DOHA 33°C—44°C TODAY PUZZLES 14 & 15 D LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 16 L P Sha’baan 22, 1437 AH Sunday, May 29, 2016 Community Tropical Cyclone Roanu has brought torrential rain and widespread flooding in many parts of South Asia. Community Distinguished Islamic scholar and orator from India Dr Zakir Naik delivered a lecture at Katara Amphitheatre. P6 P20 A self-taught and multi-talented musician, who produced the first English-language album by a Qatari, Dana Alfardan freewheels on her passion, and future plans. P4-5 COVER STORY My world
brought torrential rain and widespread flooding in many parts of South Asia.
CommunityDistinguished Islamic scholar and orator from India Dr Zakir
Naik delivered a lecture at Katara Amphitheatre.
P6 P20
A self-taught and multi-talented
musician, who produced the first
English-language album by a Qatari,
Dana Alfardan freewheels on her
passion, and future plans. P4-5
COVER
STORY My world
Sunday, May 29, 20162 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY ROUND & ABOUT
Money Monster
GENRE: Crime, Drama, ThrillerCAST: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’connellDIRECTION: Jodie FosterSYNOPSIS: In the real-time, high-stakes thriller Money
Monster, George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as fi nancial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty, who are put in
an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything (Jack O’Connell) forcefully takes over their studio. During a tense standoff broadcast to millions on live TV, Lee and Patty must work furiously against the clock to unravel the mystery behind a conspiracy at the heart of today’s fast-paced, high-tech global markets.
THEATRES: The Mall, Royal Plaza
The Nice GuysGENRE: Action, ComedyCAST: Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie RiceDIRECTION: Shane BlackSYNOPSIS: In 1977 Los Angeles, a boy named Bobby
witnesses fading porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio) die in a car crash. Later that week, down-on-his-luck
private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is approached by Mrs Glenn, the aunt of Misty Mountains who is obsessively claiming to have seen her niece alive. Holland is sceptical of her claim, but realizes that a missing girl named Amelia Kutner (Margaret Qualley) is somehow involved and accepts the job.
THEATRES: The Mall, Royal Plaza
Mall Cinema (1): Warcraft (2D) 11.30am; The Shamer’s Daughter (2D) 1.30pm; Angry Birds Movie (2D) 3.15pm; The Jungle Book (2D) 5pm; Warcraft (2D) 6.45pm; Warcraft (2D) 9 & 11.15pm.Mall Cinema (2): The Nice Guys (2D) 12.30pm; X-Men Apocalypse (2D) 2.30pm; Money Monster (2D) 5pm; Pelé: A Birth Of A Legend (2D) 7pm; X-Men Apocalypse (2D) 9pm; Money Monster (2D) 11.30pm.Mall Cinema (3): Pelé: A Birth Of A Legend (2D) 11.45am; Wild for The Night (2D) 1.45pm; The Nice Guys (2D) 3.30pm; Cabin Fever
(2D) 5.30pm; Money Monster (2D) 7.15pm; The Nice Guys (2D) 9pm; Cabin Fever (2D) 11pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): Warcraft (2D) 11am; Ratchet & Clank (2D) 1.15pm; The Jungle Book (2D) 3pm; Angry Birds Movie (2D) 4.30pm; Warcraft (2D) 6.30pm; Warcraft (2D) 8.45pm; Warcraft (2D) 11pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2): The Nice Guys (2D) 11.45am; Pelé: A Birth Of A Legend (2D) 2.30pm;
The Nice Guys (2D) 4.30pm; X-Men Apocalypse (2D) 6.30pm; Pelé: A Birth Of A Legend (2D) 9pm; X-Men Apocalypse (2D) 11pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3): Money Monster (2D) 11.30am; The Shamer’s Daughter (2D) 2.15pm; Money Monster (2D) 4pm; Wild For The Night (2D) 6pm; Money Monster (2D) 7.45pm; The Nice Guys (2D) 9.30pm; Cabin Fever (2D) 11.30pm.Asian Town Cinema: King Liar (Malayalam) 3.30, 6, 6.30, 9, 9.30pm, & 12am; Ithu Namma Aalu (Tamil) 12.30, 4, 4.15, 7pm & 12.45am.
Emergency 999Worldwide Emergency Number 112Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991Local Directory 180International Calls Enquires 150Hamad International Airport 40106666Labor Department 44508111, 44406537Mowasalat Taxi 44588888Qatar Airways 44496000Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 44593363 Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444
Humanitarian Services Offi ce (Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies)Ministry of Interior 40253371, 40253372, 40253369Ministry of Health 40253370, 40253364Hamad Medical Corporation 40253368, 40253365Qatar Airways 40253374
vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we
must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.
— Pablo Picasso
3Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYROUND & ABOUT
Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change
FOODIE CHOICE
RESTAURANT : Al BatrossLOCATION: Al Bustan Hotel, Museum
StreetAl Batross Restaurant in Doha is located in
the 3-star Al Bustan Doha Hotel. Al Batross is a popular restaurant for locals and Lebanese expats alike. The menu is vast, maybe a little too big, serving a selection of Lebanese, Mezze and Continental meals. The décor is traditionally Arabic.
EVENTS
Guided Family Art VisitsDATE: June 4TIME: 3pmVENUE: Qatar MuseumsGuided family visits are led by the Public
Art education team at Qatar Museums Gallery ALRIWAQ. Children and parents will explore the exhibition together. This will be followed by an art-making workshop. The children will make their own clay sculpture. The workshops are being held from 3-5pm every Saturday until June 4.
Skydive QatarDATE: Until May 31VENUE: Al Khor AirportFor the fi rst time in Qatar, everyone will
get a chance to experience skydiving with a team of certifi ed skydivers to jump from approximately 13,000ft high. Participation fees: QR1899 for individuals, including photos and a video footage of before, after and during the jump. Tickets are available online, at Lagoona Mall, Qatar Foundation and Virgin Mega Stores.
Interpretations Art ExhibitionDATE: Until June 6TIME: 10am- 9pmVENUE: Katara Art Center, Building 5The International School of London
Qatar’s Visual Arts Department inaugural exhibition will take place in the Katara Arts Center until June 6. The works of the ‘Interpretation’ exhibition represents a wide range of ages and stages of artistic development and are selected from the school’s IB Middle Years and Diploma Years Programmes students. It is through sensory exploration and interaction that students learn to explore their feelings and confi rm their understanding of the world through the senses.
