After almost thirty years of living in Dubai, I left. Although the possibility of packing up had been hovering as a ‘someday’, the actual decision felt like an anvil hitting the pit of my stomach. I spent my last month in the city driving down forgotten streets, having long conversations by the beach with overly sweetened tea and basically soaking in as much of the past as I could before having to cut the cord. And before I knew it my visa was cancelled, the tickets were booked, suitcases and cartons stuffed after hours spent weighing on what were the real ‘essentials’ needed ( I’m basically an emotional hoarder who can attach the tiniest memories to thoroughly useless objects) and I was off to the airport.
I am no longer officially an NRI.
Reaching this point has not been easy and even now there are several times in a day I have to stand still, make an effort to breathe and release the knot that forms in my head. Is this the most ridiculous thing we’re doing? Is my attempt to live out the “But what if I fly?” mantra going to land me in some god-forsaken crevice filled with darkness and crocodiles? Shit, shit, shit- where do I begin this whole attempt to re-boot my existence?
The most painful part of this juncture has been saying good-bye to a city and people who have made me the person I am. The UAE was the country my father came to with nothing in his pocket. He worked like a mad dog and damn well made sure his daughters would never know the true magnitude of his struggles. He was part of the first generation of expatriates that partook in the stupendous transformation of a city from absolute aridity to a vista of skyscrapers that devour today’s skies.
We shared our home with other families, went for barbecues and picnics to Khorfakkan over weekends, sat in the car for hours as my father waited for his civil drawings to get plotted at the printers, went for swimming and tennis lessons at the Indian Sports Club (back when it was called that). My sister and I grew up with several comforts, the most important one being getting to spend enough time with our parents.
In 2012 my father was given the letter by his company. I was at work and he called me up, telling me to come home in the evening. He gave me the piece of paper and sat watching me read it. It felt so heavy; the weight of all his work committed to one organization dissolving in words saying he was not needed anymore but thank you very much, the impending goodbyes to a city, family, friends and most importantly – a house.
Home is where the heart is, but what if your heart is actually made up of little pieces that get deposited over time into concrete walls, lemon tree leaves, battered re-upholstered couches? How do you pack that home where the walls are layered with twenty-two years of paint coats mixed with memories of joy and pain?
It was the night they walked for the last time down the cobbled pathway of an uprooted garden that changed something within me forever. Seeing my mother wail like she had never before and my father sitting in the car outside the house stone-faced and holding back his pain, I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.
Now it is my turn, to get away and start over. The security that has been given to me by this city has also had a crippling effect by cocooning me into a state of disconnection from the rest of the world. Ahead of me is a clouded path without any safety nets or signs. I am bungee-jumping from an orderly, clean and safe environment to a jungle of chaos and clamor. India is a whole mess of its own that is going to entail a revolution of my insides in order to survive it, but for now it is my refuge, somewhere I don’t need a visa for.
Dubai is where I grew up, where I discovered myself, the love of my life, people I have come to cherish and value. I don’t think I can truly ever say good-bye to a place that houses so many of my secrets and memories. Although it is futile to long for it to go back to the city that it once was, a slower, more community-focused one, that doesn’t stop me from wishing it often. Too much has changed too fast and eroded a lot of what made the city meaningful to expatriates and that breaks my heart. But as they say, that’s life right?
Dear Dubai, I will miss you more than I can ever imagine. Pockets of memories are stitched all over your glittering landscape; meandering through Meena Bazar’s gullies while looking for matching material and haggling with tailors before making the mandatory pit-stop at the little samosa and falafel shack where kitchen-gloves are never worn, driving down ever-bright Diyafah street and grabbing a mixed-fruit juice from Al Mallah, drinking pitchers of margaritas at Cactus Cantina and then heading to Copacabana’s for a night of dancing, feeling my stomach lurch with giddiness as we descend a flyover in Sharjah, sauntering through Mall of the Emirates with hopes that retail therapy will calm my tired soul, swearing at crazy drivers who cut me off on Sheikh Zayed road, relishing the calm of the waves at the beach on a humid night with the muezzin’s call breaking the silence.
I don’t know where I’m heading but at this point in my life I have decided to trade stagnation for struggle. I want to write, I want to observe raw humanity in its infinite forms and capture it with words, I want to raise my daughter in an authentic setting that will prepare her more for reality, I want to travel and people-watch, I want to go a little mad and stack up achievements that I am actually proud of. All these things and much more are scribbled around in an imaginary scrap of paper in my head and it is time to get down to making it all happen. Maybe I’ll get one done, or ten, or none. Who knows? For now all I can say is that I’m going to try.
July 23, 2017 at 4:08 pm
Nice writing.so touching. Continue writing about your experience in India too. Love to read
July 23, 2017 at 7:10 pm
Very moving piece, as I would have expected. Your perspective will change with time. One year out of the UAE, I remember good friends, a fun place to work and what else? Horrendous traffic? Nightmare officialdom? Killer weather? Now I’m somewhere where I understand the rules, the codes of behaviour and, whilst it may not have the manic excitement of Dubai, it won’t have the bad things. Four foot floods after heavy rain? Don’t miss it. Weekend drives on a booze run, avoiding locals looking to stage an accident and extract money? Don’t miss it. Temperatures so hot that it’s impossible to work? Don’t miss it. Superficiality and style over substance? Don’t miss it. What I do miss are colleagues and friends who made my time in Dubai bearable. Thank you, Nandini, for in a small way being one of those pieces in the puzzle that made Dubai somewhere I could survive for 12 years of my life…
July 23, 2017 at 11:25 pm
Similar story here too. Thank you for a little chance to reminisce about bygone days.
Few other things set the wheel in motion for me too, but that is life.
Now in Canada, I count myself as a proud Canadian, no more someone without a home to call my own. Yet I have to say I have left something in a different timeframe in Dubai. It’s not there now, sometimes I navigate the streets through Google Street View, but it’s not the same place I left 10 years ago.
I miss the Old Dubai. Glad to know it still exists in the hearts and minds of some of us.
July 24, 2017 at 4:08 am
Sadly that desire to cherish the past can also knock you in the head . It has been so hard for me to adapt and accept the rapidness of the city’s charm getting phased out in the name of progress . Maybe I could have stayed if I was able to let go .
Canada is beautiful ! We had been there years ago and everything about it (besides the taxes of course !) is so wonderful . Hope you’re happy and well .
August 1, 2017 at 3:55 pm
My parent’s came here in 70s I am born here my wife is born here my 3 kids are born here but still we can’t call it home what a place where sheep’s act as lions and lions behave as sheep’s 3rd generation still strangers,
July 24, 2017 at 3:26 am
You know its almost 9am here & as I read this, my eyes are controlling itself not to well up with tears. I have been in the UAE since I was 5. I had to move back to India just 4 months back as I got married & these sentiments feel like my own !
July 24, 2017 at 4:04 am
Thank you ! You know writing this was so hard. But seeing people ping me saying they feel the same bittersweet emotions reading this has given me so much relief . Hope you are enjoying married life !
