This Corner of the Earth

"This corner of the earth is like me in many ways
I can sit for hours here
and watch the emerald feathers play
On the face of this I'm blessed
When the sunlight comes for free
I know this corner of the earth it smiles at me"
Lyrics from Corner of the Earth by Jamiroquai

I started my road trip here. 7 different emirates. All to be covered in 3 days. To meet different branches of our organisation- different people.
They welcome us. They greet us. Great hospitality. Friendly. Passionate. Emotional. Practical. Business-like. Forceful. Interesting. Many conversations. And many adieus wishing us a safe trip on the road.
I wished I could stay longer in each city or town to know more about people. Not just talk to them about customers, sales, feedback, issues and business. I wanted to know them. Understand their life. Want to see the city. See the lives people lead. Just 3 hours away from homeland, but things are so different here.
Last stop on last day is a small town called Al Ain. We have a branch there. We are late. The office is shut. We meet the care-taker/security guard. He shows us around. We are dead exhausted. Al Ain is warmer than the other cities. Al Ain must be deep into the desert, i console myself, the summer isn't here yet.
We finish our work. 4 tired people. 3 days of road trip. We are going home!

I ask the security chap. "Where do we get some good tea here? "
"Right across the road, just behind that store."

We walk.It was not just across the store. Quite a distance to get there. It was a small cafeteria run by our friendly folks from Kerala, South India. I walk in.
"Do you have tea?"
"Yes, saar"

We order for 2 teas, a bottle of water, a soft drink. My eyes stop at a counter. Pakodas, samosas, vadas. Awesome. I order for some onion pakodas.
No one dares to touch it. The cafeteria could be a shady place for people from uptown Dubai.
I smell some cooking, Kerala parathas.
"Wow! Can you pack me some?"
"Yes, sir. How many?"
"4. Dinner is here too!" I exclaim.
"Chicken or mutton curry, saar?"
"Chicken"

Parcel arrives. I have finished my own plate of pakodas and my tea.
"How much?"
"10 dirhams."
"And how much for the parathas and curry"
"10 dirhams all inclusive, saar"

"Wow", I tell myself." This is like the small malayalee joint back in coimbatore"

I walk with pride. I have quenched everybody's thirst. I have had pakodas and tea, something i haven't done in months. I am carrying kerala parathas and curry for dinner.

I walk to the car humming....
"This corner of the earth is like me in many ways ...
...
..I know this corner of the earth it smiles at me"

Glimpses of the past!

"Don't live in the past. Don't live in the future. Live for the present."

Last night we were at Sho Cho's. An 'expensive', 'upmarket' japanese bar & restaurant on Jumeira Beach Road. It's virtues of being expensive or upmarket don't help to filter out the growing crowd. We elbowed our way in and hit the bar.

The DJ in the far end was spinning. It was retro! Every second song takes me to someplace.

Roxette- I remember bangalore.
Beat It blares Michael J- I remember dancing for that song in school. It was the new 'Break dance.'
Cranberries- My first 14 inch second hand Akai colour TV.
Temple of the King- The tape from my college dorm.

I realize the power of music. It takes people some place they heard it first. Someplace one has already been to. I realize why I love living in the past. Space in time I have been to, seen, rehearsed. I can modify that memory. Clean it, spit and polish. So, retro + music- what a combination

2 more heinikens. And with every song, I travel across time, across the globe, many discotheques, many people, friends, good times, nostalgia.

3 am. Time to go.
At the immigration counter of NOW and the bouncer opens the door for me.

Jam. Served hot.

Big meeting planned in Oman, the next day.

Dubai to Oman. 2 hours to check in. 35 minutes flight. 1 hour to check out at the Muscat airport. We arrive late at night. Office was 10 kilometers from the hotel. Meeting at 9 am. You need to start early to beat the peak hour traffic says the lady at the front desk. We agree. Muscat, capital city. Must be quite packed in the morning, we reconcile. Cab called for 8:30am.

After a quick meal, night cap, and pressing my shirt for the day, I hit the bed. The alarm buzzes. It is 7 am. 7:35-out of the room. 7:40-woman at the desk taking time to check me out. 8:00-hit breakfast table. 8:30- at the porch waiting for the cab. 8:35- wait continues. 8:40- red lights in the head. thought blurb with woman saying" start early to beat the peak hour traffic" 8:40- Panic. search for local office contacts to check on the cab. damn we dont have the cab drivers numbers. 8:45- Cab comes in.
"Why are u late?"
No reply
"How much time will we take? How far is office?"
"11 Kilometers. Depends on traffic"
"Shit" I murmur
"Lots of traffic?"
"Yes, sir"
The cab speeds across the long, clean roads of Muscat. We see no cars on the road. No signals. Winging flyovers.
8:55- I can see our office building. No sweat.
I see a traffic signal ahead. 5 cars at the red light.
Cab driver says "Traffic Jam, sir. Peak Hour"

Perspectives?

Housekeeping from UK

Living in a service apartment for a few weeks is a pampering experience. You leave the apartment without worrying about the dustbins, the plates, the bed linen, the towels etc. Return from work to a sparkling apartment cos the housekeeping fairy godmother has visited your apartment, kept it ready for you to dirty it all over again.

The first few weekdays and weekends I was out, so I never got to see who the fairy god mother was. One weekend, after some serious partying the previous night, i was nursing a bad hangover and did not want to venture out. Ding Dong. "Housekeeping!" Open the door.
Fairy Housekeeping god father was there. A pleasant young man and all his teeth stared at me.
I wanted time away from people. I wanted to hit the bed. Our man insisted on having a conversation with me.
"So where are you from, Sir?"
"India"
"Bombay, huh?"
"Yes"
"Working here, Sir?"
"Yes"
"How long are u going to be here, Sir?"
"Dont know"
"Looking for a house,Sir?"
"Yes"
"Liking Dubai, Sir?"
"Yes. It's a nice city. Expensive"

I was drowning. Please do not make conversation. I dont want to be rude. I am a nice guy. Maybe I will ask a few questions and close this discussion.

"So where are u from?" I asked the fairy god mother.
"UK!"
I say, "Great. You sound like a south Indian, though"
"United Kerala, Sir"

My hangover vanished.