gardens’. (Sohar has plenty of orchards that grow dates and an assortment of fruits and vegetables.) Back breaking work made worse by the desert climate.

About a year ago, Mir felt he had enough of the arduous work the Sohar’s orchards demanded.

Going home was not an option since there were still 3 sisters to be married and he had yet to accumulate a nest egg for a business he hoped to start back home.

Barely literate and largely unskilled, the only employment option available was ‘ doing part-time’ which is lingo for working as a domestic help.

This job was definitely not as strenuous as working in the orchards. But it came with a terrific price. It meant doing the work of a woman!

If the family ever found out, they would hang their heads in shame. They would never accept money earned from such a shameful occupation. Without doubt, he would never get married.

After much soul searching, Mir decided he really did have enough of the hard life of Sohar. He would stoop to working ‘part-time’ in Muscat but only for now. He resolved the family must never know he worked ‘part time’ – washing vessels or cleaning bathrooms.

In the last one year, Mir has been busy cultivating his contacts. Today he just concluded a deal. To begin with he has a ‘contract’ to wash 15 cars everyday. He is confident of getting more cars to wash and life is beginning to look up.

Mir is a happy man. In a man’s world, he is finally doing a man’s job!

Winter-Spring is here!

2005-11-10T04:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I found that the outside of the house was as almost as cool as the inside. Hurray!! Winter is here.

I never know what to call this season. To me, this is spring. Of new beginnings. A season when you start planting and start spending more time outdoors. Not Winter which traditionally is a season of shutting down and staying indoors.

We are fortunate Eid and so the Eid holidays are happening at this time of the year – we spend 3 glorious days driving in and around the Wadis near Muscat – could not have done it any other time of the year.

I look forward to seeing the round-abouts / traffic circles come alive with colourful petunias. In India all I had seen were the traditional mauve, purple and white varieties that have a spicy scent. What you see here are flowers in reds, magentas, orange, yellow….. but they do not seem to have a fragrance.

Caution – Drowning popular!

2005-11-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

Actual notice board at Dayqah Valley near Mazaree!

This is a beautiful place about 125 kms from Muscat. A great drive with bends that are almost hairpin (queer turn of phrase?!). Reminiscent of Nandi Hills (near Bangalore) but then Nandi Hills is much steeper and much greener.

For the nicest places, drive on at least 2-3 kms beyond the notice board after crossing the ‘falaj’ (canal) on a concrete slab. Best to use a 4WD.

Up ahead are some really scenic places to picnic or camp. There are a couple of coves in the valley which make for shade and for most part the stream is very tame, at places its just knee deep.

The ‘mountains’ around make for some trekking and wild life appears in the form or goats and donkeys.

Well worth a visit.

Monographs from the Middle East - Chinese Takeaway!

2005-10-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of living in the Middle East is the wide variety of people you come across. This is probably true of any place but what makes the ME standout is the variety of nationalities you come across and this makes people-watching so much more interesting and fun.

Often some people turn your belief systems upside down. It happened to me.

I always thought you could tell a man by the company he keeps. After meeting R I realized I was wrong.

Whenever people spoke of R it was with a smirk even though everybody liked him and he had a cheery word for everybody.

R is Scandinavian, male and sixty plus. His second and current wife is East European. R met her in Dubai.

For those that do not know, Dubai was overrun by Russian and East European women a couple of years ago and these women were what I will euphemistically call ‘ladies of the evening’.

Given the reputation of Eastern European women and R’s fondness for women, everybody said the wife was a professional. After extracting the last bit from R, they said, she had left R behind here while she carried on her trade in her home country.

The husband and I thought no more of all this other than ‘time-pass’ gossip.

Then one day R told my husband how his girl friend makes excellent Chinese food. After a few days he spoke quite warmly of his new girlfriend - a Chinese.

For those that do not know, Dubai, Muscat and even puritanical Doha is overrun by Chinese ladies I will again describe as ‘ladies of the evening’.

Then R told the husband the Chinese had moved in with him.

He said he had picked up the girl at the Petrol Station opposite Zakher Mall one night. Things clicked and after a few get-togethers they decided to live together.

R is all praise for his girlfriend who is in her early thirties. In spite of R giving her the option to freelance, (isn’t the man scared of AIDS?!) she prefers a monogamous relationship.

As for R, if the Chinese lady was the King of Spain’s daughter, I doubt he would have treated her any differently.

So now I have altered my belief system.

I think you can tell a man by the way he treats others.

Fold like a Pro

2005-10-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

Martha Stewart (everyday at 1.30 pm on One TV) showed how to fold a T-shirt like a pro in one fluid movement and in one second flat.

Here is a link that shows how.

Lola Kutty

2005-09-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

I chanced upon Lola Kutty on Channel V India yesterday and thought the show was hilarious.

With her typical Mallu hair-do and the deadly Malyali accent, she had me in splits and had the brat quite worried since he had not heard me guffaw in quite a while.

I can’t wait to see her side kick Alex who apparently wears fluorescent shirts, a lungi neatly folded upwards in half and rubber slippers to match the shirt. Apparently, he actually wore pink slippers to go with his shiny pink shirt!

The Lola Kutty series is as good as the Quick Gun Murugan spoofs that Channel V ran umpteen years ago. Its won a host of awards at the Promax/BDA India Awards both in 2004 and 2005. (I never knew this show has been around that long!)

This show is a must watch and the pity is I don’t know when it airs –vindia.com was not of much help.

However Lola is not a typical Malayali name. Biju, Bincy, Ciny, Jinu …… would have been more like it. But then after seeing the show you cant imagine Lola with any other name!

PS: And Google also threw up a letter in the Khaleej Times from a very aggrieved Mallu. Guess he can’t take a joke on himself or his brethren.

And Shobha De opines that with Lola Kutty the Mallus have arrived.

Enterprising burglers!

2005-09-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

Rock star Luciano Ligabuie, Italy's best known pop performers was expected to perform at what was billed as one of Italy's biggest rock concerts.

While he was performing in front of some 200,000 fans his house was burgled by people sure in the knowledge he would not be home that night!!

No kissing - we are Saudi!

2005-09-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

The King of Saudi Arabia has banned people from kissing his hand in greeting saying this gesture of respect is degrading, violates Islam and is alien to the Arab culture.

The monarch has asked his citizens to restrain from kissing the hands of anyone but their parents, adding only parents are worthy of such deference.

I am bit surprised about the 'alien to Arab culture' part. Grown men greeting each other with a kiss and a hug is so common here it is even part of protocol - two Emirs greet each other this way on the airport tarmac. When we were in Qatar the husband always baulked at attending the Ramadan dos because that's when he got kissed by a whole host of men!

Omanization & Vegetables

2005-09-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently, business in Sohar is down.

In the days B.O. (Before Omanization) when grocery shops were run mostly by Indians, the shop keepers made regular visits to Sohar to buy fresh vegetables.

Since Omanization, the Omani shopkeepers have not been showing the same zeal towards fresh vegetables and so there is a glut and the farms in Sohar are feeling the pinch.

I am told the grocery shops are slowly getting converted into stores that sell just cigarettes, assorted snacks and soft drinks.

And I am told the main beneficiary of Omanization are the large supermarket chains because more and more people are forced to buy from them given the falling standards of the erstwhile grocery stores.

The result of this according to H is increased prices.

There is more to come, he mourns. Soon Omanization will apply to textiles as well. Be ready to fork out more for clothes.

H is an Omani who had leased out his premises and sponsored 2 Indians who ran a grocery shop. H got his monthly rations free of charge and a percentage of the earnings; the Indians made their money and all was hunky dory. Now with Omanization H is shutting shop. Omanization has hit H hard and H is an Omani.

Asked why he cannot continue with the same arrangement replacing the Indians with Omanis, the answer is an emphatic No. He does not trust Omais, he says!

Just want to talk

2005-08-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

When the brat was at Al Shumus, I used to meet this guy (non-gulf Arab) coming into our building just as I was leaving armed with the brat, a snack box and assorted toys of the day. The brat would invariably wave out to him and we graduated to a pointed where we would greet each other – a smile, a nod, that’s all.

Then one day this guy thrust a visiting card towards me telling me I was welcome to call and talk anytime. After a few days of no phone calls from me, he asked me for my phone number. Just to talk he said.

I was at a supermarket the other day browsing at a counter which was being attended to by a salesman – Indian.

The salesman said he was getting additional stock soon and would be happy to call and let me know when that happened. Too polite to say no, I gave him my phone number as requested.

A few days later he called and I thanked him for the information about his new stock. He then asked me if he could call again. A bit riled, I asked why. ‘Simbly. Just like that. Just to talk’ was his answer.

Now what do I make of that?

Move over Al Fair...

2005-08-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

My heart leaps up when I behold. today's date on the AlMarai milk cans.

Move over Al Fair, Lulu Hypermarket here I come!!

When the brat used to go to Al Shumus, the Sarooj Al Fair was the logical place to stop and shop. Now that the brat has moved to TAISM, I decided to check out Lulu Hypermarket bang on the way for me and boy do I love it!!

I actually get fresh milk at this place. Skimmed and the regular variety. All the major brands stocked aplenty.

At Al Fair, getting today's milk at 9.30 in the morning was something like a rainbow in the desert. At Lulu, I get fresh milk at 8.30 in the morning and what is more I get shaded parking slots as well.

So its good bye to Al Fair. For my 'white goods' (milk, yoghurt, laban) purchases at least. However I reckon the bakery section of Al Fair still tops the list.

Shafaat Ahmed

2005-08-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Just a few lines in the papers announced the passing away of the tabla maestro Shafaat Ahmed. The few lines did not do justice to the talent of Shafaat Ahmed.

The tabla came alive in his hands and he reveled in the music he created so much so that the joy spread and very often the entire audience had a big grin on their faces.

Shafaat Ahmed was too nice and well mannered to hog the limelight the way some tabla players do. He was never raucous, never cut into the music of the artistes he played with and never played a game of one up-manship that often ruins a concert.

One of the first times I heard Shafaat Ahmed was when he played in Bangalore with a young pianist called Adnan Sami Khan. Those days Adnan Sami Khan was a Pakistani and a classical musician. I still remember the Yaman, Adnan Sami Khan played in a sort of Jazz style and the impromptu but brilliant tabla support that Shafaat Ahmed gave.