July 24, 2017 at 4:18 am
Thanks for asking and yes I am enjoying this new phase . But UAE will never go out of my mind and I hope someday I go back 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 4:31 am
This article got shared on a friend’s wall and I came by to read it… I have been in UAE close to 35 years now, that’s my entire lifetime… my parents have gone back for good 3 years ago and thankfully they have well adjusted to life back home and are enjoying themselves. Once they moved out, my husband and I gave up the flat they were staying in for 29 years and moved closer to his business. Each time we pass by there, I feel a heaviness that I can’t explain but when I think of the positives I traded it for, I am OK with it. My husband constantly talks about going back home and settling and I keep pushing him not to talk about it, but that is ultimate truth. Whether we are born here or not, our childhood is here, we did our complete studies here, we worked here, it doesn’t matter. At the end of it all, we have to leave a piece of our heart and go back to what is called our country, the passport which we own. It is scary, looks like a long route with no end but that’s always the final deal. Some go alive, some even go dead… We all know that UAE will never include us but we still include UAE into all of us… Kudos on the decision you have taken, I wish I had the courage to tell my husband that I am ready for it, to take it up managing a household and sending the girls off to schools there which are nothing like what it is here (every way!). All the very best…
July 25, 2017 at 8:31 pm
Hey Rafeeda,I feel like you are my soul twin. I know the heaviness you talk about. It’s painful and indescribable. UAE will always be there in our hearts, for all that it has given us and all we have built in it. I wish you and your family luck too. And don’t worry, courage will come at the right time . 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 4:39 am
I read your post with a heavy heart and was constantly struggling to keep my tears behind. It could soo much relate to all what you wrote.. I am now in India for the last 17 years but i still miss Dubai soo much. That place is like home to me where i grew up, made my best of friends and like u penned it memories and secrets :).
Even though i am settled in Bangalore but deep inside me i still wish to go back n settle there. Due to life’s professional and personal constraints am not sure if that will ever be possible , but i would like to keep that dream alive in me for ever. Insha Allah!
Hope you have a great life where ever you are now !:)
July 26, 2017 at 4:17 pm
Thank you for letting my words move you. It is the biggest compliment for any writer. I hope you get the opportunity to go back like you dream. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 4:51 am
So beautifully expressed. Only somebody who has gone through the motions will get this. I just repatriated after 10 years of living in a place that I used to call home. Am back to the grind, facing new realities and trying.
July 26, 2017 at 4:16 pm
Oh the grind is going to hack away at me soon. Eeeks. All the best to you . I guess we are in the same boat from now 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 5:06 am
I hear you. I grew up in Dubai.. Lived there for first 16 years of my life. And then moved to India for higher studies. I still miss Dubai and the wonderful life there even after 21 yrs of living in India. Everyday stresses of life are much less there compared to India.
July 24, 2017 at 5:46 am
Best of luck sangee, hope only the best for you
July 24, 2017 at 5:55 am
So beautifully written..my eyes welled up..I could relate to this wholeheartedly..Wishing you all the best for your future!
July 24, 2017 at 6:03 am
So well written- can relate to so many emotions ! Thank you.. for penning it down … in such an articulate manner!
July 24, 2017 at 6:17 am
Cannot tell you how much this piece resonates with all those around me. Dubai kids can all relate to the little joys you have mentioned above but the heart break is similar to yours. I love how candid you are.
Please keep us updated on your journey. Would love to know how you and your daughter settle into your new country.
July 26, 2017 at 4:14 pm
Yes I am planning to start a series of posts on settling down in India and how different the experiences of getting basic stuff done everyday is. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and give me feedback .
July 24, 2017 at 8:46 am
What a fabulous read. I came back to Scotland last year after 25 years in the UAE, initially Abu Dhabi then Dubai. I met my husband there and my boys were born and raised there. I have so many lovely memories and your writing brought them all rushing back. But the Dubai I loved is no longer and it just got too big and busy for me. I’m beginning to settle here now but a big part of my heart will always remain there. Wishing you all the best for you and your family’s future and with your writing.
July 24, 2017 at 9:01 am
You need to write more! I feel like this is an excerpt from a book that I wouldn’t be able to put down!!
July 26, 2017 at 4:13 pm
Really that’s amazing! I sure will explore this idea more. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 10:04 am
Beautiful thank you for sharing there’s A lot of us who’s here from the last 30years.
July 24, 2017 at 11:39 am
This is so damn true. Just relocated to NY after spending more than 30 years of my life in Dubai. Like you my parents worked hard until one day they had tp move as well and ever since i had decided i will try to give myself a fighting chance to become a citizen of a country if i have to give the years of my finite life working there.
NY is a daily struggle and the convenient and extremely modern infrastructure of dubai is leaps and bounds ahead of NY. Yet, for that one percent chance of finally belonging to a place anc call it your home is bigger than spending the rest of your life wondering when you will be given a 30 day notice to leave ‘home’ ..
Loved your piece.
July 26, 2017 at 4:12 pm
New York is a wonderful city. I am very envious of you. I’m sure you’ll get your passport someday. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 11:51 am
Well written. You have a gift. Continue to nurture it and help it grow. Enjoy your next stop and expect the best.
July 26, 2017 at 4:11 pm
Thank you John! I intend to do as much as I possibly can in my own crazy way 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 11:58 am
It certainly comes back stronger & better… Memorabilia was touché! Best of two worlds happens to very few & new experiences all the more!
July 24, 2017 at 12:11 pm
I’m can totally relate to this… I was born and brought up in Khorfakkan
July 24, 2017 at 12:15 pm
Tough as it may be now, this too shall pass eventually. All of us having lived there, feel a sense of being uprooted when the time to leave comes. To all, I say, make a life where you can be a citizen & never have to leave just because you have been handed the pink slip.
July 24, 2017 at 12:23 pm
Hi people…
We said and described.Myself having spend 29 years in Dubai…the nostalgia of the yesteryears (roads,streets,strand cinema,shindaga tunnel,thomsun supermarket at al karama,my old flat at municipality bldg,gate of karama restaurant,hobby choco bar,the homemade dish of a simple chicken curry and the Qabooz packet for dirhams 2.50 from the modern bakery van and on and on and on…
To me,may them all be cherished as memories.They cannot give us a permanent home and can ask us to leave with a ‘Thank you for your services”….but they cannot take our memories…
I moved in 2016 to Australia with my family.Had a decent middle class family life.But having seen my parents struggle and the sweat and stress they took to settle in life are lessons learned for me to be able to put a perspective to foresight.
Challenges are inevitable when we get out of our comfort zone. I wish us all good luck and above all,the Willpower to nuture our vision to the future
July 26, 2017 at 4:09 pm
My husband lived in Karama so there’s a lot of it in me too. Disco sandwiches, canara restaurant, puranmal rasmalai, archies library… sigh. Thank you for your wishes and I wish you luck too!
July 24, 2017 at 12:31 pm
We all plant roots here thinking we may become a tree one day! And yet I know deep within that this is not my garden.
