A harmless figure of speech pointing to incongruity of action and results that Irony is , it has some stark illustrations in real life .
Christopher Reeve , the tall handsome actor , played ‘Superman’ in many a movie and its sequels becoming famous as Clark Kent , the superhuman do-gooder ,while ridding the world of many of its tyrants , terrorists and megalomaniacs . Reeve , the Superman , as fate would have it , was dealt a severe blow when in an equestrian competition , his horse pulled him down breaking his spinal cord for life . The resultant paralysis confined him for many years to a wheel chair . Isn't it just plain irony that it had to happen to 'Superman' – whose massive fan following of awe-struck movie-goers gave his producers superhuman returns at the box office for years . The 'man of steel' died early , at the age of 52 , serving probably as a warning , that , man is after all mortal .
The world has long endured the ridiculousness of the slavery system even after it was officially abolished by Abraham Lincoln centuries ago . Here was an entire civilization of people from an continent considered ‘dark’ , pre-historic and primitive . Michael Jackson has tried hard to run away from his colour by cosmetic surgeries , Cassius Clay threw his Olympic gold medial into the Hudson river and converted to Islam on being called a ‘black nigger ‘ after having won the World Boxing Olympic gold medal for the US . The latest episode of Big brother boots out a contestant who calls another a ‘nigger’ . Alex Haley’s autobiographical book ‘roots ‘ traces the history of Blacks over centuries as an oppressed clan , operating on the fringes of society , fighting for acceptance . So the most ironical achievement of it all is the fact that the most premium , upper-class , uber-cool and super-richest sport of them all , Golf , is dominated by a black - Tiger Woods !
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , became the 8th Prime minister of Pakistan after having been the president for 2 years . A keen lawyer , he had earned his spurs under the military dictatorship of Gen Ayub Khan , who India had defeated in the 1971 indo-pak war . After having won landslide vistories in Pakistani elections , he claimed his prime ministerial berth for a second term . But that was not to be . Gen Zia-Ul-Haq , his chief of army staff , de-recognised his government , arrested him in the middle of the night and threw him into jail .Despite international condemnation , Zia made sure the popular Bhutto was hanged . Zia-ul-Haq then re-interpreted Islam to favour the military , unleased a wave of terror into India , encouraged the influx of refuges from Afghanistan into Pakistan siding the US in the proxy war with the Soviets in Afghanistan . His helping the Afghani Mujhahideen fight the Russians ensured Pakistan would become a permanent US ally . He created a larger than life image for himself . I distinctly remember watching the Asian games hockey match between India and Pakistan in 1982 that he came to attend . Pakistan defeat India 8-0 in that match . The goalkeeper Negi was psyched that Zia was in the stadium and gave in to all the attacks from their side . Such was his demeanor . Ironically , for all his power , he had the worst death a political leader can have . He was blown into bits mid-air in an aircraft crash . Not a piece of his body was found . He couldn’t even be given a leader’s farewell like his slain adversary Bhutto had got .
The US was formed on the basis of everything the England did not stand for . The traffic was reverse , cars were all right hand drives , the shakespearean spellings were dropped – colour became color etc, the dress sense are informal , jews were accepted with open arms , excellence was encouraged and any form of dynastic rule was discouraged . Yet , ironically it is heading for a dynastic rule – eight years of Bush senior were followed by eight years of Clinton , followed by eight years of Bush junior and probably eight years of Hillary Clinton now . Dynasty !
Michail Gorbachev , the first post-communism President of the USSR , had faced a very tough childhood under Stalin when his grandfather was arrested for hoarding grain in their farm . Passports were regulated , so he did not have one for many years and he had not visited any other country . He became the President after Konstantin Chernenko died in 1985 . His lifetime in Russian politics was dedicated to building a stronger USSR , aimed at achieving twice the per capita income of the US . He was the first party leader who was born after the revolution and the youngest general secretary of the communist party . He used his visionary concepts of ‘Uskoreniya’ –acceleration of economic development , ‘glasnost’ – openness , ‘perestrioka’ – restructuring of the economy to build a new powerful Soviet Union . He started the concept of free speech in Russia , looked west for inspiration , traveled and interacted with world leaders to expand his vision . Yet ironically , the very foundation of his vision saw the absolute reverse effect – the Soviet Union dis-integrated dramatically and broke into its various sub-nations and creation of many new countries with independent heads of state and policies . In just five years , he had dissolved what had taken seventy years to build , he lost control , his deputy Boris Yelstin openly confronted him , leading to absolute anarchy and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics splintered into many many different countries . Hs stood for re-election as President , but won 0.05% of the votes . And he is back to what he was doing earlier – lecturing in universities around the world . A man who started something so huge that it consumed him and his entire country , becoming larger than he had ever envisioned .
Olof Palme , Sweden’s President for 18 years , created a great country whose principles of social democracy resulted in enormous prosperity . Sweden has produced a strong economy creating many multinational brands like Saab , Ikea , Ericsson and it has the longest life expentancies in the world , lowest employment , inflation , infant mortality , national debt and cost of living . Sweden has also the lowest instances of crime in the world . Ironically , Olof Palme , who built a crime free Sweden , and was generally without bodyguards was shot dead as he was walking back from a movie with his wife . He was the first and only ever person to be ever assasinated in Sweden . The incident had a deep impact on me and I remember thinking about it for many many days . Ah ! the ways of irony .
Amitabh Bachchan , was rejected by All India Radio when he went for an audition to do a program on radio many years back . Today , most movie-goers love his deep baritone and more than half of radio commercials imitate his voice . Alexander , the great , conquered half the world with his famed conquests , but died of a mosquito bite in Babylon .
Bobby McFaren , sang the song ‘Don’t Worry , Be Happy ‘ which was featured in the 1998 Tom Cruise movie ‘Cocktail’ and to date is one of my personal favourite numbers . It was the no1 US pop hit and won the Grammy for The Song of the year 1988 . Lots of rumors floated a year later that Bobby McFaren had committed suicide . That he didn't was true , but the rumors spread like wildfire suggesting that he had attempted to kill himself .
That would have been the ultimate irony .
