Like a special blend microcosm of Qatar’s largest expat populace, around 300 Indians – guests, dignitaries, community leaders – had filled the auditorium of the Birla Public School on Saturday evening, both with their presence and with their collective buzz of excitement.
The hall hummed with a palpable sense of pride, and waves of applause that rang a little louder than the usual, and understandably so. The Indian community, currently estimated at around 650,000 of the nation’s approximately 2.3 million population, has had a long-standing bond with Qatar that has only strengthened over the years. That’s perhaps what makes the launch of the book, a first-of-its-kind chronicle, The Indian Odyssey in Qatar – A Voyage of 50 Glorious Years of Great Indian Convergence with Qatar, so special and the entire community’s response to it so heartfelt.

The book authored by long-time Qatar resident-engineer-social activist-community leader Nilangshu Dey highlights the historic ties of friendship between India and Qatar, and the contribution of Indian nationals in Qatar to the development and progress of their host country in diverse sectors.
Featuring a long line of interviews of highly successful and greatly influential Indian expats of Qatar conducted by Usha Desai and Nitya Shukla, and elaborate detailing of gamechangers in various arenas and insights into community organisations and good samaritans, Dey’s book, in his words, salutes and pays tribute to Qatar and “to all those Indians who have made India proud by their deeds in this Gulf nation.”



ACCOMPLISHED: C K Menon is one of the Qatar-based Indians featured in the book.

At the launch event, spurred on by an enthusiastic crowd, Dey said, “I began conceptualising this book in 2013. It took us a lot of time to interview 150 people.” Indians in Qatar have prospered and are well placed at esteemed positions across various sectors, he pointed out. “We have had a great record of people who have been instrumental in the development of various sectors of Qatar. So I thought why not create something which can keep this remembrance and these memories with all the people of Qatar for a long time. I found the answer in bringing out this book.”
Crediting Hassan Chougule, C K Menon and Dr Mohan Thomas for playing an integral part in the development of the book, Dey said that the book launch is “a historic moment for all the Indians in Qatar.”



Hassan Chougule played an integral part in the development of the book.

Top businessman and humanitarian Chougule, who is also a patron of several organisations in Qatar, said, “India is very famous for its unity in diversity. We are all from different parts of India. We belong to different regions, we believe in different religions, we speak different languages, but in the end, we are one – we are all Indian. And that’s our strength.”



About 300 people attended the launch event.

Dey has put in a lot of hard work and has spent a massive amount, approximately QR75,000, to have this book published, Chougule pointed out. “It’s truly a historic record of the Indian community and the hard work it has put in here for the past 60 years. We should all support Dey for this initiative and buy a copy of this book,” Chougule said.
Doctor, educationalist, and philanthropist, Thomas emphasised on the many ways that Qataris are associated with the community. “Indians have earned great names in this great country and we have been accompanying the Qataris in every part of their lives, connecting with their culture and their lives here. We go with them to the deserts, to the seas, to the farms, and they happen to be our sponsors, our care-takers. All of this shows the great amalgamation of two communities into one, and the great faith and trust both the countries have in all of us.”



Nilangshu Dey and ambassador Arora hold a copy of the book, joined by host of the event, Usha Ravishankar, Dr Mohan Thomas, Hassan Chougule, and Dey’s wife Debamita.

Indian ambassador to Qatar Sanjeev Arora said, “This is truly a wonderful and unique initiative. I believe this is one book that will enhance the awareness of anyone who wants to know about the phenomenal journey of the Indian community over five decades.”
The book traverses sections such as Indians in Major Sectors, Prominent Indian Achievers, Prominent Community Activists, Embassy and Apex Bodies, Indian Schools, Indian Professional Bodies, and Prominent Indian Organisations.



Nilangshu Dey takes the mic while Dr Mohan Thomas, Hassan Chougule, ambassador Arora, and host of the event, Usha Ravishankar look on.

The prominent Indian achievers profiled at length are Hassan Chougule, C K Menon, Mohan Thomas, R Seetharaman, M S Bukhari, James Chacko, C V Rappai, M I Farid, K P Abdul Hameed, Nizar Kochary, Hasan Kunhi, Azim Abbas, M Rajan, Aboobacker Madappat, Shamsudeen Olakara, Devidas Aswani, Sameer Moopan, Abdul Rehman E P, Sanaullah Abdul Rehman, Jayashankar Pillai, George Thomas, Ullatil Achu, M P Shafi, Lukose K Chacko, P P Faisal, Sony Varghese, Bhupender Singh, N V Kader, K M Varghese, K Mohammed Essa, Harish Kanjani, Satish G Pillai, Gope Shahani, Gopal Balasubramanium, and Ganesh Sreenivasan. While it’s hard to handpick just a few interesting nuggets from an information database this vast, here are some of them.
“The oldest Indian restaurant, Bismillah, was probably set up in 1960 at Souq Waqif. This was followed by a Malabari restaurant. Both were set up by Keralites who arrived at Doha from the Malabar Coast in Kerala with plenty of hope to find work and provide sustenance to their families back in India. All that the brave fortune-seekers possessed were integrity and the will to work hard in an unfamiliar country,” a piece on Indian cuisine in Qatar states, “Qatar now has 45 full-fledged Indian cuisine restaurants comprising five-star eating outlets, signature restaurants and eateries for upper and lower middle-class. The number goes beyond 90 if one includes single-shutter cafeterias that serve juices, sandwiches, karak and coffee.”
As for the hypermarket honchos, the book says, “From LuLu to Quality Group, from NBK to FFC and Safari Group, Indians have revolutionised the shopping concept in Qatar, catering to the daily needs of every strata of the society.” Take FFC, or Family Food Centre, for instance. Each of its three massive retail outlets, measuring more than 50,000 sq ft, records a footfall of around 8,000 customers a day.
One of the profiles of the prominent achievers, for instance, is that of Cheril Krishna Menon, popularly known as C K Menon. Hailed among the most popular and revered personalities of the Indian diaspora in Qatar, the Chairman and Managing Director of Behzad Group of Companies, is as successful an entrepreneur as a philanthropist. A native of Thrissur in Kerala, Menon headed to Qatar in 1979 in search of a better life.
“Realising that an Indian law degree won’t be of much use in this Gulf State, he took another law degree from an Arabic university and joined as a supervisor at a Pakistani contracting company engaged in construction of roads at a salary of QR1,500,” an excerpt from the piece on him reads.
Having gained experience in Qatar and fluency in Arabic, Menon moved to a transport company and then to the Behzad Group, which then was “an ailing company, deeply saddled in debt.” “The owner sold the company to Menon for QR400,000. Riding on his business acumen, wealth of knowledge, dexterity, and perseverance, Menon brought the company back in the black and repaid all its out-standings. As Menon says, ‘That was in 1981, and even today, I operate from the same office on Airport Road’,” the piece says.
With Menon helming the show, Behzad has been making constant progress across different verticals. Menon says, “I have five decades of experience in this business. From buses, cars and excavators, we are now dealing with the vessels. When I took over the company, its turnover was around QR100,000 - 125,000 a month. Now it is in the range of QR4-5 million and if we consider the vessels as well, then it could be around QR14 million.”
Printed by the Doha Modern Printing Press and priced at QR35, the book is now out in all book stores.