His name in Arabic means 'bringer of glad tidings or good news'. He's been working as an abra skipper for eight years, carrying passengers - residents and tourists alike - who cross the Dubai Creek from the Old Souq to Baniyas and back.

But on Monday morning, for Mubashar Zahoor Ellahi, 25, from Sialkot in Pakistan's Punjab, 'good news' unexpectedly came his way. A "very special passenger" Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, boarded his abra.

Sheikh Hamdan wished him "good tidings" and called him the "best captain". And he did not just say this in person to Mubashar, but also broadcast it live on social media to his more than 6 million followers on Instagram.

Khaleej Times caught up with Mubashar few hours after carrying Sheikh Hamdan and his company aboard RTA (the Roads and Transport Authority) abra no. 162 from the RTA marine station at Old Souq to the other side of the Dubai Creek in Baniyas.

"I'm still in complete awe," Mubashar told. "I could not believe I had a royalty as a passenger and it was like a dream come true for me to come face to face with the Dubai Crown Prince."

"I was surprised and elated but during the few minutes I was ferrying Sheikh Hamdan and his company on my boat, never did I feel uneasy because Sheikh Hamdan did not make me feel that he is my prince but appeared like an old-time friend," Mubashar said.

Exclusive: Interview with the young captain

In the video, which was liked around 65,000 times and garnered about 2,000 comments, Sheikh Hamdan was seen telling his friend to fix his agal before going in front of the boat to talk to the Mubashar.

Sheikh Hamdan approached Mubashar asked for his name. He told Mubashar that he is doing live on Instragram. After a couple more of word exchanges, Sheikh Hamdan told Mubashar: "May God always give you good tidings."

And it was indeed a blessed and happy encounter Mubashar had with the Dubai Crown Prince.

Early in the day, Mubashar's supervisor and compatriot, Mansoor Ahmed prepared two abras after getting a notification from his superiors that members of the royal family will ride the abra.

Watch their conversation here:

"We actually prepared two boats: one is enclosed with AC inside and the open-air abra," Mansoor told. "We did not know that it was Sheikh Hamdan. He could have chosen the abra with AC but he preferred the open-air abra that was skippered by Mubashar."

Mubashar said: "In my eight years as an abra captain, today (Monday) is the happiest day in my life. This story is something I will be proud to share with my family back home - I'm sure my parents will be very proud of me. And this is a nice tale I will tell my future kids."

"It was such a big honour when Sheikh Hamdan came to me and patted my back. It was a reassurance and a reward that, as an expat, I'm doing a good job," he added.

"Now I'm more than inspired to do my job - after all, abra captains like me are not just ferrying passengers, we also showcase Dubai to tourists," Mubashar said.

Now that he had a very memorable encounter with the Dubai Crown Prince, what 'good news' can we hear of him in the future?

"With hard work, maybe someday I will be a captain of a bigger ship," Mubashar replied.

The chat:
Sheikh Hamdan introduces his friend, Badr, and says, "Fix your agal. Make it higher, man! That's it."

"What are you doing," Sheikh Hamdan asks an older man.

"I saw you filming live, so I'm filming live. Half of my Instagram (posts) are with you now," he replies.

"Really?" asks Hamdan.

"Yes, I swear," the man retorts.

"I'll shut my phone then," Sheikh Hamdan quips. 

Then Sheikh Hamdan moves to the front of the abra and asks, "Hi, captain! What's your name?"

"Mubashar," he answers.

"Mubashar, may God always give you good tidings," Hamdan replies. (Bashar is a word that means good tidings in Arabic).

"Captain Mubashar. the best captain. You speak Arabic or English?," Sheikh Hamdan asks.

"English," Mubashar replies.

"Look how many are watching us now," Sheikh Hamdan says.

Then Sheikh Hamdan pats Mubashar on the back.

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