ASPIRE - An Entrepreneur and Lifestyle Magazine - April 2022 by ASPIRE Business and Lifestyle Magazine

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APR 2022 ISSUE 18 aspiremagz.com —

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Web 3.0

Discover the next stage of the web evolution

TOP CROP OF THE FUTURE

KVG Group CEO, Jazman Shahar Abdollah, raises the curtain on the promising new agro-commodity with a multi-billion-dollar future

Dress Up Your Walls

Styling tips to decorate your walls to go from plain to pretty

Tariq Chauhan

‘Top 100 CEOs’ awardee, on his employee-centric policies at EFS

Geetanjali Mehra

World’s first Astro-Image Consultant aligns your stars for a dream wedding

Metaverse of Madness

Digging deeper into the zenith of social technology

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Inside 20 www.aspiremagz.com

Kenaf Top Crop of the Future

An exclusive interview with the Group CEO of Kenaf Venture Global, Jazman Shahar Abdollah on the new agro-commodity ‘Kenaf ’. This wonder-crop is set to revolutionize the real-estate by making quick modular homes a reality with a promising future for sustainability

05 Bulletin Bytes

Interesting news from around the world!

08 The Age of the Influencer

What makes social media influencers the marketing choice for brands

12 Web 3.0 – the new name of the game!

Discover how Web 3.0, next stage of the web evolution, going to change the internet of our present 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

INSIDE 16 The UNderlying Question

Is the UN truly effective when it comes to a tussle of power between nations?

18 Events

Regional events in the region

26 A Starry Knot

Meet Geetanjali Mehra, the only astro-image consultant helping you align the stars for a dream wedding

28 A Clean Sweep

Tariq Chauhan, CEO of EFS, on his employeecentric policies that earned him the Forbes Middle East ‘Top 100 CEOs’ award

30 Dare to Dazzle

Lynette Lobo, serial entrepreneur and fashion icon, speaks to us on her ‘Dazzle’ empire

32 Boss-Bytes

In conversation with Ramez Helou, Founder of ‘The Academy for Sales Excellence’, and Anul Mundra, Founder of ‘Indian Expats in Dubai’

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34 Metaverse of Madness

The zenith of social technology or total rejection of reality? Digging a little deeper into the Metaverse and the future it offers

38 Declutter: Let Go to Grow

Here are three tools to help you declutter your life to progress and move ahead

40 Upwards and Onwards

As a startup CEO, following trends and innovating can prove to be the differentiating factor between success and failure

42 Power of Constant Learning

Inculcate these habits for a learner’s mindset to constantly evolve for the better

44 A Labor of Love

Inder Bhagnani’s ‘Feed-A-Labour’ mission completes 8 years supporting laborers in the UAE

PUBLISHER

Sumeet Gupta E: sumeet@aspiremagz.com CHIEF EDITOR

Shagufta Patel E: editor@aspiremagz.com

46 Flying high in Hamamatsu

Take a trip to Japan for the Hamamatsu Kite festival and on a soaring journey of all this town offers

50 ‘Screening’ Your Screen Time

Here are 4 ways to deal with screen exposure and detach from screen addiction

52 Functional Beauty

Experience infinite luxury and comfort with Infiniti QX60, the 2022 SUV that goes beyond the genre

54 8 Ways to Dress Up Your Walls

Tips to decorate your walls to go from plain to pretty and never go out of style

58 Aspire+

What must you Watch / Read / Do this month to keep you effortlessly in the loop beyond business

60 A ‘Real’ Privilege

Uncover what is that which is the true privilege of your lifetime

CONSULTING EDITOR

Sangeetha Shinde Tee JUNIOR EDITORIAL MANAGER

Qiraat Attar EDITORIAL

Pallavi Biju Clarilda Sharon Sreeram Vishvanath Misbaah Mansuri EDITORIAL INTERN

S Deepika PRODUCTION

The Purple Stroke M: +971 508 498820

Business Bay, Dubai, United Arab Emirates W: thepurplestroke.com

Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the persmission of The Purple Stroke FZE LLC. All the information carried herein is checked and verified to the best of our knowledge and abilities. In matters of views expressed and opinions held, it is solely that of the authors and contributors themselves. The editorial or publisher or ASPIRE cannot be held responsible for unintended errors and oversights if any.

Email: hello@aspiremagz.com 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Editor's note

y inbox is flooded daily with news, information, snippets, offers, inspirational stuff, the likes. Not every day an article lights me up and moves me like the one I recently read on Pravin Tambe. 30 years of holding on to a dream. 30 years of not giving up. 30 years of working diligently on the thing he loved the most, completely uncertain of its outcome. A profession where people retire at an age when he made his cricketing debut. His progressing age (and the past trend) did not deter him from believing that anything is possible as long as he is on the path that brings him the most joy. ‘Kaun Pravin Tambe’, a biographical sports drama premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on 1st April 2022. Not even the most successful cricket stars have a movie made on their life. Only goes to show that more the trials, sweeter is the success. The Universe does love a stubborn heart. So, if you are, for whatever reason, having the slightest thought of backing out of whatever it is that you truly desire… this could be your message to continue on your path. Because:

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No Dream is Too Big, No Idea Too Small Take for instance the simple, yet mighty ‘Kenaf ’. CEO of Kenaf Global Ventures, Jazman Shahar Abdollah, shares his vision for a sustainable future with this revolutionary agro-commodity. Geetanjali Mehra, the world’s first Astro-Image Consultant, married her love for astrology with her passion for fashion and lifestyle; Tariq Chauhan, CEO of EFS, earned the Forbes Middle East ‘Top 100 CEOs’ award centered around his employee-centric policies; Lynette Lobo, serial entrepreneur and fashion icon, built her ‘Dazzle’ empire; Ramez Helou, Founder of ‘The Academy for Sales Excellence’, and Anul Mundra, Founder of ‘Indian Expats in Dubai’ – all had an idea and big dreams. Influencers ruling the roost

(Trending), the internet in its new avatar Web 3.0 (Tech), the Universe of Metaverse (Feature), the Infinity QX60 (Auto), ways to dress up your walls (Style), or the giant-sized kites (Travel). It all began with a simple idea. And then there are ideas to grow the ideas like decluttering, innovating, and learning to evolve (ProTalk). All said and done, the cherry on the cake would be to uncover what is that which is the true privilege of your lifetime (The Last Word). Got an idea? Got a dream? Go give it wings. 

Bulletin

Carrefour and Daphni join hands to invest in tech start-ups Europe’s largest food retailer Carrefour and European venture capital firm Daphni have partnered to launch a new fund to invest in early-stage digital tech start-ups. The new venture capital fund, called Dastore, is reported to initially invest $88 million in emerging start-ups by taking up minority stakes. This move allows Carrefour to speed up its digital transformation while at the same time helping early-stage companies to grow faster. Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour Group’s Executive Director of E-commerce, Date and Digital Transformation, said, “Launching this venture capital vehicle is a huge milestone in our innovation strategy and illustrates our willingness to develop further the links we have with the startup ecosystem. Therefore, we have opted for an unprecedented investment fund model in the retail space and are delighted to start this adventure alongside seasoned and well-known investors such as Daphni.” Dastore further strengthens Carrefour’s innovation ecosystem, allowing it to anticipate disrup-

tions better and identify future leaders and winning models. The newly launched company will be served by a dedicated team, which will contain experts from both Carrefour and Daphni. Along with the financial investment, Carrefour will also provide the startups with operational support and business acceleration and be able to open up a new gateway to access clients, data insights, local and international markets, and other valuable resources that will help accelerate their growth. Daphni reported that the investment in Dastore will pivot around business areas closely related to Carrefour’s digital strategy priorities like the digital tools, data, and new e-commerce businesses for retail and supply chain operations and financial services. Dastore’s launch is the latest one in Carrefour’s series of investments in the last 12 months as part of its plans to stay ahead of Amazon as a digital retail company. Recently, the retailer pledged to spend €3 billion between 2022 and 2026 to step up digital expansion.

The new venture capital fund, called Dastore, is reported to initially invest $88 million in emerging start-ups by taking up minority stakes

2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Bulletin

RSA middle east to be fully acquired by Ominvest’s subsidiary firm, NLGIC

Royal Sun Alliance Insurance (RSA) Middle East is set to be fully acquired by Oman International Development and Investment Company’s (Ominvest) subsidiary firm, Gulf insurer National Life and General Insurance Company (NLGIC). In a disclosure, NLGIC announced that it would be acquiring RSA Middle East from Sun Alliance Insurance Overseas (SAIO), RSA Middle East’s fully owned subsidiary. NLGIC will exchange the remaining Saudi shares for new shares that it will issue in the future, making the Saudi shareholders collectively the second-largest Shareholders in NLGIC after Ominvest. Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, Chairman of Ominvest and NLGIC, described Ominvest’s philosophy as, “Our investment philosophy at Ominvest has always been to support and enable our portfolio companies to thrive and grow. Ominvest has a strong track record of building businesses in the insurance sector. NLGIC’s success is attributable to the

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significant capital injection from Ominvest, prudent oversight by its Board, and smart business strategies implemented by the management. We endeavor to identify, screen, and capitalize on growth opportunities that would

“This transaction will bring foreign direct investment to Omanbased NLGIC, and we look forward to a brighter and stronger future for our insurance business across the region,”

Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, Chairman of Ominvest and NLGIC

create value for all stakeholders.” “This transaction will bring foreign direct investment to Oman-based NLGIC, and we look forward to a brighter and stronger future for our insurance business across the region,” he added. The transaction will help NLGIC grow by optimizing operations in the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates

while gaining access to a larger market in Saudi Arabia, thanks to RSA Middle East’s strong customer base and solid business track record in the region. RSA Middle East Chairman Adnan Bogary said on behalf of the shareholders, “This strategic agreement will foster a strong partnership between NLGIC and our RSA Middle East shareholders and pave the way for developing a diversified portfolio and regional portfolio scale-up. We look forward to taking this business to new heights with our new partners.” The agreement will assist both companies in reaching new markets, pursuing top-line growth opportunities, reducing costs, cross-selling products, implementing cutting-edge technologies and innovations, and complementing each other’s regional business offerings, all of which will add tremendous value to customers and fuel business growth. Following the necessary clearances, the transaction is expected to be finalized quickly.

With AED 315 billion worth of offers, DEWA’s IPO becomes the largest listing in the region

UAE Global Foodtech challenge to award USD 2 million as challenge prize The second edition of the UAE Global FoodTech Challenge, launched at EXPO 2020, will award $2M to four early-stage agri-tech startups who develop efficient and sustainable plans for the industry. The UAE has been importing 80-90% of its food, a strategy demonstrated to be unsustainable by the COVID-19 pandemic and has spurred the government to explore agricultural solutions to repair its land, decrease waste, and grow its food, giving rise to the challenge. The FoodTech Challenge is co-organized by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Tamkeen, an Abu Dhabi-based organization that collaborates with prominent local and international institutions to produce projects that improve the UAE's social, cultural, and educational landscape. The competition invites innovations related to two critical tracks: 'Food Production' to address the availability and abundance of food and explore progressive, nutrient-rich alternatives, and 'Food Loss and Waste' to ensure sustainability across the food supply chain and the planet more broadly. Aimed at early-stage start-ups ranging from international university-based research teams to individual entrepreneurs and small firms, the winners of the competition will be granted an opportunity to scale up their business model within the UAE, with R&D, start-up acceleration, commercial incentives, and mentorship to take winning innovations from the lab to the market. Applications are being accepted worldwide, focusing on countries with a high concentration of agri-tech.