That was a music concert at its best - the musicians played for the sake of music, both enjoying the music they made and the that enjoyment was so infectious it remains with me to this day.

That’s the Shafaat Ahmed I remember. Always smiling, willing to experiment, playing with a sense of fun and as always playing marvelously.

Titan's FasTrack hoarding

2005-08-18T13:35:00.000-07:00

Passing by the Cauvery Theatre Junction the other day, I came across this hoarding for Titan's Fastrack watches. Nice pictures as usual but what amazed me was the headline that said 'How many you have?'

The headline is jarring. And when it comes from a company of the stature of Titan, it is disappointing. I am curious what the former (founder) CEO of Titan, Xerxes Desai, known for his command and love for the English language (and keen sense of aesthetics) thinks of this headline.

I did not get a good picture but here is a picture of another FasTrack hoarding taken from magindia.com

Google threw up an article written by R Sridhar, CEO of Brand-Comm, which argued that Titan may be forgiven or imperfect grammar since the headline is pithy, catches attention and probably speaks the language of its target audience (15 -24 year olds) but then maintains that imperfect grammar is imperfect grammar at the end of the day. True.

Which brings me to the second and perhaps more important point - I thought command over the English language is one of the reasons why more and more work is being 'bangalored' to India.

If we start speaking like the FasTrack advertisement, work will be 'bangalored' out of India!

An aside - Fragrances from Titan?

When we were in Dubai we saw an advt on a hoarding for fragrances from Titan. I was a bit taken aback. I wonder who Titan's target audience is.I can't imagine too many people buying perfumes from Titan in Dubai.

The all-electric Reva car

2005-07-11T05:24:00.000-07:00

The Reva – you either love it or hate it.

It’s small as in cramped. Does not look very elegant. Its pick up is poor – 0 – 50 kms in 18 seconds. In fact, reviews say the only reason anyone would buy the car is from a ‘strong desire to save our blue planet.’

But I love the sheer audacity of a little known group entering into the specialised big bucks world of the automobile industry.

And the product is entirely offbeat. An all electric car. Plug it to a power socket every night for a 80 kilometre drive the next morning.

Made right, this could be India’s answer to its burgeoning oil bills. And a blessing to the many millions that ride two wheelers mostly because it is all they can afford and not because they love the feel of the (polluted) wind on their face. And the small size is well suited to city driving.

But the hitch is the big mismatch between price and product.

For Rs 2,75,000 or USD 6,500 there are a clutch of vehicles from established companies that offer much greater driving and riding comfort. Not to mention the security of buying a vehicle from a reputed manufacturer with a global reputation.

And so it’s unlikely that in its present avatar, the Reva will ever become popular or ever come close to being a mainstream vehicle.

The only advantage the Reva offers is that its running costs are extremely attractive, A pittance compared to the running costs of petrol driven cars in a world where one litre of petrol costs more than a dollar, where bumper to bumper traffic ensures you consume much more petrol than you like to think about and where narrow congested roads force new one- way rules which increase the commuting distance.

Even so, I am not sure how long the Reva will last. It’s a great concept and I would really like to see this ‘David’ win.

I wish the Government creates the necessary conditions to make electric or hybrid cars more popular. Reduce import duties, offer more concessions to manufacturers so that they offer their hybrid variants in India. Toyota has the Prius; Honda the Civic, Accord and Insight.

India can probably offers volumes that might make hybrids or cars that run on alternate energy viable. This might result in a win-win situation for all – on a micro level ease the burden on the user’s purse and on a macro level benefit the environment and the Indian Government’s oil bills.

Oh my gosh!!

2005-07-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

I just installed Zone Alarm with Anti Virus.

Re-booted the computer and in the last 21 minutes the firewall has blocked 228 (yes 228) access attempts.

Heavens help those that do not have a firewall!

PS: Uninstalled Norton Anti Virus even though there are a good 5 months to go before it expires.To quote McDonalds ‘i'm lovin'it’. Norton slowed the computer unbearably and just got on my nerves.

Nice Mamma

2005-07-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

Tonight my 3 year old was ensconced comfortably in my arms as I sat on the rocking chair gently rocking him to sleep.

The soothing melodious tones of Pandit Jasraj played softly in the background and the night lamp bathed us in a warm muted glow.

My son half asleep, stirred looked into my eyes and said ‘Nice’. He reflected on what he had said, smiled and confirmed ‘Nice Mamma’

Made my day. :)

Hurrah to Woman Power

2005-06-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Are women better at solving problems, more empathetic, more patient than their male counter-parts?

When we flew from Muscat to Bangalore, I forgot to request for seats on the ‘A’ row – the first row. This row of seats has more leg room and is therefore perfect for little persons who will fidget their way thru the flight, get up and down the seat innumerable times, and constantly keep changing places. This row also rules out the availability of a great ‘time-pass’ – constantly kicking the seat ahead.

Mindful of the fact that it was a night flight and wanting to disturb those around me the least, I asked the purser (male) if I could shift to Row A from Row C. Even without looking at me he said ‘Sorry, The flight is full.’

