FANCY SALT IN YOUR CHAAI (TEA)

My initial experience with Kashmiri people occurred almost a decade ago during a family trip to India. Whilst walking through the older parts of New Delhi one chilly winter evening my family and I stumbled across a beautiful clothing boutique owned by a Kashmiri Family. The owner of the boutique uncle Muhammed Shafi Wani had taken an instant liking to me and had refused to take the money for the clothes I wanted to purchase. He gifted me with a beautiful Kashmiri embroidered waistcoat, shawl and jacket. I will never ever forget his sheer kindness and generosity. From that day onward he had considered me to be his adopted South African daughter. To this day we are still in contact and I do hope that I get an opportunity to visit his family home in Kashmir one day God willing.Whilst my adopted father begged us to have a meal at his home in Delhi, we were unable to due to time constraints and hence I did not get an opportunity of trying out Kashmiri cuisine. However, a few months ago I had the opportunity of visiting a Kashmiri family that resides in Kharj, a city located 77km south of Riyadh. The family cooked up a storm for lunch preparing an assortment of savouries as an appetizer followed by Bukhari plaau rice dish and then of course tea and cookies. I was however in for a surprise when my beautiful host with green almond shaped eyes served me tea. I was expecting normal five roses chai. To my amazement the tea that she had served me looked pink in colour and when I took a sip I found that the tea tasted salty. I was under the impression that the lady of the house has made a huge blunder by adding salt in the tea instead of sugar. After enquiring, I then discovered that she had actually made for me traditional Kashmiri Noon chai. Noon does not refer to the time of the day but rather Noon is the Kashmiri word for salt. According to wikipedia,noon chai is made from special tea leaves, milk, and salt. A pinch of baking soda is added to help give it a pink color. It is prepared with pistachios and cardamom and is consumed primarily at special occasions, weddings, and during the winter months when it is sold at many kiosks. Salt has antibacterial and antiseptic properties and thereby assists in preventing throat infections which tend to develop during the cold winter months. This is the rationale behind utilizing salt in the tea. Needless to say after having two sips of the tea, I just could not manage to gulp the tea down my throat. I did n't like the taste at all and apologized to my hosts for my lack of etiquette. Luckily, they were warm and understanding and so the lady of the house offered to make me a cup of normal tea that I of course thoroughly enjoyed on a cold winters afternoon......

http://www.lifensuch.com/noon-chai-salty-tea-pink-tea-kashmiri-namkeen-chai.htm - Picture

Cricket South Africa Awards Evening 2013

The Cricket South Africa Awards function was held a few nights ago at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. International cricket match referee Devdas Govindjee was present at the glitterati event and shared these pictures with all the blog readers.

The CSA Awards 2013 evening was a glittering function last night- moments to savour successes & meet so many in our cricketing family

The decor was stunning and the audio-visual presentations top class. Low lighting in the conference centre added ambiance to a special evening.

Popular T.V. personalities Carol Tshabalala & Robert Marawa were outstanding as program directors.

A lump in the throat moment for me when my great friend Hoosain Ayob received the CSA Khaya Majola Lifetime Award from Cynthia Majola and her son. Hoosain served cricket with distinction and is a special individual.

Congratulating Hoosain Ayob later in the evening was a special moment for me- we go back many years as players and have a mutual respect for each other- with us is Shafiek Abrahams now selector and commentator.

CSA umpires enjoying the evening . Murray Brown, Earl Hendrikse, Brad White and Marais Erasmus.

