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Dubai: The art scene in Dubai is becoming increasingly vibrant and one centre contributing to the buzz is the Manu Chhabria Art Centre, which has been operational since 2006.
Manu Chhabria Art Centre holds a reputation for being the first cultural hub in Dubai which features a centre for musical arts, an old library and 16 classrooms that can be used for everything from crafts to painting, sculpture, ceramics and pottery.
The Manu Chhabria Arts Centre is named after the founder and late chairman of the Jumbo Group, in recognition of his efforts to get the corporate sector involved in community projects.
"We are the patrons of shows and galleries," said Kiran Chhabria. Kiran, the daughter of the late Indian businessman Manu Chhabria, continues to carry forward her father's legacy by adding new dimensions to the centre.
Gulf News caught up with Kiran for a short interview.
The art centre opened at the Dubai Community Theatre and Art Centre (DUCTAC) in September 2006, said Kiran.
"DUCTAC was the first cultural hub in Dubai and we were delighted that they allowed us to be the chief patrons of the arts centre and become part of the cultural movement," she said.
Jumbo started off with a small office in Bur Dubai in the late 1970s, and later went on to build their head office in the same location.
"It was the only glass building in Dubai and was considered a landmark because you could see it from Deira. It was probably one of the first glass buildings in Dubai in the early 1980s," she said.
Jumbo Electronics has grown exceptionally well since it acquired distribution rights for Sony Corporation in 1975 and became its sole distributor in the Gulf. The business boomed in 1984 when Manu Chhabria acquired the UK-based Dunlop Rim and Wheel's stake in Dunlop Kolkata, India which was then the country's largest tyre maker.
"I was raised in Dubai and remember when there wasn't even a road outside our house," said Kiran. She recollected when the Jumeirah Beach Park was first developed in 1989.
"Growing up, there weren't a lot of facilities available in the city. There was the option of either going to one movie theatre or socialising at the Indian Sports Club, which hosted movie nights every Thursday. It was fun because children could play badminton and swim at the pool," she said.
Dubai was a very quiet city at the time and there were hardly any hotels, and when the Hyatt Regency added an ice rink, it soon became the main attraction for everybody.
Phenomenal growth
"Who would have thought that one day there would be an indoor ski facility in Dubai. There has been a phenomenal growth in the city."
Since her father Manu Chhabria passed away in 2002, her mother Vidya has taken over the business as chairperson and introduced a wave of change to the company.
"It has become more professional and we now follow through the proper channels of hierarchy which is different than how my father used to run it since he used to run the business hands-on."
Kiran explained that Dubai has become increasingly professional over the decades as a trading hub for not only the Middle East, but the entire Asian region as well.
"You have local giant property developers investing in India and also many foreign companies bringing a lot of investment into the country as well," she said.
"You don't have business transactions while businessmen are having lunch at people's homes. Be it local or multinational companies, you have a hierarchy and a schedule of authority which everyone adheres to now."
Within the past five years, the company has had to evolve and upgrade itself by implementing a new electronic system whereby all items are immediately accounted for on paper.
"Before, things would get lost and a lot of time would be wasted trying to track things down."
"Our company has grown 40 per cent per every year and it is a phenomenal task for local companies to constantly keep up with the city's growth," she said. "Dubai has indeed placed itself on the map of the world."
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