Sandhi Puja is an important ritual performed during Durga Puja. It is performed at the juncture of Ashtami and Navami. It is believed that Goddess Chamunda emerged at this moment to kill Chando and Mundo, the two generals of the demon king Mahishasur.
Some pictures from the Sandhi Pujo at the New Alipore Association . . .
At the start of the Sandhi Pujo
Crowding to light the 108 lamps
Lighting the lamps
Ma lighting the lamps
Another view
A close-up of the lamp
Sandhi Pujo
China House – a Chinese and Filipino restaurant is our regular weekend haunt. Owned and run by a Bangladeshi family in Saudi Arabia and with Filipino cooks and frequented by Europeans, Indians, Saudis and of course Filipinos . . . it is a true symbol of globalization.
A chinese lantern in the restaurant
The Giordano boutique is visible across the street.
Waiting for the food to arrive.
Nikon D200 18-55 lens 400 ASA
Sunset in Bahrain. From the terminal window.
Another view. . .
Duty Free shopping in Bahrain
Today being a Friday and a holiday, we decided to do a bit of exploring. Our (I and Mehul – a colleague at SABIC – and his family) plan was a drive to Fanateer (the posh area of Jubail and developed by the Royal Commission forJubail and Yanbu), Khakheel beach and then make a stopover at Jarir Bookstore on the way back to Jubail.
En route to Fanateer and the beach
This is the way to our office incidentally too.
Turning from the Port Road into Highway 6
Highway 6.. en route to Fanateer
The Royal Commission Building in Fanateer
Fanateer
The beach finally.. standing close to the water. No pictures of people though, you cannot photograph ladies in Saudi Arabia. I have taken extra care not to get into trouble.
Anyway, the beach was packed (you will have to take my word for it) and you could see families enjoying themselves at the beach. The weather being cool, we saw only one person swimming in the sea.
Another view of the beach
Yours truly.. not exactly beachwear.. but was my first trip here in any case…
Another view…
Warning.. according to this sign Children are prohibited from swimming
I gathered that this area is deep and risky
Kites at the beach
Leaving Kakheel beach…
Jarir Bookstore (www.jarirbookstore.com). This is the largest book and computer store in Jubail. It was amazing . All makes and all models of laptops were on display.
The most interesting find was a Fujitsu-Seimens for SR1690 running Linux. A full sized laptop for less than the price of a Acer Aspire 1. It also had the brilliant Fujitsu keyboard.
As it was nearing 6.30 PM, we decided to go back to Jubail and plan for a major outing next Thursday.
Jubail Industrial City…all these on the right are petrochemical complexes
Back to Jubail
Jubail….
Some more interesting pictures from Jubail.
Contrary to the popular idea, it is a real city and not a collection of tents and one does not have to live like a Bedouin.
Bangladeshi shop – advertising all that is necessary for Bangladeshis to flock here. This shop is less than a stone’s throw from where I live and get my cigarettes, juices and water from.
Took the trouble of going to one of the best restaurants in Jubail – called COCO – to pick up two Shawarmas for dinner (@ 4 SR each). They are large.. in fact very large (my cross pen is there for comparison). I thought I will have 2 for dinner since this is the start of the weekend. Have given up after just one.
It is loaded with roast lamb slices. It is brilliant. Hope it does not become a habit….
Jubail at night… 7.20 pm taken while I was waiting for my Shawarmas. There is a McDonald sign, that is barely visible behind the palms. The lighted area on the right is called the international market. The left is the Safeway Super Store. The spot from where the picture has been taken, is about a 30s walk from my main door.
Downtown Jubail. The other direction of the same road. The place till where the street lights are visible is the Jubail city center. The Nikon dealer for Saudi Arabia is on the right , about 50m away. The multi-coloured sign on the left is Samba Bank (Saudi American Bank).
A view of the roof of my flat. There, in the front you can see Samba Bank.
Landed in Jubail on the 20th of October, after several months of delays to take up an offer with SABIC.
After what I had heard about Saudi Arabia, the passage through Dammam Airport was a breeze. In fact the customs officer told me to enjoy my stay here.
Traveling from Dammam to Jubail in the company provided transport – a Toyota Camry – driven by a Sri Lankan driver (Jaya). Jaya was chatting away while driving at a rock steady 120 kmph.
First view of the desert. It ocurred to me that Saudi Arabia was mostly desert. The specks in the distance was camels.
Sand whipped up by strong winds en route to Jubail. We hit a tyre that some one had left behind after something that should have been a spectacular blowout.
Jubail… next to the King Aziz Naval Base.
Outskirts of Jubail City. Close to a place that was my temporary accommodation.
Having brunch at a cafe near Al-Lulu Dispensary, where we went through a battery of pre-employment medical tests. The coffee and the pizza (with a middle-eastern topping) was brilliant.
Still more flowers. Interesting colors. Shot just before a squall hit Calcutta.
Vivek Deb Burman in his studio
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 50mm f1.4
1/80 s, 400 ASA
Lions guarding the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta. 8 PM on a rainy evening. Nikon D200 with 18-55 f3.5-5.6. 1000 ASA 1/8 sec handheld.
The lion statue at the right hand side of the gate.
Off centre . . . shot from a car window, just before the rains spoiled everything.
Victoria Memorial
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