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Marhaba Dubai U/C
They don’t stamp your passport in Israel . Because the Arab Middle-East does not permit you into any of their countries if you have been to Jewish Israel . Drawn from over hundreds of years of battle for homelands , jihads and fatwas , this strange law has come as a by-product of the Arab-Israeli conflicts that take place every single day since Israel has been created in 1945 . The Israelis , not wanting to play spoilsport , stamp the Visa on a piece of paper which you clip onto one of the passport sheets . Throwing this clipped-on sheet away as you exit Israel leaves no trace of your Israel visit . The Arabian middle east then welcomes you with open arms .
As the Emirates plane began its descent , the landscape that met the eye was just miles and miles of desert , giving the earth a very plain unimaginative feel , quite contrary to what Dubai actually turned out to be. ‘Welcome to Dusty Dubai ,’ the captain announced ,as we landed onto the hazy afternoon weather around the airport .
The whale-shaped airport building is like a primer to the architecturally splendidly built Dubai . There is an effort to look different and stand out by investing in the façade by all the buildings. It is a small city , but it makes a very good impression .In the middle of the desert they have created , probably , the most remarkable Arabian city ever .
David , ,the cabbie who came to pick me up , was sweating profusely , having waited for me outside the airport for a good half hour . ‘Its 44 degrees today ’ he said pointing to the dial on the dashboard.
I had felt the immense heat on my face as we had jumped into the car .
‘Is this the hottest ?’
‘No , it crosses 50degrees on some days . And the government declares a holiday on those days ’
We sped out of the beautiful airport building onto roads full of , what looked like , zillions of cars .
‘Dubai has just about 1.2 mn people .’, said David, introducing me to the city as we drove to the office . On the wrong side of 50 years , he is a well-informed Malayalee who has spent over half his life in Dubai . Listening to a Malayalam radio channel in the car , he resisted my request to change to a Hindi radio station , as he was in the middle of listening to news live from Kerala . Soon as the news finished , he tuned into 101.5 FM Dubai’s #1 Hindi station , playing the new ‘Cheeni Kum’ number .
Just 1.2 mn people !
To put that in perspective , there are just as many people only in Bandra , the suburb of the 20mn+ Mumbai city , which I call home .
The starkling thing about Dubai is that it is a city under construction . And as I met different kinds of people in different professions , I realized that it will probably stay that way till 2010 , when all of it will come to a head and Dubai will be the final destination for every office goer , worker , tourist or potential immigrant .
Mohammad Ali , a son-of-the-soil arab , is a first citizen amongst the 1.2 million people who inhabit this desert paradise , sixty percent of whom are immigrants from India . Rest are Arabs from other parts of the middle east and around 2-3 percent are westerners, who are here for business , Bush and his politics be dammed .
Ali is funding a part of the contruction frenzy in Dubai . He has a young European woman manning his front office and several Indian managers at senior positions .
‘All investments .All investmenst . Inshaallah , Dubai will be the world’s destination in 2010’,he says projecting into the air an expansive stroke as if to indicate the world .
Ambitious , surely .
‘70% of the world’s cranes are in Dubai ‘ said Satish , the marketing head of a local construction company , which is offering a private jet to people who offer to buy properties in its project Damac .
‘Can’t be true ‘
‘It is . In fact , Mahammed Alhabhai is building Dubailand – a US $70bn city within a city over a 3 billion square feet area with the worlds largest mall , sports city , , snowdome , the city of Arabia and the universal studios amusement park complete with Jurassic era dinosaurs et al . That one project itself has over 300 cranes all over the place and he is expecting to finish it next year ’
Asia Asia ,’added Satish , ‘will be the world’s largest hotel complex created by the Bawadi hospitality project in Dubai . And Tiger woods is building the world’s largest golf course here ’
I don’t know about the 70% , but the sheer amount of construction seen here is remarkable .
Yet , the city is very clean . Speeding on the Sheikh Zahed road , which connects Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi non-stop without traffic signals and snarls , one wonders about the ambitions of these filthy rich sheikhs sitting on oil reserves for the next 200 years and ploughing money into outlandish projects . The streets are littered with the swankiest cars – Aston martins , Mercs , Lamborginis , BMWs , Toyotas , Hondas ,Landcruisers – speeding away effortlessly – this could pass for any city in the US .
In the afternoon , we met Assad , a Syrian head of a Emaar , the Dubai state-owned construction company which is building the Burj Dubai ,which looks like a glass syringe , standing tall at over 800 metres ( beating Taipei towers 508 metre landmark ). Burj is Arabic for Tower.
‘The first rule when building the world’s tallest tower is to keep its height a secret , else someone else will beat you to being the tallest ‘said Assad .
I laughed , assuring him that to public knowledge , no such construction was taking place anywhere in the world .
‘The International Finance Tower in Hongkong is only 415 metres tall and the Shanghai World trade centre is 500 metres tall , no other building is taller than them right now. You have a 300 metre lead !’ , I said laughing
‘ Inshaallah . It is rising a floor every 2 days .’
‘That’s some speed , Ten storey projects in Mumbai take 3 years ! Where do you get the labour from ?’
‘ Lot of Indian workers are working there .’
‘Is it expensive to own a house here ?’
‘A 2-bed apartment on 75th floor of the Burj Dubai costs $1.5mn . But there a projects where a flat can cost around 150,000 to 600,000 dirhams .’
‘That’s not much ‘,I said . ‘My house in Mumbai is , well , 2.5 mn dirhams , 4 times as expensive ! ‘
‘Mumbai is expensive city . That’s why you should buy here ‘
Ah ! I see the logic pretty clearly . Dubai is two and a half hours from Mumbai , less than the time it takes to go to Kolkatta . The city gives a first world feeling at the price of a local ticket ! And with the construction keeping its pace , this will rival Singapore soon.
‘2010 is the year . It will be a landmark year as all the billion square feet on construction gets over and the city will be architecturally the most brilliant in the world ‘, Assad reiterted
‘But what is the source of the money to buy all properties here ?’
‘ Dubai is the financial hub of this country . It is a huge trading centre .People living here don’t buy properties here , it is an investment hub for people from all over the world ’
‘ Is there a manufacturing base ?
