St. Augustine's Tower, Old Goa
The world famous Kuwait Towers About Kuwait: The story so far...
“How much does it cost for a haircut? Ha ha” he asked looking down at my head like a civilized dame looking down at a stinking pit.
“Kuwait? Hair-cut? It costs between 1 to 3 dinars.. its like 160 to 400 Indian rupees for a nice one. It’s a bare bones experience in some of the Indian saloons I go there. You have a couple of chairs and a couple of rough looking chaps who don't talk much but are glued to television sets either watching cricket or Hindi serials. They just look at you... The look means what kind of haircut do you need? I say ‘chotta’ and the man is off with his comb and scissors. I either sleep or day dream about impossibilities during that time...”
“What’s the latest in vogue?” the guys asked one after another slicing feathers at their own chic ‘cuts’.
“There is no question of new styles or alternative fashions unless you know the guy well. There is one additional novelty to the haircut done there though. After spraying your hair with a lot of water, they use tissue papers to wipe off extra water from the head. I think it’s a good practice that can be carried back home in Goa.”
“Probably that is what the price is for.!”said Arvind kicking his heels.
“How about work and life there?”asked Mr. Medeira. It was interesting to note that the barman asked majority of questions while the others were mostly engaged in ‘pigging’ the food.
“The first company I worked, I overheard an argument about the uniform to be chosen for laborers. The discussion was on whether the uniform had to be a shirt or a T-shirt. But there seemed to be agreement on it being full hand whatever it was.” I paused to take a bite of the ‘wretchad bangddo’, as Mr. Medeira called it.
“I was surprised by this,” I continued. “In Goa, and most places in India for instance, laborers work with handless banians and pants or lungis and prefer to have as minimum clothing as possible. The traditional dress of Arabs is a ‘disdasha’, a white flowing robe which covers from head to foot with a cloth on the head called the ‘ghutra’. For women it is the ‘burqa’ which is a black robe that again covers from head to foot, or dresses with the ‘hijab’, a type of head covering.”
“Do you ever dress like the Arabs?” asked Rui with a nose in the air.
“The reason for these kinda dresses I think is the nature of the climate in the middle-east,” Anthony, another of our mate based in Kuwait intervened without bothering to answer Rui. “It is hot and dry outdoors as the land is basically a desert. In this weather any exposed part of the human body starts losing water. People do not even realize this as there is no sweating. Covering the exposed parts of the body reduces this loss of water to a minimum extent possible, allowing them to withstand the harsh sun. It also protects them from the dust storms which happen from time to time.”
“I thought the Gulf was much more advanced..” remarked Oster.
“Well, advanced they are ofcourse!" I said, "More than just advanced.. These days, with the huge air conditioned malls, AC cars, air-conditioned houses and even air-conditioned stadiums, one hardly needs ‘disdashas’ and ‘burqas’ but for the people it’s a way to stay in touch with their traditional past...”
“Why do you make a mystery of it. Ofcourse, its due to the climate that the full shirts for the laborers makes sense!” said Glen.
“Yeah, I checked with the person in-charge later,” I said, “They ordered full hand shirts because it prevents their skin from getting scratched by boxes. So much for your deductive powers.. ha ha..”
“Alright, alright, tell us something.. I heard Dubai and Bahrain are much more fun.. and Qatar is, is the, place on earth at present.. what's so exciting about Kuwait?” exclaimed Aggy.
“Listen!..There's a big shopping mall in Kuwait called the Avenues, “I said with pride. “It’s bigger than anything else that I have seen in 2 continents that I have been to. It’s so big that I think no one person can cover the entire mall in one day... The guys at our office infact told me that some people track and exercise going from one end of the mall to the other. The variety of things on view, the Debanhams, Bossinis, designer boutiques, fashion outfits and lingeries, definitely make for a good walk..”
“Tell us about the 'state' that you live.. I heard all Keralites stay in one area there.. What about Goans?...” asked Arvind.
“State?.. You can say Salmiya, the place where we stay, like all other places in Kuwait, is centrally located although it is at one periphery of Kuwait. When you have a car everything is within a radius of 10 kms.”
“How about people using taxis?” asked Mr. Medeira.
“A ride to Avenues or the 360 Degree mall normally takes a little over 1 Kuwaiti dinar. The taxi drivers in Kuwait are either Arabs - Kuwaitis, Egyptians, or desis - Indians, Pakistanis or Sri Lankans. The taxis have a metre that is seldom used just like here in Goa.”
“What about Konkani speaking people and dramas!”
“Drama tickets are about Rs. 750 per head. I guess you could have the whole family attending a show with that money in Goa. In Kuwait it is worth though.. Dramas are a lot fun.. By the way, the best Konkani artistes are probably based in Kuwait..”
“What's the funny thing that you have experienced, seen in Kuwait?”
“Watching a very small security cabin with its own window air conditioner. Electricity is cheap in Kuwait and if you keep the air conditioner on for a year, your bill comes to just 25 Kuwaiti dinars, that is if you’re paying the electricity. For most apartments, water and electricity is on the house.”
