Abu Dhabi: The affection of 75-year-old Hatboor Kadaf Al Rumaithi and his family for India dates back to almost a century ago.
“In the early 1920s, my father would go fishing on small wooden dhows with his Indian mates, and then head to Al Ain where they would prepare salted fish, wrap it in sack cloth and dry it in the sun for a couple of days. They would then export the salty fish, aka Al Maleh, and the fish catch to India. He would also trade in dates and pearls and export them to India,” said Al Rumaithi.
“When I grew a little older, I would go along with my dad on the fishing boats and mingle with Indian fishermen; this is when my affection towards India was born. I’ve inherited my dad’s profession and worked as a fisherman alongside my fellow Indian fishermen, and later exported fish to India. I even understood Hindi well, but unfortunately, couldn’t speak the language.”
He spoke of the close ties he shared with Indians. “We have always been close, living together, sharing similar rituals and customs; even our food is almost the same. We have a very special bond with Indians; in fact, our culture is quite similar in many aspects. Back then, many Emirati men married Indian women.”
Al Rumaithi said he has had many Indian friends living and working in the UAE for over 60 years. “I recall exchanging home visits with Indian friends and their families, many of them are retired today and are back in India. I yearn for those good old days,” he said.
It is this nostalgia that has him visit India every year for about three weeks each year since 2000. “My last trip was in 2015 to visit my old mates in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi. We would also exchange gifts and souvenirs; I would design handmade wooden dhows for them, and carve their names on it. It would take me about a month to finish one dhow. My Indian friends in return would give me expensive silk headscarves.”
At times, he would take his family along to India.
Al Rumaithi said that having known Indians and having lived with them for so long, he had become very fond of them. “I would say that I’m very fond of them as modest, kind, peaceful, humble and cooperative people,” he said.
Al Rumaithi still enjoys his friendships with his Indian mates. “Ali is a very good friend of mine, he is not just my business partner, but also a very dear friend. I’ve known him for over 30 years now and we trust and confide in each other.
“I also love visiting India in the summer, the weather is great and I’m very fond of the extraordinary scenery, mountainous terrain and landscape. The agriculture and farming land is different to the nature of the land in the UAE,” said Al Rumaithi.
He is also keen on lending a help hand to the poor and needy in India by building homes, schools and medical facilities for them in rural areas.
