Guide to Buying a Villa in Dubai

introduction

luxury villa

Dubai has diversified from a fishing village at the turn of the last century to the present day megacity. The city in a bid to attract the best and the richest has taken to construction of villas as a fish to water. Luxury villas are the new mantra to attract the rich and well-heeled to Dubai. The idea is to give a grand lifestyle to the visitor or an expat worker. The charm of owning your own villa with a private swimming pool and garage id definitely greatly desired and Dubai caters to this in a big

Good investment

cheaper villa

The villas in Dubai can either be bought as an investment or hired during your holiday in Dubai. The latest architectural designs are formulated for these villas and owning one can definitely add an extra page to your lifestyle. They are also a good investment for your money. A lot of people prefer leasing the villas in case they are not sure about buying them.

As the rulers of Dubai have positioned it as a holiday getaway you could if you have the money rent a villa. Many companies in Dubai can help you find a villa for yourself during a planned holiday in Dubai. If you are coming with your family you will have the chance of all staying together than in different rooms as in hotels. With the present economic scenario you can work out a good deal and that may not be too expensive.

Prices

New age design villa

Villas in Dubai cover a wide spectrum of costs.The prices vary from their size to location. Dubai, in fact, is dotted with Villas. Unlike apartments that are finding it difficult to sell themselves the villas are comparatively better off. Dubai boasts of posh villas at the Marina which are a statement of style and reasonably pricey. Similarly, villas at Jumeriah which are a few minutes from the Jumeriah beach from Sheikh Zayed Road are also quite costly and only the rich stay here. You can also rent or lease a villa at the exclusive Palm Island. This is the high end of the spectrum of social life and celebrities including film stars, sportspersons, and eminent persons could be your neighbors.
. Staying in a villa on the palm means that Atlantis Dubai one of the top-end hotel resorts is nearby and you can always visit it for leisure activities. Villas in Dubai can be a statement of your life’s intent. In fact, with the downturn of real estate in Dubai, some of the upmarket villas are available for a lot less than the original price and can be a good investment.

Other thoughts

Row houses for sale

However, there is a dark lining to the silver cloud. Dubai does not allow landlords or tenants to share their villas with another family. The general concept in Dubai is one family per villa and the authorities will not let you break that. In case you share your villa with another family then you are open to fine that could go up to AED 50000.Thus breaking this law is not advisable. This law is perhaps rooted in the Islamic life of Dubai and has put off a lot of customers.

All said and done with the latest liberalization of rules for residence in Dubai, buying a villa is a good investment
all photos by me

A Muslim Writer in America

Khaled Husseini

Khaled Hosseini is a Muslim citizen of the United States, where he has lived for the past 33 years. Khaled was born in Afghanistan in 1965 and came with his father to the USA in 1981 after his father was granted political asylum.

That was the period when the Soviets had engineered a communist coup in Afghanistan and Khalid’s father could not go back. He was working in Paris at that time. Khalid’s father, in any case, did not want to go back to Afghanistan and he took the easier option of asking for asylum in the USA. The American government with its phobia of communism readily granted asylum to Hosseini.

In America

Khaled

Perhaps if the scenario had been 2013, Khalid’s father would not have got asylum that easily. The wheel has turned full circle and Muslims who may or not have terror links are no longer welcome in the USA. It is to the credit of Khaled Hosseini that he has integrated with American life. But all along he has maintained his Muslim trappings.

He took to writing in the early twenty-first century and published his first novel ‘The Kite Runner ‘in 2003. The novel was a runaway hit and topped the bestseller charts for over 101 weeks. One of the reasons for the success of the book was its locale, Afghanistan which remains an enigma to most Americans. The old saying ‘distance lends enchantment to the view’ has been used by Hosseini to tempt the American audience with his books with Afghanistan as the locale.

