Community Skills Development Centre organises dance and music programme for summer camp students. P6 P16 Community Ghanim al- Mohannadi talks about ‘Camels Back’ and his effort in introducing the camel ice-cream in Qatar. Thursday, August 2, 2018 Dhul-Qa’da 20, 1439 AH Doha today 340 - 430 REVIEWS SHOWBIZ McKinnon is The Spy Who Dumped Me’s secret weapon. Page 14 Goofy, chatterbox: Bollywood yet to see Yami’s other side. Page 15 The maze How opioids reshape your brain, and what scientists are learning about addiction. P4-5 COVER STORY
Transcript
CommunitySkills Development Centre
organises dance and music programme for summer camp students.
P6 P16 CommunityGhanim al-Mohannadi talks about
‘Camels Back’ and his eff ort in introducing the camel ice-cream in Qatar.
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
Mamma Mia: Here We Go AgainDIRECTION: Shashank KhaitanCAST: Meryl Streep, Amanda
Seyfried,Pierce BrosnanSYNOPSIS: In 1979 young Donna,
Tanya and Rosie graduate from Oxford
University. Graduation leaves Donna free to embark on a series of adventures throughout Europe. On her journey, she becomes friends with Harry, Bill and Sam. She falls in love with Sam but he breaks her heart, abondoning her with no strings
attached. In the second half, we see Donna’s daughter, Sophie, who dreams of renovating a taverna while reuniting with her mother’s old friends and boyfriends on the Greek island of Kalokairi.
THEATRE: Royal Plaza
JungaDIRECTION: GokulCAST: Vijay Sethupathi, Madonna SebastianSYNOPSIS: Beloved by all and dreaded by some, Junga is
quintessential don-next-door who is menacing and goofy. By a
strange twist of fate, he makes some very powerful enemies in high places who are now resolved to ensure his downfall. The plot thickens as Junga travels back to Paris, from where it all started, to fi nd and take revenge on the drug dealers who killed his friend.
THEATRES: The Mall, Landmark, Royal Plaza
The Mall Cinema (1): Karwaan (Hindi) 2:15pm; Fanney Khan (Hindi) 4:30pm; Karwaan (Hindi) 7pm; The Spy Who Dumped Me (2D) 9:15pm; Fanney Khan (Hindi) 11:15pm.The Mall Cinema (2): Koode (Malayalam) 2pm; Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 4:45pm; Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 6:15pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 7:45pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 9:45pm; Shock And Awe (2D) 11:45pmThe Mall Cinema (3): Patrick (2D) 2pm; Karwaan (Hindi) 4pm; Buy Bust (Tagalog) 6:30pm; Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out (2D) 8:45pm; Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out (Telugu) 11pm.Landmark Cinema (1): Karwaan
(Hindi) 2:15pm; Koode (Malayalam) 4:30pm; Karwaan (Hindi) 7:15pm; The Spy Who Dumped Me (2D) 9:30pm; Koode (Malayalam) 11:30pm.Landmark Cinema (2): Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 2:30pm; Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 4:150pm; Patrick (2D) 6pm; Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out (2D) 8pm; Karwaan (Hindi) 11pmLandmark Cinema (3): Koode (Malayalam) 2:15pm; Buy Bust (Tagalog) 5pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 7:15pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 9:30pm; Harb Karmoz
(Arabic) 11:30pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (2D) 3pm; Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 5pm; Patrick (2D) 6:30pm; Mission Impossible 6: Fall Out (3D) 8:30pm; The Spy Who Dumped Me (2D) 11:15pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2): Koode (Malayalam) 2:15pm; Fanney Khan (Hindi) 5pm; Fanney Khan (Hindi) 7:15pm; Shock And Awe (2D) 9:30pm; Koode (Malayalam) 11:15pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3): Leo Da Vince: Mission Monalisa (2D) 2pm; Patrick (2D) 3:30pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 5:15pm; Harb Karmoz (Arabic) 7:30pm; The Ashram (2D) 9:45pm; Our House (2D) 11:30pm
3Thursday, August 2, 2018 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYROUND & ABOUT
Compiled by Nausheen Shaikh. E-mail: [email protected], Events and timings subject to change
EVENTS
Dates FestivalWHERE: Souq WaqifWHEN: Ongoing till August 4TIME: 4pm – 10pmThe Ministry of Municipality and
Environment (MME) agriculture section will organise the third edition of the local dates festival at Souq Waqif to coincide with the dates production season in the country. The upcoming festival will display all types of Qatari dates and the participating farms will display their produce for sale throughout the event.
Summer Sessions with Evolve and Westin
WHERE: The Westin Doha Hotel and SpaWHEN: Ongoing till August 25TIME: 9am – 1pmEnjoy a morning of moving, eating and
feeling well with a 60 minutes yoga session balanced with healthy breakfast bites followed by time to revitalise by the pool. Stimulate the rest of your day through culinary experiences with the added 20% discount in all the restaurants and café.
Minipolis Summer Camp WHERE: The Pearl-QatarWHEN: Ongoing till August 31TIME: 9am – 5pmAn Edutainment Entertainment summer
camp is now in Qatar where kids can enjoy their time by discovering the world of Mad Science, and spend a good sharing time in making new friends while baking, enjoying their meals, watching cinema, doing aerobics and so much more.
IAID Summer WorkshopWHERE: IAIDWHEN: July – AugustIt’s time to set your kids summer activities
today with IAID, the pioneer in conducting workshops in Qatar since 2001. IAID’s Summer Workshop features fun and exciting activities. It only means more singing, playing and dancing for the sweet little ones aged 3 years and above.
Summer ActivityWHERE: Aspire ZoneWHEN: Ongoing till August 15TIME: 8am – 2pmChildren can enjoy various activities
such as football, taekwondo, swimming, gymnastics, aerobics, and recreational games.
Choreography Lessons - Brazilian Zouk
WHERE: Music and Arts Atelier near MOI WHEN: Ongoing till September 15Brazilian zouk is characterised by the
dancers’ undulating bodies and the girls’ fl owing hair. Dancer or not, depending on the style of Brazilian zouk, you’ll be able to choose connection and embrace with long graceful steps. The fi nal performance is scheduled to be on 15 September as a fl ashmob.
