DUBAI - THE WATERING HOLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST

My world was a well. Anything outside it was strictly Non-Bengali and was measured against the only yardstick I knew for the longest time - The undisputable Bong culture and its unforgivable condescending outlook to life. My marriage to an army officer changed everything. I could not have been more surprised at was a freefall experience into the unknown. All Punjabis were not Sikhs I realized for one. That South Indians spoke three distinct languages and were as different as chalk and cheese was yet another revelation - rudiments of a basic course in life that made me conscious of the exapnsive ocean outside my well. Those ripples have been spreading, taking me in a frog leap into new dimensions, unexplored, unheard of, ever since.

Dubai has opened a new gateway of experience that goes beyond its touristy attraction of a luxury destination. It is an amazing tapestry of people and culture, unseen in any other part of the world. I have been using the last few days absorbing this teeming stream of colour, language and culture that creates the unique Dubai flavor. Here’s a broad brush of my first impression. I should be able to form some opinion of my own soon but right now it is just what I see and hear.

It is the people I like watching most and here it is a sea of people from every possible part of the world. A global village in its truest sense. There are a few communities that stand out for whatever reasons. Iranians top that list. I am told UAE has a good share of real estate investment from Iranians as much as South Asians. Dubai is the most Iranian of all cities with trade ties between the two countries still very strong. Despite a 30-year feud over three Gulf islands, which the UAE considers occupied by Iran and the frequent political turmoil over Washington’s reaction to Tehran, business men and professionals make a large percentage of Dubai’s expat population. Graceful and elegant the Iranian women are easily recognizable in their pristine beauty, strong aquiline features and unblemished skin. Oh they are soo beautiful! (They form really a small percentage of the population though.)

Right out of a Renaissance Botticelli painting, the fashion conscious Lebanese are the other set of beautiful people floating around. If Iranians are regal, they are chic. They have great taste and their love for good things in life may take them to buy fake Armanis and Guccis or a second hand BMW, but can they help it? After all Lebanon was not called the Paris of the Middle East for nothing. Decade long civil war and infighting with the Hezbolla guerillas may have left their economy staggering but these sprightly beautiful people in their proud bearing are reminiscent of their Ottoman genealogy and their French connections. They have a strangle hold on the media in Dubai and are all part of the hip and happening crowd.

The Egyptians are the next noticeable lot. They are of mixed blood - Nubians, Greek, Turks and Arabs. Egyptian women are mostly stalky but with lovely complexion. From what I gathered from my conversations with a few, they could be our blood brothers too. The people who are good are brilliant. They are doctors, engineers or working in responsible govt. positions - These are mostly the elite Alexandrians who have grown up under more European influence. Then there are those from Upper Egypt, the simple hard working lot and the street smart Cairo lot. The aggressive minority who manage to attract a lot of attention every now and then, like the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, does not necessarily represent the gentry. I am not sure I recognise the Jordanians that easily. They like Kuwaitis form a smallest faction of expat Arab community here. All Persian/Arab women look like made up dolls with grandiose eye makeup - the only bit that they are allowed to display. They wear very chic outfits under their unglamorous but nicely emroidered and even sometimes gem studded black hijab.

The others expats are the English, Western Europeans, Russians, those from Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Australians. The English have a special status here and occupy the most coveted jobs in advisory posts. More about them later. There are also a handful of Kenyans, South Africans and Sudanese.

The Indians, Pathans and Bangladeshis the South Asians form majority of the population. While drivers are usually Pathans construction labourers are mainly from India. Bangladeshis occupy the low skill menial services. South Asians are everywhere and so are the Phillipinos. Infact Phillipinos are the preferred lot in the service sector(for their ability to do repeated boring low skill jobs without tiring). The Philipinas come here with the single minded desire to earn a living and marry a white, I am told and they usually succeed on both counts.

UAE till in the 70’s and the 80’s used to be largely dominated by Indians. So much so the Arabs had learnt a smattering of Urdu/Hindi because they were surrounded by Indians everywhere. This must have raised an alarm at some point when the govt. consciously sought to correct its demography by giving itself a new business model. From a small slumbering town Dubai gradually became a luxury tourist destination and a financial hub. The Emirates Airport, the Jabel Ali Port and the various free zones within Dubai facilitated this new growth.

Today Dubai is the most modern of the Emiratis and its unique secular cosmopolitan ambience is an enviable feature – a role model of sorts in entire Middle East and a watering hole for the Arabs too who have a place in here to let their hair down.