A Day in the Life of 100 Expat Women - A Book Project

The images that emerged from Nepal after the earthquake were touching. 
I sat in front of the TV twiddling my thumbs and not knowing how I could help. Some friends called up to say, "Let's do something for Nepal". 

Opportunities to help come in unexpected ways. I got my opportunity by contributing to the Book Project. All I had to do was to write about a typical day in my life as an expat woman.To be an expat woman is quite an adventure, especially if one has lived in several countries around the world. 
For this project I wrote a little piece about my driving lessons, Arabic lessons, our cats, and the birds in our garden on Fahud Street in Muscat. It was a pleasure to let readers have a peep into my life.

This is a charitable project aiming to help women in Nepal to help themselves. The charity raises funds by writing, publishing and selling books. It is now compiling a new book entitled - A Day in the Life of 100 Expat Women. Since book publishing costs are donated and work on the project is by volunteers, all proceeds from sale of the books go directly to charity. 

I am writing this, friends, to encourage you to share a day in your life and help Nepal. Imagine how interesting it would be to read about the lives of other contemporary expat women around the world when the book is published!


If you are an expat woman who would like to contribute to this project, please read the following email that Jacqueline Dyer, who is editing the Book Project, sent to me recently.  

The Book project aims to raise funds to help women in Nepal to help themselves. By educating and empowering Nepalese women, the plight of thousands of women and children can be changed and the orphanages would not be so full.

Women of the world we ask you to help us do this. We know we cannot do everything but we can do this. Please be part of our next book and know you are making a positive difference to the lives of many women and children. 

Rosa Matherson edited the first edition - A day in the life of 100 British Women. Rosa is one of the most inspirational women I have ever known. She has asked me to do the next book. A day in the life of 100 expatriate women. 

You are my top twenty of choice. However I need to ask 80 more expatriate women to write about their lives.So please could you ask all your expat friends if they would be interested in contributing to The Book Project. 

Nothing will be edited out and it will go into the book just as its written.Maybe you have a funny story to tell, perhaps you have been involved in a lock down or evacuation, been involved in charity fund raising. Whatever it is you want to share will be a huge contribution to the book and you will be making a difference. The books sell for ten pounds sterling. Every penny goes to the project as we have volunteers that do all the printing and publishing for free. Every 100 books sold will fund a project in Nepal. 

The first projected funded by the book was The River Girls. Five bright girls that were keen to try and get out of poverty and do something positive. They are now trained Nepali adventure tour guides and organise white water rafting and other adventure tours - a first for women in Nepal. Its going very well and they now have their own boat house and equipment. 

Several other projects funded by the book are going well. So ladies, take to your pens and laptops. Writing of special events, personal experiences, even daily routines will create a very human snapshot of expatriate women.

I do hope you will all join me in The Book Project.Please confirm if you wish to be a part of it,  also please give my contact details to any expat women that you think will enjoy this experience and help us make a difference.

Contact: Jackie Dyer
             countessdyer@gmail.com

Website: 
 www.the100womenbookproject.com

A VIP Mum

In the animated film, Ice Age : Continental Drift, Sid's granny keeps calling out to 'Precious' - her pet, and throws it bits of food. The other characters, who think that Precious is an imaginary pet, leave her to her own whimsicality. Towards the end, however, 'Precious' makes a heroic entry and wows the audience. 
...

Our mum sometimes reminds us of this granny. Mum was a teacher in several schools in Mumbai and Vasai till she retired at 58. As a dedicated teacher, she was fond of all her students and they respected her. 
During our family parties, she always reminisces about her students.
"Avinash from Borivali has become a doctor now but he has not yet forgotten his school teachers - he invited me for his wedding. And his sister, Leena ..."
Mum digresses from the family conversation at hand and goes on like Sid's granny. Most of the time we listen although we have had the pleasure of hearing the same story several times in the past. 
The older grandchildren are not so patient. "Oh, come on, grandma, not another one - you have told us that before."
The youngest and the babiest grandchildren seem to be really impressed and demand more.
So you see, most of our family gatherings end up as mum's student-glorifying sessions. 
...

By some divine grace, mum is bailed out of most day to day troubles by her students. 
If there is an autorickshow strike, a student of hers, who is on leave from his smart job on a cruise ship, gives her a ride on his motorbike. 
A specialist doctor with an endless appointment queue turns out to be a chap she had taught in primary school. 
The famous milkman in town is one of her student who has taken up dairy farming after he lost his job. 
A bespectacled matronly lady manager at the local bank stands up to greet mum every time and asks, "Madam, so nice to see you!"
To socialise with mum is like being in the company of a VIP. 
...


Mum taught me not only at home but also at school.  
She imprinted the following verse from the Bhagwad Geeta on our young minds:

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥

It is translated as - 
Do your duty and be detached from its outcome, do not be driven by the end product, enjoy the process of getting there.
...

Last week, mum turned 74.
When I mentioned it to my school batch mates, several of them rang her to wish her and some others sent messages. 
When I asked mum how her day had been, she chirped, " You know, so many students called. I was busy answering all day. Do you remember Rajesh from your class?"
There were five Rajeshs in my batch. They were all born when Rajesh Khanna, the Bollywood actor, was in his prime.
"Which one, mum?"
"Oh ...the one who lives near Parnaka.."
Two of the Rajeshs lived near Parnaka.
"Do you know his last name, mum?"
Mum was too eager to tell the success story of her student.
"Yes, Gonsalves! Well, he called to wish me, and you know ..."
There goes mum in her 'happy proud teacher' mode again, I said to myself and smiled. 