The legendary Cyril "Squire" Mitchley -now a Match Ref with CSA scorer Laura Webster 

Catching up with fellow Port Elizabethan and CSA Head Coach Russell Domingo

Geoff Dakin the former head of cricket presenting the Umpire's Umpire of the Year Award to Shaun George

The top honour of the evening Hashiem Amla getting the CSA Player of the Year Award- well deserved for an outstanding season

The drug epidemic- Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous article, the drug epidemic is a global international problem affecting all communities and drug awareness campaigners will unfortunately be fighting a losing battle unless they receive the support of the government and the police force. Whilst speaking to a Pastor who resides in the Florida region; the angry young gentleman mentioned to me that President Zuma's Eldorado Park fiasco was simply a political ploy. Whilst he has shut down the lollipop lounges in that part of Johannesburg, the problem has simply diverted to other areas in the West Rand region, particularly the Florida and Maraisburg suburbs. The police presence in that area is no longer there. It was just a temporary "Hoohaa". The truth about South Africa is that the public have lost faith in the police force. It is a known fact among community members here in Florida that the police themselves are involved with drug syndicates and are an integral part of a drug supply chain. Residents have informed me that many off duty police officers frequent the lollipop lounges in the area.When members of the community report these shady activities to the police, a police vehicle is sent out to these houses where drugs are being sold and the entire premises is raided. The police confiscate the drugs and they in turn resell the drugs to the same people who frequent these lollipop lounges and thus this vicious cycle continues. An activist and an active member of the ICE (In Case of Emergency) committee in the area, captivated me with a few of his shocking experiences. This is what he said," The streets of Florida at night after eleven o'clock changes drastically. The warm, friendly and pleasant ambience we all experience during the day suddenly changes to shades of grey. Shady men gather in the dark alleyways, mostly Nigerian and other foreign nationals. Prostitutes dressed provocatively come out to sell themselves to any man that passes by.Many of these women are from broken homes with nowhere to go and so they have decided to sell themselves in order to earn a living. A few weeks ago, as we were patrolling the neighbourhood, we gave chase to a guy. He was the runner. The middle man between the supplier and the customer. The guy managed to escape. He simply opened up a manhole and ran underground through the sewage and drainage networks and landed up on the other side of Ontdekkers road according to eye witness reports. The Florida community and business owners are trying to join hands to eradicate the crime and drug problem in the area. However, if you have police officers that are corrupt and working in cahoots with the drug lords, the battle and task ahead is a virtually impossible one. One disgruntled business owner made mention of the fact that bribery and corruption within the police force is the order of the day. A staff member of his was badly injured after her face was slashed. The perpetrator told the victim not to go to the police station as he has already bribed the investigating officer. Up until today no case has been filed and the perpetrator is walking the streets scot free. The woman, fearing for her life and safety refuses to pursuit the case any further. In yet another shocking incident, a police officer in the Florida area asked a Zimbabwean to produce her Identification documents. She was here in South Africa illegally and hence could not produce any legitimate paperwork. The policeman than asked her to get into the vehicle for deportation. She was under the impression that she is going to be sent home. However, the policeman drove to a deserted part of town and raped the woman. The woman did not go to the police station to report the rape as she is illegal in the country. The police officers would probably prioritize her illegal status in the country over the rape.
It doesn't help having the media and journalists boasting about how many drug lords and drug users have been apprehended. The bottom line is this: If the country does not have proper law enforcement policies in place, no strategy or awareness program can be a success. I don't care how many thousand drug peddlers get caught every day. What I am concerned about is, how many of these peddlers have been convicted? Why isn't there harsher sentences brought against them? In South Africa, bail is granted to murderers, rapists and drug traffickers. Where is the justice? As one Florida resident quite aptly mentioned. "It is about time that the government works for the people, not the other way round. We have put ZUMA into office and he should be working for us to better the lives of South Africans. He should not be at the top to soak in taxpayers money in order to facilitate his own lavish lifestyle but rather he should act as a leader who is concerned about his citizens. Safety and security should be at the top of his list. Thus far he has failed the people miserably. I pray that he sees the light and takes some kind of action to tighten the laws in this country. If the situation worsens, I then pray that he should be removed from office."

