Keralite heartbroken by His Master’s demise

Our Correspondent

The demise of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, former Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, has been mourned by one and all in the UAE. The country observed a three-day official mourning while Dubai has a 10-day mourning in place.
Among the people who knew the eminent royal administrator closely was P.K. Abdul Kader from Thrissur district of Kerala, who attended to the personal needs of late Sheikh Hamdan in his palace since 1968.
The Indian expatriate shared with Gulf News his fond memories of the special bond he enjoyed with Sheikh Hamdan for more than five decades.
Abdul Kader was brought to Dubai in 1968 by his elder brother P.K. Kunju Mohammed, who was then working at Sheikh Hamdan’s palace. Soon, he was entrusted with the responsibility of attending to the personal needs of Sheikh Hamdan.
His job included serving food and medicines to Sheikh Hamdan and accompanying him on some of his trips abroad. He had accompanied the Dubai royal to London and Morocco, places he would never have gone if he had not been working for him, Khader remembers gratefully.
Abdul Kader recollects that Sheikh Hamdan was an embodiment of kindness and treated him very kindly. There was no dearth of any facility for any of his employees in the palace, he vouches.

“There are many from Kerala still working in the palace. Sheikh Hamdan has always shared a special bond with Kerala and its people who form one of the largest expatriate communities here. His charity initiatives have helped people from across the world, including our homeland in Kerala,” said Abdul Kader who is presently housekeeping-in-charge at the palace. He lives with his family in a three-bedroom villa in the premises of Sheikh Hamdan’s palace in Zabeel.
One of his four children works in a stable of Sheikh Hamdan while other children have gone back to Kerala. He pointed out that his children got educated and married with Sheikh Hamdan’s support. The benevolent royal saw to it that his employees of different nationalities were well cared for. He would even send them abroad for treatment where necessary.