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Showing posts from June, 2009

MJ mayhem...

If anyone aged 35 or younger hasn't ever heard a song by the recently departed king of pop, now is their chance. The past weekend has been an overdose of Michael Jackson tributes and trivia. News channels and newspapers are probably only too pleased to fill their news space and up their ratings with tit bits of MJ's all time top hits, facts about his complicated life and everything in between. It is enough to make even the most stubborn of music lovers shrug in disgust. Everyone patronising the singer now that he is no more. Is it too early for us to ignore all the suspicious behaviour this larger-than-life star, possessed? Too rude to suggest that we too orchestrated his deranged recent behaviour by accepting a piece of him through never-ending media reports or outrageous interviews? While most of us 'oooh-ed' and 'aah-ed' at his trademark Moonwalk routine, we also 'tch-ed, tch-ed' over his antics of dangling an infant from a high rise hotel building. S

Marley and Me...worth a watch

When I first saw the promos for the film, Marley and me , I was quick to categorise it as another dog-lover movie. You know the Lassie kind. I was glad to find that this movie brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye though I've never owned a dog. Most of us who have lived in Bombay for some part of our lives have seen them all over the city. Unwanted, wanderers, barking at the slightest provocation. Pelted by strangers with cheap thrills. Fed by those who can't bear to see them starving. Stray dogs have become quite the subject of debate in a city too overcrowded for humans, leave alone dogs, cats or crows. Of course the Hollywood movie does not touch on the topic of strays. Its about a hyperactive Labrador named Marley and the couple who adopt him. I don't want to spoil the movie for those of you who will want to watch the film. What I liked most about the film was that it was about not just the owner's relationship with the dog. It is about everyone who inter

Our Father

While Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day may be all nice and cutesy, they seem to exclude, rather than include those who might come up short of the equation. I’m sure someone who has recently lost a father, cannot help but imagine life with one more Father’s Day together. Or a single someone longing for a Valentine to make his or her life complete on that red overdosed day. Perhaps the intention of ‘Days’ like these were genuine, but they have now morphed into clever marketing gimmicks. Now every time a ‘Teachers Day’ or ‘Pet Day’ arrives, everyone’s frantically rushing off to send the biggest and most outlandish greeting cards to the respective party. Its almost as if, every day is a ‘Lets Celebrate Day.’ I guess that is not so bad an idea. A reason to celebrate each and every day. But clearly ‘Cuddle Day’ is taking it a bit too far. I’m sure everyone has special stories of their Dads. The lovely moments and perhaps the not-so-lovely ones too. Somehow my fondest memories o

Truly Destiny's Child

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Girl power reached new heights on 12th May 2005. It was a night when Destiny's Child, the biggest selling girl band of our time set the stage on fire. A string of dancers of top class quality, a live band that knew no stopping and a trio of singers that left everyone breathless. The UAE has never seen a performance of this proportion and it will be a long time before someone pushes the limits further. They are truly a tough act to follow. Bootylicious Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams performed to a packed audience at Dubai Media City. They have been vowing audiences all over the world on their most recent tour. Residents of the UAE could not believe their good fortune. What was even more significant was that the mood was set a month before the concert date. It was the first time that tickets were sold out a month before the performance. "It is unprecedented that a ticket category has sold out so early", commented Thomas Ovesen, General Manager Mirage P

Learning how to lose

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Watching the T20 game between India and England was anything but fun the other night. Call me a sore loser but somehow I wasn’t ready to see my team out of the World Cup. Sure there are better teams than us and sure many would say we didn't deserve to win, but cricket has actually become the one thing to look forward to in these horribly depressing times. You turn on the news today and there's either news of racial discrimination, further repercussions of the economic crisis, or another case of swine flu making the headlines. An aeroplane mysteriously disappears from the sky, leaving so many bereaved families with no time to even say goodbye. So many unanswered questions. Sufficient fodder for news channels. Very few silver linings. Is it justified to pin all our hopes on 11 men in such a scenario? Do they really have no other choice but to win at all costs? ‘We don’t care how you do it, boys, just get us something to be proud of.’ Never mind that there’s an equally intense wom

Mum's the word

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Some mothers have them Its been hard to ignore the octoplet mother, Nadya Suleman. I first heard about her when she made a splash in the press somewhere at the start of the year. Two months later, she is still making headlines. With death threats and dedicated websites, I’d hate to shed more light than necessary on the newest ‘celeb mom’ in town. However there is a haunting realism to this issue. Its much bigger than that rhyme about a mother who ‘had so many children she didn’t know what to do.’ The children in this story are real and their fate is very real too. Anyone with children can testify to sometimes swearing that ‘This is it!’ ‘I’ve had it,’ ‘No more kids.’ Of course you love your children and can’t live without them but when it comes to back talk, dirty diapers or the terrible twos, its easy to imagine your life in an exotic spa with much more pleasant things to deal with. So who in their sane minds would have 14 children in this day and recession-laden age? Having come from