‘No, nothing is manufactured here due to the tax laws . You can’t own anything , 51% has to be owned by the government . There is a free zone created where things are beginning to get manufactured , but , you see , there is great political instability in the region . American companies don’t want to own anything here and show it in their books of accounts . Owning an asset in the gulf is worthless according to them . Iran is forty minutes from here . Tomorrow , they bomb Iran and a missile lands in Dubai , this dream is over , my friend ’ , Assad said gesturing furiously .
What a thought .
‘The new French president , Mr Sarkozy’s is a Jew and he could be close to Israel and therefore create create discord . Chirac was a friend ’,Assad said about the new political development after French election results .
Jacques Chirac was vehemently against the Israeli government as they competed for arms suppy into the gulf region . If Sarkozy leans to Israel , the Arab states will have an enemy at their gates .
‘ Life sure looks complex , Assad . This is just another world ‘
Sari Bou Karroum is an easy going Lebanese who , just as a lot of other Lebanese, is part of the advertising fraternity in Dubai . The biggest skillsets they bring to the table is the ability to speak Arabic and think well . Also they could easily pass off as Europeans with their great skin colour , a matter of great regard for Arabs . It gives them pride and therefore are not the easiest of people to deal with , unlike the Iraqis .
Sari is the Lebanese media supervisor of the firm Global Media Works ,Gmw.
‘I have heard of Bmw, now I know Gmw !’said me , wanting to break some ice.
Sari broke into easy laughter . The office at the Al Thuraya Towers overlooked the under-construction Palm Jumeira and the world , which is the map of the world being built in the sea , created out of reclaimed land . It would have many houses , offices , resorts and parks and bridges connecting the continents . A new definition of the world .
Man, what money can do !
‘So how are things back home ?’ , I asked him . Lebanon had just had a series of bombings by the Government in the internal areas of Beirut , apparently to weed out the terrorist group that was threatening not to rest till all of its Christian citizens had evacuated the country . The Lebanese government didn’t quite like the idea and threatened to bomb till the terrorist group didn’t leave Lebanon and an air of serious conflict erupted with many deaths .
‘Fortunately, the bombings are not near my home . Some miles away ‘said Sari , non-chalantly .
‘It’s a pity , that these things happen ‘ I said
‘For years ’, he said before jumping to shop-talk.
Zulfikar was another Lebanese head of international media buying at OMD , one of the largest advertising agencies in the region . He was very similar to Sari in his need for lots of data , SEC profiles and logical reasoning of the opportunity to look at India as a market .
Emad Al Enizy , on the other hand , the laid-back Iraqi is a great guy to talk to . He is all heart , as one can make out in the first ten minutes of conversation , even if it all hinges on work .Reddish in colour with a deep baritone , he is tough-looking without intent . Emad connected well as he shared life issues with us . His immediate need is to complete his education he felt , having had to stop it mid-way.
‘India , I want to study there’he said
‘Any college in mind ?’ I asked in earnest
‘No,no. I enroll for the course online . They send me books ,I appear exams online.’
‘An open university , you mean ?’
‘Yes,yes. I like Indian teachers ‘
‘Really’
‘Yes, in Baghdad , lot of my teachers were Indian . We understand very well from them . They are good teachers .’
‘ Interesting ’
‘I want to do degree in arts . In todays age , need to have education , Don’t know what kind of jobs are there and where one has to work ‘
‘Yeah ,lot of people study in India . I stayed once with a Palestinian army major who was studying marine science in Goa’
Palestine is close to everyone’s heart this part of the world . Their homelessness and general Israeli dominance of the region cuts a cord and gets the Arabs closer .
Emad had a tired look in his eyes , unlike the bright sharp look of lots-of-bombing-back-home -Sari or Zulfikar . Sari would have been younger , probably by a good five years .
But the one thing they all had in common was hope and optimism , inspite of being subjected to political , mental and physical tortune over years .
I stopped by at a corner store to pick up some water .
‘1.5 dirhams ‘, said the malayalee owner of the store
Thats quite normal , translating to about 16 rupees . But , a small comparison stumps you - Petrol costs only 1 dirham per litre .
Marhaba Dubai – petrol is cheaper than water here !
One can say that the middle east’s claim to fame is the control of more than 40% of the world’s oil reserves . The price of oil has surged from just under $20 a barrel in 2002 to over $70 a barrel last week , catalyzing a burst of very rapid growth in the region . The US has been trying to therefore destabilize this region so as not to let them rule the oil pricing with their sway over OPEC . The Gulf Cooperation Council –GCC , is set to emerge as a parallel powerful body with all the middle east countries not wanting to get influenced unduly by the western hegemony . And seeing the spirited growth of India and China , the arab states are using renewed control over oil prices to redefine prosperity in the region , attempting to end their past fluctuating fortunes .With a huge demand from India and China and other emerging market countries , there could be a trillion dollar windfall awaiting the Gulf and the economy could grow by leaps and bounds .
Oil has also defined fame ,friendships and fortune in this region . Iran has fought Iraq . Iraq has run over Kuwait . Lebanon has bombed Syria . America has friends in Saudi Arabia .
Religion has defined the rest of life . Israel and its Jews have fought every Arab around them – Syrians , Lebanese , Jordanians , Egyptians , Saudi Arabians and Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization for years . While UAE and Saudi Arabia have put oil to good use in increasing prosperity for people , Iran , on the other hand , as the fourth largest oil producer in the world is struggling to grow . It severely lacks oil refining capabilities making it a simple exporter of crude . Its seven million cars consume the same amount of oil as the 35million cars on UK roads due to the primitive engines of fuel-inefficient locally made Peykans . This India-China demand opportunity staring at Iran must have made America look at creating a fresh disruption in the region . With Iraq out of the way , Lebanon facing internal strife , probably Iran is their next target .
Dubai has oil for the next 40 years , but its economy isn’t dependent any longer on the fortunes of oil trade . That has been very smartly maneouvred by its ruling family of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum , to be least dependent on Oil , instead creating a new structure of growth using the auto , finance , construction and tourism sectors . And making it un-islamic , it has attracted people from all over .
