Dubai :)

Dubai.
The City. The Desert. The Roads. The Cars. The Malls. The Metro. The Towers. The People.

These past few weeks, I have seemed to realize once again, why I loved growing up in this city which is such a whirlwind of what we call, life. :) There’s this movie which was released recently, “The City of Life”, is what it is called. And trust me, the moment I got out of the cinema hall, I started looking at this wonderful city in a different light. Yes, I DID see the very high cost-of-living. I DID see the struggle of every man to ‘make it’. I DID see the not-so-pretty side of everything. And even when I give you this glittery, shining, image of Dubai to look at, I still remember the many things that remain hidden, for most of the time, behind the granduer that surrounds the word “Dubai”.

When I left Dubai, back in 2007, and went to Hyderabad. I was nothing less than fascinated. I was shocked momentarily, seeing what life in India was like. And it wasn’t that I had never stayed in India before. It was just that this was the first time, that I had felt ‘Welcome’. :) . The feeling of “Coming Home” as they call it. Yes, I did end up spending most of my time stuck between 4 walls trying to crack the JEE, but I did feel the essence of Hyderabad. I love that place, and always will.

But it made me forget, those things about Dubai, that I shall now, always try to remember. Those small things like having a Subway, or a McD, or a BR, at every corner. :P. Or those big things, like the fact that, we are able to survive in the city-in-the-desert, during the hot summer months. And those irritating things like the evening traffic or the afternoon heat. Those very minute things, like the way all of us, from various countries, regions, localities, communities, castes, and religions, seem to ‘bond’ in way, I find beautiful.

The way, an Indian talks and laughs about the recent T-20 world cup, with a Pakistani taxi-driver. :D The way, a Filipino shop-attendant, gives fashion advice to a young beautiful French lady. The way, a church exists right next to a mosque. The way, BITS and Manipal, have campuses right-next-door in Dubai. :P The way, a Hindu and a Muslim fall in love, and the relationship blossoms for the years to come. (Sappy eh? :D But yes, this DID happen.)

The way, a few weeks in Dubai, can make you fall in love with it all over again.
No longer will I ever feel this sense of missing out, when people tell me that I have grown up outside India. No longer will I feel bad when people tell me that I have missed out on the ‘learning experience’. Because, staying in Dubai, and then in Hyderabad, has given me a sense of satisfaction. It has taught me much more than many people learn in many years. I have a sense of joy now, a sense of elation, a sense of pride, when I realize that I have lived in not one, but two cities. Two whirlwinds of life.

And my smile only widens, when I look upon the fact that, my journey has just begun.