A sliver of Arabia tucked in south Delhi
Medical tourists from Arab world get a glimpse of home in India’s capital
While the Gulf region has been home to millions of Indians for many decades, New Delhi has come up with its own Arabian corner to make life comfortable for Arabs visiting India for medical tourism.
In south Delhi’s Sarita ViharJasola area, which includes the Living Style shopping mall, numerous establishments such as travel companies, dental clinics, restaurants and perfume shops have signboards in Arabic. India is one of the top destinations, globally, for foreign tourists travelling for medical purposes.
But there has been a massive rise in the number of patients from the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Qatar and Bahrain.
With patients thronging nearby hospitals for treatment, streets in Sarita ViharJasola are lined with a number of hotels, apartments and guesthouses. From security guards to receptionists, most know a few utility sentences in Arabic that help strike a chord with guests.
The founder of Shurouq Global Health, Hassan Khan, told Gulf News, “Our company offers a single-window facility with a network of doctors and medical specialists. Also, if a patient has a preference for a particular hospital or doctor, we coordinate accordingly.”
Keeping the patient’s ailment and budget in mind, Shurouq undertakes visa liaising and provides certain travel facilities.
“People coming from Gulf countries are generally familiar with the beauty of the southern states of India. But our aim now is to also promote the north Indian states, apart from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, which is a go-to destination for almost all visitors,” Khan states.
Zarar Ahmad, who sells luggage trolleys, bags, footwear, watches, caps and numerous other accessories, owns Leather
Land. The shop’s signboard displays items in Arabic.
“They like the quality of Indian goods and love to shop not only for themselves but also buy souvenirs for people back home. And yes, many of them do bargain, especially those coming from Iraq,” Ahmad says.
Arabic aroma
Meanwhile, owned by the Hasan brothers Ameen, Aman and Abbas, the “aaa” is set amid pharmacies and shops selling sundry knick-knacks.
You can smell your way to this shop with numerous varieties of attar (perfumes).
Ameen says, “We have walk-in customers and also export our products to the Middle East countries and Saudi Arabia. The varieties of the product include: Indian attar, agar oud, dahnul oud and agar wood. The other two segments of the store deal in food products and travel-related services.”
Authentic dishes
An Egyptian national, Mahmoud Asilah, is seen relishing his meal at the Middle East Cuisine restaurant known for its authentic and affordable Arabic dishes.
“The taste of the food here is just like the cuisines back home,” he tells Gulf News, through the outlet’s manager Idrees Ahmad, who speaks fluent Arabic and English.
The founder of the restaurant, Shaikh Amir, who lived in the Gulf region, came to India years ago and opened a restaurant in Delhi.