“What about Indian news and TV channels !.. What about village updates and 'Breaking News' from Goa.... ”
“Kuwait? Hair-cut? It costs between 1 to 3 dinars.. its like 160 to 400 Indian rupees for a nice one. It’s a bare bones experience in some of the Indian saloons I go there. You have a couple of chairs and a couple of rough looking chaps who don't talk much but are glued to television sets either watching cricket or Hindi serials. They just look at you... The look means what kind of haircut do you need? I say ‘chotta’ and the man is off with his comb and scissors. I either sleep or day dream about impossibilities during that time...”
“What’s the latest in vogue?” the guys asked one after another slicing feathers at their own chic ‘cuts’.
“There is no question of new styles or alternative fashions unless you know the guy well. There is one additional novelty to the haircut done there though. After spraying your hair with a lot of water, they use tissue papers to wipe off extra water from the head. I think it’s a good practice that can be carried back home in Goa.”
“Probably that is what the price is for.!”said Arvind kicking his heels.
“How about work and life there?”asked Mr. Medeira. It was interesting to note that the barman asked majority of questions while the others were mostly engaged in ‘pigging’ the food.
“The first company I worked, I overheard an argument about the uniform to be chosen for laborers. The discussion was on whether the uniform had to be a shirt or a T-shirt. But there seemed to be agreement on it being full hand whatever it was.” I paused to take a bite of the ‘wretchad bangddo’, as Mr. Medeira called it.
“I was surprised by this,” I continued. “In Goa, and most places in India for instance, laborers work with handless banians and pants or lungis and prefer to have as minimum clothing as possible. The traditional dress of Arabs is a ‘disdasha’, a white flowing robe which covers from head to foot with a cloth on the head called the ‘ghutra’. For women it is the ‘burqa’ which is a black robe that again covers from head to foot, or dresses with the ‘hijab’, a type of head covering.”
“Do you ever dress like the Arabs?” asked Rui with a nose in the air.
“The reason for these kinda dresses I think is the nature of the climate in the middle-east,” Anthony, another of our mate based in Kuwait intervened without bothering to answer Rui. “It is hot and dry outdoors as the land is basically a desert. In this weather any exposed part of the human body starts losing water. People do not even realize this as there is no sweating. Covering the exposed parts of the body reduces this loss of water to a minimum extent possible, allowing them to withstand the harsh sun. It also protects them from the dust storms which happen from time to time.”
“I thought the Gulf was much more advanced..” remarked Oster.
“Well, advanced they are ofcourse!" I said, "More than just advanced.. These days, with the huge air conditioned malls, AC cars, air-conditioned houses and even air-conditioned stadiums, one hardly needs ‘disdashas’ and ‘burqas’ but for the people it’s a way to stay in touch with their traditional past...”
“Why do you make a mystery of it. Ofcourse, its due to the climate that the full shirts for the laborers makes sense!” said Glen.
“Yeah, I checked with the person in-charge later,” I said, “They ordered full hand shirts because it prevents their skin from getting scratched by boxes. So much for your deductive powers.. ha ha..”
“Alright, alright, tell us something.. I heard Dubai and Bahrain are much more fun.. and Qatar is, is the, place on earth at present.. what's so exciting about Kuwait?” exclaimed Aggy.
“Listen!..There's a big shopping mall in Kuwait called the Avenues, “I said with pride. “It’s bigger than anything else that I have seen in 2 continents that I have been to. It’s so big that I think no one person can cover the entire mall in one day... The guys at our office infact told me that some people track and exercise going from one end of the mall to the other. The variety of things on view, the Debanhams, Bossinis, designer boutiques, fashion outfits and lingeries, definitely make for a good walk..”
“Tell us about the 'state' that you live.. I heard all Keralites stay in one area there.. What about Goans?...” asked Arvind.
“State?.. You can say Salmiya, the place where we stay, like all other places in Kuwait, is centrally located although it is at one periphery of Kuwait. When you have a car everything is within a radius of 10 kms.”
“How about people using taxis?” asked Mr. Medeira.
“A ride to Avenues or the 360 Degree mall normally takes a little over 1 Kuwaiti dinar. The taxi drivers in Kuwait are either Arabs - Kuwaitis, Egyptians, or desis - Indians, Pakistanis or Sri Lankans. The taxis have a metre that is seldom used just like here in Goa.”
“What about Konkani speaking people and dramas!”
“Drama tickets are about Rs. 750 per head. I guess you could have the whole family attending a show with that money in Goa. In Kuwait it is worth though.. Dramas are a lot fun.. By the way, the best Konkani artistes are probably based in Kuwait..”
“What's the funny thing that you have experienced, seen in Kuwait?”
“Watching a very small security cabin with its own window air conditioner. Electricity is cheap in Kuwait and if you keep the air conditioner on for a year, your bill comes to just 25 Kuwaiti dinars, that is if you’re paying the electricity. For most apartments, water and electricity is on the house.”
“What about Indian news and TV channels !.. What about village updates and 'Breaking News' from Goa.... ”
>>>To be continued: Chapter V - Before you kick the 'buck'et
Exclusive at: http://gaspersworld.blogspot.com/
:::The story is dedicated to the 'Class of 90s' friends:::
Exclusive at: http://gaspersworld.blogspot.com/
:::The story is dedicated to the 'Class of 90s' friends:::
Goan 'pilots' at a 'stand' in Mapusa
