Community

P6
Community
‘The Human
Creation in
Holy Qur’an’
features different
specialised check-up
points based around
each organ.
P10
Community
Doha College
welcomed
people from
schools across
Qatar for the
recent CLEAPSS
conference.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Ramadan 18, 1437 AH
DOHA
COVER
STORY
33°C—40°C TODAY
LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 13
PUZZLES 14 & 15
Think and
act green
Dr Margarita Pavlova, Director
of the UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre
in Hong Kong, on how Qatar
can best use its resources. P4-5
2
GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
ROUND & ABOUT
PRAYER TIME
Fajr
Shorooq (sunrise)
Zuhr (noon)
Asr (afternoon)
Maghreb (sunset)
Isha (night)
3.15am
4.45am
11.36am
2.59pm
6.30pm
8.00pm
USEFUL NUMBERS
Emergency
999
Worldwide Emergency Number
112
Kahramaa – Electricity and Water
991
Local Directory
180
International Calls Enquires
150
Hamad International Airport
40106666
Labor Department
44508111, 44406537
Mowasalat Taxi
44588888
Qatar Airways
44496000
Hamad Medical Corporation
44392222, 44393333
Qatar General Electricity and
Water Corporation
44845555, 44845464
Primary Health Care Corporation
44593333
44593363
Qatar Assistive Technology
Centre
44594050
Qatar News Agency
44450205
44450333
Q-Post – General Postal
Corporation
44464444
EVENTS
You might be amongst the winners by participating in the
competition every Thursday and Friday after the Tarawih
prayers and look for the treasure box to win the QR2,500.
You are kindly requested, once you find the box, to go to
the kiosk opposite building 15 to know if you’re the lucky
winner.
Find your treasure competition
DATE: Until July 1
TIME: 8pm-11pm
VENUE: Katara
Humanitarian Services Office
(Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies)
Ministry of Interior
40253371, 40253372,
40253369
Ministry of Health
40253370, 40253364
Hamad Medical Corporation
40253368, 40253365
Qatar Airways
40253374
ote Unquote
u
Q Success is not
the key to happiness.
Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing,
you will be successful.
— Albert Schweitzer
Community Editor
Kamran Rehmat
e-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: 44466405
Fax: 44350474
Al Gannas
DATE: Until Oct 30
TIME: 9am-11:30am
VENUE: Al Gannas Society
Al Gannas Association is participating in the ‘Our culture
is a school’ programme by organising many activities for
Mall Cinema (1): 7 Hours To Go
(Hindi) 3pm; Now You See Me
2 (2D) 8:45pm; 7 Hours To Go
(Hindi) 11pm.
Mall Cinema (2): Tini : The Movie
: The New Life Of Violette (2D)
2.15pm; The Call Up (2D) 4pm;
Tini : The Movie :The New Life
Of Violette (2D) 8.30pm; Raman
Raghav 2.0 (Hindi) 10.30pm.
Mall Cinema (3): Albert (2D)
2.30pm; Asian Connection (2D)
4pm; The Call Up (2D) 8.30pm;
Asian Connection (2D) 10pm; The
the students every Monday and Wednesday of the week.
These activities include explanations on hunting and
related tools, kinds of falcons and preys, in addition to
workshop on how to carry a falcon, set a traditional tent
(made of goat & camel hair), prepare traditional Arabic
coffee, etc.
Cain (2D) 11.30pm.
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace
(3): The Call Up (2D) 2.30pm;
Tini : The Movie : The New Life
Code Of Cain (2D) 11.30pm.
Of Violette (2D) 4pm; Tini : The
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): Movie :The New Life Of Violette
Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi) 3pm; (2D) 9pm; Now You See Me 2 (2D)
The Code Of Cain (2D) 8.45pm;
10.45pm.
Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi) 11pm. Asian Town Cinema: Kammati
Royal Plaza Cinema Palace
Paadam (Malayalam) 8, 9, 11pm
(2): Asian Connection (2D)
& 12am; Oka Manasu (Telugu)
2.30pm; Albert (2D) 4pm; Asian 8pm; Raman Raghav 2.0 (Hindi)
Connection (2D) 8.30pm; The
10.45pm; Gentleman (Telugu)
Call Up (2D) 10pm; The Code Of 7.45pm.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
BOOKS
10
1. Suits S2
2. Texas Rising S1
3. Friends S1-10
4. Good Wife S1
5. Grey’s Anatomy S7
6. Remember Me
7. Better Call Saul S1
8. Chicago Fire S3
9. Downton Abbey A
Moorland Holiday
10. Flash S1
Aya & Hikaya Ramadan Programme
DATE: Until June 25
VENUE: Across mosques in Qatar
The Ministry of Education and Higher
Education, in collaboration with the Ministry
of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, will
organise the fourth edition of the Aya & Hikaya
Ramadan programme, with the participation
of male and female students aged between six
and 12 years. The sessions of boys will be held
after the Asr prayer, while the sessions of girls
will take place after Taraweeh prayers. Each
session will include 30 students, each of them
will be awarded a participation certificate and a
copy of the story.
TCA Science Summer Camp
DATE: July 10-Aug 4
TIME: 8:30am-3:15pm
VENUE: TCA, C-Ring Road
Qatar’s most exciting summer camp is
an unique science workshop to introduce
young children to the mysteries of science,
through hands on make and take projects with
interactive experiments. For inquiries, call
66523871.
RedBull Kart Fight!
DATE: Until July 1
TIME: 9:30pm
VENUE: Doha Exhibition & Convention
Center
Red Bull Kart Fight is at the door! The first
ever karting competition to be held in Qatar
will establish the fastest amateur kart racer in
the country. Kart Fight Qualifiers and National
Final will take place between June 23-July 1
(except June 28), at the Doha Exhibition &
Convention Center from 9:30pm – 11:30pm.
Freej Aspire 2016
DATE: Until July 19
VENUE: Aspire Zone
You can come and enjoy fun and
entertainment at Freej Aspire in Ramadan.
The events include live entertainment shows
MOVIES
1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
2. Querkles Masterpieces by Thomas Pavitte
3. Username: Evie by Joe Sugg
4. The Bamboo Stalk by Saud al-Sanousi
5. Girl Online: On Tour by Zoe Sugg
6. Qatar Entertainer 2016
by The Entertainer
7. Selp-Helf by Miranda Sings
8. Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
9. The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire by Dan Howell and Phil
Lester
10. See Me by Nicholas Spark
TV-SERIES
Futsal Intercontinental Cup Qatar
DATE: From tomorrow, until June 29
VENUE: Ali bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena in
Al Sadd
Qatar Football Association, in collaboration
with the Spanish Futsal League, will organise
the 15th Futsal Intercontinental Cup Qatar
2016, with the participation of the top eight
teams in the world. Qatar will be represented
by Al-Rayyan team.
3
COMMUNITY
ROUND & ABOUT
top
GULF TIMES
1. Star Wars Ep VII The Force Awakens
2. Terminator Genisys
3. Revenant
4. Solace
5. Southpaw
6. Daddy’s Home
7. Ride Along 2
8. Blended
9. Descendants
10. Hateful Eight
MUSIC
1. Various Artists: Now 93
2. Various Artists: Very Bo
3. Rihanna: Anti
4. Justin Bieber: Purpose Del Ed
5. Various Artists: Now That S What I Call Chilled
6. David Guetta: Listen Again
7. Coldplay: Head Full Of Dreams
8. Green Day: American Idiot +Dvd
9. Various Artists: Sunset Soul Bx3
10. Ludwig Von Beethoven: 50 Best Beethoven Bx3
Courtesy: Virgin Megastores,
Landmark and Villaggio Mall
suitable for all family members, sports
activities for kids, in addition to shopping and
food outlets.
of food festivities. Barwa Commercial Avenue,
opposite Al Watan petrol station from June 30
to July 9, from 8pm-12pm.
Ramadan Nights @ Aqua Park
TIME: 8pm—2am
VENUE: Aqua Park
With a special month, comes a special treat
from Qatar’s number 1 theme park – Aqua
Park.