July 24, 2017 at 1:07 pm
You have made my heart just sink! Every single memory that you have shared, I can totally relate to, being born and brought up in Dubai! I currently live in the UK now and am catching a flight from Heathrow to Egypt to meet my dad who I haven’t seen in 6 years who lives in war torn Yemen (saw him last in Dubai after he retired and was just visiting). For my family, no matter what, Dubai will always be home. “They took me out of Dubai, but they can’t take Dubai out of me!”
July 26, 2017 at 4:07 pm
Hope you have a great time with your dad. And keep that hot Dubai flame burning always. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 4:28 pm
Its hard. Its tough. Its been 5 years since these emotions went through me when I moved on after marriage. Dreams often take me back there and I wake up with a hope that … Yes one day I’ll be back Dubai ❤️
July 24, 2017 at 4:31 pm
Keep writing! This is beautiful – I spent a stint of my life in Dubai, and I can totally resonate.
This bit below btw – amazing.
“Home is where the heart is, but what if your heart is actually made up of little pieces that get deposited over time into concrete walls, lemon tree leaves, battered re-upholstered couches? How do you pack that home where the walls are layered with twenty-two years of paint coats mixed with memories of joy and pain?”
July 26, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Love it when people quote back to me . Yay. Thank you
July 24, 2017 at 4:32 pm
Your blog post took me 7 years back when I moved to Pakistan from Sharjah. I still miss that place. Despite Pakistan being my home country, UAE was the place that felt home to me. When I came back 7 years ago I was going to start my college while my dad had retired from his job in Dubai. Now as a graduate I sometimes think of settling in UAE someday, trying to relive the memories that I once made but I know a lot has changed in the span of 7 years and nothing will feel the same. Also, the thought of settling in a country that never gives you its identity for being born there, for loyally staying their for years, I don’t think I should really think about settling there.
July 26, 2017 at 4:06 pm
Absolutely agree. Our home countries maybe chaotic and messy and corrupt. But at the end of the day they take us in no matter what. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 4:35 pm
Hi there! The reason why I am writing to you is that I too am a Piscean and have been in the Uae for the past 30 years. Due to unexpected and personal reasons , I too had to leave Uae. It was shocking for my family too. Coming to India, it was hard for me to accept the reality. I kept asking why this happened to me. Thus started a new chapter in my life. Fb reminds me a lot about what happened years back. Now its been 3 months….Im going on with my life… keeping the past behind and living in the present.
July 26, 2017 at 4:05 pm
Carpediem! Yes you got it right. Live for the moment. The past really doesn’t help after a point.
July 24, 2017 at 5:13 pm
Just amazing. I love this. I left for a year when i got married and came back after a year. But im struggling with the thought of having to make my son go through it all, and wonder if moving to a place with more stability is worth it. Thank you for such a beautifully written piece.
July 26, 2017 at 4:05 pm
Thank you too Lady M 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 5:19 pm
I lived in Dubai for 10 years and then moved back to India.Can so much identify with your sentiment. Unlike you I have known Kolkata as my home all my life but I feel Dubai has taken away a part of me. Sometimes I close my eyes and see myself standing at Jumeirah Beach, shopping at Spinneys or running around Karama, where I lived, trying to catch up with my son’s cycle. The sheer happiness of just driving down Sheikh Zayed Road or just not doing anything on a weekend and going for a long walk late in the night. Then sit on the footpath opposite Burjuman and see life passing by and later on the metro.It’s hard to explain to anyone what it was unless you are a Dubaiite. Hope you settle well in India. You write lovely, more power to you.
July 26, 2017 at 4:04 pm
Oh bur juman is like history. So many memories and pictures I have from old bur juman. And that little fountain. Thank you for sharing your own piece of home with me Amrita. Take care and much love to you
July 24, 2017 at 5:36 pm
I don’t know your name, whom you are, but I am truly touched with your story, articulation, writing ability, and poetry. I work for a company based in Abu Dhabi and we have an amazing branch in bangloure, India where we hire passionate people who’s dream is to change the world through their own ability of Art (content writing) and science (software engineering). Ping me if you are interested to explore.
July 26, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Hey Mustapha! Yes I am very much interested. Can you please mail me details on sangeetha92@hotmail.com? I’m currently in Bangalore and on the look out for opportunities. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read and appreciate my work. 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 5:43 pm
So beautifully written!
It felt like every experience you are talking about is mine, as if your story is mine…
Me and sis, dad here in one organisation for the last 48 years – recently retired, met my love here and married here
Thankfully, we are all still here in Dubai, but the thought of going back someday still lurks somewhere on our minds…
July 24, 2017 at 6:15 pm
No better words i can relate to have ever been written than this. Every small detail in your words cast a picture in my mind, drawing out the simplest but most beautiful memories. The place where I was born and the only place I knew to be my home, did not take a second to remove my family. The memories of my childhood and my teenage life will always be wrapped around those lemon trees in the backyard and the late night beach walks. Someday I hope to find home again.
July 24, 2017 at 6:59 pm
I lived almost 3 years of my life in Dubai between 2006 to 2009
The time I spend in Dubai was beautiful time of my life but I am very happy in Pakistan now i have a beautiful family and my own business here I don’t need visa every two or three years no body ask my work permit every work here is more easy then Dubai yes there are many things which I can not compare with Dubai but still I feel more happy and easier life here thanks almighty for every thing he have given me
July 24, 2017 at 7:38 pm
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this .I am from Mumbai and visit Dubai at times and can totally ( maybe somewhat) feel what you mean.Don’t you worry though,your own land should not fail you .Everything should be alright In Sha Allah
July 24, 2017 at 8:18 pm
Beautiful… !
Indeed….. home… is where the heart is ! 🙂
I have been in UAE my entire life… 37 years…. most of my school / college friends have moved to west and have successfully acquired nationality of USA…. UK… Australia… Canada… etc….
But only if nationality could change hearts !!!
my school friends group on Whatsapp… keeps on buzzing… about how much they miss UAE…. the food… the streets… the beaches… and how much they wanna come back for a visit and meet up….
so yes… it is the place that one grows up…. that one calls “home” …. who cares about a piece of paper…. that says.. i belong to so and so country….
a piece of paper doesn’t attaches my heart to a piece of land…
my passport is green colored… and says… Pakistan…. i have never lived in that country… so i have no deep attachments with that place….
i grew up here.. in the beautiful sand dune deserts of UAE…
i love everything about this place… the local arabs… the expats… the food… the culture… the comfort… the security…
The absolute …. melting pot… called… Global Village…. !!!
