He is a successful businessman and entrepreneur as chairman of Radiant Traders and Royal Gardens Centre. Radiant Traders is a group of companies dealing in trading, retail and service segments of Dubai that has been operational for over five long decades. And this multi-million dirham business which has brought him much success and to his family was built with passion and hard-work right here in Dubai.Daily headlines from the UAE and around the world brought to you by Gulf News. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/videos
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00:00I came here in Dubai in 1958 by ship and it took five days by ship to reach here.
00:10Perhaps there were five ships there during those days, Namra, Dara, Dwarka, Daresa and
00:19Sirdana.
00:21They are from BISN shipping company, British India Steam Navigation Company.
00:29They were from there and about one a week was moving from Mumbai, Bombay to Basra.
00:41So from Bombay it will come to Karachi, Karachi to Gwadar, Gwadar to Muscat, Muscat to Dubai,
00:49Dubai to Doha, then Kuwait and then Basra.
00:54All these ports, six, seven ports, they were, seven ports they were covering and taking
01:01the cargo and passengers.
01:04These ships were all cargo cum passenger ships and from Bombay to Dubai, it used to take
01:11five days, two days up to Karachi, one day Gwadar, one day Muscat and then fifth day
01:21Dubai.
01:24They were halting there in each port for five to seven hours, eight hours, so they can discharge
01:33the cargo, they can, the passengers can get down and new passengers will come and new
01:41cargo will come, like that they were running this.
01:45From Bombay I came to Gwadar first, I stayed there for two weeks and then from Gwadar I
01:55took another ship coming to Dubai and after living few months again I went back to Bombay,
02:04gave my final exam of the college and then again I came in 1959.
02:13So many times I have travelled and maybe twice I travelled by Dara, so far in newspapers
02:23the Dara ship what they have put that is not the actual ship, this is the actual ship,
02:31that may be imaginary, this ship they have taken the drawing, but this is the issued
02:38by the company, BISN company.
02:41So my brother-in-law wanted to go on this ship on 7th April 1961, go to Bombay, just
02:57three days before his travel I was feeling uneasy, so I told my brother-in-law please
03:09don't go by this ship, he said why you are asking me that, you know my sister is getting
03:17married in Ujjain in India and I have to reach there, I have to prepare many things, I said
03:26my marriage is also there on 11th May and I am also coming in next vessel, we shall
03:36go or we go by air, because Kalinga Airlines was going during those days and there was
03:48another alternative, so anyhow he told me that okay because you are telling me and you
03:57are not feeling easy, something is going on in your mind, you are not comfortable,
04:08so he postponed his program by going that and 7th evening we heard, we saw that there
04:19was lot of typhoon and next early morning our house was as I told you above the Sheikh's
04:31garage, it was in Shindigarh area, where the Plaza Cinema is now there, Plaza Cinema was
04:39there, so we could see the beach and some smoke was coming there far away in the sea,
04:50then we came to know that this ship in the midnight, after midnight it caught fire, so
05:03to save the people, some people, to save their lives some people jumped in the water
05:09and some maybe burnt there and up in the morning ship got sunk and we heard that, during those
05:23days communication was not like it is now, you know my brother-in-law was travelling,
05:36so he had informed his family that he is travelling by that, in India my sister and his brother
05:46and other family member, they heard that this particular ship got sunk, after the fire
05:58it got sunk, so they were worried, we got telegram after two days that please give us
06:08news about Narayana Das who was travelling by this ship, actually during, at that time
06:24we forget to inform them, because communication was not easy, there was no telephones, so
06:34we gave them reply by cable only, by telegram that he is alright and he has not travelled
06:45and they were so happy and during those days there was no seaport in Dubai, ship used to
06:56anchor in the middle sea, 4-5 kilometres away from the shore and then we will get down
07:07to a big launch with 30-40 passengers in that and then that launch will come to the shore,
07:18there was a small customs house where the ruler's office is now and crane is there,
07:25there was the customs and we will get down there and our old souk was just connected
07:33with it, we just walked to our office, our home, it was very small area during those
07:40days, population of Dubai was about 50,000 when I came here and out of those 50,000 more
07:53than 20,000 were Indians and business community people they may be around 200 and some about
08:055-6,000 people working with them, so it was like a small town but we knew each one very
08:20well, each of us knew each other very well and do business, during those days lot of
08:29goods launches were coming from Iran, Pakistan and goods were going there, from Iran some
08:38goods will come, besides that to neighbouring countries like Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi
08:49Arabia and some African ports also goods were going, Dubai was free port during those
08:56days, till now it is like that and we could import anything, everything but during those
09:07days Japan was in very much form and mostly things were coming from Japan, there may be
09:19textiles, it may be machinery, it may be cars and etc., yes, when the question of cars come
09:29here because there were no proper roads and this thing, so saloon cars were not popular,
09:36so they were using Land Rover four-wheel drive Jeeps and when we wanted to go to Sharjah,
09:50suppose Sharjah was about 20 kilometres during those days, from Dubai Dehra side to Sharjah 20
10:00kilometres but it used to take more than an hour because there were no proper roads and sometimes
10:08car may stuck in, cars not but Jeeps I will say, they will stuck in the dunes, there was one airport
10:16at Sharjah, the Sharjah International Airport which was run by, it was actually RAF camp,
10:26Royal Air Force, Britishers were ruling during those days and they were issuing the visas to
10:34come over here and every two years, three years, the political agent who was the head like ambassador,
10:45who was the head of the political agency, he was looking after all the affairs of the foreigners.
