Dubai Gold

When Marilyn Monroe, sang “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend”, in the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the whole world agreed. Although it is 56 years since the movie was released, every word still holds good and there is no contradiction as far as that goes. However I would like to bring to notice, that as far as Indian Girls (read women) are concerned especially the ones from the southern most state of Kerala, the lure for the yellow metal far out beats that for the carbon rock. May be they have not heard of Marilyn Monroe or the song. This being the frame of mind of the Malayali women, one can imagine what ecstasy they would be in when they land in the Sands of Arabia.
Much has been written about the Gold Souks of the Middle East. Gold is sold by the Kilo unlike in India where we still believe in the poor Grams. Every Malayali woman who has lived in the Middle East is sure to be a proud owner of at least a couple of kilos of gold. (I may be one of the few exceptions.) The excuse was always that we have a daughter to get married. Now since I had no children, my lips were tongue tied at that. However I would tickle them by asking if they were going to weigh their daughters against gold at the time of marriage. I have lived in all the major cities of Saudi Arabia and irrespective of the city, the topic at any get together eventually turned to the yellow metal. May be the bright sun and the yellow sands of the region gave an extra sheen to the metal. The only disappointment among the friends was that the designs available were not very fine. The jewelry was chunky and more to the Arab taste. This was however very particular of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand Dubai boasted of some of the biggest names among Jewelers from India, and hence it was mandatory that a trip there was not complete without coming back with booty.
It was in this context that I happened to go to Dubai along with my husband. We were there for a couple of days and then got back to Jeddah. A week or so after my return I had invited a fairly large group of friends for lunch. As expected the talk steered to my just concluded Dubai trip. Next came the question about what jewellery I had purchased. Before I could give an answer, my good friend and neighbour Usha who was well aware of all the nitty gritty about my trip, promptly replied that the booty was in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. All the ladies trooped into the kitchen and with great apprehension I opened the freezer door and took out a well wrapped bag which seemed to weigh a kilo. I could hear the murmurs, of how much gold has been purchased etc. Knowing me some of them were even surprised that I had splurged so much on something I deemed a waste. With 10 pairs of vigilant eyes staring, I calmly opened the bag and took out the contents. I cannot really put into words the reaction of my friends in the ensuing couple of minutes. However I can tell you that it was one of severe disappointment, for like a magician what I pulled out from the bag were packets of Kerala Pappadam (Made in Dubai). These shared the colour of the said metal and also when fried had a lovely golden sheen. What most of you may not know is that my husband’s love for the KERALA PAPPADAM far out beats the Malayali women’s love for GOLD.
The women must have considered me as an outcast; however they were decent enough to keep that feeling to themselves. I am sure that they must be having the last laugh, what with the price of gold spiraling to new highs every day. They are indeed sitting on the GOLD MINE. When I look back I can only say, “THOSE WERE THE GOLDEN DAYS.”
Posted by Usha Kumar at 5:42 PM
3 comments:
chickushyam said...
LOL...As a person who is not very fond of the yellow metal,I found this article very funny.I must agree,Pappadam,anytime.
February 19, 2009 9:11 PM
Geeta said...
haha. Wish I had a kilo of it. Dubai should make a doghouse for me to hide in- the only gold-less Mallu female in Dubai. Maybe that's why my daughter married an American, and she says- Don't buy me gold,mama, I cannot wear it here! Phew!
Thank you God for small mercies.
February 21, 2009 8:49 PM