For the last 104 years, one establishment in Dubai has quietly played a part in shaping the city. Built on generations of trust in this emirate and its rulers, ‘Uncle’s Shop’ began as a modest textile trading company in the bustling souk by a 13-year-old named Uttamchand Tulsidas Bhatia, lovingly called Vattra.
Today the firm deals in building and construction materials and banking among other industries and is being run by the fourth generation of the Bhatia family.
Last month, the company was honored with the ‘Best Private Sector’ entity award at the Erth Dubai Awards Ceremony for its role in preserving the culture and documenting the rich history of the city.
Deepak Bhatia, managing director of Uncle’s Shop Building Material Trading, said the award was a “deeply proud and emotional moment” for the family and extremely meaningful for them. “It’s not just an award, but a tribute to our journey, legacy, blessings and support of the Al Maktoum family for generations,” he told Khaleej Times. “We see ourselves not just as a business, but as custodians of a legacy that reflects Dubai’s heritage, cultural and commercial evolution.
The awards, one of the largest and most prestigious dedicated to cultural and social documentation, recognised people and entities for their contributions to preserving Dubai’s living memory, strengthening its national identity, and enhancing community documentation. Held at the Museum of Future, the event saw winners being honored by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE.
Deepak Bhatia played a role in publishing the book titled Pearls of Dubai, which traces the Indo-Arab relations during the period 1900-1958.
A labour of love
The book was written based on the records and documents that Vattra kept from when he arrived in the UAE and was officially launched by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Realising that there was no other book which traced the history of relations of Indians with the locals in the region, Deepak decided to publish it as a historic record. Drawing from his grandfather’s notes and getting inputs from local Emirati business leaders, Deepak took almost a year to collate Pearls of Dubai. He said the book was made possible due to the support extended to him by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and his brother, the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum who both spent several sessions- some lasting hours- poring over the book and going through the various details and approving it.
“Both Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid commended us and said that the book was a remarkable chronicle of history,” Deepak recalled. “He said that there were a lot of details which which supported the UAE archives most of which we were able to get it from my grandfather’s ledgers.”
A story of kindness
The story of Uncle’s Shop and the Bhatia family began in 1920, when Vattra, a young 11-year-old orphan arrived in ‘Dabai’ after a plague devastated his extended family. Forced to work in a relative’s shop, he was mistreated, beaten and even made to sleep outside on the pavement until the ruling family intervened.
“Sheikha Hessa bint Al Murr, wife of the then ruler, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, asked her staff to get my grandfather to the palace,” recounts Deepak. The young Vattra told the royal matriarch he wanted to go back to his hometown as he had nobody of his age to talk or play with. Her solution was historic.
“She called Sheikh Rashid, who was the same age as my grandfather and said, ‘He is your friend, he is your brother, and he is going to play with you.’ That is where that friendship started,” Deepak said. That friendship and brotherhood blossomed. In 1922, Sheikha Hessa gave her shop on rent in the Souk al Banyan — now referred as Souk Al Kabeer. There was no license — just a slip she signed.
A unique name
By the 1930s, Vattra became a successful textile pearl merchant, earning the nickname ‘Banyan Lulu’ (Indian Pearl) by Sheikh Saeed. In 1941, he brought his bride Savitri Devi — who arrived by a seaplane — to Dubai and the family live in the Al Shindagha area. The family’s ancestral house in Al Shindagha, which he bought in 1940, has stood witness to Dubai’s development and serves as an important piece of history.
During World War II, when activity in the Indian Ocean hindered trade between India and the Gulf, local merchants experienced a shortage in staples such as sugar and rice. To help the community respond to this inflationary crisis, Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum gave him special permission to open a store that sold items, which mostly came from Karachi and Mumbai, at regulated prices.
In the early 1960s, the Dubai Municipality was formed, and formal licenses had been introduced. However, Vattra’s shop had a unique privilege — it did not have a name until 1975. Eventually when the family had to find a name for the shop, they decided to call it ‘Uncle’s Shop’ because that is what my father and his siblings used to call Sheikh Rashid.”
A community leader
Apart from being one of the finest entrepreneurs in the history of the country, Vattra was also a philanthropist and a community leader. Deepak said that even today he discovers new stories of how his grandfather loaned or donated money to people in need.
“I would have never come to know of many of these instances if people didn’t share their stories with me,” he said. “He was one person who never wanted any limelight. He used to do CSR very quietly, away from media.”
Vattra also played a very important role in meeting the needs of the Indian community in the UAE. From helping acquiring the land of the current day Indian High School – Dubai in Oud Mehta, which was initially called Bharat Vidyalaya and began at a home, to securing land for the India Club from Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, he went out of the way to ensure that those living far from their homes were connected to their homeland.
Today, with Deepak’s son Yash Bhatia also in the family business, Uncle’s Shop stands not just as a commercial entity, but as a living bridge between Dubai’s fishing-village past and its global present.
Yash concluded that the award was not only a recognition of the company, but a tribute to their family legacy and the generations that had contributed towards Dubai’s progress. “It opens doors to new opportunities, partnerships, and expansion, while also reinforcing our responsibility to uphold the values that brought us here,” he said. “It inspires the next generation of our family to carry forward the same passion and commitment. It’s all the blessings of Almighty, my grandfather, and of course, the Maktoum family who have always stood with us for generations.”
Source: Khaleej Times