Saturday, April 24, 2010

Bumps on the Road...

I came back and started the mad hiring trips again…first trip was to Chennai and then the next weekend I was off to Bengaluru and during that trip I got the Offer Letter Mail on 10-Feb-10…was really a great feeling…

The HR Head of UHG was travelling with me and I confided in him about my Kuwait Trip and the Offer from my new employer and he was happy for me and left the final decision with me, the next day on 11-Feb I resigned officially and then the Notice Period Discussions started…my last working day at UHG was mutually decided as 5-Mar-10 and during that time I had to finish all pending tasks and complete all handover work…

I got back to Delhi and had to complete a plethora of tasks before I could fly off to Kuwait, had to get my Graduation Degree attested from the HRD Ministry, External Affairs Ministry and then from the Kuwait Embassy plus had to get a Police Verification Certificate issued and then get it attested from the External Affairs Ministry and the Kuwait Embassy, considering all these tasks meant a direct involvement of the Government Departments and going by their reputation of being the most inefficient at even the most routine and the easiest of the tasks I took the help pf agents to make it easy for me.

Attestation of the Degree was the easiest, went to an Attestation Agency called UROGULF in Connaught Place and received the attested degree in exactly 15 working days as promised, I paid them Rs. 6,000 for their services and it was a cakewalk.

But the painful moments were anxiously waiting for me to hit be real bad, I was expecting some of that but what hit me was simply frustrating & depressing and believe me the feeling of helplessness was not good at all.

It took me all of 6 trips to the Passport Office, 2 trips to Urogulf, 2 trips to the External Affairs Ministry and Rs. 6,000 to get the PCC issued and then duly attested, and yes the agony & the painful moments included of experiencing the sheer inefficiency of the Police Machinery of Gurgaon, they are the best at it, of not performing their duties and also of being lethargic, no wonder the Law & Order situation at Gurgaon is pathetic to say the least.

The ordeal finally ended on 25th March 2010 when I got my PCC and then I got it attested from the EA Ministry and that too with the help of my Father’s Friend’s help who is an old-timer there, and then gave it to Urogulf to get it attested from the Kuwait Embassy and they had to courier the same to me in Kuwait as I could not wait any longer, I had already got my joining date postponed twice by 1 week each, from 15th March 2010 to 28th March 2010 plus I was simply cooling away my heels at my home since 5th March and all I was doing was making those bloody trips to the Passport Office, all shopping & preparations were over and it was time I flew off…

On 27th March 2010 I got my Visa & the flight tickets from Kuwait and had to fly off on an Emirates Flight scheduled at 4:00 PM from Delhi and then landing in Kuwait vis Dubai at 10:00 PM in Kuwait, I bid goodbyes to all my friends & folks and did the final packing and left my home at sharp 1:00 PM for the IGI Airport…but hold your breaths and to the surprise of many people who are reading it, I didn’t leave that day because the roadblocks were not yet over for me!!! Read on now for another big whammy which came unexpectedly my way…

I reached the counter to check-in and the staff saw my Visa and then told me that the Passport Number mentioned on it was not mine and as a result I could not fly!!! I was like what the fuck is this now, all the frustrations were not enough for me and believe it or not I was laughing at myself as I had no other option, anyway I hate brooding plus this situation was outside of my control, plus the Emirates Staff was extremely courteous and explained me the situation pretty well, I called up my father and they were en route to Gurgaon and I asked them to come back and pick me up from the Airport, even my Mother was laughing at my miseries!!!

Called up the On-Boarding Coordinator at Kuwait and told them about the issue and he was extremely apologetic about his big error and promised me that he would issue me the new & correct Visa and also the new tickets within a day.

I reached home frustrated but not depressed at all and then watched IPL through the remainder of the day, just called up Bandita & my Bhai and told them the long & sad story and just stayed at home.

The next morning I received a call from Kuwait and then the mail containing my Tickets & Visa and this time I was to fly to Kuwait by a Kuwait Airways Flight which was at 4:00 AM in the night or morning you might say plus this was a direct 4 hours flight to Kuwait.