10:54In 1952, my father supported my uncle, his brother-in-law, my mother's brother to start
11:07business in Dubai, so in 1952, he started business of fancy items which comes to and then textiles
11:19and there were many items in that, it may be cosmetics, perfumes, household items,
11:30small store but we were keeping everything, we started with regal traders in 1952 and then in
11:411958, I came and joined my uncle and then we started textile division at that time and mainly
11:53we were importing goods from Japan, yeah, during those days, profits were not so high but money
12:02had value, I remember profit of for one year for average company was between 5 to 7,000 a year
12:14rupees and rupee was quite powerful during those days and maximum profit, I think Indian company
12:26will not get more than 20,000 a year about but then the country expanded, everything went with
12:35and you know by ship for 5 days coming from Bombay to Dubai, their fare was only 50 rupees and 50
12:46rupees, you will have all the 3 meals, tea and travel. His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Sayyid al-Maktoum
13:01who was then ruler, he became ruler only in 1958 October sometime and I was just fresh comer but he
13:12was so humble, so kind and our house was on the above the garage of his Highness and daily morning
13:25he will come and sit outside the garage on the bench and when I go to my office at 9 o'clock in the morning,
13:36he will get up, shake hand and will ask, how are you Baniyan, Kifalik Baniyan, I was a kid, 20 year old young
13:49man and his Highness was standing and greeting, this was a great honour for us, I was feeling. His office was near to our,
14:02his house was also very near to our, Dubai was a small town and his office was just there and we could just walk there
14:16and many times he will pass from the market and say hello, on auspicious occasions like Diwali, he would come in the market and greet us.
14:28In days of Holi, we could play with each other, even many locals they were joining us and we will colour them, they will colour us
14:42and we were living like a big family, during olden days, first everybody was, you know, what is celebrating Diwali at his own house
14:58and when the community increased, then we few friends thought that it is very difficult to go and greet each other's house.
15:12So, there was a big Indian association premises opposite Al-Faidi fort and there was a big hall like open area, there we celebrated Diwali Mela every year
15:32and many locals and Arab dignitaries and even political agents, they used to come and greet us.
15:42When we came, in 1958 I came here, we started on a very small scale, business was already there, then we started opening more and more shops,
15:58we started branches, office separate, retail shop separate, then second shop, third shop, like that we started and developed business
16:09and we engaged salesmen who would go to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and neighbouring states to sell the goods.
16:21So, like that we grew our business and in 1966, I separated from Regal Traders and started own company Royal Traders,
16:35then I called my younger brothers, they joined me and then again Royal Traders and Radiant Traders, we opened one of the, what is not branch but another entity
16:54and with that we opened separate shops for each thing.
16:59From Royal Traders, had retail shops with the name of Royal X and then we started Royal Fashions for tailoring and textiles.
17:12I was, I will say, first person to introduce many British suitings and shirtings and with that our business grew and we were pioneers of British suitings
17:33and we took agencies like Dormell and many other, John Foster, many other popular brands and then with that we started Royal Fashions where we started tailoring also,
17:50especially for Jains, Jain shirts and suits and then we started, yes, my younger brother, he was studying engineering, he was a student of engineer and civil engineer,
18:08so we started our own construction company, Raj General Contracting Company and quite few buildings, villas, we built it and then did the business.
18:28Of course, with local partners, we have done all these businesses.
18:34Now I am 81 and almost retired and separated from Royal Traders, now it is handled by my younger brothers and they are looking after it, Royal Fashions, Royal Traders,
18:51while my son is looking after Royal Garden Centre and Radiant Traders in fashion, jewellery and watches, he is doing and plus Royal Garden Centre we have, where we have garden decoration items and fountains and many, many things.
19:21www.RoyalTraders.co.uk