Tryst With Omani Driving License

Petrol... petrol... give (pronounced G-EVE) more petrol...

Do not hold the steering so hard... If you required so much of strength then no women would be driving a car...
Give indicator....... stop the indicator baba!
Do not look behind while taking a left or right turn... even if Sultan Qaboos is behind you, he will stop!
These are some of the dialogues that one has to get used to hearing if he has to take classes to get a Driving license in Oman.
Muscat is a friendly place and for me it was all the more friendly as it was full of old friends. The piece of inside news that I received after landing at Seeb International Airport was that having a driver’s license was like having another degree. I was quite excited at the idea of giving a test without having to study for long. I smiled to myself and said it must be as easy as a blood test! But the reality struck me quite soon.
Our family never owned a car but my father had a Government car at his disposal which it used to be parked at our house. I never saw him driving but mother told me that she has seen him on a rare occasion. When I was in junior school it was a Wyllys Jeep with a soft roof and I used to seat in the driver seat and play with the steering wheel which unlike present car would freely turn even if the engine was not running. Later on Wyllys made way for a brand new Red color Maruti Gypsy. Whenever he was going for a trip I used to see him off at the airport and it was much later he realized that it was me who was driving the car on the way back.

Unlike Dubai, the driving license industry in Muscat in those days was not an institution but was operated by licensed individual Omani instructors. One had to get into a contract with one instructor and get going with lessons and once the instructor was confident enough, he would let his student drive for the test. Now there were two type of agreement that was possible with the teacher. A lump sum amount for all classes till you obtain the license or on an hourly rate and you stop once you get that piece of plastic. The most respected and hence sought after instructor in our circle was a gentleman of Balouchi origin and his name was Ali. Once there was a slot vacant and I had the required money at my disposal, I had the opportunity to meet Ali. I expressed my interest to be his student if he was willing to take me in. He agreed but declined to quote a fee before he checked me out and as I could move the car he decided to charge me approximately 1000US$. Deal done and got started immediately.

In those days giving driving license test had a uncanny similarity with have whisky… after 3 you do not count! Its always the 4th. I have heard people giving as many as 17 tests before being successful. Now I could move the car but I could only do it in my way and that did not necessarily meet my teacher's expectations nor would have made the examiner happy. But I have a reason too. Firstly we drive on the other side of the road, right or wrong don’t count but it is different. The joystick in the middle that we call “a hand brake” was not available in our cars and if there was one visible it was never used. The two mirrors at either side of the front doors are thought to be part of the car decoration and only occasionally used by the local Romeo to fix hair and have a final glance at his sunglasses while he was trying to impress a girl. The owners of the car usually keep those mirrors folded. And who has used a indicator in the eighties and nineties in India?

But passing the test is never easy ... particularly when everyone around (who already have the license) advises you.... When you go for the test follow the following sequence... fasten your seat belt and then check the side mirrors and then the rearview mirror inside the car.

Someone warned me...

"Be vigilant. When the police man sits inside the car he might touch the mirror. You are supposed to set it right."

Another one of my friends warned....

Make sure the police man had fastened his seat belt before you move the car..."

Advises kept pouring in as the day of the exam drew closer. It happened so that my test was on a Wednesday and we had planned to go for a overnight camping at the Turtle beach on the next day. While there was a big meeting in our house planning minute details of the trip over glasses of scotches, I was nervous wreck thinking about the test the next morning. Finally I decided to say good night to all and hit the bed, hoping to wake up fresh in the morning. One of them taunted...

"You are off so early to bed tonight. Oh... You have a test tomorrow. Don't worry it a bit worrisome at the first time and you will get used to it!!"

That was some encouragement!

But it happened so that I passed the test at the very first attempt to the astonishment of the most and the many. And there I was behind the wheels of a land cruiser cruising towards Ras Al Hadd on the way to the Turtle beach. I did not get the plastic till next Saturday but that paper with the examiners signature was enough to negotiate with my other friends to get my share of time behind the wheels! A journey that I will not forget for a long time to come………..

Coming to Dubai

First week in March of 2008 when I relocated myself to realize the Dubai dream I was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of things in this city. Living in Dubai is completely a different experience than visiting the city for a day or transiting by its airport. I was speechless as I discovered a city so vibrant and so full of life with so much of glitz all around. I was put up in a service apartment on the Sheikh Zayed road and used the public transport to commute to and from my office in Deira. It was almost like a skiing, could not have been smoother. I used to wonder while it only takes 15 minutes travel to and back from my workplace, why is all this fuss that people make about Dubai Jam.
Soon I realized that it was only the beginner's luck that worked in my favor when I had to wait only for a few minutes to get my morning taxi while a phone call to the RTA call center used send me a taxi to get me home safe and sound. The rude awakening came as I found out it is was not only difficult to get through to the to the call center but even if you got through the cab does not show up half the time. Having accepted my new found reality, I started to get settled in those conventional terms.
Getting an apartment was much difficult than one would have imagined. The city veterans rightly advised that if I got to have an apartment here I need to move around with my cheque book. But nothing came my way that satisfied my taste even if I discount the fuss of  the Architect in me and more importantly that fitted the wallet. I kept stretching my budget and drifting away from downtown Dubai. With a bit of divine assistance, I finally managed to get an apartment.
Oh What a feeling!
Honestly I was not as exuded even when we took possession of our own apartment back home.
Now that I have moved to my new home, I have to liberate myself from those long queues for taxis and indefinite wait for the bus. Travelling by bus is fun as long as you have a place to seat and the odor around is not intolerable. The good thing is that one can survive on the public transport system in Dubai particularly when the family is yet to join you. But my life and my job called for a driving license and independence that came with it. After all I it is difficult not to see oneself zooming all around this land of opportunity.
Backed by 3 other valid GCC driving licenses in my pocket I marched to the offices of RTA beaming with confidence. But alas! I have to appear for test and sit not only in front of the computer but also behind the steering wheel. I said to myself... I am driving in the region for 10 years, these tests are going to be a cakewalk. The signal test was while the driving test wasn't. I flunked the first test and had to have an instructor and complete 6 lessons. After seeing me drive and looking at my other licenses the trainer asked me in Hindi "Do they intend to make a pilot out of you?" Umm! well... maybe!!
Finally after almost 3 months of my tryst I got my hand on the most sought after object de art, all shiny and golden with my face nicely framed in one corner. I felt like throwing my hat in the air and leap with joy and freeze that picture forever.
Now that I have the license, I have come to realize that getting the most coveted thing in this dreamland is not the end of this long , exciting and somewhat tiring journey ...... it just the beginning. But that is another story and to be told another day.