The initial public offering (IPO) of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has been heavily subscribed, with offers totaling Dh315 billion. The IPO is now the largest in the Middle East and Europe since the beginning of 2022, with 9 billion shares valued at Dh22.3 billion. A total of nine billion ordinary shares were offered, representing 18% of Dewa’s issued share capital. This comprises about Dh13.8 billion in pledges from cornerstone and strategic investors. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance, said the IPO saw the participation of international sovereign and private funds and 65,000 individual investors. He also asserted that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, has succeeded in creating the most active, varied, and distinctive economy in the world, which is now reaping worldwide confidence and long-term growth in all sectors. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Dewa, commented, “We are delighted to have seen incredibly strong demand for Dewa shares from local and international investors. This level of interest is not only indicative of Dewa’s status as a world-class provider of utilities but also underlines the attractiveness of Dubai as a global capital market.” The Government of Dubai will continue to own 82% of Dewa’s share capital after the IPO is completed.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Trending

The Age of the Influencer

Influencers, from the upcoming to the humongous, have taken on advertising for brands in a big way, and there’s money to be made all around. Qiraat Attar explores the trend of influencer marketing

ho could have imagined that when we started writing ‘What’s on your mind?’ on Facebook walls, or put pictures of a pretty sunset on the beach on Instagram, that it would lead us here. Your parents may have scolded you for spending too much time on social media, but the platforms have turned into legitimate workplaces and veritable sources of income for the hottest new trend conflating entertainment with advertising – influencer marketing. As we all know them to be, an influencer is a social media personality who establishes a niche in their skill area or domain – fashion, beauty, décor, dance, acting, comedy, the list is endless – on the basis of which they amass followers. While the origins are ambiguous, influencers have risen to online celebrityhood – with all the same perks that movie stars or music artists enjoy – creative expression, fans, humongous reach, and brand deals.

UNIQUELY LIKE US Influencers distinguish themselves from typical celebs in three significant ways – authenticity, relatability, and accessibility. Several influencers do not look like traditional celebs. The thin, attractive archetype is cast out to make room for faces and bodies that look like ours. Barring a few disingenuous voices, most influencers show life in all its imperfections – messy homes, disabilities and their limitations, eating disorders, heartbreak - revealing their failures as much as their successes and establishing an influencer as a trustworthy person, closer to us than the shining, faraway star of a celebrity.

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As per Statista influencers creating sponsored posts on Instagram

31% - Ages 18 & 24 1% - over 50 years old 50% - Ages of 25 and 34 Influencers also don’t care about taboos – topics like self-care, mental health, personal hygiene (like sanitary pads and tampons), makeup for all sexes, do not feature on the no-no list for them. Their nature of endorsement varies completely from what was served on TV or radio in a bygone era. Instead of a monotone, upbeat drivel about the brand being the best thing since sliced bread, influencers play on their strengths – creative freedom, self-scripted material, relatable jokes, and even the internet’s lack of censorship. Influencers do not have the liberty of shying away from tactics that typical celebrities won’t be caught dead doing – trying the product on, providing details ‘how to’ videos or DIY hacks with the product, or affiliating with multiple brands. Given their age group, influencers rely heavily on relatability. As per Statista, 31 percent of influencers creating sponsored posts on Instagram were between the ages of 18 and 24, and over 50 percent between 25 and 34. Less than 1 percent is over 50 years old. Since their audience throng in millions on social media, where the feedback is immediate and unfiltered, their attempts at marketing can be unobtrusive and yet, persistent and continuous. Mae Karwowski from Influencer Marketing agency ‘Obviously’ nails it when he explains, “During the pandemic, many brands were left struggling to get enough of the visual assets they needed from their traditional creative agency partners. Enter the influencer, who was able to fill the gap with professional, engaging, and beautiful content that could be used across a marketing mix at a fraction of the price. As a result, we’ve seen a marked uptick in brands hiring influencers to create content, and we expect this to grow.”

BREAKING THE STATUS QUO Instead of putting all their eggs in one basket, brands employ multiple influencers each time they want to

Most influencers show life in all its imperfections – messy homes, disabilities and their limitations, eating disorders, heartbreak - revealing their failures as much as their successes 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Trending market a new product. A single influencer has a small but sizable reach, with whom they are involved on a very personal level, which brands leverage. Since influencers are adept at creating their own content, complete with storyline, editing, styling, transitions, etc., brands experience a reduced pressure on themselves or their teams to provide these resources. This especially works for smaller brands that cannot afford celebrities, run huge print advertisements or have massive advertising budgets. Brands use influencer marketing to increase brand awareness, which in turn bumps up sales. However, a thorough understanding of your pain points and strategies to adopt is crucial. The following questions help in this exploration: • Do you want to expand your customer base to a younger demographic? 4 Influencer • Do you want to touch upon a new user marketing-related group with your new launch? companies grew • Do you want to go beyond fleeting trends by 26% in 2021 to to highlight your brand values? 18,900 in numbers Domains or platforms play an equally worldwide. important role for an effective strategy. For instance, Instagram and YouTube are 4 While Instagram a haven for fashion and beauty content, influencer marketing while the video game industry dominates is a well-known on Twitch.

Stats

strategy, other networks like Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok have their own set of influencers with different demographics.

4 Of those surveyed, 89% said ROI from influencer marketing was comparable to or better than other networks. 4 Most influencers in social networks have millions of viewers, including more than 2.5 billion followers of Instagram’s 50 most followed influencers. 4 Of Millennials and Gen Z audiences, 85% of them are highly open to information about specific products via social platforms. 10

ACKNOWLEDGING CHANGE Traditional advertising is rapidly being made obsolete. With newspapers fazing out, and all modes of news and entertainment going digital, the old formats of print and video ads simply don’t work anymore. When was the last time you sat through an ad without looking for the ‘Skip Ad’ button? Ads go where the customers are, and today, that platform is social media, especially prominent ones like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Since influencers dominate the space, it is only natural that brands start betting on these creators to sell the products to their niche clientele, where both parties benefit. In a sense, this works out swimmingly for brands – instead of long term associations, they can associate with multiple influencers on a strictly product-based schedule or simply for a certain number of posts, videos, or blog articles. Thus, established brands such as Dior, ABSOLUT, Pepsi, Dunkin’ Donuts and newly launched ones such as Mama Earth, Nykaa and others freely use influencers to advance brand awareness and sales. Other aspects are an icing on the cake – short ads for dwindling attention spans,

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low production costs, no creatives or experts needed apart from the influencer, and no location hassles.

THE INFLUENCER’S PERSPECTIVE For most influencers, the buck does not stop at social media. They aren’t just about giving makeup tips or tech ideas or styling a sweater five ways. Eventually, they aspire to a more everlasting recognition, raise money for self-started business, or move to singing or acting careers. In the Indian space, for instance, many influencers like Kusha Kapila or Ankush Bahuguna have embarked on successful careers outside of social media. In this journey, apart from amassing followers and establishing a close relationship with them, marketing products and endorsements is a primary chunk of how influencers earn money online. Hence,

Established brands such as Dior, ABSOLUT, Pepsi, Dunkin’ Donuts and newly launched ones such as Mama Earth, Nykaa and others freely use influencers to advance brand awareness and sales good and lasting brand endorsements are essential to their survival. Most influencers burst into fame because of their specific expertise in one particular domain. That credibility is, in fact, singularly built through their connection with their fans. Pooja Gosalia (@thepoojasblog on Instagram), a passionate early childhood educator and influencer explains why they have been able to strike a chord. “Brands reach out for collaboration with a brief containing some basic guidelines and description

genuine and credible with the information they give out and the products they endorse. Studies show that 75% of YouTube’s viewers are drawn to the bevy of genuine, reliable, and relatable people on the platform. Seventy percent of adolescent subscribers are more likely to connect with influencers than traditional celebrities. And 60 percent of users confirm that they prefer the reviews of their favorite YouTubers to mainstream TV and movie stars.

WORK IN PROGRESS One con that has potential repercussions is that the products have to be highly customer-centric, people-centric, or even ‘fun’, instead of utilitarian commodities. New age strategies typically favor newage brands and concepts, such as crypto trading apps, sustainable or high-end ‘viral’ makeup prod-

of their product. The most important part of the brief is endorse honestly, only if you have enjoyed it. This is what keeps it authentic.” However, these talented creators have their concerns. As TV presenter, emcee and influencer Priya Jethani (@priyajethani on Instagram) explains, “The brands that hire us expect an immediate conversion of sale, forgetting that influencer marketing is a tool similar to traditional forms of advertising where the primary goal should be to make consumers aware of the product or service and the brand. Sales will follow but they’re not necessarily immediate, especially when the product is expensive. Brands need to set their expectations accordingly.”

“Brands reach out for collaboration with a brief containing some basic guidelines and description of their product. The most important part of the brief is endorse honestly, only if you have enjoyed it. This is what keeps it authentic.” —POOJA GOSALIA The brands that hire us expect an immediate conversion of sale, forgetting that influencer marketing is a tool similar to traditional forms of advertising where the primary goal should be to make consumers aware of the product or service and the brand” —PRIYA JETHANI

THE TRUST FACTOR The greatest thing about why influencer marketing has hit the nail on the head is – the ads don’t feel like ads anymore. Instead, they sound like a glowing product or service recommendation from someone whose life runs the same trajectory as yours, from the same age bracket, bingeing ‘Bridgerton’ and with acne problems, or looking for brands with affordable yet in-vogue clothing. This ‘relatability’ factor, which was altogether absent when a star or celebrity-endorsed the product, is rectified with influencer marketing. Endorsements from influencers feel ‘tried and tested’, which contributes hugely to customers deciding to give it a shot. “The customers are also able to reach out to us and ask questions about the product or service and get their answers which seem more genuine than a company personnel that may seem to oversell,” says Priya Jethani. Both Pooja and Priya are also of the opinion that maintaining trust is THE most important requirement to connect with their audience. And this is very easy to do so if they are

ucts, diet snacks or trendy meal plans, dating apps, clothing, footwear, and other accessory brands. The nature of ads and the products they advertise are married to each other. Old-timey vintage print ads could not advertise an iPhone effectively, and new-age influencers can’t exactly sell life insurance with their excitable and pithy style. As we evolve into a world of convenience, with luxury being thrust upon us whether we like it or not, the kind of products and services that will come around make influencers more and more valuable. The bottom line – the scale of the world has increased, but we’re simultaneously getting smaller, more concise, more personal, and more individualistic. Smaller, self-funded businesses are taking center stage, looking to break even but leave an impact with innovative products and brand strategies. Influencers, already providing intriguing returns and engagement, will take over as the vehicles of experimentation with a brand-new kind of brand marketing, and we are here for it.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Tech love

THE CYBER LEAP

THE NEXT STAGE OF THE WEB EVOLUTION – WEB 3.0 WILL ALLOW THE INTERNET TO PROCESS INFORMATION WITH NEAR-HUMAN-LIKE INTELLIGENCE. CLARILDA SHARON EXPLAINS HOW THE NEXT ITERATION REPRESENTS AN EPIC PARADIGM SHIFT

e’ve lived through the era of the initiation of the internet, with clunky, text-filled websites and dreadfully slow loading speeds. It’s a far cry from the internet we enjoy today, mobile-accessible, with apps for everything you can imagine and then some, all the information and entertainment at our fingertips. Well, it’s about to get better. The third wave of the internet, called Web 3.0, is slowly taking over the internet. This latest technology leverages Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and blockchain to attain real-world human communication built around the ethos of value decentralization, trust minimization, and permissionless-ness. With it, one can seamlessly locomote between platforms without needing to have an account for each social media platform, which means the era of trading your information to attain free access to the internet is essentially over. The third iteration of the web puts more control over web content in your hands, allowing you to

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own your data. The advancements of Web 3.0 will propel the internet to new heights, making it smarter and our lives easier. And to appreciate these paradigm-shifting features, one must examine the evolution of the web.

