Mangalore days

"The true paradises are those that we have lost."

-Marcel Proust

Prologue

From my home, there are two ways to reach Mangalore. One is via Surathkal by highway the fast route. The other one is via Maravoor, the long way. Being a slow person I have always preferred the slow route. On the slow route the first major stop is Kateel, the temple city. During my school days, I used to bunk classes to attend various functions at the temple. The lunches were free. Somehow, these free lunches were responsible for my broad view of religion. They made me a cosmopolitan.

Few yards from the temple there is a bridge, across the river, and if you are lucky you could see the elephant bathing in the river. The tar road snakes ahead, amidst scenic views, finally reaches Mangalore. I have traveled on this road several times. Some time without purpose. Some time just to have an ice cream at Ideal.

On rare occasions though, I have taken the fast route, and got down at Surathkal. There is a beach. Bordering the beach there are many nameless trees. As a child I have built castles on the sand. At night, moon light plays on the sea waves. Other times sky is dark and full of stars. Now and then lights of far ships twinkle on the horizon. Light house makes a period illumination. Meteors fall suddenly. I have closed my eyes and made wishes at falling stars. And each time these wishes have been granted.

There was chaos in the out side world. However Mangalore was like an island. Nothing could possibly go wrong here. In those days, if someone had asked me to describe heaven, I couldn’t have given a better picture than Mangalore. They were beautiful days. They were heavenly days, but they didn’t last long. No Mangalorean had imagined, in their wildest dream, the days that followed.

Arrival at Bajpe

It is not a well known fact that how precariously Bajpe airport is situated. There is a quarry just around the corner. If a pilot presses accelerator instead of brakes - or aeronautical instruments meant for such purposes –then only Gods’ intervention can save the plane. Landing at Bajpe is a nightmare for new pilots.

I always compose a small prayer, just before the landing. “God, please not this time!” just a one liner, but to the point.

When the plane landed this time, I let a deep sigh, children clapped, old people closed prayer books, air hostesses smiled artificially and gave “All OK” look. “Thank you, God” I said.

I saw mom in the lounge: she had not seen me yet. Normally, moms have an intuition for their children. They can feel when their child is in the vicinity. They can always guess what their children are up to, their little secrets and plots. Moms have this pre installed motherly thing. My mom doesn’t have such intuition for me. I am her least favorite child.

She was searching me in the crowd: I was standing right behind her. I gave a small tap on her shoulder. “Hello Mom,” I said. For a moment our gazes locked. We didn’t say anything. I was seeing her after 2 years. There was so much to share; so many things. Where to start? Finally she said: “When did you last cut your hair?”

“What?”

“You heard me”

“C’mon mom!” I said.

“First thing tomorrow, you are going to cut your hair. I don’t want a hippie in my house.”

She has a thing for long hair. Long back, when dad had gone to see her first time, he had hair up to shoulders. Dad’s family was modern. They were searching for an intelligent wife for dad. They asked many questions to mom. It was a tough elimination process. They wanted to make sure she was the right person. The questions to mom were unconventional. What is the 12th number in a Fibonacci series? What is the possibility of fetching a red ball from a bag of 6 red and 5 white balls? Finally a managerial question – What mom would do if her future son, opts for totally useless profession - that of a writer?

Mom answered all these questions. Later boy’s side asked mom, whether she has any questions. This was just a formality. She was not expected to ask anything. However mom had one question for Dad. “Why the long hair?” she asked.

This was not expected. Dad clearly astounded.

“What?” he said.

“You heard me”

“C’mon ma’am”

“I don’t want to marry a hippie,” mom said.

“I am not a hippie, I am a fan of – Beatles,” dad said.

“Well, you have to select between Beatles and me.” She concluded.

That was long time back. Dad did the right choice, cut his hair, forgot Beatles, married mom and soon I was born.

Welcome to Mangalore

At the airport, when I opened the door for a lady, she was clearly surprised. Strangers gave me strange looks when I smiled at them.

“Stop your pseudo courtesy,” mom said.

In the car, I noticed, our driver was not wearing the seat belt. I politely reminded him.

“Pardon me Monsieur,” I said, “you are not wearing your seat belt.”

“Shut up and keep quiet,” mom said, “No need for seat belts here!”

In other countries if your mom harasses you like this you can call the police. Police will come and arrest your mom. Then you will be taken away from your mom and will be put in a state-of-the-art child care facility. These countries believe that children are their future. In our country, we are not sure about the Present; there is no question of Future. Many moms exploit this fact.

Security at the airport

Every year I used to get two bottles of Johnnie Walker from Duty-Free. I stopped this after a curious incident at the airport, couple of years back.

The security person stopped me at the airport, “you can not take these bottles inside the plane,” he said.

“Why?”

“For security reasons”

“What security reasons?”

“For example, the content of these bottles could be RDX”

“RDX is solid, the bottles have liquid,” I said.

“Is it? I didn't know that”

“You should know, you are the security person, if I really want to smuggle explosives in the plane, I would probably use liquid Nitroglycerin”

Then a senior security person intervened. “What is going on here?”

“Sir, this gentleman wants to take these two bottles of alcohol inside the plane,” said the first officer.

“Never!” the senior guy shouted. “This could be RDX”

“No Sir! RDX is solid,” said the opportunistic first officer. “But this could be very well liquid Nitroglycerin”

“Smart boy, I was just testing you”

This drama went on for a while. No amount of begging convinced these morons. Subsequently I stopped getting alcohol. Other thing I didn’t get this time is –Tiger Balm that is a different story.

A tiger from Kerala

Every time when I come down for vacation, among other things, mom always wants me to get – Tiger Balm. I searched for Tiger Balm in Boston and New Jersey but failed.

“You used to get it from Middle East,” mom said anxiously.

Middle East was a different story. You could probably get anything there.

One time in Bahrain, I was having Kori Rotti, a Mangalorean delicacy, in a Mallu restaurant. After a while I noticed a man stooping over me.

“Are you from Mangalapuram, sir?” he asked.

This AKA name, for my home place, irked me to the core.

“Yes” I said.

“Nice place sir, however I must say, the people are bit queer.”

“What’s wrong with the people?”

“Like the Mangalapuram crabs…”

“What’s wrong with the crabs?”

“Mangalapuram crabs are unique sir. You can keep them in a lidless container. Like Mangalapuram people, crabs pull each others legs to make sure no one would escape.”

“All crabs do that! Not only Mangalorean crabs.”

“No Sir, last time we had some Italian crabs; not knowing much about them I had kept the lid open and was doing some chores outside. Like the Italian people, crabs helped each other, when I came back the container was empty.”

