India Calling..

This post comes as the result of an outburst of emotions as I prepare to head back to India on what will be known as my first official vacation since I joined work back in August 2011.

How the days converted into months and months into years, I didn't realize a damn thing!.

Here I am sitting at work, the back of my mind working like a bullet train on what and how ill spend these valuable vacation days.

I must admit though that the journey so far has been nothing less than memorable.

I still remember how I first stepped into the U.A.E, feeling all skeptical about working and living here.

The one thing that sunk into my system is this emotional attachment with my homeland. To be very honest, I'm not yet sure of whats causing this mixed feeling.

Is it the fact that I'll finally be returning as an N.R.I to meet old friends, or is it the sheer fact that i'll be officially off-duty for the next few weeks, I really do not know, and honestly, I really do not care!.

The life and stay here changed me in more ways than one. I started believing in myself, began understanding the importance of that B-Tech degree, realized the respect that I got just because I had the word Engineer stamped on my passport, learnt a lot about the various nationalities that lived in unison here, and last but not least, started to fall in love with my job.

I've survived the four seasons, understood the importance of the holy month of Ramadan twice, and lived through the various national celebrations.

To me, it means more than just words can describe.

My birthday is the one day in the whole year that i eagerly look forward to. This year, I made it big!. Traveled across international borders to celebrate this D-day.

Now I'm not trying to boast about anything but for an average Indian who has moved across to another country to work, small things like these make a huge impact. Definitely small, but the feeling of having that extra entry permit being stamped on my passport itself means a lot to me.

I know for a fact that this is just the beginning; that there will be more for me to learn and experience in the coming years of my existence, but what counts most is that I have now proudly survived one full cycle!.

I came in here a total stranger. The only people I knew were my family, two college mates and my boss.
One year down the lane and this place is like a second home.

I never could understand the difference between working in India and working here until i slowly began to see the difference in terms of lifestyle. Let me remind you, I came here a fresher, began working here without even knowing what I was supposed to be doing and gradually made an improvement through time.

For a guy like me who loves anything that has four wheels and a machine, laying hands on some beauties was more than just a dream come true. I haven't yet got my official driving licence but like they say, Inshallah, ill get that too with time.

Affording the latest gizmos, being picky about brands and making a saving of that salary are definitely some of the things that I would take a long time to do if I were in India.

Notwithstanding, the fact that I am now going back on that earned leave, with a chance to meet some old friends and relatives puts in this peculiar feeling of pride. A feeling that I'm going back a 'Somebody' rather than a 'Nobody'.

Perhaps everyone living and working here goes through the same phase, but for me, it will be something that I will make note of in my diary of life.

With just four more days and counting, the excitement just seems to be building up.

The tales that I will have to tell my friends back home will take more than just those few days of vacation.

Wherever I worked, the word holiday always struck a bell. Only this time, I'm already looking forward to getting back!

The only sad part is that instead of the full one month leave that I earn after working for an entire year without leave, I only get a two weeks break this time. The reason behind the short leave is obviously work but I'm not disappointed. I'm looking at it from another perspective; I get another two weeks off later; perhaps a foreign trip will suffice!.

What I do then is yet to be decided. For now, its India calling!.

And a year passes JUST LIKE THAT!!!

Now, just before I begin, let me give you a little brief on how I came up with this post.

At this very moment, at exactly 23:40 hrs, on a beautiful Thursday night, I'm about 5 pegs down!. Please don't get me wrong. Its a weekend here. The one day that I get to loosen up and forget all about the week that was.

After this one Friday, its going to be another 6 days of grueling work. not to mention the heat that I shall be subjected to!.

Anyways, let's leave those miseries away for a while. Let's talk about those good memories that I came by in this more than ordinary experience that I have had during my stay here in the UAE.

I'm sure your aware of the time when I first stepped into this country. I was kinda cynical about the ways of life here and how I would be able to manage.

It was little known back then of how this country would transform my life. Life kinda turned out to be awesome!

After one year and a few more moths post that, I have now realized how amazing this place has really been.

Trust me, when I first stepped in here, I had no friends, no one to talk to or no one to share my feelings with.

My parents were definitely there but you know how it is. You really cannot express all your feelings to them!.

Getting over all of that, I began putting my life into pieces. This one year has been rather extraordinary.

There has been a lot of things that influenced me and a lot of other things in my life.

I have matured as a human being, I have moved up the corporate ladder in terms of knowledge about the industry and about the 'Engineering" life.

