Middle East

People always ask me about life here in the Middle East and how the locals were. To these queries I barely knew how best to answer as I hardly had any life apart from work and where locals were concerned I barely came across them. Then this article which came out last Sat, 4th of April caught my eye. It aptly sums up the place where I live!

Trying to lift the veil on Qatar

This week Qatar hosted the annual Arab Summit in its capital Doha. It was dubbed the reconciliation summit after months of serious rifts in the Arab World. The tiny country had put the noses of some of the big players out of joint by trying to adopt the role of regional mediator, traditionally played by heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Our Middle East correspondent Katya Adler reported on the summit and set out to find out more about Qatar, one of the region's richest nations.

This was my first visit to Qatar and I admit I failed in one of my main missions, to get under the skin of the country.

On Qatar Airways, I met Filipino cabin crew.

The airport ground staff were Pakistani, the hotel receptionist, Sri Lankan, the barista who made my cappuccino on the way to the Arab Summit, Nepali.

My hunt to meet Qataris in Qatar had begun.

Statistically, foreigners in Qatar outnumber Qataris by four to one.
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Anniversary

The phone rings. Who could it be, I wonder? The watch shows 5.20am only and it's my weekend! It's my youngest brother asking me whether I had mailed back his article after editing. He wants it now...has to get to the press....on time for the State elections (back in my country) in another 2 weeks.

There's a lot of noise in the background. I am told Dad's organizing a feast today on the occasion of my grandmother's death anniversary, his mother. He's called his sisters and of course his elder brother who lives next door along with their families.

I speak to my Parents, first Dad and then Mom. Dad tells me about the feast. It's Dad & Mom's Wedding Anniversary too but he seems to have forgotten and I did not remind him. His mother's anniversary, he didn't forget. We speak for a while and then he passes the phone on to Mom.

Despairingly looking

As the recession bites, every little penny counts. Suppliers are chasing everyday for their payment. We deal with more than hundred brands and so each day there would be at least minimum 10 Suppliers chasing for their payments as well as a few phone calls asking for the same. It is getting a bit stressful dealing with payments, a task which has been thrusted on to me apart from handling logistics, IT not to mention the job that I am suppose to be doing.... Planning Merchandise!

This morning a letter which landed on my desk however made me smile in the midst of all this. It started with .....

"Dear Sirs,
We are despairingly looking for your remittance for the following invoices....."

Beside it was a picture which spoke a thousand words. It simply made me laugh!

One day...

I step out of the office.....it's been a long day.

I just wanna go home....kick off my high heels.

Get something to eat.... watch a DVD perhaps.

The sight I see....takes my breath away.

Up in the sky, in perfect formation....the birds fly.

I wonder where they are flying to.

I only wish I was flying too!

Tabbouleh

True to my sun sign...a goat...I love having greens! I love salad...all kinds of salad...vegetarian of course though I occasionally indulge in tuna salad!

However, ever since coming to the Middle East, Tabbouleh, an Arabic salad is the one which I have most often and I just love it! The basic ingredients are parsley, tomato, white onion and bulgur (crushed wheat) mixed with salt, lemon and olive oil. The Lebanese claim this salad to be their own product but I cannot vouch for this!

Some days back, one of my Assistant, a Lebanese girl had Tabbouleh brought from home for me for lunch. True to the Lebanese style, this was served with lettuce leaves! Thoroughly enjoyed my green lunch! Shukran Habibti!

Jai Ho!

Finally got to watch "Slumdog Millionaire" a film so talked of....thanks to my Boss who downloaded & copied it for me on to a USB! Jai Ho!

This is a film about a young man from the slums of Mumbai who goes on to win the Indian version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" He is arrested on the suspicipon of cheating in the show. While interrogating his life story is told and which in turn explains how he knew the answers to the questions. A film about money interwoven with love.

The film won 8 Oscars out of the 10 nominations. There has been some controversy about this film in India....about it's portrayal of India, Hinduism, persecution of Muslims as well as calling a slum dweller a Slumdog!

I liked the film...always for rags to riches romance! Always for the likes of Slumdogs....Underdogs....Jai Ho!

Zai Store!

It was not a grand opening as it should have been. The opening of our newest store had taken way too long...more than a year. We all just wanted to get it done with. Still bits and pieces left to be done...somewhere fixtures are missing and somewhere the walls have to be done.

Thursday, 22nd of Jan, the Sheikh & the Sheikha came with a few of their friends and cut the ribbon and declared the store opened. It's a huge store on 3 levels. Most of the luxurious Brands are here in the store...Ungaro, Nina Ricci, Mathew Williamson, Lanvin, Paul Smith, Zilli, Kiton, Halston, Maria Luisa and many many more.

Now, we wait to see how well the store will do. What I can say is that given the location and the current economic situation, its going to be a real challenge.

Mumbai!

