Durga Puja in the Emirates

This week is Durga Puja, i.e. the worship of the Goddess Durga, East India’s biggest festival.

Since I’m SUPER busy at present, I’m gonna do my usual stunt, and do a quick photo post! Here’s how Durga Puja is celebrated, in the UAE! (Didn’t know they have that, huh?) Enjoy.


Maa Durga in Ajman, the UAE, last year, Oct 2024

Durga Puja is a 10-day festival, with the last day being the grandest. The nine days preceding this big day is called Navratri, literally meaning 9 nights. It’s celebrated as Dassehra in other parts of India, and Dashain in Nepal. Its festival dates are based on the Hindu lunar calendar, but it usually coincides with the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar (i.e. from the last day of the eighth month, to the ninth day of the ninth month, which also happens to be a Chinese festival, i.e. the Double-9 Festival). The Taoist communities in South East Asia celebrate this as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, which is a 10-day affair, much like Durga Puja. But this year, due to the Chinese year being a leap year, which adds an entire friggin month to the calendar (yup, lunisolar calendars have 13 months in a year on leap years), the Chinese & Taoist celebrations are a month later than Durga Puja. Didn’t know that, eh?

OK, enough of the boring stuff, here’re the photos.


Durga Puja celebrations in the Winners Sports Club premises, Ajman, UAE


Happy Durga Puja, Happy Dassehra, Happy Dashain! Let’s join in (this is the missus’s biggest festival)


What the heck! Might as well post this. Nope, this isn’t a temple. It’s near where we parked our car – a random villa in Ajman, near the sports ground, where the Durga Puja celebrations were held


Hey, they’re also celebrating in Sharjah! Let’s go have a look. The Goddess Durga at the Al Mubarak Centre, Sharjah, UAE, Oct 2024


And what’s Puja, without a temple visit? – Dubai Hindu Temple, Oct 2024


And a meal? Dinner at a Nepali restaurant (Ghantoot Restaurant), Bur Dubai – this was from 2023…




Let’s wrap it up with a few more temple photos! Gone are the days of the old Hindu temple in Bur Dubai. Here’s the new Dubai Hindu Temple in Jebel Ali, Dubai


Photos of the main prayer hall aren’t allowed now. It didn’t used to be. Here’s a photo of the interior from 2022. Nope, it hasn’t changed much


Family pic! Dubai Hindu Temple, Oct 2022. This was just before Justin went abroad for studies. His mommy visited to seek blessings

That’s it. Happy Durga Puja, Dassehra, Dashain, whatever you wanna call it! Have a blast!

The People of 2024

Before I forget, here’s my yearly tribute to the people in our lives in Dubai, in 2024. (Yup, last year. I only took 9 months to put this together…)

We don’t meet many people. Therefore, the handful that we meet, are held dearly. They graced our lives and make it better. (Most of the time. Haha!) Thanks for meeting and accommodating us. Thanks for remembering us, inviting us and being our friends. Thanks for showing up, or just being there!


Diwali 2024 at our home, with Mihir and Aru, kids of our neighbours, and daily play-mates/ friends of Jayden!

Most of our gatherings happen during the Indian festive season. We’re half-Indian now anyway, and somehow, we’re more connected to the Indian diaspora in the UAE, than the others (like my fellow Malaysians, or the Chinese (my work colleagues), whom we used to meet a lot when we were in International City, or the Arabic) (probably because of the larger numbers of Indians in the UAE, and in the area that we live in).


Anu and Rajeshri (mother of Mihir and Aru), on Diwali, at their home


Another fellow resident of Oia Residence, KP Singh with wife Abha, and their 2 daughters, Advika and Shreya. Unfortunately, this would be their last year staying in Oia Residence. They’ve moved to a villa in Victoria Heights, Sports City… That’s what you call ‘Upward mobility.’ Way to go! Hope to still see you guys, OK?