O Rulers of UAE…. thank you …. thank you for everything 🙂
O Rulers of UAE… i have no complains… that… you dint give me a passport… why should i complain ?! You never promised a nationality !!! …. yes… had you promised a nationality… and then not given to us… then i would have had the right to complain…
Your rules… are clear…. if you want to live here… then… get a visa… simple !
people accept this rule… and leave their land… and come to UAE.. at their own will… 🙂
Thank you dear… for writing such a lovely piece…. i feel the immense love and pain you have in these words…
i dont need nationality of any country on this planet earth….
it is the people.. places… and experience that one remembers at the end of the day….
plus this entire life is a journey…. live here as strangers…. and pass on to the next life peacefully 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 8:27 pm
I can relate to every single word in that article, including the bit about descending Sharjah flyovers. I’ve read many similar articles but none got close to what I actually felt. Only difference is my Dad permanently lives there. He died today but eight years ago. So no matter how much I try to take Dubai out of me, it will always be my home
because that’s where Daddy will live forever. I miss home. Now I live in London but almost three years later, ethe sight of the UAE flag or an ad of Emirates on telly gives me a sense of pride that probably Emaratis don’t even understand. Enjoyed your article.
A piscean doctor.
July 25, 2017 at 8:08 pm
We fishies are pretty awesome aren’t we?
See what you say about your dad, that is so meaningful. That’s what home is, it’s not a physical place, it’s where we store our memories.
Thank you so much for sharing your heart. Stay beautiful
July 24, 2017 at 9:02 pm
My bags are packed n am due to fly out in less than a week, after 25 beautiful years in the UAE. The best years of my life were spent here. I lov it here, but its time to move on n discover my beautiful india. I could connet to ever word u have written….moving is not at all easy but i hv packed beautiful memories of time well spent in UAE.
July 25, 2017 at 8:07 pm
Yes, welcome to the club! We can trade notes on how to stay sane in this messy yet colorful country 🙂
May 26, 2018 at 2:44 am
Hi Sangeetha i loved your blog and want to connect with you. I am too moving back to India after living here here for almost 35 years. As you rightly said, too much has changed in this country. The country advanced with the help from west but forgot to give dignity to the one’s who stood with them when they had nothing(before discovery of oil) and instead gave only humility. My heart sinks to tell that how the dark side of Dubai is getting more and more darker. You have made the right decision of not repeating the mistake of living in a country without getting its citizenship. I too am moving back to India, Mumbai precisely where i dont see myself fitting in at all. Would like to share ideas on how to keep sailing with our hearts being in Dubai and only physically being in India. India is beautiful no doubt but its the society, culture and the people who has not seen life outside India that give me nightmares.
July 24, 2017 at 9:35 pm
Heart heavy. We lived during a very special time. Thanks for etching this out in cyberspace.
The lives of us middle class Indians from a bygone era in the middle east.
To our moms and dads, who weathered the storm. Nothing, nothing compares to your sacrifices.
To all the expats who helped shape this country.
To the rulers and people of this land, who welcomed us.
My clock’s ticking as well. But miles to go before i clear my debts here. Wishing you and everyone the very best.
July 25, 2017 at 8:06 pm
Wow this is so touching. I know what you mean about the sacrifices. Wish you an your family luck too.
July 24, 2017 at 11:49 pm
Really well-written and not all will understand ur emotions unless they lived here in 80’s and 90’s
Good luck to you
July 25, 2017 at 2:42 am
After 22years in Dubai, we were also terminated in the heartless manner u seem all to familiar with. Although the memories will always be dear, the way we were asked to go leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. I guess it’s apparent that all the love and affection didn’t really have a foundation to grow. A strange and illusionary existence indeed. I’m in India now and a neurosurgeon by trade. I still miss my childhood there. But I’m quite sure, I’ll never go back there-even for a visit. I guess those days are truely gone!!
July 25, 2017 at 8:03 pm
I’m really sorry you had such an unceremonious send-off. 22 years surely deserves more.
July 25, 2017 at 5:42 am
And write you should, indeed.
Good luck.
July 25, 2017 at 5:57 am
Thank You for the flashbacks. Soo many secrets, memories all left behind.
There’s something about UAE which connects to oneself very deeply which cannot be described until it is experienced.
July 25, 2017 at 8:00 pm
Thank you Rahul for sharing.
July 25, 2017 at 6:13 am
Very well expressed! Gave me a throwback to when my dad passed away in 2009 suddenly and our world was torn apart- visas cancelled and we had 2 days to leave Dubai. No idea where life would take us. We moved back to Pakistan. Survived and got polished ! Now I’m back in Dubai after getting married and everything remains teh same. The glitter and glamour and the easy- ness of the Dubai life makes you it’s slave. But trust me our home countries back our realities and no matter where we go, would always envelope us with happiness , respect and pride.
I wish you and ur family all the very best . Sending love your way 💕
July 25, 2017 at 7:59 pm
Sending you back a bucket o love! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I’m in awe of how many people connect with this same idea of home and reality. I can’t say I haven’t been swayed by the glitter. I will miss it a lot and am positive as I trudge through the chaotic muck that is Bangalore I’ll be cursing my bravado. Anyway, here’s hoping I’ll somehow get as ‘polished’ as you have managed in Pakistan. Wish you luck and love.
July 25, 2017 at 6:34 am
Never stop writing. Please?
I love how this article is so well written with a lot of emotions attached, made me feel like I am a part of your story.
On a side note, I am excited to know all about your new journey. Dubai is home for me as much as it was for you and knowing that this might happen to me one day, I still can not mentally accept living in my own country; Pakistan.
July 25, 2017 at 7:55 pm
Don’t worry Asiya, as long as my fingers can function (or worst case I get one of those dictator machines) I shall keep writing. It is incredibly awesome to hear someone I’ve never met say the stuff you have. Makes all the hours I feel like I’m basically just word-vomiting useful. 🙂
I think when we have to leave, we will get ready and adapt somehow. So don’t worry. I had a lot of crap to deal with before making the choice, lot of self-doubt. As long as a city makes you happy and comforts you, it doesn’t matter where it really is. 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 7:13 am
As someone still living in the UAE and recently having lost my job too I can relate to your article more than you can imagine. When I got notified that my position was no longer required I contemplated leaving as soon as possible because the lifestyle and the fact that we need sponsors to remain in the city didn’t seem realistic.
In a strange way me losing my job was almost like a sign because I had been toying with the idea of heading back to the states for a while now. I came to Dubai in 08 and there is not much left of what I remember Dubai to be….everything has changed cannot really decide if it was for the better or worse.
Still no matter what Dubai will always be home in one way or another!
July 25, 2017 at 7:52 pm
Yeah I agree sometimes crappy circumstances make us re-think our life and choices. And just because we leave a place, doesn’t mean we can cut ourselves completely. Even now I know when I land at Dubai airport with a visit visa, I’m going to feel a warm fuzziness within as I walk past duty free into the warm humid air waiting outside.
July 25, 2017 at 7:14 am
18 years is all that I have lived in Dubai. But most importantly that is where my young life has passed by. Got married while I was working with MMI.
My kids were born and grew up in Dubai. Not knowing one day they also will have to say goodbye.
With higher education of children in mind though with a broken heart we also decided to say goodbye
Those wonderful 18 years many people I have met. While some have been forgotten, many I cherish and value.
You had been an inspiration and a wonderful coach during my Al Seer days. Often guiding and helping me to get through those troublesome days.Thanks for being there.
Life’s not that easy as you say.