Come spend the beautiful Ramadan nights
at Aqua Park and get to also view the 2016
matches on a giant screen. Join other football
fans and enjoy the UEFA EURO 2016 feeling
in France right here in Qatar. Let the fun &
excitement begin!
Summer Camp & Clinic
DATE: July 3-14
TIME: 9am
VENUE: Al Waab, Al Bustan, Doha
The camps & clinics are a fantastic
opportunity to maintain contact time with
your coach, whether that is soccer, basketball
or multi-sports. Come along, learn new skills
and meet new friends who have the same
passion and desire for the game as you do.
Blood and Arteries exhibition
DATE: Until July 11
TIME: 9am-11:55pm
VENUE: Katara, Bldg 18
Creative 4D Exhibition on blood and arteries
with verses from the Qur’an and a free blood
test.
Katara Beach Volleyball Championship
DATE: Until June 25
TIME: 9pm- 11:55pm
VENUE: Katara Beach
Katara announces the launch of Katara
Beach Volleyball Tournament 2016 in Ramadan
on Katara beach volleyball court. Participants
are welcome from all nationalities provided
they weren’t in the records of the Qatari
Volleyball Association for the season of 2015
– 2016.
Sunset Kayaking
DATE: Until June 25
TIME: 4pm
VENUE: Al Thakhira
This is a tour designed for the holy month
of Ramadan. Enjoy a great sunset paddling in
the beautiful mangroves of Al Thakhira. After
Kayaking, we head back to the beach and go for
a potluck Iftar where people share their food!
There will be a BBQ set up as well.
Chinese Food Culture Festival
DATE: June 30-July 9
TIME: 8pm- 12pm
VENUE: Barwa Commercial Avenue
Want to taste Chinese food? Want to watch
breath taking Chinese performances? Well
now you can enjoy the authentic taste and
watch wonderful Chinese performances at the
Dragon Mart China Mall. Bringing you 10 days
Karting & Mini Moto Track
DATE: Until July 1
TIME: 6:30pm
VENUE: Losail International Circuit
The Karting and Mini Moto Track will be
open every Thursday and Friday until July 1
after which the track will close until further
notice. QR100 per session of 15 minutes.
Helmet mask QR15 – not refundable.
QSports Summer Camp
DATE: Until Sept 1
TIME: 8am-1pm
VENUE: Al Jazeera Academy
Registration for QSports Summer Camp
2016 is now open. QSports summer camps
are committed to providing a safe, fun and
skill-based experience for kids between the
ages of four and 14. We have a dedicated team
of specialist kid’s coaches and classes and
activities are safe, planned, progressive, active,
creative, inclusive and designed to maximise
participation of all children by offering a
variety of activities.
Shifting Sands
DATE: Until July 7
VENUE: Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Museum,
Alsamariyah
MA students of UCL Qatar are organising and
curating an exhibition as part of UCLQurates.
In the very recent past, Qatar has undergone
a significant transformation; through these
developments, people have had to adapt to the
changing landscape in which they live.
Spring Exhibition MIA
DATE: Until July 16
TIME: 10:30am- 5pm
VENUE: QM Gallery Al Riwaq
An exhibition of 15 contemporary Chinese
artists, curated by internationally acclaimed
Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change
New York-based Chinese artist Cai GuoQiang, is on view at the QM Gallery Al Riwaq.
The exhibition is the major highlight presented
in the context of the Qatar China 2016 Year
of Culture. Artworks exemplifying each and
every artist’s unique artistic language and
methodology are displayed in individual
galleries.
Qatari Agricultural Product Yards
DATE: Until June 30
VENUE: Al Mazrooa, Al Zakheera, Al Khor,
Al Wakrah
The Ministry of Environment has opened the
4th season of Qatari agricultural product yards
for selling locally produced fruits, vegetables,
poultry, fish and livestock. Work in these yards
will continue for seven months. The yards will
operate three days a week on Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays from 7am to 5pm, with livestock
vendors in Al Mazrooa operating at the same
times throughout the week.
FOODIE CHOICE
RESTAURANT: Al Hubara
LOCATION: Sheraton lobby
Every night of Ramadan provides a
new opportunity to share memorable
Iftar experiences. Join us in our renowned
restaurant, where interactive cooking stations
come to life celebrating cuisines from all
around the world, featuring Qatari traditional
cuisine and more! At QR225, per person — 50%
for kids aged between 6 to 12 years and kids
below the age of six dine for free.
4
GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
COVER STORY
Green means clean
In Qatar, all industry sectors need their operations to go green, Dr Margarita Pavlova,
Director of the UNESCO-UNEVOC Centre in Hong Kong, suggests. It is one way the
overall economy could get greener within a short timeframe, she tells Umer Nangiana
CANDID: For countries like Qatar, issues of climate change, health, and other aspects of personal and social well-being are closely related to the quality of the environment, says Dr Margarita Pavlova.
W
hen governments
plan for
sustainable
development they
need to consider
at least two dimensions; human
development index and ecological
footprint/performance.
Qatar ranked 32nd out of 188
countries in 2014 and ranks as
one of the top Arab countries for
human development. However,
the performance on environmental
sustainability dimension as
measured by World Energy Council
(2015) is low as it ranked 101st out
of 129 countries overall. Assuredly,
the country scored well in terms of
energy security and energy equity.
For Qatar to achieve high human
development within the Earth’s
limit, the country requires a
particular focus on how to deal
with environmental challenges.
One of the pillars of Qatar
National Vision 2030 is
environmental development and
the government of Qatar has
established a number of projects
that highlight the importance of
this agenda to the country.
“For countries like Qatar,
issues of climate change, health,
and other aspects of personal
and social well-being are
closely related to the quality of
the environment, and this has
become a primary concern for
governments,” says Dr Margarita
Pavlova, Director of the UNESCOUNEVOC Centre in Hong Kong,
while talking to Community.
An expert in TVET (Technical
and Vocational Education and
Training) with special focus
in the area of environmental
development, she was recently in
Qatar to give a talk on ‘Greening
of skills and economies for
a successful transition to
environmentally friendly lowcarbon development’ at College of
North Atlantic-Qatar (CNAQ).
In addition, she says, Qatar
as a very rich country has more
resources that can be used to
tackle global issues related to
climate change; for example, by
developing green technologies for
the oil and gas industries, or other
sectors and helping to transfer
these technologies to developing
countries.
In Qatar, all industry sectors
need their operations to go green,
Dr Pavlova suggests. It is one way
the overall economy could get
greener within a short timeframe.
At the moment in Qatar, the
most obvious sector that needs
to go green is construction due
to its substantial environmental
footprint and its capacity to
significantly reduce emissions.
“There are so many
construction sites in Doha, and
the construction sector has a
significant impact due to CO2
emissions. For example, buildings
take up over 40 percent of
global primary energy use, GHG
emissions and also waste (UNEP,
2007),” says the expert. They
also consume 32 percent of the
world’s resources and account for
12 percent of global water use, she
adds, quoting ‘Fien & Winfree,
2014.’
The importance of transitioning
towards a greener economy
has been recognised globally in
different regions and countries.
Greening of economies
contributes to a reduction of
waste, pollution, combined with
Thursday, June 23, 2016
5
COMMUNITY
COVER STORY
the responsible use of resources,
materials, and energy to revitalise
and diversify economies, says
Dr Pavlova who is also Associate
Professor at Department of
International Education and
Lifelong Learning at Honk Kong
Institute of Education.
She is internationally
recognised for her high level of
scholarship and concrete action
and policy-oriented approach to
research. Her current research
and development projects are
in the area of education for
sustainability, development and
green skills.
Challenges associated with the
current and future shortage of
resources, their inflating prices,
technological development and
innovation, new markets, and
changes in industrial practices as
well as consumer demands have
led to structural economic changes
and the ‘greening’ of business and
industry.
“In our research, when we
are talking about green skills
or greening of skills we make
a distinction between green
industries on the one hand such
as waste and water management,
renewable energy, eco-tourism,
environmental consulting services
and the greening of industries
across the board on the other,”
elaborates Dr Pavlova.
For developing occupational
skills standards in the first type of
skills, occupational and business
chain analyses are used. These
are no different from the ways
other occupational standards are
developed.
For the second type, a different
approach is required, she says.
