TEDx Sharjah 2012, an independent TED event was held on 29th September 2012 and I was lucky to be a part of it. The venue was Al Qasba, the flagship event and cultural hub of this UAE Emirate and the facilities were very well organised. The parking, reception, lunch and snack arrangements were well co-ordinated and it showed Emirati hospitality at its best. Success is no accident and if the organisers are to be believed, it took them nine long months of planning and implementation. Sharjah has always been a very active cultural destination and you can expect to see some rare gems through the hard work of this government.

The young Emirati talents including the hosts of the show were a pleasure to watch even though the show has yet to compete at an international level. The full day event was full of pleasant surprises.

The show started with Capt. Ayesha Al Hamli hailing as an Emirati pilot and her resolve to fly was more than just a career option. It broke the boundaries of conventional thought and set a precedence for future aspirants...not just pilots.Her tagline "The only thing that can come between you and your dreams is YOU " still rings in my ear.

As I settled down in my seat, a man in formals sat next to me. After the first presentation, he walked away only to appear later as one of the speakers. It only occurred to me later, that Preveen Vettiyatil was trying to take in the event from the audience's point of view. He presented his invention: a pedal powered machine which displayed ingenuity and claimed to solve all our power problems. His talk however, was on being an inventor of sorts. He proposed that each one of us can invent and make a difference in our own humble way. As per him, the field of inventions is not the prerogative of an elite few.The disappointment was that his oratory was below normal and his accent muddled. All in all he expressed himself, but could have been more effective with better public speaking skills.

An eye opener for an expatriate like me was the talk by Ms. Naoko Kishidia from Japan who married an Emirati and adopted the country and its culture. I was fortunate to be able to talk to her later and she came across as a very simple soul full of positivity. She runs the UAE-Japan cultural centre to bridge the gap between the two communities.

Dr. Raymond Hamdan stole the show hands down! He is a clinical psychologist and a wonderful orator. He connected with the audience instantly with his half-mock-half-Arabic E-I-E-I-O (Old Mc Donald). Having them spellbound, he took up the issue of the ill effects of new media on our current family life. Statistics shown by him, though with a western bias made me re-think the time and the quality I invest in my family.

Sheikh Mohamed Al Thani, the Emirati mountaineer wishing to scale the world's seven (7) highest peaks was such an inspiration...more so for the Emirati youth. He received a hero's welcome and the farewell of a close friend. It shows that when you are bestowed with all the blessings from the Almighty, you should give back to society and always try to test your limits.

All in all the event was well received and I hope that soon a TED can be organised in Sharjah also.

Tooth and Nail

The wisdom that I got from this teeth is worth reckoning: better get it extracted in good time. She was contemplating to refer me to a surgeon as I told her that the tooth is pressing against the others. The X ray proved optimistic and I convinced her that she should be confident of herself, at least in front of the patient AKA me. She did warn me that in case there was an issue I would have to leave and drive to the surgeon. I agreed.

The wisdom tooth: I prefer to call it wise guy due to its inclination outside towards the cheek. The plan: to reflect the tooth from all sides: for the non initiated, reflect stands for digging the sides of flesh on the sides of the tooth. Then she would try to elevate the tooth(make it move from it's lodge with a crowbar!) and finally pull it with a set of pliers (eeks!).

She started with anesthesia. As expected, the first dose was useless. Was this due to years of inebriation and getting used to it? The second also, but she nevertheless started digging which needless to say was excruciating. The result: she sprayed more anesthesia and tried. Again she injected the fourth dose and did some more. Finally in the last effort she gave me another spray-the fifth dose.
Now, the tooth pained only when she tried to dislodge it. Elevation it is called and is done with a crowbar! Jipes!!! She was on top and her assistant holding my jaw. I was myself holding my chin down to prevent the reflex action.

In the middle of 4-5 bouts of elevation (I can hear the tools screeching on the bone still!) and fearing my syncope, I had two glasses of water- at different intervals, went through bouts of fear and laughter, shaking of the legs and checking of my BP.

Finally I told her to go ahead and I will suffer the pain. She and her assistant were both on me and they tried thrice or more.Somewhere in between, I was screaming also... I don't know how many patients changed their minds hearing me as the clinic was pretty deserted later. Finally I saw her holding the pliers. This was more than painful.