It sure has been a fun ride!. I have made friends, who in reality have made a difference in my outlook to the life here.

I have had a boss who unlike other managers, has supported me, scolded me and most of the time, inspired me into being the person I am today.

I'd love to change a lot of things in my life. But trust me, The UAE experience would be the last thing that I would intend to change!.

If you have ever been to the UAE on a visit visa, looking for a job here, you would probably best understand the feelings that I have been through. From my experience, I think the only other people who would also understand are the people who have known no other land other than the UAE.

The point I'm trying to make here is that this tenure of my life has been more than ordinary.

I have made some wonderful friends here. Friends with whom I have been able to share the most intimate moments of my life without thinking twice about the consequences. Friends who have in reality, gone though more grueling times than me.

Here, life is very tempting to a new comer. You tend to lead a much more luxurious life without knowing that it would have costed a fortune to have lead a life like that.

Just imagine, I'm living in an apartment that costs like 3.5 lacs a yr!!. My roommate drives a car that comes on a rent that costs about 20K a month!.

Seems like a lot of money!. Doesn't it!. Well thats just a taste of how the Dubai life can change you.

Here, I've realized that you can either live the life of a millionaire, driving the costliest cars, or on the other hand, live the life of a miser who thinks twice before paying for a parking ticket and stays around the car for the last 15mins just so that they can avoid that 2 Dirham parking fee!.

Life here is very mesmerizing. I've come across things on a a varied scale of difference. What I have understood after all this time is just one..

Life passes just like that!!

The Change!

Its been a year now. I have slowly but steadily evolved into this new me.

A side of me I never knew existed. It was exciting and at the same time a little scary.

How I had transformed from the guy who loved his life to becoming this person who decided to take responsibility on his shoulders.

In all these months, the one thing I realized was that the credit for this change was not solely mine. There were perhaps more factors that influenced this 'evolution' in me.

It was after a lot of thought that i was able to come with the answers. I realized that working here was a major reason for this change. The outlook of people here was what I was inculcating in me.

The need to save up, the want to live a simple yet healthy life style and the desire to grow in terms of profession were a few of the things that I was beginning to develop.

I guess it would be unfair and un-just for me to not mention the one man who played a major part in this change.

He wasn't my father, not my brother, not a close friend and neither a relative. All that he happened to be was my direct reporting manager.

This one man gave me a whole new perspective to the life here. I'm not sure of what he saw in me or what he conceived of me. But I was sure of one thing. He did see some hope in me!.

To this date he continues to mentor me not only professionally but also personally. Through various examples of people he knew and some of his own, he passed on a few messages that stuck to me like glue.

I still remember the first time I made a goof up at work. This guy was furious. He thought I was some kind of a joker who by accident got his engineering degree.

I remember him asking me to make a report on something that ideally he would have done just to show me who was boss.

I remember sitting in my room with sweaty palms, desperately trying to type out that report in the best possible manner.

The expression on his face when I submitted the report is still as fresh as a photograph in my head.

 He looked at me, read the report, and then asked me to sit down. He then began explaining through one of his own stories on how he had messed up the lives of several other junior engineers when he asked them to write reports like these.

I still remember him saying " Normally I would reject the entire report, make a new one, and keep a few lines written by the junior engineer just to keep his heart. In your case, I can confidently submit this report as it is".

That one sentence was like a turbo boost to my morale. I actually wanted to jump with joy on the achievement.

Change for me was nothing more than the literal meaning. I never cared to see why I should change in the first place. I was happy for who I was.


In-spite of these small morale boosts, I definitely  had trouble changing from the lazy ass I was to someone who understood responsibility and diligence to work.


I have had a lot of up's and down's in this past one year. It has been nothing less than a rough ride on a small boat in the open ocean.


I have been through a stage where my employment was questioned. I have seen a phase where my manager has walked out on me saying that we can never work together. 


What I have understood from these various experiences, is that life has never been, and probably will never be an easy ride. The objective is to face the hurdle, analyse the shortcomings and work a way out.

I'd like to share a very simple statement that my manager made one day while we were searching for something. I being my lazy self, had almost given up the search when he said, " Dhoondega to Milega".

That sentence did hold good for that one instance but what I came to believe was that this sentence applied to everything you do in life! You seek happiness, search for it. You'll find it. You want to be rich, search for richness. You'll find it.

What I believe my manager wanted to convey to me was that if ever you need something in life, you need to need to work for it.

Nothing comes served on a platter. It might happen in a Bollywood movie or in a cartoon, but not in real life.