Their research, Dr Pavlova,
suggest has identified four types
of skills or competencies that are
required and should be included in
training programs in the context of
greening.
These include cognitive
competencies, interpersonal skills,
intrapersonal competencies and
technological skills.
“Our research in Hong Kong
identified that there are two main
ways companies are becoming
greener. It is by greening their
operations by implementing
particular management strategies
and focusing on green technical
innovations and by producing
green products such as gas stoves
and solar panels,” says the expert.
Quoting her research, she
says vocational and professional
training institutes like CNAQ play
a critical role in greening of skills.
They play a significant
leadership role in meeting the
social and economic needs of
greening by integrating green
concepts and processes into the
curricula as well as by greening
campuses, thereby preparing
workers for new, changed or
emerging jobs in greening
economies.
However, to stimulate the
process of greening, current
practices in curriculum
development, links with industry
and patterns of teacher training
should be studied to provide
targeted support for policy
formulation within an institution
GULF TIMES
TURNING GREEN: Dr Pavlova says that institutes like CNAQ play a pivotal role in greening of skills.
and practice development in
greening.
“A very proactive role on the
part of the management of the
college is required. A working
group of teachers and students
should be set up to analyse the
current situation and to develop
an action plan,” suggests Dr
Pavlova, referring to CNAQ’s
potential role in the greening of
skills in Qatar.
To increase general awareness,
she adds, the college can provide
training for change agents at
all levels. People across society
at all levels of skills should be
involved in the communication
or education processes relevant
to green growth and green skills
development.
It is also crucially important
to acknowledge the need
for continued professional
development of TVET staff.
“Considering that every
single job can become greener,
environmental aspects have to
be included in all training, not
just training for newly emerging
occupations. For example, training
at the ministerial level is required
for stakeholders who are involved
in skills development policy
formulation and implementation
strategies,” suggests the professor.
She says the development of
on-line training modules for
generic green skills and awareness
for teachers’ professional
development must be prioritised.
“Let me also express my hope
that we will establish close
collaboration between two
UNEVOC centres in Hong Kong
and Doha to work further on issues
of greening skills,” says Dr Pavlova.
In addition, she suggests,
the college could lead the
establishment of consortia,
funded by the government,
of existing practitioners and
researchers to assist with the
development and implementation
of green skills best practice.
EMPHASIS: The TVET expert stressed the need for continued professional development of personnel.
Qatar as a very rich
country has more
resources that can
be used to tackle
global issues related
to climate change;
for example, by
developing green
technologies for
the oil and gas
industries, or
other sectors and
helping to transfer
these technologies
to developing
countries
Dr Pavlova speaking to the audience at CNAQ.
6
GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
Medical check-ups at
Katara in light of the Qur’an
By Umer Nangiana
T
he creative 4D imagery
of human organs and
their anatomy described
in the light of the
Qur’an, complemented
by medical practitioners providing
free specialised check-up, in
Katara Cultural Village is attracting
huge attention of the visitors.
Held as part of the Ramadan
Festival by Katara Cultural Village
Foundation, ‘The Human Creation
in Holy Qur’an’ features different
specialised check-up points
based around each organ in the
exhibition.
The visitors will discover the
wisdom of creating human beings
as described in the Qur’an through
various events and activities
presented by Katara.
The building 19 of Katara hosts
a physiotherapist and exhibition
of the anatomy of body skeleton,
bones and joints. A professional
physiotherapist from Naseem Al
Rabeeh Medical Centre, Muzafar
Mahamood is providing free
check-up and medical advice to a
number of people visiting his booth
every night.
“We are mainly advising people
about their postures and their daily
routine postures. We are also giving
them tips on how to avoid back
or shoulder pains by maintaining
certain postures,” Mahamood tells
Community at his station, where
he has all the necessary equipment
including a bed to examine the
visitors coming to him.
“We also have [the facility for]
almost all weight exercises, like
dumbbells, stress ball and some
pain relieving modalities. We do
not treat here. We advise them
what exercises they can and cannot
do. If they are going to gym then
what type of exercises should they
do in what form,” says Mahamood.
AT WORK: Mahamood advises people on their daily work postures and examines them for any complaints about back or neck pain.
Most of the people visiting him
have been concerned about their
weight. So he would take their
weight and height measurements
and advise them on how much
weight they need to reduce, based
on their Body Mass Index (BMI).
Some people, he says, have come
up to him with complaints about
pain in their hands. If the pain is in
the elbow region, it can be tennis
elbow. Mahamood suggests them
taking some safety measures, and
to consult an orthopaedic doctor if
the measures do not work.
Many people have come with the
complaints of back pain that goes
all the way to their legs. “We just
advise them to go meet the doctor
The exhibition showcases the anatomy of human body in the light of the Qur’an.
and take proper treatment. We
cannot advise them any exercises
or do any physiotherapy sessions as
they need proper medication,” says
Mahamood.
In Qatar, he says, most
complaints they receive are cervical
and Lamba strains, usually caused
at work. These stresses in the neck
and back usually come from the
sitting postures of the people at
their jobs.
They do not take regular breaks
and in these cases, the treatment
will take time to show results. The
results though have been “really
good”. There are many handy
exercises that you can do during
your time at the work station to
Photos by Umer Nangiana
avoid getting such problems.
These include taking regular
breaks from sitting in one
particular posture and doing some
simple neck, hands and finger
exercises to relax the muscles.
These are small 1-2 minute breaks
that can help prevent such pain
problems.
“These kinds of problems do
not occur just all of sudden. They
usually build up over a period of
time. Once they appear, people
take treatment and the problem
subsides but as soon as they go
back to the same sitting posture,
it comes back. So you have to
be careful and regular with the
exercises,” says Mahamood.
In Qatar, and in the entire GCC
region in general, he adds it is
mandatory to advise people on
their sitting postures at work.
“We can tell people about some
exercises and tips. But if they need
treatments, we are suggesting them
to get to us at the hospital or any
other medical practitioners so that
they can be given proper medical
attention,” says Mahamood.
Many of the people who are
advised to go to the doctor say they
will do so after Ramadan, said the
doctor. Some, however, decided to
seek immediate medical attention.
The check-up points will remain
open from 7pm to 11:30pm every
day during Ramadan at Katara.
Muzafar Mahamood from Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Centre.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
Indian embassy organises yoga for community
The second International Day of Yoga event,
hosted by the Indian Embassy at Al Gharafa
Sports Club Indoor Hall on Tuesday evening, was
attended by hundreds of people from various
walks of life. The event was organised with the
support and co-operation of the Government of
Qatar, Indian Cultural Centre and other community
organisations.
Indian ambassador Sanjiv Arora, several Qatari
dignitaries including Sheikha Athba bint Thamer
al-Thani, and a large number of yoga enthusiasts
took part in the event that included a short film on
yoga and a demonstration by yoga experts.
The event in Qatar was part of a series of events
staged on Tuesday across the capitals of various
countries. The First International Day of Yoga was
celebrated on June 21, 2015 and a special event
was held in Qatar on the occasion.
Qatar Post had issued commemorative stamps to
mark the occasion. Government of India in 2014
had called on the UN Member States to work
towards adopting an International Day of Yoga.
India’s resolution at the United Nations General
Assembly to declare June 21 as the International
Day of Yoga was unanimously adopted on
December 11, 2014, with a record co-sponsorship of
177 countries, including Qatar.
Photos by Jayan Orma
7
8
GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
Starwood Hotels & Resorts celebrate Iftar with cab drivers in Doha
Starwood Hotels & Resorts celebrated Iftar with taxi drivers across Doha, Qatar as a part of its
seventh annual ‘Iftar for Cabs’ and its ongoing commitment to the holy month of Ramadan. This
year’s initiative brought 48 hotels, including the St. Regis Hotel, across the region together for the
cause. Individually packed Iftar packs were prepared by hotels, which included a selection of food
and beverage items. The Iftar packs were then distributed to cab drivers at the main entrance of
each hotel with the help of various members across the different departments of the properties, in
celebration of the spirit of Ramadan.
Launched in 2010, the Iftar for Cabs initiative has turned into an annual tradition for many cab
drivers throughout the region. The initiative has also been widely appreciated by hotel owners,
local communities and transport authorities.
