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Doha Volume I Edition 2 APR - JUN 2017
THIS ISSUE
From the Editor’s Desk
Departmental Wrap Up DAHRA & TRANSAS announce Global
Strategic Partnership
Hosting Indian Ambassador
Training & Simulation
Equipment & Maintenance
Dahra Annual Medical Check-up
Did you Know? 3 Traffic Violations that can land you
in Jail
Scribble Corner Perfumes and Fragrances
Driving Lessons
The Lounge Doha Diary
Pics Say it Better Dinner with the Ambassador of India to
Qatar
Birthdays
From the Editor’s Desk
Greetings to all, especially for the Ramadan season
and Eid!
Please welcome our 2nd Edition. Much has hap-
pened in the last Quarter. Our Engineering and
Maintenance Department has a new Boss, new fac-
es, new outlook, and has made a fresh start.
The Graduation on 18th May 17 of the first ever
batch of Qatar Emiri Navy Sub Lieutenants has
added another feather to the Training Department’s
cap. The 3rd batch of S Lts has commenced their
training under the tutelage of Dahra.
We had the honour to host the Indian Ambassador
to Qatar, His Excellency Mr P Kumaran and we are
grateful to him to have spared time for us as also for
sharing his views.
On a different note , our host country Qatar is
standing tall and brave in the face of some adverse
conditions. Despite which, admirably, the situation
on ground has not seen any deterioration. We have
covered an aspect related to this happening in this
edition.
2 | The Dahra Quarter
Dahra and TRANSAS, a
world-leading provider
of high tech equipment,
software applications,
integrated solutions and
services for the
maritime industry, have
announced their new
strategic partnership.
The two industry-
leading companies will
work together in
research and
development and
provide complete
solutions to its
customers.
The partnership was
inked during the
TRANSAS Global
Conference held at Malta in March 2017.
D
Mr. Frank J. Coles , CEO Transas & Mr. Khamis AL Ajmi, CEO Dahra
AHRA & TRANSAS ANNOUNCE
GLOBAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
HOSTING THE INDIAN AMBASSADOR HE Shri P Kumaran Indian
Ambassador to Qatar, was hosted by
Dahra at Rotana Oryx on 11th of
May. Other dignitaries invited were
senior Naval officers from QEN,
including Brig Tariq, the Director of
Education and Courses.
Along with a sumptuous dinner the
occasion was utilised for informal
discussions. The Ambassador and
Brig Tariq enlightened the gathering
about history of Indo-Qatar
relationship.
Provisioning of Equipment for Army, Navy & Airforce including
Police & Coast Guard
Spares & Repair management for Navy, Coast Guard &
Merchant Marine
Spares for Airforce
Safety Equipment & Gears for Armed & Security Forces
Ammunition for Army, Navy & Airforce
Combat Vehicles and Riot Control Vehicles
Radars, Surveillance & Navigation Equipment
Patrol boats, RHIBs and associated Equipment
Training Simulators for Army, Navy & Airforce including Police
& Coast Guard
OUR PRODUCTS & SERVICES
Cdr Prasad Padhye (Retd)
joined the Dahra team as Head of the Engineering and
Maintenance Section on 23rd Apr. He has an experience of over 24
years in the Indian Navy working as an Engineer, wherein he has
cross-specialized in Shipbuilding, Repairs and Maintenance,
Technical training and Risk Mitigation, and Quality Management.
Vishal Ravindran joined Equipm ent & Maintenance on 2nd
May. He is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering and has an
experience of about two years, that too working in Doha. He is
proficient on AutoCAD. Also he is a keen sportsperson, good at
football. We wish him a satisfying tenure.
W R A P
U P
Expanded Portfolio of the Department
The Dahra Quarter | 5
W R A P
U P
DAHRA ANNUAL HEALTH CHECK-UP Most of us tend to neglect our own health and believe in cure more than prevention of
diseases. This can be obviated by making it a habit to have one’s body’s vital statistics
checked routinely to detect onset of any medical problem.
With this in mind the Company organised the first Annual Health Checkup for its
employees. The check-up was conducted by Naseem Al Rabeeh Clinic. A Dentist and
Staff Nurses were deputed to undertake the check –up on 6th of May at the Dahra
Office. All the employees were tested for.
Blood Pressure
Blood Sugar Test
Height & Weight BMI
Dental Consultation
6 | The Dahra Quarter
Antonio Jonath Fernando joined us as Senior IT & System s Integrator on
25th May. He has done his Masters in over 11 years of experience as an IT
professional in managerial role as well as a network administrator.
DID YOU KNOW?
Most traffic tickets are issued for minor
offences-including tickets for speeding and
parking violations. Normally these can be
settled by paying the fine amount at MOI
or Traffic Department. But there are
certain traffic-related offences that can
result in more significant fines, loss of
driving privileges, or even imprisonment.
