'KT was the first thing people wanted to see in the morning'

Dr Ram Buxani

He is one of the oldest expats of the country (he has been in Dubai for over 58 years now) and one of the first subscribers of Khaleej Times.
Dr Ram Buxani who is the chairman of the group ITL-Cosmos is now one of India's most successful NRI businessmen and the face of the Indian community of the UAE. Having no airport, when he first landed on the soil of Dubai, the source of getting newspapers from India was by sea.
"It was weekly sailing from Mumbai. That means the ship would carry six days' newspapers and we would get all of them at a time. As soon as we got the papers everyone would get involved in reading the papers to update themselves. Life was slow and one had the luxury of spending some time on reading," Buxani told Khaleej Times.
Recalling the earlier days, Buxani said: "Then came the era of cyclostyled A4 size Reuters news bulletin produced by Allied Enterprises. About 10 sheets and stapled. This name was later changed to Recorder due to technical reasons."
To attempt to produce a broadsheet newspaper to match international standards was a big move. And this is when the Galadari family took this bold step with the support of Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the then Ruler of Dubai, in 1978, Buxani added.
"For many Khaleej Times was the first thing they wanted to see after opening their eyes in the morning. The Recorder survived for a little while but closed down subsequently".
A deliberate effort had to be made to make local news during those days as there was hardly any good local news because the city was merely a stretch of land of just about a kilometre, where everyone knew everyone. Even if there was any newsworthy story then people would shy away from talking about or publishing anything in the newspaper, he said.
Khaleej Times has absorbed and sustained through the highs and lows of times. It has stood the test of time and has kept pace with the ever-changing world, he said.
Praising the new appointment of a Happiness Editor, Buxani said: "Appointing a Happiness Editor is a big change as mirrors the change of Dubai. I wish it many decades of fruitful and successful existence."
KT readers give us 38 expressions of how being in the UAE has given them so many reasons to smile.
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saman@khaleejtimes.com