Finally the roadblocks were about to end but I thought to myself that until I land at Kuwait I won’t believe that eventually I had made it, the roadblocks had made me cynical!!!

In the flight I was really philosophical and thought back about all the things which happened on the way since I got the call from Savita about this job and then finally boarding this flight, I said everything was smooth & easy; the 1st telephonic Interview, my 1st trip to Kuwait, all the 7 interviews, the salary negotiations and then the Offer Letter, if the bumps in the road had not happened to me I would have got this job really easily and it would not have been that sweet & memorable and I am damn sure I would never forget all the miseries and thank the Almighty God for giving me this new Overseas Opportunity which would give me some really decent Global Exposure and would make me a well-rounded professional ready for the future and plus the big money savings I can achieve which would bring me financial stability for the rest of my life if I am sensible and invest the savings in all the right places, so what the heck some shit happened!!! As they always say…Shit Happens and with me it always does!!! But in the end like this time it is me who is victorious!!! It happened in 2009 with my Bike Rides and this time the ride was different but the ending was almost similar…a sense of achievement…Thanks to God all the way…

Fortunately nothing unexpected happened this time and I landed in Kuwait at 7 AM KST all safe & sound…

Reached my service apartment by 8 AM and the cab to Office was to come to pick me up at 10 AM to take me to my new Office, got ready and then I was up & away…on Monday 29th March 2010 I finally joined my new job and start a new journey of my life…Che had reached another destination and was ready for this new challenge…with full of positive energy and a clear mind…this time The Mighty One was not with me as my trusted partner and I had to overcome this new challenge without my friends & family physically close to me but as always I was game for it…and I said to myself BRING IT ON!!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Judgement Day...

I got up in the morning at 6 AM, surprisingly without any alarm-assistance all due to the anxiety & excitement in my mind, got ready in my best Business Suit and my favourite Tie and had a heavy breakfast, that’s also one strange part about me, even when I am tense or nervous I never discount my meals and as always have a full one!!!

Reached the office at sharp 8 AM and surprisingly not very tense, I was up for the challenge waiting for me, and it was one long challenge…seven 1-hour long Interviews starting from 8:15 AM till 5:15 PM with just a one-hour Lunch Break in between were waiting for me, it was one marathon session in waiting…

Over the course of the day I was interviewed by the HR Director for Corporate, the Chief Financial Controller, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief HR Head, Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Head of Compensation & Benefits & the Director of Recruitment ….phew!!! What a list…that too pretty lengthy!!!

All the interviews went perfectly well, I had all the answers to the questions posed to me and had really wonderful discussions with all of them and could realise that the Leadership here was very strong and had some very highly experienced people at the top which surely was a comforting factor and one of the most important parameters for me personally.

The best part was that unlike the interviews I had given in India, there was no set patterns to either of the interviews like “Tell me about yourself and your family” or “talk about your strengths and weaknesses”…all of them had a free-wheeling discussion with me and also were interested in my personal life, beliefs & passions which are always overlooked in India, I was getting a big-big comfort level after each interview that if I get through it would be a damn good decision for me to join this organization.

Another fact I liked was that each Interviewer had gone through my resume in detail beforehand and were not browsing through it while I was being interviewed which is seriously a big put-off for me.

Now some special moments from the Interviews:

1. During my discussions with the CIO and looking at his room I found out that he was also a very serious Motorcycling (read Harley-Davidson) enthusiast and naturally the interview veered towards our common passion, I told him about my Bike Rides, my Bike-The Mighty One and also showed him some pics from my rides, he was damn excited and so was I!!! He told me that if you join here you got to buy a Harley and join the club!!! Surely a big enough reason for me to join!!! \

2. I told the HR Head about the adventure streak in me and also the fact that I was really looking forward to join this job and then travel through the Middle East and he was very supportive and I still remember the closing line which he said at the end of my interview, he said “Join the Adventure and Best of Luck”…