I knew the moron was lying. But I was not sure.

“Sir, Let me tell you a story, to justify my point”

“I don’t want any stories. I am a story teller myself,” I said.

“Sir, please hear my story. Unlike the things happening in Mangalapuram, my story has a moral.”

I kept silent. He continued.

“Long time back, there was a boy working at our home in Kottayam. He was an orphan. He was doing the chores at daytime and night used to sleep in the corner. Hard working boy, sir. I treated him well; He worked for me few years. One day this boy comes to me and says - he no more wants to work for me; he says he wants to go to Arab land. I told him, very well, go to Arab land, work hard, sell them sand but don't forget your old master; off he goes to Bahrain; I thought that was the end of it. But in few months he sends me a visa; can you believe that sir? And now here I am, working in Bahrain. The boy works in the adjacent store. We are no more master and servant. We are equal. Now I have not read - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but isn’t this an effective approach? Tell me sir, is this possible in your holy land - Mangalapuram?”

This universal brotherhood story didn’t move me. Provoked by my silence I heard lot of praise for Kerala People. How they have captured the Middle East market; how they survive at any place; how a Mallu surprised Tenzing at the top of Everest; how they can do any work and get anything needed in the market.

At this point I suddenly intervened: “Can you get me, Tiger Balm?”

“You need a tiger?”

“No. Tiger Balm,” I said.

“Oh! A balm for your tiger?”

“No. No. I need Tiger Balm”

“What is that?”

“It’s a balm”

“..for the tigers?”

“No. For human beings”

“Let me see.”

He vanished for fifteen minutes, when he was back he had 2 small bottles of Tiger Balm. I paid for them and came out.

“Mangalapuram friend!”

I stopped, when I heard someone calling. It was the same person.

“Let me know if you need anything else,” he said, “For the right price I can get you not only the balm but also a real tiger”

Grandpa’s mistake

I didn’t have much time this vacation; Most of my time was spent for my apartment work. When I was a teenager, it was my dream to own a small house near the river and a small boat. Over the period some how this dream has been replaced by a dream of living in a concrete cement box in the sky. I blame grandpa for this paradigm shift.

Long time back my grandpa had an option of buying a flat in Mumbai for just 1 lac. He didn’t go for it. Not that, he didn’t have money; he had one lac: probably more. He didn’t like the flat being on the 10th floor. “I don't want to live in the tower of Babylon,” he said. “I want to live near the grass”. He was a grass root person.

My mom, the most practical non-artistic person in our family, tried to talk him out of it. "Dad this is a wrong decision," she said, "even your grandchildren will regret it." She was right. I regret it even today.

Grandpa didn't budge; he built a shelter, in an obscure village, outskirts of Mangalore. Till some time back, this house was in a pathetic state. We tried a lot to rent/sell the house. No one showed interest. Finally it collapsed one day. Today there is no sign of the old house; instead there is a thick patch of grass where the house stood once.

As of now, the Mumbai flat, the one rejected by grandpa is worth in crores. I can never think of buying that kind of flat. Last time when I visited it, watchman said: “We don’t have any openings.”

“Thank you, you are most kind,” I said.

“Come in December, we may have something,” he said.

“Sure,” I said.

Nevertheless, not to repeat grandpa’s mistake, I have taken an apartment in Bangalore. You won’t believe the amount it cost me. The EMI will be finished only after my death.

Builder had asked 10 lac down payment. (My ex dream house near the river, with the boat, would have cost me less.) I didn’t have that kind of money.

When I asked mom, for the down payment, she said: “Are you into drugs?”

Parents no more believe their children! The worst prior generation in the history!

“C’mon mom”

“I know you are into drugs”

“God! Mom I want the money for house.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, “Let me ask you this. What is the difference between Marijuana and Heroin?”

“What?”

“Answer the question.”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“What is the full form of – LSD?”

“I don’t know”

“Which English word is derived from, - hashshashin; that means, ‘hashish eater’ in Arabic?”

“Mom, how would I know all this?”

“Ok, you are clean,” she said, “Do you really want money for the house?”

“Yes”

“You should be ashamed of yourself to beg money from old parents.”

“I am ashamed of myself. “ I said.

Mangalore Days

I was busier on my vacation than working days. I attended several weddings; sometimes as many as 3 on a single day. At Ideal, I tried their new delicacy – Tiramisu. It was devine. At night attended buffalo race, Boothada-Kola and Yakshagana. Yakshagana lasted till early in the morning. From there went straight to church for the early morning mass; prayed for everyone, including agnostics and atheists; tasted Kori Rotti and Chicken Sukha at many local restaurants; drank diluted toddy at nameless local joints.

People seeking donation made my life miserable.

“We are building a stage,” one group said.

“What happened to the stage built last year?”

“Last year we were demolishing the stage, not building,” they said.

“Oh! What happened to the one built last to last year?”

“That’s the one we demolished last year!”

“God! This is so confusing. We have more stages than Shakespeare had plays,” I said; gave them some money.

Life insurance people crowded me all the time. They were more concerned about my life than my mom. I already have many insurance policies, with a considerable amount at stake. I have a constant fear that my beneficiaries would delve into some kind of plot to avail that money.

Then something happened.

Someone got murdered for no reason, near to my home. Few days later there was another murder. This time the victim was from a different religion. Holy places were attacked. Then ladies were attacked in a pub.

Epilogue

Few weeks back, In Bangalore, I met a middle aged man in the local bus. We talked this and that. He came to know, I am a software engineer.

“My daughter is also going to be a software engineer,” he said proudly, “she just finished her BE and has been campus recruited by Infosys Mangalore.”

“That is very nice,” I said, “I am from Mangalore myself. It is a nice place. We have many temples and beautiful places to visit. I am sure your daughter will enjoy the new place.”

He hesitated for a moment. Then he said: “We are opting for a change of place.”

“Oh! Why?”

“Mangalore is not a safe place,” he said, “She is our only daughter.”

“That way, no place is safe,” I said.

“I know, may be I am just possessive about my daughter.”

“Which place you are opting for?”

“Any place, other than Mangalore,” he said.

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Note: If you liked this memoir, you might like the others in the series as well. Click Here. 

Note: Here is the link for the site where this article was first published.

City by the sea

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”
- A late of two cities (Charles Dickens)

I don’t live in Mumbai anymore; although I was there for a considerable amount of time. But the memories are still fresh and warm. I remember old days sometime and wonder whether those days will ever be back.

There is a saying among the local people: the person who survives Mumbai survives anywhere in the world. It may be bit exaggerated by the people who love the city so much but there is also a little bit of truth in that. Many people don’t survive the city, they go back to the places from where they have come from. Even I got dejected after a few days. I stayed mainly for the reason - I had no where to go.