Hopefully , neither oil nor religion will show its ugly face in Dubai .
I saw the Ski Dubai yesterday . It’s just what money can do , in the middle of 45 degree heat , these guys have created a minus 15 degree experience .It is freezing cold inside , you need to wear extremely warm clothing , gloves else you could get frostbite , caps , mufflers as if you are in Swiss Alps . It has cable cars , ski-able slopes that stretch right to the top at a 60 degree incline and coniferous forest covered with dense snow all around !
Aslam , the Pakistani taxi driver , one of the many pak drivers here , who drove me back to the hotel was an easy conversationalist. With Hindi songs from the newest movie blaring from the radio sprinkled with conversations with Preity Zinta , it could be just another day in good ‘ol Mumbai.
We hit 160 on the speedometer on Sheikh Zayed road , the official speedlimit for this 8-lane highway that connected Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi non-stop without a signal in between . The average speed in Mumbai is , well , on a good day , 15 kmph .
‘How many years have you been here ?’ I asked
‘Fifteen years ‘
‘You have family ‘
“Yes ‘
‘Kids’
‘Yes , one ‘
‘You like it here ?’
‘It’s a Good city . Cleaner than any city in Pakistan . no dogs , no beggars ’.
No crows , if I may add , coming from the crow capital of India.
‘I agree ’, I added enthusiastically ,‘And just an hour and half away from home for you from Islamabad , maybe ’
‘Yes ‘
As we sped through the highway crossing one of the largest malls in Dubai called the Mall of the Emirates , I saw the sheer height of skyscrapers here . Many 80-100 storey building dotted the landscape . Photographing them was irresistible .
‘Money is good ?‘
‘You make much more money that you can ever make back home .
‘Good for you. But do you think Benazir will be back in power ?’
‘No way. ‘ he said pointing to a huge white building , most buildings in Dubai are white ,
yeh Benazir ka hai . Ab who wapas nahin jayaga ‘ Pakistanis , I have realized , speak Hindi in a deliberate sort of way , using masculine for everything . They just sacked their foreign minister for huggin her eighty year old paragliding instructor after a jump.
‘Musharaff nahin jayega ‘ he concluded on his country’s political quagmire .
‘But aren’t you secondary citizens here ?’I asked him getting him back to the conv.
‘There is lot of respect for people here. The police is very strict . You can be jailed for the slightest crime . Justice is swift . No sheikh can say a bad word to me , I can complain and he will be behind bars ’
‘That’s a good feeling ’
‘If you commit a crime , you are instantly deported to your mulk . Women are safe here too, there is no crime here ’
The city is , I guess , wants to be un-Islamic as much as it can . There is a temple , a church , there are burial grounds for each religion , dress code is liberal .
The other day at the disc Touch , in Sheraton where I was staying , women were wearing close to nothing as they swayed away to rock music .Backless tops tied together by simple strings over short denim skirts is in no way Islamic . PDA was all around . Even muslim women don’t wear their black dark robes all the time . Shakira and Mariah Carey do concerts here . Alcohol , absolutely against Islamic law , is served in restaurants and even on the official airline , Emirates . . The city helps immigrants feel at home with its democraticity .
It is truly the land of the free.
The Desert safari was exciting , just as Christine , the ever grinning philipino travel agent executive had said . The Toyota landcruiser negotiated the soft dunes around the Oman border very well and with burly Pakistani Mohsin at the wheels , the monster gave us a great feel of miles of desert sand . The huge brown desert almost looked like a nude curvaceous woman as we drove up and down its contours . Four of us , two Turkish women , one american and me enjoyed the thrills of sand-dune driving .
Mohsin’s cellphone rang . I was amazed .
On top of one of the highest mounds , we could still catch the Etisalat signal .There are places in Mumbai where the signal is weak and here in the middle of miles and miles of desert with 44degree temperature on the dial , you can pick who you want to speak to and go ahead .
The two turkish women with us didn’t know a word of English and it was no fun communicating with them . One of them , wife of an engineer in Dubai for a conference was constantly referring to the Turkish-English dictionary for translation , killing all the excitement of knowing anything from these people of the Ottoman empire .
She did a small attempt at comparing skin colours though . I was the darkest , she was reddish with a tan that made her look very young and her companion stark white , the Paki was fair and the american was fairly white . She had a funny name too , but she looked in body frame pretty similar to someone beautiful I knew very well in college .
We exchanged snaps of our familes on our cell phones as we sat on cushions on the floor . The American didn’t have any snaps to share .
‘No family . No job . Just three strangers for company . ‘ he said , feeling out of place . Earrings on both his ears looked strange and his candidness was amazing.
Michigan , where he came from had seen severe depression and he was out of a job for some time now ,making odds meet by selling spectacles and glasses . So he took up his friends offer to come and see the middle east . From the part of the world he comes from , action had moved on , clearly to India and China .
Later at the camp, we were treated to the belly dancer’s performance . Didn’t like it as much as beautiful Brazilian Veronica’s back home in Pune .
Mohsin had earlier driven us through the Kings palace , the path to which was outlined with peacocks in full splendour . Just as one aimed to capture a peacock in the frame , a beautiful deer speeds across the road .
‘There are rabbits around too’, said Mohsin ‘And if you enter the palace , there are live tigers inside ‘
‘Real ?’
‘Real and alive .but they don’t harm you .’
‘The sheikh has over fifty cooks , one for each type of cuisine from each part of the world. And he has many wives . But we can’t talk about them , you know .
‘This , Peter , is royalty ’, I said ‘ Wealth , Women and Wine !’
Peter , the unassuming American from now-downtrodden Michigan , nodded .
‘Oil , Women and Sherbet , appropriately ’, I corrected myself
The two women nodded as if they understood what I was talking about .
Sheikh Naveen Jahanpanah would like to have Lebanese chicken with a dash of
Japanese sushi served with Russian strogonoff for lunch today . And do arrange for two of your best Turkish belly dancers to serve him his lunch with delectable Arabian roohafza date drink .He has decided not to go for sales calls today .
Aaaaah !