3. The Director of Recruitment had already interviewed me telephonically so he decided to go out with me for a walk around the office and show me the places close by…and we had a wonderful discussion, and this guy is a serious rock-star, let me tell you about his background first…he was in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army for 15 years before joining the Corporate World, served in Iraq, Afghanistan & Serbia in Field Operations, knows Arabic fluently, is certified in clinical Hypnosis and above all is a big fan of Che Guevara and even has a fair knowledge about Bhagat Singh!!! And when we started discussing about Che there was no end to it, he was amazed at my knowledge about him and other revolutionaries and my ideals of life…he also used one of my favourite lines in his discussion “One man’s Terrorist is another man’s revolutionary” …believe me this line is 100% correct for all the cases…think over it and you would surely agree with me. Then I knew as a fact that working with him would be great for my career just owing to his rich experience…

The Interview Marathon was finally over at 5:30 PM after 7 interviews and all of them damn good fun…I was verbally offered by the HR Head and the salary offer was also discussed and I just could believe what was going on…it was all too sudden and I was just loving it…the salary figure was simply fantastic and all I had to decide about was how would I manage leaving India and then come to Kuwait leaving my friends, family and bike…

With the excitement in Mind I reached my Hotel, had a strong coffee, my head was literally spinning after a long day and then reached the Airport at 7 PM; my flight to India was at 10 PM…and this time I was to fly by Jet Airways…Kuwait-Mumbai-Delhi…

I checked in, got my boarding pass and then was just roaming around in the airport when I found the Harley Davidson Accessories showroom and went straight into it, bought glass stickers for my buddies back home and browsed through all the accessories displayed, all of them were damn freaking expensive which was obvious as HD is a cult & a luxury brand…didn’t buy anything else and moved out…

Then I bought a new Mobile Connection to call my folks in India and the process of getting a new connection was as smooth as silk, they just took a copy of my Passport and I got the new SIM card which was pre-activated…called up my parents who were in Wellington with my Bhai’s family, Dips and Bandita and told them all about my experience excitedly…and they would surely vouch for it that I was really elated and the excitement levels were to reach a new high very soon…

I stood in the final line just before you enter the Aircraft and got a huge surprise…I had been upgraded to the Business Class Category for the flight from Kuwait-Mumbai…didn’t know the reason for it but was really excited, it was the first time I was to travel in the Business Class…I got seated in a very comfortable seat with I don’t know how many adjustment buttons!!! Was served some exotic juice, don’t know what it was though!!! And then got a Menu Card for the Dinner, I was like this is really great!!! Switched on the Video Screen and after browsing through all the options available decided to watch the movie “Inglorious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino, I wanted to watch this for a long time but didn’t get a chance but this time I was game for it!!!

Had the Baileys Irish Cream for drinks and not beer this time, Baileys is my favourite Liquer and I simply love the Creamy Texture streaked with Irish Liquor…after the movie & the dinner had a short nap and when I woke up went up to the Cabin Crew and asked them the reason for my Business Class upgrade and then got a shocker…they told me that they had overbooked the Economy Class(first shock) and the Business Class had 6 empty seats, so they had to transfer 6 people from Economy to Business and they chose on the basis of the clothes we 6 were wearing, I was dressed in a Business Suit so I was one of the 6 and similarly the other 5 as well, such a racist way to decide, I was not too happy to hear this but had no other option than to go back to my seat and just wait for the flight to land…

And then all thoughts were coming together, the decision to come to Kuwait for the Interviews, an amazing day of the Orientation Tour and then my performance during the Interviews, everything was going perfectly as if it was scripted for me…just could not believe it…and all I did was to Thank god and for being with me all the time and blessing me for all my good luck…seriously these 2 days were my lucky days and could not thank God enough for all the memorable time…

Landed at Mumbai at 5AM, after the clearances went straight to the Duty Free Liquor Shop and bought a bottle each of JW Red Label and Jim Beam for my father as the Kuwait Gift!!! He really likes such a gift!!!

The Mumbai-Delhi flight was at 8 AM and I had 2 options, the first one was the boring one, take the airport cab and reach the Domestic Terminal and then wait…the other interesting one was to go out of the International Terminal at my own expense =, roam around a bit and then reach the Domestic Terminal…for obvious reasons I chose the 2nd one!!!