The Outsider
It took me sometime to adjust to the smaller houses, bigger crowd, faster life and the city that never sleeps.

“You are an outsider “chaiwala concluded at the tapri.
“How do you know?”
“By your accent “he said.
“Does that matter?” I was surprised.
“No I guess, everyone is an outsider here.“ I didn’t know whether it was literal or philosophical.

When I was a kid..
When I was a kid there was a school picnic whose sole purpose was to travel on a train. We went to Mangalore got on the train; and the teacher said – “The bogies of the train look similar; but they are not same. Only one has an engine. It pulls all the other dummy bogies, like a leader. I want every one of you to be a leader!”

“Ravi, are you a leader?” she asked me.
“If everyone becomes engine; who will become the dummy bogie?”. I asked her back.
She was not expecting this. She pondered for a moment. “I am sure you will!” finally she said.

And here I was in Mumbai day to day traveling in the train. I saw some people sitting on the roof; they were very close to the power line and probably very close to death. “Why would they do that?” I wondered.
“This is Mumbai my friend anything is possible here” fellow traveler said. That was my first time. Later I heard that line millions of times from various people.

A fine gentleman
One day while standing on the 5th platform at Andheri, I heard an announcement “The train coming on 5th platform will be redirected to platform number 3”

I was in a hurry; there was really no time for climbing the stairs and reaching platform 3. So I jumped on the tracks, and a fine gentleman with a suit from the other side of the track pulled me up.
“Thank you very much sir!” I said.
“Don’t you know it is against the law to cross the rails?” he asked me.
“I know, I am short of time, I need to attend an interview” I said.
“I am afraid you are going to be late for the interview” he told me.
“Why?”
“Even though you are crossing; you should not do it when the TC is on the platform!”
Then it dawned on me.
“Are you..?”
“Yes. I am “He took me to a small office on platform number 1.

“350 Rs fine with receipt. Or 50 Rs. and no receipt” he said.

“Are you a leader, Ravi?” My teacher’s voice ringed in my ear; got my receipt by paying 350 Rs.

Lady running on the platform
Some days later, I was standing near the door of a train about to leave the station – I saw a lady running, raising her sari, parallel to the train trying to get in. I tried to tell her, not to panic because there is a train every 3 minutes. But she seems to be reluctant to my advice and increased her speed. I extended my hand and pulled her in exactly as Sha-Rukh-Khan pulled Kajol in DDLJ.

While I was holding her, I found she was surprisingly muscular. On close inspection I realized to my horror that she is not a lady, but an eunuch.

He/She came surprisingly near me. I could smell the breath.
“Kya re, Salmaan Khan!” held me at a place no one dared before.
The grip was becoming stronger.
“You are hurting me!” I said.
“Give me five rupees”
“How about one rupee?” I tried to negotiate.
“How about squeezing you more!” made me immobile with the counter offer.
“Please don’t make me sterile like you!” begged him or her or whatever.
I gave five rupees; he jumped out at the next station.

Normal life
Standing by the door of the moving train I used to watch outside world. The moving houses, running AIDS awareness hoardings, people squatting on tracks for morning needs, torn posters of adult movies – it was a different world. It fascinated me.

One day while I was standing by the door, a man, hiding behind a pole hit me hard with a stick. I lost my bag. Later I came to know that this is a NORMAL thing in Mumbai, which was not so normal from where I had come from.

There was nothing significant in the bag except for a relatively obscure book written by an unknown monk – “Love thy neighbor”. Later when I was roaming around FOUNTAIN I saw this book at many road side books sellers. I didn’t buy it.

The great gambler
When my friend from Mangalore visited me, I took him to Juhu. We roamed for a while on the beach; noticed a curious crowd at one place. They were gambling. It was a primitive sort of gambling; players need to guess the Joker among the 3 cards. Who ever identifies the Joker wins 10 times the money he stakes.

This looked like an interesting game to me; where the chances of winning are always one third which is a high probability in any kind of gambling.

We closely monitored the game for some time. Interestingly, I could guess the Joker each time. “Only a moron could lose in this game”, I told my friend.

So we started playing the game, and like morons we lost 5000 Rs! It was a big amount. My friend needed that money for a job agent. Finally I borrowed the amount from another friend. It took a long time to repay that amount. I could not borrow from mom, she would have killed me for that kind of money. In fact she would have killed me for lot less. Mom never came to know about this incident. (She will come to know now of course, after reading this article; almost a decade later. But she can’t kill me now, my wife won’t allow that! )

Years later I realized that every one among the crowd was a team, even the players! The only outsiders were me and my friend.

Night life
Not all human actions are rational (remember we have evolved from monkeys). During one of these low moments of my life I went to a dance bar with friends. I thought we were late because it was closed from the front. But then we entered from the back door (which was NORMAL of course).

The environment inside was gloomy. There was a stage in the center where few girls were dancing; they were not interested in dance. As a matter of fact they seemed as if they were not interested in life itself. Some of them were wearing garlands made of currency notes.

One fat guy sitting in the corner was throwing cash artistically at the dancing girls. “Why would someone do that?” I asked my friend.
“This is Mumbai my friend, anything is …. “my friend started.
“I know, I know “ I said. “Let’s get out of here”
“Probably you need something refined”. He concluded; so we went to a disc. The atmosphere here was different. The crowd was young; most of them were either software engineers or call center guys.

The atmosphere was more live. Every one was dancing and smoking. It was full of smoke. Almost like heaven. I saw a girl smoking.
“Every day 1200 people die because of smoking” I told her.
“I am not going to die today” she replied.

She was wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a person having thick mustache. The person in the picture really intimidated me. “Is that your grandpa?” I asked her.
“No. This is Friedrich Nietzsche moron!”
She was either an intelligent person or trying to look smarter. Anyway she succeeded in her efforts.

Then there were some people drinking from a thin glass tube I had last seen in my chemistry labs. “What is that?” I asked my friend.
“Tequila “ he said.
“How is it?”
“One word” he replied “Heaven!”
“Let me try that”
“Follow the 3 steps” he said “Lick the salt; drink tequila; taste lemon”
“Great” I said, tried tequila and till date I don’t know what happened next. Later when I felt little bit okay, my friend asked me “how was it?”
“One word” I said “Heaven!!”

Cripple at Churchgate
One day at Churchgate, I saw a cripple on a train that was about to start. Some good people offered him change. Most people didn’t offer him anything. This may be a bad day.

