Oil, Hamatan, and Me

A couple of days ago, Lagos burned. Well, not really. I have this flair for dramatisation. But an oil pipeline did decide to go up in flames, and not very far from where I live. Okay. It was about 60km off. Ironically, I heard it first from my sister who lives an ocean away. I was peacefully in bed (and yes, all by myself too) when I was enlightened. My first reaction was, "Wow, what place I live in!" But it does kind of make you appreciate the importance of taking interest in local affairs lest you should meet the same fate as the earth when the Vogon Construction Fleet¹ destroyed it.

Hamatan ² has been there or thereabouts. Not so intense that sand starts to get into my nose, ears, eyes, and other body crevices that only highly skilled lovers are aware of, but intense enough to leave a layer of dust on my shirts - basically on life, the universe and everything³. I am out each day for about four hours surverying the markets and talking to the customers. Supposedly, that is what a Sales Analyst does. As the Keymaker⁴ said, "We all do what we are supposed to do."

It is quite an experience. Nah, not dropping references and feeling self-important. That comes naturally to me. Not even putting the best interests of my shirts on the backburner, though it is possibly the most cruel I have ever been. I am talking about my work. I have never been in sales. Never sold anything, except my soul to the devil. It is a learning curve, and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Why wouldn't I? I visited a customer the other day. It is interesting that most businesses in Nigeria are run by women. Sharp, smart women. They give credence to one of my longest held beliefs - A woman who aims to be equal to a man lacks ambition. Anyway. This customer runs a shop in front of her home, and she invited me in. Gorgeous house. A dark staircase opened up to a darker passageway that led to her naturally well-lit living room. It was the middle of the afternoon and the power was out. The house, surprisingly, was cool. Ancestral photographs hung on the walls, and leather couches had sunk in those spots that were used most.

For a while, I was transported to my granny's house in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, India called Shahjahanpur - dusty streets, children playing, open drains carrying their filth, mud puddles dotting the road, the hot afternoon sun angrily beating down, and the sensation of the heat rising from the tarmac. Her mother was almost exactly like my granny too - toothless, thin, and adorable. I like!

No plans for New Year's. And no resolutions either. I don't quite believe in resolutions. If you want to do something, then do it. You don't have to wait for any particular day to start. That is all, and thank you very much.

1. Douglas Adams; Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2. Script Writer; James Bond and Wild Women; Of Travels and Travails
3. Douglas Adams; Life, the Universe and Everything
4. The Wachowski Brothers; The Matrix Reloaded