Freedom & its various Interpretations

Sitting in her cosy room on the first floor of her palatial house in the posh colony of Hyderpora Jameela was brooding about how difficult things where in her life.  She was in 8th grade & having just finished with her unit tests she had come to know that the Mid Term exam was just in two weeks. Due to constant strikes in the vale the school management had to speed up the examination process. She looked around the room to see books lying everywhere. She longed for the day when she would finish her 10th grade & not be pressurised with exams & books. She looked towards the Bihari labourers who were painting the outhouse & listening to old Bollywood tunes on the radio. She envied them –after all they had no tensions, no studies, no exams, no books, no homework & they were earning bucks. When she would be able to work & forget studies, she thought to herself.

There was a knock on the door & after a slight pause Rohit entered. He was from Darjeeling; his father was from Bengal & his mother was from Bhutan. His father, a farmer was a hardworking man who supported a family five. Rohit was the youngest of four children all of whom where good in studies. He was an average student. Just a few years after his birth his mother ran away with their neighbour. After this incident their father took to drinking & within a few years passed away. Soon Rohit decided to leave his studies & go to Kashmir to work as a domestic help. That’s how he landed in this palatial house. He intended to save enough money to be able to return to his village & live a happy life. Seeing Jameela sitting in her room with just studies to worry about he was quite envious of her. How someone could get everything in life while some had to fight for survival, he thought

Away in the outhouse as Kamal, the painter was working on his brush he felt giddy. He had caught a bad cold & had fever but because he had to finish the paint job in two weeks he was forced to work in this humid weather. He looked at the palatial mansion & sighed- being a poor Bihari thinking of having one’s own house seemed to be a distant dream . Somehow he managed to forget his dingy house in Bihar , his poverty stricken family, his shabby apartment in Hawal which he shared with four other workers or the cold/fever which had become his constant companions since he had entered Srinagar. He looked towards the sky as if asking God when & how could this struggle for existence end

Just a few feet away lived Afroza, a half widow. Her husband, Kareem had been picked up by the security forces in an identification parade & that was the last time anyone had seen him. She had gone from pillar to post for the sake of finding out his whereabouts or getting a glimpse of his face but to no avail. She would sew the clothes of people from her locality to feed herself & her son Jamal who was born just a month after Kareem had been picked up. For her every dawn brought a new hope of seeing/locating Kareem & every dusk brought on disappointment. To her only death or meeting Kareem would free her heart, mind & soul

Outside on the street the army jawan was standing in rapt attention,  keeping a close eye on the Chowk that he was guarding. The past two years had seen a humoungous increase in anti India protests across the valley. He was not comfortable with the idea of shooting at innocent & unarmed civilians & thus he thought it best to scare them away before they could gather. He longed for this month to end so that he could finish his term in Kashmir & then go home for vacations. He just prayed to God to keep him safe for this one month . He would often contemplate how liberating it would be to set foot in his own state

How strange it is that though when we talk of freedom we tend to equate it to forced occupation of land wheareas it is much more than that to myraids of people.Think about it

Living Through the crisis

I haven’t written any blog for a month or so, I was busy shifting to another apartment. I would rather say shifting is also side effect of the crisis but eventually its in our favour. The previous place was 10 minutes from the city, in a posh locality surrounded by embassies & wealthy sheikhs & what not but there we where not much at peace; probably due to the ambience or the brown dim flooring, something wasn’t quite right. The present apartment is 20 minutes from the city;11 kms from the previous apartment in a posh area but the ambience, feel, peace in this apartment is so soothing. Living here on the 2nd floor, walking on the terrace or just sleeping is such a soothing exercise in toto by allahs grace.

Now back to the crisis which is hanging on our heads. The world plunged in a global economic crisis is getting more frightening by the day. I first heard of the crisis in mid October when lehman brothers declared bankruptcy. Back then, I was someone who was least interested in finances or economy. Sensex, wall street, currency rates etc where words which didn’t mean much to me. My first job had just started ; I was full of ideas & things I could do as time goes on & lastly how could the oil-gold rich Abu Dhabi be affected by any sort of crisis.

But all this seemed to fizzle out the moment I was told that my office couldn’t pay me as the work had ebbed down as the crisis had finally struck. Its four months into the crisis & yet nothing is clear about whats going to happen or what should be our next step. Being expatriates in global crisis is unnerving to say the least. With no official clarification on how things will be dealt with or whats going to be the modulus operendi each day brings a lot of anguish.

So far I was just hearing that thousands of people where leaving the UAE every month. It was frightening but it seemed more of statistics. A month ago we came to know how close the affect was. One of our cousins who was ion a leading MNC of abu dhabi was confused if or not he should pay the fee of his daughters school for this year as the condition was full of fear & panic. His manager informed him that he should send his family back & it was furtile to deposit the school fee as he would be sacked in May, the manager had himself signed my cousins sacking orders.

Since then cousin had been packing up & on 9 days ago he left with his family. His family had arrived in Abu Dhabi just six months ago. All of them excited about relocating to Abu Dhabi for good. Seeing them pack up to go back was very depressing, however I feel they know what to expect & what to do. There is not even an iota of doubt in their minds about tomorrow.

On my part, I always pray to allah that whatever is in store for us, please let us know beforehand. Two of my cousins forwarded me some email id’s which could help me get a job. It would be a good experience but the way I see it, things can go from bad to worse now. The official statement of aiding the ongoing projects hasn’t shown any improvement in the construction sector. Many opine that things will seem to clear up after 31st March, the start of another financial year. I do hope that something concrete comes out by the end of the month so that we can plan accordingly. If god forbid we have to leave UAE then we will only prefer India, just because its nearer to home, we are citizens of that country & rent wise it aint as costly as abu dhabi.

