Truth is Stranger than fiction – Ethiopian Journey – Blog Post No – 42

The questions that I posed in previous blog post have been answered by quite a few readers. Most attempted in bits and pieces and only two readers, Ms. Snigdha PV and Ms. Sneha PV, sisters and my students at Siva Sivani Institute of Management attempted and answered all the questions.

I have christened Snigdha and Sneha as “Apoorva Sodarimanulu” or unique sisters. They are the first to read my articles or blog posts and give immediate feedback. Their feedback is quite elaborate, thought provoking and analytical. Sometimes the analysis is almost half the size of my post.

Snigdha and Sneha come from a family that has deep rooted belief for Indian culture and Ethos. Their Father P. Ramachander is the MD of SL Diagnostics and also a dedicated philanthropist who runs four hostels in Hyderabad for under privileged meritorius boy students. These hostels are run completely by the trust and not a single paisa is charged from the students. May your tribe multiply, Ramachander garu!

The questions asked about Oman were

1)         What is the type of terrain? – The most common answer given - Desert

2)         What is the most available resource? - The most common answer given - Petrol

3)       Comment on the country (Rich or poor) - The most common answer given - Rich (who has heard of poor people in Middle East!)

4)         Languages spoken - The most common answer given - Arabic

5)         About Omani people - The most common answer given - Arabs

6)        Religion/s followed (Take a clue from Saudi Arabia) - The most common answer given - Islam and Wahhabi Islam

7)         Climate - The most common answer given - Very hot and very dry and mostly no rainfall

8)        The ruler and his stance taken about India - The most common answer given – They tolerate Indians as India provides cheap labour and Oman is friendly with Pakistan.

9)         Anything about their dress that you can comment? - The most common answer given - wear long clothes

10)      Type of jobs that Indians do? – The most common answer given – Indians do mostly menial jobs and work as labour and also as maids.

11)       Availability of water? - The most common answer given – Water is very scarce

12)      Technology or production practices in other words do they have any indigenous methods of production or do they simply import everything - The most common answer – No indigenous technology and mostly products are imported.  

  

HERE COMES THE SHOCK! Most of the commonly given answers are wrong. Most of it is stereotyped into our minds by movies, media and our own perceptions. Let me give you the real facts.

1.What is the type of terrain? – The most common answer given is Desert but the entire country is not a desert. Most of the country’s terrain is arid plains and with rugged mountains both in the north and in the south. One of the mountains Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun), raises to 3,000 metres (around 9,800 feet). It is the highest point in the whole of eastern Arabia.

2. What is the most available resource? - The most common answer given is Petrol. Even though this answer is correct the most abundant resource that Oman has is Natural gas.

3. Comment on the country (Rich or poor) - The most common answer given is Rich (who has heard of poor people in Middle East).  Not all Arabs are rich. There are many poor people in Oman. In fact Yemen, also a middle Eastern country is very poor and its per capita income is only 2,400 US Dollars!

4. Languages spoken - The most common answer given is Arabic. Again correct but as 43% of the population is expatriate. Hindi and Urdu are very popular as is English.

5. About Omani people - The most common answer given is Arabs. Factually correct, but there is significant difference among them. One sect of Arabs are the original descendants of Oman. The second set are called Zanzibaris. Zanzibar was ruled for a long time by Omanis.   Zanzibari Omanis have African features and the third set of Omanis are Baluchis. They are from Baluchistan and they can speak very fluent Hindi and Urdu!

6. Religion/s followed (Take a clue from Saudi Arabia) - The most common answer given is Islam and Wahhabi Islam – Most Omani Muslims follow the Ibadism School of Abd Allah ibn Ibadh Islam, which is quite different from the stricter Wahhabi Islam. The Ibadan form of Islam is very tolerant of other religions and there are Hindu temples, Sikh Gurudwaras and Christian Churches in Muscat!

7. Climate - The most common answer given is Very hot and very dry and mostly no rainfall.  Mostly correct but it rains in Oman and there are thousands of check dams built which get filled with water but may be once in 4-5 years! The southwest monsoons reach Salalah the southern part of Oman. This part of Oman is as lush and as green as Kerala!

8. The ruler and his stance taken about India - The most common answer given is – They tolerate Indians as India provides cheap labour and are more friendly with Pakistan. Not correct. India and Oman enjoy very close ties and Sultan Qaboos Bin Said is a close friend of India. Believed to have studied in India, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said can speak fluent Hindi.

9. Anything about their dress that you can comment? - The most common answer given is wear long clothes. This one is correct. The long white dress that the Omanis wear is a Dishdasha and this dress is quite unique to Oman.

 

10. Type of jobs that Indians do? – The most common answer given is – Indians do mostly menial jobs and work as labour and also as maids. It is no longer true. Omanization is catching up fast and most Indians are being replaced by local population which is desperate for jobs. Indians continue to work in specialized areas where the local expertise is not available.

11. Availability of water? - The most common answer given is – Water is very scarce. While this is true there is a twist. Omanis have developed a unique system of water management that is 5000 years old called, Aflaj. Using Aflaj, water is lifted from a lower gradient to a higher gradient, without using any mechanical device or an electric pump.  

12.    Technology or production practices - The most common answer given – No indigenous technology  and mostly products are imported.  Actually not totally accurate. Omanis are masters of ship building and their wooden ships called Dhows are world famous for their strength and durability. Sindbad the sailor hails from Sohar, a port city located 200 kilometres from Muscat.    

             I have elaborated all this, just to show that unless we visit another country and stay there for a reasonable period of time, we will not be able to get the exact picture. So travel and become wiser.