Dubai Dreams: The Rough Road to Riches, a new novel by the veteran British author and journalist Shamlal Puri looks at the hard lives of poor Indian migrants in search of their pot of gold in Dubai.
Published jointly by Crownbird Publishers (www.crownbirdpublishers.co.uk) and Har Anand Publications of New Delhi, the 333 page novel was released at the World Book Fair in the Indian capital.
It is a work that gains significance in the backdrop of the current credit crunch. It explores how the current situation in Dubai affects Indian immigrants and other expatriates working there.
“Dubai is very much in the news now and 'Dubai Dreams' is a timely reminder of the tough lives and shattered dreams of Indians who are paying a heavy price in the current credit crunch that has also touched this Middle Eastern emirate,” said Shamlal Puri.
“There was a time when all the flights used to lead to Dubai from India as Indians paid any airfare to chase their dreams in Dubai. Today, ironically, they are heading back home, leaving their shattered dreams behind.”
'This is a dramatic reminder of the travails of about three million Indians who have gone to work in the Gulf. Now many of them are facing a bleak future after their toil amid very harsh conditions in these states,” said Puri. There around 1.5 million Indians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone.
“I finished the book when the Dubai crisis had hit the global headlines. So it is very topical now and has value as a historical record as well.”
The living and working conditions of unskilled and semi-skilled Indian workers in the Gulf leave much to be desired. A majority of these are young, mostly unmarried males. More than half their numbers have invariably gone from the Indian states of Kerala, while the remaining persons have mostly been from Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Over 60 percent of them have had little formal education. On arrival in their country of destination in the Gulf, they are usually fed and housed in barrack-like tenements and engaged as labour on construction projects. Now thousands have been laid off and have returned home to a bleak future.
Puri stayed in Dubai for three years and observed Indian workers and their struggles and challenges. The story revolves around the lives of Indian taxi drivers and how they cope with their tough working conditions and the tensions of their families back home in India. Part of the story also happens in Mumbai.
Exploited at every turn, the author highlights their plight and shows how easy it is for simple, honest men to turn to crime in desperation. It captures the humour and pathos of the sweltering classes in thankless, low-paid jobs.
Here is a sympathetic insight into the lives of taxi drivers who keep the transport system of Dubai well oiled. As the traffic rolls on, the drivers go nowhere in their lives with their shattered dreams.
The book ISBN 9780 9552627-2-2 (hard cover £16.99 plus postage and packing) and 9780 9552627-3-9 (paperback £9.99 plus postage and packing) is available from both the publishers, www.amazon.com and all good book sellers.
In this novel, the story is told of six Indian migrant workers who come together in search of riches. Four taxi drivers and a junior manager from South India and a construction worker from the Punjab live under the same roof in bed-sit lodgings. Overworked and underpaid, lonely without their families, they soon realize that their Dubai dreams are not likely to be fulfilled. Living expenses are high, and they have loans to repay and families to support.
The book lifts the lid off the lives of blue-collar workers in the Middle East. It captures the humor and pathos of the sweltering classes in thankless, low-paid jobs. Here is the heart wrenching saga of taxi drivers and workers who sweat it out to keep it going.
This novel is definitely worth a read by anyone interested in life in Dubai. It tells the story of the common man in search of his pot of gold. It contains a mine of information not ordinarily found anywhere else. The book has its funny moments and the author narrates the stories told to him by taxi drivers.
Shamlal Puri is an international journalist, editor and author. He has worked with the media as a professional journalist and photographer in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East in a career spanning over 30 years. While in Dubai, he observed blue-collars workers at close quarters, and Dubai Dreams is the outcome. Shamlal has published several books including That’s Life: Michael Matatu at Large and Axis of Evil: Blood Money.
During his long career in the media Shamlal Puri founded Newslink Africa, a pioneering news agency for this continent. His work has been published in more than 250 magazines, newspapers, journals around the world. He started his career on ‘Northern News’ in India where he rose to be its assistant editor. He also worked on ‘Daily News’ in Tanzania and was a senior journalist with ‘The Kenya Times’ in Nairobi and Drum magazine. He has written for ‘The Illustrated Weekly of India’, ‘Femina’, Youth Times, ‘Caravan’ and ‘Women’s Era’ magazines, among others, in India.
In the United Kingdom, Shamlal worked with ‘India Weekly’ and Harrow and Wembley Observer newspapers in London. He was also a Senior Editor of ‘World Times’ magazine in London’s Fleet Street. He has written for many newspapers, including the London Evening Standard and the Daily Nation of Kenya. He has broadcast on BBC World Service, BBC TV, Channel Four in Britain and networks in Australia and Africa.
As a professional news photographer, he has compiled a picture library of
250,000 images. His photographs are widely published globally, including in the British national press. He has visited most of the countries in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Far East and the Americas and now lives in Britain, devoting his time to writing.
Further details, review copy and author photo available
from Dr A. Kumar on 0207 937 7080 or by emailing us.
CP
Crownbird Publishers
15 Kensington High Street
LONDON W8 5NP (England)
Tel: 44 207 937 7080
Fax: 44 020 7938 4168
Email: info@crownbirdpublishers.co.uk
www.crownbirdpublishers.co.uk
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