Yet another Oia Residence family, Umesh Agarwal, Bhavna and their daughter, Dyuti, at our home. Last year’s Diwali was a little strange, in that some celebrated it on 31-Oct, while others celebrated it on 1-Nov. Umesh’s family celebrated it on the earlier date, that explains why they were not in festive clothes, which they’re usually in on Diwali


All part of the ritual, Anu blessing Milind, our neighbour, father of Mihir and Aru (above), on Bhai Dooj, celebrated 2 days after Diwali. On Bhai Dooj, sisters bless their brothers. Anu sorta adopted Milind as her godbrother when we moved to Motor City. That explains this ritual

Then we have the kids and their friends.


Justin with 2 of his friends, Moaaz and Angelina (if I’m not mistaken). Nope, don’t have better photos of Justin and friends, as Justin’s in Dubai only for 2 – 3 months in a year, and he usually hangs out outside, when he’s with friends… Even this photo, was sent by a friend to him (I took it out from his phone)… And that's not his specs (Justin doesn't wear specs). There’s another better photo of him with friends, but I’ve already posted it earlier


JAYDEN, why that sulky face??? Here’s he, with birthday girl Talia (…is that correct?!?), a classmate of Jayden’s. On a rare birthday celebration that he was invited to. At the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club, in the neighbourhood (Dubai Studio City) next to ours… Jayden, you should be thankful, for being invited, not show a silly face! Even if you're not the best of friends with the girls in your class...


Jayden with his school choir mates (he isn’t shy about singing, and he could master tunes and lyrics pretty fast). Performing at a pre-Christmas function at a nearby Studio One Hotel, in Dubai Studio City


Then there are his teachers. Jayden with his Year 6 class teacher, Mr Chris McAuley. He would turn out to be one of Jayden’s favourite teachers of all-time


These are Jayden’s (and previously, Justin’s) school’s leaders. I only know one of them, Mr Nav Iqbal (far left, carried by an alien), the principal of the school, i.e. the GEMS Metropole School. The lady to his left, is a family member of the founder of the GEMS group of companies, which run many schools in the UAE


Here’s Jayden’s ‘right-wing’ guitar teacher, Sayan Ghosh. He used to be Justin’s teacher as well when we were staying in International City. Apart from teaching music, he organizes musical events and parties, hires out caravans and boats (yup, he owns a caravan (or 2) and a boat), teaches martial arts (Krav Maga), and maybe more. For the last few years, he’s given up on renting apartments in Dubai, and moved to a beach staying in a caravan…

And finally, my work colleagues… Last year was quite a fruitful year with photos, due to the string of farewells of colleagues leaving for a better future, or retiring.


A party organized by 2 ex-colleagues, Saji Gopalan (Structural Engineer – middle, bald-headed), and Sufian Qasem (Site Engineer – on the far left), who were leaving the company for a better future, at the CSCEC’s Close-Out Office in Al Awir. Thanks mates, for the treat. Wish you success wherever you go! Aruna (far right), tuck in your tummy, will you? The rest of the people, who are visible here are, from left: - Ashik Abdullakutty (Sr Stakeholder Coordinator – in dark green shirt); Shahjahan (Office Boy – in blue), Zhu Xiaofei (Admin Officer – after Saji), Madhavan Elampilan (Sr CAD Engineer – in pink shirt, talking to Saji), Basil Al-Araj (Project Manager, an Iraqi, seated – he would also retire a few months later), Madiha (Document Controller, the only lady in this photo), Jeboy Chacko (Technical Engineer), Ajayakumar Arjun (Commercial Manager, in pink shirt), Sajid Mahmood (Time Keeper), Usama (Safety Officer), Hazir (Land Surveyor), and Fayaz Ahmad (Electrical Engineer)