Fresh from having read ‘The Aladdin Factor’, I decided to ask once more – this time to the air-hostess. ‘Sure’ she said, ‘Go on to those two empty seats’. She requested a young girl to occupy the seats we had just vacated. Problem solved. Hurrah to woman power!

I was at a sari shop the other day and did not like any of the prints I saw. I asked the salesman if I could buy reams of plain white silk with the idea of getting them block printed myself. I also asked the salesman if he could recommend a printer.

The man hummed and hawed long-windedly (tautology?!) about getting printed saris and not plain material and how they do not deal with printers directly. Then the lady next to him interjected and said she could place a special order for the materials for me. She told me of 2 printers. About 2 short sentences. Problem solved. Hurrah to woman power.

Yesterday I was at BSNL. BSNL is the Omantel of Bangalore. I had been directed to this office by the helpful call centre and obviously the chap at the call centre had all his facts wrong.

The lady at the counter called up the right office, found out what I needed to do, gave me a form to fill up and offered to have it delivered to the right place. Problem solved. Hurrah to woman power!

I watched this lady patiently explain the procedures to a young boy who wanted to cancel a landline registered in the name of his recently deceased mother and take a mobile connection instead. She helped the boy fill up forms, directed him to the right persons and the boy must have gone home with the job done.

In the meantime, the phone rang. This lady was busy but 3 men alongside were not. They did nothing to answer the phone.

The person in charge of the office passed by. Clearly irritated at what she saw, she directed the men to answer the phone. As she walked away, the men debated who should answer the phone. Seniority won. The junior most amongst them picked up the phone. He could not handle the query and asked the others about it. They told him to transfer the call to another person. This he did with alacrity. Putting the phone down he continued where he left off – chatting with his colleagues.

Hurrah to woman power. Next time you want a job done you know whom to approach.

Hail the new world order. China and India are not the only emerging super powers. The women have arrived. And the world is going to be a better place because of it. Doubtless Jacques Sauniere would be pleased.

Choosing Airlines

2005-06-14T01:36:00.000-07:00

We have friends that are very brand conscious. And so when it comes to choosing airlines, it is invariably nothing less than the Emirates. Never mind if that means having to fly to Dubai and wait for a connection and wait some for another connection in another airport before finally boarding the plane that will take you home.

They did all this even when they had 2 kids, both under 5 years..

I like my comforts as much as Epicurus did but I will gladly trade in the comforts of a personal TV or a meal prepared by an in-flight chef for the shortest, direct flight back home. Especially now, when part of my hand baggage includes an active and inquisitive 3 year old..

Curious to know how others choose airlines. Is it connectivity, time of take-off or landing, better service….?.

Sharing

2005-06-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

I am in Bangalore now and using my Dad’s computer. It’s driving me crazy. I miss my computer. My settings. My bookmarks. Firefox. The way my e-mail is organized.

I now understand why the husband goes ‘Waugh…’ every time he is on my computer. His irritation at the ‘large’ number of icons on the task bar which ‘slows’ the computer. Or why Word does not have the blue background. And particularly over the ‘useless’ programmes I collect and like to use – I have this cool programme for instance, which simulates the tapping sounds of a manual typewriter which the husband thinks is absolutely juvenile.

How difficult is it for you to ‘adjust’ to another computer?

Hay Al Rahba

2005-06-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

We stay at the Hay Al Rahba complex in Al Khuwair Muscat.

What I like most the complex where we stay is the fact that it so green. Green in more than just the visual sense.

Green it is, even now when night time temperatures reach 42 C.

. The play areas are covered with a nice green lawn. The roads are lined with date palms that are now heavy with ripening fruit. Lemon trees that will soon be full of and I mean full of the most luscious lemons you can see. Shrubs full of white flowers, neem trees, the basil, hibiscus .....I could go on.

. Going for a walk in the complex is pleasure and oftentimes the bonus is a whiff of Jasmine or the Rangoon Creeper (what we call Honey Suckle in India).

.
. Now comes the unglamorous part.

There is also a septic tank at the far end of the complex. All sewage water is piped into the septic tank. Additionally, tankers bring in the sewage water from other properties of the group that owns this complex.

The sewage water is treated and piped right back to the gardens. There is a robust drip irrigation system and with a turn of the tap, the long stretches of trees and shrubs can have their fill of water.

And our eyes, often blinded by the brilliant sunshine and the bright blue skies, can drink in the soothing green.

Hurray to some excellent waster water management.

Portulaca re-visited!

2005-06-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

I snapped a few Portulaca stems when I visited a friend.I stuck it in a pot on the kitchen window, watered it and forgot all about it.

Today morning, the brat excitedly dragged me to the kitchen telling me he had a 'suppise' to show me.

Voila!! Portulca flowers in bloom!! Posting a few pictures taken by the husband.

Portulaca in bloom

2005-06-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

Portulaca in bloom

2005-06-09T04:09:00.001-07:00

Portulaca in bloom

2005-06-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

Immature?

2005-06-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

Pizza Hut is disappointed with Indians.

The Economic Times reports that after conducting a study, Pizza Hut finds "... Indian consumers are not very mature.''

Why? Because ''Out of 90 meals in a month, pizza hardly occupies a place." Funny logic. Just because the Indian does not eat sufficient pizza, they are labeled as 'not mature'.

