B-Log

As a little girl with an embarassing ‘foutain’ ponytail on top of my head, I remember the distant sound of a moped approaching. It used to be the sound of my grandfather coming home. The sound of dad’s car used to make me jump and scream the cliche “Papa aa gaye! Papa aa gaye” (learnt from the movies of course). The roar of neighbour’s son’s bike meant I could expect his father’s screams becoming audible in the succeeding few seconds.

Apart from the horn, the sound of the vehicle itself is a part of it’s identity too. Without it, it does not feel like a ‘mean’ machine. So much so, that a new electric car would be fitted with fake engine sounds.

The newest addition to the list of vehicles I can identify by their sounds would be the Dubai cabs. I can hear them approach and zoom away. And without even looking, I would know that it was a cabbie who for some strange reason did not want to pick any passengers and thus avoided any attention. And this phenonmenon is very common. Cabs have become so scarce in Dubai that you could probably auction each ride to the passenger who is able to pay the most. Cab drivers throw tantrums for no reason and pick up passengers on the basis of their appealing looks and gender. Even if you call one through their call center, they usually pick another passenger. If their conditions don’t match, they happily zoom around town in the fast lane, in their vacant cabs.

Or may be it’s all a part of a bigger plan. May be they are just practicing to enter the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which explains the speeding of vacant cabs in order not to put the passenger’s life in jeopardy. And I thought there was not an iota of humanity left in this world.

Whatever the case may be… Something really needs to be done.

Fiction becomes fact here.
The much talked about(not as much as Burj Dubai or the World though) air conditioned bus-stops shelters have arrived. And I saw one up close and personal in an almost running state today. A bit late but better late than never!
Waiting for the bus in the scorching sun would not be a reasonable excuse anymore.
Though finding a space inside these could soon become one. Each air-conditioned bus shelter would accomodate 14 people - 8 sitting and 6 standing. And given the way we are, if it is filled only with only Indians, 40 can easily be squished inside!

The shelters would earn revenue for the Road Transport Authority through advertisements inside and outside the shelters along with vending machines. They are also expected to have ATM’s. I have seen a lot of them have 3 different kind of waste bins besides them which look like pin ball machines. I think they might start charging ppl a Dh. or so soon to enter. Who knows!

It would also be insteresting to see a system which has been proposed in Abu Dhabi to track school buses to help worried and concerned parents(which all of them are). A tracking system using mobile towers and SMS would provide information about the location of the bus, thus making it possible for the parents to know that their kid is on his way and where exactly is he starving in the daily afternoon traffic jams.

It would be interesting to see this getting included in the new bus shelters. People could be informed about the expected time of arrival of the next bus. A feedback system can also be incorporated through an automated kiosk. Weather information, pollution levels, etc. could be shown. It would be an interesting place to take public surveys. And given the presence of bus shelters and their proximity to people in the city, several new uses could be thought of.

P.S. My wait for airconditioned footpaths starts hereon.

Have you seen those ads of fairness creams where they give away free shade-cards for you to gauge the improvement in ur skin tone?
That’s not the change of the color of your skin you are measuring there. It’s the rise of your self-esteem and social status.

Staying in a city like this, feels like everybody has those cards over here. They do not use it for themselves, but to judge how well they should treat you.
It’s like those movie ratings you look at to decide whether to watch the movie or not. And these rating are not even given according to performance, in this case. It’s been given outta whim, massive compound superiority/ inferiority complexes or just the basic human nature of differentiating itself from others.

There’s a constant you vs. me here when two nationalities interact. And victory takes place just by the way the person looks. From his descent. From his nationality.

Why can’t this place be more about “Us”? Why can’t this place be more human?

This is a rant because of a fight I had with the staff at a supposedly hi-class store here, when I was clearly mistreated and shouted upon because I am an Indian. Not to worry… I put them in their place.

There are certain things which defy national and interenational boundaries. Things that travel far and wide without any control. Water and air are two of them. The other is my weird connection with… well… read on…

I was waiting at the bus-stop to board a bus to Delhi, when a car passed in front of me at a rather slow speed. Two guys with their heads almost out of the window, were gaping at me and mumbling something I could not hear. I mutter and almost scream some nasty stuff but by then they’ve gone. The car then stopped about 15mts. away.

After some 5minutes, one of the two guys suddenly appears in front of me. Here’s how the conversation went:

Him: Excuse me, madam!
Me: Yes?
Him: Were you working in Dubai?
Me: Huh?? (WTF… are you psychic?) Well, yes… why do u ask? And how do YOU know?
Him: Because I was there too.
Me: Ah… What a coincidence, eh? But still, how exactly do you know?
Him: I used to board my bus to work from the same stop as you. I used to see you everyday there. You used to take that particular bus to work at 7:15 am everyday.
Me: Ohhh!!!! (Run! International stalker!!)
And then he offered me a ride which I obviously declined.

Just in case you’re still not sure, yes… he was a Mallu! :D

Coming soon at a theatre near you…
Theres something about Mallus… and Me ;)

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Besides all this, I’ve taken a break form Orkut and IM’s till my exam, which is on 6th Jan.
Almost everyone I know, strongly doubts my will power! :-|

• Somehow a lotta people in Dubai initiated conversation with me in Arabic. Never happened before. Have I started looking like an Arab? It only used to be Mallu earilier!

• On my flight to Dubai, the man sitting next to me sneezed atleast 37 times. I came down with flu, the day I was supposed to fly back. Towards the end of the flight back to Delhi, I could hear the guy next to me sniffling restlessly. Pay back time it was!

• I didn’t click even a single pic during the week long trip. Weird, I know!