Took an Auto Rickshaw and asked the driver to take me to a Tea Shop where I could also eat some hot & fresh Vada Paaos…we reached there and both of us had a very early breakfast!!! I had 3 of them with 2 glasses of tea!!! And also got some packed for Dips…was having authentic Hot Vada Paaos in Mumbai after almost 7 years and was getting really nostalgic, My first job was in Mumbai way back in 2003 and all I could afford for breakfast & as a late evening snack back then was 2 Vada Paaos with a cutting chai…so much so for my low salary then!!! Also did some heart-to-heart Bakchodi with the Auto Driver, he was from Varanasi and I discussed the light of UP Migrants in Mumbai after the MNS threat and he had some interesting revelations…

Reached the Airport after having a wonderful time and an even wonderful breakfast and boarded the flight…after that I don’t remember anything as all I did on the flight was to sleep!!! But how can I forget…I dumped at the Airport…another dumping-first for me!!! Another Airport conquered by the Dumping Tycoon!!!

Reached Delhi and then headed straight to home and then reached the Office as if nothing ever happened and got back to the grind of UHG!!!

The 2 days were truly memorable and I didn’t know then that whether I would be back to Kuwait and really had an amazing time…

I thought to myself then…Inshallah I would be back!!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Kuwait Orientation

I reached Kuwait on time and there was a representative waiting for me at the Arrival Gate to receive me and help me with the Paperwork and getting my luggage, I got the immigration stamping on my Visa and the Company Driver came to receive me and that too in a Chevrolet Traverse, don’t know to call it an SUV or what but it was a fantastic vehicle nonetheless, reached the Kuwait Hyatt Hotel at 10 AM and went straight to have my breakfast and I tried all the Arabic Dishes, the ones which I had never tried and loved each one of them, after that just hit the bed as had not slept properly through the night and I was dead tired, put the alarm for 1 PM as I had the Kuwait Orientation Tour organized for me to know more about Kuwait, the places to shop, to stay and generally about the culture.



This was the view from my Hotel Room's Balcony...it was on one of the main arterial roads which are known as Ring Road here...all the roads are connected through Flyovers and meet at final point in the country.

Got ready and there was Shebina Amlani from my organization who was my orientation guide and she welcomed me to Kuwait and we started our trip, firstly went to see some apartments and saw some 6 of them, big, small, furnished and non-furnished and also got a basic idea about the rents for each of them, all of them were quite luxurious better known as Studio Apartments, best for a bachelor like me.

Next on the agenda was a showroom, it is the biggest showroom in Kuwait (not a mall), it has various areas for Home Furnishings, Automobiles & Electronics, and it was an amazing one, saw the Hummer & Corvette for the first time and it was a ravishing sight for sure, to see them from so close, just went through the motions while browsing through the Furnishings division as had no clue neither interest in it.



Then I saw the Starbucks Coffee Outlet and had a coffee & a sandwich there, my first Starbucks experience after hearing so much about it, and to be honest the coffee was nothing special for the exorbitant price I was charged but still for a first-time it was a good experience, the last on the agenda in the showroom was the Electronics Section and I was simply comparing prices between Kuwait & India and the prices were really cheap in Kuwait, as there are no Import Duties for any good sold in Kuwait, that’s the only reason for the low prices, lucky people these Kuwaitis are and the people who stay here…

After the retail therapy the next one was the Beach Therapy!!! Saw the cleanest beach I had ever seen in my life and the weather was simply superb to be on the beach, everywhere there were families relaxing & enjoying and I loved the moment as I was on a beach after an year, the last one was the Kanyakumari Beach I visited while on my West Coast Ride in January 2009…though am not a beach person but still enjoy being on one and miss the good-old times I spent on innumerable beaches of Goa while doing my MBA from 2001 to 2003…



The structure you see on the right side of the picture is the personal Island Pad of the King of Kuwait, it has 2 Helipads and all the luxuries you can imagine one needs !!!