Special Needs Summer CampWHERE: HOPE Qatar Center for Special
NeedsWHEN: Ongoing till August 15TIME: 8:30am – 12:30pmHOPE Qatar Center for Special Needs
is organising a very unique summer camp bringing together children with and without special needs in a fun and entertainment fi lled programme from July 16 – August 15. This camp led by a multinational team will enhance empathy, teamwork, and friendships between the diff erently abled children and other children aged 4 – 18. The camp will run for 5 days a week from 8:30am – 12:30pm for one month and include various edutainment activities. For details, call 55751754 / 55385687
Summer CampsWHERE: Mamangam Performing Art
Centre, Al HilalWHEN: Ongoing till August 31TIME: 8am – 12:30pmMamangam Performing Art Centre will be
holding Summer Camps in its Al Hilal branch for two batches of age groups from 4 -18 yrs. The summer camps will include Yoga, Karate, Art and Craft, Music, Hip-hop, Bollywood, Indian Classical and Contemporary dance. For details, call 33897609.
Summer CampsWHERE: TCAWHEN: Ongoing TIME: 8:30am – 1pmThe TCA is holding Summer Camps in its
branch for all students, ongoing from June 24. Every two weeks, a new batch will begin for every child to join and learn new forms of art. The summer camps will include Abacus, Drawing and Painting, Calligraphy, keyboard and dance. The camp will run for 7 days a week from 8:30am – 1pm. You will be able to see the activities and schedules that will be held for every week and register your kid. For details, call 44373259.
Summer Camp for Kids WHERE: Music and Arts Atelier, Villa 57
Bin Omran WHEN: Ongoing till August 31 TIME: 7:30am – 2:30pm Doha’s Kids Summer Camp where artists
are made! The A to Z of kid’s summer camp – from artworks, dance and music lessons and PLAY in between. For ages 5 years and up. Contact [email protected] and mobile 33003839.
Summer Entertainment City 2018WHERE: DECC
WHEN: Ongoing till August 31TIME: 12pmAn amazing range of local shopping
stalls will feature products from all over the world on the Eid. The Summer Shopping Souq has started from June 14 till August 31. Colour your summer at Doha Exhibition and Conventional Centre, West Bay during Summer Entertainment City 2018 with over 75 activities and games, more than 40 food and 132 retail outlets and amazing live performances. Get set for an exciting and eventful summer in 2018.
Hobby ClassesWHERE: Mystic Arts Centre behind Al
Hilal Focus Medical CentreWHEN: Wednesday – MondayMystic Art Centre, is a holistic performing
arts institution and a one stop solution for adults as well as children looking to explore their talents in various art forms. We off er classes in Carnatic Music, Hindustani Music, Karate, Yoga, Zumba, Classical Dance, Salsa, Hip Hop, contemporary and Bollywood dance forms. Personalised lessons, effi cient mentoring and exposure to stage helps our learner to walk out as a confi dent performer at the end of their course. For details, call 44723680/33897609.
Dance and instrument classesWHERE: TCA Campus, Behind Gulf Times
BuildingWHEN: Wednesday – MondayLearn the movements of dance styles in
Bollywood, Hip Hop and also the musical instruments such as Piano, Guitar, Keyboard for adults as well kids and move in the world of music. For details, contact 66523871/ 31326749.
Outdoor and fi ve-a-side football pitches
WHERE: Aspire ZoneWHEN: DailyTIME: 7pm – 11pmAspire Zone’s fi ve-a-side football outdoor
pitches opposite Al Waab Street are available every day from 7pm – 11pm.
Arab and German Tales Exhibition WHERE: Qatar National LibraryWHEN: Ongoing till August 18The exhibition is organised within the
framework of Qatar–Germany Year of Culture and provides an insight into the history of Arabic and German fairy and folk tales, and how the two traditions influenced each other. It aims to show the transcultural value of narrative traditions as a shared intangible cultural heritage and highlight mutual influences, shared ideas and cultural transfer between the Arab world and Germany through storytelling and tales.
Summer Camp WHERE: Music LoungeWHEN: Ongoing till August 30TIME: 9am – 12pmThis summer camp is designed to give
every camper a skill to create music through special training in musical instruments
piano, guitar and drums, to visualise child’s limitless imagination and bring it to creative visuals through art and craft. This camp will develop their communication skills through training in public speaking along with hip hop dance, warm up exercises, karate and yoga.
Thursday, August 2, 20184 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY COVER STORY
Hooked to troubleThe findings shed light on how best to deal with addiction,
and are even helping doctors spot people who may be more
likely to get hooked in the first place, writes Ian Haydon
We found more than 1,000 changes after exposure to an opioid-like drug, showing a global effect of these drugs on signalling in the brain
— Jeffrey Liu, researcher‘ ’N
one of us has the brain we were born with. Brains grow and adapt. This process, called neuroplasticity, doesn’t end when you step out of the classroom. Even habits — reaching for cookies when stressed out, keeping your
head down during staff meetings — cut “trails” in the brain throughout life that can be hard to overcome.
When it comes to drug habits, the eff ect on the brain can be dramatic.
“These are things we can see under the microscope,” said Ellen Unterwald, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Research at Temple University. “There are actually structural changes to neurons in diff erent brain regions, and those are diff erent for diff erent drugs of abuse. They each have their own signature,” she said.
As the national opioid crisis continues, neuroscientists
5Thursday, August 2, 2018 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYCOVER STORY
like Unterwald are beginning to peel back the mystery of opioid addiction in the brain. Their fi ndings are shedding light on how best to deal with addiction, and are even helping doctors spot people who may be more likely to get hooked in the fi rst place.
No-one — even those who have never taken a prescription painkiller or used heroin — is truly opioid-free. Fact is, opioids occur naturally. Experiences like runner’s high and the benefi cial eff ects of acupuncture depend on opioids made in the brain, such as endorphins, that help us enjoy good feelings, said Unterwald.
Even looking at tasty food can activate opioid-linked reward circuits in the brain, according to new imaging research out of Finland. A new Penn State study used brain imaging to track children’s responsiveness to food rewards, and how this might predict obesity.
Subtle diff erences in how individual brains sense and respond to everyday pleasure may help explain a range of behaviours, from overeating to the likelihood of opioid abuse.
“Certainly more than half the risk (for opioid abuse) is genetic,” said Henry Kranzler, director of the Center for the Studies of Addiction at the University of Pennsylvania. “Risk is not about character. It’s about genetics and environmental exposure.”
Substance-abuse disorders are “genetically complex,” said Kranzler, who has published hundreds of scientifi c papers on the topic over more than 30 years of research. “There are many diff erent genes — we’re not even sure how many — that contribute to risk.”
Last year, Kranzler and colleagues identifi ed a gene variant in African American children associated with a lower sensitivity to prescription pain medication. The team is now looking to see if the same genetic pattern could explain how older African Americans respond to prescription opioids after hip or knee replacement. The long-term goal of this research, said Kranzler, is to customise prescription pain management, making it both more eff ective and less risky.