And the Mountain Echoed

Book cover

Khalid Hosseini has now penned another novel titled ‘And the Mountain Echoed’ in 2013. This is his third novel and again has Afghanistan as the background. Afghanistan is the home country of the writer and it is natural that most of his writings bring out the culture and clash of values of life in Afghanistan. Hosseini does not restrict himself to Afghanistan but encompasses a sweep that takes the reader from Kabul to Paris and further to the USA. It’s a very well written book and Hosseini presents a very plausible tale.
The story commences from an Afghan village when a poor man named Saboor relates a tale to justify his actions to his son, Abdullah. The real-life implication of the tale is that Abdullah is parted from his sister Pari who he loves greatly. He realizes that his father Saboor plans to sell his sister to a wealthy Kabul couple. She leaves and that void forever alters the lives of the young children.
Pari remains in the mind of Abdullah as Hosseini covers a period of six decades from the fifties to the 21st century. The characters move from small villages of Afghanistan to Paris and finally to the Greek island of Tinos.
Hosseini relates a parallel tale of characters like the stepmother of Pari, Parwana and her brother Nab. Hosseini writes beautifully and one cannot distinguish from his writing that he is not an American by birth. The only giveaway is his locale of Afghanistan, which he presents to American readers with a lovely tale of human emotions.
Hosseini and Afghanistan



This novel is exquisite and readers will find information about Afghanistan wrapped in a lovely tale. Hosseini brings to the fore the rich cultural heritage of Afghanistan and how life is in the Afghan villages. It is sad, that the Taliban have started an insurrection and wants to enforce the Wahhabi form of Islam. This may well take the Afghans back to the 6th century if they win. Hosseini deserves credit for writing this novel which has been liked by the American populace at large.
Last Word
Hosseini is an MD from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine in 1993. He practiced medicine for 10 years before venturing as a writer with his book ‘The Kite Runners’. Subsequently, he wrote ‘A thousand Splendid Suns’

Last Word

His native place

Hosseini is a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and visited Afghanistan in 2007. Presently he resides in Northern California with his wife Roya and two children. But despite this Hosseini is a man who will never go back to Afghanistan.
Photos from wiki free

Cricket: Men who played for India and Faded Away

In India test cricket is played since 1932. the game is loved by Indians and today India is the powerhouse of world cricket. Many Indians played for India and some had talent, yet faded away.

• AA Baig
• AG Kripal Singh
• Surinder Amarnath
• RB Kenny
• Deepak Shodhan
• Irfan Pathan
• AG Milkha Singh
• Last Word

AA Baig

Baig with Pataudi

Here was a cricketer who hailed from Hyderabad and was a student at Oxford University in 1958-59. The Indian was touring England at that time under DK Gaekwad. The sad part was that the main batsman Polly Umrigar was off-color and the other main striker Vijay Manjreker was injured and could not play. Indians needed a man to bolster the batting and they decided to induct Baig in the 4th test against the MCC at the oval.

Baig made a sensational test debut and in the second innings faced up to the bowling pace battery of Fred Truman and Brian Statham with confidence. Seeing Baig bat with gusto, the veteran Polly Umrigar also found his bearings and the two hit centuries. Baig was run out for 112, a magnificent century on debut. But after this tour, Baig faded away and except for a series against Australia he could not click.

He was in prime form when selected for the 1971 tour of the MCC but didn't get to play a single test. It was a sad end to a promising career. However, he will remain the only cricketer who was kissed by a lovely girl in a skirt as he helped India draw the third test against Australia in 1960.

AG Kripal Singh

Kripal as a Sikh

He was a test player from Tamil Nadu and played for the erstwhile Madras state. He was a Sikh and the son of AG Ram Singh who had settled down in Madras. He made a sensational debut against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1955-56. He partnered the veteran Polly Umrigar in a big stand. While Umrigar hit 223, Kirpal hit 100 not out when the innings was closed.

