It was a lazy Friday morning, and I was enjoying my cup of tea while reading the newspaper. Sangram was also busy with his usual routine of reading finance related articles. When our stomachs started grumbling we realised that we were way past our lunch time. Then, we also remembered that we needed to shop for groceries, so we decided to go to the Mall of the Emirates. We could then eat something at the Food Court and also finish our shopping.

We were out of the house in the next thirty minutes. On our way, we were trying to decide what to eat and Sangram remembered that we had a voucher from   Pizza Hut. This helped us make that decision. We reached the mall and our hunt for the parking began. It was not that the parking lots were full, but to find an empty one close to the mall entrance on the hot afternoon was a challenge. In a few minutes, we managed to find one spot which was not too far from the entrance of the mall.

The impact of school vacations and summer heat was clearly visible at the Food Court since it  was over flowing, somehow we headed to the  Pizza Hut stall and placed our order of two individual meals. While Sangram was making the payment, I started walking around, looking for a table to sit. I felt a bit like a hunterwith my eyes on the prey and legs ready to run or pounce (brisk walk in our case!). I saw one table where people were getting up to leave,  and quickly reached there to secure it. We were lucky to find one close to the Pizza Hut stall.

While waiting for the food, we were making plans for the rest of the day.  Our order was ready in 15 minutes, and Sangram went to pick it up. By the time he returned to the table, we were so hungry that we literally attacked the food. After a few bites when the hunger pangs were satisfied, I started looking around and observing people. I noticed a man wearing a black suit with a wireless bluetooth pod stuck in his right ear. My eyes followed him thinking that he may be a personal security for the guy next to him, who was in a Kandoora. The  guy in a Kandoora gave him a pat on his back and exchanged a smile.  But wait! That guy in black suit went far ahead of the guy in Kandoora.

My brain was processing all this information at lightning speed. My eyes started following that black suited guy and suddenly,  I noticed a convoy of Kandoora-clad men. I said to Sangram, “He is here. His Highness Sheikh. Mohammed is here walking right behind your chair.” In the meantime, other people in the Food Court also noticed him walking past them. All this happened so quickly, that even before I could think of taking my phone out and clicking a photo, he had left the Food Court.

It took us a few minutes to understand that we had actually seen His Highness Sheikh Mohammed from the distance of a few feet. When we settled down, Sangram asked me how I had managed to notice him, when he hadn’t. I explained to him about the black suited guy and how my brain had quickly processed the information that he was neither wearing any wired earphone nor did he have any walkie-talkie in his hand. He didn’t even look like a regular security supervisor from the mall. The guy in the Kandoora was talking to this person in a friendly manner and the way they both were rushing through the crowd grabbed my attention. My eyes were focused on them and I thought that there may be some VIP around but hardly had any idea that it will be His Highness Sheikh. Mohammed, the Ruler of Dubai.

This entire episode, from seeing that black suited guy to spotting His Highness Sheikh. Mohammed happened in hardly 4 minutes.  Yesterday, I experienced the real meaning of ‘He came, He saw and He conquered.’ It was a day to be blogged about.