How we started vs. how it’s going

It was in the early 1990s when dotcom boomed and the first phase of the World Wide Web (WWW) or Web 1.0 enabled easy access to information. However, users were charged per page viewed, online directories pointed content to the consumers, and the information was largely disorganized and difficult to navigate. Moreover, the content was hosted on either web servers run by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or free web servers, with most of it

Web 3.0 could be perfectly integrated with the virtual universe – Metaverse, allowing 3D designs of websites, adding IoT devices in its periphery, and enabling faster validation and delivery of information

offered only in the form of static web pages. Google and MSN entered with Web 2.0 in the late1990s (around 1998) and brought the era of simpler exchange of information with others over the internet. Using algorithms like page rank, they helped in ranking search results based on popularity with information that was sorted and presented in an organized manner. Due to its ease, Web 2.0 gradually democratized, with more content creators coming online, making the internet more social. The audience was allowed to interact with creators, leading to the creation of social media in its nascent form that encouraged networking, with a massive volume of content and data that were being regularly modified based on user feedback, which has evolved into the hyperconnected social media like Instagram, Twitter,

and LinkedIn that we see today. Webpages evolved, more blogs came up, communication between website owners and customers improved, and the internet became social as the flow of information became freer.

Say hello to the internet of the future!

From all this, it may seem like the golden age of innovation on the internet has already passed us by. But it isn’t so. The next version of the internet - Web 3.0, is in the works to take us to the next level. The arrival of Bitcoin set the stage for web 3.0, with blockchain placing the foundation for it, especially in how it transforms data structures in the backend of the web. From a technical perspective, Web 3.0 is a collection of blockchain-based protocols focused on changing the backend wiring 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Tech love

of the internet. If you have a web 3.0, blockchain-powered internet, that enables people to share copies of the code and the data across multiple computers where it can’t be manipulated. This brings the element of decentralization, which experts call trust minimization – where you trust the decentralization protocol, not the owners of the websites like we do today. Of course, web 3.0 is more than the initial use case of cryptocurrencies. With efficient machine learning algorithms, it will cryptographically connect data from individuals, corporations, and machines, ushering the rise of new markets and associated human-centric business models with highly personalized interaction. Web 3.0 could be perfectly integrated with the virtual universe – Metaverse, allowing 3D designs of websites, adding IoT devices in its periphery, and enabling faster validation and delivery of information. And with the infusion of Artificial Intelligence, the internet will evolve more intelligently to satisfy the needs of users. The web will know each user and will adapt to every person by analyzing the data and personalizing the results, so instead of getting thousands of suggestions when you start to type in a search query, you will get personalized suggestions tailored to you and

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Web 3.0 is a collection of blockchainbased protocols focused on changing the backend wiring of the internet your online life. The semantic web will aid in the online data network by linking additional data and allowing users to keep their data and share as little as possible. Most importantly, blockchain supported the development of a governance layer running over the existing internet layer that can now allow two unknown people to reach agreements and settle transactions over the internet. Web 3.0’s development aims to create a system closer to people with semantics, intelligent programs, and AI assistance. Though it is rapidly advancing, its sustainability is still under progress. According to Tracxn, there are 7472 Web 3.0 companies globally. Companies have not begun to move towards web 3.0 in large numbers, but the shift has begun. DECENTERNET is a Hong Kong-based company that offers a Web 3.0 browser. Osiris, the company’s net-neutral browser, makes use of blockchain technology to provide a seamless and efficient Web 3.0 infrastructure. It improves browsing speed,

removes intrusive ads, includes an in-built VPN, and does not track user activity across the web. Through a decentralized video calling framework, the organization Huddle01’s offerings focus on reducing the latency of connectivity in video conferences. The company aspires to be a forerunner in bringing Web 3.0 into real-time communications. It believes that everyone should have their own digital space where they can express themselves freely.

Enriching lives

The most impressive evolution enabled by Web 3.0 is the minimization of the trust required for coordination on a global scale, allowing people, machines, and businesses to trade value, information and work with global counterparties without an intermediary and returning the value directly to the users and suppliers in a network. Furthermore, users can own data & digital footprints by using tokenized digital assets and provable digital scarcity of data. This shift will enable a whole new wave of previously unimaginable businesses and business models - from global co-operatives to self-sovereign data marketplaces and decentralized autonomous organizations. Additionally, web 3.0 will avoid the risk of internet hacking while ensuring data security and privacy. It is no surprise that web 2.0 did not foster confidence in creating cryptocurrencies. With that portion of the internet still heavily reliant on collecting your information in exchange for free service, would you really trust such a system with your money? Of course not! Blockchain not only created the universe for cryptocurrency, it also ushered in the complete era of decentralization that web 3.0 hinges itself on. Thus, you don’t need permission to get on a decentralized exchange or a deck to trade. Neither do you have to provide your identity information, which essentially retains more of your privacy, something we had unthinkingly given up in web 2.0.

Room for improvement

It is proposed that the decentralized version of the internet has no restrictions whatsoever when it comes to publishing content. This, however, comes with its drawbacks. It is a double-edged sword, which has the sinister possibility of snowballing already distressing issues of fake news or hate speech in a way that we haven’t even begun to comprehend. Web 3.0 is a massive linked network. Though this is one of its advantages, it could hamper privacy differently than is threatened in the existing system, as access to one’s personal and political data is made easier. According to some experts, decentralization may make it more difficult to

S TAT S • The first concept related to web 3.0 came from BernersLee in 1999 as the ‘semantic web.’ • The web 3.0 denomination appeared for the first time in 2006 • According to a late 2019 study conducted by Pew Research, 81% of US adults continue to believe they have little to no control over the data collected. • AI is expected to contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. • 52% of experts believe blockchain will be essential to verifying customer identity in the future • There are 7472 Web 3.0 companies globally, according to Tracxn

oversee and regulate Web 3.0 and might lead to an increase in cybercrime and online abuse. Infrastructurally, web 3.0 will necessitate faster CPUs and will be incompatible with older devices. As a result, one will need an above-average gadget to utilize the future version of the internet as it will be inaccessible to less advanced gadgets and the ones that own existing websites will have to modernize. One of Web 3.0’s key aims is to create more intelligent, linked, and open websites. It is expected to completely change the way people interact with websites and how they are created. It is clear that we are moving in a still unknown system, and there is no clear definition of Web 3.0 as it has still not been implemented. But if we analyze the transition and development of the first two versions, it will take at least as long as ten years, if not more, to thoroughly execute and transform the web using Web 3.0. Nonetheless, it could take a shorter period to gain a foothold given the rapid development of the technologies on which web 3.0 will be based.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Opinion

The UNderlying question Since its formation, the United Nations has been touted as instrumental in solving global conflicts. However, recent global conflicts have evoked sharp rebuke for this organization. S. Deepika asks, is the UN truly effective when it comes to a tussle of power between nations?

he United Nations is the global platform to foster understanding and cooperation between nations and initiate coordinated action on issues that transcend national borders. From the refugee crises to climate change to the devastating global pandemic, the organization works globally to protect basic human rights, promote sustainable development, and strengthen the collective message of peace. The world today bears witness to the horrors in Ukraine, owing to Russian aggression headed by Vladimir Putin. US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield declared to the assembly, “If the United Nations has any purpose, it is to prevent war, condemn war, and stop the war.” In the race against time, it became apparent that the United Nations had been reduced to a rubber stamp. As the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, and others took to the stage calling for Putin to pursue diplomacy, journalists witnessed Russia’s president on state television announced that his military operation had already begun. The UN’s actions fell miles short of curbing the brutal crisis in Ukraine. Historically, however, the UN has not been entirely bereft of power. During the Korean War, the UN foresaw that P-5 members might not be able to act cohesively during a conflict, for veto power will render actions redundant. On 27 February 1950, the Council passed a procedural resolution – with eleven out of fourteen votes - requesting the General Assembly to meet in line with the long-established but rarely used “Uniting for Peace” formula. The following June, the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 83 decided to provide assistance to South Korea to disarm the attack and restore peace on the Korean Peninsula after condemning North Korean actions as a breach of peace. The UN’s civil arm, UN Civil Assistance Command (UNCACK), supervised the distribution and utilization of more than $450 million in relief assistance from 33 UN member nations, effectively rehabilitating millions before operations ceased in September 1953.

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Opinion Divided Nations?

The UN is at its most effective at international law when its member states on the Security Council can openly agree on an issue and deploy the human, physical, and security resources needed to address such a conflict. However, when the political agreement is fractured, or a country indiscriminately wields veto power, the UN fails to deliver, as is evident with Russia’s egocentric dealings. Regardless, it remains a powerful and active forum for member states to assert their political position. As the situation in Ukraine worsened, the USA supported the Council’s resolution, knowing that it would be vetoed. The debates revealed the principles of nations, isolating Russia’s brutality against the world’s insistent call for a ceasefire. While there lies power and influence in the UN’s operation, it is still both a stage and an actor. It remains a stage for its member states to publicize and discuss their differences and celebrate their convergences, and courtesy of its Secretary-General arm and other peace-keeping forces, it plays an executive role to take specific actions based on the positions held by a member state.

Together for peace

Beyond war, the United Nations upholds the responsibility of tackling global crises such as poverty, nutrition, water shortages, and even pandemics. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations has been proactive and comprehensive in its approach to the outbreak, dispensing reliable information when things got chaotic and misinformation threatened lives. Their concerted global health response aided countries through the endowment of life-saving humanitarian assistance to the world’s most vulnerable communities, helped form policies and administrative guidelines to encourage strategic guidance, and thus mitigate the impact of a pandemic that could have potentially hit biblical proportions. Therefore, while its response to conflict often raises questions of will and competence, one can chalk that up to the way countries with defence power and economy wield control in the body. Overall, the UN’s role cannot be denigrated when it comes to non-military global crises, and thus, the governing body remains relevant, if not as a strong decision-maker, but as a coordinator and guide when nations need to unite against unforeseen challenges. J

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Events

Regional happenings on the horizon ITIC MENA Conference The 2-day International Travel and Health Insurance Conference will be taking place from 8 - 10 May at The Oberoi, Dubai. The event is aimed at the global travel insurance industry operating in the ever-growing and dynamic the Middle East and North African marketplace. Through this event, attendees can expect to gain valuable local knowledge on how to grow businesses in the region, network with clients and suppliers worldwide, connect with other attendees and create global partnerships. The event will have an ‘Industry Debate’ session where industry experts bring their wisdom to the floor and engage with their business peers while participating in an engaging debate session. The event is sponsored by Alpha Star, Connex, New Frontier Group, Global Excel, and other renowned names, while ITIJ plays the role of the event’s media partner. With over 15 speakers and a sensational pre-conference event with the theme of ‘Welcome to the desert’, the ITIC MENA’s 1st annual conference promises to deliver an unforgettable conference brimming

with knowledge and networking opportunities. Tickets reserved in Advance cost only USD 1500, while the Full Price tickets cost USD 2000. Registrations are now open on the official website.

World Utilities Congress Hosted by TAQA, the World Utilities Congress is the best and most well-known platform exploring the latest products, innovations, and technological advances across the power and utility industry. Thanks to the growing demand for energy services, a new energy ecosystem is emerging. As a result, during the next decade, multibillion-dollar investment opportunities will be available in the power and utility industry. The event, which will be held from 9 - 11 May at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), brings together leaders in the power and water industries to provide insights on creating durable low-carbon business models with a digitally agile operation. With over 10,000 power and utility attendees, 120+ exhibiting companies and 1,000+ conference delegates, the World Utilities Congress will cover the core sectors of Generation, Distribution, Water, and Utilities. The star of the show, The Hydrogen Theatre, is a dedicated area on the exhibition floor that will discuss the extensive development and progress that has been made in this integral industry and regarding hydrogen,

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a key energy carrier. In addition, high-level strategic and technical conferences will be held throughout the event to provide insights into how the energy transition can contribute to global transformation. Sponsored by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, visitor registration starts at $595. With the Early- Bird offer, which runs until 31st March, passes start at $495, and registrations are now open at the official website.