It was very difficult for the cripple to move around. He was literally crawling. He looked like a young man, may be my own age. What choices did we make that has resulted in these outcomes? – I wondered. I thanked God silently, felt sad for the cripple. Contrary to my character I took a 10 Rs note from my pocket.

And then suddenly train started moving. What would the cripple do now? Probably he may have to get down at the next station. The incoming crowd at the next station would give him a tough time.

Then an incident happened that changed me for ever.

To my horror the cripple stood erect, almost my height, walked straight towards me as a perfectly normal person, looked straight in my eyes, winked, snatched the 10 RS note jumped out from the running train and vanished in the human crowd.

This is the second biggest shock I ever got! (The first one was the electrical shock I had got some time back trying to remove the insulator of a live wire with teeth.)

Before this incident deep inside me there was a person who believed in every fellow human being and universal brotherhood. This incident killed that person.

Spirit of the city
In those days, no one was listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan except Anu Malik who would promptly copy his songs. These copied songs would become super hits. Some time Anu Malik would copy a song twice! Then some upcoming artist would copy Anu Malik, and Anu Malik would threaten to sue this new artist for copying the already copied songs. Mithun was acting in every other B grade movie. I was sad for this 3 time national film award winner’s decline.

The days were bad. One time a political leader died in the hospital. His followers destroyed the whole hospital. Subsequently the followers promised the hospital authorities that they will rebuild the hospital free of cost with one condition that hospital would bring back the dead guy!!

This kind of reasoning made me crazy. I was slowly losing my mind.

“Where are you?” my aunt called on my cell.
“I am at Andheri station” I said.
“Come home straight; there was a bomb blast near Dadar” she said.

I took an auto and went home straight. Next day I was scared to board the train; to my surprise trains were running normal as if nothing had happened. Tiffin careers were there along with the beggars, office people, flower vendors, small time crooks, singing babas, TCs, news paper distributors - it was a regular crowd.

And then I realized: No amount of bombing could kill the spirit of this city.


A new man
One time I was in a crowded train. The moment I said I will be getting down at Andheri, four guys held me tight, made me immobile. It was a Virar train. They didn’t allow me to get down at Andheri.

This is a kind of crowd management trick, not from the railways but from general public. I learned this later.Only people travelling long distance catch the Virar train, rest of us would take either Andheri or Borivali train.

I got down at Borivali; and TC promptly caught me for not having ticket till Borivali. I told him I was not allowed to get down at Andheri.

“I hear this story every day;” he said “Why, I heard this one today morning itself.” He was indifferent my pleadings.

“What now?” I asked him subsequently.
“350 Rs fine; and I will give you a receipt” he said.

Long time back when Gandhi was a kid, a British inspector gave a surprise visit to his school. He gave a dictation to the class. All the kids wrote the answer properly, except Gandhi who could not spell the word – “kettle” correctly. The school teacher hinted him to copy from the neighboring student. But Gandhi would not do it. Later this incident influenced him a lot to define his character.

I don’t know why I am telling this story, but I wonder sometime - Are we all that great?

“Listen my friend” I told the TC “you can keep this 20 Rs, and…and..” words were not coming out.
“..and what?” he asked me curiously.
“..and I don’t need a receipt!” I finally said.
He gave me a long look; pocketed the money with a remarkable speed. “Now, aren’t you a smart boy? Why did you lie to me earlier?”
I didn’t say anything.
“Run along boy, before I catch you for not having ticket!” he winked at me and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

I waited for sometime. Something unusual to happen - but nothing happened. I heard the announcement for the next train. The train was full. There was a curious looking boy on the roof, he gave an inquisitive look.

“Can you give me a hand?” - I offered my hand.

*--------------*-----------------*

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Note:

This article was first published at Daiji.

I have mentioned that I lost 5000 in gambling. The actual amount lost was 8000. I felt that would be too much for the readers to digest.

-RL

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Once upon a time in America

When I first wrote this article it was around 4000 words; a close friend upon reviewing informed me that it is un-publishable. Later I reedited it to 1500 words. Sometimes it is not what you write; instead what you don’t write matters. You can also read it here

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"Life is much too important a thing ever to talk seriously about it." – Oscar Wilde

Prologue

I once tried to calm down a barking dog which promptly bit a small chunk of flesh from my left hand. What pained me more is not the wound instead the lack of truth in the saying - BARKING DOG NEVER BITES. I wonder who makes these sayings without testing them thoroughly.


This simple incident changed my view towards the barking dogs. I realized that in real life there are dogs (even today) unaware of this saying!

Life is full of simple incidents which make a larger impact as a whole. Such an incident changed my view towards Money. During my student days, a librarian caught me returning a delayed book.
“You are late; you have 50 paisa fine!” he said. “I don’t have 50 paisa “I replied.

Those were NOT my grand father’s days were you could buy one “mudo” rice for 50 paisa. In fact 50 paisa was nothing, if you offer 50 paisa to a beggar, he would instantly throw it back on your face!
“Do you really don’t have 50 paisa?” he asked again. “I don’t have mister”
“Don’t raise your voice – beggar prince!”

Then he obliged himself with such an outrageous laugh, even now I feel difficult to sleep sometime. This trivial incident made a larger impact on my future than Pope John Paul’s visit to Mangalore!

This happened long time back; Even now I carry fairly large amount of cash for the fear that someone would laugh at me for not having sufficient funds.

Book 1 – A simple life

Power of Money
In those days (probably even now) there was more respect for guys working in super markets of Middle East than ones working for ISRO! I could not join ISRO because even though I had the imagination required for space odysseys – I lacked the technical expertise. Since I was working in India, I was a constant target for neighbors ridicule.
“So you didn’t get a Dubai opportunity?” somebody would ask with pseudo concern; as if I had some unpronounceable terminal disease and my days are numbered.

People ignored me till I made some money. I would walk in a gathering, where nobody would notice me. I was a - INVISIBLE MAN.

Finding Neverland
Whenever my friends traveled abroad I was the guy who used to drop them at airport. Just before entering the airport – they would promise me to take abroad as soon as they land in foreign land. And promptly forget the promise once inside the airport!

I used to watch the colorful environment of airports with wide eyes by see-through glasses; Groups of airhostesses giggling around with well ironed attire, indifferent towards less mortals. Software engineers with suits engrossed in their laptops. I used to wonder – what kind of mission critical code demands their attention even in busy non-work-friendly airport terminals.

“Sir, you are very close to the window” security guy would caution me; forcing me to come out of Neverland.

Ghost of the past
In between I went to Bahrain and started working there. Even though I was doing well, this American ghost or the ghost who wanted me to go to America haunted me all the time. Finally it succeeded.

