Dubai: Xanadu for India's Page 3

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="0" width="36.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" ffffff=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/1013790.cms" alt="/photo/1013790.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">Forget London and New York.The rich and the famous in India are making a bee-line for this desert destination. <br /><br />Shah Rukh Khan has acquired a home there. So has M F Husain. And Sunil Gavaskar. So many stylish (and wealthy) Indians are opting for Dubai now that it’s possible to buy property in the desert kingdom. <br /><br />Grand villas with magnificent pools, sprawling lawns and full-grown date palms are being snapped up by desi celebs who are looking for a great lifestyle in a destination that’s accessible and close enough to be considered a second home. <br /><br />Dubai really has it all. And if plans fall into place, it will soon emerge as a key hub for media. <br /><br />It’s already a major financial spot, dominated by monster banks, offering great services to big ticket clients. Now, with our mega stars opting to invest there as well, Dubai is positioning itself as one of the most glam destinations to be in.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />There was a time when well-heeled Indians and Pakistanis preferred to put their money into smart addresses in London or New York. Now, it’s the turn of this tiny desert tract, where construction never ceases, not even at night. <br /><br />Workers on sites slave 24 X 7 to meet impossible deadlines. One can hear the incessant whirr of cranes and cement makers in the dead of the night as glittering malls, sky-scrapers and residential palaces emerge from the hot sand, like so many mirrored towers made out of Lego blocks.<br /><br />It’s unreal and amusing to see such hi-speed development — but then, nearly everything about Dubai is artificial and man-made. I just love the plastic beauty of it all. So much like Las Vegas in the old days, when an arid strip of nothingness was cleverly carved out from scratch to become the world’s most dazzling tourist magnet.<br /><br />Investors from every corner of the earth, are looking at Dubai to park their funds. The profile of professionals working there has changed as well. <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal">Gone is the ‘White Trash’ from England — the cockney-speaking rejects who found easy employment in the Gulf. Today, Dubai is attracting top-class talent, from advertising to banking. <br /><br />And their shopping festival is drawing shopaholics from India by the plane-load. Critics crib that Dubai lacks a cultural identity. Know what? You want a culture fix, go to Rome. If you want to chill out, eat at great restaurants, watch movies, swim and generally do nothing more strenuous than malling at your own leisure, then this is the place to be. <br /><br />I am rapidly turning into a Dubai Diehard. Lucky Shah Rukh/ Husain/ Sunny. They have found their true place in the sun. As for the rest of us, I guess we shall have to settle for <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">bhaji </span>on the beach at Chowpatty.<br /><br />God bless Satish Gujral. I’ve never been nuts about his art. But I am nuts about him. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Amazing man</span>. Ever since he got his hearing back, he has started seeing differently! His current mega-show attracted fans (and old foes), who turned up at the gallery to applaud Gujral’s bronzes, and cheer him on. It was sad to see his brother (and former PM), Shri I K Gujral sitting all by himself most of the evening. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kissa kursi ka, anyone??</span></div> </div>