Telecoms World Middle East The meeting place for the best and brightest innovators and inventors in the region’s telecommunications industry, Telecoms World Middle East is the must-visit event for all things telecoms. The event, which is set to take place from 24 - 25 May at the Ritz- Carlton Dubai, showcases everything you need to know about the telecommunications and technology sector and its growth in the United Arab Emirates as well as abroad. The 2-day global conference will host over 80 speakers and will cover the latest trends, market disruptors, and technologies shaping the telecom industry. The biggest advantage of the live event is going to be the enormous networking opportunities, especially since the event offers a dedicated networking lounge, networking app, and guest buyer program. The speakers at the event include Masood M Sharif Mahamood, CEO of Etisalat, and Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO of du, along with a distinguished line-up of experts in the telecoms and technology industry. The conference will cover themes ranging from Data and Data Centres, Experiential Tech and Future CX to Digital Infrastructure, Sub Networks, Content Battlefield, Mainstream 5G, and many more

themes that shape the present and future of the sector. The event will also feature the Telecoms Awards, the blue-chip mark of success for the region’s telecoms sector. Registrations are now open on the official website and start at USD 1260.

The Hotel Show, Dubai Over the past 20 years, the Hotel Show Dubai has connected regional buyers with global suppliers and boasts thousands of serious buyers each year. The event provides an unrivaled opportunity for professionals in the hotel and hospitality sector to convene, connect and create businesses together. In addition to being the longest-running and most influential face-toface event in the Middle East, The Hotel Show Dubai gives you access to thousands of products from global and regional exhibitors and the most recent information on regional developments within the hospitality industry. Last year, the event helped over 5,000 people find new business opportunities and promises to source the right product for all their attendees. With Interactive and Immersive Features as well as exhibitors from across the hospitality sectors, it comes as

no doubt that the industry’s top thinkers will inspire attendees. In addition, the Hotel Show Dubai’s wide range of conferences and seminars provide an intriguing blend of learning, analysis, inter- industry debates, and more that will be a catalyst to innovation, creativity, and change to drive the hospitality community forward. The Hotel Show Dubai will take place from 24th to 26th May at the Dubai World Trade Centre and registrations are now open on the official website.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

COVER STORY

“Within a year, we project to have one billion dollars in revenue. We are looking at a roughly 5 billion dollars revenue even as a short-term projection, within the span of two to three, or a maximum of five years. 20

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Kenaf

COVER STORY

Top Crop of the Future

The humble Kenaf plant is poised to change the game for housing, automobile, and quick modular homes, a long-awaited reality. Qiraat Attar converses with the Group CEO of Kenaf Venture Global, Jazman Shahar Abdollah about this wonder crop and the future it promises

hen we caught up with Jazman Shahar Abdollah, Group CEO and co-founder of Kenaf Venture Global, he was gearing up to receive an award for CSR undertaken by the company for their work with the United Nations Office for Disaster and Risk Reduction, to rehabilitate refugees made homeless by the crisis of war in their homelands. As the conversation unfolds, Jazman reveals himself to be a humble man, a thorough businessman heralding the era of a crop so thoroughly utilitarian and sustainable that it may potentially change the way we approach housing, real estate, and a whole lot more. However, what sets him apart is his vision for the world and his sensibility, which represents a new class of leaders and entrepreneurs who look at business beyond the transactional.

ROOTED IN VERSATILIT Y

A versatile agro-commodity, Kenaf is the new commercial crop on the block, alongside the likes of rubber and palm oil, whose uses supersede its simple harvesting practice. The many applications of Kenaf in the building materials industry are a step in the direction of sustainable infrastructure.

Jazman explains how KVG is ahead of the curve. “The planting part is done exclusively by our team at KVG itself. After the harvest and the processing, we get the fibre and the core, which are the by-products. The core can produce the kenaf particle board, which is like plywood but is stronger, lighter, and cheaper. These are used to design and manufacture other commodities.” “The core yields the pulp and paper. From the paper, one can produce food trays and water filters, while the core produces building materials that are used for making homes.” Jazman is confident of Kenaf ’s immeasurable potential, which is yet to be fully utilized for the local agricultural development. More than just a crop, Kenaf can be turned into a commodity that can benefit the nation in various aspects of socioeconomic and national development.

HOMES, REVISITED

Modular homes have been envisioned for a long time, but the unmalleability and permanence of existing building materials relegated it to a pipe dream. Kenaf, however, could accelerate this dream, even bring it sharply into our present. Jazman’s excitement is palpable as he says, “We have one crazy idea. Wealthy people like to spend their money building houses, purchasing cars, and other avenues. Once 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

A versatile agrocommodity, Kenaf is the new commercial crop on the block, alongside the likes of rubber and palm oil, whose uses supersede its simple harvesting practice

they are bored, they may sell the car, but one thing that they cannot do is to simply abandon a house because that is comparatively difficult. So, what we can do is design a house made of kenaf building materials made to their preference, and six months or one year later, if they wish a change, we can dismantle it easily and on the same piece of land redesign an entirely new house. The design can change based on the weather or their idea and aesthetic. Imagine being able to redo homes, the way we opt for different clothes every Eid. With Kenaf, we can build homes as fast as they can be dismantled because it’s cheaper than regular construction by almost 30%. While constructing a house traditionally takes approximately six months, with Kenaf, we can do it in a shorter time, like two months.” Apart from the variety demanded by those living in the lap of luxury, Jazman is aware of the significant role Kenaf can play in the push for sustainability around the world. “Worldwide, people talk about constructing sustainable cities from scratch, where people only consume organic food or use bikes alone for transportation. But do you know the real culprit of the carbon emissions problem? It is the building material and the wastage that occurs when constructing these cities. When you use concrete and cement, that contributes to 40% of the carbon emission. With Kenaf, we can build the house within a day and there is no wastage of raw material. Furthermore, the homes we build can withstand extreme weather. Picture living in Qatar, or Dubai, where it can go up to 50-degree Celcius during summer and the opposite end of the spectrum in the winters. Kenaf is an insulator. It filters the weather from outside to inside, so the interiors will stay at normal room temperature regardless of whether it is hot or chilly outside. Thus, it can also be used in the automobile industry to be the insulator inside the vehicle for the roof

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 Jazman Shahar addressing keynote speech during the launch of KVG Group of Companies newly established holding company, ARCB Investment LLC, in Jumeirah Tower, Dubai UAE, recently.

and other extremities, which will keep the AC inside the car and not leak out. Finally, we are experimenting to see if the material could actually be bulletproof, which of course has a lot of safety uses.”

INVESTING IN A BETTER FUTURE

A company as visionary as KVG can thrive and go fullsteam ahead with the support of the right kind of investors who envision the same goals and do not believe in compromising them. As Jazman points out, “One of the sectors that people are investing in is something that is least affected by the pandemic, which is agriculture or rather, the agro-commodity industry. Kenaf is the third-largest agro-commodity in Malaysia. Just like rubber or palm oil, Kenaf is planted across thousands of hectares and utilized across a variety of applications and has been named as one of the important commodities in Malaysia.” He also expounds further on the nature of investors that KVG is excited to share its vision with. “Our fund size is 1 billion US dollars. There are three types of investors who can invest in this company — starting with retail investors, whose minimum investment size is 2.5 million dollars per person. The second level of investors is the sophisticated or institutional investor - this is what we call private placement. It can be a family, a business, or an organization. The size of investment that we are looking at is about a minimum of 10 million dollars. The biggest chunk of investment comes from a bank

COVER STORY

Jazman Shahar being featured as one of “Successful People in Malaysia” in Britishpedia Encyclopedia.

Jazman Shahar’s courtesy visit to the Consulate General of Malaysia Dubai Jazman Shahar together with the President and Co-Founder of KVG, Azman Ahmad signed Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with several parties such as United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Indonesia Government BAPPENAS and International Universities from United Kingdom and Germany

or a bond, which in Islamic terms is called suku. We are currently working to acquire that; talking to some prominent families here in the UAE and Qatar. The size of the investment is between 50 to 100 million dollars.” Despite the agro-business being relatively new to the UAE market, Jazman is confident about drawing valuable investors to partner up with them because of the results that KVG guarantees. “We offer a very lucrative return to the investors since this is the agro-commodity business. Moreover, since we have the right fund size, these kinds of huge returns are something that only this business can offer.” KVG’s business setup also aids them in maximizing their margins. They start with the upstream portion of the business, where they plant the Kenaf themselves. This feeds into the processing unit to obtain fibre and core, forming the midstream business. In the final step, they utilize the investment to move downstream, creating and designing their own final product. As Jazman explains, having all three levels under KVG’s ambit allows them to control every aspect more effectively, minimize waste and losses and increase revenue. Such a system proves immensely beneficial to investors. Without a hint of hyperbole, Jazman discusses their

projected revenue. “Within a year, we project to have one billion dollars in revenue. We are looking at a roughly 5 billion dollars revenue even as a short-term projection, within the span of two to three, or a maximum of five years. The subsequent projections will go higher than that.” Beyond business, KVG is also looking at creating more job opportunities through further establishment, allowing more people to have the opportunity towards a superior quality of life. In addition, they also aspire to be the nucleus of the national economic income of Malaysia in the near future. Hence, KVG does not only aim to generate tangible production and revenue but also to produce intangible revenue to serve the development of mankind and environmental health restoration. With the pandemic receding, investors are looking to place their trust and money in reputable businesses. He makes a strong case for why agro-commodity ventures,

“We offer a very lucrative return to the investors since this is the agro-commodity business. Moreover, since we have the right fund size, these kinds of huge returns are something that only this business can offer” 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

COVER STORY

Partnership launch between ARCB Investment LLC, represented by the President, Jazman Shahar Abdollah together with UNDRR, represented by the UNDRR Ambassador, Dr Mahmoud Alburai, on working towards achieving the SDG goals

Jazman Shahar together with Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin, the Minister of Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia during KVG signing MOU

KVG international roadtour which kickstarted in the middle east market has witnessed various collaboration initiatives to promote kenaf and its sustainable technology for industrial use at global platform

especially Kenaf, might be investors’ best bet. “Kenaf needs only 100 days to harvest, which means investors don’t have to wait years for the returns. That’s beneficial because these days, with the state of the world in jeopardy and wars that rage without warning, businesses are worried about their investment. But with Kenaf, you plant the crop and three months down the road, we have the harvest. And you can see that in income ready from there. Having secured investment, we are determined that we want to go full-steam ahead with the harvest and production and guarantee our investors that they will get their share of the returns.”

THE DUBAI CONNECTION

Through the establishment of Ar Rizq Capital Berhad Investment LLC, KVG’s investment holding company, it has been able to venture into the development even further, opening the door of opportunities to stakeholders from all levels. The stakeholders include traders, collaborators, business partners, and workers. Ultimately, ARCB is the

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platform for the company to explore the vast market for Kenaf and its products at an extended level. The exploration anticipates the involvement of stakeholders from different backgrounds of industries and nationalities. The enormous participation of stakeholders can expedite the achievement of sustainability in the targeted sectors. “We foresee Dubai as the right place for us to do our fundraising exercise. We’ve already discussed this with many parties here, both internally and externally. Moving forward, we plan on how to raise the funding and then send it over to Malaysia. Thus, ARCB is instrumental for it is our investment holding firm in Dubai.” Jazman displays confidence in Dubai’s potential. “For most companies and countries, business is only just starting to pick up. But Dubai is one of the countries that has already recovered and making progress and thus, is definitely the right hub for the companies moving forward after the pandemic.” Besides Dubai, KVG also has encouraging ties with other UAE countries and the Middle East, such as Qatar.

“We have the technology that can build the house within a day, and you can relocate the house also from time to time, wherever the need be”

Jazman Shahar during courtesy visit to the Consulate General of Indonesia in Penang, Malaysia

products of Kenaf for that program or for that method. The noble people of Dubai want to be part of this endeavor; this is a joint effort with them.” While the world today is inundated with injustices, Jazman has identified the cause of the refugees as one that needs urgent attention. “We have all witnessed the turbulence happening in the world. Given everything that is transpiring, we chose to sign with the United Nations and the UNDRR because they have programs such as the refugees’ programs to offer them survival and a chance to start over. Personally, I read a lot and watch many programs on TV about how people suffer because of war and conflict in their country. We have seen how these refugees migrate from place to place asking for help.” Helping out and sheltering them is a global prerogative for Jazman. He is firm about how KVG can help rebuild their lives with housing made of Kenaf. “We have the technology that can build the house within a day, and you can relocate the house also from time to time, wherever the need be.”

