Dubai: When it comes to long-time residents of the UAE, any number of expats would lay claim to being early settlers here. More often than not, their chronicling would date back to 40-50 years, good enough for them to be acknowledged as veterans. But away from the spotlight, one Dubai-based Indian family is silently marking a milestone on completing a momentous 100 years in the UAE. As family members of Uttamchand Tulsidas Bhatia, deemed the wealthiest and most influential Indian merchant of his times, share their journey exclusively with Gulf News, the history is eventful, the recollections vivid. The illustrious Bhatias, spanning four generations now, make for a riveting story – whether it’s their personal accounts of how an orphaned Uttamchand sailed into Dubai as an 11-year-old and became the closest confidante of His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the late Ruler of Dubai; or their explicit narrative on Dubai’s transformation through the vagaries of time.
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