Summer FestivalDATE: June 2TIME: 9pmVENUE: Melia Doha Hotel, West BayWith the heat upon us, nobody can stand
to stay outside, so the hotel is bringing the outdoors indoors!
Free entry before 10pm. Price for ladies
after 10pm is 50QR. Price for men after 10pm is 80QR.
Karting & Mini Moto TrackDATE: Until July 1TIME: 6:30pmVENUE: Losail International CircuitThe 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.
Dance Classes with Salsa n CandelaVENUE: Hilton Hotel-West BaySalsa n Candela off ers variety of dance
classes for kids and adults at Hilton Hotel, Eforea Spa Studio, such as Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, Swing, Tango and Greek classes. Price at QR60 per class per person.
QSports Summer CampDATE: June 19-Sept 1TIME: 8am-1pmVENUE: Al Jazeera AcademyRegistration 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 off ering a variety of activities.
Anti-Doping in Humans and AnimalsDATE: May 31-June 1TIME: 8amVENUE: Doha Marriott HotelADLQatar’s 6th Annual Symposium:
Anti-Doping in Humans and Animals: Parallels and Divergences: As with doping in humans to enhance sporting performance, similar interventions to ensure outcome in competition are also apparent in animals (horses, dogs, camels). Practices such as administrations of steroids, inorganic substances such as cobalt, as well as, gene doping may be far more prevalent amongst competing animals.
Yamativo Salsa ClassesDATE: Every MondayTIME: 7pmVENUE: Radisson BluIt’s always fun and always challenging.
Let’s meet and learn some moves every Monday night. You don’t need to do anything, just join us. Level 1 (intermediate level) 7pm and for beginner level 8pm. Be there at Raddison Blu Hotel Cabana Club.
Spring Exhibition MIADATE: Until July 16TIME: 10:30am- 5pmVENUE: QM Gallery Al RiwaqAn exhibition of 15 contemporary Chinese
artists, curated by internationally acclaimed New York-based Chinese artist Cai Guo-
Qiang, 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.
Shifting SandsDATE: Until July 7VENUE: Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim
Museum, AlsamariyahMA students of UCL Qatar are organising
and curating an exhibition as part of UCLQurates. In the very recent past, Qatar has undergone a signifi cant transformation; through these developments, people have had to adapt to the changing landscape in which they live.
Qatari Agricultural Product YardsDATE: Until June 30VENUE: Al Mazrooa, Al Zakheera, Al
Khor, Al WakrahThe Ministry of Environment has opened
the 4th season of Qatari agricultural product yards for selling locally produced fruits, vegetables, poultry, fi sh 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.
Cultural Diversity festivalDATE: Until May 31TIME: 7:30-9pmVENUE: Katara Beach Over 20 countries from all over the world
are showcasing their traditions and heritage.
Join in our Walk-in WeekendsDATE: Every Saturday VENUE: MIA AtriumMIA art education and calligraphy teams
off er walkin workshops in MIA’s atrium every Saturday. These walk-in workshops are for open for all family members.
Al GannasDATE: Until Oct 30TIME: 9am -11:30amVENUE: Al Gannas SocietyAl Gannas Association is participating in the ‘Our culture is a school’ programme by
organising many activities for 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 coff ee, etc.
Sunday, May 29, 20164 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY COVER STORY
“We want to bring everything together so we can have an industry here”
— Dana Alfardan, Qatar’s premier musician
SUNDAY CONVERSATION
5Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYCOVER STORY
By Anand Holla
With wide-eyed awe and innocent wonder, a fi ve-year-old Dana Alfardan had for the
fi rst time, felt a tug and a pull inside of her to write a classical album. “It was my dream ever since,” she says, sitting in the plush environs of a fi ve-star hotel.
It took a child to bring out the childhood dream in Alfardan, in all its beautiful melodic glory. Reminiscing about the time she was pregnant and took the plunge into music, she says, “There was life coming out of me and I wanted to give her something. And that’s why the fi rst piece I wrote was Layla (her daughter’s name).”
Leaving her job in the family jewellery business to chisel out a career in music during pregnancy, Dana has covered a stupendous amount of ground in a short time. The multi-talented artiste, who made history by producing her well-received 2013 album Paint — it’s the fi rst English-language album by a Qatari — is a self-taught musician with a penchant for reinventing the wheel.
Community settles down for a conversation with Dana that traverses everything from fi nding her musical voice to founding DNA Records, Qatar’s fi rst record label.
What kind of music did you
grow up listening to?My fi rst real relationship
with music was classical music. Obviously, at the age of 11, I was one of those teenyboppers picking up teen magazines and following the trend of that time, like listening to those one-hit-wonder bands and artistes. But what I did very quickly was get into rock music. That brought to me a much stronger musical element. So I would listen to bands like Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses. Although I loved classical music, too, I was very removed from it. It’s with albums such as Metallica’s S&M, which brought the orchestral grandeur into metal music, that I realised there is a bridge, a relationship between contemporary music and classical music that can be explored with this larger arrangement. And that’s the path I began to follow.
You were pregnant when you
started following this path of exploring music as a creative pursuit and a career. What were the fi rst thoughts like?
When I got pregnant, I thought I would give myself a break for nine months and fi gure out what I really needed to do. I thought to myself — I am about to bring life into this world. What world am I bringing her out into? Who am I? One day, I was listening to music and I thought I want to make this. So I thought I should write a story and through that start exploring diff erent themes, ideologies and concepts. So I wrote a musical set in the American Civil War. But towards the end of writing it, I realised it is actually a pop album — this would be Paint. That didn’t
devalue it. It was still good music! I then met a wonderful producer who specialises in fi lm music. I loved the huge sound and the fi lmic scope he could create. Even today, I love listening to Paint.
Singing must have been very
challenging given that someone else was supposed to sing the album?
Yes. I was nine months pregnant and we were all set to record the album in a London studio. But the singer couldn’t make it and someone had to step in. Since I was singing those songs when I was writing them, I thought I could sing them. But I got into the studio and realised I couldn’t sing one song fully. So I took vocal lessons for fi ve weeks, learning everything from tone and pitch to breathing right, which was another challenge in itself as I had this huge thing that was pushing from within. Sometimes, it would take me two days to record a song. It was wonderful for me to actually
have that challenge and overcome it. Even today it’s something I always turn back to when I tell myself that I can’t do something: ‘Well, I learned to sing, didn’t I?’
Why do you think the moment
of clarity rushed to you at that particular point in your life?