I applied for H1B, and got it. Contrary to the popular belief I was not lucky; those were the days a fake resume and a little bit of imagination would fetch you H1B. I had both: ample!

Book 2 – Americana

Immigration

“Are you from India?” Immigration officer asked me. “Yes sir ...land of Buddha and Gandhi” That is NOT what I said. That is what I wanted to say. Instead I said “Yes sir!” “Your stamping is done in Bahrain?”
“Yes Sir!”
“Where is Bahrain?”
“Are you Jok….” gulped my words. You don’t mess with the immigration officers anytime anywhere in the world. They are the last people whom you meet before boarding the flight. Being so near to the plane and not getting a chance to board it - is what makes them dumb-wits and jealous about the passengers!

“Bahrain is near Dubai” I said.
“Where is Dubai?” Can you believe that?!

Back home in Kinnigoli If you ask anyone at 3 AM in the morning about Dubai - he will not only tell you where it is but also enlighten you with exact geographical coordinates, climatic conditions, population, popular tourist places, future metro train schedules, flights starting from various locations, boarding place for desert safari / belli dance and also the SALIK for Jebel Ali road!

Welcome to America
Arriving in America first thing I noticed is that they drive on the wrong side! This was the first taste of many things they do in opposite ways than rest of the world. They drink in Gallons; drive in miles and earn in millions!
They are also little confusing - For example petrol is called GAS here! Helium, Ammonia and carbon dioxide are also called GAS! 101 is one-o-one! They call soccer what we call football back home; and have their own game named “American Football” in which 99% of the time you don’t use foot to pass the ball!

You don’t touch a person, anytime, not while talking or walking along, not with a close friend unless of course you are gay!

Americans

Americans love fast food; they are notorious for eating unhealthy food. They like pizza more than the Italians. I have had more burgers in my first month here than in my whole life.

Americans greet everyone, even strangers. In India if you greet a stranger he would become suspicious, defensive and may out right attack you!

The country is so fulfilling most Americans don’t go anywhere outside unless the country sends them to exotic places like Vietnam. This staying at home has made them ignorant of outside world.

In a recent survey 42% of school students could not list a single Asian country! On the contrary I can list more than 100 countries anytime.

First time when I went to a movie with Reema - caught a couple smooching.
“How can they do that?” she asked.
“Are you saying – you don’t know how to do that?!”

Only in America
Only in America you can wear under-wears similar to the national flag. In rest of the world though it’s a crime! Americans have a peculiar curiosity. This same curiosity has taken them to exotic non American places like – rat holes of Vietnam and scorching deserts of Iraq. They want to know each and everything. They are the first to land on the moon. My grand father with his limited education was intelligent enough to predict much before the lunar venture that there would be nothing significant on the moon. He had a 50 paisa wager with some of his more optimistic heavenly friends (all of them are in heaven at the moment). Of course he won the bet and bought one “mudo” rice from that amount!

Refill is free in fast food corners. If you do that in India a species would evolve which would survive only on refills!
In America you can live-in with a person of the opposite sex or the same sex (for that matter) or with a dog under the same roof, without any commitments for ages – without any eyebrows raised!
Some of the things here are unheard in third world countries, like - Diabetic medicine for dogs! I didn’t know till then that even dogs can have diabetes. Lemon scented Toilet paper – does it really matter?

King of my castle
Apart from all this, America is a nice country. It is a country built by immigrants. This is the country of opportunities. People are good. Things are much simpler here, laws are friendly. Many Americans have helped me in my initial days when ever I was in need.

My number of relatives increased (or almost doubled) once I landed in US. From INVISIBLE MAN I have become SHAKTIMAN; Don’t underestimate the power of money (Please read the previous sentence again). Most people preach you all along how bad money is, they are the ones who don’t have it!
Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can by you marijuana! Money can’t buy you health, but it can buy you a healthy nurse!
Over the period, I have found out that Success is not the commodity of a country or a race. These things can give an edge, but end of the day an individual’s efforts and attitude is what matters.

Two days in heaven

“The man talks nonsense” said a visitor after hearing the Master speak. Said a disciple “You would talk nonsense too if you were trying to express the inexpressible”

- From ONE MINUTE NONSENSE by Anthony de Mello

Prologue
The merchant of dreams
Some days are routine; there are no memorable events during the day. They are the ones which don’t stay in the memories for long.

And some days are different; you remember them for a long time.

It was one of those days; I was on the terrace of my rental flat in Bahrain with my friend. Those were also my final days in Bahrain.

We were talking this and that and with out any preamble my friend asked – “How do you feel to be on a cruise - only with your wife?”

I have heard cruises for a group but only for a single couple? “That would be romantic”. I said.

“Would you like to go for one?”
“Is it in Venice? That would be expensive” I said.
“No, it is NOT in Venice, the place is Kumarakom”

I could see the traffic on the exhibition road. It is the most crowded place in Bahrain.
I can also see the sea, Bahrain is a small Island; sea is never far.

“Where is it?” I asked.
“It is in Kerala! I have a friend, who can arrange..”
So it was not a totally altruistic suggestion!

“What are you selling my friend?”
“Ravi, I am selling you two days in heaven!”

The Package
The package was for 2 days and 2 nights on the houseboat for a couple. There will be 3 additional crew members to manage the houseboat. Food will be cooked and served on the boat it self!

I was never on water for 2 days and 2 nights anytime!

Friends in need
When I told my friends about my Kerala visit, they discouraged me like anything! Their point was: Kerala is very much similar to Mangalore; A Mangalorean won’t find anything new in Kerala!

“You will be the first Mangi to visit Kerala!” they said. Mangi is the short form for Mangalorean! It took me almost 30 years to realize that I am a Mangi!

Chances are more that you are a Mangi yourself, but have been enlightened by this fact just now!


A Promise to mom
“Promise me, you won’t go near the water!” My mom asked me just before leaving. I hate all the guys who don’t listen to their mom, no matter what!

In my case it was an impossible promise because the whole thing was on water.
“What is your definition for NEAR?” – I asked.

“Don’t start that jargon, just be careful!” she said.


Manna
I usually carry a book for the journey. This time it was THE PRIZE, by Irwing Wallace. I don’t know, does anyone read him now a days - he was famous during the sixties and seventies. Nevertheless he is one of those writers who do their research well before writing a book.

THE PRIZE is about the Nobel Prize: It has all the trivia information and inside stories.

Alfred Noble, on whose name these prizes are given, was a bachelor, inventor of dynamite, millionaire, and an atheist who read his bible daily!

The noble prize is not awarded posthumously! There is no Nobel Prize for mathematicians.

