March 1st week
Hiya Folks,
I have been writing my blog for quite some time. If you are interested to read the past blogs, then go to my webpage www.ayadhfarooq.com and click on BLOGS on the right hand corner, sort of middlish. I will be simultaneously updating my blogs on both sites on a regular basis. Please do not ask me what regular stands for. I guess, in a vague sort of sense, whenever I get the chance.
Well, I had not updated my previous blog for quite some time, so this is how I began last week.
Just when you all gave up on me. Just when you al thought the coast was clear. Just when you felt that the sea was calm again, I am BACK. Yes, but not with a vengeance. So, I will definitely not write pages and pages on my blog. And, I will not talk about the reasons that kept me away for so long. It is the end result that counts, and . . . I am back!I was wondering about how many of you folks know Dubai. So, let me narrate a few stories that should depict life in Dubai from the past to the present.In the fifties, there were no toilets (restrooms), so women used to go out in droves, and at a secluded place answer to the call of nature. Others would stand vigil to warn and ward away, both suspecting and unsuspecting (note the word suspecting, we too had peeping tom's in Dubai) passer's by. The guys used to be solitary figures, but they had to frequent places deemed to be ethically and morally acceptable and not places visible to others. However, call of nature is sometimes a quick urge to purge. You know what I mean. Well, there were times when people would not care about the morality of their actions, and this old and decrepit judge would be greatly infuriated by such actions. So, if he did catch anyone, he would have them presented in his court where publicly fine them 15 rupees ( in the fifties the local currency was rupees and paisa, thus the word baizad which is derived from paisa and means money). Until one day, in a packed court, a guy told him, actually you should fine me eighteen and not fifteen. Rupees. (Now, the next is a little crude, so if you want to skip it, then fine by me). So, when the judge asked him why, he replied to a packed laughter in the audience that while he was answering the call to nature, he also let off a lot of fire crackers, and he thought he should pay the extra for this was a 'son et luminaire' piece of exhibition. The Judge was so embarrassed that he never fined anyone again.In the sixties, Our Ruler Sheikh Mohamed's late father, the ever so visionary, The Late Sheikh Rashid was once going through Newsweek (or perhaps it was Times magazine, not so sure) and he asked his advisor how much it would cost to put a full page advertisement in the magazine. The advisor turned around and said, your highness, why do you want to spend such a lot of money on a worthless piece of extravaganza. His reply was, everyone knows America, England. I just want, even a few people, who chance to read this, should know that we also do exist in this world. What a vision! See, where Dubai is right now. It is nice to be meticulous in your work, be a great team manager, but if you do not have a vision (your ambition or goal) then you need a lot of luck if you want to get anywhere. So, my little piece of advice, 'Go out. Go find yourself. You are a very important being if you know your own value, and you try hard to find it.' That is about all it needs to be.70's were the hip hop times when many expatriates converged into Dubai. I drove to the police academy to get my driving license. This was a time when we all mingled together, the Brits, the Ozzies, the Yankees. All of us, and every night was party night. Dubai was small, and everyone knew each other. As you can see I have addressed this rambling report which I had promised to keep short and fun. Well, I will continue the rest in my next blog.I am now sitting in my living room sipping 'Fleury' listening to Strauss, and staring at the balcony outside. It is March in Dubai, and the temperature is in the mid twenty degrees centigrade. A slight breeze is blowing and the sun is shining meretriciously. I know I should be out there cycling to the Meadows or the Springs. Or lying on the beach somewhere in Jumeira.However, as usual, there is an upside. Although the Flamingoes are frequenting the "Ras el Khoor' area, and the Sea Gulls sweeping across the Staraits of Hormuz, I am constantly entertained by the resident birds chirping away. I have regular visits by Hoopoe's, Honeysuckles and Mynah's. I have heard we also have Owl's but I am yet to see one, specially at Greens.So, wherever you are, may the force be with you and do enjoy your friends while you can.