After Goa, flew to Mumbai just for the weekend. It was my second visit to the city. The first was a flying visit just to attend a Dance Show and that was years back...more than 10 years. This time I vowed to see the city!

Flew in to the city, late Saturday evening, 3rd of Jan. Sunday morning, hired a car for the day and told the driver to show me around.

I had to of course visit the famous landmark of Mumbai, "The Gateway of India" which was undergoing massive renovation. The statue of Swami Vivekanand I spied at one corner in the area around the "The Gateway of India". From here motorboats were ferrying people to the Elephanta Caves. Would have loved to go to see the cave carvings but alone in that crowd I was not much up for it and so I skipped.

Nearby The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower Hotel looked real majestic. It is indeed an architectural marvel. Indeed very cruel that some bad elements had to blast a corner of it a couple of months back.

The Driver showed me other places of interests like the huge Lord Shivji's temple and Haji Ali another religious place but it was all from the outside that I saw. I couldn't have afforded to wait in the never ending queues! Being a Sunday the place was all the more crowded.

The next stop was to Bombay Chowpatty. A trip to Mumbai would be incomplete if one did not visit this famous beach in Mumbai. This is a beach for eating and not for anything else. The place is popular with all age groups. Food kiosks lines the entire length of the beach!

After Chowpatty, we drove past the mansions where the rich & the famous, the Bollywood Stars lived. The Driver reeled off names and pointed out who lived in it. There was Shahrukh Khan's "mannat", very appropraitely named for the beautiful place that he bought at an exorbitant price I believe. Somewhere along the way there was the place where Salman Khan lived!

Next, went to check a couple of the malls. Saw a whole lot of International Brands which was now available in India. I found a pretty blouse for myself!

Had planned to meet someone I knew...but then did not....could not get away....traffic... Mumbai people seem to be very busy and they seem to hate commuting. A little distance is very far! Came back to the hotel and my friend from Delhi called to join them... but then I was not going to be travelling in the middle of night in a taxi, all alone. I have had a long day touring Mumbai and the next day I was flying back to Delhi!

South Goa Tour!

I was in Goa for the first time and I wanted to see the place! So on the third day of our stay here, I booked myself for a day tour of South Goa by bus. We were staying in Calangute which is in the North of Goa and thanks to my friends all the famous beaches here were covered! So, going to see the other side made sense! None of the others were interested in the tour....all they wanted to do was lie on the beach whole day long just drinking & eating & drinking some more!

Boarded the bus around 9am from Calangute. The drive itself was nice and the beautiful weather helped! We headed to Panaji and stopped for a while at Miramar Beach while we waited for some more passengers to join the tour.

Then off we went to see the South. This was old Goa. The Portuguese were here long long time ago and they built many beautiful churches but the influence of the Indian artisans could be seen in the architecture.

The tour first takes us to Basilica of Bom Jesus which holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier. The body of the Saint is here on display in a silver casket and it is said that the body is as fresh as the day it was buried. The Saint is said to have miraculous powers of healing and so pilgrims come from all over the country.


Then on the other side of the road, we walk down to Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina. This cathedral is dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria and is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and also one of the largest churches in Asia. This was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese army over a Muslim army leading to the capture of Goa. It was on the day of the feast of Saint Catherine, hence the cathedral was dedicated to her.


The tour then continues to the famous two temples in the South. First was the temple of Shri Manguesh at Priol. I am told that this is the ancestral village of the famous Mangeshkar Family of India (Lata Mangeshkar, Nightingale of India and her equally accomplished playback singer, Asha Bhosle).


Then onwards to the temple of Shree Shantadurga at Kavale. It is believed that there was a fierce war between Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu which sent the world into turmoil. Lord Brahma prayed and asked Goddess Durga to stop the war before the world comes to an end. The Goddess held Lord Shiva on one hand and on the other Lord Vishnu and brought a reconcilation thus bringing peace to the world once again.

After a brief halt along the way for lunch, we proceed too see Ancestral Goa at Loutolim. The tour only had time for us to see an old Portuguese Mansion. Got eductaed on how the Portuguese lived in style back in those days!

Then the last place to see was the Colva Beach. It was really crowded with tourists from all over India. There were less of foreigners here unlike the other beaches that I had visited.

After a full 12 hours of South Goa, the Bus brings us back to where we started. As I walk back to the hotel from the Tour Agency's Office, my friends pick me up on the way. We head for one of the many lovely bar/restaurant, "Cavala". They had a Live Band playing such wonderful music and singing old time favourites! We were at a bar for some time just enjoying the music, the band. Then for dinner we head to "The Fiesta" and I am glad we did. This is a beautiful place and I just felt in love with the place. It's an open air restaurant bulit on different levels with lovely nooks & corners. Very pretty and very well maintained. The food was equally very good!

All in all, a really wonderful day!

Sunset at Anguna Beach, Goa!

....as I walked by the beach...alone...thinking....could not help but capturing the glorious sunset. 1st Jan 2009.