All this while Shebina was giving me loads of cultural information about the life in Kuwait which was extremely interesting to hear and she was a great help for getting me acquainted about the life in general as culturally Kuwait is miles apart from India and anyway just to for general knowledge sake this information was nice to know…

We went to the Marina Mall after that which is the second biggest Shopping Mall there and all the designer brands had their outlets there, some of which I had never even heard about, there was a Virgin Store as well and I went to try my luck to get the “Che” movie’s DVD but sadly even they didn’t have one, I have been looking for this DVD for so long and I wonder when I would finally lay my hands on it…nonetheless had a good time there.

Infront of the Mall there was a huge parking lot for Yachts which normally all Kuwaitis own and it was a first time for me...really fascinating to see so many luxury yachts parked in such a small place...wonder how they get them out in that crowd !!!





I was getting curious about the same perfume fragrance everywhere, yes everywhere in Kuwait there is a same fragrance which is in the air, I smelled it at the Airport, my hotel, the Mall and the Retail Store, finally I asked Shebina about it and she took me to one store selling various kinds of fragrances and there I got to know more about it, it is an Arabic Tradition and mostly every Kuwaiti uses it as the perfume, I wanted to buy the same but it was damn expensive, some 2000 odd bucks and I didn’t buy!!! I was sure if I use the same one in India I surely would have been termed as an Alien!!! An Arabic-smelling Alien!!!

Next we went to The Radisson Hotel as I wanted to buy some Kuwaiti Magnets for Pravin for his collection and we found 2 beautiful ones and then we went to Burger King, another first for me after hearing so much about it, in fact during my MBA I had researched a lot about BK and it’s origins and it was nice to enjoy a burger from BK…finally…I took a Beef Burger and loved it to bits, it was very heavy but amazingly delicious…

Finally the Orientation Tour came to an end and it was a day well spent, my first day in Kuwait and truly memorable for all the first-time experiences…Starbucks, Corvettes, Hummers and the Burger King!!! Before Shebina left I bought some Arabic Style Jewellery for folks back home, I loved the design and the colours…bought it for my Bhabhi, Arunima and Bandita…

Reached the hotel and took a hot shower bath, I was feeling really sleepy and sleep was all on my mind but there was one final agenda left for the day, my future colleague named Peter was to come to meet me at the Hotel and have dinner with me, another way of getting to know more about the Organization & it’s people, I must say the things were well-planned for me and I had never seen this anywhere else, an Orientation Tour is for tourists and not for a candidate!!! But I loved the courtesy and the planning and surely it went a long way in making my decision of moving to Kuwait if I succeeded in the Interviews and then getting the Offer…

The day finally ended at 10 PM, a very long day indeed and I slept with palpable excitement in my mind, the next day was the Interview Day and I was a bit anxious as had not given any form of Interviews lately but was pretty confident to face them…and then I just crashed out…

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Flying with The World's Favourite Airline...

So the night came when I had to travel to Kuwait…I was really excited as I was travelling to an International Location after May 2005 when I went to Thailand and had one of the most wonderful times of my life then (I know what you are thinking and the related expressions on your faces!!!) plus I thought even if I didn’t get selected after my Interviews, at least I would get an opportunity to visit a country which I would never visit in my life.

I had an Emirates Flight via Dubai departing from Delhi at 4 AM…like a good boy and a new International Traveller I duly reached the Airport at 1 AM…went through all the motions and was finally in the Departure Lounge at 2:30 AM and had an hour to spend there…went to the Watches, Liquor & cigarettes section and just browsed through the items on display…the liquor section made me crazy, there were so many options and I am a Liqueur collector myself even though I am not a regular Liqueur drinker but seeing the new brands made me really excited…I even SMSed Dips at 3 in the night!!! And obviously there was no reply from his side as he is sane when it comes to sleeping and he sleeps early!!!

I had heard so much about Emirates and their World-Class service and just could not wait to get into the aircraft and finally the call came and I was in the aircraft and the first thing which shocked me was that there was a first floor in the plane!!! I never knew that before this instant…but that was only for a select few and I was guided towards the Economy Section, intelligently I had made a Web Check-In and I had booked an aisle seat for me which I always prefer over a window seat…

The in-flight system had believe it or not a collection of 550 movies in almost all the languages, 100 Recordings of Live Concerts, 50 odd Video Games and some 2000 odd songs collection of all the big artistes worldwide appealing to travellers from all nationalities…truly world-class I must say…as I was carrying my own headphones I was the first one to plug into the system and it surely got me bewildered looks of fellow travellers as they had to wait for the Cabin Crew to start distributing the Emirates Headphones…I get smart at times, even though this is very rare but when it happens, it comes in handy!!!

The food was extremely delicious and one of the best I ever had on a flight…and then the alcohol service started…unluckily they had the best of the brands for heavy liquor but only 2 options for Beer which I can take so I settled for Stella Artois and had 2 cans as I planned to sleep after that, the person sitting right next to me was in no such mood, he first took 3 miniature bottles of Famous Grouse Scotch Whiskey with 3 Cans of coke the first time and then took 1 each 4 other times and pissed the Cabin Hostess big time but he was not to budge, he thought he had every right to be rude to her as his expression seemed so!!! He was a native of Punjab and was working in Melbourne, Australia as a Taxi Driver and was returning back after attending his brother’s wedding and I am sure he would have had shit-loads of alcohol during the wedding celebrations but still his liquor appetite had not been satiated!!! One weirdo he was…and I hate anybody who is rude to people who are serving them and this time also it was no different…and one funny thing about him was that he pronounced Famous Grouse as “Famous Grooooose”!!! Would never forget that…

I landed in Dubai at 6:30 AM DST and then after the special security check proceeded to the gigantic Transit Lounge, they asked all of the travellers to remove their socks & shoes, remove all metal accessories which was a big task for me, my Che Locket, my 2 Kadas, watch and the waist belt!!! I almost injured myself while removing one of my Kadas…

The Duty Free zone was simply overwhelming and I had never seen anything like that before, everywhere there were shops selling almost everything and so much of crowd & noise…I had to pick up 2 cartons of cigarettes for my Father and Brother which I did…special Anniversary editions of Marlboro Regular & Lights respectively, as I was off smoking that time, didn’t buy any cigarettes for me… then I went to the chocolates shop and bought some for my nieces. The last shopping was for Arunima & Pravin for whom I had to buy Dubai special Magnets as you all know Pravin is a very passionate Magnet collector and he has a collection of almost 200 from all over the World so I had thought of gifting him some Dubai Specials!!! I also bought a beautiful artefact for my home and that was it, no more shopping I told myself as anybody can go crazy and spend thousands or even lakhs there but I was being prudent!!!


And then the moment of glory!!! Yeah I am so good at it…I am the best and I can safely say this…I had already thought that I would surely dump in Dubai and the divine intervention happened, I was getting pressurised!!!(Though it comes naturally to me, no special efforts required!!!) And to my utter surprise I found an Indian Style Washroom in the Dubai Airport!!! And I utilized it to the fullest…the scene was simply hilarious and the feeling of being victorious was thrilling!!! Here I was in the Dubai International Airport-one of the best in the world, dressed in my Business Suit with a Neck Tie dumping away to glory that too in an Indian Style Loo!!! Wasn’t it simply awesome…I surely consider it as awesome but I am sure all of you would be simply calling me a crazy asshole!!! And it became even funnier; the last & final call for the Dubai-Kuwait flight was announced as I was in the middle of my legendary dumping session so I rushed out and entered the aircraft!!! Sad to leave it midway and I am sure you all would empathise with me!!!

The flight from Dubai to Kuwait was a short one, just 45 odd minutes and it started on a great note, I saw the famous Burj Al-Arab Hotel & the Palm Islands from the flight and they looked simply amazing. Luckily I had the Window seat this time!!! Things were well-in place till now, I was lucky or what!!! The in-flight entertainment was not too great this time with lesser options plus a much smaller screen so I started to play a Video Game on quizzing and it was on the Intranet where I could play with fellow passengers and the person sitting right next to me was my competitor and we had a nice and close contest and he won!!! The flight went off without any other special moments except one, there was a middle-aged Indian Man sitting right behind me and he was gulping down whiskey shots like there was no tomorrow and his wife was constantly nagging him for this and even the Cabin Crew was pissed with him, they kept on telling him “Sir, this is a short flight so please give your order in one go but unrelenting he was and he kept troubling them for more whiskey!!! At the end of it all he was dead drunk and almost down & out and his wife was literally howling at him…

So my first Emirates experience was finally coming to an end…and I truly enjoyed it…I was about to reach Kuwait…explore a new country and give my Interviews…the excitement was palpable to say the least…

NO to YES...