Think before you throw

More firms in the UAE have begun recycling waste. Environmental responsibility is no longer a matter of choice. It's a logical step towards saving and making the most of our resources, which are in short supply. The World Bank estimates that the UAE will invest about $46 billion (Dh168.96 billion) over the next decade in environmental and pollution control projects. Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson, Emirates Environmental Group, an ISO 14001-certified NGO says, "The EEG was formed in 1991 by a number of committed citizens to support the government's effort of protecting the UAE's environment. The group sounded the alarm on the growing waste problem, excessive energy consumption and the urgent need to conserve water, a few years after its formation, pointing out an increasing throw-away tendency of residents." Al Marashi believes that environmental issues aren't high on the agenda in the UAE. She says, "I believe that people are aware of the basic environmen

Keeping customs alive

Amid the glitzy modern coffee houses of the UAE, traditional Arab cafés still form an important part of the urban landscape and are frequented by the local community as well as expatriates and tourists. The Aroma Garden Caffée is a quintessential Arab coffee house that has been in Dubai for five years. Built in the style of a traditional Arab home, it attracts the curiosity of many passers by. "The café's ambience is calming. It has been designed as an Arab inspired house," says Gina Serapon, Operations Manager. "Our regular clientele consists of many UAE nationals as well as visitors from other GCC countries. It is really nice to see guests return faithfully year after year. For us this is not just a simple coffee shop, we also offer breakfast and dinner and provide an atmosphere for the entire family. It's a large café so we offer them much more room and privacy which they don't get in ordinary malls." Relaxed pace Owner Mohammad Ihsan Atif, a Saudi na

Enjoying the local flavour

Around the world coffee speaks the language of warmth and togetherness. It holds a special place in the Arab world as well. Arabian coffee houses offer a unique version of the coffee experience. The story of how coffee spread around the world starts in Ethiopia, where the coffee tree probably originated. Authorities in Yemen initially encouraged coffee drinking, as it was considered preferable to the extreme side effects of kat, a shrub whose buds and leaves were believed to be intoxicating. The first few coffeehouses were opened in Saudi Arabia and their popularity quickly spread throughout the Arab world as they became places where chess was played, information exchanged, and singing, dancing and music were enjoyed. It was also the first venue where society and business could be conducted in comfortable surroundings. The doors were open to anyone who could pay the price for a cup of coffee. Arabian coffee houses have continued to be the meeting ground for friends and families, offeri

The fever begins

In most parts of the world, football is not just a sport, it’s a religion. With a faithful fan following of more than 30 million television viewers around the world, there is little doubt this game takes precedence over other sports. Professional footballers are a pretty superstitious lot. Scores of players enter the pitch with an endless string of symbolic crosses. Some rely on amulets, identical goal celebrations, lucky innerwear, locks of hair, pre-game rituals and wedding rings to help them succeed. Many will only step onto the pitch with their right foot, all in good faith, of course. The list of pseudo-religious superstitious quirks is virtually endless. And one thing is certain — the colourful rituals will not subside for the upcoming World Cup in Germany this year. The list of football-related superstitions is as intriguing as it is endless. At one time French defender-general Lauren Blanc would ceremoniously kiss the bald crown of his talismanic goalkeeper Fabien Barthez befor

Prince of fashion

“Fashions fade, style is eternal,” Said Yves Saint Laurent; the man who epitomised style in its truest form. The YSL brand is synonymous with fashion. It is also the name of the legendary designer who spearheaded a phenomenal fashion power house for a large part of the twentieth century. Born in Oran , Algeria , Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent discovered his true calling at an early age. After experimenting with designs for his sisters at the age of 12, he left home to pursue a career in fashion at the age of 17. For three years, Saint Laurent worked closely with the iconic designer Christian Dior, who referred to him as “my right arm.” Dior’s sudden death in 1957 sent shock waves through the industry. The House of Dior quickly named Saint Laurent its head designer at the age of 21. The designer found himself at the head of a $20-million-a-year fashion empire, succeeding an icon that had radically changed the way women dressed in 1947 with the wasp-waiste

Ab: original makes its debut

"A writer is only as good as his/her last byline," a former editor and friend warned me, not too long ago. That was when I was a columnist and full time writer. When we were expected to produce literary works of art, even in our sleep! But would wake up to find them ruthlessly chopped by sub editors making way for advetorial content. That quote still comes back to me, time and again. Though I'm treading on the freelance side of life now. A writer must keeping writing to keep from rusting. A blog ties in as a perfect platform to sketch those rusty thoughts. Ab:original is a name I coined way back when I created hand made cards. The cards still happen when the occasion matters...Here Ab:original will be a mixed bag of published and yet to be published work. Musings and meanderings. Ideas and reviews. Just another regular blog? Read on to find out for yourself.