"Didn't I tell you long back to buy a tripod", the voice inside my head accused. I did a "Guilty!! But I can't change it now, Can I?" This was in response to my wailing over not having a tripod while driving towards Atlantis and Palm Jumeirah. Nights in Dubai is really unbelievable. You are left wondering how good an architect these guys must be to have constructed an island, to have made a tunnel under the sea, and to have made a hotel that looks like a huge gate from a distance. I traveled through all of these at night and could not capture any of these in my camera for lack of a tripod.. phew !!
So it was my last night in Dubai and the seniors had left for London, other colleagues had plans of their own and me and two other colleagues-- Su-perky and pretty but dependent and Naveen-focused,supportive,rational and the one you could depend on--who have by now become friends decided we would go down and spend some time in the dance bar before deciding where to go. I wanted to do Atlantis again, that was before I realized that it is some 45 kms away from our hotel. Oh!! the hotel we stayed at belongs to a South Indian Don and had a dance bar called Bollywood Cafe and every night after we return back from office, followed by dinners and drives we would go to the dance bar and have fun looking at girls gyrating to songs like "chat pe soya tha behnoi". Seriously, there have been instances I wanted to be a guy then.
So we went to Bollywood Cafe, and we promised that we would sit down for just two performances but the music was good and it was fun so we ended up being there almost till 2:45 AM. Then we went out and I came up with the idea that we should go to Creek or Deira (that is where rich Arabs park their little private Yachts). I thought photos there would come out good, and before I forget I finally managed to purchase a travel tripod earlier that evening. I could not wait to test it.
We took a taxi and like a pro I said " Creek". We reached there in less than five minutes and started clicking. I tried all angles, all exposures but to my woe, I did not get even a single decent picture. I was pissed with myself. It was hot and humid and I had come out in the middle of the night to capture Rich Arabs tiny toys and I could not get it right. Just then Su said, "Girl, we should get moving. Lets walk", I agreed and we started walking. Naveen was walking a few steps behind. We did come some 200-300 metres from the Creek when I saw a beautiful Mosque in the background. The lighting was just perfect. It was on the other side of the road and like a temptress calling out to a wanton, it caught my eye. I took out my tripod, fixed my camera and was clicking away to glory. It was pleasure and the result was perfection.
Just then Naveen saw a police car in the distance. He warned me, but I had long exposure on and could not touch the cam. By the time I was done, police arrived. They got out of the car and took one hard long look at the three of us. Me and Su, both were in knee length dresses. Then one of them spoke,"What are you doing in the middle of the night?" I said,"We are tourists, going back tomorrow, we are just taking pics." The police said, " Here, not allowed, this is VIP area, this is Indian Consulate, the other one is Libyan Consulate. Show me ID." Me like a heroine took out my Indian Passport. He did a double take. I think he thought I am a terrorist. He said "Come to Police Station, We do a check and give a warning". And then the scary looking man opened the back seat of the police vehicle and the three of us hopped in. I was a little scared I think, not because I had done anything wrong but because all three of us had a few shots of tequila at the Dance Bar.
"Su, in my own country even I have never entered a police station. Get a grip Girl," I said. By then I think she was almost on the verge of breaking down. And then like a heroine I added for extra effect,"Anyway it is my passport that these guys here have." By then the first reaction of the cold, unfeeling building had settled in and I was getting my composure back.The station looked like an alien place, there wasn't a single woman there, the whole place was white-washed, and alien looking people with alien sounding language was talking among themselves.They took away my camera and I saw it change hands a number of times. The camera is almost my lifeline and I was scared they would put it in a polythene packet like Indian police and stow it away like evidence. My heart was almost breaking and then I heard Su say, "Ask them to keep the camera and let us go for Gods sake", I was about to snap when Naveen intervened and said,"Dont worry nothing will happen. The camera is our savior. It has all photographs of our event as well as our trip and masti. That should serve as a proof of our innocence." Thanks Naveen !!
The police there were really nice. I mean they kept on smiling all the while. They didn't question unnecessarily and didn't harass any of us. Just then a man in Kandura, the Arabic Robe, came in checked the camera and then came to me. He asked me to delete all the beautiful pics. And then he looked at the police and said something in Arabic and then said Khallas. During my week long stay I realized Khallas means "The End". He then handed me the camera and pointed me towards a room. We went there after ten minutes. The man there asked me questions and then asked me my passport number. I gave them all details, they wrote something in Urdu/Arabic and handed me the paper to sign in, saying it says you will not photograph at night in VIP area. I nodded and signed. He said "Khallas, go", I said "My Passport". They had misplaced my passport. They could not find it. It was almost 5 AM then. And I had a flight back home at 10:10PM. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
Then Naveen whispered in my ear,"Shaayad yeh log tere passport ko khufiya taareeke se kuch kar rahein hain." My eyes went big and I said, "Perhaps". We sat for some half an hour more and then suddenly the man in Kandora came back again, he took out my passport, smiled at me and said,"Sorry, I am busy, sorry sorry!! I come back for you." Relief ran through me. I took my passport and then everyone there smiled. The chief gave a thumbs up. I asked "Now". He said,"Khallas, now go and sleep". Like an idiot I looked at the man in kandora and asked, "Can you drop us at the Hotel",.He looked at me and said,"Sorry!! I am busy, I come back for you. Take Taxi!!"
We ran out of the police station, we ran out of the lane and then all three of us burst out laughing.
It was a trip of a lifetime. I went back to my MBA days when sleeping was a luxury. I hardly slept for 3-4 hours everyday the whole of 8 days. I had deactivated my facebook account for the period of my stay there. I went to a dance bar almost every night. And I ate so much I am now scared of finding out how much I weigh. And yes, I even spent a few hours in a police station. I never realized photography would land me in a Police Station.
Moral: 1. No wearing short dresses in Gulf country at night.
2. Always find out if photography is allowed in the Area, in whatever country you are in.