McDonald’s Qatar brings cheerful Garangao to kids
McDonald’s Qatar celebrated the yearly-awaited Garangao festival in a spirit emanating heartfelt
energy. Teams at the restaurants inaugurated the festival by welcoming children and their parents
at Suhaim bin Hamad, Airport, Markhiya, Landmark, City Center 1, Ras Abu Aboud, Rayyan 1,
Muaither, Abu Hamour, Wakrah, Tebah, Umm Salal, Hyatt, Woqood, Al Jazeera, Gharaffa, Lagoona,
Barwa Village, Al Meera Quataifiya, Dar Salam, Mesaieed, Barwa City, City Center 2, Jeryan, and Al
Meera Wakrah branches.
McDonald’s play area and drive thru were amplified with the loud cheers and chanting of
Garangao songs by the children, dressed in traditional and colourful Garangao costumes.
Children’s also enjoyed a variety of activities while walking with their gift baskets filled with nuts
and candies prepared by McDonald’s staff.
Garangao, or sometimes called Gir-ga-oon, is a traditional festival celebrated across the Gulf region
on the evening of the 14th of Ramadan. Dressed in abayas, veils and different traditional robes,
children gather in designated locations around their residential areas and visit their neighbours
and families singing Garangao songs on the tunes of the drum beats. Elders greet the kids with
tasty candies and nuts which are collected in specially designed cotton bags that are hung around
the necks.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES
9
COMMUNITY
MES observes International Yoga Day
MES Indian School marked the International Yoga Day on Tuesday with the aim of “health for all” and to inculcate the value of discipline in everyone. In the programme, the school staff and students
participated with enthusiasm. Shikha Rana, teacher at the Department of Physical Education (Girls’ Section), demonstrated different yoga postures to students, like Thadasana, Vrikasana and Uttanasana
and Shahana Abdul Kadar, teacher at Department of Physical Education (Girls’ Section), gave the narration.
KPMG in Qatar celebrates Ramadan with a staff Suhoor
KPMG in Qatar held a Suhoor celebration last weekend at the Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara and over 250 staff and their families attended the event. Ahmed Abu-Sharkh, Country Senior
Partner, said, “Our staff and their families look forward to this annual event. It is a chance to come together to celebrate Ramadan, regardless of our background and religion. KPMG Qatar is home to
over 250 staff from 26 countries around the world, and we value this opportunity to enjoy Suhoor together and learn more about our community.”
10 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
Schools gather for CLEAPSS
conference at Doha College
D
oha College welcomed
representatives
from schools across
Qatar for the recent
CLEAPSS conference.
Organised by Senior Science
Technician Anisa Abdul Gafoor of
Doha College, the event brought
together science technicians and
teachers to share best practices
and laboratory skills to engage the
students in advanced chemistry.
CLEAPSS, first started in the
UK in 1963, is an advisory service
providing support in science
and technology for schools from
nursery education through to
A-level studies or equivalent,
and it is the British standard that
overseas practical work around
British Curriculum Schools in the
UK and abroad. It covers areas of
health and safety, chemicals, living
organisms, equipment, resources,
laboratory design, facilities and
fittings, technicians and their jobs,
D&T facilities and fittings.
Doha College called on the
expertise of Robert Worley, a
renowned veteran in microscale chemistry, who trained
the participants over a two-day
course. He demonstrated how a lot
can be achieved using very small
amounts of chemicals. “In a little,
you can see a lot,” was the motto
of this conference, which focused
on alternative procedures in
practical chemistry for chemistry
teachers, adding variety, improving
safety, reducing cost, improving
EXPERIENCED: Robert Worley trained the participants over a two-day course.
classroom management and
improving student understanding
of chemistry.
The first day of the course dealt
with waste disposal of chemicals,
storage and handling, practical
glass work skills, organising and
managing prep rooms, common
myths and efficient alternates,
and a tour around the model
facilities in the Doha College
laboratories and prep rooms.
The second day was centred on
“Safe and Successful Advanced
KEEN: The participants had a positive response to what they learned in the conference.
Level Chemistry,” which included
practical experiments and an
introduction to micro-scale
chemistry as an alternative to
macro techniques.
These activities are designed
to add variety to practical work
in schools, not to replace the
traditional methods. They also
offer something extra such as
better classroom control, increased
safety, quicker procedures and
the underpinning of the essential
concepts required to improve the
understanding of chemical changes
at the atomic level, interpreting the
visible with the invisible.
Emma Bridges of Doha British
School said, “It was so worthwhile,
and all the effort [put into the
event] was really appreciated.”
Ann Lourens of Park House said,
“We were really impressed with
the content, the organisation and
preparation, and we will certainly
be able to apply what we learnt.”
Another participant, Shuchita
Chakma of Nord Anglia
International School in Al Khor,
said, “I enjoyed the science
workshop a lot, everything was
very well organised. [The organiser
was] so co-operative, informative
and supportive.”
Worley himself was “very
impressed” with the outcome
of the event. “I loved your faces
when you saw the diffusing
precipitate. Gets me every time as
well! But we need to be thankful
to Anisa. I have been blessed
with good technicians all through
my teaching career, and now at
CLEAPSS. Anisa is the tops and a
treasure in Qatar,” he said.
Part of Worley’s work can be
seen in a series of videos on the
CLEAPSS YouTube channel.
HANDS ON: The conference focused on alternative procedures in practical chemistry for chemistry
teachers.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES
11
COMMUNITY
OFFBEAT
PERFORMERS: Children in the concert hall of Dusseldorf, Germany for the annual Singing Break joint concert, based on twice-weekly singing breaks in their schools.
‘Singing break’ project
reinvigorates singing
lessons for kids
By Dorothea Huelsmeier
T
here’s a tremendous hullabaloo in
the city concert hall as 1,000 primary
school children aged between 6 and
10 chatter and laugh.
But when the singing teachers step
on to the stage and give a signal to each corner
of the hall, silence descends in an instant.
Moments later the hall resonates with the
sound of 1,000 children singing Atte katte
nuwa, a folk song from Lapland, followed by
Im Fruehtau zu Berge, the German version of a
Swedish hiking song, Sumer Is Icumen In from
medieval England and a native South American
song.
This is an educational experiment with
global implications. A wealthy businessman is
helping it along.
The aims: to fix deficits of schooling by
teaching a package of life skills that choral
singing provides, and to revive Germany’s
once mighty reputation as a place where
almost everyone could sing, and do it without
embarrassment.
More than 13,000 children from more than
60 primary schools in the German city of
Dusseldorf are coming to this “Singpause,” or
break for singing, in the concert hall over several
consecutive days.
It’s similar to the eisteddfod gatherings of
Wales, another nation with a stellar choral
tradition. For a whole year at school, the
children have been practising for the big day,
singing songs in alien languages for 20 minutes
twice a week.
There’s no huge group rehearsal but when
they all get together to give their concerts, every
note fits together.
“The children were able to sing rounds in six
voices,” Manfred Hill, the 72-year-old president
of the city’s music association who founded the
musical project 10 years ago, says proudly.
Hill, who’s also the boss of a company which
makes fire extinguishers, says around 80,000
children have taken part in the programme
since 2006.
They’re taught by professional singers using
the so-called Ward method, which aims to
teach young children the basics of music theory
and note reading through singing.
At the end of Grade Four, when German
children are aged 10, “the children can read
music and sight-sing a simple song,” according
to Hill.
There are around 1,160 “singing breaks”
every week at Dusseldorf’s schools and 42
singers have now been trained as teachers.
The programme, which costs around
680,000 euros (770,000 dollars) a year,
is funded partly by the state and partly by
donations.
Another 10 German cities have since
launched similar projects and others are
interested.
Hill’s condition for contributing his
expertise is that the singing breaks have to be
open and free to all children in a school and
that they have to last over the four years of
primary school.
Refugee children are also integrated straight
away.
Hill, who has three sons, believes that singing
together in foreign languages helps children
bond, despite language barriers. “You can sing
in all the languages of the world,” he says.
He also believes that singing as a form of
education is dying out.
“If you ask most 30 to 50 year olds whether
they can sing, most of them say no,” he says.