However, after this innings Kirpal failed to make a mark and though on a return to the test team hit a superb 53 against Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrest at Madras in the 4th test against the West Indies. Kirpal just after the century against New Zealand converted to Christianity and cut his hair. Many devout Sikhs feel that was the reason for his downfall. The fact is that Kirpal Singh slowly faded away. His last test was in 1964 against Bobby Simpsons Australian team when in his last innings he was bowled by McKenzie for 1.



.

Surinder Amarnath

Surinder

He was the elder son of the legendry Lala Amarnath and elder brother of Mohinder Amarnath. Surender made a sensational debut against New Zealand in 1976 under Gavaskar and promptly hit 124 in Auckland. It was a glorious century, but after that, on the subsequent tour of the West Indies, he was suspect against genuine pace. He did make a sporadic comeback twice but again went into oblivion. He was also not much of success against Pakistan when India toured that country in 1978

RB Kenny

He was a player from Bombay. But the selectors were not fair with him and Kenny played only 4 test matches, all against Australia. But he batted admirably against Richie Benaud's team on their tour of India during 1958-59. Kenny partnered Baig in the Bombay test to help India to a draw. He also batted well in the 5th test at Calcutta when he hit 62. But the selectors never gave him another chance and he continued to play for Bombay but did not get another look in.

Deepak Shodhan

shodhan

He was a cricket player from Gujarat. He came into the test team against Pakistan and batting at no 8 hit 110. He was a fluent stroke maker and continued to play cricket for Gujarat in the Ranji trophy.

Shodan was inexplicably dropped from the team after this century. Much later he mentioned that the selection committee was biased against him. He must be the only test player to be dropped after hitting a century on debut. But that is Indian cricket with all its vagaries

Irfan Pathan

Pathan burst as a medium pace swing bowler with a bang. Earlier he swung the ball and had the distinction of taking a hat trick against Pakistan when the Indian team had toured that country with Dravid as captain. But inexplicably Irfan lost his swing and sting and has slowly gone out of reckoning of the Indian team. He has also lost his pace is a mere trundler. He is another player who has gone to seed despite promising much. His batting was also no rabbit, but all in all Irfan Pathan is now out of reckoning of a place in the Indian test team

AG Milkha Singh

Milkha

He was the younger brother of Kirpal Singh. He came on the national scene with a string of magnificent scores in the Ranji Trophy while playing for Madras. In 1962 he was India's most promising batsman. Earlier on a tour of Pakistan with the Indian young team, he had hit 3 centuries.

Milkha got his chance against Pakistan and the MCC in 1960 and 1962. But somehow bad luck dodged him and he could not consolidate his position in the test team People do talk of his 35 against Pakistan in 1961 in the 5th test at Delhi. The selectors were also guilty of not giving him any more opportunity, as in those days the selection was based on the quota system. There was also bias against him as he was a Sikh. It's hard to believe that Milkha's test career was over at 21 and he never got another chance despite great scores in Ranji and Duleep trophy.

Last Word

There are many other cricket players who made a splash but then just faded away. There was V Subramaniam ( Madras), VV Kumar( Madras), BP Patel( Karnataka) and Ashok Mankad( Bombay) also, but they all come in the category of an also-ran. Cricket is a demanding game and along with talent luck is another ingredient. Lastly, the selection committee has its own ax to grind.

Riding the Royal Enfield in the Himalayas

Bikes, Girls and Himalayas

bike and me

The Royal Enfield “Bullet” is my favorite motorbike. I prefer the 500cc, 4 stroke model and I find it is the slickest bike available in India. The bike is now manufactured at Chennai as the English company has folded up and sold its logo and assets to an Indian company. The Royal Enfield is now an Indian bike and exported under the old brand name.
I am also reminded of that lovely song by Mary Hopkins “Those were the days…..”. One can add the two and have a lovely reminiscence of times gone by, though it feels like it was just yesterday.

My bike is fairly old now, but it’s never given any trouble. It is part and parcel of my life and I love to go on it, riding the hill roads and lanes. The bike handles the mountain roads with aplomb and even hitting a pothole at 60 MPH has no effect on me or the bike.

The bike has been used by me in the Himalayas and I have traversed the mountain roads in the Eastern Himalayas to Darjeeling and Gangtok. You will have to look up the map and see where it is. Remember the Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world and the Alps are like pygmy before them. Many a time I have driven the bike wearing my uniform and cross belt with my revolver. It gives a kick to drive so dressed and people watching me on the roadside are impressed. More so my girls who would clasp me from the back and sometimes even hold the butt of my .38.

A greater pleasure is taking my girlfriend for a spin in the mountains. It’s thrilling negotiating the steep mountain curves and your girl clinging to you. I Always carried a swig of Sikkim Rum, in a small jerry can. Incidentally, Sikkim Rum is the only rum sold in plastic jerry cans. 

The greater fun was to park the Enfield in the high jungles with a lovely green carpet and foliage all around and then carry my girl under a tree and then steal furtive kisses in the thick jungles. Greater fun if it starts to rain and so lovely to cover your girl's body with your own and allow the rain to beat on your back. As I say those were the days……

How King Solomon Seduced the Queen of Sheba

A great seduction

ancient wall mural

The Tale of Solomon and Sheba and their love affair is mentioned in the Bible. This is not the only source and we have other corroborative tales as well. One tale from Ethiopia recounts how Solomon seduced the Queen of Sheba. When the queen reached the kingdom of Solomon, she agreed to stay in his palace, provided he did not touch her. Solomon readily agreed, but as he was a very intelligent man he added a condition. He said that his oath not to touch her would stand, but would not be valid in case the queen used any personal item or thing of his. there are many versions of this tale, but the central theme is the same, attraction and sex between the Queen of Sheba and the great king Solomon. In a way, it is a tale that has been replicated millions of times and each one of us has lived through a similar episode.

When the Queen came visiting Solomon she was given a bedroom adjacent to the great king. Solomon had seen the queen he longed for her. Can we call it to love at first sight? He made a devious plan to bed the queen and he resolved to possess her.

Keeping his promise to the queen in mind, Solomon got a large ornamental glass filled with water and took a big sip from it. He later placed the glass by the bedside of the queen. At night the queen felt thirsty and got up and drank from the glass. Solomon who was waiting in an adjoining chamber with an artificial partition was able to watch the Queen not only undress but reinforced his plan to enforce his part of the promise. Solomon entered at once and claimed that as the queen had drunk from his glass she was his. The queen who was in a state of undress had no choice but to acquiesce and she gave herself to Solomon. Perhaps she secretly desired him. It is reported that Solomon made ferocious love to her and soon the Queen after this bout became his consort. Solomon shifted to her bedroom. All the same, it’s an interesting tale and the union bore fruit as the queen conceived a child from Solomon.

This tale from the bible is wonderful to read and was very well presented on celluloid with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida in the movie " Solomon and Sheba".

Tryst with a Nun; was it willed by the Lord?

A nun and I had a tryst, that was perhaps fated to happen. it was a moment of bliss in a storm and maybe the Lord smiled.

Engineered by the Lord Himself?

