MUSCAT // When Abdulrahim al Marjebi finally came to the end of his 33-year career in Oman's housing ministry his wife feared the worst.
Working from 7.30am to 2.30pm five days a week as the assistant director of archives was not the toughest of jobs, but staying at home after retiring was daunting for the couple and the first six months proved difficult.
"We were getting on each other's nerves when he was at home all day. A woman needs some space and she gets it when the husband is doing something," Mrs al Marjebi said.
Gently encouraged by his wife, the 61-year-old Mr al Marjebi did what many retired men in a Oman now appear to be doing: he started his own business.
"Small real estate businesses have very little overheads but provide moderate income. Besides, it gives me the opportunity to do something and get out of the wife's way," Mr Marjebi said with a chuckle.
"It is a great relief that he now has a real estate office to go to," Mrs Marjebi added.
A growing number of retired men are now looking for second careers to supplement their pensions, according to Mohammed al Rabeea, 48, a job consultant based in Muscat.
Buying property and stocks are the favourite pursuits, and doctors say such activity appears to increase longevity. According to the civil service and manpower ministries, about 62 per cent of Omani men retire relatively early, at the average age of 57, three years lower than the compulsory age of 60.
"In comparison to other countries, 60 is really early to retire; that's why many men now seize the opportunity to keep working beyond the age of 70 to boost their retirement packages," Mr al Rabeea said.
While before, most opted to stay at home and do nothing, in recent years some have found life has more to offer than staring at the four walls of their homes.
Among the growing number of retired men to drag themselves out of the house is 57-year-old Fardan al Hamdani. It took him 18 months to work out that he was still too young to stay idle. After 35 years working in an oil installation in the desert of central Oman, he started Oman Homes in Muscat just more than a month ago.
"I sell homes and plots of land of every size. I Just earned my three per cent commission of 2,000 Omani rials (Dh19,000) with the sale of a villa. My first-ever transaction," Mr Hamdani said.
Both Mr Marjebi and Mr Hamdani pay 250 rials rent per month for their separate offices and work alone to cut down expenses. But 59-year-old Zuhair al Lawati spends three hours a day at the trading room of the Muscat Securities Market, the Omani stock exchange, buying and selling shares.
With no overheads such as office rentals, Mr Lawati earns enough to supplement his retirement income and at the same get out of his wife's way for most of the morning.
"When I retired a year ago, my wife asked me if I would spend all day sitting at home doing nothing. The answer is no and the stock exchange is my saviour and has turned out to be a good earner in the process," Mr al Lawati said.
For his wife, Zuhair al Lawati, the trend of husbands embarking on a second career is a blessing.
"They want to come shopping and then look at the trolley and make funny noises. At home, they question the method of cleaning or cooking," she said. "They are a complete nuisance and drive a woman mad."
Medical experts said the benefits of men keeping themselves busy after retirement go beyond smoothing out marital conflicts.
"We find that men who have no activities after their retirement start to develop medical problems much earlier than those who continue working," said Dr Lata Prakash, the assistant head of curative services for the Badar al Sama hospital in Muscat.
Dr Praskash said due to physical and mental inactivity, medical problems ranging from diabetes, high blood pressure and depression are high among the complaints of retired men.
It even leads to an early grave, according to the mortality census department of the ministry of national economy. A report for 2009 said that 66 per cent of retired men die within the first five years of leaving their jobs against 31 per cent of those who find careers or business pursuits after retirement.
But not everybody experiences the retirement blues. Shafik Hussain, 71, retired 11 years ago and has no interest in returning to work, instead choosing to travel.
"My wife and I fly out once every three months for a two-week break somewhere. If we are in Oman, then we make a point to drive for a weekend to Dubai every week. It keeps the wife happy and me, healthy," Mr Hussain said.
@Email:salshaibany@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowdash%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJuly%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESean%20Trevaskis%20and%20Enver%20Sorkun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERestaurant%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Plus%20VC%2C%20Judah%20VC%2C%20TPN%20Investments%20and%20angel%20investors%2C%20including%20former%20Talabat%20chief%20executive%20Abdulhamid%20Alomar%2C%20and%20entrepreneur%20Zeid%20Husban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Leganes v Getafe (12am)
Levante v Alaves (4pm)
Real Madrid v Sevilla (7pm)
Osasuna v Valladolid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Eibar v Atletico Madrid (12am)
Mallorca v Valencia (3pm)
Real Betis v Real Sociedad (5pm)
Villarreal v Espanyol (7pm)
Athletic Bilbao v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Barcelona v Granada (12am)