I had never ever thought even in the wildest of my dreams that I would work outside of India but here I am, working in Kuwait(of all the countries), you may ask why Kuwait…and I have all the answers…

The primary reason for me coming here was that I badly needed a job change from UnitedHealth Group after working there for almost 3.5 years and more importantly I was no more enjoying my job and my profile was becoming redundant & stagnated, I tried my best finding a job in Delhi-NCR but could not succeed due to various reasons. I was getting extremely frustrated and just wanted a new job but as it’s the way always with me, nothing comes easy and I knew I was in for a long-haul…

And then on 16th January my good friend Savita Nair who works in Quadrangle called me while I was in a Hiring Event at Hyderabad and told me about this job opportunity in Kuwait and told me to at least apply and then try my luck, my mind said “let’s go for it” and then on 21st January gave me preliminary Telephonic Interview to the Head of Recruitment and believe me guys it was one of the best Interviews I ever gave, the discussion was tremendously informative and I had all the answers to his questions and at the end of the interview he clearly told me that they would invite me to Kuwait and then take things forward…I knew that I would get shortlisted…no over-confidence but surely self-belief…

The other reason was money, yes let me be honest & upfront here…as everybody knows that The Middle East is extremely lucrative wrt salaries & it was clearly on my mind and Kuwait is the best paying Country here…I knew that if I work in Kuwait for 3-4 years then my Financial Future would be stable & certain as due to various reasons in the last 3-4 years I had not been able to save much of money…the reasons being my Divorce in 2008 & my never-ending Bike-Rides…I don’t regret either of them!!!s

I travelled again to Hyderabad the following weekend and got a mail from Kuwait that they wanted me to be there for the Interview & the Orientation Tour to know more about Kuwait, but as always with me there was a visible roadblock, my Passport was expiring on 10-Apr-10 and for an International Trip I needed a validity of 6 months at least so I had to get my validity extended but only when I could reach Delhi…on the following Monday I reached the Passport Office in Delhi(which I became a regular visitor of in the near future; more details about that later) but to my horror found out that due to an incomplete Police Verification in 2005 the validity extension would at least take 15-20 working days and I could not afford that long a delay so I took the normal Indian route…met a Tout, paid him money and then got the extended validity in flat 3 hours!!! Yes 3 hours only…the power of Money as they say…

I was also sent a link to know more about life in Kuwait which was informative indeed; in addition to this I also did some extensive research using the routine culprits & my best Internet Friends!!! Google & Wikipedia…also talked to one of my MBA Batchmate Preety whose husband was born & brought up in Kuwait and she had also stayed there for some time & in fact her in-laws are settled here and I knew she would give me real-time and authentic information much better than the Internet links…and everything she told me helped me make up my mind and I am extremely thankful to her for all her inputs…

Yes there were loads of apprehensions & fears in my mind like staying in a completely new country, with no friends or relatives, staying away from my family, friends, my Bike and the Bike Rides, plus the normal fears of working in the Middle East with so many restrictions in place and also the fact that I was to get engaged soon and would have been away from my fiancĂ©e at a time where we needed to spend more time together…but I had pretty much decided that if I successfully clear the Interview Rounds I would surely take up this new challenge and give it my best shot…

And then I was all set…all I needed were the tickets & Visa from Kuwait and I could fly…the final hitch was managing 2 leaves from UHG and considering the mayhem we were experiencing due to the new Hyderabad Centre it was not going to be easy…so I had to think out-of-the box to get those 2 leaves!!! As I was going to be away without any access to my office Mails or Mobile Phone…but somehow I gave a solid bahaana and got the leaves…I knew it was going to be fool-proof…only very few people knew about the upcoming trip as I never wanted the beans to be spilled-out!!! The Trip was planned for 3rd & 4th February 2010…