At the retirement party of our long time Safety Head of our Civil and Infrastructure Division, Mr Thomas Daniel (middle). With us, on the left, is Anilkumar Madhusoodhanan, Divisional Quality Manager. All the best Thomas! Thanks for your able leadership and sound guidance on all aspects regarding safety, for the past decade…


A group photo for the farewell of Faizal Abbas (Site Engineer – middle, chequered shirt) at the entrance of our Al Awir Close Out Site Office. The front row consists of, from left: - Jothidoss (Store Manager), Anoop Jayapalan (Quantity Surveyor – he would also leave, a few months later), Mohammed Siddiq (Quantity Surveyor), Faizal, and Madiha. The back row consists of, from left: - Safana (Quantity Surveyor), Arslan Chaudhary (Electrical Engineer, who has also left), Sunil Kumar EP (Quantity Surveyor), Hazir, Fayaz Ahmad and Sajid Mahmood


Another group photo. From left: - Jothidoss, Madiha, Faizal Abbas, Aruna Kumar (QAQC Manager), Eyad Al-Khaligy (Project Manager), yours truly, Ashik, Arslan, Aiman Gadallah (Sr Traffic Engineer), Siddiq, Sunil Kumar, and Anoop. Smile!

Thanks again. I hope you will all have a bright & hopeful future ahead of you. That’s all for now!

Our Tiananmen Experience

Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China – July 2025

OK, that was an impressive show at Tiananmen Square earlier in the month… A grand military parade, immaculate march-pasts, rousing choir, and scores of world leaders. Most of ‘em from the non-western world… like Putin and Kim Jong-Un (nah, take that, Trump!), together with the Chinese leader, Xi. (If that wasn’t deliberate, I’d change my name to …Donald Trump. On second thoughts, Netanyahu, would be better, more hated, by all and sundry! Burn in hell, you megalomaniacal mass murderer!)

Our own Tiananmen experience was a huge difference. No grand parades. No fancy choir. Just rain, and a lot of people, and I mean A LOT (it’s the world’s most populous country after all. Still is, I think. Or is it India now?). Getting in was easier said than done, mind you. First of all, it’s now cordoned off by barricades on all sides, and guarded by zealous guards all over. (Since Dec 2021, I read). I guess it must be to prevent things from getting out of hand, like what happened in 1989. "Why, what happened in 1989?" "Ummmmm… nothing! Who said anything about 1989??" (Shhhhh… don’t even mention 1989 in China. If the authorities could have it, they’d erase 1989 from history).

Anyway, to get into the square, you’d have to register in advance, between 1 to 7 days before your visit. It’s free of charge, and, unlike the Forbidden City (now officially named the Palace Museum) which adjoins it, there is no limit to the amount of people that could enter in a day. (The limit for the Palace Museum by the way, is 40,000 visitors per day, and tickets sell out really fast. No, I didn’t hang around to check how fast they sell out. I set an alarm to remind me of the time that the tickets opened up for sale, (which is 8pm, Chinese time, 7 days before the day of your intended visit) and I bought them immediately in the first few minutes, when they opened. I checked about 2 hours later, and they’re all sold out! So, if you wanna visit, plan in advance. Oh, and the Palace Museum is closed on Mondays, as are a few other attractions in Beijing like the Summer Palace and the Temple to Heaven. Bear that in mind if you are visiting Beijing as a tourist).


Tiananmen, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace is the red building, bearing the humongous portrait of Chairman Mao in the middle of Beijing. (Tian-An-Men 天安门 literally means Heaven-Peace-Door). It is actually the main entrance to the Forbidden City, the palace where the Chinese Emperors used to reside, hence ‘Gate’, although it looks nothing like a gate in this picture here. The large square to the south and adjoining Tiananmen is the famous (infamous?) Tiananmen Square

Back to Tiananmen Square, because there is no limit to the number of visitors that could visit, plus, the strict security protocols that are in place to screen all who enters, you can imagine the crowds.


