“God created war so that
Americans would learn geography.”
― Mark Twain
“I know not with what weapons
World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and
stones.”
― Albert Einstein
“War” if reverse the alphabet becomes “Raw,” which is what we are in actuality; intelligent, educated yet very much “Raw” within, that’s why we are always eager to “War” … Me
I love Dubai & I miss visiting the city & when I started penning down this sharing which you must have guessed is about Dubai then there was a weird feeling in my mind as for the first time, I am writing about a trip at a place which didn’t happen! Well, I visited last Dubai three years back, Dec of 22, immediately after fading the effect of worldwide pandemic & even when we came back, on Mumbai airport they were making sample checkups for third wave, which thankfully didn’t happen (just like my this Dubai trip, self-sarcasm)! As I said I always respected Dubai for its openness towards the world & in a way you can call it as Ashiya’s USA, sadly the latter itself has or is on the verge of losing that tag of openness for the new ideas, which Dubai was & is ready to embrace! Most of us visit Dubai for shopping & the entertainment it provides to the visitors & nothing wrong, holidays (especially for Indians) are meant for that & all this at value for money! No wonder Dubai is first on the wish list of visiting places not just for Indians but for many international tourists & my purpose always was to see & absorb as much as I can what this city has new on its platter! And this year also I have booked myself on Emirates, which a Punekar resident has to take from Mumbai & many frowns as why to board from Mumbai when you have Indigo as well SpiceJet option from Pune to Dubai. Two things, Spice jet is extremely inconsistent & Indigo timings are ok only if you are going to stay at somebody’s residence i.e. it reaches in Dubai in very early morning while most hotel’s check in is post noon! And then on the way back Emirates terminal is a place which I like to spend time also, so be it! My flight was on 5th of March & a merely a week before that hell broke loose i.e. USA & Israel opened war with Iran & in no time it reached the entire middle east & it’s this war as well its impact on my loved city is my subject of sharing!
First & foremost, I used to visit Dubai to widen my perspective about my own business which is real estate here in Pune & to learn aesthetics though many of the things we may not be able to ever implement here for many reasons which are our constraints, I.e. right from PMC by laws to budget of the project, yet even if we can implement few percent of what we see, it’s enough as it makes a big difference, is what I have experienced! Though the first news of war came on 28th Feb, & I (along with many others) thought, UAE won’t be part or say affected by the war because for middle east war is as common as flue in the poor countries but this time the flue gets turned in to Covid (sorry for analogy but that’s what I felt) as first time the safest city or country in the world started witnessing fear among the citizens! The social media (Insta/ FB) are buzzing with all sorts of posts to such an extent that even the residents of Dubai started wondering what to believe & what to not, thanks to AI & Influencers rush to encash the public's attention about war updates! Thankfully, my niece & her husband who works in Dubai were giving me fair and right updates about the situation & Emirates also confirmed that, for the first-time, entire operations of worlds probably largest & best airlines has been suspended for more than four days straight! At the same time, the world's busiest airport also came to standstill for four days in its history, disrupting travel plans of three fourths of the world, this itself tells the impact of the war, which nobody, not even near perfect rulers of Dubai also could see it coming! Needless to say my trip was cancelled as even today which was my return date (supposedly) the flights are not came back to normal & Iran is keeping sky of Dubai busy with hundreds of Drones & Missiles, again source is Insta posts as going by typical Middle East rulers the Sheikhs are tight lipped about what’s actual damage or scene of war but this is world of information (right & wrong both) & if we go by even fifty percent of what’s being shared then frankly & unfortunately the safest city crown is somewhat has been slipped from the head of Dubai, is a fact we can’t deny!
There are interceptions i.e. fired Drones & Missiles are being destructed in the sky itself by defence system but for last ten days the city which never has to fear for anything, except crossing Shaikh Zayed Road (only if you are not crossing it from signal), is needed to leave the plush localities & sky-scrapers & take shelter in suburbs in low lying areas & even there, people are spending nights in the basement. Alert messages keep your cell phone busy & sky is filled with smoke & sound of Drone interceptions all day long. Every time you are on the road you have to look up in the sky & be ready to run for shelter if a situation arises. Your flights are not certain, DXB i.e. Dubai’s beloved airport can be shut at any moment & most importantly nobody knows or not certain when this all will end, that’s the crux! As when a city boasts of offering you safety then the biggest support it is giving you is trust in the entire system that you know what’s going to happen next, as then only you are nor afraid as people are afraid of uncertainty & that’s what Dubai has lost during the last ten days! USA (as usual) has asked its citizens to leave the entire Middle East & that includes Dubai also, which again is the first time in the history of Dubai. The attacks of Drones have paralyzed operations of many big MNC’s again nobody is confirming in open but people are whispering about it as data centres of E-Commerce companies have been hit & so has their business & all this in the month of Ramdan which is like Diwali in Middle East, worsening the financial damage multiple times, again a first time for Dubai! Here I have been a bit surprised by Dubai’s rulers’ approach as they are not giving any clear idea about what’s actually happening to their citizens & this is where they have lost the opportunity of gaining confidence of outsiders, is my personal view! Because till today when any outsider trusts some third country or city then that’s because he or she feels safe & comfortable by the treatment which that city’s rulers or governing body is giving to the individual & that’s what makes someone to trust on the city as communication is the best way to gain trust & this time may be because the rulers of Dubai themselves are clueless about war stopping, they are not giving clarity to its residents, is my subject of sharing!