It was my child. When you are pregnant, the thought of bringing your child into the world is the most profound and overwhelming experience you can ever have; whether you are ready or not, whether you have planned or not, you start to question everything. You have to be in a great place internally. The biggest question you ask yourself is — what do I want for my child? What do I want her to know of me? You become your harshest critic. Looking back, I could have only been that person. I can’t imagine myself being somebody else. I couldn’t imagine myself giving birth to my child before I launched my music career because music is
part of my blood. I had been denying it for such a long time and shoving it aside. Had I not done that, my daughter would have just gotten half of me. She wouldn’t have gotten the passion, the excitement and the enthusiasm. The way she and I now communicate is such a bonding aspect of our relationship.
How did DNA Records happen?I realised I don’t want to sing
because I wanted to write. I fi gured I can’t sing better than other people. While I think I managed to sing quite well on Paint, I don’t think I could be one of the best singers. But I do think I could be one of the best writers. If I am to go global, I need to feel and understand that I can be cultivating the best of the best. I feel like I can achieve that with composing. And I thought since I am doing that, why don’t I develop this structure to absorb all these diff erent things I am doing? That’s when I decided to set up a label and DNA Records came through.
Is the business part as CEO of DNA Records as passionate a project as the creative part of composing music?
Yes, because a lot of it goes hand in hand. The developer of the product is also the person marketing the product because only you can understand what your music really is. Having been an artiste in the past, I understand the pros and cons of large labels. As an artiste, if I were to ever sign with a label, I wanted to have a specifi c deal, a specifi c philosophy, an artiste-centered environment that would stimulate me. So, this was essentially an experiment. We watched our fi rst artiste Ryan O’Reilly grow as an artiste, under DNA Records. That’s the biggest testament to the success of this model. We launched his album recently, and from Germany to the UK, it’s climbing up the charts.
How many artistes has DNA
Records signed up until now?Our tiny label and team is putting
everything on a huge international platform. We are focussing on individual artistes such as Ryan, and DJ Juan Pestana, who recently put out a superb show at Rooftop at The St. Regis Doha. With Pestana, it’s a collaboration. My songs that were supposed to go in my second album found an even better outlet. I released them under DJ Pestana featuring many diff erent vocalists and it’s called These are the Best Times.
What made you turn your
attention towards more of electronica?
Of late, I have seen that the electronic world brings together a diverse range of music under its wing; like Robin Schulz’s remix of Prayer in C, which talks about the plight of the world and the bad things that are happening. This is unusual for dance music which is usually a bubblegum impersonation of an invented state of perpetual Disneyland. So I thought wow, you can actually address real issues and deliver that to the masses through this music. DJ Pestana came in as a sound engineer. When I asked him to help me out with some instrumental bits for my composition template, I saw that the man could do anything, from playing jazz bits with the fl air of a jazz pianist to recreating classical sounds. I fi gured this guy could actually be a DJ as he can produce tracks. And I love the idea of the DJ being a musician. So Pestana is playing it all instead of pushing loops, which is a perfect fi t for our philosophy at DNA, which is that we create everything from within.
What is the future, big-picture
plan of DNA Records?We are looking to set up a
music festival here in Qatar. It will showcase all the original DNA Records content and will feature local and regional talents. We would want to align ourselves with the local art scene as well. We already have the talent, the facilities, and even access to top quality musicians in QPO. We want to bring everything together so we can have an industry here in Qatar.
EXCITING JOURNEY: From finding her musical voice with Paint to founding DNA Records, Qatar’s first record label, Dana has made waves.
We are looking to set up a music festival here in Qatar. It will showcase all the original DNA Records content and will feature local and regional talents. We already have the talent, the facilities, and even
access to top quality musicians in QPO
Sunday, May 29, 20166 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY WEATHER ADDICT
By Steff Gaulter
A single storm has caused major problems in many parts of South Asia. From Sri Lanka to China, Tropical Cyclone Roanu has brought torrential rain and
widespread fl ooding.The storm fi rst formed to the east of Sri
Lanka, on the leading edge of the monsoon rains. Storms often form in the initial monsoon clouds, so the onset of the monsoon is a particularly hazardous time of year. The storm started to cause problems even before it was classed as a tropical system. It started to bring torrential rain as it drifted slowly north, parallel to the east coast of the island.
As the rain poured, the ground quickly became saturated. Huge puddles started to form that transformed roads into vast rivers and landscapes into lakes. As the waters rose, buildings were inundated and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes.
With the weight of the water weighing down on the mountainsides, the soil became unstable and walls of mud began to rip through the countryside. One survivor said it sounded like a plane crash, but when she opened her
door, it looked like a huge fi reball was rolling down the mountainside.
Entire villages were swallowed by the landslides and there were reports that people were crushed by as much as 15 metres of earth. To make matters worse for the victims, rescue operations were hampered because roads leading to many of the worst hit regions were impassable or highly dangerous.
The fl ooding and landslides forced hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. 200,000 were displaced from Colombo alone. The fl ood water was so high that people became trapped in the upstairs fl oors of their homes, or marooned on isolated mounds of dry land.
The rains in Sri Lanka continued for days. It may have been the storm which initially triggered the downpours across the country, but the rains continued even as it moved away.
The storm itself was heading north and still intensifying. The west coast of India was the next in the fi ring line. One suburb of Chennai, Kelambakkam, reported 226mm of rain from the system. This triggered major fl ooding, which is unusual at this time of year. Chennai is sheltered from the summer monsoon by the Eastern Ghats mountain range, so May is normally fairly dry. The storm brought almost 10 times the average expected in the entire month.
The storm continued to intensify. It became the region’s fi rst cyclone of the year, and was given the name Roanu. Storms of this nature get their energy from the warmth of sea water. The shallow water along the east coast of India had temperatures reaching 30C in places, which provided plenty of fuel for the cyclone. Fortunately, however, the winds high up in the atmosphere were strong enough to prevent this happening. The winds disrupted the system, eff ectively trying to push it over. The location of the storm also worked against it, because the outer fringes of it remained over land, and this causes friction which weakened the system.
This ensured that the winds were never the major problem of the storm. Instead, it was the rain that continued to give cause for concern. As Tropical Cyclone Roanu marched steadily along the east coast of India, a number of locations reported between 200 and 300 mm of rain. This is a signifi cant amount of water, which caused signifi cant fl ooding. Luckily the storm moved steadily along the coast. It was producing so much rain that had it stalled, the fl ooding would have been disastrous.