In India though its a struggle every day. There is a soulful experience in everything that you do.
Though it was painful to leave a city that gave me everything that I had dreamt of but I am thankful to it for making me what I am today.
Welcome home Sir.
I am sure you couple of years from now you will definitely cherish your decision.
July 25, 2017 at 7:25 am
It’s amazing… Having lived there for quite a few years, I felt terribly sad when I left the place. I still miss it so so much today that may be, when I go back years later, I will be teary eyed to see the astonishing transformation that the city has experienced. For if UAE ever granted citizenship to expatriates, I would mind grabbing one !!!
July 25, 2017 at 7:49 pm
Yes I know. It has so much of my identity rooted in it. Citizenship would be a dream for a lot of expats. 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 10:13 am
Been in Dubai only 10 years but I am already calling it home so it must be tough for you. Wishing you luck in your new home with hopes that all is for the best. 😊
July 25, 2017 at 7:48 pm
Thank you!
July 25, 2017 at 10:29 am
Beautifully written. For someone who has always known Dubai to be home for the past 26 years – you have truly spoken my heart. I got married here – gave birth to all my sons here, raised them here and developed my career here. But even for someone who believes in taking each day as it comes – when your sons turn 18 – the ” Gulf system” forces you to make some crucial decisions; to force you out of your comfort zone. I, myself , am, a second generation “gulfie” – who has difficulty adjusting in India – in a 2 weeks ” holiday” – so i cannot blame my boys for feeling alienated. But change is ALWAYS for good and we are ready to fly wherever the winds take us.
July 25, 2017 at 7:47 pm
Yes Naush, education for my four year old daughter was one of the factors in making the decision. I’ve spent a long time on the fence over taking this step and now that it’s finally done, it’s really painful to imagine rebuilding a home and a life. But I guess that’s all part of growing up right? Let’s see where the wind takes us, and I wish your boys and your family all the luck. Everything always works out for the best.
July 25, 2017 at 11:08 am
deja’vu !
Wish u all the best Pensive Piscean. It’s 15 yrs since I moved from Dubai and u r right…its never easy to say “goodbye” …but over time we all learn to move on and adapt to ur new environment. Tc.
July 25, 2017 at 7:45 pm
Thank you Azra. You’re right, without adapting it’s impossible to try a different route to happiness. 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 1:45 pm
Very true…same story with us also…spent 35 yr in dubai and now…really thinking what we were doing there…now back to India. ..and trying to move out to Canada for my twin kids…fr better future…really heart pains…We can’t forget dubai..but we can’t be there also…
July 25, 2017 at 2:24 pm
Expats we are and expats we will be.
– humans
July 25, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Wow. You know what they say about “what you think of, you attract”, right? It’s uncanny how the thoughts (and some interesting opportunities) I’ve had of very recent times are getting me to strongly uproot my 36+ born-n-bred years from our Dubai to an equally warm (and most times more humid n sticky) Chennai. But my goodness, I’m already resonating so much with what you’ve written (right from Meena Bazaar to Copacabana [aka Copas, aka Touch 😉 i mean, how did you not mention Jimmy Dix!? Loool!] and actually even your passion to write!), despite my decision still pending. I might just want to have a separate (private?) word with you about picking up and heading to India, cuz God knows I’m kinda freaking out here! :-S
But really, know that you’ve touched many many hearts and stirred many more a soul with all these feels of Dubai. Much love and power to you.
Ps- how can I reach out to you?
Pps- I’m a “Pensive Piscean” too ;D
July 25, 2017 at 2:52 pm
Wow. You know what they say about “what you think of, you attract”, right? It’s uncanny how the thoughts (and some interesting opportunities) I’ve had of very recent times are getting me to strongly uproot my 36+ born-n-bred years from our Dubai to an equally warm (and most times more humid n sticky) Chennai. But my goodness, I’m already resonating so much with what you’ve written (right from Meena Bazaar to Copacabana [aka Copas, aka Touch 😉 i mean, how did you not mention Jimmy Dix!? Loool!] and actually even your passion to write!), despite my decision still pending. I might just want to have a separate (private?) word with you about picking up and heading to India, cuz God knows I’m kinda freaking out here! :-S
But really, know that you’ve touched many many hearts and stirred many more a soul with all these feels of Dubai. Much love and power to you.
Ps- how can I reach out to you?
Pps- I’m a “Pensive Piscean” too ;D
July 26, 2017 at 4:00 pm
Hey! Wow I love meeting soul twins. Jimmy Dix hell yeah… oh the list of shady places we used to hang out is so long. I’m tamilian too by the way. Okay so we must connect and chat more. I’m also planning to start another blog separately on documenting my adventures here to possibly help or dreak out other returning NRI’s. You can either find me on Facebook as Sangeetha Bhaskaran -https://www.facebook.com/sangeetha.bhaskaran.7
or email me- sangeetha92@hotmail.com
Take care and I look forward to hearing from you. Mwah
July 25, 2017 at 2:56 pm
(Oops, clearly I forgot how to log in and replied twice 🙈 please delete that first one with my non-WordPress-login…and this one too. 😛 Sowwyyy.)
July 25, 2017 at 2:56 pm
A lovely well written article that resonates in everyone who after many years getting to know a rapidly changing city have to move on. Like you a dread the day when I have to leave Abu Dhabi. I work in the private sector of education and have been out of the Uk for 16 years. Both my children were born in a foreign country. I count myself lucky that they have experienced so many wonderful countries it has made them into well rounded 21st century citizens. Yet like you when the time comes to leave it’s heartbreaking and I finds it’s getting harder as they get older. Who knows what the future will hold for us so I shall cherish what we have now. Anyway best of luck with your new adventure.
July 26, 2017 at 3:57 pm
Do not dread anything, there’s really no point to it. I’ve heard so many stories of families who leave without a dirham in their pocket and they somehow make it work. Only takes time. Thank you and I wish you luck too .:)
July 25, 2017 at 3:46 pm
I can’t even begin to express how I feel just reading this article. I too recently moved back from Dubai, 29 years of my whole life there, to India. I miss the small things, I can’t go to the grocery store and buy Chips Oman anymore or figure out who has the best shawarma. Always and forever getting stuck at Sana signal and even Sana Building has been torn down, but for me, it will always remain that. I feel like I have to re-read this article, because you beautifully express how we all feel leaving the place. We all knew it would happen but when you’re living it, it’s a whole other story. Also, I just can’t get over this, because it’s true “Too much has changed too fast and eroded a lot of what made the city meaningful to expatriates and that breaks my heart.”
July 26, 2017 at 3:55 pm
Chips oman and pappy snacks… aaaahh.. You’ve just hit me while a pang of the feels. 🙁 But life goes on, and I’ll have to make do with Lays chips now 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 5:25 pm
Same thing happened with my dad but I couldn’t leave these awesome country. I love to be here until I can as I think I have a connection with these country as I was born here
July 25, 2017 at 5:50 pm
This post makes me so happy. Sometimes it’s wonderful seeing something that’s been in my head written down and described beautifully.
