Marhaba!!
Please don’t be shocked by the greeting, coz in the last half decade, I seem to have ‘suddenly’ made too many connections with the ‘Middle East’. First, my only brother moves to Dubai, to settle for good. Then my first ever International trip covers 3 Gulf countries: Oman, Dubai & Bahrain…psst though I just had a 2.5 hours halt in the last country and I never went out of Bahrain airport, but I don’t mind flaunting ;) Not only this, its my first ever job and I have been virtually working in the Gulf for past 3.5 years, as my division only deals with the Arabs/ expats in the Middle East for business purposes. Also, since my nephew studies Arabic as a compulsory subject in Dubai, he tries to teach me all sort of Arabic syllables he learns in school.
Being so much of it around me, I consciously decided to add the cherry on the cake: a read a series of books on Islam, starting with The Princess trilogy by Sasson and then A Thousand Splendid Suns (a marvelous work done by Hosseini, I must say). My God, so many things bizarre things happen in this part of the world, which literally gives you goose bumps. The kings still maintaining their private ‘harems’ in their palaces, eunuch slaves used to guard these harems/ palace princess’ , female circumcision, legalized polygamy, legalized prostitution, maids being sexually exploited by the young princes, the Taliban activities in Afghanistan and much more.
But a regular interaction with these Arabs, my frequent visits to Dubai has taken away the alien tag from this part of the world. I feel so much at ease with the locals, their culture, their living style, their language. Everything about them seems related to my own self. From the periphery, all Arabic speaking people, wearing long robes with their head gears look the same. But I have come to realize that each national differs from each other. A Jordanian or an Omani or an Emirati or an Egyptian, would all sound the same over the phone. But they are all distinct in their own way, may it be the way they dress or the dialect they speak.
I was fortunate enough to have a recent trip to UAE during the Ramadan season, the pre Eid fasting month in Islam. Despite the complete shut down of all the eating joints, public places till ‘Iftaar’, the country knows how to make up for the complete day after the evening Namaz. The malls bustle with Kandura & Abaya clad populace till wee hours in the morning. This black and white affair, especially during the weekend evenings, is a treat to watch. The whole country seems like a giant fete, where people are feasting and merry making.
We boast of our democratic country, a home to people from different creed and castes, with all sorts of freedoms available to us. But what are the living conditions that an average Indian gets here? What good does this so called democratic government do to them? In the veil of this equalitarianism, lies a dictatorship of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Middle East, on the other hand, has most of the countries being ruled by Kings or Sultans. Try comparing the quality of life that an average citizen gets under this monarchy, the condition of the nations, basic infrastructure or anything else. And not only this, the Gulf countries have so many expatriates settled here, with hardly any cases of violence/ racial attacks against them by the locals, unlike Australia or US.
Despite the awry practices, there’s a lot of learning that these Arab lands gives us. I definitely try to imbibe a lot of good things from them and would keep doing that in times to come. Insha- Allah!!! :)