Saw the new movie , ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala ’,an alleged takeoff on underworld hitman Maya Dolas who was shot in an encounter years back in Mumbai, at the Grand Cinema at the imposing Hyatt complex .Apparantly , this is where don Dawood married his daughter off to Javed Miandad’s son .
The theatre was crowded with Indians . With an equal number of Indian , particularly Hindi , Malayalam movies and English movies everyday, the place mirrors multiplexes back home during a show .
Unlike a lot of other countries , there are Indians on all sides of the economy in Dubai . The Indian who sells at shop counters works for an Indian owner , and sells his products to Indian customers on the other side . Chances that the manufacturer is an Indian could be high too . The American economy is now throwing up many Indian heads of companies at firms like Vodafone , Pepsi , Citibank , but in Dubai they are heads of a huge number of businesses .They just only don’t run corner stores here .
With a local edition of the Malayala Manorama newspaper , 4 Hindi radio stations , 2 Malayalam stations giving news about Kerala every hour , local TV feeds of Sony , Star , Zee and Malayala Manorama , central schools , temples and movie premiers with film stars regularly , the 8 lac Indians here surely don’t miss home .
My hunt for an Apple ipod took me to the interiors of Deira . Friday is Dubai’s Sunday so nothing opens till 4 pm . So I caught Pirates of the Carribean in the afternoon and plunged into the streets of Deira lining the Makhtoum bridge and Al Gharir city malls .
Stopping by at the Jumbo electronics store looked like a good idea .
A huge apple shaped display with ipods hanging all over greeted customers at the entrance . The famed Dubai duty free street furniture just outside the shop was probably deliberately planned to be there .
‘Is it really cheap at the duty free ?’ I asked the bihari attendant at the counter straight.
‘Dekhiye , sasta toh hai . But no worldwide warrantee will be given ‘
‘How much will this ipod cost there ?’
‘For 2 Gb with 500 songs , our price is 599 dirhams , you could get it there at about 550 dirhams ‘
A bad shopper that I am , he confused the hell out of me . In New York , the Apple store on 5th avenue was selling this at $200 two years back, I remember . That’s 8200 rupees as per current dollar rate of 41 bucks to a dollar and here 550 dirhams is about 6000 rupees , cheaper than the Indian rate of 7500 rupees even today .
‘ Where is it made ?’
‘Apple policy , made in China , designed in California ‘
‘Made in China ?’
‘Assembled in China . Can’t manufacture in Japan anymore . Costs are very high’
‘I saw the full page ad in Khaleej Times on the riot in the new shop Sharafa in the mall of the emirates . They are selling at 550 dirhams with a free charger costing 50 dirhams . Do you have a similar offer ?’
‘We are launching an offer next week . But I don’t know details yet ‘, said he honestly .
Duty Free would have it cheaper , it was evident now. Since 550 dirhams was the lowest a retailer could go and Jumbo was matching the price .
‘599 dirhams ‘ , said a terse phillipino woman at the counter of Dubai Duty Free Electronics shoppe .
I dropped the idea again.
The Khaleej Times blaring headline today reported of the largest assembly of 9 warships holding drills off the coast of Iran through theStraits of Hormuz , a narrow channel in international waters and a major artery for he global oil shipments , with nearly 40% of global oil passing through these straits .
Iran vehemently denied having full nuclear capabilities in a press conference early in the morning today . But the warships have stealthily moved in in the night already .
Life in amazing under-construction Dubai goes on , utterly ignoring the political heat around it .
As the Emirates plane began its descent , the landscape that met the eye was just miles and miles of desert , giving the earth a very plain unimaginative feel , quite contrary to what Dubai actually turned out to be. ‘Welcome to Dusty Dubai ,’ the captain announced ,as we landed onto the hazy afternoon weather around the airport .
The whale-shaped airport building is like a primer to the architecturally splendidly built Dubai . There is an effort to look different and stand out by investing in the façade by all the buildings. It is a small city , but it makes a very good impression .In the middle of the desert they have created , probably , the most remarkable Arabian city ever .
David , ,the cabbie who came to pick me up , was sweating profusely , having waited for me outside the airport for a good half hour . ‘Its 44 degrees today ’ he said pointing to the dial on the dashboard.
I had felt the immense heat on my face as we had jumped into the car .
‘Is this the hottest ?’
‘No , it crosses 50degrees on some days . And the government declares a holiday on those days ’
We sped out of the beautiful airport building onto roads full of , what looked like , zillions of cars .
‘Dubai has just about 1.2 mn people .’, said David, introducing me to the city as we drove to the office . On the wrong side of 50 years , he is a well-informed Malayalee who has spent over half his life in Dubai . Listening to a Malayalam radio channel in the car , he resisted my request to change to a Hindi radio station , as he was in the middle of listening to news live from Kerala . Soon as the news finished , he tuned into 101.5 FM Dubai’s #1 Hindi station , playing the new ‘Cheeni Kum’ number .
Just 1.2 mn people !
To put that in perspective , there are just as many people only in Bandra , the suburb of the 20mn+ Mumbai city , which I call home .
The starkling thing about Dubai is that it is a city under construction . And as I met different kinds of people in different professions , I realized that it will probably stay that way till 2010 , when all of it will come to a head and Dubai will be the final destination for every office goer , worker , tourist or potential immigrant .
Mohammad Ali , a son-of-the-soil arab , is a first citizen amongst the 1.2 million people who inhabit this desert paradise , sixty percent of whom are immigrants from India . Rest are Arabs from other parts of the middle east and around 2-3 percent are westerners, who are here for business , Bush and his politics be dammed .
Ali is funding a part of the contruction frenzy in Dubai . He has a young European woman manning his front office and several Indian managers at senior positions .
‘All investments .All investmenst . Inshaallah , Dubai will be the world’s destination in 2010’,he says projecting into the air an expansive stroke as if to indicate the world .
Ambitious , surely .
‘70% of the world’s cranes are in Dubai ‘ said Satish , the marketing head of a local construction company , which is offering a private jet to people who offer to buy properties in its project Damac .
