How the Bhatia business started A hot and dusty day in Dubai. A scraggly youngster struggled to balance the rolls of cloth on his shoulders as he shuffled into the palace premises. There weren’t security men around. After all, this was the 1920s: a time when Dubai was a desert outpost by the creek. Some palace maids noticed the skinny delivery boy. He was too young to work. Too frail to carry the cloth rolls. He certainly bore the marks of maltreatment. This aroused the curiosity of the maids, who quizzed him. His has been a life of struggle and abuse at the hands of his employer (a relative) since he came to Dubai, aged 11.