Visit to the Global Village in Dubai (2004)
Dubai's traffic waxes and wanes to some hidden, unknown, celestial body, it appears. Just when I thought there would be massive traffic today, I found the streets strangely deserted. Where does everyone go during this period? It's one of life's mysteries that needs to be resolved. But not today.
The lack of traffic encouraged a foray to the Global Village.
Traffic was light right up to half a kilometer up to its gate. Miraculously, I was able to find a parking slot practically walking distance from the gate. Last year, as I mentioned in an earlier posting, a Brit lady was bitterly complaining to a friend that Arabs just couldn't do anything right. They must have heard her because this year the transportation facility employed was a model of efficiency. Within minutes of our coming out to a car park a bus picked us up and deposited us at the gate a mere 60 seconds later.
Bajaj (India's 4th largest motorcycle / scooter manufacturer) takes it reputation seriously "You just can't beat a Bajaj" is their slogan). Here were many auto rickshaws, painted a bright green, ferrying passengers briskly to and fro the parking lot for a fee.
Autorickshaws are tremendously overloaded in India. And, during Mrs. Indira Gandhi's 'Emergency' in India, when draconian laws were in force and parliament was suspended, there was a law that stated that every public transportation vehicle must have a government slogan painted on its rear. A foreigner to India, seeing the slogan "The Nation Is On The Move" on the rear of a heavily overloaded autorickshaw, nodded understandingly. It made sense.
There were also a lot of cycle rickshaws apparently sponsored by Western Union plying visitors to and from the parking lots. It's strange to see this non-gas guzzling, human-powered, eco-friendly vehicle plying the roads of a country that has one fourth of all the world's oil!
The crowds at the global Village are clones of the crowds that we saw last year. The year is different but the flavor remains exactly the same. Has some software engineer created that girl in red and the various people in the crowd (a la the Matrix?) We'll never know, will we?
People of all nationalities, colours, religious beliefs rub shoulders here. There are a variety of costumes. From people dressed as Roman soldiers (complete with sword) to women dressed in saris to tribal Africans with spears to girls in tight fitting jeans.....one sees them all at the Global Village.
Apparently cultural shows are again at the forefront this year while eating stalls comes a close second.
We make our way to the Indian stall. After all, that's the mother country and she beckons. It also appears to be one of the largest and most beautiful this year. (Morocco and Egypt also have terrific stalls!).
Inside the Indian stall it is amusing to see a sign saying "Your horoscope" but there is a well dressed guy, sitting on the floor, with a computer in front of him. In the olden days it used to be a half naked sage who consulted rare manuscripts to tell the future.
With India now at the forefront of the IT revolution, the change is being felt all around - the position of the stars are now speedily charted by electrons.
I look out for the henna stall. Ah! There it is. But the mehendi- wali is a different one this year. I pass by, silently.
The range of handicrafts that India has to offer is immense. Like someone once said.....India is not a country, it's a continent. And the diversity of goods on offer justifies this statement.
The next stall on the agenda is the Thailand stall. Everyone in Dubai is is telling everyone else in Dubai to visit the stall and eat "Pekky" mangoes, so we look out for them. It's quite easy to get to the stall. One follows a trail of people with paper trays piled with mango. The one's nearest you have small heaps. The heap increases as you approach the source. When you see a person with a heaped plate, you know that you are almost there.
A plate of mangoes, sliced and with spices added, costs Dh.10. Very expensive, I tell myself. After the first bite I realize that the stall is surviving on hype and word-of-mouth. Indian mangoes are any day better. Better still are Pakistani mangoes! But no one would pay Dh. 10 to eat an Indian or Pakistani mango. The Thais have apparently positioned their mangoes perfectly. Like their silk. In both these areas - mangoes and silk - the Thais have stolen the edge through better marketing. Just like the Chiquita bananas of the Philippines. Ask any Indian and he will tell you that there is no match for the delicious Indian spotted banana but alas, we see it only in India!
Oooops! I digress. Let's get back on track.
This year there are many more pavilions compared to last year. The increase seems to have come from Malaysia, Singapore, and European countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Germany, Russia, Ukraine etc.
Since this was what the Indian Army would call a "recce" (short for reconnaissance) we make mental notes on what to visit and what to skip the next time we come to the Global Village. By `we' I am not referring to the Royal `we'. I mean "me and my wife".
The trip back to the bus stop seems to take longer than when we entered. That's because we are tired and wish to get away ASAP.
The bus, in typical Dubai efficiency, arrives 30 seconds later. A minute later we are in our car. Two minutes later we are on the road. Thirty seven minutes later we are back in Sharjah. But we spend 15 minutes finding a parking slot.