Pizza Hut probably finds Indians troublesome too.

The study revealed that freshness of food was very important to Indians, many of whom who saw the previous day's food as stale and discarded it.

This has forced Pizza Hut to launch a new product range called 'Freshizza' in an effort to get people to think of Pizza Hut's offering as fresh.

Other than lettuce, capsicum, tomato and onion, nothing that the fast food chains in the Middle East serve is fresh. Most of the buns for the burgers are made in Saudi Arabia and shipped out to the GCC region. Ditto with pizza bases and the meat patties. They are made elsewhere, frozen and shipped out. All this is in the name of, quality (same standards everywhere), cost and convenience. Subway, I think, sends frozen dough from America. The outlets just thaw and heat and serve.

And nobody seems to have a problem with that. Which suits Pizza Hut just fine!

Vroom.......Dubai

2005-06-06T03:55:00.000-07:00

By most standards we took forever to reach Dubai.

A friend does it in less than three and half hours. (Dubai is approximately 450 kms away from Muscat.)

The husband drove for most part at a steady 150 kms. I am slower, happiest at 120 with bursts of 130 kms.

At those speeds we were overtaken by an assortment of vehicles. Obviously.

Sure enough the SUVs whizzed past. So did the larger cars. But what surprised me was the way the compacts zoomed ahead. A beat up Civic, a Daewoo Matiz (no kidding), Toyota Echos'.. all whooshed past. These cars must have been going at 160 kms at the very least since we were going at 150 kms and these cars soon disappeared from sight.

A 160 kms in a Matiz? It mustn't be very comfortable. That apart, is it wise?

But my favorite was the lady at the wheel of a Beetle. She overtook everybody, small and big, and consistently drove at speeds of above 160 kms. We first saw her near Sohar and then followed her right up to Muscat when we lost her. More power to her and yes.... safe driving.

What speeds are you happiest with? As for me, at the smaller roads its never more than 80 and on the arterial Sultan Qaboos Highway max 120 kms.

Road trip to Dubai

2005-06-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

An unexpected bonus about the road trip to Dubai is the greenery!

Drive out of Muscat and soon the landscape is dotted with orchards full of date palms, banana plants and even mango trees apart from scattered patches of green vegetable gardens.

The Neem trees that line the road near Sohar are tall and proud, you see the red of the 'Gul-Mohurs' and the yellow of the Acacia (?). You also many many bales of hay. Somebeing carried on the head by Omani women and children!

At a village before Sohar, we saw kids on scooters - there is probably a market here for robust two-wheelers!

Around noon, there was this bunch of kids racing home on their bicycles - school had probably closed!

It was cooler as we got away from Muscat but hot nonetheless. This did not seem to deter people and the marketplace at Sohar was bustling with activity.

Amazingly the entire stretch almost until the Walaja Crossing is inhabited.

I was very impressed with the Walaja border crossing. Impressive gates and you stop near the window and your papers are processed within minutes, without your having to get out of the car or the officer having to get out of his cabin. A great plus when the outside temperature is a blistering 43 C!

In contrast, the UAE border crossing is tacky. Porta cabins, roads with pot holes and you have to park your car and walk to the porta cabin and wait your turn outside in the heat.

We ended up waiting for almost 45 minutes and were turned back because the official at the Walaja crossing had forgotten to stamp the brat's passport. So much for first impressions!!

But the officials at both the places were very courteous and I suppose such things happen - maybe the guy at Walaja was having a bad hair day! Still, we ended up wasting almost a hour and a half.

It gets quite mountainous near Walaja and beyond the UAE border. I wonder if these are the Ras Al Khaima mountain ranges that received snow last winter?

And it is here that we saw a stream of water, small stream but water nonetheless, flowing in a 'Wadi'. Just imagine a stream of water at the height of summer in the middle of the desert!

Cross into the UAE border and suddenly you see a Al Maha petrol bunk and a Shell petrol bunk on the other side. We were quite confused because we thought we had left Oman behind! I suppose there is a stretch of Oman that abuts into the UAE border.

Come UAE and the dunes soon catch up. There are a few patches of vegetation but for most part it is desert land. At Hatta you see the roadside shops selling clay pots and carpets and the shops are not air conditioned. I never see these pots in Muscat which is strange because the Omani Souk in Doha was full of them.

Go on some more and the city begins to make its presence felt. We saw a drycleaners shop - very curious about that unless the people from Hatta village frequent it.

The giant hoardings loom into view - they are being built just now, and you realize you are into the commercial capital of the region.

The jargon changes and you hear about interchanges and underpasses and freeways and so on. If you are driving for the first time to Dubai, that's when you have a pang and get withdrawal symptoms for Sultan Qaboos Highway!!

Pity we had put away the camera in the boot, otherwise I would have interspersed with pictures.

Learning languages

2005-05-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

Although I speak 4 languages fluently and can get by in another 2, English is the only language I read in.

Which is a shame really because there is so much out there that I am obviously missing.

At school, at one point, I was studying 4 languages –

1. English the medium of instruction.

2. Hindi as a second language

3. Gujarati as a third language and finally

4. Sanskrit as a special language.

I also had a mother that subscribed to the Hindi edition of ‘Chandamama’ just so that I would develop a love for the language.