HUMANIT Y BE YOND PROFITS

HOMES AWAY FROM HOME

Philanthropy and humanitarian work are more than just a corporate responsibility to KVG; it is part of their key agenda. Under Jazman, the company is in partnership with the United Nations (UN), striving to contribute to the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), which is the perfect organization to work with to promote sustainability. At a recent event in Dubai, ARCB and the United Nations embarked on a partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The focal point of this partnership shall be the issue of refugees all over the world. Their earnest efforts are to approach the challenges of sustainable development, particularly in developing cities for refugees and other possible hurdles that can be addressed tactfully through the partnership. The refugee crisis has worsened due to the onslaught of wars, and Jazman is acutely empathetic to the issue and their rehabilitation. “KVG is leaving no stone unturned in their accommodation. As a result, we have a better understanding of how UNDRR can use our work and

KVG represented this cause under the flag of Malaysia at the UN’s COP26 summit, making a valiant pledge to combat climate change. “Whether people know KVG or not, they should know Malaysia. Our country has always been on the frontlines, regardless of whether there is a tsunami or any other natural disaster. I believe that our participation at the summit will highlight Malaysia’s efforts and act as a benchmark to other companies in Malaysia to come forward and help the world.” Jazman talks about how his ideology has shaped over the course of his serving as Group CEO of Kenaf Venture Global. Three things were of paramount importance when KVG started - wanting to be a nucleus, a game-changer, and the economic engine after this pandemic. And because of those three things, it has stayed on the right track. Still, according to Jazman Shahar Abdollah, those very three things do not make the company sustainable and relevant to the world. With a smile of satisfaction he concludes, “We need to find more reason on why we do this business. So, we chose a bigger agenda to combat climate change and global warming issues. Thus, we aligned with the United Nations and their seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. All I can say is that it is no longer about the profits but more about how we make ourselves more relevant to this world. That is our legacy.”  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

INTERVIEW

A Starry Knot

Meet Geetanjali Mehra, the woman who is in the business of making sure that the stars are on your side as you enter matrimony. Interviewed by Qiraat Attar, written by S. Deepika.

nyone who dreams of their perfect wedding knows that you’ll be in a frenzy for months before the big day - planning outfits, venue, decor, catering, honeymoon, and more. But on a day as integral to your life, have you wondered if the elements in your wedding please the Gods of fate? Be it the flowers or the music, the clothes or the rituals, a couple wants their wedding day to play out in ordained harmony to make it the most unforgettable experience of their life. Geetanjali Mehra understands this intricately. A woman with uncanny intuition, she is blessed with the knowledge, endowed with rigorous education, practiced skill and purpose to conjure the wedding of your dreams.

First of Her Kind Geetanjali’s path led her down many different vocations before she came full circle, destined to harbor and disperse the potent power of the universe no matter which turn she took in life. Having fostered an interest in Astrology and Occult Sciences from a young age, she trained diligently with the All India Federation of Astrologers Societies, honing her acumen in the field. Later, she professionally trained with the leading Image Consulting Business Institute (ICBI), under the curriculum of Conselle Institute of Image Management, USA. She then pursued a fashion insight training with famous bridal couturier and celebrity designer Manish Malhotra as well as with the London School of Trends.

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Given her core affinity to astral sciences, Geetanjali was primed to see the influence of the stars and planets in every domain – whether in the intricacies of image consultancy when she met with prospective clients or in the affluent fashion domain where it seemed like the stars and planets exerted an influence in elements of clothes, in the sharp cuts, the flowing silhouettes, or in the intricacies of embroidery.

With a truly novel idea unseen in the overcrowded, cut-throat competitive wedding scene, Koka is turning heads and making a name for itself

The Stars are Aligned Weddings in India are iconic, milestone affairs. We literally have the moniker ‘big fat Indian weddings’ to define our singular obsession with it. KPMG consultancy puts the

revenue of the Indian wedding industry at roughly 458 billion rupees. The marriage industry inspired Geetanjali to combine her flair for image consultancy, astrology, fashion, and décor, reinventing the wheel with a blazing new twist to the classic wedding scenario. She is World’s first Astro Image Consultant and lends her expertise to every ceremony where each element is astrologically chosen and designed to harness the auspicious blessings that such a monumental beginning needs. She also noted that the wedding preparation created confusion and indecisiveness for both the bride and the groom. “Witnessing families running around in stress, organizing and planning right down to the day of the event, instead of enjoying to their heart’s content, was simply unimaginable”. Koka weddings was thus born to make weddings a breeze for the families involved.”

The Stars Have a Language ‘Koka’ is a Punjabi word that stands for the nose stud or nose ring, a gorgeous accessory that the bride adorns on her wedding day. The piercing symbolizes honor and respect to Goddess Parvati, revered as the Hindu Goddess of marriage. Geetanjali and her team assess the birth chart of the bride and groom to ascertain their lucky numbers and their signs, such as their sun, moon, and ascendant signs. They demystify the unfathomable cosmic concoction of these parts, and their powerful energy is called forth in the marriage rituals with the right attire, timings, colors, cuts, flowers, locations and décor. A dedicated team then creates a style file with suggestions of a harmonious palette for the parties to finalize on. The focus here is on creating a design strategy in cosmic alignment with the most auspicious energies as per the couple’s collective zodiac signs, planets, constellations, and numbers. Geetanjali explains, “For instance, if Jupiter, the planet of guidance and shelter, is dominant in the birth charts of the bride and groom, good luck is invoked by placing umbrellas prominently across the wedding venue. Or, if the bride or groom is a Virgo, known to be ‘detail-oriented’ and ‘perfectionist’, I advise them to go for outfits with stunning, intricate details to maintain harmony with their sign. Comparatively, Librans, signified by the balanced scales in their sign, adore symmetry. Thus, it’s auspicious for a Libran bride to favor symmetry in her Mehandi (henna design), as well as her bridal outfit and jewelry as opposed to modern, asymmetrical cuts.” Depending on your sign, Koka also helps you decide the location for a dreamy destination wedding. Depending on which elements of earth, water, or fire, your sign favors, the planners help you zero in on the perfect spot. For instance, if your Earth sign

 NEHMAT KHOSLA looked absolutely stunning with unfading radiance of the sun and colour gold for her engagement ceremony. She paired metallic gold with warm and beautiful beige with a rich sheen, the classic high gloss tone of her attire is reminiscent of a stained glass of an entire spectrum

is dominant, pottery is both the opportune pick as well as an aesthetic theme for the wedding or the pre-wedding shoot, and having a ceremony near the mountains brings forth a matching energy that sets things at ease.

Signs of Ascension With a truly novel idea unseen in the overThe marriage industry crowded, cut-throat cominspired Geetanjali to petitive wedding scene, combine her flair for image Koka is turning heads and making a name for itself. consultancy, astrology, The brand was recently in fashion, and décor, Dubai to attend the Exotic reinventing the wheel with Wedding Planning Cona blazing new twist ference, where it received a welcome response from major wedding planners, both local and international, who went ga-ga over the unique concept and sang high praise for Geetanjali’s innovation and determination to start something like this, especially in the middle of a pandemic. Geetanjali is aided in her business by her son Moksh Mehra, a mass media savant who brings tremendous incisive expertise in videography, photography, and editing, catapulting Koka weddings skills to the next level. When asked about Koka’s future plans, Geetanjali glows with anticipation. “Our trademark of luck and fortune is a new concept in the industry, which sets us apart. As the wedding industry gets back on track, we have our sights set on growth with the booming market.”  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

INTERVIEW

A CLEAN SWEEP

For TARIQ CHAUHAN, CEO of EFS, it’s business, resilience, and people first. SHAGUFTA PATEL catches the industry leader for a brief chat about his employee centric policies and the driving force behind it

s one of the leaders in the facilities management industry in the region, Tariq Chauhan has earned his repute. Multiple industry power lists by Forbes Middle East named him as one of the 100 Top CEOs in the region in 2021. As a Harvard Business School alumnus and a professional entrepreneur with over 26 years of diverse experience in international banking, technology, asset management, and real estate, Tariq has built a track record of building and establishing companies across the GCC, UK, and Asia. All that experience has led him to lead people from valuing them as the most important piece of any puzzle that ultimately made EFS the success that it is today. Tariq has always been an entrepreneurial-oriented person, extremely curious, and an avid traveler. In the past 18 months, he has traveled to more than 50 countries, pandemic and all. His curiosity and spirit of dynamism guided him into a long and fruitful career in business at a global level.

Building a ‘People First’ global organization For over 21 Years, EFS has been well-acknowledged by the business community for providing quality services to some of the biggest regional names, including leading multinationals in the region. With $1.5 Billion in contracts backlog and managing an approximate total area of over 50 million sq.m, EFS has set new benchmarks in

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facilities management through quality service delivery and innovation, running 28 operating companies in 21 countries across the region. The group of companies is unique in combining progressive people-focused leadership with the fast adoption of technological advancements, creating the best environment for personal growth for employees and client portfolios. Primarily, EFS is a people-first organization driving the facilities management industry to new heights and striving to push the boundaries of creating a sustainable business. Tariq and his team of excellent leaders built the EFS Facilities Services Group to be a regional leader in delivering inte-

grated facilities management services. “Our global presence spans the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Turkey, and is among the top-ranking facilities management companies in the UAE,” Tariq states proudly. EFS strived to show a different approach in the industry that faced a lot of challenges during the pandemic. By building an organization that primarily puts the welfare of its employees at the core of the strategy, EFS became a business standing for the ethos of ‘People First’. The organization has been recognized multiple times by the country’s leadership for worker welfare, with the most recent honor received from ‘Taqdeer’ awards.

tualization needed in his behind-the-scenes life, but Tariq was also inspired by growing two millennial daughters, learning about the challenges the current world poses to the young generation from them. The intergenerational communication and learnings have been the base work for many of the initiatives brought to EFS, inspired by day-to-day realities faced by his two young daughters in their entrepreneurial journeys. Problem-solving, people first, investing in people’s abilities to self-realize their highest potential, and aiming to erase generational borders to achieve growth - these are all attributes that Tariq brings into his business practices every day.

Gender parity and closing the gap

Of resilience and self-actualization

Women have a huge role to play in the developTariq finds a considerable shift in the responsiment of global economies; making sure they are bilities of leaders in the new normal heralded by free and safe to work will enhance their producthe post-pandemic world. To achieve both persontivity and impact their overall contribution to al and organizational growth, leaders must foster their families and society as a whole. Research has abilities to grow their resilience, be people-orientshown that the COVID-19 pandemed, be driven by their mission, and inic disrupted women’s participation in tegrate their business into the fold of With $1.5 Billion in the labor force as they experienced sustainable impact. contracts backlog unprecedented job losses across the A resilient mindset, focusing on world. In 2020, women represented bringing the best out of people, and and managing an 38.8 percent labour force, a considerfostering a team that can freely speak approximate total able drop from earlier numbers. their ideas are important attributes. With a global reality this grim, Tariq Ultimately, investing in people and area of over 50 Chauhan has upheld himself to be a them grow is a key point of million sq.m, EFS has helping promoter of gender parity and accesleadership, for leaders develop leaders. sibility from day one. EFS prides it- set new benchmarks in In his upcoming book published by self in closing the gap by creating fair Forbes Books, the EFS leader unveils facilities management opportunities for growth, investing at the core attributes of becoming not large in learning and development for only the best version of yourself but women and helping them grow from blue-collar to helping others achieve their best version – too. white-collar careers. Not only does EFS walk the “Be humble and open to ideas, learn to train your talk internally, but Tariq Chauhan as a leader also mindset, take care of your mental health, invest called the industry to create more initiatives to adin becoming resilient, and always seek to be survance the wellbeing of women and recognize their rounded by talented people.” impact in the business.