That’s because most of them find it
embarrassing to sing out loud, because they
haven’t done so since they were children.
“At German schools, singing isn’t necessarily
a matter of course anymore,” comments
concert hall manager Michael Becker.
Ricarda, now in Grade Five, took part in four
singing break concerts during her time at a city
primary school.
“I’ll never forget it,” says the 10-year-old,
who can now read music. “We had a real sense
of community. It would be nice if singing
breaks continued after primary school at upper
grades.”
Projects like that in Dusseldorf are also aimed
at motivating the next generation to take part in
choral music.
In the SingBach programme in a nearby state,
Grade Three children are taught songs, hymns
and rearranged arias by Johann Sebastian Bach,
one of the greatest composers in the German
music tradition, which they then sing in a
concert at the end.
The German Choral Society (Deutsche
Chorverband), which is made up of 22,000
choirs, says it has observed a “renewed interest
in singing.”
Demographic change has also affected choirs,
but a recovery set in a few years ago, according
to spokeswoman Nicole Eisinger.
However, the structure of choirs is changing,
she says. A more fluid scene with small vocal
pop ensembles is increasingly popular, because
many people are now more mobile and cannot
commit long-term to a choir.
But as Hill says, “It really doesn’t matter if
it’s hip hop or something else, the main thing is
that people are making music.” —DPA
12 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
INFOGRAPHIC
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES
13
COMMUNITY
LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE
5 top trends in container gardening
G
planting succulents for a virtually
care-free container garden. Petunias,
calibrachoa and pansies also make
wonderful additions to hanging
baskets.
ardening is a peaceful
activity that eases
tension, reduces overall
stress and promotes
longevity. One long-term
study found that daily gardening
reduces the risk for both dementia
and Alzheimer’s disease. With all
of these benefits, there are ample
reasons why people of all ages and
lifestyles should start digging in the
dirt.
You don’t need a big yard or lots
of room to enjoy a beautiful garden.
With so many options for indoor and
outdoor container gardening, there’s
no limit on the number of gardens
you can have. Container gardening
is a great way to colour up a small
space, add depth and height to your
yard or easily change up the look of
your patio. No matter your skill level,
enjoy the benefits of gardening with
these container trends:
Foliage gardens
Foliage plants are no longer
just accessories for your small
space garden. You can create an
entire display simply out of rich,
colourful foliage plants. Fountain
grass, papyrus, vinca and grassy
rush are all great additions for
adding vibrancy to your container
Combination containers
Who says your container garden
can only have one plant? Get
creative and play with different
colour and texture combinations
of plants and flowers. You can
make up your own mix or search
online for combo recipes by other
inspiring gardeners. Mix foliage
with flowers and use a colour
scheme to build a balanced and
beautiful container.
garden. Mix and match with various
textures to find a unique display
that speaks to you.
Petunia tower
A petunia tower is a great way to
add an unexpected element to your
container garden collection. A flower
tower is easy to make and sun-loving
Tidal Wave Petunias will bloom all
ARIES
March 21 — April 19
There is no harm in doing some harmless investigation into
something or someone today. While others may say it’s stalking...it’s
simply checking things out, right?
CANCER
June 21 — July 22
Unless you feel it’s absolutely necessary, don’t go overboard on
something today. Whether it’s spending money or congratulating
someone on a job well done, keep a low profile today.
LIBRA
September 23 — October 22
Unless you really feel like getting involved in someone else’s
problems and trying to help solve them, there is wisdom in letting
them try to sort things out on their own.
CAPRICORN
December 22 — January 19
If you aren’t sure about something, ask questions today Capricorns.
There is wisdom in not pushing yourself too hard today or this week.
Save it for when you are ready to do the heavy grunt work.
season long on a patio, deck or pool
area. You will need only three Tidal
Wave plants. The Red Velour have
great colour and texture and make a
strong statement. Plant them with
good potting soil into a 10 to 12 inch
wide plastic nursing pot. Place a
three-foot metal tomato cage into the
pot. The cage should be as wide at the
bottom as it is on the top. Now slip
the entire plastic pot into a glazed pot
that’s about one to four inches wider,
and voila!
Hanging baskets
Hanging flower baskets bring your
plants to eye-level, where everyone
can enjoy their wonderful scents and
sights. Add beauty to an otherwise
dull porch, wall or rafters. Try
TAURUS
April 20 — May 20
Don’t be difficult today if someone wants to do something you really
don’t want to do bulls. Life is never going to always go the way you
want it to and it would be super weird if it did.
LEO
July 23 — August 22
If you feel that you are stuck between a rock and a hard place, work
out why today Leos. It might very well be that you have backed
yourself into a corner and now need to finagle your way out of it.
SCORPIO
October 23 — November 21
You like things done a certain way Scorpios and right now, you might
be finding that pretty much everyone around you are digging their
heels in as much as you are.
AQUARIUS
January 20 — February 18
Don’t get caught up in what other people say and think today.
You’ve got a brilliant mind — use it Aquarius. If you find something
objectionable, speak up and have your say.
Indoor container gardening
Take your favourite hobby inside.
Even if you have a small apartment,
there’s no need to rule out house
plants. Find the best place for each
plant, depending on their light
requirements. Don’t be afraid
to experiment and try different
locations until you find the best spot
for your indoor containers. For sunloving plants, just be sure to place
them on a windowsill for maximum
light exposure.
© Brandpoint
GEMINI
May 21 — June 20
Be open to a suggestion today — no matter how far off base you
think it is twins. There might just be some validity to the suggestion
that will get your mind working.
VIRGO
August 23 — September 22
Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees, isn’t it? You get
yourself so caught up in drama and what everyone else is doing that
you lose sight of the big picture.
SAGITTARIUS
November 22 — December 21
Be open to a change in plans today Sags. There is nothing like being
free and easy going like yourself when it comes to adapting quickly
to life around you and being a go with the flow type, you are usually
good with changing things around.
PISCES
February 19 — March 20
There should be absolutely no doubt in your mind that you are
making the right choices today. If you feel confused or indecisive,
then not making any decision is better than making one that’s
wrong.
14 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
Wordsearch
Adam
Pooch Cafe
Mind
AWARE
BRAIN
CONSCIOUS
DREAM
EMOTION
IDEAS
INTELLECT
LEARNING
LOGIC
MEMORY
NEURONE
NEUROSIS
PERCEPTION
PSYCHE
REASON
REFLEX
SENSE
SYNAPSE
THOUGHT
Codeword
Puzzles courtesy: Puzzlechoice.com
Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once.
Squares with the same number in have the same letter
in. Work out which number represents which letter.
Garfield
Sudoku
Bound And Gagged
Sudoku is a puzzle based
on a 9x9 grid. The grid is
also divided into nine (3x3)
boxes. You are given a
selection of values and to
complete the puzzle, you
must fill the grid so that
every column, every anone
is repeated.
PUZZLES/CARTOONS
Thursday, June 23, 2016
15
COMMUNITY
PUZZLES
Quick Clues
ACROSS
1. Exchange (4)
8. Idle (10)
9. Clergyman (8)
10. Rant (4)
12. Lubricate (6)
14. Eatable (6)
15. Envelop (6)
17. Impractical (6)
18. Surfeit (4)
19. Reserved (8)
21. Revengeful (10)
22. Desire (4)
GULF TIMES
Colouring
DOWN
2. Retreat (10)
3. Light shoe (4)
4. Spin (6)
5. Candlestick (6)
6. Assess (8)
7. Rim (4)
11. Bulky (10)
13. Flair (8)
16. Embellish (6)
17. Item (6)
18. Donate (4)
20. Masticate (4)
Cryptic Clues
Answers
Wordsearch
ACROSS
1. A method used on holiday, perhaps (4)
8. Nationality of Laura, Stan and I? (10)
9. Ring in, send aid round where breathing
is affected (8)
10. Name backwards in alphabetical order
(4)
12. Old woman insane, wandering and
found on a boat (6)
14. Drink in close proximity while holding
court (6)
15. Students in gliders with special talents
(6)
17. Is poem made of force? Of course! (6)
18. Different form of preposition (4)
19. Too tired to bring the record? (8)
21. Julia on bit of a spree with Joy (10)
22. Some people learn on merit (4)
DOWN
2. Bird seen out with boring Bill? (10)
3. Sign of boredom from way up north (4)
4. Designate when seeing the evidence (6)
5. Place of confinement, or spin-off (6)
6. Sombre headdress for a bird (8)
7. Appear in concert? Never again! (4)
11. Train Ross to start playing the radio (10)
13. Girl to have a drink with on the farm,
perhaps (8)
16. Sovereign gaining admission to
consultant’s waiting-room (6)
17. Introduce to the Italian at the end of
this month (6)
18. Loud one almost getting Jim in a state
(4)
20. Alone in Scotland - on the motorway?
(4)
Codeword
Yesterday’s Solutions
QUICK
Across: 7 Utter; 8 Diluted; 9 Bandage; 10
Wound; 12 Hysterical; 15 Masquerade; 18 North;
19 Tableau; 21 Exclude; 22 Clown.
Down: 1 Husbandman; 2 Stunt; 3 Area; 4
Advent; 5 Flowered; 6 Staunch; 11 Delinquent;
13 Youthful; 14 Ostrich; 16 Rotten; 17 Decoy; 20
Back.