Ironically, I feel like an old post of mine could be part 2 for this one. xD
It’s titled “From a Non resident Indian to a Residing Indian”.
July 26, 2017 at 6:04 am
Will follow your page and read it 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 6:14 pm
Planning to leave Dubai forever after spending almost 20 yrs..but after reading this my heart is really crying…bit confused now.
July 25, 2017 at 8:04 pm
Hi there, I understand the pain you go through and it’s the same thing that’s been weighing heavily on my chest for the last 6 months. I’ve been depressed to let go of my childhood memories, friends, fights, food, school. I miss the Dubai that used to be a tiny town with a wonderful community 30 years ago. My dad too came when the locals used to take dumps by the Deira corniche and Hyatt Regency was just being built. I miss the desert behind my home where we used to go cycling and trekking when the cycle couldn’t take the sand anymore. Anyways Dubai is always heartless if you don’t have a visa and can’t afford it. India will be wonderful for you and your family I hope but I truly understand your pain as one expat to another.
July 26, 2017 at 6:04 am
Thank you for the kind words. Dubai will always be etched in all of us I guess, no matter where we go.
July 25, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Fuck Dubai,it’s a shitty city with even shittier people,living there is pure agony and it drove me into depression,don’t let this article fool you into thinking it’s some kind of wonderland,it’s really not go there on a holiday,but if you live there you’re gonna regret it
July 25, 2017 at 9:49 pm
So I noticed you had a pingback and went to read the article.
The comments on that page only highlight the difference between the Dubai of the 80s and 90s vs the Dubai of today. One of the reasons I left was that after hearing “if you don’t like it, leave” over and over again, I decided that that was just what I was going to do.
Which is why I say that I miss the Dubai of old. Sadly its not there anymore.
July 26, 2017 at 3:53 pm
We have spent the past few years actually lost in trying to find the city we grew up in. It’s melted into quicksand. Progress has a price doesn’t it? The like it or leave it is a fair enough option. It is frustrating, but as expatriates without citizen rights, we cannot expect more. Me and the husband are always at loggerheads on this issue haha
July 25, 2017 at 10:46 pm
I have been to Dubai. If glitter ever goes out of style, Dubai will be finished.
July 26, 2017 at 3:52 pm
I think our generation is reaching a state of saturation and people are wanting more. So only time will tell.
July 25, 2017 at 11:50 pm
I am currently enjoying my vacation in the Philippines for 4 weeks. My husband and I lives in Dubai for nearly 10yrs in October with our daughter turning grade 2 this year… couple of days now, i am having a dilemna… when is the right time to go back to our own country… i am just imagining that if we will give up our careers, higher salary, car and other things, it makes me a bit scared that we will not have the same amount of income to support our daughter who is just starting her elementary if we decide to go home…but on the other side, it also gives me a bit of happiness that my daughter could then live a normal life of a child.. in Dubai, it never teaches kids what is the real life because they live in a sugar coated and so comfortable way of living…..
This article helps me assess more whether we should go back home..We are getting old and my conscience is saying that, one day, when your body can no longer work here and they dont need you, we will end up the same…. back to our home country…..
All the things that are playing in my mind is well written in this article and really helps me have a better direction of thinking..
July 26, 2017 at 5:08 am
Wow thank you Rhuby. I like that something I write can help somebody. Everyone has their own decision making process I guess. When I decided there were a lot of people who told me what I’m doing is completely stupid. Even now I have no concrete plan and that’s not a good thing either. Anyway let’s see how it all goes. I wish you luck and love . 🙂
July 26, 2017 at 12:14 am
But this is how the UAE is there is never ever any guarntee whatsoever, no one will ever get nationality there, they hire and fire people as they like, certain nationalities get preference over so many others, it is a place that grows on you but you always have to have in the back of your mind that at some point you will have to leave, they have ban structures in place, with no reason at all, now that has changed a little bit, with the country that has no oil anymore they are resorting to tourism which is a far cry from tourism itself, so the theme now is longest, tallest and widest, its sad as i was there all of last year up until a better part of this year but Dubai the uae can never be the same after 2011 it just has not picked up, what a pity, but part now of the economy and one thing you can never really ever make real friends there as it is a transit country.
July 26, 2017 at 5:05 am
Yes it is the transience that makes it hard for people to root themselves.
July 26, 2017 at 4:43 am
Wonderful read.
One door closes, many doors shall open. InshaAllah.
Wishing you the best sister.
Do take care and God bless.
July 26, 2017 at 5:12 am
I never managed to say Goodbye…
I read your piece and every word resonates, deeply.
I read the comments and every word resonates just as deeply…
3 years, 12 years, 18 years, 32 years, lives…
A part of me never left. It still lingers in between the near 20 years I spent in and gave to Dubai. And it gave me back plenty. Plenty of joy and plenty of trouble.
Unlike you i did not muster enough courage to let loose my words. They are still trapped, entrapped by my fear. Fear of hurting those it might talk of, fear of the truth that breaks the myths, fear of the joys shared at at so many sunsets still bleeding red and gold while the sand cools, fear of the whispers to come at dawn revealing the washed shore virgin anew.
I am in awe at the mystery of Dubai. And yes I too left a lifetime there and saw the birth of my children, the dislocation of their world, the rupture of their security and, the uprooting…
I never managed to say Goodbye…
For i do not want to leave the memories of those i Love, I want it to stay ingrained, deeply.
I write this comment and each word hurts, just as deeply…
20 years for me, a life…
Thank you Pensivepiscean, write on!
You have my warmest regards, from Montreal.
July 26, 2017 at 7:07 am
Reblogged this on SoniaKhatriWrites and commented:
Hits me at the root of the soul. Beautifully written.
July 26, 2017 at 9:47 am
Full of emotions seems like words are coming deep down from the heart 🙁
July 26, 2017 at 9:58 am
“I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.”
I wanted to cry when I read this. I can relate, even if I called Nepal my second home in the place of your calling the UAE your first home. I spent my transition to teenhood there, and even if it was only a six-year season that ended last year, I can still understand what you feel.
And it’s somehow helping me cope with leaving a place where I didn’t spring up from, but nevertheless, a place where I felt I really belonged.
Also, while reading your article, I felt nostalgic as your style reminded me of all the Nepali newspapers and Indian magazines that I used to pore over. Haha! And I want you to know that I love, love, LOVE your alliterations! Keep it up.
Thank you so much for writing this, and I really hope that your writing career will take flight.
