UAE: Two Indian authors granted 10-year Golden Visas

Dubai - The authors are grateful to the UAE for recognising and nurturing talent.

Two Indian authors based in the UAE have become the latest recipients of the UAE's 10-year Golden Visa

Deeba Salim Irfan, who calls Dubai her home, has been living here for the last 22 years. She has already penned three books and is working on her fourth one. She's one of the very few female authors from India to have received the Golden Visa. Deeba was an advertising professional before she turned into a full-time author.

On receiving the coveted visa under the ‘class of creator from the people of culture and art’, she said: “I am extremely delighted to receive the long-term visa for myself and my family and be recognised as a writer by the government of UAE. I am thankful to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for launching the first long-term cultural visa in the world and recognising and nurturing talent. I pledge 36 hours a year for the service of aspiring writers in this country.”

Deeba’s poetry coffee table book, Charcoal Blush was the finalist at the 2017 Book Excellence Awards in Canada. It was launched at AMULiterary Festival in India in 2016 by Padma Shri Keki Daruwala, a well-known poet of India.

Charcoal Blush received a lot of praise from Academy Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning directors. Her debut novel, Urma, published in India was translated into Urdu and nominated for an award. Currently, it is being translated into more languages outside India. Her latest novel is 355 Days (Genre – Crime-Legal Fiction).

saman@khaleejtimes.com