Fact or Fiction

My son after reading the draft of this month’s blogs asked me how I expected anyone to believe, that what I wrote in them actually transpired. Even the previous one with the milkshake was suspect. His tone seemed almost accusatory - as if to say that the incidents seemed fabricated. Thankfully my wife could corroborate one instance, as she was with me when it happened.

At the time I shrugged off his observation - for two reasons:

- Firstly because I could not consider that you would think that I lie, and

- Secondly because none of you would expect me to be imaginative enough to 'invent' such incidents.

However the statement still made me pause to think.

In Dubai the battle for survival is most widely fought in places like Bur Dubai, Karama and Satwa. And consequently life teems and heaves there, as opposed to the sedate and cultured pace in the swankier Hotels and Malls.

On the streets the density of people and shops, the amount of services on offer, goods on sale, the restaurants and the eateries are like rocks amongst rapids - surrounded and sometimes inundated by the eddy's and currents of life. A morning spent in these places can be quite revealing - but that is only if one is willing to stand and observe. To observe one needs to keep their eyes and ears open, be willing to ask questions and get into conversations with strangers.

However the observation powers of most people are now severely diminished. Whether it is in the gym or on the streets, alone or in company, one has gotten used to seeing people with headphones blaring music and their eyes glued to their mobile devices. Portable technology is creating a barrier between the digital and the real world and the younger generation especially, is living more in the former. With huge headphones and even bigger mobiles they have cut themselves off from the world.

The probability of seeing someone with headphones on, increases exponentially if they are alone. It is now a security blanket - a safety bubble to avoid interaction. It is extremely cool to be dressed in jeans that constantly threaten to slip down to your ankle, a hoodie, mirrored sunglasses and headphones wrapped around your ears. It indicates that you are too cool for this world and that you are just not interested in any of it!

Forget about when one is alone - how many times have we seen a gaggle of teenagers, together yet apart, typing intently into their own devices. No wonder then, that life passes them by with connectivity to neither their surroundings nor the people. The everyday sights and sounds are lost between the music and the screen.

So my answer to my son is that since I tend to gravitate more to the parts of town mentioned above 'and' I do not wear headphones outside the house 'and' I like to get into conversations with strangers - I seem to find myself tripping more into such situations.

What do you think?