All the best – from one budding writer to another,
Issa Adalia 💖
July 26, 2017 at 3:49 pm
Hey Issa, Thank you for taking the time to write such a looong note. This sort of feedback really helps me as a writer. I look forward to reading some of your stuff too. 🙂
July 26, 2017 at 5:59 pm
Awww! You’re most welcome, Sangeetha. I’m glad it helped you! I’m looking forward to reading your stuff and seeing them in big publications someday 😉
Thank you sooo much for subscribing and for your kind words!! I hope you’ll like my latest blog post on the UAE 😊 Your article has enriched my perspective about it! 🙂
God bless you and your family! 💖
July 26, 2017 at 3:50 pm
Just subscribed to your blog :0 It looks wonderful by the way
July 26, 2017 at 11:19 am
Beautifully written . I’m in abudhabi for the past 19 years and I feel the same about this place. Reminds me of the piece I wrote some months back ‘once upon a time . ..In Abudhabi ”
Good luck for your new beginning in India
From a fellow -blogger
July 26, 2017 at 12:05 pm
Thank you radhika. Good luck to you too
July 26, 2017 at 1:17 pm
I loved reading this. You have eloquently put into words the reality and feelings of saying goodbye and jumping into the unknown. I may not have lived in Dubai for as long as you have, but the 12 years I have spent living there was enough for me to call it home.We packed our bags two years ago and I still feel homesick for Dubai from time to time. When I stumble across news about Dubai or anything related to this city I once called home, a pang of nostalgia hits me too. All the best and hugs
July 26, 2017 at 3:41 pm
Hugs back! Nostalgia’s a funny, bittersweet thing isn’t it?
July 26, 2017 at 9:57 pm
Very beautifully written, I guess I went through the same phase, and now have migrated to Canada.
And I miss the sweltering heat , drinking a pepsi can after sweating it out in the afternoon. I miss the generosity of working with UAE Nationals , always benevolent. And most of all, I miss not having an opinion, my whole attitude in life while growing up , used to I don’t belong here so why bother. And now I am in country , where every individual is required to an opinion and enforce it. I guess that’s the security blanket I got in Dubai.
Hope you find what you are seeking my friend.
July 27, 2017 at 1:26 am
Having an opinion counts big time . I’m happy for you . 😊
July 27, 2017 at 1:08 am
Gotta ask what today’s definition of “dream” is : The first thing people give up when they understand how reality works.
Reading this sunk me with a heavy heart, not because of what I was not able to achieve during my stay there. But because I had to watch my parents grow with dreams and aspirations as they first stepped foot into Abu Dhabi in 1988, where sun and sand was everywhere and opportunities were around the corner, then watch them grow with regrets towards their final retirement years. We’re all part of a generation that just wants the best for our parents. We know the struggles they’ve undergone and we know how hard it is for them to swallow the pill that we call reality, where dreams and hopes are crushed by something as simple as text on a 1DHS paper issued by the company. I’m an Asian, and while Europeans and Americans won’t understand our requirement to have families around us at all times for moral support, you could feel your motivation and efforts slip away as one by one my parents had to bid farewell to a dream they tried to build in a place that never made room for us. Mom had to sit and watch as her siblings who traveled abroad got citizenships and permanent housing lots, while she was forced to give it all up the minute she hit 60. It’s a bittersweet memory, one I despise to indulge in, and an experience I’m not proud to relate.
July 27, 2017 at 1:27 am
I feel you.
July 27, 2017 at 1:21 am
I loved your post! I’m an ex-Dubaiian currently living in Canada, for over a decade. I still miss Dubai and go back for visits every chance I get! Your post brought back memories of my last weeks living in Dubai– catching up with friends “one-last-time”, making sure i visited every place that held good memories “one-last-time”, driving down Beach Road, eating one last shawarma from Al-Mallah. I remember those last weeks when slowly the apartment got emptier, as people started buying our furniture. At the airport i cried when the cancelled our visas. It was sad, but moving to Canada opened up so many new opportunities for me and I can’t imagine life anywhere else. I’ll look forward to my visits “back home”. Good luck with your new Chapter!
July 27, 2017 at 1:28 am
Yeah I cried buckets at the airport too . 🙁
Wish you luck! Canada is so beautiful
July 27, 2017 at 7:51 am
Dear Sara: A colleague of mine told me about the article that you wrote and after reading it, it really hit me. I guess it’s those hidden feelings for those who are like us. Born, lived and or living in the UAE till today such as myself. I am 34 years old, born and living in Abu Dhabi and ever since I was a child I would never have thought that I would call anywhere but Abu Dhabi “home”. I used to feel homesick when I traveled to my home country Syria with my parents and couldn’t wait to be back to my room bed and belongings. All memories and life chapters I lived and experienced here in Abu Dhabi for the last 31 years. My parents lived here before I was born at least my father who just left work after spending 40 years working in Abu Dhabi and now wondering where he will proceed and when. My late mother who passed away two years ago was a school teacher for 35 years but very little remembered her. That struck me that you are in a place called home but you will need to move someday, in my case I wonder “Where to?” At this age, I am a single mother of one child who was also born here because that was the initial plan. I live here, study, work, marry and have my kids here and we all live like my parents did but with probably a higher income and an improved standard of living. Yes it did happen, but at the same time there was something telling me that one day I will need to move, start all over again, build a new identity of myself create a new belonging whether it was my home country which now is somehow challenging or some other place if I get the chance.
There is a lot to be thankful for here, our lives, our upbringing who we are living here but maybe the one thing that we didn’t really consider thoroughly is the time when we have to leave. We didn’t train ourselves or get trained to have less emotions and attachment to when this day comes because we didn’t think it will be during our times living here. I too have a limited time at work was given a renewal contract for less than a year so it means I need to start moving on the road again searching for a new job if lucky or a new place as a must be backup plan. It is easy for those who come here and live for a while to leave but as you said the cord we are attached too being born here is stronger than just to pack and leave. Nevertheless I guess we just need to go along with the flow and maybe there is something out there that will really identify all what we lived and make good use of all those chapters in our lives. It’s strange that we understand that despite that we live here and call it home it isn’t to us. It’s a home of beginning and belonging a home of achievements and milestones but at the same time it isn’t a home to continue living in and despite that there is a lot of privileges that we enjoy and live in, we may end up elsewhere where we need to depend and do everything on our own rather than someone assisting us to do it. Maybe we will end up becoming a different us, a new us but we will not be able to cut the cord of where we came from. We may want to extend it really extend it endlessly so at least we can go as far as we have to but not cut it completely because you can’t do that after thirty something years of building and living a life somewhere because that head of yours will start attacking you with memories smallest to biggest of all events that took place. I still tell people I am Syrian by origin and blood but Emiratee by heart and soul and that’s what makes the whole of me. Despite all what’s going on and what will be, it will always be a part of us wherever life chooses for us. We just need to be more realistic now that we may not end up here forever and we need to be ready to move on. We move on on relationships and other things, its time to be strong to move on with this despite all those insider thoughts that will haunt us with past memories.
I wish you all the best in your new journey and would love to hear and read about your new adventures.
Best of luck Sara 🙂
Dana
July 27, 2017 at 9:20 am
Wow Dana thank you so much for sharing your story. I think your life and struggle has been incredible and you really seem to be the sort of woman who can achieve anything. For me moving was a decision spurned by multiple factors, the most important one being I stopped feeling happy in the city. Do what makes you happy. And if and when the time comes to leave, trust me you’ll be fine. 🙂
July 27, 2017 at 2:41 pm
Shouldn’t have read your post m’am! I thought I had moved on, but you made me nostalgic! As if I moved out of the city just yesterday!