In spite of all this, the only language I read in is English. I think there are plenty like me.

Apart from labeling me dumb or as some would, a snob (a KaalaaGoraa !), I think its because of the way we were taught the languages.

Instead of forcing us to pass exams in them, maybe we could have had fun with them – maybe put up plays in the language or collect songs…...

I still get the jitters when I think of the ISC Hindi exams – we had to go thru some real obscure, heavy stuff, it was so boring and out of context with our lives, it put us off completely and in doing so put us off Hindi.

Instead, I wish the curriculum required a study of the movies of Bimal Roy or Gurudutt (both y favorites!). We would have watched all the movies (very enjoyable) then, discussed them and in doing that got a better insight in the traditions and thinking of India, been exposed to a variety of subjects which would have broadened our horizons and in the bargain we would all have been fluent in Hindi..

Thank you Al Fair (Sasi)

2005-05-31T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of play school for my son. With this, I think the ‘baby phase’ of my son’s life is truly over and I must start thinking of the brat as a small boy.

There was a party at his school – Al Shumus and we were asked to provide for some 20 odd pieces of cake.

I took the easy way out and picked the chocolate cake in Al Fair. Fresh from reading ‘The Aladdin Factor’ (by the Chicken Soup people), I asked the ever smiling baker at Al Fair’s Sarooj outlet if he could, instead of the usual icing pattern, draw a smiley on each of the cakes. To my delight he agreed, took my name and phone number down and I was to collect the cakes the next day.

The husband collected the cakes yesterday and there they were some 20 odd pieces with a cheerful face on every single one of them!

My son was charmed to see the cakes and I hope it made some 20 other toddlers happy too.

This is just to say thank you to Sasi for having gone the extra mile to make a farewell party just a little nicer for a group of kids. May his tribe increase!

In praise of the Portulaca

2005-05-29T04:36:00.000-07:00

Take a somewhat inept gardener and add to that the harsh desert summer. Sounds like a sure fire recipe for failure? Nope. Not if you have the Portulaca!!

I discovered the Portulaca during my first summer in Qatar. To give an idea of how bad summers can be - I could wash my pair of jeans and hang them outside to dry, come in to take a shower by which time my jeans would be totally dry - ready to wear!

As we were wilting in the near 50 C heat, the round abouts' (traffic circles) and the flower beds along the Doha Corniche would be resplendent with the happiest flowers I ever saw! In vibrant shades of yellow, red, white & orange.They were the Portulaca.

Inspired, I planted Potulacas along a barren flowerbed and in less than a month they were flowering. The leaves are a shiny succulent green and the small 1-inch flowers come in many colours.

Soon we had a flower bed that was all yellow and red and white interspersed by a little green. It edged our lawn and the effect was truly stunning. As the weather cooled, the Portulacas had a steady stream of admirer - the sparrows came and so did the bees and the butterflies.

Also known as the Moss Rose or Purslane, the Portulaca is a low growing perennial that grows sideward rather than upwards. It therefore makes for an ideal ground cover. Use it to frame a lawn. Or hide a rocky part of your garden. Anywhere.

All you need to start off is a few cuttings of the plant. The plant is not too fussy about soil, but adding some manure to the soil if you live in the Gulf is a good idea. Choose a sunny spot.

Try this plant out folks. It asks very little of you. Plant it in the most inhospitable spot of your garden or balcony. One that receives lots and lots of sun. Colour co-ordinate it or go in for a riot of colours or choose just one colour. Water it every now and then and wait for the magic. You will soon be greeted by a cascade of flowers and your mornings will never be the same again.

The regular variety tends to shut shop by noon but the hybrids remain open all day long.

An Aside:

Please direct me to a nursery in Muscat. We live in Al Khuwair.

My neighbour tells me I need to go to Seeb which is some 40 kms away because that's where the nurseries are. Isn't there anything closer by?

Sunil Dutt

2005-05-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Its rare for a politician to be known for his integrity and honesty. But that's what everybody said of Sunil Dutt.

I cannot think of a better way to be remembered than as a honest, caring, sincere person who made peace a lifelong mission.

To me, Sunil Dutt will forever be the sensitive Adheer Babu of Sujata, who fell in love with the low-caste Sujata, stuck to his conviction that love knows no caste and what's more married her in the end.

In a way perhaps he did just that in real life. Nargis was the daughter of JaddanBai, a famous tawaif (courtesan) of Benaras who acted in movies also. I do not think, it was ever established who Nargis's father was. And that, I am sure never mattered to Sunil Dutt.

I wonder why we do not highlight the goodness of people whilst they are alive. It would make such a welcome change from what the newspapers are usually full of -people getting killed, scandals, hypocrisy.. It's all so depressing.

It would be so inspiring to read of people whose lives were destroyed more than once yet picked themselves up and went on to scale higher heights.

The trauma of partition, the struggle for recognition, loss of a dearly beloved wife to cancer, a son's drug addiction, worse the same son's alleged involvement in the Bombay bomb blasts and subsequent imprisonment, the isolation that followed could have broken the man yet Sunil Dutt bounced back each time.

