How far I have come in the past one year

Most of my followers are on the more active blog http://drtaherofarabia.blogspot.com, and I, too, have paid little attention to this, a much more important blog as this is reflective and will endure beyond my tenure in Saudi Arabia, beyond my work as a Pediatrician, and perhaps, beyond my life. Hence, I decided to make a fresh entry here and perhaps get more people to check out this blog and its very interesting entries. 

First of all, let me say that my stay away from my home and my family caused many changes to happen to me as well as to my family members. This entry, however, is about me. To be honest, a few of the changes have been unnerving, to say the least. For example, coming into more money has made me realise what I have missed until now, and has made me splurge on several unnecessary things. I have bought many more clothes than I really need. I have splurged on electronic gizmos - I now have the latest smartphone and ALSO a Kindle. My laptop is a Dell touch-screen computer with a 15" screen. I keep drooling at electronic merchandise whenever I am near a shop or a market that sells these things, and I do not feel guilty when I buy something that I don't really need as of this moment. 

During my last trip to SE Asia, my Canon DSLR camera broke down, and I rushed to purchase - yes, purchase a NEW Canon DSLR - such has been my profligacy! 

Moving now to the positive things that have happened to me: 

- I have become a bit more pensive, less short-tempered, more loving and more reflective.
- I have become more patient and tolerant of others' weaknesses and stupidity.
- My thoughts are more inclusive, i.e. I now think more globally when I think about people, events, personalities, and problems.
- I have come to understand that even when I was with my family, I could not really control my daughters' fancies or plans, so why worry so much about this ... Allah will take care of them!
- I can speak a fairly good level of Arabic and can continue a conversation for at least five to ten minutes with someone to whom this language is native.
- I can identify with the problems of others, which, by the way, are not always of a financial nature. Let me add here that financial problems CAN create non-financial ones!
- I have observed the way Arabs live and can now understand why they behave the way they do: whether it is about their food, their mania for football, their love of olives and cheese, their begetting at least three offspring and many-a-times 4 or even more, etc.
- I now know that Saudis are as, if not more, intelligent than people from any other nation of the world, and of nothing else, they have managed to advance their country's infrastructure, development, achievements and progress by recruiting the best talent from around the world --- and for this, I respect them.

Knowing these things has improved me as a person, and I am grateful to Allah for this.

There have been many material changes too. I now enjoy cuisine from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and Syria, doses of which I have been exposed to over the past 2+ years. I still remember how I hated their food - this was just 2 years ago! Now, I actually relish many of their foods. Not just that, I even cook my Indian food with less chilly and other spices!

I guess this brings this entry to an end. I would love to write more, and perhaps I will, over the next few weeks. Do tell your friends and family to also read this blog and help me to save it from oblivion! I would appreciate your comments. Do write them and start a meaningful dialogue. Thank you.

Status quo ... but some winds of change ...

During my India vacations, I have been reading a bit about the social advancement of Saudi Arabia. Knowledge of how it was made by King Abdul Aziz Al Saud has enabled me to understand its tumultous origins; how the king went about uniting the various tribes that moved criss-cross across its surface, how the king finally established a Kingdom named after his family, how his descendants have carried the torch forward, not withstanding many set-backs such as the untimely death of one of the kings, the problems the Kingdom has faced with Shiite countries like Iran, the issues of illiteracy, superstition, backwardness, poverty (until oil was discovered in the middle of the 20th century) and so on.

The main issue is the contradiction between the royalty that wants moderation in normal society and the religious leaders which wants to maintain status quo with a very strict interpretation of Islam that forbids so many things that people from most other countries consider normal, such as driving by women, useful employment by women in the normal society, etc. 

At the same time, this interpretation also allows Saudi Arabia to maintain the holy shrines of Makkah and Medinah, and to allow the country to prosper as it is doing in the comity of nations. Human rights, which have been very bad until the last few decades, are improving. Women are educating, graduating, working in the "allowed" professions such as nursing, teaching, medicine, etc. and female children are now being accepted much more than they were in the past. No longer are men as chauvinistic or cruel to their women as they used to be in the past. The Kingdom has, through its "nitaqat" program, enabled many unemployed youth to get jobs in preference to expatriates. This has meant that many illegal expatriates were asked to leave. However, those expatriates who are legal continue to enjoy the same privileges that they used to earlier.

An I. T. university campus in Jeddah allows women within to avoid wearing the abaya as long as they dress modestly, even allows them to drive a car within the premises. It is not a big thing, but it is a beginning. There is a royal couple that follows the Western ethos completely in all its dealings (See these videos - 1 and 2). In their palace, women may dress as they please, and the Princess herself dresses in the modern Western attire and keeps her hair free. Both the Prince (Waleed) and the Princess (Ameerah) want to welcome modern customs of society in Saudi Arabia ... but lack support from the majority of the vocal Saudis. as they fear the "mutawwa"s or the "Religious Police".

As one travels from the bigger cities to the towns, and to the villages - strictures seem to be greater; most of the religious and social observances are routinely followed by the people on their own, without the presence of the mutawwas. This self-discipline is something that tells me that change will take generations to come ... I mean, it will take generations to percolate down to the masses.

That's it for now.

Day 621: Some introspection and some truths ...

It  is after a considerable hiatus that I decided to calculate how many days have elapsed since I came to work in Saudi Arabia. It is now Day 621! It seems as if the past can be encapsulated in a small box and presented to whoever wants it ... and yet, a lot of water has flown under the bridge. I spoke about the change of perception I have experienced. However, this change, that I speak of, has also occurred in my family members.

If the reader wishes, he/she can go back to this post to read about the various goals and purposes I set for myself before coming to the Kingdom. As may be apparent, I did mention that I wanted to make my female platoon at home independent and on their feet. 

Well, I can proudly say now that this target has been achieved too! My wife, Nishrin, is able to handle most (not all) financial affairs without asking me; my elder daughter, Inas, has been working in a salon all on her own since the last eight-odd months, and has been completely independent; even Hannah, whom I used to always think of as a weak but very loving daughter, has grown up and is able to deal with her life quite without major turmoil. 

Now and then, of course, all of them need me, as I, them, and that's all right, since we are a family. On the whole, though, things have been great, as the females of my household have all learned to live without my presence; in fact, if I may say so, at times, they seem happier for it, since I am not a perfect father or husband, and my attitudes have not ALL been great when it came to fathering my children or husbanding my wife. 

So, it has been a win-win situation for all. While my clinic + Nishrin's salon was located at the same place, many of her clients found it awkward to visit her; now that my clinic has been "abolished" and the place converted into a full-scale beauty salon, her clientele are happy and the salon is doing better business. The cash flow has increased too, I may well add. And, Nishrin is happier too, as there is now no "interference" by me in her business.

I am not utterly happy, but, for a long time, I was quite unsatisfied with my professional income. Now that the Indian Rupee has been replaced by the Saudi Riyal, I am, for the first time, planning things like holidaying abroad or giving shape to the Child Welfare Charity that I will establish. In addition, we have been investing the surplus in the hope that money will draw in more money in future and liberate us from the stress of having to earn enough through our entire lives. 

As I planned earlier, I intend to spend just a year or a little more than that in the Kingdom, then move on. What I will do next is not yet certain. I would prefer to cross the bridge when I reach it. But, suffice to say, I am extremely satisfied with the way my life is going at the moment.

Please do leave your comments. Thank you.