The Roaming Bihari and His Bagful of Stories

What would you do if you found ’Osama Bin Laden’ inscribed on the headquarters of thecompany you’re about to join-just days after 9/11?What else could go wrong when a thoroughbred Bihari lands in Riyadh, hoping to start anew phase of his life and career? How does an ’argumentative Indian’ navigate therestrictive public discourse of the Middle East? And after two decades, has he finally given inor found a way to push back?Ehtesham Shahid has spent over 20 years in the Middle East as a journalist, editor, andcolumnist-reporting on groundbreaking stories, documenting seismic shifts, and livingthrough the region’s many contradictions. From the good to the bad to the deeplycomplicated, his journey through the Gulf and wider Middle East has been as unpredictableas the headlines he’s written.This book is a culmination of those years-an insightful, often witty, and deeply personalaccount of life and work in a region constantly in flux. Drawing from newsroom experiences, think tank reflections, and field observations, Shahid explores how India’s growingexpatriate presence has reshaped perceptions while unravelling the stereotypes andrealities that define the modern Middle East.