Another reason for this change that I was accepting was my manager making me realize my own capabilities.

Strengths I never knew I had were been highlighted for me to see. We were discussing some contractual issues one day at work and my boss tells me; " I have seen a lot of regional heads, directors and senior managers goof up when it comes to contracts. You seem to have the knack. work on it and it will do you good"

If your thinking that all is good when my manager says these "sweet" things to me, your mistaken. There was one other thing that he keeps reminding me even now. The attitude.

That's the one thing he has been talking about from day one. He understands where I come from and that I'm new to this field but what he keeps saying is that unless you have the attitude you'll go nowhere.

I happened to share this one slogan from one of my old t-shirts with him and he did agree to it as well. It read; " I do not have an attitude problem, I have The ATTITUDE, you have the problem!"

It might sound strange for most but all along, its been these small things in my life that have actually made a difference.

The pitfalls and hurdles have always taught me something in life; To never give up. The harder you try, the further you go.

I have always been the guy with a million emotions. But experiences like these tend to toughen you up. Not physically of course!, but mentally.

These lessons learnt in my my short tenure here have been life altering. My perspective to life has changed and the need to want more out of life has grown in leaps and bounds.

I might be on a low pay scale, working for a significantly small firm. But the knowledge that I have gained has been enormous.

I did plan on moving out of the job and perhaps out of the country.

But now, I know one thing. Its all gonna change!

A completely new perspective!

It's been almost 8 months since i first set foot into the UAE.

I still remember how I swore to my parents about never coming to this place again especially to work.
I also remember how I realized that coming to the UAE was my only way out for survival.
I also remember how I got all excited about going to foreign land to work!.

The point I'm trying to make here is that in all these years where I had these mixed feelings about the same place, I was unknowingly nurturing this mature side of me into a more sensible human being.

After working here and learning about the way of life in this country, i was also beginning to see life in a whole new perspective.

Its funny how you work in your home country for so many years and not once do you really feel the urgency to take your life on a more serious note and make changes for the better. I guess its the feeling of security and belonging that makes you say things like 'I have time' and 'Ill manage'.

All of a sudden when you step out of that cocoon, you feel so insecure that you almost get desperate. You start worrying about the price of groceries, the number of times you have to re-charge your mobile phone because of the call rates and to make it ridiculous, you even begin worrying about the number times you have to go out for that haircut!.

But like they say, with time, you learn to make those decisions on where to spend, how much to spend and when to spend and the funny thing is, it all comes so naturally. Its like you have been trained for something like this all your life!

Another interesting fact is the multicultural society that exists even in a country so small as this.

As an outsider, the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word UAE is perhaps a picture of a Muslim dominated country where the woman dress in black and men look funny in a white dress with headgear and yes, you cannot miss out on the oil!.

Its when you physically get to this country that you realize how wrong you were about this place. I mean a majority of this is true but a lot stays hidden.

It would be interesting to know that in the UAE, the ratio of nationals to expats is shocking. Its about 20% nationals and 80% expats!.

When you hear that figure, the first thing that comes to your mind is "how in the world did 20% of the population control the 80%?!" That question still remains quite a mystery. What most people have made out of this is that the Arab population had all the money in the world because of their oil but failed to understand how to put it to use and so the expats.

What I believe though is that the Arabs undoubtedly had all the money but instead of being lost in terms of where to spend the dough, they were just being lazy!. I mean, with so much of cash in hand, these guys had access to the best schools, colleges and universities. How then do you assume that they dont have the knowledge.

Its a different fact that more than the educational content, the Arabs were perhaps more interested in getting the certificates to boast about rather than utilizing them coz they had people like us to work for them!/

Another interesting perspective to this whole thing is the bonding that you get to see between the expats.

Back in India, the very mention of a country like Pakistan or the mention of a Pakistani national can literally set the stage for a major debate or perhaps even war!. Here in the UAE, Indians and Pakistani's live in such harmony like nothing ever happened. I mean, I have a Pakistani driver who takes me to work every day!.

All my life Bangladesh was just another country. I come to the UAE and actually see people who are from Bangladesh!. I look rather dumb when i say this but did not have a clue about where the Philippines was!.

I come to the UAE and bang!, I'm surrounded by this rather familiar looking race of people whom we knew or referred to as 'chinkis!'

In addition to all these already mentioned nationalities, you have people from the States, UK, Europe, and the various other Arab countries. All working in unison with one and only one goal; to earn that extra buck.

I have to admit that I have changed a lot as a person after coming to this part of the world. Its perhaps the sense of insecurity and responsibility that forced this change out of someone like me.

