It was an early morning flight, six something ..i was awake the entire night talking to people who called me to give their best wishes.Norten (My best BUD) was awake trying to help me pack my stuff,weighed it every time he dumped something into my bag .These airline officials are so fussy about how much your luggage weighs he kept saying!! a few kilos more and you end up paying a fortune.He did insist i carry some porn but the stern look on my face gave him the message, now i realize he was right i should have carried some of em.
My parent's are a bunch of liberal people unlike other folks who cry on your shoulder's and embarrass you to no end at the airport,like matured individual's a firm handshake from Mr Rangan (my dad) and a hug from Mom, they wished me luck and bid adieu........
Living alone?? free will!!!Answerable to none...No more boring South Indian food.All these thoughts rushed through this aimless mind as i cleared the immigration section and walked towards my terminal.I had never given a thought what an Oil Rich Country like 'ArabLand' had to offer to a guy who goes clubbing on a weekend blowing up his salary on the 15th of every month but the money and the kind of work i would be exposed to thrilled me to no end,I was elated.After a couple of cigarettes in a nasty washroom, I sighed in relief.Smoking can be a problem at Bombay Airport, you really need to squeeze yourself in a room filled with smoke and nicotine lovers.
Finally after all that wait!!i boarded the flight all set for my next Destination 'Arab Land'.Tired of staying awake, i was fast asleep without a clue.All i could see in my dreams were camel's carrying barrels of Oil.A few hours later!! the lights came on,i looked outside the window rubbing my eyes ignorant about the people round me to get an aerial view. Well it turned out to be quite scary all i could see is 'DESERT'.My fear had reached new heights could sense a rush in the blood..
I was told that Arabs's are a bunch of proud but mindless people who take pride in being stupid.Well i thought of this as an opportunity to reap the benefits as i consider myself to be equally dumb :P Like a lost soul i reached the immigration section waiting for my visa to arrive and it did finally. After a couple of questions, the officials started to converse in arabic it did sound funny for a while all i could understand was 'ALLAH'.I tried to curb my laughter but all that sound... i was in splits!!!
Two weeks back,I had this telephonic interview with this soft spoken gentleman named SAM, a two min chat!!I agreed on the terms and we had a deal.
In a few days he finished all the formalities on my behalf and said that he would pick me up from the airport.
As i walked out ,among those sulking faces i saw a smiling face,a tall grey skinned Malayali with his spectacles on waved at me looked like a geek to me ... yes he turned out to be one!!! he greeted me with a smile and a gentle handshake.I was escorted to his vehicle in the parking lot where he helped me unload my stuff.We traveled our way back early in the morning to the Intergraph headquarters,yes that is the name of my company that specializes in Geospatial and Engineering solutions.
I noticed that the roads were empty and clean unlike the roads in Bombay where you travel through bumpy roads for hours and never make it on time.We had a formal chat on our way back and managed to reach the office in minutes. I gazed at this isolated two storey building on this lonely street which unfortunately looks quite pathetic even today. Nevertheless to hide my disappointment, i smiled and walked in to the premises.I was greeted with smiling faces & firm handshakes by unknown entities finally being escorted to the cabin where i had to report to this gentleman named Mr.Mahmood Riaz who was the Busines Unit head for Intergraph.I could see the 'Power to SEE' logo on the door must be some kinda Intergraph patriot i said to myself..
A Pakistani bloke in his late thirties fair, tall, balding scalp walked towards me and said Welcome to the Intergraph family.What family? hello!! i just walked in.Well dumbstruck for a while i regained my consicousness and smiled backed saying 'MY Pleasure'.Well there was another surprise in store for me, it was the holy month of Ramadan.Heard of it but what has that got to do with my work???
Since i was not familiar with it, i managed to gather some information in the pantry where i was offered some coffee. I was told for a month i could not eat from sunrise till sunset in public as it was considered an offence.If caught!!! i could be sent to Prison.DUH!!!Is this why i left Bombay for? What the Fuck!!Perplexed for a moment I borrowed a ciggarette from one of em and rushed to the nearest washroom for a smoke.....I kept saying all the time have i made the right decision have I ??
I was shown my desk where lay an HP notebook which is now an integral part of my life..Some people walked in and introduced themselves as my colleagues a few Indian's, Pakistanis some Afros and Arabs.It all happened so quickly i was wondering what lay in store for me???
It was a slow start, but soon it turned out to be a tedious one.Years went by multiple client interactions and a couple of deals i was now dealing in multiple engineering applications providing solutions for Oil & Gas Companies. My colleagues Waqar,Sam Rosh ,Taimoor, Alwyn & Samson have been fairly good to me with whom i have developed a bond over the years.Today we are one happy family trying to make a living in this alien not so perfect country.
As of today,i am just one among the many.Well we were a team of five and now we are twelve...
It can be shocking and amusing at times to be in a land that is so different in terms of culture, diversity and ways of life.But i feel that this is where i was destined to be, it feels like i was here yesterday..
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