‘Can’t be true ‘
‘It is . In fact , Mahammed Alhabhai is building Dubailand – a US $70bn city within a city over a 3 billion square feet area with the worlds largest mall , sports city , , snowdome , the city of Arabia and the universal studios amusement park complete with Jurassic era dinosaurs et al . That one project itself has over 300 cranes all over the place and he is expecting to finish it next year ’
Asia Asia ,’added Satish , ‘will be the world’s largest hotel complex created by the Bawadi hospitality project in Dubai . And Tiger woods is building the world’s largest golf course here ’
I don’t know about the 70% , but the sheer amount of construction seen here is remarkable .
Yet , the city is very clean . Speeding on the Sheikh Zahed road , which connects Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi non-stop without traffic signals and snarls , one wonders about the ambitions of these filthy rich sheikhs sitting on oil reserves for the next 200 years and ploughing money into outlandish projects . The streets are littered with the swankiest cars – Aston martins , Mercs , Lamborginis , BMWs , Toyotas , Hondas ,Landcruisers – speeding away effortlessly – this could pass for any city in the US .
In the afternoon , we met Assad , a Syrian head of a Emaar , the Dubai state-owned construction company which is building the Burj Dubai ,which looks like a glass syringe , standing tall at over 800 metres ( beating Taipei towers 508 metre landmark ). Burj is Arabic for Tower.
‘The first rule when building the world’s tallest tower is to keep its height a secret , else someone else will beat you to being the tallest ‘said Assad .
I laughed , assuring him that to public knowledge , no such construction was taking place anywhere in the world .
‘The International Finance Tower in Hongkong is only 415 metres tall and the Shanghai World trade centre is 500 metres tall , no other building is taller than them right now. You have a 300 metre lead !’ , I said laughing
‘ Inshaallah . It is rising a floor every 2 days .’
‘That’s some speed , Ten storey projects in Mumbai take 3 years ! Where do you get the labour from ?’
‘ Lot of Indian workers are working there .’
‘Is it expensive to own a house here ?’
‘A 2-bed apartment on 75th floor of the Burj Dubai costs $1.5mn . But there a projects where a flat can cost around 150,000 to 600,000 dirhams .’
‘That’s not much ‘,I said . ‘My house in Mumbai is , well , 2.5 mn dirhams , 4 times as expensive ! ‘
‘Mumbai is expensive city . That’s why you should buy here ‘
Ah ! I see the logic pretty clearly . Dubai is two and a half hours from Mumbai , less than the time it takes to go to Kolkatta . The city gives a first world feeling at the price of a local ticket ! And with the construction keeping its pace , this will rival Singapore soon.
‘2010 is the year . It will be a landmark year as all the billion square feet on construction gets over and the city will be architecturally the most brilliant in the world ‘, Assad reiterted
‘But what is the source of the money to buy all properties here ?’
‘ Dubai is the financial hub of this country . It is a huge trading centre .People living here don’t buy properties here , it is an investment hub for people from all over the world ’
‘ Is there a manufacturing base ?
‘No, nothing is manufactured here due to the tax laws . You can’t own anything , 51% has to be owned by the government . There is a free zone created where things are beginning to get manufactured , but , you see , there is great political instability in the region . American companies don’t want to own anything here and show it in their books of accounts . Owning an asset in the gulf is worthless according to them . Iran is forty minutes from here . Tomorrow , they bomb Iran and a missile lands in Dubai , this dream is over , my friend ’ , Assad said gesturing furiously .
What a thought .
‘The new French president , Mr Sarkozy’s is a Jew and he could be close to Israel and therefore create create discord . Chirac was a friend ’,Assad said about the new political development after French election results .
Jacques Chirac was vehemently against the Israeli government as they competed for arms suppy into the gulf region . If Sarkozy leans to Israel , the Arab states will have an enemy at their gates .
‘ Life sure looks complex , Assad . This is just another world ‘
Sari Bou Karroum is an easy going Lebanese who , just as a lot of other Lebanese, is part of the advertising fraternity in Dubai . The biggest skillsets they bring to the table is the ability to speak Arabic and think well . Also they could easily pass off as Europeans with their great skin colour , a matter of great regard for Arabs . It gives them pride and therefore are not the easiest of people to deal with , unlike the Iraqis .
Sari is the Lebanese media supervisor of the firm Global Media Works ,Gmw.
‘I have heard of Bmw, now I know Gmw !’said me , wanting to break some ice.
Sari broke into easy laughter . The office at the Al Thuraya Towers overlooked the under-construction Palm Jumeira and the world , which is the map of the world being built in the sea , created out of reclaimed land . It would have many houses , offices , resorts and parks and bridges connecting the continents . A new definition of the world .
Man, what money can do !
‘So how are things back home ?’ , I asked him . Lebanon had just had a series of bombings by the Government in the internal areas of Beirut , apparently to weed out the terrorist group that was threatening not to rest till all of its Christian citizens had evacuated the country . The Lebanese government didn’t quite like the idea and threatened to bomb till the terrorist group didn’t leave Lebanon and an air of serious conflict erupted with many deaths .
‘Fortunately, the bombings are not near my home . Some miles away ‘said Sari , non-chalantly .
‘It’s a pity , that these things happen ‘ I said
‘For years ’, he said before jumping to shop-talk.
Zulfikar was another Lebanese head of international media buying at OMD , one of the largest advertising agencies in the region . He was very similar to Sari in his need for lots of data , SEC profiles and logical reasoning of the opportunity to look at India as a market .
Emad Al Enizy , on the other hand , the laid-back Iraqi is a great guy to talk to . He is all heart , as one can make out in the first ten minutes of conversation , even if it all hinges on work .Reddish in colour with a deep baritone , he is tough-looking without intent . Emad connected well as he shared life issues with us . His immediate need is to complete his education he felt , having had to stop it mid-way.
‘India , I want to study there’he said
‘Any college in mind ?’ I asked in earnest
‘No,no. I enroll for the course online . They send me books ,I appear exams online.’
‘An open university , you mean ?’
‘Yes,yes. I like Indian teachers ‘
‘Really’
‘Yes, in Baghdad , lot of my teachers were Indian . We understand very well from them . They are good teachers .’
