Trumpet hobby seals fate for Corporal Sardar

Dubai: It was on February 18, 1969 when 24-year-old Corporal Mohammad Amir Sardar first saw the shores of Dubai. His ship arrived in the Port Rashid area, but did not dock because there was no port yet.

"The ship was really big. It was carrying many, many passengers coming from Pakistan to the Gulf, and since there was nowhere for the ship to dock, abras had to come and get us from it," Sardar said.

Much needed

Sardar, a native of Lahore, needed a job and Dubai Police needed men. For more than 40 years since then, he has been playing the euphonium (bass trumpet) for the Dubai Police's band.

Growing up in Lahore, Sardar started playing the bass at age 14. That hobby turned into a career that changed his fate.

"I used to play the bass for the Lahore police back then. Two inspectors in the Lahore police were involved with Dubai Police and they told me about the job opportunity. That was it. The money was good and it still is," the 65-year-old said.

Back then, he said, the Dubai Police band, which he says was launched in 1962, had approximately 22 performers mostly from Pakistan. "Today, we have around 200 people from the UAE, Pakistan, Iran, Yemen and Somalia and Sudan".

Sardar said he got basic police training when he first arrived "though I didn't really need it in the band".

Since then, Sardar got married and had children, all of whom were born in the UAE and accustomed themselves to the Arabic language and life in the country, he said.

"So much has changed since I arrived. I don't know where to start," he said.