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by Musafir Hassan
Souq Waqif has a seductive traditional charm. Its supreme popularity and great appeal are borne out by the number of visitors, including foreigners, who flock to the souq. As you walk down the stone-paved alleys, steering curiously at shops on either side, there is one shop you can’t miss.
The board on top loudly proclaims: Pahlwan. Saad Ismail AI Jassim. The Old Pearl Diver. (Pahlwan in Arabic means bodybuilder). It’s a pearl shop, selling pearls, corals, stones and ladies ornaments etc. Near the entrance of the shop is displayed a board which carries old pictures of Saad in various poses: as a bodybuilder, his adventures on the sea, as a pearl diver etc. Passersby pause and glance curiously at the pictures.
Welcome to the world of Saad Ismail AI Jassim, a 74-year-old Qatari national, and a multifaceted personality who has a fascinating story. Saad is the only surviving pearl diver in Qatar, the last link of a tradition and trade which was once Qatar’s economic mainstay, before the discovery of oil.
Sitting in his shop, when there are no customers to attend to, Saad retreats into a corner, squatting on a small carpet on the ground, with a tea kettle on his side, and surfs the Net on his laptop or listens to old Qatari songs, which most of the time he plays loud on the music system he has set up for visitors to hear, adding to the traditional charm of the souq. As this reporter entered, he was watching on his laptop the cultural programmes held at the Souq during Eid AI Adha holidays, which he had shot using a photo-cum-video camera a friend had gifted to him.
Saad is very tech-savvy, which is something rare for his age. “Not so much. I can manage on my own,’ he says in fluent English when asked about it. But that was an understatement. As he began to talk about his past, a few tourists stepped in, and asked the prices of some items on display.
“Venti,’ he said, taking the visitors by surprise, who laughed at the knowledge that the shopkeeper spoke their language - Italian. (Venti means twenty). In addition to fluent English, Saad also speaks Italian, Hindi and Farsi.
Among all his experiences, pearl diving could be the most valuable as the new generation has no clue about this trade. Pearl diving is one of the oldest professions in the Gulf region. It was one of the main sources of income in the pre-oil era. With the discovery of oil in the 1930’s and introduction of Japanese artificial pearls, pearl diving became unprofitable and people turned to other sources of income.
“Many people, including foreign tourists, are keen to know about pearl diving. I explain to them how it is done, and I have got the tools used for diving with me in this shop. I also show them the natural and artificial pearls and explain the difference to them;’ Saad says.
Pearl diving is a tough job, and requires plenty of patience and hard work, he says. A diving trip normally takes three to four months at sea. And it can’t be done at any time of the year. “Only summer is the suitable time for diving because in winter water is very cold and people are not able to dive except in places close to the beach. We were staying three to four months in the sea continuously from sunrise to sunset. We worked daily and there was no rest except during emergency situations like a strong wind,”’ he explains. Who would think of going to the sea for three to fourth months nowadays?
Saad remembers one experience during such trips. Once he dived 15 metres from the sea surface and was collecting oysters from the sea bed and depositing them in the bucket. The bucket was lowered into the sea with a stone, and while collecting oysters he strayed away from the bucket, not knowing where it was. After searching in vain for some time, he swam all the way back to the surface, but there was a strong current and he was too tired, and couldn’t dive to recover the bucket which had a collection of oysters. He rested for an hour in the boat, and taking his oxygen cylinder, dived again and recovered the oyster. It was an arduous task, but didn’t want to give up. The incident taught him the fruits of patience.
Saad is famous in the Qatari society; the personal photo file which he keeps at the shop shows him with key members of the ruling family, including the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AI Thani; H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser and the Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. He is famous for things other than pearl diving: he was an expert in show games, and still can do some dangerous games, like sleeping bare-chested on a board of nails, or lying bare-chested on broken glass pieces, with heavy stones placed on his body on a board, which two people break with hammers. Saad would emerge unhurt from the adventure, much to the bemusement of the onlookers.
Even at this age, Saad is bubbling with zeal. What is the secret? “I take my work seriously. Whether my work is hard or easy, I believe in doing it properly, whether it is on a hot day in the sweltering summer season or a cold day;’ he says.
Saad is a living reference book on pearl diving, and tourists and nationals who visit the shop are curious to know about his experiences at sea. He likes to talk about it too, and has at the shop the diving equipment he used. He also gives lectures about pearl diving at schools and colleges. A note kept inside a glass cupboard that displays his wares reads: “Dear Saad Ismail AI Jassim. Thank you for coming to our school and giving a lecture on pearl diving. It was very informative and we enjoyed it:’ -- it was written by Grade 2 students of American School of Doha.
Saad has visited many countries. He is a regular member of the Qatari delegation participating in cultural festivals abroad where Qatari culture and tradition is showcased. Obviously, he is one of the most important members of the group because no one else has such an immense wealth of experience about Qatari culture and tradition. His story has been extensively covered in the media -- television channels, magazines and newspapers. For non-Arabic media, he is a prize catch as he speaks fluent English.
Saad received Quranic lessons in Doha as a child, but he learnt English as a teenager at Aramco, the Saudi oil company, where he worked. When he went there, he was not 18, the legal age to start employment, and so the company gave him education which changed his life. Of the eight hours he spent in the company, six hours he attended classes and two hours he worked; later he worked for four hours and studied for four hours, and soon started full-time work as he was found to be a sincere worker. “When oil was discovered in Qatar, I started getting letters from my family urging me to come back as new opportunities were opening up here too,”’ he remembers. Since then he worked in many places, and was also a taxi driver for a brief period.
One day, when he was talking to the general manager of the national oil company in Qatar, who was a British national, he saw a technician in the maintenance section struggling to repair the engine of a boat. Saad offered to help the technician who didn’t seem to know what to do and the general manger agreed. He gave some instructions which the technician carried out and the engine started. The GM was surprised and asked him to join the company, which he did.
At the shop, his creativity and innovation are on display as he makes new designs of ornaments from using amber, stones and pearls.
Saad has worked in the electricity and water department at the Ministry of Education, in Qafco and his longest stint was in the police department, where he worked for a long 28 years and from where he retired. The pearl shop was set up after retirement, and it’s a gift to him from the Emir.
Saad was also a bodybuilder and has won a few titles. Among his hobbies when he was young were daredevil demonstrations like lying bare-chested on a bed of nails or breaking stones on the body as he lies on broken glass pieces. He learnt these acts from an Indian. “I started doing them in 1960s but couldn’t continue due to lack of support and encouragement. But I still know these games and can do them if someone asks me to do so;’ he says.
At 74 years, he has witnessed the transformation of Qatar through various phases. A comparison of the past with the present, with his outlook for the future, is important. “Those were better days than now. We knew each other well, neighbours were good and there were more family unions as children, parents and grandparents stayed in the same house. Everyone trusted each other. Today, if you send food to a neighbour or relative, they will ask ‘why they are sending? We are cooking here:”
He is all praise for Doha, which is growing very fast. Even Souq Waqif has grown. “Waqif in Arabic means standing. The name was given because in those days people had no time and place to sit. They will come to buy or sell something and leave immediately” he says. One of the biggest advantages of Doha, he says, is safety. “Even if I forget to lock my shop, I can rest assured that nothing will happen. Crime is so low:’
As the call for prayer wafts through the air from the nearby mosque, Saad gets up to leave. His journey continues, undeterred by the spoils of time. And he takes every step with the same firmness and foresight. A story for posterity to preserve.
The Peninsula