CRYPTIC
Across: 7 Orlop; 8 Average; 9 Emperor; 10
Therm; 12 Two-wheeler; 15 Generosity; 18 Niger;
19 Cordial; 21 Tremble; 22 Coypu.
Down: 1 Copenhagen; 2 Clips; 3 Spar; 4
Jarrow; 5 Vestment; 6 Patella; 11 Marvellous; 13
Wardrobe; 14 Snigger; 16 Sucker; 17 Vinyl; 20
Rock.
16 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
REVIEWS
War movie clichés
By Michael Phillips
FILM: 13 Hours: The Secret
Soldiers of Benghazi
CAST: John Krasinski, Pablo
Schreiber, James Badge Dale, David
Denman
DIRECTION: Michael Bay
E
verything in director
Michael Bay’s cinematic
vocabulary — the
glamourising slo-mo,
the falling bomb pointof-view shots, the low-angle
framing of his heroes with blue
sky, fireballs or an American flag
in the background — suggests not
real life, or the way things might
have happened, but a Michael Bay
movie.
It’s true of the Transformers
movies and it’s true of 13 Hours:
The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
Bay’s latest is a mixed-up blend
of truth and distortion. Parts
of it deliver a punch, and a jolt,
and ripples of earnest (and even
complicated) emotion. Then
the characters, some of them
composites or fabrications, start
talking again. The clichés tumble
out. And Bay gets preoccupied
with delivering audience-baiting
“kill shots”, engineered to appease
our bloodlust and avenge our
enemies.
At such moments 13 Hours
becomes less convincing in its
interpretation of what happened
Sept 11-12, 2012, when terrorists
attacked two Central Intelligence
Agency compounds (one official,
one unofficial) in Benghazi, Libya.
The key figures here, the men who
helped Mitchell Zuckoff write the
account on which Bay’s film is
based, are members of the CIA’s
sub-contracted GRS, or Global
Response Staff. Six members of
what was known as the Annex
Security Team were hired to protect
CIA staffers at the compounds.
Photographed in Malta,
doubling for Libya, 13 Hours begins
with the usual introductions of the
six GRS security personnel soon
to be under siege. John Krasinski
plays Jack Silva, the most amiable
of the guys, who has left a wife and
children behind to make a living,
keep the adrenaline going and
serve a higher cause in a dangerous
place. James Badge Dale portrays
the stalwart Tyrone “Rone”
Woods, a natural leader and a bullheaded adversary to the snivelling
CIA base chief (David Costabile)
who symbolises everything wrong
with foreign policy, in Bay’s eyes,
under the Obama administration.
Screenwriter Chuck Hogan leaves
nothing to chance, as Costabile’s
soft-bellied Ivy League punk looks
one of our protectors straight in
the eye and says: “You’re not a first
responder. You’re the last resort.”
Such moments push 13 Hours far,
far into movieland.
But of course 13 Hours is a movie,
and movies owe their subjects and
the audience something larger than
the facts. The characters refer to
other films: Black Hawk Down, The
Bourne Identity, Tropic Thunder.
At his shrewdest, Bay handles the
action swiftly and well. —Chicago
Tribune/TNS
A loving tribute
By Katie Walsh
FILM: Hail, Caesar!
CAST: George Clooney, Josh Brolin,
Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum
DIRECTION: Joel and Ethan Coen
T
he Coen Brothers’ latest comedy
Hail, Caesar! is a loving tribute
to the era of classical Hollywood,
meticulously crafted with layers
of reference, inside jokes, and
tidbits of history that will excite any film
buff.
Not to fret if you haven’t caught up with
every episode of the Hollywood history
podcast “You Must Remember This”
(although you should), Hail, Caesar! is every
bit as fun and entertaining regardless of
whether you’re picking up on every true life
tale.
The Coens have created a film that is at
once a meta commentary on Hollywood’s
studio system, while also indulging in the
pure pleasure of visual spectacle that marked
many films of this period.
With a star-studded cast, Hail, Caesar!
belongs primarily to Josh Brolin, who plays
Eddie Mannix, a studio fixer at Capitol
Pictures. The real Eddie Mannix was a
studio fixer at MGM Studios from the 1920s
to 1940s, but that’s where the obvious
biographical element ends.
The stars with whom Brolin’s Mannix
tangles are lightly fictionalised mashups of
real celebrities, with scrambled personal
histories. Scarlett Johansson’s DeAnna
Moran is an Esther Williams-esque
swimming superstar, with a Brooklyn accent
to beat the best, and a pregnancy pickle to
rival Loretta Young’s.
The film follows a day in the life of manic
Mannix, as he rushes around the lot, putting
out fires big and small. The biggest involves
Baird Whitlock (George Clooney), the star of
the epic Hail, Caesar! who’s been drugged
and kidnapped by a shadowy organisation
known as the Future (consider the paranoia
of the late 40s and early 50s, and you might
be able to hazard a guess as to the Future’s
motives). The group of nefarious, nebbishy
intellectuals are a classic Coen bunch of
deadpan delights.
While Mannix tries to scare up a ransom
for Whitlock, he’s also working on the career
trajectory of country-fried cowboy star
Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich), and his love
life; battling off the twin terrors of gossip
columnists Thora and Thessaly Thacker
(Tilda Swinton); and trying to contain
DeAnna’s increasingly troubling ambiguous
marital status.
Hail, Caesar! while poking fun at old
Hollywood, pays tribute as well, by yielding
to its sheer entertainment. — TNS
Focus on the father-son relationship
FILM: The Confirmation
CAST: Clive Owen, Maria Bello, Patton
Oswalt, Spencer Drever
DIRECTION: Bob Nelson
A
down-on-his-luck carpenter
(Clive Owen) is forced to take
care of his estranged eight-yearold son (Jaeden Lieberher) while
his ex-wife (Maria Bello) and
her new husband (Matthew Modine) attend
a retreat.
He does have a job coming up, at least until
his specialised tools are stolen from the back
of his truck. That means the pair are going to
have to spend much of the weekend hunting
them down, hoping that the various rogues
that occupy the local carpentry community
are more eccentric than dangerous.
Filmmaker Bob Nelson is making his
directorial debut here, although the material
isn’t necessarily that far off from the work
he’s likely best-known for; shift the fatherson relationship up a generation and make the
quest a bit more quixotic, and you’ve got the
bones of Nebraska.
That path often seems to be between
a fairly simple sweetness and occasional
pessimism, and the general tendency of the
film to lean toward the former is sometimes
its greatest weakness.
There are few people in it that are even
superficially bad, to the extent that situations
occasionally deflate because the desire to be
helpful seems fairly universal.
Jaeden Lieberher and Clive Owen do a nice
job of giving the film a strong foundation. -JS
DVDs courtesy:
Saqr Entertainment Stores, Doha
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES
17
COMMUNITY
BOLLYWOOD
I’ve accomplished
what I had set out
for: Madhuri
R
ecalling her struggling
days in showbiz,
Bollywood’s dancing
diva Madhuri DixitNene said that earlier
she used to feel that she doesn’t fit
in the “perfect” size of heroines.
