Dubai: A 67-year-old Indian expatriate has turned his one-bedroom apartment into a photo gallery, featuring over 4,000 photos of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Inside Filipe D’melo’s house in Bur Dubai, thousands of pictures of Shaikh Mohammad cover the walls of his living room like a wallpaper, while others are kept inside black suitcases and special albums.
D’melo, who came to Dubai from the western Indian state of Goa more than 40 years ago, stands proud of his work and of a hobby that he has enjoyed practicing for the last six years.
“This is my hobby, I like Shaikh Mohammad so much, so I started collecting his photos from newspapers every day for the last six years. I appreciate his passion for building Dubai. When I first moved here in the 1970s, there was only one tower, the Trade Centre,” he told Gulf News.
His huge collection includes pictures of Shaikh Mohammad during both official and unofficial visits, while receiving trophies or medals, and while performing sports activities among others. He says his most favourite are the ones where the ruler is seen playing tennis.
“I’m also a sportsman, so It makes me happy to find photos of him doing sports,” said D’melo, who works as a public relations officer after spending many years in Dubai working in a bank.
An empty wall space is left beneath the photos for a reason, he points out. “I didn’t cover the walls completely because the pictures shouldn’t be below the knee because he is his highness and I have to give him respect.”
Among his special albums is the heaviest one with 375 photos of the Dubai ruler. D’melo says his biggest wish is to be able to meet Shaikh Mohammad and personally hand him the album.
Wish
"Before I move back to India in 2019, I hope I get the chance to handover the album to him. My wish is to meet him in person and thank him,” he said.
“If I don’t get the chance to give it to him, I will not give this album to anyone, I will take it back with me.”
His collection doesn’t end here.
D’melo has kept more pictures of Shaikh Mohammad in Goa which he scanned from newspapers. He also said he had written songs for Shaikh Mohammad in his own language.
Currently living with his 29-year-old son, D’melo said: “When people ask me why I’m doing this, I tell them simply because I’m grateful to what Dubai has given back to me. When I first came here, I had nothing. My two children were raised here and feel the same way I do towards Dubai.”
He added that though he has run out of space to post pictures on the wall, he will continue practicing his hobby to the very last day.