The Drug Epidemic - Part 1

Drug trafficking in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a serious criminal offence whereby drug traffickers are punished by death. Despite this harsh sentence as per Islamic Shariah law, many individuals still take a chance with trafficking drugs into the country due to the high profits and money involved with drug trafficking. The sale of illegal drugs throughout the world is a very lucrative business and unfortunately drug awareness campaigns have failed miserably with alleviating the drug epidemic that has spread across the globe and is not only a problem that the South African government is currently facing. Earlier this year according to the Saudi Gazette, border guard security patrols detained six smugglers with 64 kilograms of hashish. Customs officers at the Hudaitha border checkpoint also thwarted an attempt to smuggle 51,293 narcotic pills into the country. The pills were hidden inside oranges and lemons in two plastic boxes in a passenger’s luggage. Many drug traffickers would actually go through great lengths in order to smuggle the drugs into the country. In quite a bizarre incident reported by the Alriyadh newspaper earlier this year, customs officers at Prince Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Airport in Yanbu Governorate foiled an attempt to smuggle 2,440 narcotic pills of type TEDOLX-225 into the country.The Governorate's Customs Director General Saad Al-Baqmi pointed out that a female passenger hid the narcotic pills in her handbag and inside 4 frozen ducks. In an even more bizarre story that made headlines two days ago, a Russian surgeon who helped himself to a bag of drugs he removed from a patient's stomach faces up to 15 years in prison for theft and possession.The doctor, who was high when police arrested him, had been asked to remove containers of heroin from the stomach of a suspected drug mule in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. A spokesman for Ministry of the Interior said the 32-year-old who worked in the small city of Bogotol had helped himself to capsules of the drug after removing it from the man's stomach in a bid to save his life. Whilst the sentences for drug smuggling is harsh in other countries, I personally believe that South Africa is way behind in terms of imposing stringent laws and regulations with regards to drug trafficking as well as being in the possession of illegal banned drugs as a user. Whilst doing a locum at a pharmacy a few weeks ago I was quite astonished at the fact that almost everyday the police were arresting individuals found to be in the possession of drugs. The pharmacists on duty were asked to identify and weigh out the drugs so that the suspect could be charged appropriately. However, what really perturbed me was the fact that I found repeat offenders getting arrested. In other words, these individuals get arrested, go to jail for a night or two and then come out scot free after being granted bail. In many instances the police have also been involved with stealing the drugs and then either utilizing it themselves or selling it on the street in order to make more money. When we look at the drug issue globally, the focus should not only be on hardcore drugs such as heroin or ecstasy but there is also an increase in the abuse of prescription drugs. I was under the impression that prescription drug abuse was only prevalent within the rich affluent Saudi societies, but returning to South Africa I found that almost every second prescription I dispensed was for a tranquilizer type drug, a narcotic analgesic or a sleeping tablet. In part two I will discuss in detail some of my own experiences I encountered during my career....On a more lighter side to this topic whilst doing a locum at a pharmacy here in Johannesburg I encountered a Malay Afrikaans speaking patient. I found it strange that she kept on staring at me whilst I was dispensing her medication. Obviously it made me feel really uncomfortable. I was thinking to myself, is there something on my face..is there a pimple on my nose. After a considerable amount of time passed, she simply said, " Ooooo yarre...maar jy het groot oë." .. You have big eyes. I am sure that you abusing the drugs from the counter behind you." I simply started laughing and replied. "Madam, all the better to see you my dear."

POLYGAMY- A LIFE OF MARITAL BLISS OR DESPAIR

This article was written some time back....