I am sad; my all-time-favorite Gandhi didn’t get a Nobel for peace! Even Tolstoy who was Gandhi’s Favorite (and mine too: A=B=C!) didn’t get one.

Surprisingly I found Irving Wallace books at Mangalore railway bookstore, which I was not able to find at crosswords! It’s a good omen; I bought two of them.

On the train
I reached Mangalore station one hour early with Reema (ex-girl friend, current wife).
Malabar express was already waiting in the station. Indian railway may be the only thing which is on-time or before-time in this country.

Lot of things in the railways have been changed, except for the food. Railway food is the one thing which is not changed in decades, it is not horrible but very close to it!

I saw a mouse on the train, a real one not the computer mouse. Other than the mouse, nothing much happened on the train. At Cochin, an old woman boarded – she had an upper berth. I was on the lower. It was difficult for her to climb, so I switched the berth with hers.

She said thank you! It was a real THANK YOU, you can recognize it. I hope someday when I am old, some young punk will switch seats with me!

I could not sleep the whole night; there was an AC vent directly on my head. That much for helping an old lady!


Day 1
We reached Kottayam station on time at 5.00 am. Kumarakom is 15 KM by road from Kottayam. The pickup car which was supposed to be on the station with a placard was not in the vicinity!

I called my travel agent; it finally arrived at 6.15 am.

“Why so late?” I asked.
“Sir! There was an incident yesterday!”
Unless you have a white paper on X-Rays and Nuclear Gamma Rays from Fast Particles with theory of alpha rays or something similar to your credit, you need to be very careful about the guys who call you –“sir”!

Obviously they have to sell something, which is not worth it. Else why would they call you – ‘SIR’?

“What incident?” I asked.
“There was a car stolen yesterday and police is checking every car in the morning!”

This can be as true as Shah Rukh Khan performing in the next Yakshagana at Kinnigoli bus stand!

Houseboat and the crew

I had never seen a houseboat and didn’t know what to expect. I think I was expecting a small typical boat just to manage - a two day tour. But what a surprise was in store for me!

We were waiting for the boat on the banks of the canal when I saw a huge boat coming towards us. I was expecting a small boat behind the huge one, turned out the huge one was ours!

A typical houseboat looks like a giant Armadillo. This is a wrong example because there are no armadillos in Kinnigoli or in India. Nevertheless it looks exactly like a giant armadillo!

Kettuvallam (Houseboat) or ‘boat with knots’ - is so called because the entire boat is held together with coir knots only - no nails! The boat is made of planks of jack-wood joined together with coir. The facilities on board include trained crew with hotel like ambience. There will be a living room, Kitchen, two bedrooms with attached bath and a raised central deck for lazing on cushions while watching the world go by!


There were three people with us, Vivek the Chef, Sasi and the captain Sagi.

“Where are you from?” – Captain asked me
“Mangalore”
“Which place in Bangalore?”
“Not Bangalore – Mangalore - Mangalapuram” He got it!

Houseboat, as the name says is a real home on water! With deluxe rooms and state of the art facilities, it’s a grand experience.


Missing my sister
Our crew was fluent in Malayalam, no Hindi – only passable English. Even with the language barrier they managed beautifully.

One person I missed on the whole trip was my sister; she is the only one in the family who can speak fluent Malayalam!

She was with a mallu gang for a long time, instead of teaching the gang Konkani – she has learned Malayalam. Shah Rukh Khan is no more her favorite. She needs Mohanlal or Mammootty, else she won’t watch the movie!

Incidentally Malayalam is the most difficult language in the world. It is also a palindrome that means you can read it from both sides. For a long time I was under the impression that MALAYALAM is the longest palindrome, till I came across meaningless - TATTARRATTAT!
As of now TATTARRATTAT is the longest palindrome, It was coined by James Joyce of Ulysses fame! I am sad about this guy, he was such a famous fellow I don’t know what made him to coin this stupid meaningless word just to make it - the longest palindrome!

I don’t know what is stopping somebody from making a bigger palindrome by adding 2 A’s in the beginning and end resulting – ATATTARRATTATA!

In Malayalam, words are not pronounced as they are spelt!

God’s own country
Like an elephant, houseboat moves gracefully with a gentle speed. You can relax in the front hall and enjoy the scenery unwind.

Rise fields as far as you can see, coconut trees with huge coconut bunches, ducks racing to out speed you, Lotus flowers popped out of water, immersed algae and nameless water plants you can see, as you majestically move forward.

Fishermen fish in the canal. Smaller boats wander selling coconuts, fish, flowers and other day to day items.

There are so many canals, constructing roads is difficult. Hence there are passenger boats. Instead of bus stands there are boat stands!

The water around is twelve to fifteen feet deep. It is not very clean.

There are fellow tourists traveling in other houseboats. They are mostly foreigners, with least amount of clothing possible - a pièce de résistance!

They are friendly, some of them waved at me I waved back.

“Welcome to God’s own country!” – I shouted to a couple traveling in the adjacent boat.

“Merci beaucoup” they said – Thank you very much!

Ambrosia
Food was divine. I am a glutton, I know when it is divine! Exotic dishes like pineapple curry, black fish curry, Banana fry and oyster chilly without the shells!

My mom never removes the shells from the oysters, just because removing shells reduces the quantity by one tenth!

We had a certified Chef. For the food, you have a selection between North Indian, Keralite and Continental. Whenever you are on tour, it is always suggested that you should try the local food. We opted for Keralite delicacies.

They put lot of oil and coconut in every dish! Just like Arabs who put dates in everything!

Years back I had a fascination for paneer, till I went to Delhi on a project. I noticed in Delhi, they put paneer in everything except - tea! That’s how I lost taste for paneer. Now I avoid paneer.


Last thing on the first day
First day at around 1 am we decided to sleep.
“Do they have hidden cameras?” Reema asked.
“What?!, For Gods sake these guys are professionals. They won’t think doing such a thing.”
“Let’s check anyway” she said.
“I think you are paranoid.”

Only a fool will argue with his wife just before bedtime on a romantic cruise! Hence checking for the hidden cameras was the last activity for the first day. We found two hidden cameras - got you there - just kidding!!

Day 2
Lady on the water
I saw a lady rowing a small boat single handedly.
“Are you not afraid of water?” I asked her.
“I was born in these areas” she said.
“My mom is very much afraid of water” I told her.
“In fact, Water is safer than land!” she said. For a moment I was wondering whether it was Plato, Kafka or Camus. But then I think she was just joking.

Champakulam Chundan
Champakulam Chundan is nothing but a snake boat. Kerala is also famous for boat races. These are held in the second Saturday of August every year.