I'm not sure of what I am in for in the days,months or years to come. But i know one thing for sure. Its been a complete change in perspective!

What a Life!

It had now been a couple of months since i started work on a valid employement visa. Along with it came the usual running around for my medicals and other formalities that were required to keep my visa valid and permanent.

The one similarity that i noticed in the UAE as compared to India was the government sector. Same old dragging procedures, same old waiting times and the frustration that builds up to get one simple activity done. The big difference here was the bribe business. In India, getting work done in a goverment office means bribing an official. ( I dont mean to be biased here but thats the fact). Here in the UAE one needs to understand that he/she is like a foreigner and will be treated like one no matter what position you hold. If you hold that golden UAE passport and can speak arabic, your work gets done at ten times the pace.

Not withstanding, i continued my duties and eventually everything fell in place. I was now a legal resident of the UAE and so was a little relieved about the entire ordeal.

As the days moved and as i got to understand the culture here, things kind of became a little difficult for me. As a fresher in the industry, my aim was to perform my tasks with complete diligence and hope for the best. There were a few hiccups though;

First of all, i realized things that i would have never known if i were to work in India. Here its all about the "I" game.

As much as one would hate it, you have to play that game if you want to save your skin. Like it or not, you have to let people know what "you" have been doing as how it has helped the organization.

I had a little trouble understanding this and there came a time when my employement was being questioned on the basis that the company did not see any "productive" output from my side.

Though it hit me like a rock, i realized that if i was to keep my job i had to play this game and let people know that i was indeed "working" and not playing around. I had to show everyone that i was taking the initiative and that i was doing a good job.

Thankfully for me, it was not that difficult.!. Coming from a country where these games are played everywhere, its not a difficult ask for someone to put on that disguise!.

With all my will and might i set out to show the organization and everyone concerned that "I" was what they were looking for.

As the days passed, i got some recognition and complaints reduced about my ability to handle the "pressure".  I most certainly enjoyed what i was doing but it definitely took some time to realize what was actually needed to be done on my part.

Its been six months now since i signed my contract with this company. Its not been an easy journey and i know for a fact that it will not be a cake walk in the days to come. But one thing i know for sure, and that is you got to play the game to survive.

Coz here in the UAE, its the survival of the fittest. You may be hated for what you do by the others, but you do gain that recognition and at the end of the day, all you can say to yourself is :

What a life!

Re- Kindling those old memories

I had moved on in life in the search for that perfect future. I had got tired of going with the flow and had decided in my heart to pick up the rows of life and make an effort to move against the tide.

The sudden trip back to Bangalore came as a surprise for sure but what i looked forward to was to re-kindle those great memories that i had buried in my mind when i left for the Gulf.

On my way home from the airport, i couldn't stop thinking of the countless crazy activities that my friends and I indulged in and the ways that we enjoyed every bit of our lives. As i kept playing those memories over and over in my head like a broken record player, i was suddenly interrupted by the driver who told me i had reached my destination. Like a sudden burst of energy, i hopped out of the cab and literally ran up the stairs with all that luggage.

The next few days in Bangalore were spent in repeating all those crazy things that i had done while i lived there. Bar hopping was one of the most favourite and sought after activities that we indulged in almost every other weekend. Only this time it was not a weekend and i had some dough on me to spend!

I had the opportunity to meet up with my old colleagues from work and visit the October Fest which, by the way, is something that his hosted every year in Bangalore under the sponsorship of Mr. Vijay Mallya, the business tycoon and owner of the United Breweries group in India. This is festival where beer is flowing on the house, rock bands and budding artists are playing their thing, and people are generally having a good time.

This also happens to be one of those days when the cops don't stop you for 'Drink and Drive' because the big man has supposedly 'tipped' them off. All said, the day was an awesome experience.

The rest of the days literally flew past and before i knew it i was packing my bags to go to Kerala, my hometown and the place where my grandparents lived.

It was hard to depart from my friends especially when i was seeing them after months together and, was doing  it for the second time.

The stay in Kerala though was a rather pleasant one. I had the chance to eat and fill my stomach with all those lovely granny made dishes and plus to sit around in those huge and well maintained gardens at home to enjoy the autumn sun.

I was in Kerala, when the day i love the most arrived, MY BIRTHDAY!. How i would look forward to this one day in the entire year. I have this strange philosophy; No matter how shitty or bad my year has been, this one day has to be different. It may feel childish but i still love those birthday presents and the birthday bash at home or outside. The only change though over the years is that the birthday parties have moved on from having cakes and home made samosas to tequila shots and discotheques.

