Anand Mahindra Calls Out Former Jet Airways CEO's Dubai Remark: ‘Pause Before You Punch’

The recent floods in Dubai raised many eyebrows, as the typically dry capital of the United Arab Emirates experienced an unusual amount of rainfall this week. Following heavy rains, worsened by cloud seeding, major streets were waterlogged, forcing places like the schools and airport to shut. Government officials began rescue operations to help affected areas. Amidst the chaos, social media users shared opinions regarding the possible drawbacks of cloud seeding, while some made fun of the situation. Business tycoon Anand Mahindra dropped a video on X (Formerly Twitter) showing the flooded roads of Dubai, which he jokingly compared with Mumbai. But, his perspective was criticised by former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor, who later clarified that Mahindra’s intention was not derogatory. In response, Mahindra clarified that his plan was not to mock and advised him to pause before reacting.

Reacting to Kapoor’s deleted X post, Mahindra wrote, “I’m glad you subsequently retracted your comment implying that I was mocking Dubai, Sanjiv. In fact, the only purpose of my post was to highlight how atypical this weather was for Dubai. For example—to use your own analogy—if it had ever snowed in Mumbai, I might well have said: Nope, Not Oslo, Mumbai. For the very same purpose of highlighting how atypical this weather was for Mumbai, Not to mock Mumbai. I recommend that it’s always good to: PAUSE before you PUNCH, REFLECT before you REACT.”

A user claimed Dubai can’t handle such heavy rains and suggested that development often leads to messy consequences.

Another criticized X users as they simply comment for the sake of speaking, rather than offering genuine advice.

An individual advised people to be cautioned before expressing opinions online, especially when prominent figures like Anand Mahindra are involved.

A user appreciated Anand Mahindra for being patient and even appreciated Sanjiv Kapoor for understanding his mistake.

For those not aware, Sanjiv Kapoor had disapproved of Anand Mahindra’s comparison of the Dubai floods to Mumbai’s monsoon rains and called it “incorrect analogy.” He argued that Dubai was not designed to handle such heavy rainfall, just like Mumbai would struggle to cope with heavy snowfall. However, Kapoor clarified his perspective in the following post and acknowledged that Mahindra was not mocking Dubai. He highlighted the fact that Dubai’s infrastructure is not equipped to manage extreme weather conditions, regardless of their origin.