Nehru came to Kerala in 1952; fascinated by the game he suggested it to be a yearly event. There is a Nehru Trophy on his name, every year.

The event is telecasted on Doordarshan and in 64 countries.

A typical snake boat is 130 feet in length and Breadth around 70 inches; with 100 – 150 rowers, it is the world’s only game having so many team members at one side!


Ayurvedic Massage

I also tried the much hyped Ayurvedic massage. Massaging is very famous among the Arabs in Middle East. Even though I was there for almost 3 years I had never tried massaging.

One hour full body oil massage was exotic. After the massage, took bath in a top-less bath room, surrounded by cocoa trees.

A cocoa pod has a rough leathery rind about 3 cm thick. It is filled with sweet, mucilaginous pulp, enclosing 30 to 50 large almond-like seeds that are fairly soft and pinkish or white in color.

Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made.



Aleppy beach

We banked near Aleppy and took an auto till Aleppy beach. It is very clean compared to Juhu and less crowded.

It is also very steep. I may be the first Kinnigolian to visit Aleppy beach but surely didn’t want to be the first Kinnigolian to drown there - hence didn’t go far from the shore.

Saw the sunset, it was a normal sunset - not romantic, I am not a poet!




Epilogue

If you are the kind of person who likes to travel hundreds of miles - to take pictures of ground nut offerings to monkeys at a zoo; house-boating is not for you! If you like to take snaps besides medieval sculptures – feeling a kind of euphoria and content - don’t think about backwater cruise!

Instead if you are someone who is bored with the fast-life, concrete jungle and management jargon and someone who finds recreation by just watching the nature and fish in water, do try the house boat experience.

I hope I am not sounding nonsensical by trying to explain the unexplainable!

Most of the time travel agents show illuminating, flashy things on the catalogue but when you actually see the place it will be a totally different experience!

So the holy life saving pond of yester years, is nothing but a waterless hole with tadpoles. And the king’s winter resting palaces are nothing but dog sheds!

But cocohol (my travel agent) is not like that; in software terms, the whole package is WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get!). The whole experience was more than expected and more than promised!

If you are like me who would like to eat idli or vada sambaar for breakfast instead of croissants; may be you can wind up the whole thing in 15,000 RS for a couple.

I wish I get some kind of compensation for the article from my travel agent, but alas life is not that beautiful!

Following are the contact details of my travel agent incase if you decide to give it a try. Just give it a try, believe me it’s worth it!

Roshan Philip
1st Floor, SRL C 54,
Sankar Lane, Sasthamangalam P O,
Trivandrum - 695 010,Kerala, India.Off: 0091 471 2318452Mob: 0091 9847833089email: roshan_philip@cocohol.com

Arabian Nights

Na main moman vich maseetan

Na main vich kufar dian reetan

Na main pakan vich paleetan

Na main andar bed-kitaban
Na main rehnda bhang-sharaban
Na main rehnda mast-kharaban

Bulla ki jaana main kaun
-Bulla Shah (18th century Sufi saint)

March 2004, Hyderabad
In the beginning

“Is this Ravi Lobo?” someone had called me on my cell.
“Yes?” – I asked.
“Ravi, I am calling from Polaris software, we have an opening in Bahrain for the post of SQL Server DBA, if you are interested I can arrange for a technical interview?”

That’s how it went. I was not very keen on a job opportunity in Middle East. My room mate suggested to ask for a dream salary, so that the target company will reject me eventually.

I did the same thing, I cleared the interview and asked for a ridiculously high salary. To my horror and later surprise Polaris accepted the salary what I asked for and that’s how I ended up in Bahrain!

Trivia
I had never been outside India and I didn’t know where Bahrain located, on the map. I searched for Bahrain in Atlas and could not find it, that is because it is a very small country. It is the smallest Arab nation in the world!

Later I searched about the country on the net and found many interesting things. Bahrain is an archipelago with 33 islands. It is such a small island, that you are never far from sea.

The word Bahrain means 2 seas. There are sweet water streams in Bahrain, and the country is surrounded by salt water. That’s why the name - two seas.

The population of the country is slightly more than 6 lac, out of which 2 lac are expatriates. There is literally no cultivation, the land is arid with less than 1% farming. Desert constitutes 92% of Bahrain!

Bahrain was once, proposed as the site of the Biblical Garden of Eden!

It is the first country in Middle East to discover oil. Also it is the only country in Middle East to host Formula one race.

It has the best exchange rate for Indian currency after Kuwati Dinars. One Bahraini Dinar is almost 120 Indian Rs. Can you imagine winning a lottery of 1 lac Dinars? You will be a millionaire!


On air
Nothing happened on air, except for a very funny accent of air-hostesses. For a brief moment I was under the impression that the in-flight announcement is in Arabic. Later when I listened carefully I found out that the announcement is in Hindi!

Air-hostesses speak Hindi in a very funny accent. I have visited almost all the Hindi speaking parts of India but never heard this kind of accent!

There was an interesting demonstration of what needs to be done in case of emergency landing on sea. I watched the demo carefully, I didn’t want to be the - Ignorant, if such an event occurs!

April 2004, Bahrain
Salaam
“Salaam Alaikum” – Immigration officer said.
“Pardon me sir, I know only English” I said politely.
“Welcome to Bahrain” he said.
“Thank you!”
That’s when I decided to learn at least few words of Arabic, in case I am lost and need to ask for directions.

Eagle has landed
First thing I noticed when I came out of airport is that, Arabs drive on the wrong side! This is the first taste of so many things the Arabs do in opposite ways compared to rest of the world!

The roads are straight, spotless and beautiful! Vehicles move with a very high speed.

The country is full of shopping complexes, sky scrapers, beautiful roads, but almost no greenery. It could be boring sometimes away from nature.

Arabs
I have never seen so many mosques in one place. The country is full of them. Interestingly there are prayer rooms everywhere even in shopping malls and movie theaters. You can pray there during the prayer time or for that matter anytime.

Arabs are well built, good looking and have large families.

Most of the Arabs are simple minded and easy going people. You will rarely see an Arab - advanced Java programmer!

I have never seen so many people in Burqa - anytime, anywhere!

Day to day life

The climate is extremely hot, except in December and Jan. You can not walk the smallest distance. There is almost no rain! In three years that I was in Bahrain I had seen rain less than 10 days.

There are lot of massage centers and fast food corners. Arabs love both! Food is cheap and nutritious. Non vegetarian food is cheaper than vegetarian food!

And the cheapest of all is black gold - Petrol! The one thing, that has made all the difference. The one thing, that has given the Arab region, a presence in the outer world. The gift from God for all the heat, sand and ignorance!