Rest in peace Sunil Dutt. You have earned it. On a lighter vein, today's Economic Times has an obituary which wishes the deceased 'Bon Voyage & Eternal Peace'. Amen to that!

The Middle East Diaries: Creation of Wealth

2005-05-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

If Xerox is synonymous with photocopiers, Jeep with 4-wheel drives, the oil rich Gulf countries are synonymous with lavish lifestyles of people with more money than they can count.

True, not all the Gulf countries are created equal. Some are richer than the others, but poverty as we know of it in India is absent.

No one goes hungry. Everybody has access to education, medical aid and everybody can hope to build a house in their life times.

This is remarkable considering even just 50 years ago this was wasteland. For instance, Qatar does not have any large potable water source nor is it located near any potable water body. One can only imagine how hard life must have been in the times before oil.

The paradox is Nigeria, Venezuela, Iraq, Russia.. countries that have oil and much more. But their development is nowhere near the scale of what you see in the Middle East.

Not that the Middle East regimes are utopian. They are autocratic and even repressive.

Like the erstwhile caste system in India where one group of people were more equal than others, a similar structure exists here also. For instance, in Qatar the members of the ruling Al-Thani tribe are very definitely the Brahmins.

Woes begone if you are not a member of that tribe or the other important tribes like the Al Attiyah, or Al Misnad ... You can forget about landing any major contract or assignment or of ever occupying centre stage in the country.

I am told its similar in other countries. In Oman they call it 'Wasta' roughly translated to mean influence or power.

But that said, no body ever goes hungry here and by and large every parent can buy his child a new dress for Eid. The infrastructure is in place and the monies from oil has tangibly benefited the last person.

Some have benefited more, much more than the others. But even then its saying quite a lot for the regimes of the Middle East. Just look at the mess in Nigeria or Iraq.

The Middle East Diaries - What's it with them?

2005-05-24T01:12:00.000-07:00

The Middle East is teeming with Indians.

Meet another Indian, especially the female of the kind, and chances are, big chances, in fact 98% chances are the conversation will go something like this.

'Are you working?'

If the answer is yes, you are bombarded with 'Where'', ''For how long'' and even ''As what''.

In my case, I don't work so the cross examination proceeds directly to 'Is your husband working?' .

I find this question strange. Most husbands work. Even if they did not, it's really nobody's business. But what foxes me even more is the absurdity of the question - if I don't work and my husband does not work, how come we live in the Gulf ?

The good lady, like the Ancient Mariner, proceeds unperturbed. Where? As What? For how long? One even asked me his qualifications.

What's up with these people? Note none of them ever asked my name.

Last week I was at this Indian School, considered to be the best in Muscat.

The teacher that was assigned to show us around began in the same way. I told her its my son applying for admission not my husband but the sarcasm was lost on her.

When she continued, I told her it did not matter where my husband works, but I would be happy to answer questions about my son. She got very uptight and afterwards I had to leave since it became apparent it was not a meeting of the minds.

I don't know how to counter this phenomenon. It happens to me all the time. Lately by Pakistanis as well - they assume I am one of them.

I am normally too polite to cut people off and say it does not matter, like I did with the school teacher. ( Must be the Tom and Jerry effect ;) ! )

Any suggestions? In the meantime, I think I will tell people, in a hushed, my husband.. he works for the CIA...

On second thoughts, that might land me in jail if a suicide bomber has not got to me first!

Life Imprisonment only 14 years?

2005-05-21T06:03:00.000-07:00

Even if it took 11 long years, its good to hear that justice prevailed and Murli Manohar Mishra (the self styled Swami Shradananda) has been handed the death sentence. I hope he hangs.

For those that do not know, Misra murdered his wife Shakereh, a very wealthy lady, grand-daughter of Dewan Mirza Ismail who did Bangalore so much good.

It appears Misra first drugged Shakereh and then put her in a box and buried the box in the garden / courtyeard. Shakereh was not dead at the time and it appears she struggled to get out of her impossible situation and she must have had a frightening, horrible, slow death.

Misra maintained his wife had disappeared but the crime came to light about two years after it was committed when one of those that helped to bury the box shot his mouth off and Misra was arrested and jailed.

His time in jail has been pleasant from what we hear and he apparently wielded a lot of power and influence. I remember reading about him conducting meditation classes!!

NDTV said Misra has confessed to the guilt but will appeal for a commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment.

His line of reasoning? "I'm over 60 years old. I've suffered from hernia and a cardiac arrest. I have arthritis, blood pressure and diabetes. I have a 96-year-old father to take care of. I won the Best Prisoner of the Year award."

Shakereh was still in her prime with two young daughters to look after but Misra went ahead and murdered her anyway.

The higher courts need to ratify the death sentence and Misra is appealing. Given the track record of Indian Courts, it will be a long time before this case is settled.

And if he is given the life sentence, he will walk free in another 3 years. If I am not mistaken, life term in the Indian judicial system means 14 years. Misra has already been in jail as a under trial for 11 years so he has just another 3 years to go before he can walk out a free man. That's gross injustice.

I think life term should be just that - till death not a measly 14 years.

And in this particular case, I hope the Indian Courts act swiftly and confirm the death sentence.