The feel-good eff ects of opioids are well understood. “The reward pathway that’s stimulated by things that we fi nd pleasurable — eating, social interaction, sex — causes dopamine to be released. Opioids act at the beginning of that pathway,” says Unterwald.
But opioid drugs like morphine do much more than stimulate pleasure. Many opioids also target the amygdala, an almond-shaped bulb buried deep in the brain where emotions and motivation are concocted. This drives up drug cravings.
The eff ects of opioids are now being discovered throughout the brain. In a study published in June, a team of researchers from Temple University, the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany, and the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria used sensitive instruments to detect drug-induced molecular changes in the brains of rats.
“We found more than 1,000 changes after exposure to an opioid-like drug, showing a global eff ect of these drugs on signalled in the brain,” Jeff rey Liu, the lead author of the study, said in a statement.
When hit by high doses of opioids every day for several months, tiny structures throughout the brain called dendritic spines begin to disappear, said Wade Berrettini, director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Penn. These specialised structures allow neurons to communicate with one another. Losing the structures leads to “trouble reasoning and thinking through problems,” he said.
As addiction progresses, the brain’s reward system gets pushed further and further off balance. Nearly irresistible cravings begin steering behaviour, Berrettini said. Specifi c triggers like old friends and familiar street corners can spur the urge to use again, as can general life stressors. And because of
widespread brain changes including the loss of dendritic spines, those in addiction may have “limited ability to resist,” he said.
“Part of the dysregulation that occurs,” said Temple’s Unterwald, “is because the drug is onboard and then goes away. Opioid users take heroin many times a day, so (the brain) cycles through periods of highs and withdrawals.”
The nightmarish symptoms of opioid withdrawal — intense nausea, cramping, sweating, shaking, and more — are the result of brain adaptations, she said.
When opioids are fi rst taken, a stress-associated region of the brain called the locus coeruleus gets quieted. But after long-term exposure, the brain compensates by supercharging the neurons in that region. If the dampening eff ects of opioids are taken away, an altered locus coeruleus can wreak havoc on
the body, producing the agonising symptoms of withdrawal.
Some opioid-induced brain changes reverse themselves quickly. Others take more time.
Cancer patients who need to stop using prescription opioids are typically weaned off over several weeks to avoid withdrawal symptoms, Unterwald said. “But that’s not what usually happens with opioid abusers.”
“People who would like to be drug-free often transition to one of the medication-assisted therapies like methadone or buprenorphine,” said Unterwald, and may gradually reduce intake of these stabilising opioids, though experts say long-term use is the gold standard for achieving long-term recovery. “These drugs are not really replacing (opioids),” she said. “They are resetting the neurobiological changes that have occurred.”
To help customise addiction treatment,
Penn’s Kranzler and colleagues rely on a standard scale to assess the severity of an individual’s addiction. By studying the genetic makeup of those with the highest scores, the team is discovering DNA markers associated with severe addiction.
“We are looking to identify genetic biomarkers that can be used to dose medications, both for analgesics for pain post-surgery as well as for methadone maintenance,” he said. The FDA is currently evaluating whether genetic or brain-based signatures can be used to guide clinical decision-making.
“Treatment works,” Kranzler said. “We tend to hear more about the people for whom treatment failed — and there still are too many of those. The better we can match treatment to an individual’s profi le, both genetic and otherwise, the better we are going to be able to treat people.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS
OBSERVATION: Dr Ellen Unterwald, seen in one of the labs at the Center for Substance Abuse Research at Temple Medical School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says there are actually structural changes to neurons in diff erent brain regions, and those are diff erent for diff erent drugs of abuse, each with their own signature.
Thursday, August 2, 20186 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
InterContinental Doha The City appoints new Director of Sales and Marketing
InterContinental Doha The City has announced the appointment of Vincent Monavon as the new Director of Sales and Marketing.
In his new role at the hotel, he will be overseeing sales and marketing initiatives for 575 rooms and apartments, seven dining venues, a Health and Fitness Club, and meetings and event space. He will focus on the overall strategic direction of sales initiatives with a focus on maximising hotel revenue, establishing key business partnerships, and elevating the image of the hotel, stated a press release
Joining the team from Kempinski Kinshasa, DRC, Monavon brings over 30 years of exceptional experience in the hotel industry from around the world, specifi cally in the African, Caribbean, and European markets. With an impressive career, he has held positions from hotel operations to sales and hotel business development.
Prior to his most recent role at the Kempinski Hotel Fleuve Congo where he worked as the Director of Business Development, Monavon has also worked with the Affi liated Preferred Hotel Group in Morocco as the Cluster Director of Sales and Marketing. In addition, he has held
positions as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Warwick Hotels and Crowne Plaza in Geneva, and for Le Méridien in Mauritius, Morocco and the Caribbean islands.
“We are excited to have Vincent on board and I look forward to working closely with him,” said Gilles Longuet, General Manager of InterContinental Doha The City. “I am confi dent that his wealth of knowledge in the hotel industry, and the degree of experience that he brings with him, will be of a great asset to InterContinental Doha The City especially as we embark on new exciting stages of growth for the hotel.”
Hailing from the French Alps, Monavon has completed his second master’s degree in Strategic Management from the University of Paris.
“I am honoured and excited to join the InterContinental Doha The City team for my fi rst experience in the region,” said Vincent Monavon, Director of Sales and Marketing, “I look forward to leading the sales and marketing eff orts for this beloved Doha hotel and to be a part of all the new exciting developments that are planned for the future.”
Skills Development Centre (SDC), recently organised dance and music programme ‘SWAS CAMPFIRE 2018’ for their summer camp students at Maestro hall, SDC New Salata. The students showcased their talent, including live karate and yoga demo. Seenu Pillai was the chief
guest at the event. The event was inaugurated by Seenu Pillai, K K Sankaran, Board Member of NORKA; P N Baburajan, Managing Director SDC; and SDC members, by lighting a traditional lamp.
SDC organises ‘SWAS CAMPFIRE 2018’ for summer camp students
7Thursday, August 2, 2018 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYBOOK REVIEW
By Vikas Datta
The hardest journey to undertake, if it is even possible, is to return to one’s childhood
home, particularly if it was a happy period. But even this happiness, which may not be everyone’s lot, can be disrupted by forces beyond relentless time. Within a twinkling of eye, all comforts and happiness being replaced by pain, deprivation and oppression. And even if you can surmount the problems and even manage to return, it will never be the same.