But the actress now believes that
she has “accomplished” the goals
she had set for herself.
The actress got nostalgic during
an episode of the popular dance
reality show So You Think You Can
Dance Ab India ki Baari, which she
is co-judging with choreographers
Bosco Martis and Terence Lewis.
Co-hosted by Rithvik Dhanjani
and Mouni Roy, So You Think You
Can Dance Ab India ki Baari is an
Indian adaptation of the popular
international format So You Think
You Can Dance.
When Mouni quizzed Madhuri
about one of her statements where
she said that she does not consider
herself to be pretty, Madhuri said:
“Those were my early struggling
days and I used to feel I don’t
actually fit into the ‘perfect’ size of
heroines back then in Bollywood.
“And I used to think that way
majorly because of the continuous
criticisms I used to face from
outsiders. But that didn’t deter my
path to success and I worked hard
and I think I have accomplished
what I had set out for.”
Madhuri, who made her acting
debut in 1984 with Abodh has
remained a prominent part of the
entertainment industry for over
three decades now. — IANS
Bachchan portrays a rural man in ads
Dhanuka Agritech Limited, an Indian agrochemical
formulation company, has launched a series of TV
commercials featuring megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
He is seen as a rural man who guides farmers to use the
right products on their crops.
A series of six commercials, created by PUSH
Integrated, depicts the farmers’ belief in astrologers
and clairvoyants for predicting future cultivation and
dependence on God for protecting their crops from
destruction.
The commercials portray Amitabh as a rural man who
guides the farmers to use products including Dhanzyme
Gold, MAX-SOY, Mortar, Sakura and Cover on various
crops. Commenting on the new TVC, R GAgarwal,
Group Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Limited, said in
a statement: “Since decades, the vision of Dhanuka
Agritech Limited has been to bring about progressive
change in the lives of Indian farmers through dedicated
knowledge-driven and development-related activities.
“This new campaign is a further step in educating the
farmers on the importance of use of agro-chemicals for
a profitable yield.”
He also shared that today’s farmers immediately
identify with Amitabh as a style icon. “Bachchan is
not only a versatile actor, but also has a high degree
of credibility and reliability. He was the perfect fit for
Dhanuka and the messages the brand conveys.” — IANS
NOSTALGIC: Madhuri Dixit-Nene
Lost track after
Kaminey: Shahid
Actor Shahid Kapoor, who was
once popular for being Bollywood’s
chocolate boy, has come a long way.
But he believes that after delivering
a powerhouse performance in
Kaminey, he lost the track.
“After Kaminey, I think I lost
the track. So after Haider, I did not
want to repeat the same mistake.
With due respect to the kind of
GREEN CAMPAIGN: Amitabh Bachchan
MAKEOVER: Shahid Kapoor
Making Oka Manasu was like
a spiritual journey: Ramaraju
Director Ramaraju describes the
process of making Telugu romanticdrama Oka Manasu, which introduces
megastar Chiranjeevi’s niece Niharika
Konidela, as a spiritual journey which he
thoroughly enjoyed.
“The way this film has shaped is
fascinating. I never tried hard to make
the film, but things just fell in place and
it happened. I say the process is spiritual
because I bonded with the story on an
emotional level and deep down I know
the film has turned out exactly the way I
want it,” Ramaraju told IANS.
Calling it a “magical” experience,
he said everything that he visualised,
somehow made it to the film. “More
than what I had written, things that I
had visualised became an integral part
of the film. It’s a story from the heart,
unadulterated, and all I had to do was
observe what was happening within me
and recreate it as part of the filmmaking
process,” he said.
Having made a directorial debut with
2013 Telugu romantic-drama Mallela
Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu, Ramaraju
feels his latest film will be widely
accepted. “My first film didn’t get its due,
because it released in very less number
of screens. I learnt that cinema is not art
and everything is linked to commerce.
I know Oka Manasu will appeal to
everybody, irrespective of the age group,
because I’m the first viewer of my story
and I felt nostalgic when I wrote it,” he
said.
The forthcoming film marks the debut
of Niharika from the mega clan. Ramaraju
feels the young actress is here for the long
haul. “The Niharika audiences will get
to see will be in a totally different avatar.
On television, she’s known to be more
bubbly. However, in my film I’ve explored
her other dimension, a side which is
rarely known to others. She’s a very
talented artist,” he said.
According to the director, Oka Manasu
is a realistic love story.
“I haven’t given in to cinematic
trappings. Imagine closely studying
two intense lovers and everything that
unfolds in their relationship is what I’ve
captured in my film,” he said.
The film, which is set to release in
cinemas on Friday, also stars Naga
Shourya. — IANS
support and appreciation I received
for Haider, I wanted to do better
roles. I’m happy I didn’t have to
wait much and got a chance to
perform in Udta Punjab,” Shahid
said at the success party of Udta
Punjab, which released on June 17
after a tussle with the censor board.
“Since I have done Kaminey,
one thing I have realised is that the
youth wants to watch something
different. However, we are scared
to experiment with new ideas,” he
added. Shahid played a contrasting
double role of Charlie and Guddu
in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2009 film
Kaminey with ease. And now,
his role of a drug addict rockstar
named Tommy Singh in Udta
Punjab, which got leaked online
before its release, has been lauded
by many. “We are genuinely upset
about the leak. We are thankful for
the massive support we got from
media and people. Even though
the leak happened, it is the biggest
opening in my career. However,
I feel if the film wasn’t leaked, it
could have earned 20 to 25% more,”
he said. The Abhishek Chaubey
directorial, based on drug abuse in
Punjab, minted Rs 33.80 crore in its
opening weekend. — IANS
18 GULF TIMES Thursday, June 23, 2016
COMMUNITY
HOLLYWOOD
Back with a bang
20 years later, Independence Day invading theatres again. By John Anderson
W
FRESH PERSPECTIVE: Roland Emmerich
e knew it would
happen again. Yes,
the alien attack.
Also the movie
about the alien
attack. When Independence Day:
Resurgence lands in theatres
tomorrow, carrying wanton,
worldwide destruction in its wake,
it will be reviving a long-dormant
franchise that was never really a
franchise: Independence Day — the
1996 blockbuster that rained terror
and spectacular explosions on
New York, Washington, DC, and
Los Angeles — never had a sequel,
despite a sequel always seeming like
the obvious move.
Now, with its cities falling on
cities, a giant unmoored Buddha
crashing through Big Ben and an
alien spaceship occupying most of
the Atlantic Ocean, Independence
Day is officially a franchise. Thanks
to technology.
“I always thought of the original
as a stand-alone film,” said Roland
Emmerich, the prolific producer
and director of such disaster/scifi features as Stargate, The Day
After Tomorrow and White House
Down. He said that the advances in
computer-generated imagery were
so “radical” it made a second movie
all but irresistible. “It was as if,
finally, technology had reached the
level of my brain,” he said, laughing.
“We weren’t limited. Slowly
but surely the idea for a second
Independence Day grew.”
There have been a lot of changes
over 20 years, especially among
the movie’s characters, most
notably former President Thomas
Whitmore, the Gulf War vet who
took a hands-on approach to
defeating the murderous aliens of
the first film.
“It turns out that everybody
who had this telepathic virus put
in their brain for contact with the
aliens has not ever gotten free of it,”
said Bill Pullman, who again plays
Whitmore.
“For him, as the years have gone
on, it’s become more and more
manifest, to the point that he’s
a liability. The country is really
trying to at least present this vision
of world order and Whitmore had
been a hero. But they can’t really
put him out in public because he’s
become paranoid.”
It sounds like a meatier role than
one might expect from apocalyptic
sci-fi. “It was really great,” Pullman
said. “I couldn’t believe it. I said,
‘I have the best role in this whole
thing!’ “
His Independence Day co-star
Jeff Goldblum also returns, as David
Levinson, who was instrumental in
defeating the aliens the first time
around. He’s always known they
were coming back.
