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.

The Working Week That Was: Sunday 4th March to Wednesday, 7th March, 2012

As is the usual case, once the working week starts, there is nothing exciting that one encounters in Al Moweh. As this was my on-call week, I was, for the most part of the mornings and afternoon, free to pursue my reading and/or writing activities, but, in the end, being the creature of habit, I loafed around the hospital, sitting in the ER with the doctors there, or spending time surfing the net, or visiting with any of the OPD doctors who were free at a given point in time. I did study, but, compared to the time spent doing all the other things, my studies amounted to almost nothing. I solved about a hundred MCQs in all, and scored about 70% overall, which is not at all comforting. I realized that I would have to read a lot more than I had thought previously.

To those who are yet unaware, I have to clear an examination conducted by Prometrics, the international examination experts on behalf of the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, before I can be certified and accredited as a Pediatrician and given a licence to work in this country. It does seem an unfair thing to do, as one comes to this country after considerable expense and is taken in and given a visa only after the verification of our certificates and credentials from our home country (India in my case), thus, there should be no need to re-examine us after we have started working here. However, this is how the penny drops in this country, and I have no choice in the matter. In fact, they will allow me a second chance at the exam should I fail to clear it the first time, but both my attempts have to be completed before the 23^rd of May 2012.

In the most unlikely case of my not passing the exam in the second attempt, I would get a final chance to appear before the end of my contract in November 2012, but there would have to be the need for the hospital to state that they needed me, and I would have to pay the examination and council fees all over again (a hefty sum of SAR 2250/= or almost INR 30000/=.

My emergency evenings were moderate, but many of the evening calls to see patients in the ER led to admissions of the children to the indoor department. This unusual thing happened because of the widely fluctuating weather conditions over the past week; we had alternating bouts of biting cold and nauseating heat conditions that probably resulted in a significant rise in infective conditions  among the mostly unhygienically brought up children of this locality.

I did not cook anything significant over the week except for mixed vegetables on Sunday and a mind-blowing masoor pulao with kadhI on Monday. On Tuesday evening, I had fish curry and dosai at the south Indian restaurant on the highway. I intend to do some serious cooking over the weekend that approaches.

I learned from my own family that the renovation of the parlour was almost done and Nishrin has begun to take clients in her newly refurbished place already. My daughter Hans has reached the fag-end of her examinations and is looking forward to being released from the stress cycle she is in for the last 1 ½ years … within a few days from writing this. Dad has been having the asthmatic attack for the last almost one week and is taking treatment with Dr. Saifee Savliwala. As to Inas, her training is progressing satisfactorily, and as per her own telling of it, she is enjoying this very much.

Let me now move on to a disclosure of my own plans for the coming months. After sitting for the Council examination in the second week of April, I am planning for a split holiday to India some time in mid-May. This is something that I am looking forward to. After my return from there, I shall plunge myself into studying for the examinations for the MRCPCH qualification of the UK. That’s it for now. And yes, if possible, I will perform the Haj this year, and if not, pray that I am able to do so the next year.

Day 76, Monday, 30th January, 2012

Dear Readers,


Two and a half months have passed since I came to Saudi Arabia to meet my immediate and medium-term objectives: to earn more money, to perform Umrah, and if possible, Haj, and to study and appear for the MRCPCH examinations ... and qualify as a member of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, U.K. 


Those of you who have been reading this blog regularly must already know that I have performed the Umrah within a week of my arrival in this country. The earnings have also begun, and I plan to transfer the first tranche of my earnings to India within a day or two. As for the last objective, I have been reading, though not substantially as of now. I may appear for the first part of the exams in October 2012 when I visit India for my first year-end vacation. This will depend also on whether I clear the Saudi Council exam which will give me the necessary accreditation to practice in this country. 


Today, there was a general sense of lethargy in the hospital as most of the Saudis came in late on account of the party the previous night (read my entry for day 75). The doctors, however, were on time, and we had a relatively light day in the OPD. 


Dr. Niaz Qureshi, the Pakistani OB-GY doctor, who is also my room-mate, is planning to leave tomorrow for his month-long vacation to his homeland in Multan, Pakistan. I have decided to go with him to Ta'if, then onward to Mecca to perform Umrah, and then, onward to Jeddah, from where he would fly off to Pakistan and I would go to Juzer's house to spend a few days with his family. I also intend to buy a mobile phone for myself (sorry, Dr. Muhbeen, but I have to do this). 


I prepared for the departure in the evening, purchasing things I needed, packing my small bag, and so on. I am so looking forward to the next day.


Signing off for now.