Bangalore Visit

I spent four eventful days in probably one of the most happening places in India, Bangalore. This city has been branded as Silicon Valley of India with unmatchable growth in IT sector. Numerous call centers and offshore software development centers have sprung up creating thousands of jobs. Omnipresent Telugu IT workers, aromatic south Indian food and IBM sign board in Kannada were some of the highlights of my trip.

Dubai Trip

Day 1
UAE, there are hardly any Arabs here. It’s more like land where Indians and Pakistanis live without fighting and more importantly abiding by most of the government regulations and laws. They are everywhere, airport security, driving cabs, waiting tables and filling gas.

Day 2
Trip to American embassy wasn’t an easy one. I was dropped right at the door of world trade center but it wasn’t as easy as taking an elevator to the American owned 21st floor. There was a hot and humid detour with numerous security checks. I was directed through the ‘White Cabin’, a 20X30 unit constructed behind the trade center.

Day 3
Two Taiwanese ladies for the day shift, couple of Malbari (Keralite) guys for the night. UAE service industry has found an incessant source of manpower from eastern Asia. They are utilizing it as its best for their advantages. You walk around UAE and realize that social and economic boundaries have deeper and more substantial roots. Immigrants have developed narrower mindsets and their energy is (somewhat intentionally) channeled to achieve limited objectives. Constant influx of foreign workers keeps them on their toes and capitalistic business houses can use it to maintain lower labor costs . Over a million East Asians dominate the demographic charts here and are dominated by wealthy and socially distant Arab community. Perhaps my idea of equality is defined by unreasonable measures and exaggerated under western illusions of freedom, however the poor status that East Asians have in Arab world had more then enough anomalies to go unnoticed.