“I was the MIT-graduated,
underachieving cable technician,
not interested in career glory,
an environmental activist who
got pressed into duty under
extraordinary circumstances,” said
the loquacious Goldblum of his
character. “This time around they
promoted me to director of Earth
Security Defense and I’ve taken
some of that downed technology
we found, married it with our
own, solved some of our climate
change problems, helped rebuild a
massively damaged planet — 3bn
were lost, if you remember, the first
time around — and the family of
man is at peace.”
Goldblum said he re-bonded
with his co-stars from the first
film, including Pullman, “my dad”
Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner, and
got to know the new people like
Sela Ward, who plays America’s
first female president. “Liam
Hemsworth, I got a big kick out of
him, he’s a sweet, talented guy. And
Charlotte Gainsbourg — wowwie
wowwie, I spent some time with
her. She’s terrific.”
Pullman said that in the initial
drafts of the script, he and
Goldblum had no scenes together.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
GULF TIMES 19
COMMUNITY
HOLLYWOOD
JLo cries ‘almost every night’
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez cries “almost every night” because of her
love towards her children.
Lopez says she always gets choked up while paying tribute to her eightyear-old twins Max and Emme, whom she has with her former husband
Marc Anthony, during every performance she does at Caesars Palace —
where she’s currently in residency.
“People are like, ‘Is she crying?’ I’m like, ‘Almost every night, thank
you,” Lopez told etonline.com.
However, although she struggles to hold back the tears when she honours
the youngsters, Lopez believes her twins secretly love the attention.
“They love it. You know, they go, ‘Why is my face up there?’ My son will
be like, ‘Why is my face there? People are laughing at us!’ He gets worried
about that stuff. My daughter (just) loves watching it. She just watches me.
I don’t know what she’s thinking yet. I’m sure I’ll know soon,” she said. —
IANS
A still from Independence Day, 20 years ago.
ROLE CALL: Bill Pullman
“Someone said, ‘There ought to
be a scene between Bill and Jeff,’”
he said. “So we got one, but the
first versions of it were kind of
perfunctory, with a lot of dumptrucking exposition and I was
thinking, ‘Oh God, I wish they’d
never said this.’ But then they kept
getting better and then it became
an important scene for both our
stories, and in the end I think it felt
worthwhile.”
The key cast member missing
in action is Will Smith, for whom
the original Independence Day
was a career-making movie.
(His character has been killed
off.) Money, reportedly, was a
factor in Smith’s absence, but
Emmerich said there were other
considerations.
“We’re going back like four years
ago, and I totally understood why
he said no,” Emmerich said. “He
was shooting After Earth, which
was a father-son story, and our
story had a father-son angle, so he
More monsters
Aliens have been attacking Earth for years — so many
years, in fact, you’d think the place would have collapsed
by now, beginning with the major cities: Aliens seem drawn
to monuments, skyscrapers and eight-lane highways. In
fact, over the past decade or so, features like The Avengers
(2012), Cloverfield (2008), War of the Worlds (2005) and
the various Michael Bay Transformers films (2007, 2011 and
2014) have amounted to architectural apocalypses. But
while Independence Day still holds a kind of special status
among end-of-the-world-type movies (its attackers blew up
the Empire State Building and the White House, viewers may
recall), its urban-renewal strategy has a long tradition — the
following examples of which aren’t necessarily great, but
they’re calamitous, different, and spacemen get to blow stuff
up.
Earth vs The Flying Saucers (1956) Stop-motion-animation
legend Ray Harryhausen did the special effects for this
rather rustic predecessor to Independence Day, in which
platoons of alien saucers attack Washington, Paris, London
and Moscow. Hugh Marlowe, best known as fussy playwright
Lloyd Richards in All About Eve, is scientist Russell A Marvin,
who discovers that the attacking ETs wear suits made of
solidified electricity and has to devise a way to short their
circuits.
Destroy All Monsters (1968) Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra
are among the kaiju — aka monster stars — of this campy
Japanese tale of alien destruction and postwar paranoia.
The kaiju have been captured and are being confined to
islands off Japan, but they are freed by an extraterrestrial
felt he would be repeating himself
too much.”
There was also a point at which
the movie wasn’t continuing at all,
the director said, “but two years
ago, two young writers” — Nicolas
Wright and James A Woods —
“came along and unlocked for
me the whole thing with a very
simple trick: ‘You hand it off to the
younger generation.’ And I said,
‘That totally works.’ “
Emmerich admitted “I don’t
like sequels” and Independence
Day: Resurgence is his first.
But it won’t be his last:
Independence Day 3 has already
been announced. “From the very
beginning, the deal at the studio
was that it’s very risky to do a
sequel this late, after 20 years,”
Emmerich said, “and I said, ‘If it
works, we should do a second one.’
“They liked that idea,” he said.
“And you can feel it in the film.
That another story’s coming.” –
Newsday/TNS
female race (Kilaaks) that has seized the minds of Japanese
scientists. Earth must surrender or face total annihilation.
The Japanese forces destroy the Kilaaks’ lunar base. The
monsters switch sides. Then the aliens unleash the threeheaded King Ghidorah. Destroy All Monsters is not exactly
a masterpiece, but it was directed by Ishiro Honda, whose
original Godzilla (1954), or Gojira, really is a classic.
Mars Attacks! (1996) There’s nothing worse than a
marauding band of space aliens with a sick sense of humour,
but that’s what you got in Tim Burton’s wacky invasion
movie, in which humanity basically had no hope of survival.
Jack Nicholson was the president, Glenn Close the first lady.
Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito and Michael J
Fox also star, and Tom Jones plays himself.
Attack The Block (2011) The success of this kinetic,
independently produced alien-attack movie was as
surprising as an alien attack, and it certainly put a new spin
on a well-worn genre. Directed by Joe Cornish and produced
by the makers of Shaun of the Dead, it pitted a London street
gang against an invasion of savage monsters, in a London
housing project transformed into a sci-fi battleground. Fresh
and fun and definitely not a cookie-cutter space movie.
Battle: Los Angeles (2011) It’s one of those “how can mankind
possibly survive” scenarios in which the invaders are so
ruthless and homicidal the initial sentiment is to give up
in favour of enslavement. But no: Humanity will rise to
the occasion via the person of Aaron Eckhart as a retiring
Marine staff sergeant who leads a raggedy ad hoc team of
military specialists against what seem like overwhelming
odds. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman, of 2014’s Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles. — Newsday
EMOTIONAL: Jennifer Lopez
Demi Lovato
quits social media
Singer Demi Lovato has “quit”
social media because she doesn’t
think people care about her
comments, although she will
remain on Snapchat.
The 23-year-old has decided
to leave Twitter and Instagram
because she doesn’t want to see the
comments other people make and
believes people don’t give a %$**
about what she has to say, reports
femalefirst.co.uk.
“Damn I have got to quit sayin
%%!!. Bye Twitter. And Instagram.
I like Snapchat because I don’t
have to see what some of you
all say. Follow me if you want:
theddlovato,” Lovato wrote on
Twitter.
“But why do people actually give
a **** what I say?” she added. She
also reminded her Twitter followers
about the positive things she has
done to dispel social media trolls.
“That one time I started my own
charity providing mental health
care for people who can’t afford it
and this is what you all talk about,”
Lovato said.
“And people wonder what’s
wrong with the world. Pay more
attention to good than bad,” she
added. – IANS
Kate Winslet to star in
Woody Allen’s next film
Actress Kate Winslet is
reportedly in final talks to star in
filmmaker Woody Allen’s latest
movie. Allen is writing, directing
and producing the untitled film,
and like all his recent films, plot
details are being heavily guarded,
reports variety.com.
Letty Aronson and Edward
Walson will serve as producers.
Though Winslet’s career has
spanned more than two decades,
the actress has never worked with
the auteur prior to this pic.
She is coming off her Oscarnominated role in Steve Jobs and
was also recently seen in Open
Road’s crime drama Triple Nine.
She just wrapped production
on New Line’s Collateral Beauty
opposite Will Smith and recently
BIG LEAP: Kate Winslet
boarded the Fox drama The
Mountain Between Us, co-starring
Idris Elba.
Meanwhile, Allen’s latest
film Cafe Society, starring Jesse
Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart,
bowed at the recently held Cannes
Film Festival. — IANS