That’s where we started queuing, I think it’s Méishì Street (煤市街), the spot where our Didi driver dropped us off. He said this is the better queue. Is it? Who knows? All the other queues did look longer… That oriental building seen here is the Zhèngyángmén 正阳门, or Zhengyang Gate, the other entrance to Tiananmen Square, on the opposing side to Tiananmen… The rain doesn’t look like it’s deterring anyone from going, sigh…

To register to enter Tiananmen Square, you’d need a few things: -
No.1) Weixin, or WeChat, (because there’re mini-programs in WeChat, which are like websites in the rest of the world, where we fill out our details and book our appointments, and pay if you need to, and it’s all inside WeChat);
No.2) a Chinese mobile phone number (yup, you need to fill this in, in the mini-programme, or it wouldn’t let you proceed. Luckily, I have some close Chinese friends/ work colleagues, and I ‘borrowed’ a friend’s number, just for that purpose. After that, the programme wouldn’t ask for the number anymore); and
No.3) some ability to read Chinese, (because the whole thing is in friggin Chinese. That’s where Google Translate and Lens came in really useful. But remember, both don’t work inside China, so be prepared and get an alternative, before you board your plane to China).


Jeez, it’s more than half an hour since we started. It doesn’t look like we’re making any progress… And they’re no foreigners at all in our queue. They’re all Chinese, domestic tourists, from all over China, not Beijingers (I guess Beijingers would be sick of this place by now)

For me, I had some problems trying to register for the entry into Tiananmen Square. I tried 3 friggin times, OK? Filling out all the information. In Chinese! And screen-shooting it to check on Lens and Translate. (After 3 times, you’d be an expert, even if you don’t exactly know what the Chinese words are). And submitting, only to receive a ‘Failure’ message after a few minutes of waiting! (In hindsight, maybe, I tried it a day too early?!?) Finally, I tried a different method. Somewhere in the translation, I read that if you have an appointment to visit Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall, which sits right smack inside Tiananmen Square, you’d not need to register separately to visit Tiananmen Square. And so, I proceeded, like how I booked the tickets for the Palace Museum, for Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall. It’s free, and the slots open at 12.30pm, Chinese Time, 6 days, before your intended day of visit, and bingo! I succeeded!


Whew! We’re in!! After 2 friggin hours! That pillar is the Monument to the People’s Heroes, and behind that, the National Museum of China

But why do you wanna get into Tiananmen Square? You could actually see the entire square from Tiananmen itself, (I didn’t know that!?!). Yup, from that entrance arch of the Forbidden City, the one with Chairman Mao’s photo. Unless, you have loads of time on your hand, or that you really wanna pay your respect to the Chairman in his Memorial Hall (which is also his mausoleum, which is where all the Chinese tourists are headed to, I think), I would suggest that you give it a miss, and spend more of your valuable time elsewhere. But if you love bigger-than-life leaders, queues, and mingling with the Chinese crowds, then go ahead and dive straight in.


Chairman Mao Memorial Hall / Mausoleum, Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Our appointment slot for the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was 9.30am up till ummph… 10.15am, if I remember correctly. We got into Tiananmen Square at 11am! Way past our appointment time (how would we know they’d be a friggin 2-hour queue!). But the guards there aren’t really strict about the timing, I guess. They check your passports (or, for the Chinese, their IDs), and the appointment date, and you’d have to clear security like how you do it in the airports, scan all your bags, jackets, phones, umbrellas, water bottles, what-have-you… and you’re in. But we were also in a hurry to get to the Forbidden City, on that same day, because our tickets for it were for the morning session, meaning you should get in there before 12 noon (no, there’s no time limit for you to leave after that, you could stay until its closing time). So, we decided to give the mausoleum a miss… Sorry, Chairman Mao!


Look at the queue waiting to get into Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum. “OK, Chairman, I’d love to visit, but it’d be another hour, or more, to get in, to pay our respects, judging from the queue. So, we’d not be visiting this time, OK?”