‘ Interesting ’
‘I want to do degree in arts . In todays age , need to have education , Don’t know what kind of jobs are there and where one has to work ‘
‘Yeah ,lot of people study in India . I stayed once with a Palestinian army major who was studying marine science in Goa’
Palestine is close to everyone’s heart this part of the world . Their homelessness and general Israeli dominance of the region cuts a cord and gets the Arabs closer .
Emad had a tired look in his eyes , unlike the bright sharp look of lots-of-bombing-back-home -Sari or Zulfikar . Sari would have been younger , probably by a good five years .
But the one thing they all had in common was hope and optimism , inspite of being subjected to political , mental and physical tortune over years .
I stopped by at a corner store to pick up some water .
‘1.5 dirhams ‘, said the malayalee owner of the store
Thats quite normal , translating to about 16 rupees . But , a small comparison stumps you - Petrol costs only 1 dirham per litre .
Marhaba Dubai – petrol is cheaper than water here !
One can say that the middle east’s claim to fame is the control of more than 40% of the world’s oil reserves . The price of oil has surged from just under $20 a barrel in 2002 to over $70 a barrel last week , catalyzing a burst of very rapid growth in the region . The US has been trying to therefore destabilize this region so as not to let them rule the oil pricing with their sway over OPEC . The Gulf Cooperation Council –GCC , is set to emerge as a parallel powerful body with all the middle east countries not wanting to get influenced unduly by the western hegemony . And seeing the spirited growth of India and China , the arab states are using renewed control over oil prices to redefine prosperity in the region , attempting to end their past fluctuating fortunes .With a huge demand from India and China and other emerging market countries , there could be a trillion dollar windfall awaiting the Gulf and the economy could grow by leaps and bounds .
Oil has also defined fame ,friendships and fortune in this region . Iran has fought Iraq . Iraq has run over Kuwait . Lebanon has bombed Syria . America has friends in Saudi Arabia .
Religion has defined the rest of life . Israel and its Jews have fought every Arab around them – Syrians , Lebanese , Jordanians , Egyptians , Saudi Arabians and Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization for years . While UAE and Saudi Arabia have put oil to good use in increasing prosperity for people , Iran , on the other hand , as the fourth largest oil producer in the world is struggling to grow . It severely lacks oil refining capabilities making it a simple exporter of crude . Its seven million cars consume the same amount of oil as the 35million cars on UK roads due to the primitive engines of fuel-inefficient locally made Peykans . This India-China demand opportunity staring at Iran must have made America look at creating a fresh disruption in the region . With Iraq out of the way , Lebanon facing internal strife , probably Iran is their next target .
Dubai has oil for the next 40 years , but its economy isn’t dependent any longer on the fortunes of oil trade . That has been very smartly maneouvred by its ruling family of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum , to be least dependent on Oil , instead creating a new structure of growth using the auto , finance , construction and tourism sectors . And making it un-islamic , it has attracted people from all over .
Hopefully , neither oil nor religion will show its ugly face in Dubai .
I saw the Ski Dubai yesterday . It’s just what money can do , in the middle of 45 degree heat , these guys have created a minus 15 degree experience .It is freezing cold inside , you need to wear extremely warm clothing , gloves else you could get frostbite , caps , mufflers as if you are in Swiss Alps . It has cable cars , ski-able slopes that stretch right to the top at a 60 degree incline and coniferous forest covered with dense snow all around !
Aslam , the Pakistani taxi driver , one of the many pak drivers here , who drove me back to the hotel was an easy conversationalist. With Hindi songs from the newest movie blaring from the radio sprinkled with conversations with Preity Zinta , it could be just another day in good ‘ol Mumbai.
We hit 160 on the speedometer on Sheikh Zayed road , the official speedlimit for this 8-lane highway that connected Dubai airport to Abu Dhabi non-stop without a signal in between . The average speed in Mumbai is , well , on a good day , 15 kmph .
‘How many years have you been here ?’ I asked
‘Fifteen years ‘
‘You have family ‘
“Yes ‘
‘Kids’
‘Yes , one ‘
‘You like it here ?’
‘It’s a Good city . Cleaner than any city in Pakistan . no dogs , no beggars ’.
No crows , if I may add , coming from the crow capital of India.
‘I agree ’, I added enthusiastically ,‘And just an hour and half away from home for you from Islamabad , maybe ’
‘Yes ‘
As we sped through the highway crossing one of the largest malls in Dubai called the Mall of the Emirates , I saw the sheer height of skyscrapers here . Many 80-100 storey building dotted the landscape . Photographing them was irresistible .
‘Money is good ?‘
‘You make much more money that you can ever make back home .
‘Good for you. But do you think Benazir will be back in power ?’
‘No way. ‘ he said pointing to a huge white building , most buildings in Dubai are white ,
yeh Benazir ka hai . Ab who wapas nahin jayaga ‘ Pakistanis , I have realized , speak Hindi in a deliberate sort of way , using masculine for everything . They just sacked their foreign minister for huggin her eighty year old paragliding instructor after a jump.
‘Musharaff nahin jayega ‘ he concluded on his country’s political quagmire .
‘But aren’t you secondary citizens here ?’I asked him getting him back to the conv.
‘There is lot of respect for people here. The police is very strict . You can be jailed for the slightest crime . Justice is swift . No sheikh can say a bad word to me , I can complain and he will be behind bars ’
‘That’s a good feeling ’
‘If you commit a crime , you are instantly deported to your mulk . Women are safe here too, there is no crime here ’
The city is , I guess , wants to be un-Islamic as much as it can . There is a temple , a church , there are burial grounds for each religion , dress code is liberal .
The other day at the disc Touch , in Sheraton where I was staying , women were wearing close to nothing as they swayed away to rock music .Backless tops tied together by simple strings over short denim skirts is in no way Islamic . PDA was all around . Even muslim women don’t wear their black dark robes all the time . Shakira and Mariah Carey do concerts here . Alcohol , absolutely against Islamic law , is served in restaurants and even on the official airline , Emirates . . The city helps immigrants feel at home with its democraticity .
It is truly the land of the free.
