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………..
The city of Muscat nicely situated with a mountain range on one side and the open ocean on the other. First time I saw these mountains it appeared to me like barren hills with no character or appeal. But a closer look put me in trance, those mountains were standing as if they have just come out of water after having a bath.The mountains quite literally show distinct signs that those have been under water forever, even if it was a few million years ago. We could still see the shells of various sea organism deposited all over their body and the most most dominant signs are the water marks. The constant flow of water have left their permanent marks on the sides and the shape of those marks gives a reasonable idea of the alignment and gradient of the waterscape. Driving on the roads between these mountains took me dreaming and having goose bumps with the realization that today I am driving in the place where huge sea creatures had been swimming not many years back.
That might be too many years back in time but the sign of recent civilization and history of that place is abundant and equally interesting. Last time I visited Oman, I had my wife travelling along as we clubbed the weekend to my business trip. It was an opportunity for me to visit places where I have not been before. We went up Jabal Akhdhar the green mountain, where only a 4x4 vehicle is allowed. It took us about 30 minutes to reach there but it is amazing that human being used to live there long before cars were invented. They used to do step terracing for cultivation and had an intrinsic network of water channels (aqua ducts) to maximize the utilization of whatever little quantity of water was available. Even today exotic fruits are cultivated on top of this mountain. On our way up we crossed a few old settlements, which have been now abandoned but this was the first time I have witness civilization in form of entire settlement on top of a mountain. The most intriguing of all was a house carved out on the mountain side and hidden so well that it would have given all the protection that the owner of this house had desired. We could only view it at a distance while we were on the other side of a huge gorge but could not reach it.
The other interesting thing we did was driving on the Wadi (river/ stream) which is popularly known as "wadi bashing". It was a stream between the mountains which has a very quiet and harmless look to it. We have been told that when it rains in the mountains, these streams turns devastating, taking away everything that comes on their way. We got down of the car to pick some pebbles from the wadi bed we had scores of local kids joining us in search for nice collectibles. On our way up we met with other children having bath and some trying to make some money selling locally woven handicrafts. Somehow "made in China" products have not penetrated the handicraft of this region.
There are footprints of old civilization scattered through out this country. But one of the grandest symbol of modern architecture and construction technology in my opinion is the "Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque". A monument of strong character and respect for minutest of minutest details.
