My mother, Fatima Al Zarooni, sewed this "kandora" for me when I was a newborn. She learned to sew soon after sewing machines were imported to Abu Dhabi. She enjoyed it so much that she set up a small sewing room in our house. Along with the "kandora," my mother sewed a crib cover to keep away mosquitoes. She told me that when I was a boy, I asked to keep my baby kandora and crib blanket, even though I had outgrown them.
Now that I am a grandfather, I still cherish these items, because they remind me of my youth. I remember the comforting hum of my mother’s sewing machine. I remember watching my father, who was an upholsterer, cover cushions with his traditional hand tools. I recall neighbors coming to our home to buy fabric. I have kept my mother’s sewing machine and my father’s upholstery tools to this day. I show my grandchildren the kandora I wore when I was a baby, so that they can compare the clothing Emirati people wore in the past with what they wear today.
Fatima Al Zarooni
My mother, Fatima Al Zarooni, sewed this "kandora" for me when I was a newborn. She learned to sew soon after sewing machines were imported to Abu Dhabi. She enjoyed it so much that she set up a small sewing room in our house. Along with the "kandora," my mother sewed a crib cover to keep away mosquitoes. She told me that when I was a boy, I asked to keep my baby kandora and crib blanket, even though I had outgrown them.
Now that I am a grandfather, I still cherish these items, because they remind me of my youth. I remember the comforting hum of my mother’s sewing machine. I remember watching my father, who was an upholsterer, cover cushions with his traditional hand tools. I recall neighbors coming to our home to buy fabric. I have kept my mother’s sewing machine and my father’s upholstery tools to this day. I show my grandchildren the kandora I wore when I was a baby, so that they can compare the clothing Emirati people wore in the past with what they wear today.