She looked tired and sighed " Can you come in tomorrow again? You are in such pain, we can't do it today." I was crestfallen. "I will suffer more pain but please do it now" The next moment I see her smiling holding the culprit between her thumb and forefinger, teasing me.

She offered me to take it home but I advised her to add to her collection. The suture would come out next week but the ordeal is over.

Ruskin in Sharjah: Rusty still not rusting!

"Do you consider yourself Lucky?"

Waiting for the author in the white domed arena at the Sharjah Book Fair I enquired of the “best half” as we just managed to get two vacant seats in the second row even as the tent was bursting at the seams. Best half? :As this is the best I could have done! (Take a good look at my mug and you will get it )

Ruskin Bond was nothing like his famous cousin James. On the contrary, he was humility personified. Our hero bowed low and waved. One hand went to his heart at the standing ovation he got. The continuous cheering and clapping only brought a gleam in his eyes, that with a hint of anticipation.

Witty he was, and to the core. “Yes, I got a lot of Encouragement in my early years when I started writing. My mother told me not to waste my time and join the army instead.”

Life for Mr. Bond had not always been a bed of roses. But that never deterred him from being his jolly self. He recalled that as a young author he once went to a book shop to see the response of one of his newly published novels. The shopkeeper told him in Hindi “Yeh Nahin Chalta” roughly translated as “This does not sell.” Not to be undone, he bought the book!

On a serious note he let out a few secrets for the aspiring writer: “Respect the language: Have a command over whichever language you write in.” He also advised us to write everyday: whatever that might be worth. Talking of himself he said that he follows the same to this day, but quips “...being lazy I go to sleep again.”
Answering a question about Writers Block his honest to goodness smile was back: “It’s easy for me. I keep my waste paper basket near my desk.” But good advice followed good humour: Write something else and come back to it later but don’t stop writing.

As the event was drawing to a close, we noticed a beeline for his signatures. “But we haven’t got any of his Titles from home.” said Best. “And it seems the whole world wants his signatures!” I added. Why don’t we purchase a couple from the fair? An excuse to buy more books: Any day!

The bookstall was at the far end of the fair and jam-packed. The black and white photo of a buck toothed English boy printed on the cover of “A Town Called Dehra” bearing a strong resemblance to our day’s hero and “Landour Days” were obvious choices for her. I had, however, my eyes set on “Susanna’s Seven Husbands “since I saw 7 Khoon Maaf.

We paid and strode back to the arena. The excitement revving us up, I was sure she had massive palpitations. I, my anxious self, thought that Mr. Bond he would have excused himself by now, feigning tiredness. This would have left many unprepared fans like us, disappointed. The Septuagenarian was very much there and his sincerity ensured that no one returned empty-handed.

We were pleasantly surprised at being just fifth in the diminishing line of fans. “He must be signing at quite a pace.” I said, “Had we been a minute or so late, we would have missed him.” Half a minute later, signed copies in hand, I came off the stage beaming. I got a taste of my own pudding when Best asked me in her casual tone:

"Do you consider yourself Lucky?"

Jungle 3

The Hippo

Hi!

I am back again with the Jungle series giving now a turnaround version after one residence visa term is over. Here we start with the Hippo.  Actually the full name is Hippopotamus. Yeah, I know what Shakespeare would have said about "whats in a name" but then actually his name is so long drawn: literally! The

The Hippo, if you have seen one in the Zoo (as that's the only place I have had the privilege of his audience) is always half submerged in sludge with eyes half open/ shut. It looks around with a gaze of half wonder and half indifference at the world and again vanishes into the same sludge: He shuts his already heavy eyelids and purses his enormous nostrils.

And my loving neighbour the Hippo is quite like that. He is half awake in office. He gazes around, looks up and let a shred of work (read files, mails etc.) reach him he will submerge: close his eyes & nostrils (For sake of decency I prefer not to comment on the other orifices in the anatomy!) so as to avoid doing anything.

The sludge comprises of the lot of papers, stationery, files and paraphernalia amassed over the years to camouflage  his idleness. He is so akin to the animal very common in Indian Government Departments but to find someone like him here was a learning.