Always I used to think why low-paid workers from India opt to work in Oman for low salaries. Low salaries are just one part. To get a two-year visa, they shell out RO 500 (INR 60,000) to agents back home. RO 500 doesn’t come easily; they pledge their belongings in the dream of a better tomorrow.

Two experiences in the last one week sort of kept crossing my head. While returning from vacation, two men from Hyderabad were seated next to me in the plane. They sought my help to fill the H1N1 forms, and in the process I struck a conversation with them. Both were joining a construction company in Muscat and they were to handle road construction work. “What is your salary per month?” I asked. “100 rials,” they said.

The men narrated how they took a loan of INR 50,000 each to bag the two-year work visas. “How much would you be able to save in 100 rials?” I asked them. They said, “40-50 rials.” “Can’t you earn the same amount in Hyderabad?” I asked. “We earn around INR 100-150 (1 rial) per day, but at the end of the day we spend most of the money on booze,” one of them said. “Running a family is a difficult task back home,” they quipped. In the same breath they said 100 rials don’t come cheap in Muscat. They are made to slog from 6am to 6pm with a short break in between. I was just thinking how much they will be able to save to repay the loan plus take care of their families back home. I tried, but numbers weren’t looking good.

Yesterday, I went to my regular barber in Ruwi, and the guy poured his heart out to me. He said he gets a salary of 65 rials per month, and he has to take care of all the expenses minus the housing. He gets around 70 rials per month as tips from customers, and he said that is what keeps him going. “In 65 rials, I have to take care of my expenses and also make sure to send money to my wife and kids back home,” he said. “If not for the tips amount, I would have returned long back,” the barber said. The Indian guy, who is the owner of that barber shop, and many other shops, is eyeing the tips money now, he quipped in a sad tone. Hearing his sob story, I gave him more than the normal tips money, and slowly walked away.

On my way back, I was wondering who was better placed among the two – the construction worker or the barber. Came to a conclusion that the construction worker’s life is hell – he neither gets tips, nor works in the comfort of an air-conditioner.