Jayden and the People’s Heroes Monument, Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China


Partly drenched, but unfazed, Tiananmen Square, with the National Museum of China, behind. Don’t mind the Chinese tourists. They’re totally oblivious to others trying to take photos. They’re not camera-shy at all, unlike in some countries, where people run out of the way, or duck down when we lift up our phones/ cameras. Chinese will just stand there immobile, with their bored looks, or dazed looks, or however they look, doing whatever they were doing. And they’ll not mind moving into your camera vision… in front of whatever you want to take, unless you 'guide' them out of the way. Patience, people. “Here, uncle, why don’t you stand here instead. There, isn’t this better?” “No, no, no, auntie, not there. Give us, just a few seconds, will you? Xiexie, xiexie!” (Now, try saying all that in Chinese, so that they’d understand!)


Flowers in Tiananmen Square. See, you could actually see the whole square from the National Museum of China, or from Tiananmen (Gate) itself, without entering the square. The only thing blocking it for people to enter, are the rows of barricades, and the guards!


Let’s go, before we’re too late for the Palace Museum! Forbidden City (Gùgōng 故宫), here we come! Approaching the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen)


Going through Tiananmen! The words actually read "Long live the People's Republic of China! Long live the great unity of the people of the world!" See, they actually meant good!


We’ve reached the Palace Museum’s entrance. Now, let’s see, …where the heck are our tickets?! Shit, it should be in the email somewhere!?! I have internet (bought a Chinese SIM Card at the airport), but the problem is that all the friggin email platforms that we use, don’t bloody work in China! No Yahoo, no Gmail, WTF! Whew, it’s in Yahoo Mail. Luckily, the old mails are still there. It just doesn’t receive new emails…


OK, that’s all for this post. The Forbidden City will be another story, for another time to tell. Leaving you here with a photo of our breakfast at Holiday Inn Express, Beijing Temple of Heaven – Jul 2025. Cheers!

A Grand Malaysian Home Trip

Whew, finally, a little relaxation. Work has been really busy since I last wrote.

And… here are the family photos of our recent home trip to Malaysia! I’ll let the photos speak.


Jayden with his granddad, for a dim-sum breakfast at the Sweet Paradise Restaurant, Butterworth, near Dad’s home, on our last day before we left Malaysia to come back to Dubai. Dad, you’re doing just fine. Don’t let your pesky ailment and age bear you down! Keep it up.

We started our Malaysia home trip this time in Sabah! My first ever visit to the state, in my 55 years of life! Believe it or not! We were there to visit the state, and to climb Mount Kinabalu. (What? It’s the highest mountain in Malaysia, it features in the Malaysian 100-ringgit currency note, it’s the landmark of Sabah, and it’s interesting). (But I didn’t know before this, how expensive it is!?!!! And how much training you’d need. Basically, you’re paying big bucks, to suffer, hah! But I have no regrets. I’m glad I did it when I still can). We climbed with Jason, while Jayden stayed with Dad and Hazel who also flew to Sabah for a visit at the same time. Initially, cousin June was also supposed to climb, but she backed out because she sprained her back.


Ready to go?? Breakfast at Kinabalu Park’s Liwagu Restaurant with Anu and Jason before the climb. Kinabalu Park Headquarters is at 1,520m above sea level. We gotta reach our base camp at 3,273m sea level on that day. C’mon, let’s get on with it!


After a short minivan ride to the gate (3km), and an arduous 6km continuously uphill hike (which took only, ummm… 5 hours), we arrived at Panalaban! Our base camp at 3273m above sea level, where we’d rest and stay for the night… before starting our climb to the summit at the ungodly hour of 2 friggin am! (Yup, you’d have to, bcoz you gotta reach some checkpoints at certain times, or you’d not be allowed to progress further. That’s to gauge the fitness of climbers, according to our official guide, and to prevent them from either being stuck up there, or having to climb down at night). Jason was our informal guide as he’s climbed quite a few times before (our actual guide seemed to always take time off, to ‘energize’). Thanks Jason, for the hiking sticks! It really helped (Jason didn’t need them!)