It is this inexorable truth of life that former diplomat Prabhu Dayal portrays in his second work, a novella which is poignant and heart-wrenching but also showcases hope, and how kindness and generosity no matter how expressed can be encountered as often as cruelty and self-interest.
Beginning with an evocative prologue, where a well-heeled expatriate businessman, on a trip to Mumbai, is casually reading the paper in his hotel room when something catches his attention and forces him to change his whole schedule and leave for north India.
The scene then shifts over a quarter century or so into the past, to the rural areas in Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad, where a prominent and infl uential landlord has repeatedly spurned the (then) all-powerful Congress’ repeated requests to be the party candidate for the coming elections (1967).
The reason is simple, for “after years of prayers”, he and his wife fi nally have a son, they fondly call Sonu. But while his parents are overjoyed, there are others, who pretend to adore him as much but have darker intentions in their heart, and soon act on them without mercy.
One post-monsoon
afternoon, the household is sleeping and a four-year Sonu playing outside when he goes missing. An extensive search is made, police swing into action, desperate eff orts are made to fi nd him, but there is no trace and not even a ransom demand. Little his grieving parents know that their innocent son has become the victim of a particular dreadful crime and is even no longer in the country, but far away beyond the seas, doing a dangerous chore in a desert land.
But while after six months of torture, danger and worse, Sonu and a fellow prisoner do manage to escape, will the unforgiving desert allow them to survive? Will he, if he stays alive and manages to fi nd his way home to his own land, by some miracle, be able to make his way home, given he doesn’t know the name of his parents or where he lived, despite this promise made to himself?
And what is the connection between Sonu and the successful businessman we meet in the initial pages?
These are all the questions the author engagingly answers, in this short but powerful account which
covers a fairly wide spectrum of the human condition, from depravity to decency.
With his four-decade-long service having encompassed the Middle East, Europe and America, he makes good use of both his roots and experience, especially in the Arab world, to sketch vivid portraits of mofussil Uttar Pradesh to Middle East, in its transition from a small town to a glittering megapolis, as well as a range of characters, spanning evil uncles, oppressive trainers, kind-hearted sailors, maternal teachers and so on.
Though at a superfi cial level in its plot, set pieces, telescoped action, and its rather dramatic denouement and so on, it may seem like a Bollywood fi lm, it is not so simple, for it raises some vital questions and issues.
These include, but are not limited to, identity, the concept of home and family, the need to be anchored, the (transient nature of) happiness, whether loyalty deserves the name if for an evil purpose, can kindness be graded on its intention, and much more, which makes this story a short but most engrossing and thoughtful read. – IANS
The long and difficult journey back home
In The Surajpur Connection, Prabhu Dayal portrays a novella which is poignant and
heart-wrenching but also showcases hope, and how kindness and generosity
no matter how expressed can be encountered as often as cruelty and self-interest
AUTHOR: With his four-decade-long service having encompassed the Middle East, Europe and America, Dayal makes good use of both his roots and experience to sketch vivid portraits of mofussil Uttar Pradesh to Middle East.
RAISING QUESTIONS: The plot may seem like a Bollywood film but is not so simple, for it raises some vital questions and issues.
Thursday, August 2, 20188 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY TRA
Grand Teton National Park
By Dennis Anderson
In 1911, James Manges laid claim to 160 acres inside what eventually would become this park, and when he left his small cabin to fi sh cutthroat trout in the Snake River, he’d tack a handwritten note to the door: “Gone fi shing,” he scribbled. “If I don’t come back try to make a living off
the place.”Manges was only the second settler to pony up $15 for a plot
of land in the shadow of the Teton Range, following passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. Other stake claimers followed. But 50 years would expire before 400 titles were let in Jackson “Hole” the name trappers gave to valleys surrounded by mountains.
The other day, as we launched a drift boat into the Snake River, its wide sweep of clear, moving water bore the same invitation it must have rendered to Manges, and some 11,000 years earlier to the forebears of modern American Indians who visited here to hunt and gather plants in spring, summer and fall. One of the West’s great waterways, along with the Yellowstone and the Missouri, the Snake, unlike the latter two, eventually fl ows west, into Idaho and ultimately into the Columbia River, before emptying into the Pacifi c Ocean.
“We’ll try these,” my older son, Trevor, said, selecting large foam-bodied attractor fl ies to tie onto our leaders. Trevor lives in Missoula, Mont, where he is a fl y-fi shing guide, and had travelled to Grand Teton National Park to spend a few days with his mother, Jan, and me.
“Remember the fi rst time we were on this river?” Jan said from the bow. An eager fl y angler, and a good one, Jan, on a given day, will match me fi sh for fi sh.
Her reference was to a trip we had taken perhaps 10 years earlier. Trevor and his younger brother, Cole, were still in high school, and I, trusting soul that I am, had bought a drift boat over the Internet from a man who lived in Idaho. The four of us took possession of the craft in Jackson, Wyo, while vacationing in our pickup camper.
We called that double-ended boat on the Snake River below Jackson, a fl oat that surprisingly came off without incident, and during which, as a bonus, we caught plenty of fi ne-spotted cutthroat trout, a species veritably unique to the Snake.
Now, absent Cole, who also lives in Missoula, we were on the Snake again, this time much farther upstream, inside Grand Teton National Park.
Anchoring us alongside a rock-and-pebble restaurant, Trevor looped the fi rst cast of the day to a side channel that
Measuring 310,000 acres, Grand Teton is a relatively
small national park. Yellowstone, by comparison, is 2.2
million acres, and Glacier more than 1 million.
STRIKING: The rising sun illuminates the front of the Teton Mountains, while, the setting sun back lights the peaks that rise abruptly from a valley floor, making them unique among North American mountain ranges. PICTURESQUE: The park’s namesake mountains jut stunningly from
ROWING: Dennis Anderson, foreground, rows the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park while his son, Trevor, casts.
9GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYThursday, August 2, 2018
AVEL
k’s Snake River is a charmer
bore a riffl e and below it a counter clockwise eddy.Drifting into the eddy, his fl y on its initial pass tempted an
18 inch cutthroat that corkscrewed up from the stream bottom and inhaled the fl y, tightening Trevor’s line and bowing his rod against the current.
Bringing the fi sh to hand, Trevor soon released it, its spotted sides glistening. Measuring 310,000 acres, Grand Teton is a relatively small national park. Yellowstone, by comparison, is 2.2 million acres, and Glacier more than 1 million.
