The UAE flag unites an Indian, Pakistani

Abu Dhabi - The pair run a business making and selling flags

An 'unlikely pair' of an Indian and a Pakistani have bonded over the years, in the UAE Capital, to successfully run a business selling national flags.
Kamarudheen from Kerala and Mohammed Nadeem from Sialkot have been running Qamar Al Deen since 2004. Their partnership is based on the most important factor of trust, said Kamarudheen who came to the UAE in December 1985.
"I started as a flagmaker and even today, after 32 years, I am managing the same business. I joined Qayyum Tailoring at the then Central Market. It was then the largest tailoring shop. Nad-eem and I worked there. All the UAE flag for overseas missions were done from there. Qayyum Tailoring was the first shop to supply the UAE flag after unification," he said.
However, Qayyum Tailoring ran into financial troubles and the duo moved on to set up own shop in 2004.
"We are equal partners. Nadeem has good knowledge about this business," Kamarudheen said about his partner, who is away on a visit to Pakistan.
Today, ministries, government entities, embassies, exhibition centres, hotels, cultural associations, educational institutions and such form their distinguished client list. Besides, the public and private sector, we supply the flag to some 70 embassies in the UAE, including Afghanistan, Austria, Libya, Latvia, Luxembourg, Italy, Indonesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Uruguay, Uganda, and Sudan, among others," Kamarudheen said, flipping through his register book.
"The Tricolour hoisted at the embassy comes from India, but we do provide the one placed in the ambassador's car. We cover almost 80 per cent of educational institutions. It's not just companies but the general public too come here," he added.
Kamarudheen said that though their job isn't taken seriously, their task gets tougher when countries and institutions keep changing flags.
"When we started, people used to wonder what we were up to. They would taunt us: 'Who can make a living by selling flags?' We have proved that it can be done and with great success too," he added.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi