Saudi Musings!

Kefhalak?

That's the one and only Arabic word I have mastered during last 2 months in Saudi.

So as promised, blogging has been sporadic-er than ever. Hopefully, not for too long now. This heavy-duty Saudi trip is quasi-done. There are several stories.. reflections.. aha-moments.. wtf moments to share. Will unravel as and when I recall.

But first things first. Saudi girls are hot. Hot as in H.O.T. Picture this: a saudi girl in her early 20s (apparently) wearing a micro mini with a burqa worn casually like an overcoat. THAT is the picture of liberal Saudi that stunned me. And no, I am not talking about fantasy world. I saw this for real. It reminded me of one of those underwear ads where the guy emerges out of a gown wearing just his undie. Ok, what I saw wasnt that skimpy but you get the drift. Before you start gaping in amazement, chill. Because this is not a common baywatch-ish view here. It was just a one-off image that I saw at a quasi-modern location in Saudi. Talking of modern girls, never in my wildest dreams did I think of burqa as a sexy attire. And no, that's not my 2 month long isolation-induced sleaze speaking. Designer burqas got a new name here. They dont look as boring as I thought. More so, when their inhabitants redefine hotness. Add to that stylish stilletoes, trendy sunglasses, gallons of perfume, fashion-oozing clothes (dont ask HOW I got to see so many things), tonns of cosmetics - it gave me a cultural shock. I must say, after UT-Austin, this is the next place where I have seen such a high population-weighted average of hotness coefficient. Go figure!

Not surprisingly though, men's wear here is as unfashionable as it can get. No shock there. Everyday I tried to come up with a new way to describe their robes. Kurta-lungi hybrid. Kurta-skirt hybrid. Kurta-petticoat hybrid are some of the weird combinations that I came up with. Whatever it is, it's not definitely not a user-friendly dress especially in the loo.

Before you guys start wondering, whether I am here to do a research on female and male attires, let me tell you that there is more to Saudi than just weird dresses. Some positive things(like its densely non-veg cuisine) and some not-so-positive (like its 'pecking order' and bureaucracy that would put even the staunchest of Indian babus to shame).

More on that later. I still have 2 more days to wrap up things here.

And yes, have a safe new year.

News update!

I was talking to a Saudi colleague here about the Mumbai attacks. He told me one of his friend's relatives (a Saudi as well) was among the lucky survivors from Taj that night. He lost pretty much everything he had with him - money, passport, luggage everything.

He made an important observation. Minutes before the attack, he was at a restaurant outisde Taj. After he was done eating, the restaurant owner told him to not go back to the hotel. He didnt pay heed to his advice. The attacks followed.

I cant confirm the veracity of the eyewitness account but if it indeed is true, that possibly indicates some degree of involvement of the locals. Maybe that restaurant owner (or whoever told him not to head back) knew something adverse was on its way?