Khajuranchyaa Deshaatun....

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Don varshapoorvi Middle East mhatale ki valvantaat untaavar basun khajoor khaat tel vikanare arab ya palikade mala kahihi mahiti navhate. Aaani one day suddenly I found myself traveling to Saudi Arabia.

Pudhe kaay vadhun thevalaay yachi chanagalich idea seniors ni briefing kele tevhaach aali hoti... Don’t carry any religious book.... Airport ke bahar kisi Pakistani ki taxi me hi baithnana... ek naa don anek lahaan sahaan practical suchana.....

Riyadh la vimanatun utarlyaa utarlyaa tyaa sarv suchana kharech kiti mulyaavaan hotyaa te pataayla lagale.... I was amazed to see sudden change in behavior when the staff saw someone wearing suit and tie (to “someone” mhanje meech he sangayala nakoch...) Almost no checking at customs when rest of all people’s baggage was checked thoroughly. Wow.... senior’s chyaa suchana kami yeu lagalyaa hotyaa. Airportchyaa baher Pakistani taxiwala kasa shodhaaycha tehi sangitalele hote... so no probs at all.... in reaching the residence...

From next day I was exposed to new world I was hitherto unaware of.... The world of Islamic kingdom... The world of autocracy..... A world without freedom..... I suddenly realized that even under British rule (jyaala aapan Partantryaa mhanto)....Indians had more freedom..... :-)

Aani tyanantar sur zala ekamagun ek khatakanarya anubhavaancha silsla.
Pahili goshta ji lakshaat aali ti mhanje rastyaavar bhar divasa ekahi manoos naa disane... fatka cars cars aani cars. Office flat chyaa javal hote so I used to walk down but most of the times I used to be only person walking on the footpath.... Chakka bhardivasa when everyone is supposed to be out for routine business....!!!

When I visited the client office which was Headquarters of a big bank there, next shock.... no females at work :-(. Not even receptionist or secretaries. It was all male dominated work culture. Tyaa 15-20 majali bldg che je kahi 5-6 floors firalo te sagale miloon fakta ek “female” disali ti pan sampoorna kalyaa boorakhyaat.... dokyaapasoon payaparyant.

Arthaat hyaa goshtichi aadhich mahiti hoti. Aani landing chyaa thode aadhi jevhaa vimanatalyaa jyaa striya “Saudi Mahilancha Adhikrut Poshakh” madhye navhatyaa tyaa sarva kaalaa boorkha ghalaayla lagalyaa tevhaa gammat pan vatali hoti.

But later that day when I went to my company’s office and mixed up with people there (all non Saudi....except owner)... all that I came to know through conversation was really unbelievable for a person from state of Mahatma Phule and Maharshi Karve.
Ethe mahilana shikshanacha adhikaar miloon keval kahi varshe zali hoti aani jyaa koni striya office madhye turalak disat, tyaa sarva baher shikalelyaa hotyaa.

Striyansathiche niyam pahile aani manaat eka mansik drushtyaa magaslelyaa samajache chitra tayar whaayla lagale.... a woman can not go outside home without a “male” accompanying!!! She has to wear that black veil jyaala ethe “aabha” ki “aabhaya” ase kahitari mhantaat. Women have no voting rights too... arthaat ethale elections ha swatanntra vishay aahe tyaavishavi nantar. Fakta ek shobhechi bahuli aani bhogavastu yapalikade ya samajaat striyana kahihi kimmat naahi.

But one can observe a strange scene when visiting shopping malls and all... a lot of shops selling dresses for women that I think only higher class women or some film stars in India will wear that too during parties. And here women in black dress in those shops buying those. I could not imagine any opportunity for them to wear those dresses except inside house. Aani tarihi hi shopping....Striyanchi hous kahi kelyaa fitat nahi hech khare.