Doha!

It’s changing and at a nimble pace. In fact, by the time you realised it has come pass, it’s a passé. That’s what Doha is today – on the move. As if the entire city is in a hurry to get somewhere. The hustling bustling, the centre of the world; maybe a few miles shy off geographically but, definitely spot on demographically as Doha attracts millions of expatriates each day. Most coming with the single point agenda – make hay while the sun shines. Qatar appears like a dot on the map of the world. And the capital city, well! It’s even smaller than that dot. And that microdot, today houses 92 per cent of its entire 2.2 million people. People, belonging to some place but, Qatar jostle for space, crisscrossing each other’s path even as they go about their businesses. And when you have more than 85 per cent of the country’s population made up of expatriates, the end result is bound to be chaotic. In such a heterogeneous mix, it’s not uncommon to find people trying to fit into someone else’s shoes. Like that famous model from Sri Lanka, driven by penury, ended up as a gym instructor or that Kenyan, who would have been better off back home as an actress, before she let the lure of the stronger currency get to her. ‘Strong currency’ maybe the most basic thought for many an expat. But, for those coming from Europe or the American continent, the prospect of working in a country that boasts of the highest per capita income, does have its rewards. The most prominent, probably would be an opportunity for improving the work-life balance. Whether they managed to improve that balance is a different story, though. The lure of wealth is so great, that people are busy going to insurmountable lengths to amass it. That globetrotter of a man, who had studied in the same college as that of my father, had left his wife and children up north in Canada to find wealth. Instead, he ended up finding love. Love, that made him take a second wife, but wealth made him lose her too. Some living to the hilt, others in isolation but, each one making it count. That office boy from Kerala, who would venture out each night trying to satisfy his dream, one which made him hit the football pitch. In the morning, he would be just a regular person wearing the trademark white shirt and black trousers, but in the evening, he would transform. Change into a football star, a local one, but star all the same. All of that for bagging those MVP trophies, that were his prized possession. That girl from Mumbai, who was so busy experimenting in love, that would continue to fall and rise at a pace that was beyond comprehension. She would cry each night, but in the day, she would be a different self – a self, that was presentable. That helpful Greek, with a taste buds groomed to spot fine cuisine, would crisscross the world, only to start off a Mediterranean restaurant in Doha. That Malaysian accountant after staying in Doha for a decade, and making just enough money to pay off his mortgage, decided to head home to his wife and daughter. They all had a story to tell, which the author has portrayed in the book. The book dwells on the ups and downs of life viewed from an expat’s eye. It chronicles that ‘in-your-face’ effort at creating a remarkable but, artificial society, with external catalysts such as oil and sport playing their part. Amidst all this the author finds peace in most unexpected ways – it came to him across the cyberspace – realm of the dreamers.