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At home in Abu Dhabi

By Neena Vyas

ABU DHABI OCT. 19. You could have mistaken him for an Arab. He was wearing the long flowing white robe with the traditional Arab head gear and mixing freely with dozens of other Arab dignitaries and faculty members at the Higher College of Technology (HCT) waiting for the arrival of the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

He was Mohan Jashnal Jhangiani, an Indian businessman who has a permanent resident status and whose family came here in 1919. "For years we have wanted a high ranking Indian VIP to visit here and it is wonderful that Mr. Kalam has made it,'' he said. The Chairman of the Indian Business and Professional Group in the United Arab Emirates, he is perfectly at home.

Recently, the HCT has started sending students to India for `hands-on' experience with industry as part of their training programme here. For the first time, two young Arab women students, Morooj Ahmed and Samira Mohammed, went to Bangalore. "The time was too short, hopefully in future students will be sent for at least three months,'' a faculty member said. The two girls are in the only women's HCT among 11 such colleges in the U.A.E.

For some Mr. Kalam's visit took them down memory lane. Naik Sellaperumal was waiting anxiously. He is now a security guard at the HCT but till 1999, Sellaperumal, who belongs to Tamil Nadu, had often driven Mr. Kalam when he went on tours. "I have been his driver when he was in the DRDO, now he is the President.''

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