Some time back I had written a post on the Catholic faith in India. One of my ‘fans’ had commented that I was a believer in infidelity’ maybe I am, but what I am going to relate is a factual account of a happening when I had just joined the Air Force and was under training.
The Air Force administrative College is located at Red Fields in Coimbatore. It’s a hallowed college and has been there since the days of the Raj and the Royal Indian Air Force. All pilot trainees were supposed to spend 3 months at this college to get a basic understanding of service life like parade, drills and small arms practice before going on the learn to fly at the Air Force academy.
Accordingly, I reached Coimbatore and the Drill instructor Sargent Thevar began to put us through our paces. There was no booking out for 4 weeks and that too after passing the Drill test. I passed and heaved a sigh of relief as I could book out. There was however a caveat and the booking dress were a white pant and shirt with the striped blue Air Force Tie.
I remember I saw a movie. I think it was ‘Conon the Destroyer’ and I left the cinema hall to get back to college before the booking in time of 10pm. Then it began to rain and thunder reverberated and reverberated again and again. I ran to a small shelter and took refuge there. As lightning flashed across the sky, I saw that I was in the foyer of a dilapidated building. I was further intrigued when I saw a nun in one corner of the foyer. She was absolutely drenched and her gray smock clung to her. She was young perhaps not more than 20 and I was also of the same age. My tie was a give way and I think she knew I was from the Air force college.I also made out she was slightly darkish and I concluded she was a Malayali from Kerala. The rain now increased in intensity and I walked to the nun and suggested that we move inside as the rain was lashing all around and she and I were getting wetter.I held out my hand she caught it and we went inside the dilapidated building. It was dark inside and the heavens were roaring. I realized it was a rainstorm. The nun sneezed and I suggested she remove her smock or she would get a cold. This was an innocent suggestion and the nun began to remove her robe. Lightning flashed across and in the split second, I saw the nun naked with just a bra and panty.
God now took a hand and what happened after that has remained a blur in my memory. After the act was over, I could sense that there was some blood and the rain had stopped. I kissed and got up to dress and when I turned around the girl was gone. It was a silent withdrawal, more like a feline cat.
I reached the guard room, 30 minutes late and my Course Commander Squadron Leader DL Dhār awarded me 2 pack parades. I will not dwell on what a pack parade is, but it’s a tough punishment. I didn’t regret the punishment one bit.
I finished my training and left and as a Flight Lieutenant came again to Red Field 5 years later. I went to the seminary and met the mother superior and was told that many nuns had been sent to the USA. It is an episode that is in my mind. Something that happened that was to happen for as Lord Krishna says in the Gita” Not a leaf moves without my will”.

My Thoughts on Desiring a Woman

Desire is a lovely word and Lust is not bad. Maybe the scriptures need a rethink on these two words

The Start Ovid

ovid book

In college, I read Ovid the classical Roman poet and his concept of 'gaze'. It is a word that is the start of all feelings. Ovid related this word to women. The gaze is the first step to desire, love and even rape. When a man gazes at a woman it kindles these emotions and actions. Desire in relation to women is the emotion that runs the world. Many people for the sake of argument will not accept it, but the desire is the emotion that leads to sex, love and other aspects of a man’s relationship with a woman.

Desire

Ancient greek sculptor desire

One of my priest friends told me that 'desire' is a bad word and against the concept of god. I wonder what he had in mind by this statement. Without desire, there would be no sex and by a long shot, it could affect further procreation. Desire is something ingrained in man and I feel it is best to recognize that desire for a woman really is the cornerstone of human emotion.

Women and Desire

woman desired

What do women feel about desire? I am afraid many will not admit it, but in case a woman is not desired, she would feel pretty bad about it. A woman who nobody desires is looked down upon. She also feels neglected, yet there are a few women who articulate that desire is not good. Yes, desire leads to other things like obsession, fetish, rape, and abduction. All these relate to desire. Desire is omnipresent in a man’s psyche and it is best to accept.

Lust

lust is like a lion

Desire and lust go hand in hand. You can't have lust without desire. Lusting is not a good word, and religion frowns on it. There are umpteen passages in the scriptures that admonish a man against lusting for a woman. But again without lust, how would we have all the great romances that exist today. One can't forget that emperor Jahangir, the great Mogul got the husband of the woman he lusted for killed and made her his queen and named her 'Noor Jahan'.

Last Word

origin of lust and desire

These are just a few stray thoughts on the word 'desire'. I think my priest friend was wrong, for in my view desire is a lovely word and it’s wonderful to desire a woman. Acharya Rajneesh said there is nothing wrong even in lusting for a woman. How many will agree with it
All photos from wiki free commons