A geologic freak, the park’s namesake mountains jut stunningly from the valley fl oor. Multiple earthquakes beginning 10 million years ago gave abrupt rise to the Teton Range, while more or less simultaneously dropping the valley fl oor. Glaciers as thick as 3,500 feet subsequently conferred the region its peaks, lakes, rivers, wetlands and vast sagebrush fl ats.
Headquartered in an RV campground along the shores of Jackson Lake, we were, it seemed, among an endless stream of park visitors. Some arrived in buses, others motorhomes and still others on motorcycles or bikes.
Cell phone coverage was sketchy, and Wi-Fi was available only at the village store. Near these, in evenings, as the setting sun backlit the Tetons, campground visitors gathered like lemmings, their phones and laptops in hand.
The rising sun illuminates the front of the Teton Mountains, while, the setting sun back lights the peaks that rise abruptly from a valley fl oor, making them unique among North American mountain ranges.
Diff erent as such scenes were from the encampments the Shoshone made here hundreds of years ago, and after them the beaver trappers, homesteaders, cattlemen and, ultimately, the dudes from back East who came to play cowboy and cowgirl, the Tetons, it can be said, have seduced indiscriminately over time, people to people. And still do today.
The first beaver trappers to inhabit Jackson ‘Hole’ thrived until the fur market collapsed. Settlers subsequently moved in, but harsh winter weather argued against their success. Mormons were among those who tried to make a living in the shadows of the Tetons, leaving behind structures such as barns.
Whatever eye candy the Tetons provide, with their craggy granite peaks and rock-strewn glaciers, the Snake is the park’s lifeblood. Grizzly and black bears depend on it, also moose, wolves, antelope, beavers, otters and anglers.
On this day, the river wasn’t busy. A few kayakers moseyed downstream, and an occasional raft of sightseers. Also beneath Wyoming’s summer-blue sky, its gauzy clouds untethered, a few drift boats of anglers materialised.
Continually in motion, rivers can be a gateway drug to a life lived obsessively. Lakes entice. But rivers intimate continuums on which existence itself rides, with the backwash of disappointment ever disappearing down river, yielding to new water and better days.
“Dad, I’m going to hold us right here against the current,” Trevor said.
This was just after we had eaten lunch. A remuda of horses, some spotted, grassed in the distance, while overhead, an osprey, ever the opportunist, eyed the same river we did, for the same fi sh.
“It’s a tight cast. But put your fl y as close as you can to shore, between the two branches of that deadfall.”
I might not have made the cast a second time. But I did the fi rst, and when my fl y settled onto the water as directed, a 17-
inch cutthroat tipped up its nose, mouth agape.“Set,” Trevor said.The park is a hotspot. About 4 million people visit Grand
Teton National Park in Wyoming each year. Were it not for President Teddy Roosevelt, who in 1908 established the 2 million-acre Teton National Forest; President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1943 leveraged the 1906 Antiquities Act to create the Jackson Hole National Monument; President Harry Truman, who in 1950 signed the bill launching the park; and John D. Rockefeller Jr, who donated 33,000 prime acres to help form the park, the valley lying beneath the Teton Range might today be a hodgepodge of fast-food joints and neon signs. Perhaps then I wouldn’t have had a chance to hook that fi sh. And bring it to a net. And release it. But I did, its sides glistening. – Star Tribune/TNS
m the valley floor..LEFT BEHIND: Mormons were among those who tried to make a living in the shadows of the valley, leaving behind structures such as barns.
HOTSPOT: The park is a hotspot. About 4 million people visit Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming each year.
Thursday, August 2, 201810 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY INFOGRAPHIC
11Thursday, August 2, 2018 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYLIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE
ARIESMarch 21 — April 19
CANCERJune 21 — July 22
LIBRASeptember 23 — October 22
CAPRICORNDecember 22 — January 19
TAURUSApril 20 — May 20
LEOJuly 23 — August 22
SCORPIOOctober 23 — November 21
AQUARIUSJanuary 20 — February 18
GEMINIMay 21 — June 20
VIRGOAugust 23 — September 22
SAGITTARIUSNovember 22 — December 21
PISCESFebruary 19 — March 20
Cool your jets today, Aries. This is a good time to stop and focus
on you. Make sure to give your body the respect it deserves.
Make sure you’re fostering the kind of character you wish to
become. Base your self-image on something internal rather than
an external craving for attention from others. Your true beauty
lies within.
Have no fear today, Cancer. You have the power and mental capacity
to cut through just about anything. Don’t let fear or regret hold you
back. Clear the path and be strong in your approach to the new and
diff erent. Stay on target and be bold in your actions. You have the
ability to conquer new literal and figurative lands. Release mental
blocks that might hinder your success.
An inner voice is warning you to slow down, Libra. It’s probably best
if you take a break and let someone else take the lead. Concentrate
on matters at home and take care of issues that crop up among
loved ones. It’s quite possible that an argument is brewing. Whether
you realise it or not, there are serious issues that need to be
addressed.
Today is a great day to act on things that have been brewing in your
brain for quite some time, Capricorn. Perhaps you’ve been feeling
unsure of yourself. It’s OK to surrender and admit that you just don’t
have all the answers. Use this as an opportunity to restructure and
rebuild. Embrace the unknown rather than fear or resist it. This is a
great time to move toward it.
Your brain and warrior instincts are in agreement today, Taurus.
Team up with others who share similar thoughts and desires.
Conversations can be extremely rewarding. You’re apt to learn a lot
about yourself. Don’t be afraid to share deep thoughts and emotions.
Your willingness to express yourself demonstrates how comfortable
you are with your actions and feelings.
Don’t worry about not being on the right path, Leo, because you are.
You seem to always be in the right place at the right time. There’s no
need to feel regret or shame about things that have happened in the
past. Turn negative experiences into lessons for a better future. Even
though you may not be able to change a certain situation, you can at
least change your reaction to it.
Today is a fantastic day to take action, Scorpio. Your eagerness to
strike out for new territory is heightened by a drive to experience
the unknown. Take an internal journey and see what kind of
wonderful things you can discover. There’s a tremendous strength
inside you that doesn’t always get to show itself. This is the perfect
day to prove your courage to the world.
Be a bit more sensitive with your words today, Aquarius. Your mind is
apt to be especially active and even a bit restless. This is more than
likely a signal to get more of your opinions out into the world. As you
do, make sure you take into account the feelings of others. People
might have quite a diff erent reaction to the same situation. Respect
opposing viewpoints.
Something or someone could confront you today, Gemini. Try not to
assume things about the situation before you know all the facts. If a
piece of the puzzle is still in question, face the issue right away. Your
sensitivity is precious, whether you realise it or not. Small things can
slowly eat away at your psyche until they’re addressed and dealt
with.