The influences that shape the entrepreneur At work, every day, Tariq is a colleague first and a leader second, passionate to help those around him to become the best version of themselves and contribute to achieving more for EFS and the community. In addition, he is passionate about his crew, EFSians being his motivation and his personal mirror as a leader. As he puts it, “I reflect in them, and I learn every day from them on what I need to improve, to change, to adapt, to grow in order for me to show up as a leader.” At home, Tariq’s role is defined by his family. “I am a husband to an amazingly supportive woman, the father of two astounding daughters”. Not only did the women behind the CEO bring the self-ac-

Overcoming challenges

Businesses dealing with COVID-19 adversities have faced unprecedented challenges in the past two years bringing the immediate need for leaders to develop skills that contribute to increasing personal and company resilience. Tariq’s advice is clear on how to tackle the challenges. “It’s imperative as a collective to change our perspective: Barriers and challenges are the only means for growth and progress. As soon as we look at problems from that perspective, we unlock new solutions, and most importantly, we develop a superpower- resilience. That is the biggest barrier-breaker that a leader could use for growth. Regardless of adversity level - and adversity is for sure a certainty - if you work on your resilience level, you will overcome, adapt and grow. There is no easy way for growth.”  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

INTERVIEW

DARE TO DAZZLE

It isn’t a simple task to handle a myriad of interests and careers; however, Lynette Lobo manages it all with dignified grace. The renowned entrepreneur and fashion icon sits down with Pallavi Biju to talk about her inspiring métier

“E

ntrepreneurship isn’t just a label; it’s a lifestyle.” A paragon of the adage, Lynette Lobo is a business entrepreneur, certified make-up artist, travel and style expert, a co-producer and renowned fashion icon. A champion of women empowerment, an eminent brand ambassador to several brands, and over 15 accolades to her name, Lynette is the CEO and Founder of five companies: Dazzle Vici International, Vici Vista global services, Dazzle your Style, Dazzle your Moments, and Dazzle your Travel.

The Drive To Success Adored as the In-flight Supervisor of the Cabin crew in the World Famous A380s and Boeing 747s and 777s for both Saudi Arabian and Emirates Airlines, Lynette Lobo bid farewell to her aerospace career in Dec 2019. Since then, she has channeled her energies in building and developing a veritable empire of businesses and has built an impressive repertoire. A certified Hollywood make-up artist under the Marvie Beck Makeup School, she has been a fashion stylist for over 27 years. Backed by a Master’s Degree in International Business Management from UCAM, Spain, and a double Accreditation Diploma from Cambridge University, UK, Lynette has put this esteemed educational pedigree to good use, having won numerous awards and accolades for business excellence. A sought-after ‘member of the jury’ and ‘guest of honor’ at several fashion and business events and a member of many entrepreneurial business groups in UAE, she has also now successfully co-authored a business book called ‘Who Moved My Heels’ sending out an inspiring message to all women to go headstrong into their businesses always believing in magic for expo-

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A champion of women empowerment, an eminent brand ambassador to several brands, and over 15 accolades to her name, Lynette is the CEO and Founder of five companies

nential growth of their ventures. Business aside, Lynette also walks the serene paths of spirituality, as is apparent by her status as a Reiki Master in training. Having completed all levels of culinary and wedding cake decoration courses from the Canadian Wilton School of Cake Decorating, she also indulges in routinely creating and decorating sweet treats for herself and her loved ones. She has attended the Photography Course at the University of SAE, Australia, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at the prestigious New York Film Academy, shaping a passion for photography, film production, and direction. All of Lynette’s life is a testament to following her passions, thus having attained the status of an apodictic all-rounder.

Truly an entrepreneurial powerhouse, she is committed to constantly uplifting herself and others around her. She has recently co-produced two movies with a social cause- ‘Burn’ and ‘Dance Battle 2022’. The former send out a message about anti-smoking and latter is about the youth and their balance of talents and academics. She says, “It is crucial to have a good balance in personal life and business.” Her two sons, Marc and Darren, her super supportive mom Philomena, and her business partner Tania Pereira are her pillars of strength. Standing tall beside Lynette supporting her business ventures, Tania is a seasoned professional with over 19+ years of robust and diversified experience working in a cross cultural environment within the Travel, Technology and Events industry.

A Dazzling Business An established business connoisseur, Lynette holds core competencies in business development, strategy management, profitability management, client service and key account management, advertising, and education consulting. As the CEO and Founder of five well-known, reputable companies, she has constantly proven herself to be a master of all trades. Steadfast in her decision not to cut corners in any aspect, she adeptly juggles her role of CEO, a leader and mentor to her staff. As a team leader, her priority is training and empowering her staff to constantly educate and better themselves and foster a healthy and fulfilling work environment. A beacon of trust for her customers, she focuses on providing the finest products and services to them and delivering the latest innovative technologies. With the best interests of her customers, Lynette persistently analyses and re-analyses the strategies implemented and further upgrades them to ensure financial sustainability and improve future investments.

Making ‘Her’ Story Appointed as a Women Empowerment Ambassador by the Deuchakar group of companies, she helms the program in Canada, as well as co-represents it in the UAE and UK. Lynette also works alongside Women in Business International to provide women with business licenses plan and develop their upcoming enterprises and provide them with an official platform to sell their products in the UAE. Her passion for empowering women extends empathetically towards those who had to fore go their careers in favor of family life. She aims to help revive their love for business, take it to new heights and support them achieve all their ambitions. “Women are equipped to naturally balance and multi-task to manage their families, homes, businesses and their passions,” she asserts. “Each woman must believe in herself and feel empowered to create magic in her own way, and then help other women attain the same empowerment.”

“Success doesn’t have to come at the price of solitude,” Lynette comments saying that it’s imperative that women stick together, hold hands, and raise each other rather than being envious of another’s success. “It can be achieved with all of us uplifting and empowering one another. There is enough room at the top for everyone passionate enough to succeed.”

A Dazzling Tomorrow Thanks to her persistence and dedication, Lynette withstood countless trials and tribulations to emerge victoriously. Even during the global pandemic, which crumbled businesses like a pack of cards, she steered her group of companies - Dazzle Vici International to success. Today, having stayed the course, they are now more determined and committed than ever. Above all else, she finds immense solace and strength Lynette with her business partner Tania Pereira

“Success doesn’t have to come at the price of solitude.” It can be achieved with all of us uplifting and empowering one another. There is enough room at the top for everyone passionate enough to succeed.” in her faith in the Almighty and thus is always grateful by all the blessings she receives for herself, her family, and her businesses. “Although everyone in the world has their own journey, filled with highs and lows, one thing that remains constant is the presence of the Creator, and so once we are sure we have done our absolute best, we should rest assured that God will take care of everything else,” she says humbly. Lynette believes that the essence of success is distilled in dedicating yourself to your future and never losing sight of your passions. It is only unearthing one’s true calling in life that will reveal to them their purpose in life. Wisely, she concludes, “The only way to success is to pursue your dreams with a fierce passion, dedication, and 100% commitment. While we focus on our businesses, we must give back every day to society in our own little way.”  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

INTERVIEW

BOSS — BYTES RAMEZ HELOU

Pallavi Biju in conversation with Ramez Helou, Founder and CEO of The Academy of Sales Excellence’, and Anul Mundra, Founder of the popular platform ‘Indian Expats in Dubai’

‘Hall of Fame’ status with Vector Marketing Corporation, an honor reserved for the top achievers in the industry. After many years of perfecting his skills and knowledge, he What differentiates the successful from the strugglers is stepped away from corporate life to pursue his passion for the implementation of knowledge gained. Ramez Helou, keynote speaking and sales training which eventually led the Founder and CEO of ‘The Academy for Sales Excelto the foundation of his brainchild, The Academy of Sales lence’ understands this all too well and makes sure that all Excellence. With years of experience behind him, Ramez of his trainees understand the difference too. boasts skills ranging from Keynote Speaking and CorpoA master professional speaker and trainer with over 32 rate Sales Training to Management Consulting and C-level years of sales and sales leadership experience and an adexecutive coaching. junct professor of Leadership and Sales at Hult Interna“According to the Ebbinghaus Curve of Forgetting, we tional Business School, Ramez started his career in direct forget up to 90% of what we hear in just seven days. How sales at the young age of 19. Conquering great heights and often have you attended a course where you struggle to many accolades in his vocation, he soon also achieved the remember, let alone apply what you heard,” points Ramez. The programs at The Academy involve coaching and immersing processes that enable people to transform selling skills and knowledge The programs at The into behaviors and then further modify them Academy involve into successful sales habits that help the learners coaching and achieve their goals effortlessly. “The way you sell is based on habits that you build over time, and you immersing processes either have the right habits that are helping you that enable people achieve your goals, or you have the wrong habits to transform selling that are taking you away from achieving your goals skills and knowledge consistently,” he adds. into behaviors The Academy offers a comprehensive teaching and learning method where-in learners are taught through live or online sessions as well as through the proprietary sales coaching app. The app helps measure and track the behaviors of the learners through observation as well as through reflections from both themselves and their Sales Leader. This helps provide a 360-degree-view of the behavioral change process and ensures that the habits formed lead to the foundation of the right language and sales culture that will benefit the entire team. Ramez’s entrepreneurship journey which started almost 12 years ago has resulted in significant revenues, appropriate sales strategies, and professional advancement for hundreds of clients in the Middle East and around the world. During his 32 years of service, he has taught his selling tactics to over 100,000 sales professionals on five continents. The Academy of Sales Excellence, led by Ramez’s expertise, provides tailored sales solutions to help you sell more, sell faster, and sell profitably.

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Through their marketing and advertising activities, Indian Expats in Dubai has supported over 300 businesses in the last two years

ANUL MUNDRA As the largest and the fastest-growing Indian business community platform in the UAE, Indian Expats in Dubai (IED) prides on a huge number of subscribers and followers across various social and digital platforms. 54,000+ subscribers on FB, 53,000+ on Insta, 30,000+ on WhatsApp, and 15,000+ on Telegram to be precise. This extraordinary feat was gracefully achieved by Anul Mundra, an epitome of women's power and perseverance, who established the brand back in January of 2020 to bring together Indian expats living and working in the UAE. As a recipient of over 20 awards in her career, she has been recognized as the ‘Best Business Influencer 2021’ at the Business Excellence Precision Awards and ‘Best Social Entrepreneur’ at the business summit by Nousheen Mukhtar Internation-

al Events. She has also gained international recognition by being featured in the Celestia UK Magazine as one of the top women entrepreneurs in Dubai. Very recently, she has also been awarded the ‘Best Social Entrepreneur 2022’ at the Global She Awards - a global women entrepreneur’s event and award ceremony conducted by the Ladies Business Magazine Global. An engineer by degree and an ex-banker by profession, her venture into entrepreneurship started as a journey to discover the potential of the expat community in Dubai. As someone who loves to travel and socialize, Anul aims to provide her and her business’s full support to those bringing up their businesses in the UAE and is passionate about keeping the Indian community in the UAE together. As a highly influential business personality, Anul has also graced the Jury Panel of various prestigious events held in and outside Dubai. Indian Expats in Dubai has also been featured by multiple established media outlets like Gulf News, Khaleej Times, Zee TV, Star Plus, B4u Plus, Dubai Eye 103.8, Radio FM 106.2, etc. The brand, which was formed to support businesses through advertising and marketing, has also expanded into event management and has established a name for itself by conducting big-scale, in-house events and also by partnering with other events as support or social media partners. Through their marketing and advertising activities, Indian Expats in Dubai has supported over 300 businesses in the last two years, which is a great achievement considering the global pandemic and its effects on business. Anul’s vision is to make IED a one stop solution for all branding and marketing requirements globally. Following her mantra of ‘Dream Big, Act Bigger’, this vision won’t take long to turn into reality.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Feature

