JUMMA JABBER

FRIDAY... it is Jumma, the official weekend in Dubai and means a whole lot of things to a whole lot of people. It is usually the laundry day for most and clothes lines are invariably a rainbow flutter. It also means storing up the deep freezers and spending an extra hour in the kitchen to stir up some fresh broth…So in a way a flurry of activities even when u really want to just laze and unwind.


But then sooner or later you head for a mall because that is your life line. You shop for yr groceries there, meet up friends for a chinwag over a cuppa, do a bit of fun stuff like roller skating or enjoy an exotic dancing fountain to sooth your jangling nerves.

Just about everything but serious buying - even with ‘Ramadan’ festoons fluttering everywhere and attractive discount sales cajoling buyers to forget the recession. There can be no eating or drinking in the open till ‘Iftaar’(sundown) so the real rush is in the evenings which lasts way past midnight. It is such a beautiful sight - a sea of people dotting the vast expanse of this flitting collage.

Dubai is extremely hot and humid right now, even when it is towards the end of its summers. I actually love my walks in the cool climes of these malls (in sneakers and with a pedometer…That’s serious!). With average rentals slipping south, footfalls and conversions in the malls are a major pointer to the health of the economy. Who knows I may actually soon spearhead the new trend of ‘mall jogging’. These failing retail outlets will break even if they charge a small amount for using its space for long walks or charity marathons. That will surely be a lot of footfall in record time. Anyone listening?



Driving around in Dubai is really fun especially when someone else is behind the wheel. The Sheik Zaid, the main arterial road in Dubai and the Emirates (both twelve lane duel carriage ways) make this zippy experience even more entertaining with “nation ka fun station 89.1” FM radio tossing out some great music and hilarious comparing. So if you are not driving you can have your feet curled up, enjoying the ride. If your driver is a practiced 'Salik' (road toll) dodger then you are in for a bonus adventure. You cut through narrow bylanes and swerve along construction sites, get lost at unknown exits for the sheer thrill of evading a 4 Dhs pass. It is another thing that you may end up paying two to six hundred Dhs for accidental speeding (who said dodging was easy?) But then you give some to get some. Life is a rollercoaster.

That takes me to the Dubai Metro - the next big happening story from Dubai. I shall hopefully cover the news separately in greater detail but for a little snoopy tidbit let me share this. I am told the already beleaguered malls are anticipating a serious problem with the commuters who plan to park their cars in the free parking space of the malls. For a hefty fee some of the malls managed to get stations built right in the front of their properties (to attract more buyers) but they had not envisaged the parking issue at that juncture. Now all hell has broken loose and parking in these malls may cost a fair penny. Now won’t that reduce the footfall even further, especially when there is no dearth of malls in Dubai? Something to mull over!

I will come back with more nuggets soon…Till then Ramadan Kareem