Shhhhh

It's silent and hot outside. You're always following a mirage, or it's always leading you.

Just 15-20 meters ahead from wherever you are, there's one.

I remember seeing mirages in Delhi in the peak of summer on the Rashtrapati Bhawan stretch leading to India gate, or on the India Gate round about.

But they always used to be really far away from me. Never so near. Here, I sometimes, even though knowing I can't, think of trying to quickly run up and step on them before they disappear.

I haven't tried it yet though. Just came across as a random thought on my empty, lazy mind.

There is hardly anyone on the roads today, unlike every other day of the week when cars and cars just speed past.

Sometimes you wonder, where are all these cars going in such a small country - border to border of which you can do in exactly two hours. As if people were paid just to go round and round Qatar to make it look like a very busy place.

It's Friday today. A day off. Just a handful of foreigners in their 4x4s, with jet, ski boats, regular motor boats, tied to the back of their cars, returning from or heading for the sandy wave-less dead blue beaches - "their kinda" thing on a weekend.

What else do I tell you about Qatar on a Friday afternoon?

There's nobody here. There's nothing here...

...Except a few human beings. And a whole lot of money.

Nobody smiles... nobody.