Oh my childhood memories…
July 27, 2017 at 3:07 pm
‘I swore that I would never make the same mistake, never stay in a place for too long without having the opportunity to be its citizen.’ I cringed reading this very well written piece that resonates with many of us who were born and raised in Dubai. It’s sad, very sad to consider a place your home when your only real link to it is a contractual agreement, if you lose your job you lose your entitlement to stay in the county. But as someone commented above, where do you go next? You’re a tourist in your own country and a guest in this country, lost in the middle, lost in identity!
August 1, 2017 at 5:31 pm
Absolutely agree with you on the identity part. As a mother of a four year old, it was the issue of identity that pushed me to take the call.
July 27, 2017 at 3:51 pm
Aah, you wrote about something that people are hesitant to talk about openly. It feels like the elephant in the room at times but I loved the way you described it. I think every expat family has gone through the same process (or currently are). I have lived here for almost twenty years and it feels like my own country. But there’s still that feeling of an outsider. A wonderful post .. I wish you the very best in your life!
August 1, 2017 at 11:57 am
Hey,
i was reading your article, i loved your post. I was literally imagining myself in those places like Meena Bazar, Jumeirah and Al Diyafah etc etc. whatever you have wrote, its the same feeling which most of us have in our heart who has stayed in Dubai for so many years with so many memories.
I am here in Dubai for the past 21 years and never felt that i am not out of India. We always feel that our India is next to dubai…. its a kind of feeling that we are staying next to India..We have our own people around and always felt that Dubai loves us so much. Also we celebrate all our festivals in Dubai as well thinking that its our own country. I still have an opportunity to go to Austaralia, but i wanted to stay in Dubai as much as i can. We also loves to see our young Dubai growing so fast and we are all proud about our place. Thanks for writing about it. God Bless you and all the very best with your new beginning.
August 1, 2017 at 12:00 pm
I can relate to most of what you have written.
All I can say is that we would never know what pleasure was if it weren’t for the pain, no joy without sorrow and no sunrise without a sunset.
Stay strong and never give up.
I admire you for your thought “I have decided to trade stagnation for struggle”. It is very difficult but the result will be very rewarding.
I wish you all the best for the future and hope that you are able to fulfill your dreams and aspirations. God bless
August 1, 2017 at 1:16 pm
Thank you for the wishes and kind words.
August 1, 2017 at 12:57 pm
To the author (Ms Sangeetha Bhaskaran): good work. For expatiates like us this is part of life.
If I share with you a little bit, I lived 22 years in Jeddah, KSA (1987-2010) before moving to Pak. There were many nostalgic memories I took with me. 3 years thereafter (2013) came to Dubai to start another journey of my life. I’m sure you might also be going through many nostalgic moments as Dubai is another one of fantastic place to live.
Best regards,
August 1, 2017 at 5:34 pm
Thank you Maroof,
August 1, 2017 at 4:09 pm
As someone who spent most of his working life in Middle east i can connect to your article.
Don’t worry India is a much more exciting place.It is where our souls relish.
Its difficult but try to detach and honour your time in Dubai.
That way it will be much easier and help you assimilate faster in india.
August 2, 2017 at 8:40 am
Thank you Bhushan.
August 1, 2017 at 4:47 pm
Certainly. All above told the truth. Let’s discuss this question. Here or in PM.
Rexuiz FPS Game
August 2, 2017 at 12:48 am
Hello!
Read your article (letter) in KT, published as it was meant to be. Wanted to see more of the person that you are and browsed through your link and read through all the responses of those kindred souls as much as you are.
Yes, Dubai does what it does to you, especially when we take it for granted as we all do with life, wherever we are. India is a chaotic, yes; but as u said, u dont need a visa, which means you have your freedom, to chose where u want to be, do what you want to do and be whomsoever you choose to be.
Discover your country and see the beauty which most people dont see. I am from Chennai and have a home in Kerala. I love that part of the country and have traveled to many places. What i am saying is, there is so much there you could see and feel. Have a holiday, dont miss Dubai too much. Remember, opportunities are always there. Just take a breath and enjoy every moment while you are there.
Remember, its only a matter of a visa, for you to come back here and continue your life. The next time, i am sure you will hold dear whatever you lost or went through and wont have to go through the pain anymore.
Wishing you all the very best. Go live your dream girl… Life is short! Make it sweet, make it happen. Celebrate it. You live only once…
August 2, 2017 at 8:38 am
Thank you Arvind! I’m from Chennai too actually but now we are looking to settle in Bangalore. Your advice is very simple and sweet. Take care and wish you luck too!
August 2, 2017 at 9:49 am
Well, it looks like I must be the only one who is yet to leave. I have been living in the UAE for 17 years now. I was born here infact. Reading this warns me of the frightening day when I have to leave the UAE. Leaving back so many friends and memories will be an excruciating task. What’s quite scary is that I don’t know which country I might settle. Nevertheless, this an excellent and emotional piece of writing
August 2, 2017 at 9:51 am
To add insult to injury, we Bangladeshis cannot acquire Visas in UAE anymore. ☹️
August 4, 2017 at 9:25 am
Some of the places and activities brought back a surge of emotions. I left Dubai in 1995 and came back to India. I was a bit depressed too at first but the challenges are completely different and much more interesting. So, welcome to reality!!
September 24, 2017 at 9:53 am
Hi ,
Thank you for this article, am from Morocco I was working in Dubai for seven years, last year I made the decision to go back to my country because I knew that I would had to do it one day, I miss dubai sometimes but am happy now in my country where I feel that am citizen not someone that will be kick out one day when we don’t need him
Anymore.
Life here is much easier and better and the most important it authentic and worries free
Have a great day & best wishes from Morocco
September 25, 2017 at 4:46 pm
yes the key word is- authentic. you are spot on! I hope I reach your level of comfort and acceptance soon. 🙂
September 24, 2017 at 9:54 am
Hi ,
Thank you for this article, am from Morocco I was working in Dubai for seven years, last year I made the decision to go back to my country because I knew that I would had to do it one day, I miss dubai sometimes but am happy now in my country where I feel that am citizen not someone that will be kick out one day when we don’t need him
Anymore.
Life here is much easier and better and the most important it authentic and worries free
Have a great day & best wishes from Morocco
November 18, 2017 at 12:32 pm
Emotional. Alas the time has come. You must not harbor escapist tendencies towards this new phase. Think of it in positive light, the rest of your years could be spent re-building at home, building new relations. From a cocooned life in Dubai, to something strangely bizarre, you will be busy meeting challenges and seeing opportunities at home. It may need all the experiences you took from living a comfortable life in Dubai. Take it as a challenge. Travel lots in India. See what you missed. More importantly, contribute when possible. All the very best.
November 22, 2017 at 1:03 am
Thank you RG. That is indeed the plan. 🙂
June 25, 2018 at 9:27 pm
Hey! absolutely touching!
July 25, 2018 at 10:24 pm
I am in same boat now, ready to move for my daughter, how is your life after 1 year now?