Rather, they are trying to engage influencers to make them show how things are normal in Dubai, & publishing warnings to the people who are posting war damage news in Dubai. Agreed the misleading news must be stopped but the best way to deal with hoax or rumours is you yourself post what’s truth, which surprisingly Dubai’s rulers haven't done yet, maybe they are thinking it's showing weakness but that's a big mistake they are doing. People are leaving the city, work places have been hit, is a fact which you may not post in the media but somewhere somebody speaks & that’s more dangerous damage to the reputation as it's a matter of trust, which once gets lost then is very hard to recover, is something Dubai bosses must understand! At the same time the stranded tourists were helpless on both, accommodation front & commuting front as Emirates with due respect not giving any idea about refunds, rescheduling like things causing mental & financial damage to the tourists held in Dubai & outside also. In my own case I didn’t receive any communication about my tickets & cancelled travel! I can understand the limitations yet if you call yourself best then you must be at least open to communication & clear one, which hasn’t happened neither from the airline nor from Dubai govt. At the same time no financial aid of any single Dirham has been given (to my knowledge) to any Indian tourist who gets stuck in the city as that's a big financial burden for many i.e. extended stay & food in a city like Dubai. I agree, that’s not the fault nor the legal responsibility of Dubai govt but then when you call yourself best & safest city then you have to shell out extra efforts in a crisis, right? This was again a negative mark for the city from the travellers!
Coming to some lessons I have learned from the cancellation of this trip, one is always pay a little extra for hotel booking but keep the cancelling option open till the last day of your trip which I had, so I got a full refund for hotel bookings. Same way, keep travel tickets open for rescheduling by paying some extra rupees as then your claim remains for next travel. Most importantly, I was lucky to get my trip cancelled in advance but had I been stranded there, I would have to ask for insurance cover by paying some extra premium for war like situation if arise, so it will take care of room rent & other expenses for prolonged stay as well cover Mediclaim also for injury caused by war! One aspect which our Govt must think is think of surcharge of Rs 100 for every international ticket & use that money if situation arise to evacuate stranded travellers back to our country as or else that entire burden either common tax payers have to bear or the tourists has to pay huge extra money for return journey which does happen this time. One-way tickets from Dubai to Mumbai soared to Rs 75 k to Rs 1 lakh which is nearly five times higher than normal rates, again minus points for the tourists to Dubai as well as residents there! Dubai, I understand this whole war thing nobody has imagined but then again if you call yourself safest & best city in the world then first you must be ready for worst & second, don’t shy away from improving if you failed to plan in the first place, is the subject of my sharing!
Coming to last aspect of this piece; in any war, nobody gains is said but that’s book’s philosophy as business philosophy is simple, somebody’s loss is somebody’s gain & this loss of trust & fear in the minds of rich people, for Dubai (how so-ever they claim on Insta that all is well) can be a big gain for India, especially Pune & Bengaluru! As in India we may not ever have the infrastructure, duty-free shopping, or cleanliness the way Dubai has but we have one thing, that at-least for now there is no fear of getting the entire city or region, war hit! Here State as well Central govt can think of creating “D’ regions or “D” cities (D for Dubai) near Pune Mumbai (because of airport connectivity) creating infra as well taxation discounts for Data Centres & offices of MNCs’ which are ready to move away from middle east as this is encashing time & no shame in it as business stops for nobody, is something Dubai itself has taught us! Only if our govt learns some wisdom (whom I am fooling, lol) from this crisis & gears itself in the right way & grab it as an opportunity, then Dubai’s loss which may be temporary can be our big gain, though I still love Dubai as a city & will like to want to see it back to its glory soon; adios with this note!
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
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https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2025/12/pune-real-estate-in-2026.html
https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html
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