After battering the east coast of India, the cyclone then headed towards Bangladesh. This is always a cause for concern, because the shape of the Bay of Bengal naturally
encourages storm surges. These walls of water can cause immense devastation, due to the high population density of the region and the fact that much of the land is less than fi ve metres above sea level.
Fortunately Tropical Cyclone Roanu only produced a storm surge of about one metre (three feet). However, this, coupled with the torrential rain, was enough to cause widespread fl ooding. The cities of Barisal and Chittagong were hit particularly hard, and hundreds of houses were destroyed.
The storm then moved northwards, towards southern China. Once over land, it no longer had access to its energy source, the warm sea waters, so the storm started to die. The winds eased and the rain began to ease.
After battering the region for more than a week, there was an acute sense of relief when the storm fi zzled out. However, for Sri Lanka, the process of clearing the mud and drying their homes will take many more weeks. The problem is that the monsoon will bring more heavy rain over the next few months, and this is certain to make the clean-up operation that little bit more diffi cult.
(The author is Senior Weather Presenter at Al Jazeera English channel. She can be contacted on steff [email protected]
or on Twitter at @WeatherSteff )
An unexpected and destructive cyclone hits South Asia
DESTRUCTIVE: Bangladesh villagers gather around the wreckage of destroyed homes in Chittagong on May 22, after Cyclone Roanu struck the southern coastline. Thousands of Bangladeshis were left homeless after Cyclone Roanu battered the impoverished southern coastal region, ripping apart flimsy houses and killing at least 24 people. Photo by AFP
7Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
IIS gets 100% success in CBSE Class X examsThe Ideal Indian School has recorded 100% success in the Class X CBSE examinations held in March. Thirty-one out of 291 students got the maximum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 10, by scoring A in all five subjects. Sixteen students scored A1 in four subjects for a CGPA of 9.8. Seen here are the students who got a CGPA of 10.
1.Aiman Ahmed Quraishi 3. Shaik Abdul Ghani 5. Shreyesh Shaju2. Sriram Gangula 4. Derin David 6. Azzah Zubair
13. Aamina Rafeek 15. Darren Desouza 17. Erica Desouza14. Fawaz Hakim 16. Hiba Fathima 18. Muhammed Ali
19. Fahad A Rehman 21. Reegana Doulath 23. Mansi Manoj20. Sofia 22. Jerry A George 24. Shalini Pillai
Sunday, May 29, 20168 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
DPS-MIS gets 100% pass result in CBSE Class X examsAll DPS-MIS students who appeared in the CBSE Class X exams conducted in March, passed. A total of 99 students got the maximum CGPA of 10, securing A1 in all their subjects. In all, there were 200 students with a CGPA of over 9. The school’s average CGPA was 9.24.
AMMAR AHMED KHANARCHAN CHIRAG GANDHI AFRAH ANU ELIZABATH JOHNAISWARYA RAJU ANGELA JAIN AJEESH ASHILESH PANDAY ADITI LUTHRA
ANUSHA JAIN AYESHA ALI MARIA KHANMODI VAISHNAVI KAMLESHBHAIAYUSH GANGULI
BHARGAVI RAVISHANKAR LITHIN LAKSHMANAN NADIM UL HASSAN
DONSON JAMESISHA RAJENDRA WAGHULDE CHIRAG NAYAK DHANANJAY SINGHFARHINNAZ PATHAN DONNA LISLY ALEX
GADEPALLI CHANDAN SASHANK
KONDA VARSHA LAKSHMI VIJAY
GOTTUMUKKALA VISHNU VARMA
ARYAN ADHLAKHAAKSHITA SHANKAR SINGH
ASNA MOHAMMED SALEEM SIDDIQUI
ANIRUDDHA NARAYAN REDKARARNAB GOSWAMI
ATHIRA RADHAKRISHNAN ADHRIKA NAIR M
AFRAH IQBAL VADAKKEANGADIYIL
JEVIN G ISHIKA GOEL JEEHAN SHAMEEMGREGARY SAM GEEVARGHESEHAFSA KHALID
HARSHITA HARI MENON
KRISHA SATISH SHETTY DHANYA JINOY FATHIMA RAZANA
NAVOS PON GOLDA DURAI MANSI SAXENA
MADHUR UTTAM VAIDYA
JANANI SRI SENGOTTAIAN
MOHAMMED ZOHAIB UR REHMAN
MALAVIKA VINOD KUMAR
NAYANTARA PULLIYIL HIDAYATH
KULLYADI PALLAVI SHIVANANDA PAI
9Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
USHTA PRIYADARSHI SAMAL SWATTIK MAITI
TWINKLE RAJEEVKUMAR JAISWAL
VARSHINI VENKATESAN
VISHMITA KANNICHAMY VINUTHA RAMADORAI
VRINDA CHENTHIL KUMAR TRISHA KESAVAN
SHUBHRA BEDISHRVAN RAJENDRA WARKE SUPRITI BALAJI SHERIN JOSE
MES excels in CBSE Class X examsMES Indian School secured a 100% pass percentage with a record 125 students securing the maximum possible CGPA of 10. All 630 students who sat the exams passed, of which 125 student secured A1 in all subjects. Forty-nine students secured a CGPA of 9.8. A total of 298 students obtained A1 in English, 150 in Malayalam, 39 in Hindi, 64 in Arabic, 29 in Urdu, 9 in Tamil, 9 in French, 175 in Mathematics, 201 in Science, 206 in Social Science and 158 and in Informatics and Technology and 593 in Assessment in Speaking and Listening (ASL).
AMEENA AKBAR ALWASAHSANA SADIC ADITYAJITENDRA SABHIJITH SREEKUMAR ADARSH ABRAHAM ABHIKK AJITHKUMAR
ANN MARIA JIBU ANU ANIL NAIRAKHIL VARGHESE SAJI ANSON JOSEABU SINAN ANJALI KRISHNAN ANJU ANAND
11Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
NIMMY BENNY
SAYED MOHAMMED
KEERTHI SRIJITH
SERENE MARIAM THOMAS
RHEA SATISH NAIR
SUNDUS MANSOOR
MUHAMMED JASSIM
JUWARIA ABBAS
RAYES ANNA BENSON
SAGAR P MADHUDIYA
MEGHA ANNA THOMAS
SONA BOSE
RAINA RACHEL RAJAN
NANDITA MANTHA
MUNEEB ABDURAHEEM
KEVIN CHACKO
ROHIT R MENON
SRUTHI SHYAM
M JOSHU A ALWIN
TARANA HAMID
NIHAL NASSAR
RIZVIN RAFEEQUE
MISHAL ANWAR
MARIA BABU
RIDHAB BINOY DAS
SAFIYA ABDUL SHUKOOR
KASHMIERA MANOJ
SMRITHIKA
PRANAV RAJEEV
NIKHIL SHARMA
MAHESWARI HARIKUMAR
MERLIN ANN SAJU
RABECA KHANAM
SHARON BINO
NANDIDA PANICKER
SHARON LEELA BIJI
NOBLE
RUQAIA SHAHEED
MUHAMAD FADHIL
MOHSINA FATHIMA
NUHA ALI
SATYAM BINAYAK DA
MALAVIKA RAMACHANDRAN
SARANG SANIL
NAVEEN PREMASUNDARAN
NIMRA MUBEEN
MOHAMMED FAREEH
JULIAN JOSEPH
ABDULLAH ARMGHAN MEHBOOB SAEED UR RAHMAN SNEHA VARGHESERUBY SUSAN RAJU SRINIVASAN MURALI SHARON
RAJWA ABDUL RAZAK
ZIYAD IBRAHIM
MILAN JOHN PYNADATH
SHERLIN ANN RAJAN
NIDA MEHBOOB
NIMRAH REHMAN
KRIPA SARA THOMAS
K SANJAY
Sunday, May 29, 201612 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
Notice: More Central Board of Secondary Education Class X examination results conducted in March will appear in tomorrow’s edition.
MES scores 100% result in CBSE-i Class X examsThe MES Indian School registered 100% result in the CBSE International Class X Board Examination for the academic year 2015-16, with all its 42 students qualifying for admission to higher classes. Nine of them secured the maximum CGPA of 10. Seen here are the students who got A1 in all their subjects and got a CGPA of 10.
HAJARA NAJEEB SANA SAYEED WASEEM MOIDU AMAL ASOK
S JAGATH RAJ MOHAMMED SADIQ ASLAM HASSAN ABDUL BASHEER UJJWALA PUMPERI AMAAN SIYAD
DMIS gets 100% result in CBSE Class X examsAll 77 Doha Modern International School (DMIS) students who appeared in the CBSE Grade 10 examinations in March passed. Thirteen of them scored a CPGA of 10, while 36 scored a CGPA of 9 or above. Seen here are the 13 students who scored the maximum CGPA of 10.
MARSHOODA FATHIMA AMAN SULTAN HARISNAVANEETH MOHAMMED SIMRAN KUCHERIA KEVIN JOJI MATHEWS
AMBALATHINKAL VINAY FRANCIS MADIHA SADAF
13Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYINFOGRAPHIC
Sunday, May 29, 201614 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY PUZZLES/CARTOONS
Adam
Pooch Cafe
Garfield
Bound And Gagged
Codeword
Wordsearch
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.
Across1. Wastrel (11)9. Cockerel (7)10. Original (5)11. Stratum (5)12. Soldier (7)13. Glib (6)15. Not there (6)18. Free (7)20. Ward off (5)22. String (5)23. Diffuse (7)24. Quandary (11)
Across1. Skilled craftsmen? (11)9. All bent on making a game of it (7)10. A swell operator doesn’t get on (5)11. Offensive film location (5)12. Is in hides to see birds (7)13. Attacked - bombed perhaps (6)15. A colourless individual (6)18. New role, but it may result in difficulty (7)20. Vessel carrying fuel from Loire (5)22. Love to take part in pictures (2,3)23. Terminated the sitting, presumably (5,2)24. Boring possibly, but shrewd (11)
Down2. Can’t bear inordinate haste (5)3. A priest making money in Egypt (7)4. Very much like sauce (6)5. Short pants (5)6. Ends interim arrangements (7)7. Intelligence in the making (11)8. It checks on underground movement (11)14. Rich fabric with an outstanding design (7)16. Guard gives a warning (4,3)17. Steer awkwardly round a difficult problem (6)19. Club he joined for a swim (5)21. Like a ship taking many to port (5)
It’s time to exhale Aries. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for you
and finally things are looking up. Just don’t push things too far and
try to get things up and running too quickly.
Avoid getting caught up in someone else’s dramas today Cancers.
As much as you may be trying to help smooth ruff led feathers, you
could actually be throwing fire on the whole thing.
Unless you really feel as if things are on the right track for you right
now, don’t sign anything or make any promises you might not be
able to keep Librans.
Sometimes you are too serious for your own good goats. With your
ruler Saturn out of phase in your past karma zone, some of you will
be thinking back to the things you overreacted to and making an
eff ort to not repeat the same mistakes again.
There isn’t much you can do about a friend who won’t listen to any
advice you give them. You keep hearing the same story and giving
the same advice and they ignore it. Maybe you should ignore them
for a while?
If you feel conflicted about something today, ask yourself why you
feel this way. Is it because in your heart of hearts you feel you may
be doing the wrong thing?
Now that Mars your co–ruler has moved backwards into your sign,
you may start feeling as if things are slowing down and you don’t
have as much energy/momentum as usual.
With the Sun and Venus transiting your fellow air sign of Gemini
today and for the next few weeks, you will be full of bright ideas and
feeling very confident about them too.
Now that your birthday time is here, there is reason to celebrate
and with your New Moon coming up next week, you need to make a
resolution about what it is you want to achieve over the next year.
Stop chasing your tail today Virgos. If it’s not meant to be...you know
the rest. Let fate and destiny determine the outcome and stop trying
to control everything.
With the Sun and Venus in your opposite sign of Gemini right now,
your relationships and how you deal with every person in your life is
under the cosmic microscope today.
Every now and again you have to do a reconnaissance of your home
and family life. Is everyone happy? Are your bills up to date and
paid? What about home owners insurance? The sort of things that
slip through the cracks sometimes.
Some ways businesses can cut energy, save money
Companies across the nation are looking for ways to become more energy effi cient, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are no exception. Reducing energy consumption is one
of the top areas where SMB leaders need more guidance — up 14 percent from the previous year, according to the Cox Conserves Sustainability Survey.
Energy costs are among the largest business expenses for any company. Simple conservation eff orts will go a long way to lower the power costs of your current operations.
Here are some quick tips that can help any sized business improve effi ciency and cost savings.
Know your baselineYour utility company can provide detailed
usage records that show usage and cost totals, as well as helpful details like peak usage times. This data helps you measure your progress.
Pay attentionTake note of the natural energy sources
specific to your geographic location. Sun or wind energy technologies may be great money-saving solutions. If the sun sufficiently lights your office or meeting room, make a point of keeping the blinds open and the electric lights off.
Look at lightingLighting retrofits are a simple and effective
solution that do not interrupt regular operations and often offer a short return on investment.
Encourage employeesTurning off computers and other office
equipment when not in use is an easy way employees can make an impact.
These tips can start your business on a journey toward becoming a more efficient and eco-friendly organisation. The benefits start at protecting the earth and extend to enhancing the bottom line.
Shekhar Kapur’s documentary on Mata Amritanandamayi released
Renowned fi lm-maker Shekhar Kapur launched his new documentary on humanitarian spiritual leader, Mata Amritanandamayi, known simply as Amma to million of her devotees, describing it a “spiritual search and scientifi c quest”.
The 50-minute documentary entitled The Science of Compassion investigates the source of human compassion and creativity of Mata Amritanandamayi, who is based in Kerala’s Kollam district.
Shot at her ashram for four days during her 60th birthday celebrations in September 2013, it includes a rare private interview with Amma, Nobel laureate scientist Leland Hartwell and other celebrities who discuss her unique approach to life and how love transformed their lives.
“The search for what lies beyond our own individuality has been with me since I was 15 years of age. I have been grappling with questions — What is the true nature of love, is there love beyond ownership, what is compassion,” said Kapur at the launch.
He wondered whether if a person becomes more compassionate, does it alter his/her physiology, make them more intuitive, and is it an act, state of mind or state of being. “It is not only a spiritual search for me, but a scientifi c quest. Meeting Amma on her 60th birthday was a huge opportunity to investigate these deeper truths,” Kapur said, describing the “unique experience” of being in her presence and feeling “the
energy radiating from her”. “When you ask infi nite questions, you cannot expect answers in fi nite ways — in fact, there are no answers. There is only experiencing. When you go to Amma, you go for the experience of her — I have not remained unaff ected,” he added.
Mata Amritanandamayi Math vice chairman and Amma’s seniormost disciple, Swami Amritaswarupananda lauded Kapur for capturing her unique combination of beauty, grace, humility and wisdom through the biopic. — IANS
His father made his international fi lm debut with The Great Gatsby, and his wife has acted in multiple international fi lms like The
Pink Panther 2 and The Last Legion. But actor Abhishek Bachchan feels Indians give a lot of hype to Hollywood.
Abhishek, who was promoting his upcoming fi lm Housefull 3 along with his co-stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish
Deshmukh, Lisa Haydon and Jacqueline Fernandez, said there is instead a huge demand for Indian fi lms globally.
Asked if he is interested in featuring in a Hollywood fi lm, Abhishek told IANS: “There is a lot hype given to Hollywood. English is just a language and nothing else. Today there is a huge demand of Hindi fi lms globally. People from Hollywood are coming and doing item numbers and fi lms.”
Akshay added that he has no interest in Hollywood and is busy doing a Tamil fi lm titled 2.0, along with superstar Rajinikanth. Directed by Shankar, the fi lm is a sequel to the blockbuster Enthiran.
“I am doing a Tamil fi lm. I have no interest in Hollywood,” Akshay added.
Directed by Sajid-Farhad, Houseful 3 also stars Nargis Fakhri and is slated to hit the theatres on June 3. — IANS
Hollywood is given too much hype, says Abhishek Bachchan
Hope Sultan is another record-breaker: Sonam
Actress Sonam Kapoor is looking forward to superstar Salman Khan’s upcoming fi lm Sultan, and hopes another record-breaking fi lm for Khan.
“It is very good, very beautiful. I’m looking forward to watching Salman Khan on screen again like how you all are obviously looking forward to it. I hope it’s another record-breaking fi lm of his.” Sonam, who was present along with The Lord Of The Rings star Sir Ian McKellen to inaugurate the Kashish Film Festival, said about the trailer of the fi lm.
The trailer with Salman playing a rustic wrestler achieving success amidst several hurdles, has already
registered more than 3.5mn views on YouTube in 24 hours.
Sultan is one of the most anticipated fi lms of the year, releasing on the occasion of Eid, often termed as a lucky release week for Salman with hits such as Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Wanted, Dabangg, Kick among others.
Though Sonam’s only fi lm with Salman, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo didn’t release on Eid, but on Diwali, the fi lm was a success at the box-offi ce earning more than Rs200 crores at the box-offi ce.
The fi lm is Sonam’s highest grosser till date and holds the records for the highest collections on fi rst day, Rs40 crores. Sonam is currently enjoying the super-success of her fi lm, Neerja. — IANS
Akshay is a superstar, but underrated actor: D’Cruz
Akshay Kumar may be known as a superstar, but he is an underrated actor, feels his Rustom co-star Ileana D’Cruz. Ileana feels that people talk more about his superstardom as compared to his acting skills.
Asked about the experience of working with Akshay, Ileana told IANS: “It was really amazing to work with him... He’s one of the most underrated actors we have. He’s a superstar... Don’t get me wrong, but as an actor, people talk less about his acting capabilities than his superstardom.”
The Barfi ! star says she was surprised as to how quickly the fi lm got over and that she was upset when the fi lm got wrapped.
“I normally don’t get emotional when a fi lm gets over. I am actually
excited. I was pretty upset when the fi lm wrapped up, and that I couldn’t get back on the set to play the role opposite Akshay,” she said.
The actress says it was amazing working with the Boss star, with whom she felt a unique onscreen
chemistry. “The kind of scenes we have done together have immense amount of chemistry. I haven’t experienced this chemistry with any other actor. There was this beautiful onscreen relationship we shared,” she said. — IANS
INSIGHT: Shekhar Kapur
COLLABORATORS: Akshay Kumar, left, and Ileana D’Cruz.
Sunday, May 29, 201618 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY HOLLYWOOD
Whit Stillman enjoying his first hit movie at 64
By Colin Covert
Whit Stillman, a brainy screenwriter and director of unconventional
fi lms, delivers new surprises in his latest. Love & Friendship is loosely based on Jane Austen’s unfi nished juvenile novelette of letters Lady Susan. It looks like a tasteful period drama with historic sets and costume fi nery.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Stillman’s
elegant romp, starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny, is a laugh-out-loud delight.
Stillman visited Minneapolis recently to host its packed pre-release screening. He said that after creating a quarter-century’s worth of well regarded but modestly viewed independent fi lms, including years when he “was dead in the water in Los Angeles” studio operations, it feels wonderful to deliver his fi rst hit at age 64.
“This has the best commercial prospects” of anything he’s done, Stillman said. “All those people who passed on the script will say, ‘Well, I should give this guy more
credit.’ They read the script without the laugh track” that audiences give it.
Stillman began his career during a period that produced a high concentration of fi ne independent fi lms, launching the careers of rising notables such as Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino. His 1990 debut feature, Metropolitan, follows a debonair group of recent grads through the social and fi nancial trials of post-trust-fund life.
A few years later, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco followed similar types through the pitfalls of Spain and Studio 54, respectively.
His fourth, 2012’s Damsels in Distress, portrays virtuous sorority girls coping with Ivy League life.
His early acclaim led to uncompleted propositions, including an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. “That would have been my ticket” to doing prestige fi lms for major Hollywood studios, he said. “But I don’t think I would have done it as well as Ang Lee,” who was ultimately chosen to direct. “It’s a wonderful fi lm.”
Love & Friendship is Stillman’s fi rst visit to 18th-century England and the lofty British aristocracy. The focus is unexpected for Austen to have written in her late teens.
The protagonist is an amoral, predatory noble widow using her powers of scheming and seduction to control noblemen and arrange a bad marriage for her unwilling daughter. Stillman invented characters and plot points, wrote most of the dialogue and turned what was essentially a short story into a critics’ darling.
It’s a worldview that suits Stillman. He comes from a pedigreed East Coast banking family; his father took a position in the presidential administration of his Harvard classmate John F Kennedy. Stillman’s fi lms feel like an anthropologist’s examination of an exotic tribe he’s related to.
Friends have often been key investors in his fi lms, including Love & Friendship. “They’re on my side of the equation,” he said. “We tend to be workaholics. We lose sight of our friendships if we’re not working with them, so when it’s possible I try to get friends involved in projects. It’s a chance for us to talk all the time.”
Such upper-crust characters have long fascinated Stillman, who makes fun of them in each of his movies. He portrays a rarefi ed world of privilege resembling fi ne fabric that’s a bit threadbare, his characters worrying like any socially insecure high school student. Stillman creates lampoons not in the form of angry wit, but a gracious, lovely sense of absurdity. He takes a pin to overinfl ated egos, but punctures them gently.
He regularly works religious themes into his fi lms, which has caused studios “to completely lose interest.” It was his “frustrating” experience of dead-end studio projects that made his new fi lm “my pet, private project,” which he devised under wraps for nearly a decade.
“It was a part of Jane Austen that no one else would control. I had to keep it secret; otherwise the rights might be snapped up elsewhere. I was very worried because a year or two in, there was a rival project.”
Stillman said that sort of competition was part of his creative life in his teenage years, the same time of life when Austen was writing Lady Susan to entertain her family. He was seeking a history degree at Harvard, working as an editor on the Harvard Crimson and struggling as a would-be writer of musical comedy scripts for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. They were rejected repeatedly.
He was regularly bested by a highly talented and competitive classmate from Minnesota named Al Franken, the current US senator. — Star Tribune/TNS
WHIT AND WITTICISM: Whit Stillman
19Sunday, May 29, 2016 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYHOLLYWOOD
Hiddleston in ‘advanced talks’ for 25th Bond movie
British actor Tom Hiddleston is reportedly in “advanced talks” to replace Daniel Craig as the next James Bond. According to entertainment news website birthmoviesdeath.com, Hiddleston “very much wants the job”, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“While talks have indeed taken place, and that Tom very much wants the job (a fact of which he’s made no secret), no offi cial off er has been made yet,” the website claims.
Earlier this week, news surfaced that actor Jamie Bell, who shot to fame playing the lead role in Billy Elliott, reportedly held informal meetings with producers about taking over from Daniel Craig as the iconic British spy. – IANSWILL HE, WON’T HE? Tom Hiddleston
DRAWING A LINE: Heidi Klum
FOR BETTER LIFE: Caroline Flack
INFLIGHT FILM: Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman in Etihad Airways’ virtual reality movie.
Nicole Kidman has starred in a virtual reality movie released by Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Oscar-winning actress says getting into the virtual realm with the fi lm was exciting as well as challenging.
Etihad Airways released its 360-degree virtual reality fi lm last week, and viewers need to download the Oculus VR app from the airline’s dedicated website vr.etihad.com to watch the fi lm.
Viewers can also watch the fi lm as a 360 degree video on YouTube, read a statement. Kidman, who is also Etihad Airways’ brand ambassador, shares that “the fi lm is a culmination of Etihad’s vision”.
“It was a great challenge but one which has defi nitely paid off and it was great to be part of such an exciting project,” Kidman said.
The Rabbit Hole star added: “The fi lm is a culmination of Etihad’s vision to tell the airline’s story in an extremely innovative way and a commitment to engaging with the public as has never been attempted by an airline before.”
The fi ve-minute feature, titled Reimagine, tries to immerse its viewers in a fully experiential journey following Kidman through one of its new Airbus A380s fl ying between New York and Abu Dhabi. The airline has used cutting-edge technology and multidisciplinary mediums in the feature to bring to life its guest experience and hospitality story by engaging the consumer in various sensory interactions onboard the virtual fl ight.
Each scene in the fi lm takes on a theme intended to stimulate the senses of light, sound, motion, and conversation. Throughout
the experience, the viewer meets and engages with a number of characters including the actress herself, her fi lm director, an opera singer and even an Emirati guest with a falcon in fi rst class. The fi lm, which has taken more than six months to produce, was fi lmed exclusively in Abu Dhabi, and utilised state-of-the-art VR technology in its creation.
An Etihad Airways A380 was used for three days and fully customised prior to fi lming; overhead lockers, seats and other sections of the aircraft’s interior were removed to allow for the installation of Red Dragon cameras, which were used to perfectly capture the actress’ movement through the aircraft. The feature was directed by the renowned husband and wife directing duo Anthony Atanasio and Valerie Martinez. — IANS
Nicole Kidman stars in virtual reality movie
Won’t marry again, says Heidi Klum
Supermodel Heidi Klum, who has gone through two failed marriages and is currently dating art dealer Vito Schnabel, has declared that she will never walk down the aisle again.
Klum, 42, is currently enjoying her life and is “very happy the way things are”, reports femalefi rst.co.uk.
“No. I’ve been there twice,” Klum told In Touch magazine when when asked if a third marriage is in the offi ng. However, the America’s Got Talent judge doesn’t regret her decisions to get married in the past.
“I’ve had a roller-coaster ride of
a life and I have enjoyed all the ups and the downs,” she said.
Klum was married to stylist Ric Pipino from 1997 to 2002. She dated Italian businessman Flavio Briatore before having a romantic relationship with British singer-songwriter Seal, whom she later married in 2005.
They have three biological children together — Henry Gunther Ademola Dashtu Samuel, Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo Samuel and Lou Sulola Samuel.
Seal also adopted Klum’s daughter Leni, whom she conceived while dating Briatore. Their divorce was fi nalised in October 2015, after having separated since 2012. — IANS
Caroline Flack quits drinking
TV personality Caroline Flack has quit drinking in order to live a better life. Flack embarked on a 12-week no-sugar and no-alcohol detox plan after getting into a “rut” where a daily tipple became a routine and she is now feeling “really good” after making the changes, reports femalefi rst.co.uk.
“I think I got myself into a rut, where I was using booze as a treat. You know, I’d be like, ‘I’ve had a stressful day, I’ll have a glass of wine.’ I did that loads of times and, actually, it was more because I was in a rut than an actual sensible decision,” Flack told Heat magazine.
“So, I’ve gone a bit yoga-y and got into that side of things and it’s really good,” she added.
The 36-year-old star thinks she is now a much “nicer” person for making the lifestyle changes. “I’ve suddenly got loads of time on my hands as I wake up really early and don’t feel hungover. I’m like, ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?’ And I’m always in a better mood. I’m nicer,” she said. — IANS
Nick Jonas tried to woo Rihanna
Singer Nick Jonas has revealed that he failed to woo singer Rihanna after attempting to fl irt with her. Jonas, who is currently dating actress Lily Collins, says he once attempted to “fl irt” with Rihanna, reports hollywood.com. “I fl irted with Rihanna once. It didn’t work. It didn’t go anywhere but it was a great conversation,” Jonas told The Sun newspaper.
Although the conversation didn’t go to plan, Jonas hasn’t given up hope for the future as he believes it has paved the way for a potential love aff air with Rihanna, despite the fact she’s rumoured to be dating rapper Drake. — IANS
Sunday, May 29, 201620 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
Huge crowds attendDr Zakir Naik lecture
The distinguished Islamic scholar and orator from India spoke for more than an
hour followed by an extensive question-and-answer session. By Umer Nangiana
Hundreds of people thronged Katara Amphitheatre last week to attend the talk delivered by distinguished Muslim scholar and orator from India, Dr Zakir
Naik. In his own unique style, where he takes open questions from both non-Muslims and Muslims after his lecture, Dr Naik spoke on the topic of ‘Does God Exist?’ for more than an hour.
The subsequent question-and-answer session, however, extended more than three hours. Dr Naik gave priority to non-Muslims among the audience besides a large number of people on the beachside outside the arena who listened to the live streaming.
Dr Naik was asked challenging questions and he replied to all of them. Many people embraced Islam then and there, to whom Dr Naik administered ‘Shahada’ (the Muslim profession of faith).
“This topic is mainly meant for three categories of people. One category is people who do not believe in the existence of God, the atheists. The second is those who are agnostic, who do not comment whether God is there or not, and the third category is people who believe in the existence of God but they cannot prove it to others,” said Dr Naik, speaking to the media before his lecture.
The Muslims fall into the third category, he said, adding that these are the people who believe that God exists but they cannot prove it to others. His talk was for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Most Muslims believe in the existence of Allah but they cannot prove it to the others, he argued.
A dynamic international orator on Islam and Comparative Religion, Dr Naik is the President of Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbai, India. Dr Naik clarifi es Islamic viewpoints and clears misconceptions about Islam, using the Qur’an, the Hadith and other religious scriptures as a basis, in conjunction with reason, logic and scientifi c facts. He is popular for his critical analysis and convincing answers to challenging questions posed by audiences after his public talks.
Replying to a question about how he prepares his lectures, Dr Naik said he sees what is required. “Some of my talks are based on how media maligns Islam, so there is a reply required to remove the misconceptions. And then it is to convey the message of Islam to the non-Muslims depending on the situation as it is,” said the scholar from India.
“And I am told that lately there has been a wave, mainly in the Gulf countries and the Arab world that when people are going abroad, they are getting infl uenced by the Western world. In the last couple of years, there were many Arabs who were infl uenced and I was shocked to know that some of
them even do not believe in the existence of Allah,” said Dr Naik.
About his style of argument based on logic and reason and taking open questions and replying to them with reference from religious scriptures, Dr Naik said he did not choose this style, it is just unique to him.
“I did not decide to have an open style. This is my unique style. I always believe that whenever you reply you should do it with reason and logic and with references from the holy book. I believe that in order to understand the religion you should not look at the followers, you should look at the scriptures,” Dr Naik told Community, in reply to a question.
“My main forte is that I quote scriptures of diff erent religions and I try and prove my point that all the religions speak about one God and if we follow the commonalties then
the world will be a much better place,” he said.
About his research methodology, Dr Naik said he keeps studying. “Research is never complete. You keep on reading and more you read the more you realise that you know less. The more you know you realise the less you know,” said the Islamic scholar.
In his lecture, quoting references from Holy Qur’an, Dr Naik argued that science only proved the information a few decades or a few hundred years ago that was already given in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.
“If there is an object that the world has never seen before and on one knows about it, who will be the fi rst person to tell you about its mechanism? It will be only the maker, the inventor or the producer of the object,” Dr Naik told the audience.
Giving dozens of example from diff erent
fi elds of science including astrology, mathematics, zoology, botany, physics …, Dr Naik quoted Qur’anic verses which contained this information that was later proved by scientifi c facts.
“So who put this information there? Islam is the most logical religion. Everything in Islam can be proved with reason and logic. Islam is the most scientifi c religion,” said Dr Naik. Speaking about many misconceptions existing in the world, Dr Naik said Islam was the most peaceful religion.
“Anyone who kills an innocent person, Muslim or non-Muslim, it is like he has killed the whole humanity,” quoted Dr Naik, saying it was mentioned in the Qur’an.
At the beginning of the programme, Dr Naik’s 21-year-old son Fariq Naik spoke at length about diff erent pillars of Islam and their signifi cance proven scientifi cally.
INTERACTIVE: Dr Zakir Naik replying to a question from the audience. Photo by Umer Nangiana
