After day one..

Some lessons,some trivia..
There's a lot of work to be done..and very little time...Need to demonstrate to the client,my abilities to deliver..on time !
*I have no intention of extending my stay here ! You have not even an inkling of an idea of how this trip has messed up my plans for the next few months ! Mere life ke schedule slippage ka cost kaaun bharega !?? M(/T)era baap ???*
Day one was pretty good..client meeting went off well..some concerns highlighted,some clarified..some hazy..inshallah,we'll be victorious...
ok,lessons are boring..trivia time..
Some trivia about this country..
His Excellency Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said is the King of Oman..The currency is Omani Rial..Exchange rate currently is about 1 OMR = 2.6 USD/114 INR...Fairly tolerant country in terms of religion (Muscat,the capital, has two hindu temples- one dedicated to Shiva and the other to Krishna !! All credit apparently to M/s Khimji Ramdas who brought rice,a staple today,to this land a few centuries back..)..
*Booze ?? No public drinking,but freely available..YAAHOOO ! :)*
The Brits have had a lot to do with how the Omani's behave today..an english colony before,many royals are educated in oxford,cambridge,etc (even Sandhurst !)..The army is trained by officers of the royal british forces..Was and Is a major take-off point for supplies and munition to the brits during gulf war-I and II...Many brit expatriates have even settled down here after a lifetime at work here...So,The locals maintain their distance at work and apparently,are good fun to be with in the evenings..but...woe betide,the unfortunate soul who fools around with their women...and more importantly,gets caught in the act !
Rules are simple...You break the law,you spend a few days in the slammer..(all non-omani nationals need to carry a copy of their "Labour/Residence Card" or passport at all times..A random police check and you dont have it on you..sorry pal,rotten luck..see you later,alligator !:) Three levels of strict traffic tests for a DL..one failure and "Come back a month later,dude"...
Few steps at "localization" have started taking place recently (localization is the process of actively discouraging anything non-local- people,products,etc)..The locals(apparently,again..) have a veiled dislike for the huge expatriate population and grudgingly go about with taking instructions from expatriate superiors...Understandable,I wouldnt probably like it either,in their place...
Huge expatriate populace-I, after day one,have met bangladeshi dhobis,bihari cooks,gult chaiwalas, sikh truckdrivers,kannadiga accountants,tamil IT pros,Mallu colleague,Punjabi Project Manager...who else is left ?? oh yeah,the egyptian arab driver "aach-med" (I made the mistake of saying "Shukran,eh-mad"..and he rattled off a staccato of arabic ":O..Mein socha,! gaali de raha hai kya ?!!!" He was apparently trying to get me to pronounce it correctly..:)
*Arab Custom Trivia, An aside - a hand placed on the heart,across the chest,is a sign of "Thanks,but no thanks..(with respectful apologies..)"*
Muscat,as with most arab cities,is a huge festival of lights..lotsa malls,lotsa "shawarma chicken"..lotsa gadget shops..petrodollars rule..jazzy cars..materialistic people..sahi hai,lage raho..
Friday is the weekly holiday..saturday is the beginning of the work-week..(it presents a unique issue with my work..my offshore team in india is off on sundays..and most of saturday ..thursday is half day and friday a complete holiday - here ! When do we actually work ,then ??!!! need to come up with something quick..7-day week seems the only option to me,rite now...
:(
Inshallah..God-willing..is a term widely used.. "Are you placing your right leg next,now that you have taken the first step with your left leg ?" "Of course.....Inshallah" (!!!)
*How will I ever be able to confidently come up with a project plan and timelines when most people place their faith in the immeasurable ?! HADH !! :) *
Baaki cool..this weekend is ducked ! I worked on friday in india before taking the flight...am working saturday and sunday here..wah ! B-E-A-yootiful !(Bruce Almighty-style !:)
Next friday heritage monuments around muscat, the beach and the temple..is the plan..
Inshallah,Plan=Reality...
:)