METAVERSE OF MA The latest internet buzzword, Metaverse, has taken the world by storm, yet the more you hear, the less you know. Pallavi Biju digs a little deeper into this new virtual universe and the future it offers

n 28 October 2021, the internet went haywire. Overnight, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, completely restructuring social media as we knew it. Although this is not the first time we had heard of the “metaverse”, it was the first time we were experiencing it. The world is gearing up for the Metaverse. NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and augmented reality platforms are speeding up the transition from the existing universe to the Metaverse, with gamers and the art world already having hopped onto this trend. And just like any other lingo created by folks on the inter-web, Metaverse’s definition remains nebulous yet hotly debated, with explanations crowding each other out. However, one thing is certain – this trend will wait for no tardy ones, for the Meta-beast is crouched and ready to take over the internet, one Silicon Valley business at a time.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD Imagine the metaverse as a collection of simulated worlds which exist in virtual and augmented reality, accessed through compatible gadgets. It operates as a convergence of the physical, real-world, and the digital online world. Broadly, the metaverse is a graphically rich virtual universe, where people live and perform as they do in real life - work, play, shop, socialize, and more - on the internet. Picture all the video games that we have all played or perhaps still do - SIMS, Poptropica, The Sandbox, and even Roblox - where we created avatars that resembled us (or didn’t) and interacted with one another, went on quests and won points. Essentially, it is not a new idea, but the intention of its creators is for the world to adopt the Metaverse. The concept was first introduced 30 years ago, in the 1992 novel Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson, which described a virtual reality in a 21st-century dystopian world. In the novel, the metaverse is a virtual “real estate” where properties can be bought and built upon. Depicted as a planet-encircling market, the metaverse serves as an escape to users

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from the real-life dystopia, with characters more invested in their 3D avatars. Despite the literature’s decidedly negative and chilling connotations, several media and gaming companies soon jumped on the bandwagon, most notably the 2003-released multimedia platform, Second Life, which allowed users to create a 3D version of themselves to live a ‘second life’ in the online virtual world. In addition, the 2011 science-fiction novel Ready Player One by author Ernest Cline also gave a sneak-peak inside the virtual world known as ‘The OASIS’, which players access via visors and haptic gloves. This novel later turned into a movie of the same name, presented the virtual universe as an escape from a world gripped by energy crises and global warming.

PEEK INTO THE UNKNOWN At the outset, one of the Metaverse’s most prominent features is Virtual Reality. You can explore the metaverse using a gaming console, smartphone, computers, wearable technology, or any other smart device, which will allow you to be completely immersed in the graphics and sound. This is how you become ‘present’ in the virtual world. Another key characteristic of the metaverse is the interaction with other people. The metaverse is designed for social interaction and thus has other people represented by 3D avatars. Of course, not all avatars may be real people; they can be bots, virtual agents, or even manifestations of artificial intelligence. However, given Facebook’s history as a social network, the social aspect is expected to be central to Meta. Metaverse supporters believe this could be the next step to virtual communication, adding a new dimension to communicating “face-to-face”. As a virtual space, the Metaverse is boundless - it withers away every imagined barrier, physical or otherwise. There are no limits on how many people can use it at a time, what industries can be in it or what kind of activities it supports. The virtual space is also available whenever you want to visit it; one person cannot reset, reboot or

DNESS

The metaverse is a decentralized platform, i.e., it is not owned by a single corporation but by all of its users. This is what makes blockchain technology a huge and integral part of the metaverse

Feature unplug it. Hence, whenever you decide to avail of the metaverse, you simply plug in and pick up where you left off. Based on its users’ shared experiences and contributions, the universe evolves constantly. The metaverse is also a decentralized platform, i.e., it is not owned by a single corporation but by all of its users. This is what makes blockchain technology a huge and integral part of the metaverse. The core of the metaverse boils down to its users; through user-generated content from virtual creations to personal stories and interactions with AI-driven avatars, every participant in a virtual world participates in co-experiences, thus co-creating the metaverse’s future.

CALLING ALL BUSINESSES Meta’s first foray into the metaverse did not commence with the 2021 rebranding; it started in 2019 with the launch of Horizon Worlds, formerly known as Facebook Horizon. The social platform, created for the Oculus Rift S and Oculus Quest 2, allowed access to people aged 18 or older in the United States and Canada after a successful beta run. Just two months after its public unveiling, Meta reported that the combined monthly user base of Horizon Worlds and Horizon Venues had grown to 300,000 people and 10,000 custom worlds being built by them. With such stupendous demand, fellow Silicon

Valley business Microsoft also jumped on the bandwagon. In January 2022, the multinational tech corporation acquired gaming giant Activision Blizzard - makers of games like Call of Duty, Candy Crush, and Overwatch - for $68.7 million, making it Microsoft’s most expensive game studio acquisition by far. The acquisition was explicitly made to accelerate Microsoft’s growth in the gaming business and a stepping stone into the metaverse. Several new trademarks filed by Walmart appear to indicate the retailer plans to launch its own cryptocurrency and a set of NFTs. McDonald’s recent trademark applications include one for a virtual restaurant that would deliver food directly to a customer’s home. Through the creation of a metaverse environment, Deloitte hopes to enhance customers’ and businesses’ retail experiences, especially in the Middle East. Digital asset exchange KuCoin has launched a Bloktopia Digital Space-based office. In India, TATA Tea took a very innovative and on-trend approach for Holi this year by holding a Holi party in the metaverse hosted by YUG Metaverse. Customers could choose their avatars and enjoy the festival of colours by engaging in a plethora of Holi games for their metaverse debut. In addition, the brand delved into fantastic digital storytelling and personalization to give customers an unmatched, unforeseen experience.

American rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg teased the launch of “Snoopverse” on The Sandbox and one of his fans brought a property in this customized virtual world for a whopping $500,000

 Snoop Dogg avatar in Metaverse  Tata holi in Metaverse

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sive experiences bring the risk of losing connection with the real world. The more present you are in the meta-world, the less present you become in the physical world. Although that seems to be the ultimate goal of the Metaverse, it raises the question of how the metaverse may affect ‘human’ relationships and real-world social environments. The most concerning issues about the metaverse are privacy and security concerns, not to mention those of body autonomy. Just a week before the public release of Horizon Worlds, a beta user reported being groped by a stranger on the platform. Virtual reality does not erase the crimes and misdemeanors of the real world; these evils carry through to every dimension where humans go. While Meta has activated features to curb such inappropriate uses of the platform, concerns loom. With features like screen-recording during Metaverse collaborations being in-demand, users are perplexed by what this could mean for privacy in the simulated world. The Metaverse may meld cultures together or erase cultures and customs that don’t fit the sterile Meta universe. Anything that does not cater to a hyper-capitalist digital aesthetic will become socially extinct. This fusion and elimination of our tangible cultural diversity will lead to a monotonous uniformity, as many traditions that have existed since mankind’s beginning will simply find no place in the digital realm.

A STEP FORWARD FOR MANKIND? Savvy celebrities too are diving headfirst into this new paradigm. American rapper and songwriter Snoop Dogg teased the launch of “Snoopverse” on The Sandbox and one of his fans brought a property in this customized virtual world for a whopping $500,000! Paris Hilton, businesswoman and media personality, has also created her virtual island on Roblox known as Paris World and allows users to raid her iconic wardrobe and purchase outfits.

OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN In a world that has vastly benefited from the internet but is also reeling from its maddening effects, the talk around Metaverse has made many wary of its enigma to remove us from reality altogether. Metaverse users and non-users have raised questions about the accessibility and exclusivity of the virtual world. Virtual reality platforms require access to high-end technology such as VR headsets, blockchain, cryptocurrency, haptic gloves, etc., for users to gain a fully immersive experience. These are neither accessible nor affordable for most people around the world. Being badgered or socially pressured into immer-

Despite our wariness of social media like Facebook and Instagram, today we acknowledge them as an integral part of our life and the tools of our newly-minted digital age. Similarly, the Metaverse promises many advantages in bridging the gap between people in a more involved, engaging way. It’s hard to judge whether the Metaverse will matter or not in the future since nobody particu-

Virtual reality does not erase the crimes and misdemeanors of the real world; these evils carry through to every dimension where humans go larly knows what’s next for this new technology. Moreover, there is uncertainty about how we will spend our time in the future, and the tech-geniuses do not want to leave us wondering but provide what they believe is the next logical step. However, one thing is certain - The next few years will decide if the metaverse will integrate with our lives or prove to be another flash in the pan. Until then, why wait for virtual reality, when you can experience reality in full flair as it now exists.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Entrepreneur / Mountaineer / Keynote Speaker

Saahil Mehta

PRO TALK

Declutter

LET GO TO GROW

If you feel that your goals are distant and progress has been slow, maybe it’s time to declutter your life. Here’s how…

can’t believe it is May already and I have made little progress toward my goals. With one-third of the year now complete, how far along are you towards your yearly goals? As per an article on Inc.com, science says that over 92% of goals fail.

 Do you feel you are not progressing at all?  Are you progressing but at a pace that is too slow for your liking?  Is this affecting your mental health, physical health, or relationships? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the questions above, the good news is you still have two-thirds of the year left. My goal is to share with you how you can progress towards your goals (let’s call them summits moving forward) faster. Everybody talks about adding things to your life, whereas I want to focus on removing

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things (clutter) from your life. As a mountaineer, having climbed some of the tallest mountains in the world, if you are carrying things that no longer serve any function or purpose, your climb to the top will require more time and more energy, and you may not even make it to the summit. So, over the course of this article, I want to share three tools that will help you identify and then break free from the clutter in your life, allowing you to scale your summits of success faster.

Tool #1: Identify the clutter Most people I coach tell me they don’t really have much clutter in their lives. The reality is, if you are not continuously advancing towards your summit, there is something holding you down (or your summit was just too crazy to start with). So let me share with you a simple exercise that will take you less than three minutes on a daily basis. At any point in the evening, ask yourself the following two ques-

tions and keep a note of the answers: 1. What raised my energy levels today? 2. What drained my energy levels today?

in life are usually stemming from a misunderstanding.

Over time, you will start to see patterns of things that are draining your energy levels, essentially the clutter in your life. 1. Perhaps you are worrying about things that you cannot change. 2. Maybe you are eating things that do not suit your body. 3. Perhaps relationships that matter are distancing because of avoided conversations.

I cannot emphasize enough how many relationship issues I come across in my coaching. The majority of them derive from expectations or assumptions. I come across many couples where one will tell me that even after 20 years of marriage, they still haven’t changed. My reply is, “it is astonishing that after 20 years of marriage you still think they will change.” The truth of the matter is that people rarely will change, and acceptance brings relationships closer. Put it this way, wouldn’t you love it if people accepted you for who you are rather than who they want you to be? What are assumptions? An assumption is basically you filling in the blanks based on what you have learned or your experiences. There is a chance you could be right. However, there is a greater chance you could be wrong. What confuses me is why you would risk the health of a relationship on an assumption that may be right or wrong? Here is a great solution – be curious and ask! I often get family members and colleagues telling me I ask too many questions and stating that the answer is obvious.

Whatever the case may be, it is critical to give yourself time daily to ask these questions and more so that you can scale your summits of success faster. Congratulations on entering a higher level of awareness. Now we just need to focus on some decluttering tools, which will result in a higher net positive energy result.

