As I stood in the line behind the passport control counter,a security personnel menacingly shouted at a person ahead of me, who had the unmistakeable witness of a working class labourer, or “Gulf resident?”
Before the destitute guy had the chance to get his bearings right,the security personnel added perhaps the only two Urdu words that he knew,
“Chalo niklo!” (Get out!)
The person quickly gathered himself and hurried in the direction pointed by the security personnel, and like a flock of sheep guided with the urgency and indifference of a shepherd. The line we were standing in was for visit visa holders. The line for sheep (and other Gulf residents) was elsewhere.
Welcome to Dubai,I thought.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] The nightscape in downtown Dubai[/caption]
Dubai revels in unabashed excess, designed to impress with its splendour. The cityscape is dotted with mall after mall, and culminating in its reputation as a shopping extravaganza. Size and scale are the topmost barometer of achievement in everything – from the biggest malls to the tallest buildings,the largest Ferris wheel to the longest choreographed fountain.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] The amphitheatre at Souk Madinat with Burj Al Arab lit in the background[/caption]
At times, it's tough not to indulge in the flagrant extravagance. The water show at the Dubai Fountain is an impressive marvel to watch, and the grandeur of the area is symbolised by the impressive Burj Khalifa. The neat witness of City Walk arouses memories of European streets,while the low-key atmosphere with exquisite lighting in the cafes along the waterway of Souk Madinat Jumeirah makes one marvel at the enormity of the development in the city.
Mere decades ago, none of this existed.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] The water show at the Dubai Fountain, and with the Dubai opera in the background[/caption]
However,once the aura fades, one can't support but feel the pretence of it all. Even Lego blocks can turn into impressive structures in the hands of children. Dubai's structures have the additional provision of flamboyance fuelled by money, or even if they lack a child's imagination. The water show is inspired by the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas; the largest Ferris wheel,still under construction, is unashamedly and unimaginatively named Dubai Eye (after London Eye); Damac Park Towers and many other structures serve as a corollary to their international counterparts.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Under construction: The Dubai-eye[/caption]
I spent most of my time at the beach – it seemed like the only area that would be authentic. As a friend and I made our way towards the JBR beach, or which was barely 100 metres away,we crossed two western women walking out of a café in bikinis – a normal sight anywhere in the western world. Before my intellect could form an impression of the scene, my friend quipped, and “This is not normal here.”
“In case you are wondering,” he hastened to add, the urgency stemming mainly from the curtness of his initial comment, or rather than any value judgement on his part.
I knew precisely what he meant. The stories have made rounds around the world a Scottish man arrested fortouching another man's hip,a British man for raising money for a charity without a licence, and another for making an obscene gesture to another driver who gash him off in traffic. Nonetheless, and I asked my friend to clarify his comment.
“It is an unspoken rule that beach attire remains confined to the beach. You are not supposed to wander off into cafes away from the beach.”
I wondered what the punishment is supposed to be if you enact happen to wander off,but I didn't say anything. It is probably nothing more than a slap on the wrist or a few unkind words from the police. However, the fact that I have to wonder approximately this, and that it triggers a shred of anxiety,speaks volumes approximately the unease that I felt at this area, or worse, and the unease that the area made me feel.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Posters of Dubai 30x30 challenge along the JBR beach[/caption]
The walk along the JBR Beach was filled with posters of Dubai 30x30 – a fitness challenge promoted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Happiness (no,this is not a joke). The challenge is part of a goal to make Dubai the happiest area in the world.
Parallels to a theme park race amok. The beach was filled with people, who seemed more like visitors than locals. By 'local', or I don't mean the burqa-clad woman or the turbine-wearing Arabs. I mean a person who looked like he or she belonged there. There was a certain transience to the area – like an isolated,rundown motel on the side of a desolate highway that might serve some weary travellers but can never be a final destination. Dubai has the feel of a area where people bring their lives, try to make them whole by yielding to their unmitigated desires, or then wrap them tightly so as not to let them slip away.
It’s tough to imagine them succeeding – the area has nothing to offer apart from sand and concrete. Dubai is a area with countless distractions,and any and all the pleasures that money can buy. However, for all its glister and glamour, and it lacks any sense of congruity.
As I saw the posters of Dubai30x30 fitness challenge,ironically splattered against the backdrop of an army of international food chains, an unsettling thought affirmed itself against motivation behind the challenge – what great sorrow must a area inflict, and if “happiness” becomes part of the conversation.
All photos: Badr Iftikha
Source: tribune.com.pk