Oman Diary 2

I have been in Oman for one and half years and have accumulated loads of images about this country. This is my second tryst with a Arab speaking community. Through this blog I am holding up a mirror to the Omani culture. I am not judgemental or critical . Here I share with my unknown readers my experience which gathered through my five senses. I have divided this blog into three parts

Teenage life:

Boys and girls lead a normal life here. They do have their limitations primarily because of lack of freedom. They are excessively dependent on mobile phones. The mobile companies are reaping benefits because of this. They offer MMS and Internet packages aimed at teenagers. This year four new mobile companies launched their services taking the total number of cellular operators to six. There is co-education only in the college level. Even there the interaction between boys and girls is very minimal. Religion plays a pivotal role in their lives. Most of the boys and girls spend their free time listening to the Holy Koran. Boys do venture out into the areas of Pop music, Rap and Reggae. Names like Akon and 50 cents are quite famous among boys. Boys also spend their time playing video games mainly Play Station. They like playing football games like Fifa 2009 and 2010. They take active participation in the football matches that take place in Oman and even in other Arab countries. It is a lovely sight to see them moving towards the stadium huddled together in a car or a pick up wearing their favourite team’s colour. They are also die hard fans of various European clubs like Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester United.

Adult Life & Marriage:

When a boy or girl attains the marriageable age their parents will take the initiative to see their children married off. In most of the Muslim countries the boy has to pay a large sum of money and literally buy the girl. For a beautiful girl you have to pay more. Omani society consist of different tribes. The word tribe in the Omani context is different from the one we use in India. In India tribal means a person who lives in a forested area away from the so called civilized world. Some of the tribal names are  al-balushi  (from Baluchistan), al-mamari, al-maqbali,al ajmi. They practice community living and some of the towns are named after these tribal names. Marriages are often arranged within these tribes.Certain tribes get married only on Thursdays. Usually for marriage a tent is put up outside the house for the male members. Women spend their time doing henna. Women prefer western gowns for marriages. Meat and Chicken is served either separately or in the form of Biriyani.Food is served in a big bowl and three to five people eat from the same bowl. The groom’s car is decorated with flowers and festoons and his friends goes around the town in different cars in a procession. The procession is full of sound (honking horns) and fury signifying the blessed occasion.