From the 124th Floor

Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Sweet Tooth

Behind the Scenes and a Video

One sunny day in Coventry

when people stepped out to bask in the sun and eat ice cream

and when the day looked warm and beautiful,

we decided to make a small video

by renting equipments from the media loan shop,

found a place to set it up

and got ready to film

by choosing the perfect spot.

We decided to make a Vox Pop,

a small 'feel good' video

by asking random people a simple question

to get some heart warming answers.

Here you go, watch the video!

The Hindu Sheik

Whaaaaaat? A Hindu Sheik?

Yup. The first time I heard about the Hindu Sheik, I was surprised, because even after living for 20+ years in the Gulf, I've never come across this fact. *Embarrassed*

So I was in Muscat, Oman for a few days. In the past recent months I've been travelling to certain Gulf Council Countries and I must tell you, everything is so similar in terms of geography, culture, architecture and lifestyle. Only the Government is different. At least in Muscat, they have more rocky mountains instead of deserts.

Coming back to the Hindu Sheik. Kanaksi Khimji, the head of Khimji Ramdas Group of Companies was given the title of Sheik by the Sultan of Oman himself. With companies across the globe, Khimji has his roots in Gujarat. A staunch devotee of Lord Shrinathji and a strict vegetarian makes him the only Vaishnav Hindu Sheik of the Arab world.

It was more than 140 years ago, Khimji's Great Grandfather Ramdas Thackersey set sail for Oman from his homeland Kutch. Being a dhow merchant, he set sail to Muscat to relocate his expanding business to gain access to then strategic ports. Today, the company has an annual turnover of more than $1 Billion.

Oman is a nice place, didn't get to explore much. I was surprised again when I learnt that only Omani nationals can drive taxis and other Government vehicles. This is not the case in UAE or Saudi Arabia etc.

There is a diving centre in Muscat, parks, resorts, an old souq where you can buy traditional stuff and the Grand Mosque, Shiva temple and Krishna Temple (Thanks to Khimji). But there are others places to visit in Oman like Salalah which is the perfume capital of Arabia. You will find green mountains hills in Salalah and wonder if you are actually in the Middle East.

Corniche

Towards the Beach

Rocky Mountains on both sides

Near the Dive Center

Qantab Town

Qantab Beach

All of these and now look at Salalah!

Suddenly, Green (Not my Pic)

Snaps from Oman

Grand Mosque Minaret, Muscat

Abandoned Chariot

Sunset at Ruwi

Thank You Apple

So it has been almost 4 years since I got my Mac Book Pro. Purchased in the UK, delivered into the hands of a friend and opened in a classroom,  I just want to take a moment, lean back and think of all the things that I have achieved with this laptop.

Those large RAW format photographs I saved and processed, shot on various occasions, made beautiful with photoshop...

Carrying it in my backpack and saving files in the midst of serious protests and riots... and uploading files on sites overnight..

Editing heavy duty video files for University assignments and making those birthday videos in the nick of time...Those priceless smiles..

Exporting numerous videos into news reports for TV, documentaries and short films and delivering them minutes before deadlines...

Countless movies watched alone and with friends...

This laptop holds the record for watching most number of youtube videos and zero porn... *cough cough*

Not to forget how I learnt to play the guitar, the music sheet was my laptop screen...

How it became a public computer to play songs, messing with facebook statuses on unattended accounts...

And all those extra attachment of 1 TB and 2 TB hard disks now and then....

All of these and this awesome piece of machine handled everything so smooth. Never has it let me down, never have I complained. Cherished every single moment of owning a Mac. Not once has my Mac stuck nor have I formatted it or taken it for service.

I salute the people who have dedicated themselves and produced such hardware and technology that a PC can never achieve.

Yesterday, again, when all the PC's in the conference room failed to play a file and crashed due to heavy file size, this hero streamed it like a boss and saved my arse.

Time and time again, this machine has proved its worthiness and still works like a charm.

Thank You Macintosh Apple. Thank You.

On the clouds high up above are some angels playing the harp and Steve Jobs is relaxing munching on an apple he just took a bite from. He says, "You're Welcome".