Sharing lots of news and views

Returning to this blog after several months, I find that I need to share a lot of stuff. First of all, Facebook has transformed the way I surf the net, post news, post photos, share interesting things and so on. Little time is therefore available to do anything else. Indeed, this blog post is also written while I wait for some recent photos to upload to my page on facebook!


However, I agree that blogs have their place in cyber-space and cannot be totally replaced by facebook. While blogs offer creativity, facebook apps do, too, but within the parameters set by the applications themselves. Also, Facebook is a social platform, while a blog is a mouth-piece to air one's own views and shares.


I appeared for, and cleared, an interview for the Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in late April, 2011. Following this, there has been a long wait as the agent sorts out my application, and now, as I write this on the 18th of October, I am still awaiting my visa to travel to that country and join as a specialist pediatrician in Taif city, a hill station in the country. A lot of my well-wishers do not want me to leave my practice and go, but it is only I who realises that going there would improve my family's finances tremendously and also allow me to pursue my own hobbies of photography, nature watching and international travelling ... all pretty expensive and out of reach at my current income levels. As of the contract that I signed, I would get paid 150% more than what I make here in India, and it would all be tax-free.

Thus, as of now, the idea of going there is on, and I am waiting for it to reach its logical goal of success. As to what kind of life my  being alone in Taif brings, Allah alone knows ...

My elder daughter Inas joined Hotel Leela near the airport as a Hotel Operations Trainee in July, and is busy with this since the last 3-4 months. A stipend of over 10K per month has kept up her spirits, and only last week, she did a major splurge and bought a blackberry curve phone for herself. Her duty hours are so long she barely finds the time to do any other work than travelling to and fro (each way, the journey takes over an hour and a half), working at the front desk for anywhere between 9-12 hours (although the duty is stipulated at 8-9 hours) and sleeping for 6-8 hours. Food and other routine tasks take up most of her other free time, and it is only when she has a day off that she is able to surf the net, go and buy things or visit with her friends. As a family, we all respect her hard work, but it sometimes makes her testy and short-tempered when socialising with us; also, she regularly makes excuses and avoids doing not only some household work which we keep for her, but also her own personal work ... which is a pity.

Hannah, my other daughter, is busy with her XIIth standard studies, and she is constantly running to one tuition or the other ... and mind you, she is doing commerce, not science. She does, however, have the time to chat for long periods on the home's landline number, and with her Whatsapp and free internet, she is forever busy chatting with her friends on her mobile phone. Aside from this, Hannah has become a good eater of food, and it is interesting to see her eat well and opt for designer foods.

Nishrin is very much busy with her own salon work, and there is nothing much to report about changes in her life. She did lose her paternal uncle last month, and this made her a bit morose and serious for a week, but things are back to normal now.

My parents and brothers and their families are all right, and there is nothing new to report there.

My nature trips continue, and I try to go at least one, and possibly, two trips each month. In October, I went to the Ovalekar wadi butterfly park on the 16th. I have added photos of that trip to my facebook profile and you may visit the photos here. There is a chance that an account of this trip may get published on http://www.ghumakkar.com, an Indian travelling site.

On the day of the Sunni Eid

Many of you must be fed-up to see images of people hugging each other on the day of Eid. Of the Azad Maidan ground full of devotees bowing with choreographic precision while offering the Eid-ul-Fitr prayers. Of young boys and girls running across the town, playing, screaming, collecting the "Eid" envelopes from their elders and relatives, spending the cash on hand-held brick games or street food or getting trinkets and make-up kits.

So, here I am, with an unusual take on what happens on Eid day in the streets of Bhendi Bazaar. For the last 20-odd days, hundreds of street-wise entrepreneurs had set up eating or sales stalls on both sides of the main roads at Bhendi Bazaar, selling halim (goat's trotters in a heavenly gravy), cheap cosmetics, kurtas and ladies' tops, undergarments, handkerchieves and what-nots. The stalls are all erected under bamboo roofs and inside,the there are cheap wooden tables that are covered with white cloths and upon which the sales stuff is kept/displayed.

During the last week, and esp the last days of Ramadan, the roads are choc-a-block with hordes of Muslims who shop for dresses, shoes, and all the other stuff that is on sale here. Traffic moves at a snail's pace, or even slower, and this, combined with the heavy rains that we saw this year, creates a lot of chaos that has to be seen to be believed.

And then, it is chand-raat. The night before the Eid when the frenzy reaches its acme. Stalls remain open through the night, and close at almost 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. By 9:a.m., the Eid prayer congregations have dispersed, and then, this happens:

The dismantlers arrive by noon, and by 3:00 p.m., the stalls have been all demolished. There are plastic bags, muck and newspapers lying all around the place. The bamboos are removed, the strings are all thrown nearby, and the bamboos are all stacked up on a side. A truck moves from one dismantled stall to the next, folding and taking away the tables. A hand-cart hovers nearby too, stacked with large folded sheets of plastic that formed the sides and the roof of the stalls. 

 And the roads and footpaths will be reclaimed by the locals by the next day, and life will return to "normal". 

 Only, this - this that I have described and shown, is also NORMAL for this part of the city!

Just take a look at the final picture and judge for yourselves. This is a very sorry state of affairs. Those that have earned their money from here must take responsibility in cleaning up the place.

That's all for now.

Ramadan nears end, and other musings

Yes, Ramadan will soon end. I have been fasting only intermittently, not the least because I keep getting spells of hypoglycemia towards the afternoon. These spells have been symptomatic and have led to an unusual amount of feeling chilly, sweating and palpitation with some degree of weakness. It appears, therefore, that the lack of exercise coupled with fasting is not doing any good for my diabetic state.


Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign led to him fasting for 288 hours straight; he was only drinking water and had lost 7 kg, and was extremely weak and dehydrated according to the doctors treating him at Medanta Hospital, New Delhi. His demands have been acceded to, well almost, and he has stopped his fast amidst shouting and cheering from thousands of his fans today morning.


Inas began work at the Hotel Leela nearly 2 months ago, and is currently away at work. She is finally experiencing what it means to be really, really busy. 


Hannah isn't too keen on fasting or prayers. She was preparing for a stage show on behalf of her college since the last week. Well, the performance was finally given by her team at the Kaleidoscope festival at the Sophia college today morning, and Hans is confident her team will win it.


Practice picked up last week. Today onward, it has shrunk a little, -but it may pick up again later next week.