Elephant song
“Have you seen an elephant?” An Arab asked me once. “I mean a real one, not in the TV”

There is virtually no wild life in Bahrain. It has only one zoo, which doesn’t have many animals.

“Yes” I said. “There is a temple back home, and there is one in the temple”

“Have you touched it?” he asked. Touching an elephant!

“No. I didn’t know it is a privilege!” some times Arabs can be funny!


Grand mosque
Grand Mosque is the biggest mosque in Bahrain. I went there with a Muslim friend and was surprised to see that the whole place is almost empty.

“Where is the God? I mean are there not any idols?”

“We believe God doesn’t have a form” my friend answered.

Interesting concept!


Bulla ki jana main kaun?
Once, while shopping one of the persons at the counter asked me – “Are you from Pakistan?” My God! Of all the things!

I have been confused for a North Indian, a Hindu, racist, extremist, atheist etc. etc. In a worst case I don’t mind some one calling me child molester, wife beater, homo, gigolo, nymphomaniac and all those unpronounceable meaningless words, but a Pakistani?

I didn’t know what to say. I lost words.

Politely told the guy that I am not from Pak and no Indian likes to be called as a Pakistani!

Movies

Arabs like Hindi movies. They even hum Hindi songs without knowing the meaning. “Have you seen Mera Naam Joker?” One old Arab taxi driver asked me once.

“No, I have not seen it. It is an old movie”

“We used to watch Raj Kapoor movies during those days, Fridays mostly. He was a good actor” he said.

Good old days.


Quid pro quo
The theatres in Bahrain are small, unlike India not crowded. When Mani Rathnam’s YUVA came to Bahrain I was the first to suggest for a movie outing. As usual I was the co-coordinator, so I took the responsibility for booking the tickets.

When I reached the advance booking counter, it was empty!

“It will take some time” the person on the counter said “There is some problem with the computer”

“I know a little about computers “I said “Do you mind if I have a look?”

I went inside the booking cabin and found that one of the databases was not getting started. I solved the problem and also booked the tickets for the group.

Normally I go for a movie well in advance, that too if it is a Mani Rathnam movie I will be the first one on the venue, but that day because of the delay from our group we reached the theatre 10 minutes late. The movie was already started. Except our group there was no one else in the theatre.

I went to the booking counter and introduced myself as the one who solved the database problem.

After pointing that the theatre is empty except for our group politely requested the guy to restart the movie from the beginning!

The guy got convinced and started the movie again. You can not think of doing this in the smallest theatres, in India!

Causeway

King Fahd causeway is a land link between Saudi and Bahrain. It is 26 KM in length, and is one of the engineering wonders.

You can go for a long drive on this road with maximum speed. The night drive is simply wonderful.

There is going to be a link road between Bahrain and Qatar soon. This will be the longest link road in the world!


Tree of life

The tree of life is a lone tree in the middle of the desert. This is a 400 year old tree! The source of water for this tree is a mystery!

The only reason why I didn’t go to see it is because of the thousands of trees I had already seen in Kinnigoli!

Malabar confusion
Once an Arab asked me “Are you form Kerala country?”. Middle East is so much crowded with Keralites that many of the Arabs are under the impression that Kerala is a country!

Most of the Keralites speak fluent Arabic. I have also seen some Arabs speaking fluent Malayalam! Tit-for-tat!

Gabga
The most difficult period in Bahrain is the holy month of Ramadan. Everything moves slower during this period. Muslims fast during the day. It is a tough time. They don’t even drink water.

No person who follows fasting can work more than 6 hours per day according to Muslim law. Arabs start working early, by noon everything is closed.

During one of the Ramadan days, Arabs celebrate Gabga. Gabga is an occasion where close members of a family meet to break the fast in the evening. I was invited once for Gabga.

Gabga is celebrated with good, delicious Arabic food. The guests are greeted with Gava, Arabic tea. If one is interested he or she can enjoy shisha, a kind of Hukka.

Arabs prefer khuboos instead of chapattis. They prefer less masala and less spicy food. After the food a good game of Domino follows. Some play chess. Good Arabic music follows and a long night ahead.

Hawar
In Arabic, Hawar means baby camel. It is also the name of a small Island group belonging to Bahrain. It’s a tourist place almost 45 minutes by ship from the main Island. I went there with wife and fell from a jet-ski in mid sea.

We were floating in mid sea for almost 10 minutes till the coast guards saved me and my wife. That’s when I came out of the rat race and slowed down. Also I wrote my first article on Kinnigoli.com based on the same experience.

King of trivia
Siddartha Basu came to Bahrain to host a nation wide quiz. Naturally I was very enthusiastic, unfortunately my client was not. It was very reluctant to sponsor the entry fee. They were very sure that we were going to lose.

In fact no one came to cheer us for the finals. I along with my partner studied day and night for the quiz. My partner was a kind of eat-drink-and-sleep quiz guy!

We managed a second prize!

Enlightenment
“You must be very ill!”
“Yeh” I said “I should have come earlier”. We both were in the hospital. The guy who asked me that question was waiting for the doctor, like me.
“Look you can go ahead of me, I am not in a hurry” That’s how I could see the doctor before him, even though he had come earlier. I met the person later and thanked him again.
“Where are you from?”
“Badin” he said.
“Which part of India it belongs to?” I had never heard of the place.
“It’s not in India”
“Then?”
“It is in Pakistan”

Call of the wild
In between I got US visa. Finally it was time to wind up and move.

Insha Allah
“Salaam Alaikum” – The immigration officer said.
“Wa Alaikum Salaam, Shlonek Ente? “ I said, now not a stranger to day to day Arabic.
“zen, al humdulla. Will you be visiting Bahrain again?”
“Insha Aallah” God willing, I said “some where in future”

From the flight I could identify some of the buildings. They were miniature images becoming smaller. After sometime I could see only blue sea, white clouds, azure sky and finally nothing.

Jan 2007, Kinnigoli
A promise to keep
I have reached Kinnigoli, met my friends, and had some good time. There is not much change. I am on vacation so not much to do. I roam around unknown places on my old bike.

Once I was roaming on my bike and was suddenly forced to apply breaks on a blind turn. And there it was in front of me, blocking half of the road, the mammoth – elephant.

It was a kid, still it was huge! I was bit nervous because here is a giant, if it likes, can lift me easily with my favorite bike and throw aside putting an end to my miserable life!

I didn’t know what to do. For a brief moment our eyes crossed. What is going on in this mammoth’s head?

Before I could do anything, it just forwarded its trunk, may be expecting food. I was bit reluctant, nervous, scared, out of my wits, pushed my hand forward mechanically and finally just touched it.