The Indian Photographer Who Captured the Birth of Modern Dubai

“I’m not the famous one — my camera is the star. This camera right here,”

Ramesh Shukla pulls out his trusty Rolleicord camera, a cherished birthday gift from his father 70 years ago. It’s the same camera he took with him when he left India in 1965, the one that has captured images of sheikhs, politicians, and the historic moments that shaped a nation.

At 85, Shukla has shared his story so many times that it has become almost mythic, with each retelling highlighting a fearless adventurer on a quest for new opportunities and the fortunes to be found in an emerging city.

At the age of 26, Ramesh Shukla set sail from Bombay (now Mumbai) to the Trucial States, the precursor to the UAE. When he arrived in Sharjah, he had only a dollar and a few rolls of film. He hitched a ride from the port, first on a donkey cart, then on a motorbike, to Dubai — a far cry from the dazzling city of today. Back then, it was a dusty fishing village, lacking roads and surrounded by endless desert.

“There was no water, no electricity in my house. It was extremely difficult,” says Shukla. Despite the hardships, he set out to capture the lives of the fisherfolk, pearl divers, and camel drivers who lived in this small coastal community.

But change was on the way. While the Trucial States were not a colony, they were a British protectorate, and this was soon to come to an end. The discovery of oil in the Arabian Gulf just a few years earlier was beginning to create wealth for the Emirates. At that time, few in the region possessed the skills, knowledge, and equipment to produce the high-quality photography that Shukla was known for.

His breakthrough moment came in 1968 at a camel race in Sharjah. The sheikhs from the various emirates attended, and Shukla captured a striking photo of them seated along the track.

Among the attendees at the race was Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late Emir of Abu Dhabi and the UAE's 'founding father.' The act of presenting the signed photo led to a turning point in Shukla's career.

When Sheikh Zayed saw the photo, he looked at me and said, 'You are Fannan,' which means 'artist' in Arabic,' Shukla recalls.

The story of capturing history.

After the camel race, Shukla was invited to photograph official events, gaining access to people and places he could have never imagined just a few years earlier.

As his friendship with the royal family grew, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai until 1990, encouraged Shukla to stay in the Emirates. In 1970, Shukla was joined by his wife and son in Dubai.

‘In the place I grew up,’ says Neel Shukla, ‘we had one room that served as the living area, kitchen, and darkroom. We ate from thalis — traditional steel plates used for Indian meals. That same thali also doubled as our tool for developing photos.’

Neel remembers how scarce resources were, especially water, which was brought by donkeys from desert wells. The water used for developing photos had to be carefully measured, and while Ramesh captured events, his wife Taru meticulously took notes on lighting, exposure, and shutter speed to ensure the photos would be processed correctly later.

'I couldn’t have done any of it without my family — my wife and son,' says Ramesh Shukla, reflecting on their crucial support.

On December 2, 1971, Shukla was called to document a moment of immense historical importance: the signing of the unification agreement that brought together six emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al-Qaywayn, Fujairah, and Ajman — into the United Arab Emirates. Ras Al-Khaimah joined as the seventh emirate just two months later.

Shukla’s iconic image of Sheikh Zayed signing the unification declaration remains an enduring symbol in the UAE, even half a century later. It is prominently featured on the 50 dirham note, which was issued in 2021 to commemorate the country’s 50th anniversary.

A ‘world-renowned’ camera

Shukla continued to capture the evolution of Dubai and the Emirates throughout the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. However, he still has ‘hundreds’ of rolls of undeveloped film from that time. Every few years, he unveils previously unseen images of the sheikhs in exhibitions.

To preserve his legacy, Shukla, with the support of his son Neel, has established a darkroom lab to mentor the next generation of Emirati photographers, passing on the art of analog photography.

The year-long masterclass, starting this September, will offer 10 students a free course through Dubai Culture, a government initiative. Shukla aims to equip young photographers with technical skills that are becoming rare in the digital age.

“Under my father’s guidance, they’ll graduate, and carry the honor of being mentored by the photographer of the Founding Fathers,” says Neel Shukla.

Throughout the years, Shukla’s photographs have been compiled into books and displayed in exhibitions, documenting the country’s formation. While his name appears on the books and posters, he insists that it was the Rolleicord that captured all the moments.

“I told my father, ‘One day, I’ll make this camera world-renowned,’” he recalls. “That’s been my dream.”

With millions of his books circulating in recent years alone, it’s clear he’s made that dream come true.

Correction: The story has been revised to include the names of all the founding emirates.