In order to understand the scale of potential KSA investments with the US during Trump-47’s visit, reading Ellen R. Wald, Ph.D. ‘s book on the role of Bechtel in the creation of the Aramco state is visionary, as well as Prof Vitalis’s American Kingdom would be informative as the US-Saudi relationship pre SOCAL and Dhaharan Well number 7 in 1938 is deeply embedded in history.

Write from within, something of worth always is created. Writing as a response to the fluidity of the chaos, the in between ness as a function of the times, while clutching at the straws of normalcy. Ask a family in Gaza, Patani or Kashmir – they have a vocabulary of life framed by numbing violence. Our job as writers is to give the language to lend cohesiveness to the chaos.

Ambassador Hotel

Desi Khaleeji Stories

Three plus decades ago a college teacher of English, went for a series of interviews for the Ministry of Education in Oman at famed Ambassador Hotel in Bombay (as it was called then) held by Jerry Varghese Manpower Consultants. That college teacher went on to teach in the Jabals, or the mountains on the Oman Yemen Border, right before the 1995 war. And went on to build a two generational relationship with Oman and the Khaleej which is still buffering.

That college teacher was my Mother (taken on her 70th birthday on a trip down memory lane).

Cities are mosaics, each part of the city lends to new experiences.

Travel within, there are so many places on our cities which deserves our attention. The sunset at Marine Drive which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is second to none.

An outstanding performance by the PAP, and WP proves that it is the only opposition to persist with close losses in Tampines GRC, Jalan Kayu and Punggol GRC.

Hoped to have Harpreet Singh Nehal in Parliament, for his intellect, but there are avenues of greater dialogue outside parliament.

The deep support for the PAP is not to be underestimated, despite what the Singaporean podcast-scape has made you to believe over the past month.

Majulah!

Trip down to Lisboa/Estado De India

A dinner of Luso-Goan delicacies from Poee to Prawn Curry to Pastel Delnata. The food was exquisite. The Negroni Bianco hit the right notes.

O Pedro is the best of Goan fare, served in an international vibe in the expat banking district of BKC. The crowd on a Friday evening was chic and classy.

It took be back to BB in DIFC. The good old Dubai consulting days before the pandemic.

Pizza By The Bay on Marine Drive is a Bombay Institution. Have been fortunate to have a couple of long weekend brunches over the past month gave me the opportunity to have some of the fare on the menu, which is exquisite – the pizza to the tapas.

It is an uber popular place due to the location, makes it a go to eatery despite its 5 star price tag. The ambience is calm, and the patrons are the well off sort.

I have been coming here since 2012 and have memorable catch ups here from Singaporean climate diplomats to friends from the gulf.

Perfect place for long brunches with friends over bubbly.

It was splendid to walk with a passionate group of food and heritage enthusiasts led by @beyond_heritage and @raunak_ramteke through the by lanes of Fort, known for it’s Parsi cafes in corner plots, not inauspiciously located to the eye of the trading community. The Parsis known for their entrepreneurial zeal have given the micro minority a stature beyond it’s mere numbers. As Prof Leilah of SOAS has written in her book on Parsi trusts and the politics of burial, the Parsis are all over from Hong Kong to Toronto, with the Bombay Parsi Panchayat, the most influential.

We started at Cafe Excelsior with the chicken pattice, perfectly done with bun maska and chai, with the hundred year old space adding to the conversation as an invisible character. The long shadow of the Indian Ocean Tarikh is a character framing the inherent cosmopolitanism of the city. The pav, chilli and potato of the famed vada pav is Portuguese, with Estado de India, aka Goa next door.

We crossed the road, passing the Sterling Book Store, a memory of my teens via Camera Gully over to Ideal corner to savour mutton kheema, cutlet and more chai to wash down the fare.

The next stop was the iconic Yazdani Bakery with its old school bread and mawa cake. The serendipity of the fortune cookie was fun.

We then strolled to our final stop, Cafe Military with ice cream soda and laganu custard to round off the tour for the evening. Cafe Military is tucked in the streets of Fort where lawyers and accountsnts jostle for space in the heart of Bombay Capitalism, the Stock Exchange. Not much has really changed since the Opium Wars.

Wonderfully curated tour, filled with banter and reflection over great food, where food is more than what it is on the surface; a living analytic for history and Bombay culture.

The important questions are what will ultimately remain after a decade, in a city of redevelopment and what is prized as heritage within the UNESCO framework and the zoning laws of the city, where land is capital.

Many thanks to my Mumbaikar friend TC @tanayachakrabarti for the heads up for such a history soaked evening.

One person scribbling away for 14 plus years across Asia and Africa. Because research outside the realm of formal ivory towers matters, long before content creator or digital nomad was even coined.

No SEO or content strategy, no funding or research proposals. Just global from below research, on sustainability, cities, entrepreneurship, migration and more.