Here are the types of violations that cannot
be settled by paying fines and needs to be
viewed by the concerned court:
Driving a vehicle without
obtaining a driving license or with
a license that is not meant for the
class of vehicle.
Minimum imprisonment of one
month; Maximum imprisonment of
3 years; AND/OR fine of minimum
QR 10,000 and maximum QR
50,000.
3 black points on license
Giving a vehicle to someone who
does not have a valid license to
drive the kind of vehicle or to a
person without driving license or
to a person who does not have any
other permit required by the law.
Minimum imprisonment of one
month; Maximum imprisonment of
3 years; AND/OR fine of minimum
QR 10,000 and maximum QR
50,000.
2 black points on license
Driving a vehicle under the
influence of alcohols or drugs or
any mental stimulants.
Minimum imprisonment of one
month; Maximum imprisonment of
3 years; AND/OR fine of minimum
QR 10,000 and maximum QR
50,000.
6 black points on license
3 Traffic Violations that can land you in Jail
The Dahra Quarter | 7
Perfumes and Fragrances
A visit to the Souqs of Doha is a delight for the
senses. Not only for the sights and sounds,
but also for the heavenly scents . We have
aromas of freshly baked bread and brewed
Turkiye’ kahwa that drift across. Among the
myriad lanes and small shops, we also come
across the wafting scents of perfumes and
essential oils.
For most of us, perfumes
invariably mean ‘Eau de
Cologne’ or ‘Brut’ or ‘Chanel No
5’. Do we really bother about
‘deodorants’ and ‘Apre Rasage’?
No, we simply pick up a gorgeous looking
bottle from our bathroom shelves/ dressers
and splash on liberally. Actually there is a
whole world of fragrances and perfumes to
be savoured and enjoyed. It is available as
essential oils, fragrance oils, As attar or itr
liquids, lotions, gels and even as smoke! A
non-smoker friend of mine was hooked onto
the smell – of all the things - liquid tobacco!
Do you know that you can have the same
smell for a fraction of the price if you know
where to look! Honestly, we can get the best
out of what is on offer only if we know WHAT
to look for. So without becoming too
technical, let us understand the basics.
Most perfumes can be found in
‘essential oils’
Nature abounds with many a smell. Those
from Grass (Vetiver), Trees (sandalwood,
Oud and Eucalyptus), animals (musk deer)
even whales (Ambergris) and of course from
flowers (Rose and Jasmine). These base items
are collected (painstakingly – in most cases,
dangerously in some) and the ‘essence of
the plant’s aroma’ or the ‘essential oil’ is
extracted. In case of non-natural, synthetic
sources, they are called ‘fragrance oils’.
Every perfume consists of the ‘essential
oil’ or aroma compound, a solvent (or a
base carrier) and a fixative (something that
makes it last longer)
In the olden days the base carrier used to be
sandalwood oil. Nowadays we have distilled
water, glycerine and alcohols. By mixing and
blending different quantities perfumes, we can
get totally different results. The same perfumes
are available in different classifications based
on the concentration of the essential oil in the
carrier.
Eau de Cologne is 7% essence and is best
in hot weather as a spray on skin.
Eau de Toilette is 10% essence and is
used in summer as it evaporates quickly.
Eau de parfum is 15+% essence and
sprayed on hair or clothing and lasts well.
Perfume is most expensive as it has 40%
of essence and is applied on the ‘pulse points’ ie
behind the ears, on the throat and wrists.
And coming to the best part – These fragrances
or essential oils are available in small vials for
a fraction of the price. Imagine using 100% of
the essence! Just a tiny daub of it, on the pulse
points. They have been sold in the souqs in this
manner for centuries!
On a recent outing to the Souq, between the
three of us, we picked up One ounce vials of no
less than 11 perfumes that we individually
found appealing. The perfumes are classic
western clones or individual oriental, each
results in a delightful feeling of satisfaction for
the wearer and the audience! Each vial lasts
(daily use) for at least 15-20 days. The sad
part? I can pick up a fresh stock only once a
quarter- since it lasts so long with daily use
figuratively and practically!
Prasad
8 | The Dahra Quarter
Driving Lessons
As I pen this, I await the result of my driving test in the waiting room of the Driving School. Yes, even at this stage of my life, when I have been driving for the last three decades, that too in India, have changed three cars of my own, still I sit like a nervous teenager who awaits the result of the first driving test. Also what was troubling me more was what will I tell everyone how I flunked the test! It was going to be difficult for me to face the three Pashtuns and one Bengali tiger who were with me in my driving class and looked up to me for guidance whenever they did not understand the instructor? It took me 47 days to reach where I am today, 12 hours of theory classes, 8 hours of parking practice, 16 hours of driving practice, many hours of travel and waiting, not to mention extra QARs for ‘fast track’ procedure, to reach this waiting room.