The eagle has landed…

In Muscat, Oman now…in my room…I’m wide-awake in spite of it being around 2 AM in India(12:30 AM here..)…So…what do I do?? get settled in..prepare for tomorrow’s important client meeting…demand to be moved to a 3-star hotel tomorrow :)…listen to Floyd..write this post and remind myself to call that PYT that talked about life in Oman with childish glee…Good for her,as long as I have limited options in terms of friends,I’ll try to make do best, with whatever is on offer…Yes, I was squashed in between a burqa and an old firang until the first stopover…An endearing smile and a helpful airhostess “Aunty” later, I was sitting next to the most beautiful girl on the flight (airhostess included !! I was flying IA!!!) After the initial pleasentaries,I realized “Ok..She’s a kid!! Beautiful bomb of a tam-bram kid…but…kid..:-/”…The rest of the flight was spent with her going on and on about her days in Chennai and Muscat, her new IPOD (it was PINK!!! Heights yaar !!), how much she hates Ross Geller(it’s just a show, WOMAN !!) and that Smoking is injurious to health…I wanted to know how her brain works..and took a stand “Nope,It’s the most beautiful thing to do ! Marlboro man and all that..”
*Stand lene mein mera kya jaata hai…doesn’t mean I believe that to be the case..Anything for interesting conversation after the Ross Geller monologue.. PLEAAAASE !*
I must have dozed off…maybe it was the scotch..Maybe it was the girl yack…woke up with my ears in ETP- extreme tremendous pain!!!(borrowed that term from Ritu..:)
*I have this crazy thing which happens every time on a flight..my oversensitive ears need cotton wool…else they scream ! and cause a lotta pain with changes in airpressure*
After an agonizing 5 hr journey..with a 50 min stopover…Seeb International Airport..Met up with the guy who I met at Chennai Airport (A former fellow-cricket player at iitm..good fast bowler..was a cauvery hostelite..was coming to Muscat on a project..) Tackled immigration together..FOREX converted..out..eassssyyy…
P is here…to receive me…poor fellow,it’s a Friday evening…a holiday here…and he gets to receive some rookie out to change the way his company works.…
:P
We walk out of the airport…Walking past jazzy cars…getting to know one another and A,the driver(It's Aach-med..not eh-mad,as we pronounce in india..)…he points to a car and I think “Wow ! theek hai yaar…iski kya zaroorat thee ! Merc with the Oman flag on it’s bonnet…” Err…not quite..It’s the Isuzu truck next to it…
:P
Dump the baggage..trying to figure out directions, place names, Arabic swear words, Arabic words while on the way (Ashara-ten, collee- all, Assalaam Aleikum,Waleykum Assaalaam,etc come back from memory :).. “Shukran,A”…Room keys.. geyzer on..tomorrow 7:45 AM…5 mins to the office…breakfast and meeting, ok ? Sure dude…
:)
Inshallah..Inshallah…

Oh-man !

Oman..actually...leaving chennai (a.k.a paradise) tomorrow and will be based out of Muscat,Oman for the next few months...going there for a project....happpened suddenly...I am still confused...had been given a hint a few days back..but never expected it to happen so soon..Rite now- Forex, Travel itenerary,Visa, Project Plan, tickets, luggage limitations, lodging, food, laptop, handover-takeover...the list is bewildering..

YOU ARE STRONG ! YOU CAN HANDLE IT !!! DONOT LOSE YOUR COOL !!

More later..when i am not as confused...
:)

Yesterday's Conversation with my boss...

B : Toh..friday fit hai na ?
Me : Do I have much of a choice ?? :)
B : Pehli baar jaa raha hai...darr toh lag raha hoga..*snicker*
Me : OFCOURSE NOT ! Aap hi toh bolte rehte hain "Confused is ok..Darna Mana hai !"
B : hehehhehe...
Me : Magar ek baat hajam nahi hui...you send R to Canada, where 5 gm of hemp is legal ! and me to a Fatwa-jihad country ??!!! Where booze is also a luxury !!
B: You wanna go to Canada ? I offered it before ! You said "Nahi, sir..Mein yaheen theek hoon.." Besides it's minus 5 in Vancouver ! You cant handle the office AC set on 23 degrees !!!! wahaan jaane ki baat karta hai !
Me : Point...No wonder you are boss and i am a rookie...
:)

Cha cha cha !

Got a dump of around 4 GB of various (hindi, punjabi, tam,etc...) tracks from a colleague in office..
Included Kishore Kumar, RD Burman, Latest tam movies, Punjabi tracks, etc..
yeah, i am that resourceful...i know that already...
:P
so...ctrl-A,enqueue in winamp...and..scrolling thru...
hmm...rd burman classics...album named.."the golden years"
And WACAW ! Usha Uthup teaching us to do the cha-cha-cha !

"One two cha-cha-cha....
Lets do cha-cha-cha..
me and you cha-cha-cha ... *dooo dooooooo*
aise...bahut accha *doo-dooo..*
ek kadam aage cha-cha-cha...*4
thats the way i like it ahaaan ahaaan
i like it ahaan ahaan... *2 :)))
Paanv rakho, aage peeche,
aankhen oopar, haath thoda neeche
back to back..turn cheek to cheek..
turn o baby...turn o...baabooo....:))))
waah waah cha-cha-cha..."

etc etc...she later teaches a certain "Mr.Naidu"(who's apparently a regular to the place) on how to do it too !
:)))

Too much !! too bloody much hai !!
Somebody said "kitsch" ?? yes and no..Nostalgia and kitsch,actually...
:)
I am seriously impressed ! 80's and "cha-cha-cha" in india ?? WOW !!
* i'm guessing, RD and a still-not-too-deep UU's voice means late 70's, i mite be wrong.. *
I am seriously inspired ! Usha uthup singing and me not (even contemplating) learning the cha-cha-cha ?? SOOPER DOOPER WOW !!
:)
Had never heard of this track,ever before ! And i have heard my fair share of RDB, Kishore kumar -late 70's music ..
courtesy a music-crazy mom(she can play the violin and the sitar,easy...thank you....)
She learnt her vocal too, i am told...
"Thankfully, we never got to know " is what dad says...:))))

Uploaded the track here...truly a
"listen, learn and enjoy...MTv..." - track...
"definitely recommended ! priority download !! "- material !
:)

PS: Trivia time...Usha's Maiden name ?? whats it ?? no google search please..ethics and all that jazz...ok ?
Clue - her name is said aloud during a performance in an AB movie.. enuf said..
Dekhte hain, "kisme kitna hai dum" !
:)
" The winner gets to do a li'l something special with me... " *wink wink*
*A la "Whose line is it anyway ?"*
:)))))
"A show where everything's made up and the points dont matter..."
:)))))

Currently running (on loop) :
1. Tu Bin bataaye Mujhe-RDB..Awesome tune..
2. Om Shaanti Om-Kishore Kumar Classic
3. Creed-Human Clay-With Arms wide open
4. Jaaneman Jaaneman-Yesudas Classic(Amol Palekar,Choti si baat, I think)
5. Suttu Vizhi Chudare- Ghajini

Heady..Intoxicated...
:)

Hangover..

The last 4 days have been awesome...days have turned into nites and vice-versa..when you sit thru a quiz at 2 AM (with a 100 other people !) in an open air theatre, it's a wee bit intoxicating..Friends, pro shows, long walks, sunshine, sitting on grassy lawns, endless tea , lotsa shouting, lotsa jumping , respect for rules( a rule is a rule is a rule-inside campus alone !) , Prof singing classic rock, Lecture theatre resonating, the most beautiful eyes of that girl...DAMN ! I dont want to wake up from this...
*sigh*
Afsos, it's a monday..and office...
:(
"Live Life..Live a Saarang"-Whoever said that got it dead rite !
I lived my 3rd one...
"Deewar ke us paar, life humko chalaati hai...Aur is paar, hum life ko chalaate hain..."
:)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update : Two good friends getting engaged/married today/tomorrow !
One was an "uppit-kaapi" case for sometime now...
*Uppit-kaapi is kannadiga street-slang for what you get to eat when you go to "see" a girl before an "arranged" marriage..denotes the rava-based snack(also known as "upma") and coffee.. :)*
He found the "thumba-like-ayithamma"-types finally and is getting engaged today..
=))
The other, a junior of mine at iitm..a very dig girl from blore..
all "yeno ?? yaako ??" and all that..
arbit sends a mail today..saying...
"Yeah..getting married tomorrow..try to be here.." !!!
:O
Well..that was DP for you..the "plodder"...(thats what our gang called her...:)
*It was still so much better than some of the others- "sandal socks" , "sunrise sunset" , "kokkha" , "Ms.Grace", "Yamaha babe" ...Sheeesssh !*
:)
Well...i spoke to them both, just a few moments back...
After being "shouted" at for not giving my number and keeping in touch,before...
:P
Congratulations..to both couples !
Shock would be an understatement..and in this hangover mode, there goes the plan that i had to submit to my boss by 6 PM today ! A late-nighter, is all that i needed rite now ! thanks, guys !
:-/