Not sure, but this will probably be Karnataka's first instance of capital punishment since Independence.

Tom, Jerry and their ilk.

2005-05-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

I am appalled by what I see on Cartoon Network.

And even more appalled that a leading school in Muscat, as a treat, allows their kindergarteners to watch "Tom and Jerry, mostly. Also other cartoons like Cinderella''.

I spoke with the Vice-Principal of the school today and he laughed at my concern saying even he watches Tom and Jerry.

That's precisely the point. He is an adult, he can absorb the antics of Tom and Jerry. Can a 3 year old? And in any case it's a silly argument - toddlers do not need to watch what the Vice-Principal watches.

The entire Tom and Jerry show revolves around who bashes up whom. Cinderella is about a wicked step mother.

How do you explain to a three year old that it's funny when Jerry bashes up Tom but its absolutely not ok to beat, push or frighten a friend? How do you explain wicked step-mothers to kids that age?

I think cartoons these days have just too much violence. I am generalizing here, but Cartoon Network is full of odd, turbo-powered characters some of which are not even pleasant to look at. Very often the characters are mean, menacing even frenzied.

At home, we stick to videos, the brat does not know Cartoon Network exists. He mostly watches stuff like the lovable Pooh, Bob the Builder, Richard Scarry, Noddy..

The characters in these shows are gentle and kind, they say their please and thank-yous, the story-line is simple, action not too fast paced, no character throws anything at body and nobody gets hurt. And if anybody does get hurt the rest hurry to show compassion.

Muscati, in his blog (a great read folks, check it out) had deplored ''Warner Bros. has created angular, slightly menacing-looking versions of the classic Looney Tunes characters for its new series.''

Menacing-looking cartoons for little kids? Just does not make sense.

There I go being the Round Peg again. ..

An Aside

Lars the Polar Bear - A Wonderful Discovery.

We accidentally discovered Lars the Polar Bear when the husband picked up a DVD on a whim.

This utterly charming DVD consists of 13 episodes about adventures of a little polar bear Lars and his friend Lena the Artic Hare and Pieps the Snow Goose.

Created by Hans de Beer, this character is sure to be a favourite with your preschooler. There are plenty of books and 2 DVDs' available. I have not seen the books either in Muscat or Bangalore so I guess the only recourse is Amazon or piling on to relatives!

DVD available in Muscat at Carrefour and Toys'RUs.

Cartoon Network India

The Cartoon Network referred to is what I see in Muscat. The India programming is different - better. It has some good shows like Postman Pat, The Little Red Tractor... The POGO channel is good too.

What's more, these shows are available in 2 languages - the original English and dubbed in Hindi. I must say though, that the Hindi version sounds a bit contrived. Mercifully, our Cable operator switched back to English after killing us for a few days with the Hindi feed.

To birthday or not to birthday

2005-05-16T00:57:00.000-07:00

Today we are celebrating the brat's birthday at his playschool Al Shumus, a place I cannot praise enough.

As he entered school, he was greeted with a chorus of happy birthdays and the teachers had decorated the room for him.

He began the day with phone calls - his grandparents called, his doting grand aunt called, cousins called.. and the brat has been wearing a big goofy wide-eyed grin ever since!!!

But today is not the brat's birthday today at all!

At school, he has been watching other children cut a fancy cake, blow out candles and the entire class sing the Happy Birthday song . For the past few months we have been having several pretend parties where I would be one of his beloved teachers and he would be the birthday boy!!

So the husband and I decided to indulge him and have a birthday party at school - his first ever birthday party!

Not that we did not mark his birthdays and other milestones but it was all done on a very low key with just the family being there. Lot of love, all his favorites (food and people!!), it's just that the elaborate cake cutting ceremony and candles were missing...much to the disgust of my cousin who took it upon himself to organize a small party when the brat turned one!

Traditionally, the first birthday is marked with a big celebration. That's when everybody has a great time.... except the baby!

A million strangers pinch the poor baby's cheeks and the baby usually falls asleep, exhausted by the noise, the people and the festivities about him.

We waited till the brat was a little more grown up when he could enjoy, plan and look forward to his party. Which is what happened.

The brat chose the cake himself - a 'digger' cake with construction equipment strewn about it, mango juice, chips and 'bikets'. He also chose the paper napkins - a real gaudy red that would put a fire engine to shame.

I now wait for the brat to come home and give me his account of the big day and to see pictures the teachers will hopefully have taken.

What did you guys do / plan to do for the little ones?

Do you think babies and toddlers enjoy big parties or should we wait till they are 3 to have a party with all their friends and favoritefoods and games thrown in?

An aside

Incidentally, the cake was from Al Bustan Bakery near Al Khamis Plaza. Personally, I was disappointed with the variety they had but my son loved the 'digger cake' and I guess that's what matters!!

And incidentally once again, Sultan Centre is the pits when it comes to choosing party items. Much to my surprise Lulu Hypermarket had a great selection. Of course, I did not even bother to check out any of the AlFairs.

The begining

2005-05-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed reading blogs and finally decided to take the plunge and start one. I hope I have the commitment and the matter (!) to be able to keep a steady stream of posts. This is a trial really, to get a hang of things.