(Picture courtesy: Google images)

About Santa and Banta

When my childhood friend came down from Canada for the first time after his family had migrated there, he was full of jokes about 'Newfies'. 
They all began with, "There was this Newfie who..."
"Who is a Newfie?" I asked him.
"They are, you know, these stupid guys from Newfoundland who have come to Canada recently and..."
Hmmm, I didn't know whether he realised it but my friend was also a recent immigrant to Canada. Did that fact make him stupid? Not at all.
Probably the Newfies had made these 'Indies' from India as a target of their jokes. 
In this day, when migration from one place to another has become common, targeting the migrants with cheap jokes is a popular online sport. 
...
In India, everybody knows the comical duo - Santa and Banta - the two intellectually-challenged Sardars who feature in most Sardarji jokes.
An example of one such joke: Santa and Banta were playing chess! 
Period. 
It's a one-liner that makes people double over in laughter. 
In reality, all the people that I have known from the Sikh community are clever, enterprising, and fun-loving.
It would be interesting to find out who started these jokes by using the members of this community as easy targets. 
...
It is said that a person's character is revealed by the kind of jokes he laughs at. So let's show some character and think twice before forwarding jokes which make fun of a particular community.

(Picture courtesy: Google images)

Three Lines

This is the most concise Biblical lesson that Nelson sent to me on Whatsapp. 

So simple and yet so difficult. 

Tendulkar's Tale

"Sachinn....Sachinn...."

The crowds would chant his name in worship when he played cricket for India.

Although of small stature, Sachin Tendulkar's image is larger than life. His career as a sportsman was remarkable. He started playing for India at the tender age of 16 and batted on to his 100th international century before retiring in 2013.

As a gifted batsman, Sachin has scored more runs and made more centuries than any other player in both Tests and one-day games. He gained celebrity status early in life, however, he has always remained a very private man - hardly ever speaking about his family, fantastic scores, frustration, or failure.

His autobiography, Playing it my way, written with Boria Majumdar was published in 2014 by Hodder and Stoughton.  It provides an insight into his personal life and gives an informative account of his sporting career.
The heavy tome has several statistical records of all the matches that he played and also some interesting pictures from his personal collection.

Sachin begins telling his story by quoting his late father, the Marathi poet Ramesh Tendulkar's words:
"Son, life is like a book. It has numerous chapters...More often than not, failure and sorrow are bigger teachers than success and happiness... Do not allow success to breed arrogance in you. If you remain humble, people will give you love and respect even after you have finished with the game."

Growing up in a traditional Maharashtrian family helped to shape Sachin's character the high moral values. Being an active naughty child, he was always getting bruised and scraped and his father used to examine his body while he slept to see if any injuries required medical attention. Sachin recounts many endearing memories from his childhood.

Sachin's gifted way with the bat was recognised in its infancy by his brother Ajit and Achrekar Sir. They both played a major role in mentoring him and shaping his early career. With humility, Sachin pays respects to his parents, his mentors, and his older siblings.

It is interesting to note that one entire chapter in the book is dedicated to Anjali, his wife, with whom he has had 'the best partnership' of his life. He remembers how they met and courted. Anjali had a blossoming medical career which she gave up to take care of the family while Sachin was away playing for India. She firmly held his hand through all the ups and downs in his life. Through the book, Sachin comes across as a loving family man who is tenderly attached to his parents, siblings, wife, and children.

Success came early to this cricket legend. Along with success there was also the occasional failure. He learnt how to handle both. He excelled as a batsman but received flak from the media for his role as a captain. Sachin's tone is slightly bitter when he gives a justification for his actions as a captain. He also discusses the ' Monkeygate' that rocked the Indian and Australian teams.

Sachin highly respected other cricketers and tells some funny anecdotes about the most serious and senior players. He also relates some pranks played by the team and exposes their human side to the readers.

For any Sachin fan, this biography is a rare treat from the man who speaks with his actions.


 

Interesting interactions

Among other things, Tanya also works as a model.

Her husband good-humouredly complains: “I go to the malls, I see you. I go to the bank, I see you. I go the airport, and you are there too. I feel so watched everywhere I go.”

For a while, Tanya’s smiling pictures were splashed on some of the glass doors which opened automatically all over the city. She says seeing her own smile made her happy at moments when she was in a particularly gloomy mood.

***

Waking up in the morning, I realise that my voice is gone. A throat infection it is.

Holding my neck with both hands, I croak, “Khaanot talk.”

This was more than ten years ago. I worked as a lecturer then and talking was a part of the job. There were about three hundred young students who would be attending my lectures that day. Oh no, I couldn’t let them down. If I couldn’t speak, I had to make alternative arrangements. I decided to ask my friends Pranali, Nelson, and Subhash – they all belonged to the much envied tribe of mathematics lecturers – to substitute for my lectures.

I dialled the college phone number to inform them.

Trring! Tring! Tring! Tring!

A young, clear, feminine voice answered:

“Welcome to Vidyavardhini’s College of Engineering and Technology. Please dial the extension number or wait for assistance.”

This recorded mechanical answer never fails to astound me. Even more so on that day because I could barely speak.

It is my own voice recorded years ago for the college answering machine and it is always such a peculiar situation because I am interacting with myself.

This robotic voice reassures me that things will be normal soon and I could have a voice like that in the answering machine.

 

Re-reading Alice

There are books which seem like you are reading them for the first time every time you read them.

The book, however, is the same. It is you who have changed.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll is one such timeless book.

The first time I read it in primary school, it seemed like visiting one of the provinces in my own dreamland.
The second time, it seemed like completely out of this world, like stumbling upon a fool's tea party where nothing goes right.
Now, when I read it for the third time, so many things make perfect sense!

Dear readers, I must share some favourite quotes from this masterpiece with you.

(Pictures courtesy: Google images)