Polygamy is very much condoned within the Islamic faith provided that each wife is taken care off equally in all spheres of life. However, in most instances the man is often more accommodating to the needs of the newest wife as she is probably younger and more beautiful than the other wives and in most cases the man forgets about his responsibilities towards his first or second wife thereby causing tension and arguments within the household. A few weeks a go a middle aged woman arrived at the hospital suffering from severe anxiety and virtually on the brink of a nervous breakdown. Her husband of thirty years brought home a second wife who is the same age as her eldest daughter. She was use to living in a mansion with her family without having to share the house with another woman. Her husband instructed her to vacate her belongings from the first floor to make space for the second wife. This whole situation was a bitter pill for her to swallow and hence she landed up in the emergency department.
I am not a big fan of polygamous relationships and I guess this stems from the fact that I am the only daughter and was brought up in a manner where I never shared anything with anyone. I am also very possessive of my dad. Within my immediate family there is only one case of a polygamous marriage and hence when news of this relationship went viral it was pretty much a shock for the family and only with time did everyone come to accept the situation.

Whilst many people out there are under the impression that all Saudi women are for polygamous relationships the truth is a woman is a woman any where in the world. In general no woman who loves her husband can swallow the idea of him sharing a bed with another woman. In some cases, the jealousy is so great that the first wife goes through extreme measures to prevent her husband from taking on a second wife. A few weeks ago a Saudi man was deprived his right to a second honeymoon after the judge sentenced him to nine months in jail along with a hundred lashes after his wife reported his pre-marital illicit relationships to the police. The frustrated and hurt woman wanted to take revenge on her husband after he informed her that he would be traveling to a neighbouring Arab country to acquire a new second wife. Unable to bare the torment of his actions the woman handed over DVD's and sex tapes to the police depicting her husband engaging in sexual activities with various other women prior to his marriage to her.
The most gruesome story of revenge occurred a few years ago in Kuwait when a jealous first wife set the wedding tent on fire that was packed with revellers celebrating her husband's marriage to a second wife. 57 people were burnt to death in this incident and the court ruling demanded that the woman be sentenced to death as well for her merciless action. Many western women who land up marrying a Saudi men make sure that a marriage contract is drawn up with a clause that prevents the husband from taking on a second wife. These women become extremely possessive of their husbands to the point where one blogger within the Saudi blogosphere wrote a post " A letter to Saudi women- Please leave my husband alone" . I wonder if her husband is a Tom Cruise or Shah Rukh Khan look alike for women to be ogling at her husband. I always believe that it takes two to tango.

On the flip side of things, I came across an article in a local newspaper with the title ' Sharing is caring- why many Saudi women don't mind polygamy". The article brings to the fore a serious issue within the Kingdom and that is spinsterhood. There are approximately two million unmarried Saudi women thus far and this number is most likely to increase in the future. Many of these spinsters apparently do not mind being in a polygamous relationship out of fear of being alone without kids for the rest of their lives. With an evident shortage of unmarried men, there are some Saudi women who have considered polygamy as an option. I have come across women that are quite happy to be in polygamous marriages. A colleague of mine is married to two women and they all live together in one house. They look after each others kids and also travel together. A few months ago I seen a Saudi man arriving at a hotel in a bus with his four wives and 26 children. The wives were quite happy to be in each others company and took turns to oversee the children.
I have also come across Saudi women who do not mind if their husbands take on a second wife and will actually go through great lengths in finding a suitable second wife for him . Usually the second wife is someone that is closely acquainted to the first wife, most probably a cousin or a close friend. I guess its a case of 'rather the devil I know, than the devil I don't know'.

Whilst there is always two sides to a coin, I am personally not comfortable with the idea of being in a polygamous relationship with anyone. No matter how wealthy or powerful the man could be, I can not be the cause of breaking up someone else's home. I have had proposals from many Saudi men asking me to be a second wife and my answer has always been the same. NO..NEVER....To the women out there, how would you react if your husband rocked up with a new, younger, sexy woman on his arm and asked you to vacate the first floor of your home in order to make space for her? If there are any men out there who are in a polygamous marriage situation, I would like to know your thoughts and opinions with regards to this subject matter.

Source:
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/27/240384.html

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/saudi-man-caught-with-sex-videos-of-himself-sentenced-1.1077065

http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/woman-who-set-fire-to-wedding-tent-killing-57-has-death-penalty-upheld-in-kuwait

EID 2013