We made it! The summit (Low’s Peak), 4095m above sea level. Thank you, God, for the favourable conditions, and the energy to do it…


Our group, and the Southern Peak, Mount Kinabalu, Sabah


From Sabah, we headed home to Penang state, on the other side of Malaysia! Here’s our first dinner after arriving in Butterworth, at Tokyo Restaurant. At that time, there was a rare blackout, which explains the photo’s grainy quality, but the food was delicious! Prawns, squid, chicken and kangkong (if I remember correctly)

There we go again, to KL, Malaysia’s good ol’ capital. It’s ages since we stepped foot on Kuala Lumpur, but we decided to do a trip this time. (We were partly there to get Anu a Chinese tourist visa, for our 12-hour stopover in Chengdu, China on our way back to Dubai, and the visa centre happens to be in… KL! Where else?)


Here, we are with the KL side of the family, the first time we’ve had a gathering in KL after our beloved Jikor passed away. From left, Cousin June; her ‘boyfriend’, Wesley; June’s daughter, Jamie; Cousin Jane; and us. June treated us to a big, fat, KL Chinese dinner, complete with sang-har noodle (giant river prawns noodles, ...must have been friggin expensive), Iberico ham ribs, a deep-fried whopper of a grouper (a fish which Wesley caught), etc, etc, etc… At Sweet Inn Restaurant, Petaling Jaya, Selangor


We stayed a night, actually, 2 nights, at Jane’s apartment in TTDI, KL. (June was shifting houses at that time). Really nice environment, quiet, surrounded by trees, nice view, overzealous security… Jane stays there with her little poodle, Tidbit. Cheers Chi-chi! Thanks for the hospitality!


Jayden made a new friend, Tidbit, Jane’s dog. It’s the first time that he’s actually close to a dog. He used to be scared of dogs. Now, he keeps asking us to visit KL again, to see Tidbit, and his aunts, and uncle, etc… In front of Artisan Roast / Dusun, TTDI


Another dinner with the KL family, this time with Cousin Jack. Hello bro, long time no see leh! Another fabulous dinner, complements of June. (Aiyo, June-chi, why so much? She tends to over-order, according to her family). Jayden got off really well with Jack, both of them marine life enthusiasts! At Kean Fatt Restaurant, SS3, Petaling Jaya


Heading to our hometown, Ipoh, to see the folks there! Here we were, with Dad and Hazel, fattening ourselves (again), with Malay and Nyonya kueh! At O’Days, Canning Garden, near our Ipoh home. Malaysia will seriously kill us, with food. Luckily, we don’t stay there long term…


Here’re the Ipoh folks we met. My cousin Ah Yi (Ng Wei Yi), my mom’s youngest brother’s daughter, and her family. Her 2 kids are Eugene (far right, who’s now taller than both her parents) and Ginnie (beside Anu)


Tua Pek, lu ho bo? Tua Pek, dad’s eldest brother, is 90 years old this year. At the Moonlight Care Centre, in Canning Garden, Ipoh


And that’s Tua Kor (seated in the middle), dad’s eldest sister. She’s 91. Behind her, is my cousin Kok Leong, flanked by his wife and son


Finally, all good things trips must come to an end eventually. Back in Butterworth, to get ready for our flight home from Penang’s airport. A dim-sum breakfast (yes, again) at Thong Sum Restaurant. Dim-sum’s become one of Anu’s favourite for breakfast! She’s not very Indian as you can see…

The only one missing this time was Justin. Study hard son, stay focused, manage your time properly, keep active, eat, sleep and play (when you have time) well. We love and miss you lots. See you in Dubai at the end of the year!

That sums up our recent cross-country Malaysian home trip. See ya!