Let me share my experiences of re-learning driving. The first hurdle was to choose the service provider, which Driving School to go to. This was the easy part, the costlier ones were deleted and I homed on to the cheaper option. Next was to learn from the experience of others. Everyone contributed, my colleagues, co-workers, my building caretaker, taxi drivers, friends, Blogs. The conclusion I derived was that the driving test was based on the whims and fancies of the Inspector, the common remark was ‘if the inspector is in a good mood may be you will pass the test’. Also every person I spoke to, whether a license holder or not, had this to say, ‘’Í/ my friend took the test and did not do any mistake, but still failed the test’’. I met an American and he was in a different orbit, according to him the Europeans don’t have take the driving test whilst for the Americans it was mandatory, he called it ‘discriminatory’. I started my training classes with the theory classes. The classes were in English and the students consisted of Pashtuns (sponsored by a Taxi Company), a few Malyalees and fewer Bangladeshis. The Pashtuns were taking classes in English but were going to appear for the test in Urdu, the Bengalis understood neither English nor Urdu. For me, the test went smooth and I
cleared the Sign Test in 15 days. Then started the L&P Test practice, that is practising for parking in an ‘L’ Parking spot and parking in a ‘Pocket’, parking which gives nightmares to many drivers since it involves parking between two vehicles. These were actually more of a robotic action. As an example this is how you turn the car into a pocket, ‘When you can see the marker pole through the small glass of car’s rear window, turn the vehicle full right and reverse’. Your mind only had to remember when and where to turn, simple. Actually not, because in my test I actually turned into a robot and did not cater for an additional requirement of parking in a earmarked spot which had not been told during the practices, and I crossed the exact parking spot. Somehow I managed to get through.
Then I started practices for the final frontier, the road test. I practiced for 8 days, 1 and a 1/2 hours
everyday. My instructor many a times took control of my steering and the car brakes, highly embarrassing that was, for a veteran driver like me who has driven on roads in Delhi. Someone had said ‘Driving in Delhi is a skilled profession that requires knowledge, dexterity, quick reaction time, and a unique philosophical outlook’. And here all my skills were being doubted. Anyway, the practice got over yesterday and today I have came for the test.
When my turn came to drive, I took the car out of parking, took one left turn, one U-turn and the Inspector told me to park. I couldn’t believe it, 47 days of hardship and just for 130 sec of driving test. I am sure I will FAIL… Amit
The Dahra Quarter | 9
June 5, 2017 Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut
diplomatic ties with Qatar and moved to
close off access to the Gulf country, with
an embargo on air, sea and land traffic to
and from Qatar. Qatar citizens and
residents have extended support to the
country’s leadership in many unique
ways.
Many have put stickers on their vehicles, some
wear t-shirts with pictures praising the country
and leadership, a big number of citizens are
changing their DPs on various social media
platforms.
In all this effort one image has gone viral across
platforms. An image of Emir HH Sheikh Tamim
bin Hamad Al Thani with “Glorious Tamim” written in Arabic calligraphy style has been
adopted by all. This image, created by Qatari artist Ahmed bin Majed Almaadheed, can be
seen all over Qatar online and offline.
T H E
L O U N G E
This is a
Pakistani
Restaurant which
the vegetarians
can also enjoy.
Food is tasty
though a little
oily . Location—
Salwa Road.
Budget—50 QAR/
person.
Gymkhana is
located in Souq
Waqif, again veg
and non-veg
choices are
aplenty.
Budget— 75 QAR/
person .
MRA is a Kerala-
specialty
Restaurant and
totally authentic.
Located at Al
Ghanim.
Budget—35 QAR/
person
I need not say
much about
Saravanaa
Bhavan, because
of its popularity.
Located at Old
Ghanem, Abu
Hamour, Al Khor
and Muaither
Budget Restaurants!
In the last edition we covered a few eating out places which are popular but will
lighten your wallets. This time we are talking about places where you can go, enjoy
the food and not be sad that the dinner dented your budget for the month.
10 | The Dahra Quarter
Oryx Rotana - Jade A, 11th of May 2017
AN EVENING WITH THE AMBASSADOR OF INDIA TO QATAR
THE EVENING’S PRESENCE
The Dahra Quarter | 11
The Publishing Team
Amit, Charisse & Kim
BIRTHDAYS CELEBRATED (Above) &
UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS
Mr. Khamis - 15th July 2017 Dipendra - 27th August 2017
Prasad - 9th August 2017 Navtej - 6th September 2017
“ THE LADDER OF
SUCCESS IS BEST-CLIMBED BY STEPPING ON
THE RUNGS OF ”
- AYN RAND