I have been writing my blog for quite some time. If you are interested to read the past blogs, then go to my webpage www.ayadhfarooq.com and click on BLOGS on the right hand corner, sort of middlish. I will be simultaneously updating my blogs on both sites on a regular basis. Please do not ask me what regular stands for. I guess, in a vague sort of sense, whenever I get the chance.
Well, I had not updated my previous blog for quite some time, so this is how I began last week.
Just when you all gave up on me. Just when you al thought the coast was clear. Just when you felt that the sea was calm again, I am BACK. Yes, but not with a vengeance. So, I will definitely not write pages and pages on my blog. And, I will not talk about the reasons that kept me away for so long. It is the end result that counts, and . . . I am back!I was wondering about how many of you folks know Dubai. So, let me narrate a few stories that should depict life in Dubai from the past to the present.In the fifties, there were no toilets (restrooms), so women used to go out in droves, and at a secluded place answer to the call of nature. Others would stand vigil to warn and ward away, both suspecting and unsuspecting (note the word suspecting, we too had peeping tom's in Dubai) passer's by. The guys used to be solitary figures, but they had to frequent places deemed to be ethically and morally acceptable and not places visible to others. However, call of nature is sometimes a quick urge to purge. You know what I mean. Well, there were times when people would not care about the morality of their actions, and this old and decrepit judge would be greatly infuriated by such actions. So, if he did catch anyone, he would have them presented in his court where publicly fine them 15 rupees ( in the fifties the local currency was rupees and paisa, thus the word baizad which is derived from paisa and means money). Until one day, in a packed court, a guy told him, actually you should fine me eighteen and not fifteen. Rupees. (Now, the next is a little crude, so if you want to skip it, then fine by me). So, when the judge asked him why, he replied to a packed laughter in the audience that while he was answering the call to nature, he also let off a lot of fire crackers, and he thought he should pay the extra for this was a 'son et luminaire' piece of exhibition. The Judge was so embarrassed that he never fined anyone again.In the sixties, Our Ruler Sheikh Mohamed's late father, the ever so visionary, The Late Sheikh Rashid was once going through Newsweek (or perhaps it was Times magazine, not so sure) and he asked his advisor how much it would cost to put a full page advertisement in the magazine. The advisor turned around and said, your highness, why do you want to spend such a lot of money on a worthless piece of extravaganza. His reply was, everyone knows America, England. I just want, even a few people, who chance to read this, should know that we also do exist in this world. What a vision! See, where Dubai is right now. It is nice to be meticulous in your work, be a great team manager, but if you do not have a vision (your ambition or goal) then you need a lot of luck if you want to get anywhere. So, my little piece of advice, 'Go out. Go find yourself. You are a very important being if you know your own value, and you try hard to find it.' That is about all it needs to be.70's were the hip hop times when many expatriates converged into Dubai. I drove to the police academy to get my driving license. This was a time when we all mingled together, the Brits, the Ozzies, the Yankees. All of us, and every night was party night. Dubai was small, and everyone knew each other. As you can see I have addressed this rambling report which I had promised to keep short and fun. Well, I will continue the rest in my next blog.I am now sitting in my living room sipping 'Fleury' listening to Strauss, and staring at the balcony outside. It is March in Dubai, and the temperature is in the mid twenty degrees centigrade. A slight breeze is blowing and the sun is shining meretriciously. I know I should be out there cycling to the Meadows or the Springs. Or lying on the beach somewhere in Jumeira.However, as usual, there is an upside. Although the Flamingoes are frequenting the "Ras el Khoor' area, and the Sea Gulls sweeping across the Staraits of Hormuz, I am constantly entertained by the resident birds chirping away. I have regular visits by Hoopoe's, Honeysuckles and Mynah's. I have heard we also have Owl's but I am yet to see one, specially at Greens.So, wherever you are, may the force be with you and do enjoy your friends while you can.
posted by Ayadh at 9:43 AM
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