Till there is life, there is hope.

Starting My Career with the Economic Slump

Right from the time we start our professional training,all of us aspire to start our carieers in no time & slowly move ahead aggrandising our knowledge & salary in the process of acquiring better jobs & career incentives.I was no different.Right from the time i started my Professional course in engineering, i would always look forward to the day when i would start earning on my own,have full independance in life & be self sufficient.

I toiled hard & long to complete my 4 year bachelor degree in engineering,just missing the honours mark by 1%.However i did rank first in my batch,which was very encouraging.Instead of plunging into a job rightaway i gave prefrance to pursuing Masters in engineering;not just because my father had done his masters too three decades ago but i wanted to have super specialised knowledge in my feild.In two years i had completed my masters with an overall CGPA OF 7.5 & again first rank in the batch.

I was confident that wherever i went now, finding the right job or the right employer wouldnt be a problem.At 26 i was BE in Civil engineering & MTech in Water Resources Engineering;which in itself was something great for me.I got married & came over to UAE after completing my Mtech.Finding the right job for myself wasn’t easy.The absence of experience from my CV was very hard to compensate by my academic prowess;however i did find the right job in a company in BOQ section as QS.I was on probation for about two weeks during which i was given some buildings to analyse & estimate.I was sucessful in estimating the exact quantities required & my superiors where quite pleased with me & intended to employ me from next week.What more could i want in life;everything was going smoothly

But as luck would have it,the next week saw the slump hitting the construction belly of UAE with utmost intensity.With the result that lesser work started trickling in.Many companies either closed up,or fired most of its staff,or reduced the wages or didnt pay any wages at all.In this situation i was told that i unless the situation didnt improve;the company couldnt hire me.

This was quite a hard shock to take for me personally.I felt like being the most jinxed person around.But in a week or so i decided that this was a godsent oppurtunity.I could practise the software & buildinmgs in the office 1 or 2 days a week & the rest of the time i could easily spend at home or enjoy by going to the library,museum,corniche ,cycling etc.

We seldom get the time to realise what all we can do in addition to our professional prowess.Writing was something i had long left in pursuit of my academics.Now having started writing again gives me a sense of freedom & comfort which i havent felt before.Going to the library makes me feel there is so much to learn & so much to see.Going cycling makes me feel one with nature.In short,i can enjoy life in a way i possibly couldnt while in the 8am-7pm job schedule.

Morever this crunch wont last forever.My job is going to happen after the crunch;so instead of sulking about not having a job i can well enjoy the period so that when i do have a job i will have spent the past in loads of joy …& will be ready to face the future with full vigor & zeal…What say folks

Emarati woman-Subjugated or not

Recently my attention was caught by the hijab , muslim women in the gulf & how they are perceived by others . Why do western leaders & media  feel that the burka  symbolise enslavement of women? Why cant they  understand that a woamn would choose to willfully veil her face,from unwanted gaze from perverts ?

Do we criticise the scottish men  for wearing pleated skirts or the  Bishop of Rochester for wearing a pointy hat & purple  or least off all the christian nouns (who dont even marry). When no one castigates them,why pinpoint the hijab as a barrier for the muslims to integrate into society.

The most common example citedin the islamic world  of male high handedness & female sunjugation is the gulf region.

 I have been observing the emarati women for quite some time now. It is indeed very encouraging to see them covered from head to toe. They have sense enough to be proud of being muslims without being ashamed / apologetic .

They are symbolised as subjugated & opressed by many; in the western world & by some psedo intellects of Asia.

Observing emarati women in the shopping malls , with just her hand bag to carry while the man manages the  shopping bags & the kids; I often wonder who is the opressed being here.

Why people cannot acceptt the fact that someone may want to cover by their own free will. Its a  part of the islamic belief & they adhere to it. They arent swayed into shunning the hihab just to be labelled as a modern muslim.

Some people in the race of being aggreable & to fit-in have drifted away from islam. Coining terms such as moderate islam, orthodox islam, conservative islam, modern & secular islam isnt going to fool anyone except the mindless. There is no middle way; either you are a practisisng muslim or you arent a muslim at all. Islam isnt up for interpretations

Isnt it ironical that  the american woman stuck as they are, in the quagamire of one-night stands,rape culture, advertised as objects rather than people are a symbol of liberation & independence .Is the the fully covered, respectable & happy emarati woman opressed? Don’t we have our definitions & perceptions trully messed up

Believe me,emarati women arent the ones who will be subjugated or opressed. They are quite vocal about their likes & dislikes; quite expressive & strong willed. Its time we should let them be & first set our own affairs in order.

 I belive we can only point fingers at others when our own house is in order. So logically, neither the european nations , the americans nor asians are in any coign of vantage to criticise emarati women.

 I firmly have faith in the idea that the more a woman covers herself, the more her beauty is enhanced. I would most certainly respect a woman more for her personality & character rather than for her beauty or the lack thereof. We havent ever thought of labelling the christian nouns as subjugtaed then why target muslim women?

So the next time you join the chorus of labelling a woman in hijab as subjugated,think again.

 

Silence in the Air

The coridoor of the  library gives an aura of the silence that must be maintained inside, very peaceful indeed

A Thing of Beauty,Is Joy Forever