That's Sharjah for you!
Cheers,
Prakash
The lack of traffic encouraged a foray to the Global Village.
Traffic was light right up to half a kilometer up to its gate. Miraculously, I was able to find a parking slot practically walking distance from the gate. Last year, as I mentioned in an earlier posting, a Brit lady was bitterly complaining to a friend that Arabs just couldn't do anything right. They must have heard her because this year the transportation facility employed was a model of efficiency. Within minutes of our coming out to a car park a bus picked us up and deposited us at the gate a mere 60 seconds later.
Bajaj (India's 4th largest motorcycle / scooter manufacturer) takes it reputation seriously "You just can't beat a Bajaj" is their slogan). Here were many auto rickshaws, painted a bright green, ferrying passengers briskly to and fro the parking lot for a fee.
Autorickshaws are tremendously overloaded in India. And, during Mrs. Indira Gandhi's 'Emergency' in India, when draconian laws were in force and parliament was suspended, there was a law that stated that every public transportation vehicle must have a government slogan painted on its rear. A foreigner to India, seeing the slogan "The Nation Is On The Move" on the rear of a heavily overloaded autorickshaw, nodded understandingly. It made sense.
There were also a lot of cycle rickshaws apparently sponsored by Western Union plying visitors to and from the parking lots. It's strange to see this non-gas guzzling, human-powered, eco-friendly vehicle plying the roads of a country that has one fourth of all the world's oil!
The crowds at the global Village are clones of the crowds that we saw last year. The year is different but the flavor remains exactly the same. Has some software engineer created that girl in red and the various people in the crowd (a la the Matrix?) We'll never know, will we?
People of all nationalities, colours, religious beliefs rub shoulders here. There are a variety of costumes. From people dressed as Roman soldiers (complete with sword) to women dressed in saris to tribal Africans with spears to girls in tight fitting jeans.....one sees them all at the Global Village.
Apparently cultural shows are again at the forefront this year while eating stalls comes a close second.
We make our way to the Indian stall. After all, that's the mother country and she beckons. It also appears to be one of the largest and most beautiful this year. (Morocco and Egypt also have terrific stalls!).
Inside the Indian stall it is amusing to see a sign saying "Your horoscope" but there is a well dressed guy, sitting on the floor, with a computer in front of him. In the olden days it used to be a half naked sage who consulted rare manuscripts to tell the future.
With India now at the forefront of the IT revolution, the change is being felt all around - the position of the stars are now speedily charted by electrons.
I look out for the henna stall. Ah! There it is. But the mehendi- wali is a different one this year. I pass by, silently.
The range of handicrafts that India has to offer is immense. Like someone once said.....India is not a country, it's a continent. And the diversity of goods on offer justifies this statement.
The next stall on the agenda is the Thailand stall. Everyone in Dubai is is telling everyone else in Dubai to visit the stall and eat "Pekky" mangoes, so we look out for them. It's quite easy to get to the stall. One follows a trail of people with paper trays piled with mango. The one's nearest you have small heaps. The heap increases as you approach the source. When you see a person with a heaped plate, you know that you are almost there.
A plate of mangoes, sliced and with spices added, costs Dh.10. Very expensive, I tell myself. After the first bite I realize that the stall is surviving on hype and word-of-mouth. Indian mangoes are any day better. Better still are Pakistani mangoes! But no one would pay Dh. 10 to eat an Indian or Pakistani mango. The Thais have apparently positioned their mangoes perfectly. Like their silk. In both these areas - mangoes and silk - the Thais have stolen the edge through better marketing. Just like the Chiquita bananas of the Philippines. Ask any Indian and he will tell you that there is no match for the delicious Indian spotted banana but alas, we see it only in India!
Oooops! I digress. Let's get back on track.
This year there are many more pavilions compared to last year. The increase seems to have come from Malaysia, Singapore, and European countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Germany, Russia, Ukraine etc.
Since this was what the Indian Army would call a "recce" (short for reconnaissance) we make mental notes on what to visit and what to skip the next time we come to the Global Village. By `we' I am not referring to the Royal `we'. I mean "me and my wife".
The trip back to the bus stop seems to take longer than when we entered. That's because we are tired and wish to get away ASAP.
The bus, in typical Dubai efficiency, arrives 30 seconds later. A minute later we are in our car. Two minutes later we are on the road. Thirty seven minutes later we are back in Sharjah. But we spend 15 minutes finding a parking slot.
That's Sharjah for you!
Cheers,
Prakash
posted by Prakash Subbarao's Blog at
9:55 PM
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