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Photo: H. Vibhu

WORK IN PROGRESS The group of Sudanese engineer attend classes at BPCL, Kochi Refinery

The moment, Petro Energy E&P Company Limited, Sudan decided on a batch of engineers – a dozen of them, Yasser Ali Khalil, Bashir Kambal, Mohamed Sayed, Hamid Osman, Usama Asim Ali, Mohammed Awad, Hamid Hatim, Wail Abdelhalim, Hamza Abdalla, Ahmed Mohammed, Gilany Adu Fatma and Albadawy – to BPCL – Kochi Refinery. “Kochi” was a new place, they were familiar with India but with Kerala they weren’t. Yasser Ali Khalil and Bashir Kambal say, “We searched for Kerala on the internet the moment we came to know we were heading to Kochi for training. We realised Kerala was famous as a tourist spot and we find it is more beautiful.” “Green” is the way they describe Kerala. Learning Kochi is the Queen of Arabian Sea was an added attraction according to Bashir.

Talking about the culture in Sudan, they say men get married by the age of around 29 and women, by around 25. The dowry system exists, but with a twist. Hamid Hatim says, “Tradition is for men to give dowry to women. Dowry could cost a minimum of 7,000 U.S dollars and in some cases, as high as 50,000 U.S dollars.” And that includes one to six sets of dress, shoes, bag, earnings, sandalwood and perfume.

What has struck Usama Asim Ali is, “Here, I notice all religions live in one place and people respect each other.” And they do not fail to notice the dress codes. Ask them about the dress codes and Hamid Hatim, Usama Asim Ali and Yasser Ali Khalil try to find a similarity between the dhoti and the sari and their traditional dress. Men, in Sudan, wear ‘jallabiyah,’ a long robe, with a cap or turban and women, wear a long garment ‘toab’. Explains Usama Asim, “Toab is similar like the sari, but women in Sudan cover their head too.”

Cashew nut is new to them. Theyconfess cashew could be available in other areas of Sudan, but for them it is new. And what about the diet? Breakfast comprises of beans, vegetable salad, egg, asseeda (basically made of flour, yeast, water and salt; served with sauces) and kesra. “Kesra is like white bread here,” says Usama Asim. For lunch, it could be vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes with rice. Bashir says, “We like Indians. We like Indian actors and movies.” They do not differentiate between different Indian languages, for them all movies from India are Indian movies. Ask what they like about Indian movies and quick comes the reply swinging, “Songs and dance.” Their only demand is a translation in Arabic to understand the movie. Football is a favourite for the Sudanese. They are now keen for a match with the Kochi Refinery team.

“We wanted to enlarge the scope of the training as there are lots of opportunities in the oil sector. We get a lot of exposure and faculties gain knowledge as they prepare for teaching,” says E. Nandakumar, executive director Kochi Refinery as the motivation to start a programme which brought the Sudanese to Kochi. “We are adopting best practices like highly learner centred approach in Learning management system,” says Dr. K. K Jayan, deputy general manager (Learning and Development).

Yasser Ali says, “Once we return, the next batch from our company is coming for the training. The staff is good. We would like to continue the relationship.” Yasser Ali and Bashir Kambal duo believes with the quality of training imparted, ten days is more than enough to get good knowledge and exposure enough to get their unit running when they reach Sudan. Training apart, they have the evening for entertainment, relaxation and knowing more of the region. Arranged by Kochi Refinery, the team has trips including backwaters, beaches, Kochi by night and visits to villages like Kumbalangi, prawns factory among other things.

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