Jerome D’Sa, who hails from Mangalore, a sea port in the Indian state of Karnataka, had wanted priesthood.
But something happened and all that changed.
“I aspired to be a priest. But, I had to give up in the end as I happened to fall in love with a beautiful girl and wanted to live a life with her,” says Jerome.
Jerome holds multiple degrees – A Master’s in Commerce from Loyola College, a private Catholic higher education institution in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India; a Bachelor’s Degree in Education; and a Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Theology from a famous college in Pune, Maharashtra.
“I tried a teaching career for a few years and later came to Dubai where I initially worked as accountant before later on venturing into printing sales,” says Jerome.
For the past two years, James has been living alone, calling office his second home because “it’s a place full of laughter and fun and I always want spend much time there.”
This is so because his wife had to accompany his son, who wants to persevere in his studies in the medical field, back in Mangalore.
“Now, I live alone, cook my own food and living a simple life,” said Jerome.
Times have changed a lot, said Jerome: “Twenty-two years ago, my salary was AED1500. Of this amount, AED500 used to go for food and living whereas the rest went to savings.
“As of now, pre-Covid I used to earn about AED27,000 in good months but saving is same as I used to do when I was making AED1500 as my salary. Commitments grew like education. There are also the parking fees, fines and petrol.
“Food has also become very expensive though I am spared since I make my own food, grocery bills gone much higher.”
Jerome says he loves the new Dubai “though sweet memories still lie within the peaceful old Dubai.”
