Jain family moves back into the tower block flat they bought a month before it went up in flames in 2012
Only a month after banker Anil Jain bought a flat in Tamweel Tower, the building was engulfed in flames.
Five years later, the apartment is being transformed back into a home.
Crockery, tea lights and travel mementos were removed from bubble wrap in cartons and placed in new glass and wooden cabinets in their Tamweel apartment yesterday by his teenage sons Tanish and Divyansh and wife Meena.
“It was fully burnt, there was only black ash here. The major damage was to this side of the building,” said Tanish, an electrical engineering student from the University of California, San Diego, who is home for summer holidays.
“But because we didn’t stay here then, we don’t feel any of the trauma associated with the fire that others may feel. We’re just happy to be moving in.”
Even the absence of television and internet connectivity – cabling is still being readied for the entire building – could not dampen the family’s spirits.
“It hasn’t really made a difference to us, we get the connection on our phones anyway. Also we don’t really care because we are so busy getting the house ready,” Tanish said.
Plants have already been unpacked and set aside as Mrs Jain instructs her sons to carefully place glasses and plates in cupboards.
“I did feel sad at the time but we have got a completely new house. It is exactly like we saw it before the fire,” she said.
The family had been in Dubai for about seven months and were living in a rented apartment in Bur Dubai when they chose to buy a flat in the Jumeirah Lake Towers apartment.
They have lived in Muscat, Doha and Bahrain, but the UAE is where they chose to put down roots.
“The city of Dubai is a place you can spend time in and we were keen on having our own place. We had seen many houses but this one we found was definitely the best. We just got really unlucky with the fire. It was very difficult to even walk in the apartment, it was completely charred,” Mr Jain said.
“But in hindsight there are no regrets. Our apartment was one of the most damaged but the upside of that was that the insurance company had to do a complete makeover. ”