A war could be brewing in your world today, Virgo. Emotionally
charged arguments shoot back and forth with conviction. Try not to
get discouraged. Don’t burn any bridges either. Remember that your
words may fall on extremely sensitive ears, so use them with care.
There’s a very active part of your psyche that needs to be heard. Feel
free to say your peace openly and honestly.
Think before you act today, Sagittarius. Rash moves are likely to
get you into trouble. An annoying interruption in your daily routine
could throw you off guard. Sit down and think about the situation
before you act too hastily. Bumps in the road are often messages
from the Universe that you’re moving too quickly and carelessly. It’s
time to slow down.
Your mind is clear and your sensitivity focused, Pisces. Now is a
good time to make a move. Don’t let insecurity or fear keep you from
pursuing your dreams. Realise that action you take today doesn’t
need to be a bold outward movement in order to be eff ective. In
truth, quite the contrary is true. You can accomplish a great deal by
turning thought and energy inward.
A list of decor essentials to attain the perfect home
We are all guilty of swooning over plush celebrity homes while fl ipping through a magazine or scrolling through our feeds. The best way to bid adieu to the humdrum appearance of your home and transform it into a swanky haven is by re-
creating its fi ner aspects. This could include altering the colours or even combining a plethora of elements to yield a resplendent aura.
Ashwini Vaidya Gupte, Head of Design from SPACES and Arshi Mukri, Design Expert from Pepperfry share some exciting ideas to turn your home into the most exotic retreat!
Walls: Go natural and make a statement with the walls of your room. Painting your walls in soothing pastel shades such as mint, dusty rose or beige is the easiest way to bring about a hint of drama while still upholding minimalism in your abode. You could also try the wallpapers or murals on just one wall, while colouring the others in pastels to create a deeper eff ect.
Bedsheets: Since bed is the focal point of the room, a perfect bedsheet creates harmony in the bedroom like nothing else. You can hardly go wrong with a fl oral and light colour bedsheet. However, for those who like a splash of colour you can also pick from an array of bright hues or Aztec patterns.
Curtains: Curtains add the requisite charm and take the
glam quotient many notches higher. Go sheer with the curtains to let in the soothing monsoon wind and some natural light into your living room, whereas for your bedroom take a break from traditional patterns and simple blinds by investing in chic looking textured drapes in a variety of opaque hues to match your décor scheme.
With an extra-wide curtain, you can sweep it to the side during the day to embrace the asymmetry.
Cushions and Pillows: Exuberant cushions and throw pillows in fl oral or tropical prints, especially in bright pinks from rose to fuchsia, are excellent statement-makers for the season. Due to the ease of storage and smaller size, it is simpler to have multiple sets of cushion covers to keep creating diff erent looks in the room based on your moods. Floral designs, lemony green and tropical colours rejuvenate a room and create a perfect hangout in the house.
For those looking at more ethnic designs, paisley motifs work very well.
Curios and showpieces: Choose metallic curios in bejewelled tints to enliven the ambience with the cool vibe their surface exudes. In the living room, place delicate statement pieces handcrafted from wood paired with intricately carved
gramophones and table clocks placed on barren console tables to add a vintage dimension to your hearth. If you wish to add a surreal earthy vibe in your room then place crystal curios alongside geometrical vases with blooming daisies. — IANS
Thursday, August 2, 201812 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY CARTOONS/PUZZLES
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.
abundant water (7)2. Many a clean-out of a police-station
will bring it to light (7)3. Go round again in reverse, looking
more frightened (5)4. She finds an outlet in the jumble-
sale (7)5. First putting a pound on the bar, as
always (4)6. An hour before, now (4)7. Fond of someone; a boy (7)11. Turns off, as you state, on the way
back (6)12. In which there’s a vitamin for the
dog (4)15. Is he the chap drinking water
between rounds (4)17. The gold-plated one brought back
from abroad (3)18. A number on a ruler, say (4)19. Point out a tomb of an Australian
native (6)21. It’s easy to describe - not C of E (3)22. The music gets the man in a fury
(7)23. Mark, with “First Love”, got an
award (4)25. Anyhow, later I got a key to enter
the workshop (7)26. Find close to the ramshackle hut
outside (7)27. Writing about the tennis-player; an
impetuous type (7)30. A piece of turf, of course (5)32. The vessel used to be different (4)33. “Services” is not what they mean to
tennis players! (4)
Thursday, August 2, 201814 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY REVIEWS
By Jimmy Gillispie
Robert McCall doesn’t know who you are, but he is a man with a very particular set of skills.
Oh wait, wrong movie.Robert McCall will fi ght for
vengeance because you killed his dog and stole his car.
Oh wait, wrong movie.Robert McCall does have a set of skills that he
put in his past until he feels it necessary to use those to help those in need. Four years ago, the older man with a mysterious past comes out of the shadows to help a young girl — whom he befriends — escape Russian mobsters.
Denzel Washington (Training Day) returns as McCall in his fi rst-ever sequel that features a similar story, but with new side characters. McCall has returned to the quiet life where he’s helping neighbours and good people who have been wronged.
In this iteration of McCall’s story, he’s back to the peaceful lifestyle until one of his most beloved friends — arguably his only true friend Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo The Fighter) travels to Belgium for work, but something goes wrong.
Losing Plummer angers and motivates McCall.
But how far will he go to seek justice for someone he loves?
What I liked:Aside from the tone — very similar to the
original — and action of this fi lm, the heart is once again a big part of it. McCall’s character wants to do good and gives people a chance to do the right thing or he’ll take justice into his own hands.
He befriends a young neighbour who’s into trouble but has aspirations to be a better person. This is just one example of how the heart of this movie carries it during the slower times.
Of course, the brutal action is enjoyable and expected from this franchise. Denzel can still kick some butt at his age.
What I didn’t like:The main plot is a bit silly, but it does uncover
some of McCall’s mysterious past. I wish it would have gone a bit diff erently, instead of where it went.
The fi lm jumps around a bit, which was fi ne at times, but it fi nally settles on focusing on the main plot during the fi nal third. His motivation made sense, but the antagonist wasn’t fl eshed out well.
Reason to watch:If you enjoyed the fi rst fi lm, defi nitely check out
this sequel. The action and heart carry this fi lm through a plot that wasn’t great. It’s a fun action fl ick that has a couple of intense scenes that leave you on the edge of your seat. – Stillwater NewsPress/TNS
By Katie Walsh
Don’t ever question the power of a well-deployed Kate McKinnon. It’s been proven time and again that her specific brand of kooky comedy can
elevate anything, from the fun and loopy Ghostbusters remake to the questionable bachelorette-party-gone-wrong dark comedy Rough Night. Wind her up, set her loose and watch her wring laughs out of any flimsy, high-concept premise, like the action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me, co-written and directed by Susanna Fogel.