The problem here though was that i was in Kerala. I had no friends around and discotheques were kinda hard to find in this city. I had my sister with me and so decided to make the most of it. I rented out a set of wheels and off we went. We visited the one and only mall in Cochin, had a nice lunch, did some shopping and visited the Naval Base, a place where i had spend my high school days.

Like they say, all good things come to an end and so was the case with my little surprise vacation. It was finally time for me to return back and this time work under a valid employment visa. As much as i missed being in India, i actually looked forward to coming back to the UAE.

As i sat at the airport waiting for my flight, i sighted a book shop. i am a Chethan Bhagat fan and so went in to see if i could find his latest book, Revolution 2020. I was lucky to find one of the last copies in the store. As i flipped through the pages and settled down on one of the seats at the airport lounge, i said to myself, One more great story!

Surprise Surprise Surprise!

As the tittle suggests, life in Dubai was turning out to be full of surprises.

I had joined college and was working too. I had thought to myself and repeated the sentence "this is how its going to be for the next two years", in my head countless times. Little did i know that tons of surprises were waiting to pound on me like a bunch of salespersons in a departmental store.

It was after two months of rigorous work and those long trips to college, that i found out that i was still on a visit visa!. The company for some reason had completely ignored the task of issuing me a work visa. The reason was unknown for a while after which i decided to investigate on the matter. I did a little asking around and this is the answer a fellow employee gave me;

"As per the UAE law, every private sector company needs to renew its own business licence. Only once this has been done, can they apply for new visas for any new employee that they happen to recruit."

This short story sounded like Greek and Latin to me for a while and i wondered why this guy told me about the UAE law when my question to him was so simple. It was after a little brainstorming session with myself that i realised the real meaning of that sentence. It meant that the company i was working for had not got its own licence renewed and thats why the delay in getting my visa. That made a lot of sense!

The worry now was, how was i supposed to communicate to my company that they needed to get their licence renewed like immediately coz without that my visa was in jeopardy. I decided to mail my boss asking him for an explanation to why my visa had not yet been issued inspite of me working like a good boy for over two months now.

I drafted the mail and kept hesistating to press the send button as i kept contemplating if it was the right thing to do. I mean how many times have you sent a mail directly to the boss of the company that too asking for an explanation?!. These thoughts kept crossing my mind while i decided to push the button.

The boss was rather quick and calm in his response. He actually took the pains of explaining the situation whilst also assuring me that things would be taken care of. The last line in the mail though was like a pinch. It said, "you concentrate on your work and let the company take care of issues like these". Impressive i thought. The boss knew how exactly he was to convey a message. Shot and sweet yet that pinch of spice.

Before i knew it, i was on the verge of having to return back to India as my visit visa would expire in the next few days.

Things suddenly became frantic in my world. Mails turned to phone calls which were made to every possible head in the company begging them to do something and save my puny ass from going back to India. The idea here was not that I hated going back, the fact rather, was that if i went back, i was doubtful of coming back to the UAE.

Again like a tooth fairy, my boss assusred me that everything would be taken care of and that the company visa renewal was taking longer than usuall and that my visa processing was the next thing on his to-do list after the company issue was resolved. He asked me to go back carefree and enjoy my "break" and that he would have somebody intimate to me once the visa was processed.

Next thing i knew, i was on a plane back to India. The memories of Dubai, the work life, the college..Thoughts suddenly broke when the word college struck...I had forgotten about what would happen to the degree course that i had enrolled for. What would happen to the subjects that i would miss, would my admission to the course be cancelled, will i ever be able to get an MBA?. It was like a sudden panic attack.

These thoughts faded away as I went into a deep slumber. The next thing i heard was the airhostess telling me to put my seat back in the upright position as we were preparing to make the landing.

The strange thing here was that the worries and memories of Dubai and the life that was, suddenly got replaced with excitement and emotions of making it back to my home country. I rushed through the entire immigration and security and before i realised, i was standing at the exit of the Bangalore International Airport Terminal giving a high-five to myself!.

It was five in the morning local time. I quickly signalled a taxi, gave him the address, starpped my self in and began planning out on what i would do in the days to come before i would have to go back on a company work visa.

There were a few things that i analysed on my way back to my room; 1. How long will i be here for? 2. Will i go back? 3. What will i do here?.

Whatever the state, i was going to enjoy every bit of it. All that i said to my self was...WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE!