Every day something new :-(

Readers are sure to wonder why I put that sad emoticon next to the title of this entry. Dear readers, I am going to tell you in a moment. But first, I must share some very important bit of news. In fact, this is a once-in-a-lifetime change that is occurring in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: their weekend is now changed from Thursday-Friday to Friday-Saturday with immediate effect. This means that we will now enjoy weekly offs on Friday and Saturday. This is in keeping with banking on-off days in the rest of the Arab World, and the need to synchronise their business days with neighboring as well as globally relevant countries.

As a direct consequence of this, we will have an extended weekend this time, with three days of off for specialists and senior staff. The OPD will resume, not on Saturday, but on Sunday!

Okay, so we had yet another barbecue session yesterday, i.e. on Tuesday evening. This time, the tab was on me, as I was treating a few doctors on my clearing the Part 2 MRCPCH examinations. I purchased two sealed packets of chicken drumsticks and marinated them with salt and black pepper (this gives just a mild pungency to the dish - that is just enough for the Arab palate); I also prepared a salad with cucumber, tomatoes, olive oil and lettuce leaves (finely chopped). This time, since I was the host, I also brought water, a packet of plastic plates (disposable), tissue paper and Arabian bread (khubbs). Dr. Measser brought with him some more serving items, tea, some wood for the barbecue (I had also taken some wood with me) and assorted items like some cutlery, his barbecue instruments (see one of those things in action in my previous barbecue posts).

Let me now come to the title of this entry. The unnerving event of the day was that after I had returned from the hospital after work, I was called back to the hospital by the resident to see a patient. When I left my house to walk to the car, I discovered, to my utter horror, that someone or the other had broken the rear windshield of my car! I kept staring at the damage, unable to believe that someone would like to attack such an old car. 

I attended to the patient, then went to the police station and registered a complaint against persons unknown for damaging my windshield. Thereafter, I went to a car repairs shop - the guy there usually fixes sun-control films over cars. I asked him if he had a sheet of plastic that could be put on the rear window to prevent unforeseen repeat violence on my car and unforced entry. He said he did; accordingly, after my acquiescence on the monetary transaction (SR 50), he attached a large plastic to occlude my rear window. This should be okay for the time being, as I would be visiting T'aif in a few days, when I could get a new glass fitted into the car. 

Thus, as I stated in the title, everyday something new in the Kingdom.

A meeting with Dr. Muzaffar Shakeel; yet another barbecue.

Dear Readers,

Thank you all for being my regular readers. I am encouraged greatly by your visits to create a page for my blog on Facebook. You can find the page HERE. The last few days have been eventful. For some months now, I have been in touch with Dr. Muzaffar Shakeel. He is a Hyderabadi Indian staying at Abha in Saudi Arabia with his family. Armed with the medical degree, he has also cleared the Diploma in Health Administration from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (page). The good doctor's wife is working in Saudi Arabia, and he is being a good spouse, parent and so on to his family. However, as he told me when I met him, he does intend to work in the capacity of Hospital Admin, once he has completed some additional qualifications.

So, how did this first meeting of two internet pals come about? Dr. Shakeel is a ghumakkar (traveller) just like me and decided to take a solo car trip of more than 1200 km from Abha to Riyadh.

Dr. Shakeel at my house

He was in touch with me before doing so, and he started out on Friday, the 14th of June early in the morning. Travelling for the first time on uncharted roads, he finally made it to Al Muwayh in the evening. I offered him my home to rest overnight before proceeding further, and he accepted most graciously. Accordingly, we spent Friday night at my place. I took him on a "tour" of Al Muwayh, and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is not a small, nondescript village (as he had believed it to be) but almost a small town. For dinner, we had thawed food from the freezer (my Mumbai-parcelled kheema-pateyvaliya) with roti.

During the course of the evening, he shared many pictures of interesting places from within the Kingdom that he has visited. It was my turn to be surprised by sights of lakes, flowers and greenery, rains and verdant hills, farms and meadows, etc. from the southern areas of Saudi Arabia. We finally slept after mid-night.

He left for his onward journey the next morning, while I went for my duty.

Saturday evening saw me joining Drs. Measser, Mohamad Abd'Jawad and Moataz Talaat for a barbecue session at the garden. 

Dr. Mohamad Abd' Jawad

Dr. Moataz Talaat

Barbecue session in full progress

Thorough fun

Our cute uninvited guest

The guest jumps for a morsel

 It was the ideal windy and balmy evening for having a great time. The chicken also turned out perfect. (Usually, it is Dr. Measser's mother and wife who marinade and dress the chicken for our barbecue sessions, and this time was no different). The difference was that unlike on the previous occasions, Dr. Sheshtawy was absent, and Drs. Mohamad and Moataz were new members of the crew. Dr. Measser not only brought the chicken, he also brought with him water, a stove to make tea, plates and spoons, and various other paraphernalia to make the evening memorable. Dr. Mohamad brought the soft drinks, while I took with me freshly cooked rice, some more plates and water and stuff that is too inconsequential (but necessary) to mention here. 

As my blog readers are aware, this was the third barbecue session I have participated in, and I am happy to report that this was perhaps the best one in terms of the climate we enjoyed, the final taste of the chicken, and the fun we all had. Thank you, Dr. Measser (and your family), for making our experience so memorable.

That's it for now.  Hope you enjoyed this entry!

A week later

I completed a year and a half in Saudi Arabia last week. Now, I am a lot more here, and a little less in India when it comes to my mental state. I still watch Indian television avidly - so it's not that I don't care about my country, if you know what I mean - but I don't lose my sleep over whether Gurunath has bet money in IPL or whether Mumbai Indians are passionate or not about winning this season of IPL; I don't get overly concerned that there is a political and ideological divide between Sonia Gandhi and MMS; I hardly think about what will happen if Mr. Chauhan, the C.M. of Maharashtra has to go to the centre one fine day.

On the other hand, my heart still bleeds when there is a violation of children and women in New Delhi; I cry when I see what terrorists do when they attack innocents in some part of the country; I enjoy the shenanigans of the good people - like athletes, do-gooders, philanthropists, etc.; I am annoyed when I see cases of corruption in the execution of public welfare schemes like the MNREGA; I smile when I see a significant impact of some good planning on a measurable parameter of social improvement; I am thrilled to see a developmental project such as a much-needed flyover or a railway crossing being opened for the benefit of the common man.

When it comes to the bottom line, yes, I believe in India more than I did over a decade ago. Last month, I actually put my money where my mouth is, and have invested in a real estate project near Mumbai. Thus, my faith in India is alive and kicking.

A week has passed since I returned from Riyadh, where I had gone to appear for the second part of the MRCPCH exams. I was on call this week, and, thankfully, there weren't many calls or late night disturbances. I have begun walking for health once again, though I went only three or four times in the last seven days. On Thursday evening, two of my friends, Dr. Measser (a Syrian resident doctor) and Dr. Sheshtawy (an Egyptian resident doctor), and I, had a barbecue session in the garden of Al Muwayh. We went at six p.m. to avoid the strong heat of the sun, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable session where we barbecued some fillets of fish (prepared by me) and a whole chicken, which we had with Egyptian rice (made by Dr. Sheshtawy) and a lovely salad (brought by Dr. Measser). We stayed there till half past eight, and then returned home. I am publishing some photos of our experience. 

Starting a fire 

Fire is now almost ready to take the food

Fanning the flames to make the fish 

Barbecuing the fish

The ready fish (Dori fillets)

The vegetable salad

The Egyptian rice

In other news, an Indian Pediatrician by the name of Nandkumar Nenekar contacted me from a place called Nazran. He was given my number and name by my Peds friend Dr. Praful Shanbag, who is based in Mumbai, and with whom the good doctor is associated. He was basically touching base with me and I enjoyed talking with him.

Okay, so what are my plans? Currently, I am mulling the idea of working full-time to complete revising my Child Care book; once the MRCPCH results come, I will know whether to study again for Part 2 or go ahead with preparing myself for the final exam which I plan to appear for next year; I am thinking about registering for an upcoming Asian-Oceanic conference on Neurology in September in Riyadh (yes, Riyadh); I am continuing to walk as the only available means to get fitter; and finally, I am working towards  visiting more places in Saudi Arabia as a tourist.

That's it for now. 

In a couple of days, I plan to go to Ta'if and Jeddah for a well-deserved break.