All you need to know is right there in the title, a play on the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, which was subsequently parodied with the 1999 Austin Powers sequel The Spy Who Shagged Me. The next logical step in this relationship? A breakup.
When the dashing but mysterious Drew (Justin Theroux) dumps Audrey (Mila Kunis) via text, she’s heartbroken, and he’s too busy battling Lithuanian thugs to return her calls. Her best friend, Morgan (McKinnon), an oddball actress whom Drew once referred to as “a little much,” tries to cheer up Audrey with a birthday party and the attention of a Ukrainian man, but all too soon, the girls are ensnared in the remnants of Drew’s failed spy plot. Surfacing briefly, Drew instructs Audrey to deliver a trophy to a cafe in Vienna, and soon, the women are off, globetrotting across Europe as highly untrained yet surprisingly skillful rogue
operatives.The spy story itself is the rote, standard-
issue spy stuff: double-crossings, handsome MI6 agents, treacherous Eastern European assassins (Ivanna Sakhno), harried car chases and shootouts in picturesque cafes, as well as a distressing disregard for human life. But the heroes
are just a pair of clueless gals. The film seems built in part around a gag in which a sniper is instructed to take out two dumb American women, but can’t distinguish who the targets are while scoping out a pairs of female tourists selfie-ing, grinding on ancient statues and puking into a river. It’s a lowest common denominator gag that
ends up a cruel jab at the film’s intended audience.
But what pleases in The Spy Who Dumped Me isn’t the twists and turns of the plot, it’s what McKinnon fills into the interstitial moments — strange asides about how her teeth are so freakishly strong her orthodontist published a paper, some incredibly bad and prolonged French-speaking jokes about how she went to theatre camp with Edward Snowden. It’s McKinnon’s general clownery — literally, her climactic moment involves a showdown on a trapeze — but it makes the lightweight material sing. Her character may be “a little much,” but that muchness is highly necessary across from Kunis’s Audrey, who is a winsome but empty cipher.
The dynamic is reflected in their CIA/MI6 counterparts, the dashing but bland Sebastian (Sam Heughan) and the smack-talking Duffer (Hasan Minhaj), who’s obsessed with his alma mater, Harvard. It’s a silly joke that’s rendered increasingly hilarious with each detail and repetition, a lot like Morgan’s elaborate acting resume.
It’s the humour housed in the connective tissue that fi lls up the otherwise insubstantial The Spy Who Dumped Me. Beloved character actors pop up — Jane Curtain, Paul Reiser, Fred Melamed — but are underused, and although Gillian Anderson cuts a striking fi gure as an MI6 chief (“M” prequel, anyone?), her screen time is unfortunately scanty. So thank goodness for McKinnon, who launches this middling material to greater heights through her own sheer will. Now that’s a superpower. – TNS
McKinnon is The Spy Who Dumped Me’s secret weapon
Action, heart carry Equalizer 2
By Radhika Bhirani
Yami Gautam’s upcoming fi lms Batti Gul Meter Chalu and Uri are diff erent in look, concept and subject – something she is glad about – but the actress says the
industry is yet to tap into her “other side”, which is all about being goofy, silly and loving to dance.
Having done fi lms like Vicky Donor, Total Siyappa, Kaabil and Sarkar 3 in Hindi cinema, Yami has been attempting to display versatility in her fi lmography. With Batti Gul Meter Chalu and Uri, she is hoping to push the envelope further, as well as do an “out-and-out commercial potboiler”.
“I am quite grateful and happy that such roles are coming up which resonate (with) today’s girls, and are about being independent. I am happy with the fact that they (the two fi lms) are diff erent – in terms of looks, concepts, subjects,” Yami said in an interview here.
She said she also enjoys fi lms in which she could be dancing or there could be comedy.
“Because I enjoy watching it, I would love to perform or be a part of such fi lms as that’s also one of the variation of fi lms we have,” Yami said.
This variety, according to her, is the best thing about Bollywood.
“Look at the range we are coming up with. I think it’s amazing. I would love to do an out-and-out ‘masala’ fi lm. I’d love to dance, because I love dancing... For example, I love watching Madhuri Dixit’s Ek do teen..., so why wouldn’t I like to dance? But at the same time, I am glad I have such roles in Uri and Batti Gul...,” said Yami.
“My contemporaries are doing great work, and it’s an exciting time. It’s nice if you can make use of it and put yourself to some really
versatile cinema,” she added.Isn’t the industry yet to capture this side
of her performance?“Totally, but it will come out defi nitely.
People are yet to see the other side of me where I am all goofy, I love dancing, I am just me – who is silly also, a chatterbox also, a dancer also, a brat also... That side will come with the right project. It doesn’t have to be like, ‘Oh now, I have to do it’. If it’s meant to be, the subject chooses you.”
Overall, she says she is always waiting for “good work”.
“I love period fi lms, costume dramas and I’d love to play a warrior princess. I am
already doing something strong in Uri and Batti Gul.... And when I say strong, I mean the impact of these roles in the fi lm.”
Yami plays a lawyer in Batti Gul Meter Chalu and an intelligence offi cer in Uri.
While she has prepared a lot for her roles in both fi lms, Yami’s larger aim is to become an eff ortless performer – almost like Irrfan Khan, who can perform comedy, drama, serious or intense roles, with equal ease.
“We don’t know what the actor is doing, but he does something real and there’s nothing made up about it. So, that’s the attempt, to learn that process,” said Yami, who is not a trained actor. – IANS
Thursday, August 2, 2018 15GULF TIMES
COMMUNITYSHOWBIZ
TRAGEDY QUEEN: Meena Kumari appeared in more than 90 films during her 38-year-long career.
The beautiful face and expressive eyes of Meena Kumari have been captured in a Google doodle devoted to the late legendary actress Meena Kumari for her 85th birth anniversary today.
“As shown in the doodle, Meena Kumari captivated audiences with her beautiful, expressive eyes,” according to the official Google Doodle page.
Born in 1933, Meena Kumari grew up on camera, lighting up the silver screen from the age of four when she was known as Baby Meena. She became a formidable actor in Indian cinema, appearing in more than 90 films during her 38-year career.
She portrayed strong
yet vulnerable women who made their own way through life, although they were often devastated by romance. This gave her the epithet ‘Tragedy Queen’. She came to be known for sailing through complex emotions on-screen with ease.