The Desert safari was exciting , just as Christine , the ever grinning philipino travel agent executive had said . The Toyota landcruiser negotiated the soft dunes around the Oman border very well and with burly Pakistani Mohsin at the wheels , the monster gave us a great feel of miles of desert sand . The huge brown desert almost looked like a nude curvaceous woman as we drove up and down its contours . Four of us , two Turkish women , one american and me enjoyed the thrills of sand-dune driving .
Mohsin’s cellphone rang . I was amazed .
On top of one of the highest mounds , we could still catch the Etisalat signal .There are places in Mumbai where the signal is weak and here in the middle of miles and miles of desert with 44degree temperature on the dial , you can pick who you want to speak to and go ahead .
The two turkish women with us didn’t know a word of English and it was no fun communicating with them . One of them , wife of an engineer in Dubai for a conference was constantly referring to the Turkish-English dictionary for translation , killing all the excitement of knowing anything from these people of the Ottoman empire .
She did a small attempt at comparing skin colours though . I was the darkest , she was reddish with a tan that made her look very young and her companion stark white , the Paki was fair and the american was fairly white . She had a funny name too , but she looked in body frame pretty similar to someone beautiful I knew very well in college .
We exchanged snaps of our familes on our cell phones as we sat on cushions on the floor . The American didn’t have any snaps to share .
‘No family . No job . Just three strangers for company . ‘ he said , feeling out of place . Earrings on both his ears looked strange and his candidness was amazing.
Michigan , where he came from had seen severe depression and he was out of a job for some time now ,making odds meet by selling spectacles and glasses . So he took up his friends offer to come and see the middle east . From the part of the world he comes from , action had moved on , clearly to India and China .
Later at the camp, we were treated to the belly dancer’s performance . Didn’t like it as much as beautiful Brazilian Veronica’s back home in Pune .
Mohsin had earlier driven us through the Kings palace , the path to which was outlined with peacocks in full splendour . Just as one aimed to capture a peacock in the frame , a beautiful deer speeds across the road .
‘There are rabbits around too’, said Mohsin ‘And if you enter the palace , there are live tigers inside ‘
‘Real ?’
‘Real and alive .but they don’t harm you .’
‘The sheikh has over fifty cooks , one for each type of cuisine from each part of the world. And he has many wives . But we can’t talk about them , you know .
‘This , Peter , is royalty ’, I said ‘ Wealth , Women and Wine !’
Peter , the unassuming American from now-downtrodden Michigan , nodded .
‘Oil , Women and Sherbet , appropriately ’, I corrected myself
The two women nodded as if they understood what I was talking about .
Sheikh Naveen Jahanpanah would like to have Lebanese chicken with a dash of
Japanese sushi served with Russian strogonoff for lunch today . And do arrange for two of your best Turkish belly dancers to serve him his lunch with delectable Arabian roohafza date drink .He has decided not to go for sales calls today .
Aaaaah !
Saw the new movie , ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala ’,an alleged takeoff on underworld hitman Maya Dolas who was shot in an encounter years back in Mumbai, at the Grand Cinema at the imposing Hyatt complex .Apparantly , this is where don Dawood married his daughter off to Javed Miandad’s son .
The theatre was crowded with Indians . With an equal number of Indian , particularly Hindi , Malayalam movies and English movies everyday, the place mirrors multiplexes back home during a show .
Unlike a lot of other countries , there are Indians on all sides of the economy in Dubai . The Indian who sells at shop counters works for an Indian owner , and sells his products to Indian customers on the other side . Chances that the manufacturer is an Indian could be high too . The American economy is now throwing up many Indian heads of companies at firms like Vodafone , Pepsi , Citibank , but in Dubai they are heads of a huge number of businesses .They just only don’t run corner stores here .
With a local edition of the Malayala Manorama newspaper , 4 Hindi radio stations , 2 Malayalam stations giving news about Kerala every hour , local TV feeds of Sony , Star , Zee and Malayala Manorama , central schools , temples and movie premiers with film stars regularly , the 8 lac Indians here surely don’t miss home .
My hunt for an Apple ipod took me to the interiors of Deira . Friday is Dubai’s Sunday so nothing opens till 4 pm . So I caught Pirates of the Carribean in the afternoon and plunged into the streets of Deira lining the Makhtoum bridge and Al Gharir city malls .
Stopping by at the Jumbo electronics store looked like a good idea .
A huge apple shaped display with ipods hanging all over greeted customers at the entrance . The famed Dubai duty free street furniture just outside the shop was probably deliberately planned to be there .
‘Is it really cheap at the duty free ?’ I asked the bihari attendant at the counter straight.
‘Dekhiye , sasta toh hai . But no worldwide warrantee will be given ‘
‘How much will this ipod cost there ?’
‘For 2 Gb with 500 songs , our price is 599 dirhams , you could get it there at about 550 dirhams ‘
A bad shopper that I am , he confused the hell out of me . In New York , the Apple store on 5th avenue was selling this at $200 two years back, I remember . That’s 8200 rupees as per current dollar rate of 41 bucks to a dollar and here 550 dirhams is about 6000 rupees , cheaper than the Indian rate of 7500 rupees even today .
‘ Where is it made ?’
‘Apple policy , made in China , designed in California ‘
‘Made in China ?’
‘Assembled in China . Can’t manufacture in Japan anymore . Costs are very high’
‘I saw the full page ad in Khaleej Times on the riot in the new shop Sharafa in the mall of the emirates . They are selling at 550 dirhams with a free charger costing 50 dirhams . Do you have a similar offer ?’
‘We are launching an offer next week . But I don’t know details yet ‘, said he honestly .
Duty Free would have it cheaper , it was evident now. Since 550 dirhams was the lowest a retailer could go and Jumbo was matching the price .
‘599 dirhams ‘ , said a terse phillipino woman at the counter of Dubai Duty Free Electronics shoppe .
I dropped the idea again.
The Khaleej Times blaring headline today reported of the largest assembly of 9 warships holding drills off the coast of Iran through theStraits of Hormuz , a narrow channel in international waters and a major artery for he global oil shipments , with nearly 40% of global oil passing through these straits .
Iran vehemently denied having full nuclear capabilities in a press conference early in the morning today . But the warships have stealthily moved in in the night already .
Life in amazing under-construction Dubai goes on , utterly ignoring the political heat around it .
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