upon the wind, Run on the top of the dishevelled tide, And dance
upon the mountains like a flame.
William Butler - Yeats The Land of Heart's Desire.
Its always wonderful to watch the people around you especially in a big city like Dubai. You can see all sorts of people from all corners of the world ,not something you can expect to see in your hometown, especially from a coountry where I hail from like India. In Kerala, when you walk around the street with earphones plugged, everyone will notice you. But in a big city like this they don’t care even if it is i-pad that you have in your hand.
Last time in Dubai, we were in the Mall of Emirates, one of the proud achievements of the city .It was wonderful being there ,but what I loved the most was the people moving around me…the Americans, Africans, Europeans and once inside this building you will forget that you are in a desert land…far away from the home of majority of the citizens living there.
In the mall of emirates ,its not the luxury shops like BVLGARY or Louis Vuitton that attracts you ,its the crowd mixing around you. .so many people all in their own world, yet stranger to everyone around them .Another aspect I like about Dubai ,they treat everyone equally ,even if you don’t carry designer bags on your shoulders or wear designer foot wears ,you are equally welcomed in any luxury boutique, but of course, when they see the size of your pocket their respect increases, which is, I guess a ‘natural phenomenon’ in any part of the world.
One thing is quite certain even if you don’t buy anything. You walk and walk and walk through endless passages and get stuck right in the middle not knowing how you ended up in that particular place .But luckily for us ,we had already planned that we all will walk together ,sticking to each other so there is no chance of missing anyone in the group.
We happened to see the Ski Dubai, the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East which offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just to play in the snow. Whether being young or old one can enjoy the unique mountain-themed attraction that you see in snow countries. Though it is an artificial world, it was so successful in attracting the people that it is now one of the busiest area in the mall. They play all sorts of game, make snowman or throw snowballs at each other and have all the fun that you have in winter season. I guess the people from the cold countries will feel more like home when they enjoy it there. It was beautiful ,especially about the winter jackets and shoes that make you wear…,and with -4 degree Celsius around you, you will definitely forget that it is happening in a desert land. This is what we call modern advancements, both in lifestyle as well as technology.
It would no doubt be a shame if I don’t mention the marvels of architecture in the building. It is the second largest shopping mall in the Middle East(after Dubai Mall, world’s largest mall),and have one of the largest indoor ski area. The Dancing water in the front entrance is another beautiful sight one must not miss.
We went to the mall by the metro train, the Red Line they call it. It was about 6 in the evening when we started the journey. We could see the whole city being covered in the darkness with lights seen here and there ready to welcome the rest of the night .It was a beautiful sight because you get an aerial view of the city from the train.
Speaking of heights, I remember the time when above 3000m from the ground ,in the aeroplane, one wonders how the cloud will feel like when we just pass our hands through them .Looking down, I get all sorts of scary ideas like childish nightmares when we imagine what happens when the plane just breaks in the middle and you go down. I would imagine that there would be an unending ocean beneath me with lots of giant whales and frightening sharks swimming around , ready to gobble you down once you hit the water. Then nobody knows you are there, no rescuer knows you are in the belly of that fish. I wonder if at all I were to swim, in which direction will I swim? Because you dont carry a compass in your packet every time and never at the time of boarding the plane. Then I will remember my tiny heroes from”Finding Nemo”,the little cute Nemo and his friends. Or may be there is the little mermaid and she will take me deep down to her world and treat me as her guest for the rest of my life. I will be so glad if I were to live in a world like that, far away from the grim realities happening around you. Then I could live there forever ,swim around with friends and play with them all the time. A fiction that is never going to happen.
Growing up reading Grimm Brothers fairy tales, I love those stories and used to dream about that wonderful world. Like many millions, I too enjoyed a lot when these stories were made moving pictures. What would it be like living in the castles and roaming around the beautiful gardens with guards on all nook and corner to protect you? How good would it be living in stone huts and yellow farms everywhere, with just bread and butter to end your day? As a kid we wish if all our favourite cartoon characters come alive, it would be so nice to play with them. Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, I will make them beautiful beds to sleep on, and the cute Mini and Mickey, to be part of their lovely stories, and the darling Donald Duck and the naughty Goofy ,and yes, of course I saw them all too, in the Dubai Mall of Emirates, to entertain the new generation kids, and the kids enjoy them well.