Some of her memorable films include Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Pakeezah, Mere Apne, Aarti, Baiju Bawra, Parineeta, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Foot Path, Dil Ek Mandir and Kaajal.
Meena Kumari was not only an iconic star of Hindi cinema, she was also a poet of great flair and delicacy.
She died in 1972 due to liver cirrhosis. – IANS
Lovato too ill to discuss rehab plans
Singer-songwriter Demi Lovato is too ill to discuss going to a rehabilitation centre.
Those close to Lovato, however, believe that it is crucial for her to go to a rehabilitation centre to save her life after she became severely ill due to a drug overdose, reports TMZ.
The singer is suff ering from extreme nausea and high fever among other things. The doctors are not even predicting when she might get out of the hospital.
TMZ said that multiple people who have had contact with the Here we go again singer have claimed they have no idea how she will receive the message that she desperately needs rehabilitation.
Lovato was rushed to a hospital after suff ering a drug overdose. Paramedics had found the singer unconscious when they arrived at her home. – IANS
Running is meditation for Snow
Actress Brittany Snow says running is like meditation for her.
She said: “I grew up running, so I’m a pretty big runner now. What I like about running is that I love music and fi nding new music. What I usually do is put a playlist together of new songs I’ve never heard before or scour Spotify for bands or albums that I’m really looking forward to hearing, and then I just put on that album.
“When I’m in a new place, I make sure that I run to see the sights. It’s kind of like a meditation time. I also love Pilates and Spinning, but I got way too into Spinning a couple of years ago, and I had to get off that train. I got obsessed.”
Snow says she loves to dance and even has a elliptical at home, reported femalefi rst.co.uk
“Thank God nobody can see this, but I’ll put on music and dance on my elliptical,” she said.
The 32-year-old star even follows a healthy diet.
The John Tucker Must Die actress begins her day with egg whites and fruit, and for lunch she likes salad, with goat’s cheese or salmon. She snacks throughout the day on a huge bowl of berries she keeps in her fridge. – IANS
ATHLETE: Brittany Snow loves dance and running.
UNWELL: Demi Lovato became severely ill due to a drug overdose.
Goofy, chatterbox: Bollywood yet to see Yami’s other side
VERSATILE: Yami Gautam says she also enjoys films in which she could be dancing or there could be comedy.
Google Doodle honours Meena Kumari on her 85th birth anniversary
Thursday, August 2, 201816 GULF TIMES
COMMUNITY
By Mudassir Raja
Where the ongoing Summer Entertainment City (SEC) has brought in diff erent kinds of attractions and entertainment for visitors,
it has also provided an opportunity for many small businesses to have market exposure and establish their independent brands.
The entertainment city that will continue till August 31 has so far seen many local products. Small shops and cafes are selling diff erent food products, prepared locally. The most prominent and interesting among them is an ice-cream brand that prepares its product with camel milk.
Camels Back is a local company that has prepared, fi rst of its kind as claimed by the producers, an ice cream using camel milk. The company obtains the milk from the local farms.
Pearly white, with hint of saltiness and immediately vitalising, Camel’s milk contains fi ve times the vitamin C of cow’s milk with stratospheric levels of immune boosters, plus high concentrations of vitamins B and D.
Talking to Community, Ghanim al-Mohannadi, owner of the business, said, “We are off ering a very unique product. We are the fi rst company to launch the camel milk
products in Qatar. So far, we do not have any competition.”
About the response of the people to his products, he said, “It is our second year at SEC. Our customers are happy and satisfi ed with the products. Even at our shop in Doha Convention and Exhibition Centre, we have been getting very good response. That is why we are in the entertainment city once again. Keeping in view the encouraging response, we hope that one day we will become a distinct Qatari brand in camel milk products.”
About his future plans, Ghanim said, “We plan on expanding in Qatar, focusing on major shopping malls here. We have been marketing our products on social media very actively though. We have already started delivery service for the customers as well.
Regarding his business idea, he said, “Around two years ago, we came up with the idea of establishing a company that can produce a healthy local product from the camel milk. We wanted to have a product that combines people’s love and passion for ice cream and desserts with various benefi ts and nutritious components of the milk, especially those that are proven scientifi cally by research and studies.”
He added, “The name of the company was chosen carefully. ‘Camels Back’ refers to the return of camels from the annual journey, between winter and summer, from Yemen
to Makkah, loaded with goods for Makkah’s people in the distant past. With strong global and local attention to health and use of natural foods, the name symbolises the return of camel milk to the market, giving people health and wellness.”
Ghanim further noted, “Proceeding with this vision, a camel farm was established in Simsima, North of Qatar. It is specialised in producing fresh camel milk every day, which is to be used in producing ice cream and desserts.”
Speaking about benefi ts of camel milk, he said, “The milk contains higher amount of unsaturated fatty acids, healthy fats. The unsaturated fatty acids help in regulating blood circulation. It is also rich in Vitamin C which helps to strengthen the immune system.”
He added, “Camel milk is an ideal source of calcium for children and expecting women. It helps in preventing osteoporosis. It also has a great eff ect on people suff ering from Type II diabetes as it contributes in reducing the need for insulin. The milk is easy to digest, especially
for those suff ering from lactose intolerance.”He further said, “Camel Milk is a natural
source of bio-stimulants that are necessary for the growth of good bacteria in the human body. Since it is easily digestible, one can have longer quantity of the milk without actually feeling full. It also strengthens bones, nails, hair and teeth, as it is rich in vitamins and minerals. The milk is a healthier option as it naturally has low fat content and cholesterol, almost half of what is generally found in cow milk”.
Qatar Tourism Authority is organising SEC in partnership of QSports. Adil Ahmed, founder and CEO of QSports, said that a good number of small businesses joined entertainment city in the bid to expand their activities. “Previously international companies from neighbouring countries used to come to SEC. This time, there are more local Qatari companies coming up with newer brands and businesses”, he added.
“The Camels Back products are getting popular and the brand will soon be able to establish itself as a distinct product,” he said.
Delight in nutritious local made camel milk productsPearly white, with hint of saltiness and
immediately vitalising, Camel’s
milk contains five times the vitamin C
of cow’s milk with stratospheric
levels of immune boosters, plus high
concentrations of vitamins B and D.
EXPANSION: Ghanim al-Mohannadi plans on expanding the company, with a major focus on shopping malls.
CAFE: 'Camels Back' is selling their products at Summer Entertainment City.
ASSORTED: 'Camels Back' off ers assorted flavours of camel milk ice cream.