Tool #2: Energize your mornings I used to wake up in the mornings, wake the kids up and get them ready for school. Drop them off and then come back for some exercise, after which I got ready and went to work. I was on the run from the time I woke up – sound familiar? The reality is the first hour of the day sets the tone for the remainder of the day. Can’t say about you, but my productivity dropped, my mind was distracted, and I wasn’t much fun to be around if the morning started on a bad note. If, however, my mornings began high on energy, I could perform at a much higher level, get things done faster, and was pleasant to be around. So here is my threestep strategy to start high on energy: 1. D on’t press snooze – you do not want your first action to be snooze which sets a precedent for the remainder of the day. I know you don’t want to be known as a snoozer. Just get up and go (ideal would be to sleep early enough that you do not need an alarm). 2. S tay away from all digital devices and the news until you have energized. Do you really want to risk reading or seeing something that drains your energy levels? 3. D o any activity that energizes you for at least twenty minutes each morning. This could be reading something elevating, taking a walk outdoors, practicing deep breathing, etc. You can even mix it up so it does not become mundane. Now that you have the tool to energize your mornings, let us talk about how you can declutter your communication, as most issues

Tool #3: Declutter your communication

If you are carrying things that no longer serve any function or purpose, your climb to the top will require more time and more energy, and you may not even make it to the summit Although that may be partially true, I remind them that the relationship matters too much to me to base on an assumption, and I would rather ask a few questions more to be certain. Gone are the days when you say I shall do it later. Now that you have the ability to identify the clutter in your life and the decluttering tools make sure you start applying them today.  SAAHIL CAN BE REACHED AT saahil@saahilmehta.com 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Serial entrepreneur, Speaker and Author

David Tee

PRO TALK

Market Trend

Upwards And Onwards As a CEO of a Startup, following market trends and innovating can prove to be the differentiating factor between success and failure

eing a CEO of a startup is the most exhilarating yet challenging of roles and everyday brings new learning. The role of CEO / founder in a startup is probably one of the most diverse jobs it is possible to have. There are many hats you’ll have to wear when you are in that chair to make sure things keep moving in the right direction. You do everything from buying the printer paper, to paying the bills, to developing the strategy. But the diversity is also the reward as you see your whole business grow and appreciate what went into that success. In this series I will consider some of the things I have learned over 35 years in and around startups and share some advice for new CEOs. This month, we look at the importance of continuously looking at your market, talking to customers, and innovating to stay ahead of the competition.

Back up: Stand back and evaluate what 40

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you are doing from time to time. As CEO you must focus on the immediate term of what you are trying to achieve. But, every so often, it’s important to ‘back up’, look at the environment, the market, the technology, and make sure you are still on the right path. I worked for a Silicon Valley consultancy that had a futurist called Watts Wacker (yes, really!). He co-authored a very interesting book called The 500 Year Delta. One of the theses was that companies should have a 500-year strategic plan but a 5-year tactical plan. Aim for the long-term endgame but tweak the ‘here and now’ to deliver short-term results. If you run through a Business Model Canvas exercise for your company, it will help you confirm that your value propositions are still valid today for your key customer segments. Or it may highlight new customer segments or subcategories that could be addressed with new offerings. Fine tune the direction if necessary. Pivot into a wholly new direction if

absolutely necessary.

Heads up: Getting a heads-up on what’s happening in your market can differentiate between success and failure. Always be talking to customers, to suppliers, and even to competitors. Find out as much as you can about where your market is heading and keep your business nimble so you can follow the trends. At one (very established) organization I worked at, a colleague and I were always coming up with ideas for new services. Unfortunately, we were generally told, “We tried that before and it didn’t work”, or “We’ve always done it this way and we don’t want to change”. So in the end, we left to work for a more innovative business. Make sure your team doesn’t do the same.

Look up: New CEOs never know everything. Be continuously looking up new information about your market, technology, and competitors. Look up to your mentor and use them. If you have the resources, have an assistant do a lot of the research while you do the analysis.

Shake up: Every so often, you’ll need to shake the business up. If you are constantly monitoring your market, you will know when things need changing. Maybe a new competitor enters. Perhaps a new technology disrupts your main product. Maybe regulations change what you can or cannot do. Or maybe you instigate the change yourself to keep ahead, to keep innovating. A shake-up could be a simple reorganization of the product team. Or it could be a pivot into a brand-new market. One of my startups was established towards the end of the dot-com boom (1999). We had a service that was beginning to gain traction, but then the dot-com bust happened and we were left with some technology but no market. We could have closed shop and disappointed our investors, but instead, we pivoted into the corporate banking market (as our team had experience here), adapted the technology and continued the business for another 20 years.

Wake up: “No Business Plan Survives First Contact With A Customer,” Steve Blank famously said. You need to wake up and keep this in mind. Always involve your potential customers in product or service development. Always keep asking, are we solving a real problem, addressing a real need? Just because there is a gap in the market, doesn’t mean there’s a market in the gap!

Companies should have a 500-year strategic plan but a 5-year tactical plan. Aim for the long-term endgame but tweak the ‘here and now’ to deliver short-term results Chin up: Sometimes events can disrupt your plans and as CEO, you, and only you, know the real situation across the whole business. It is your role to keep your chin up even when things look dire. Keeping the team enthused and the investors off your back is vital if the business is to move forward. Signs of trouble will get employees looking around for alternative jobs, and the rumor mill can quickly destabilize a small business. Stay positive. Get stuck into the work with the team, if necessary, to show solidarity. Roll up your sleeves and show them that you are ready to work as hard as they are to get the job done.  David Tee has over 35 years experience in technology development, entrepreneurship and international consulting. He has founded and worked in Cambridge IT startups, consulted for a Silicon Valley-based advisory firm, and supported the development of innovation-focused incubation services across the world. He is currently on assignment in Turkey, and lives between Europe and India. 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Speaker, Strategist, Goal-Catalyst

Sabeeh Ghugharia

PRO TALK

Power of

CONSTANT LEARNING These habits help to inculcate a learner’s mindset that can spell the difference between a stagnant person versus one constantly evolving for the better

t is said that the most important investment in your life is the investment you make in educating yourself. Formal education is no doubt essential. However, US labor statistics indicate that around 43% of people do not end up working in their field of education. Formal education teaches you specific labor market-related skills, and these skills are fundamental for you to land a job. Professor Hanushek from Stanford University presented an interesting analysis of employment opportunities by age and education type. His analysis indicates that if you learn a specific set of skills through formal education, that has an 80% probability of landing a job. But what happens towards the mid and later stages of the career of such people if they do not work on learning broader competencies is that they are less likely to stay employed or grow in their careers. So the point to get that competitive advantage, one has to continuously learn

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and master the art of continuous learning to develop broader competence. Sustainable competitive advantage depends on constantly seeking opportunities to build broader competence, work on building relationships, seek information, make sense of observations, and share ideas through intelligent use of new technologies, and all of this requires continuous learning. Listed below are a few steps to help you become a continuous learner.

HABIT #1: SEEK NEW CHALLENGES This will give you new experiences and learning opportunities. The first step to seeking new challenges is understanding and becoming familiar with the principles of that new thing you are about to learn. Principles don’t change; they remain constant over time. By understanding the principles, it will become

easy to learn what you are trying to learn, and you will be able to overcome the challenges you are dealing with. Develop your own rituals to set aside time and dedicate a space for learning. Also, bear in mind that repetition is a key to learning. Repetition leads to commitment to learn, which in turn leads to long-term memory. Consequently, once the learning is embedded in your long-term memory, the next thing that happens is you achieve mastery.

HABIT #2: HUMBLE SELF-REFLECTION Take some time to think about what you have learned and assess how much you have learned. Studies in Neurocognitive science show that information is very quickly lost if you don’t review it often enough. This self-reflection will give you an understanding of how much you have retained from what you have learned. It is a process based on critical thinking where we weave together our thoughts, experiences, impressions, and feeling to make meaning out of them. Another good way to test how much you have retained is to teach the subject to someone else. By teaching, you are making sure you are imparting complete information, and you can go into the depth of what you have learned as you will have to simplify it for the person you are teaching. This will lead you to go to the Beginner’s mindset and ensure you have a more detailed understanding of the knowledge you have gained. Some other ways to reinforce learning are by writing a blog post or noting down ideas that you have contextualized.

HABIT #3: SOLICIT FEEDBACK Talk to the experts who already have this knowledge and ask them for feedback on how you are doing on the things you have learned. While doing so, ask them to be brutally honest with you and take the feedback constructively. By doing so, you can identify gaps and ask them for support on how they have overcome their gaps so that you can adopt the same. By mirroring what they have done, you can achieve the same success. What matters today is being inducted into a wise network of trusted individuals who can help us filter helpful information, expose blind spots, and help us navigate our way.

HABIT #4: CAREFUL LISTENING This is an essential skill. Practice careful listening when talking to experts who can give you advice, guidance, and feedback. Take keen note of the insights they provide you with

the gaps in knowledge that you might have. Their viewpoints or suggestions may conflict with yours, but practice paying attention and listening nonetheless because you may be missing opportunities to improve if you focus on areas of disagreement. Instead, it is better to focus on a different view and why they have this viewpoint and ask questions that will help you build your connection with them, build a relationship with them, and improve your learning technique. Exchange resources, ideas, and experiences and collaborate with your colleagues within your network. This helps build respect and trust by being relevant.

HABIT #5: EMBRACE CURIOSITY A curious mind is a receptacle to learning, and one way to do that is to read widely and read often. Develop reading other ways that suit you, whether it is online videos, blogs, etc. but make it a part of your daily schedule. Bite-size reading for about 8-10 pages a day can make you read 18-20 books a year on average. That

Sustainable competitive advantage depends on constantly seeking opportunities to build broader competence, work on building relationships, seek information, make sense of observations, and share ideas through intelligent use of new technologies would mean a large amount of knowledge and insight. As we grow from a child to an adult, we lose the skills of inquisitiveness, which is to refrain from asking questions and curiosity. But remember, when you ask a different question, you get a different outcome as well. It is said that the quality of life you have also depends on the quality of questions that you ask. Embrace being inquisitive and continue the learning. ✪ SABEEH CAN BE REACHED AT drsab.isin@gmail.com 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

COMMUNITY SERVICE

A Labour of Love Real estate entrepreneur Inder Bhagnani goes beyond caste, creed and concrete to care for those that build the city he calls home. S.Deepika explores his labour of love through the Feed-A-Labour initiative which serves meals and kindness in equal proportions

ith its glittering skyline of high-rise buildings, luxury resorts, and real estate, Dubai is the indubitable global emblem of UAE’s growth. However, it’s easy to forget that the foundation of these towering skyscrapers is the nearly half a million migrant construction workers employed here. Behind the opulence, their sweat and toil allow Dubai to stay aglitter. However, all that glitters is not gold. For their struggles, these labourers make pitiful wages and make heartbreaking choices every day unimaginable to the more privileged. Moved by their plight, 35-year-old real estate entrepreneur Inder Bhagnani founded the FeedA-Labour initiative, an inspiring campaign honoring and repaying in kind the labourers who work relentlessly, often round the clock, to build the city whose towering greatness we remain in awe of. As a man who earned much fortune and credibility in real estate, Inder feels strongly motivated to give back to those who make his vision a reality. To him, it’s a way of showing gratitude for everything he’s been blessed with. Over the past 400 weeks, the campaign has reached countless labourers, offering meals and snacks that help fuel their toil and grit, erecting the foundation of the UAE. In this interview, Inder Bhagnani sheds light on Feed-A-Labour initiation and his admirable tenacity for philanthropy.

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The primary focus of Feed-A-Labour isn’t the donation but the act of donating your presence to someone who can’t reciprocate in the same coin A Simple Question, An Impossible Answer Back in 2014, Inder was at a café when he noticed a labourer walk in to buy himself a sandwich and tea. However, Inder noticed the worker cancel his order and opt only for a cup of tea instead. Intrigued, he inquired why the man changed his order instead of a bigger meal when he clearly had the money. The worker replied, “I had to choose between one

sandwich and a cup of tea, or 4 cups of tea for the next four days with AED 4. The choice was simple.” This conversation changed Inder’s worldview. Unwilling to sit idly by, Inder helped fellow friends of the labourer over the next few weeks, which turned out to be the stepping stones that eventually blossomed into the ‘Feed-A-Labour’ initiative. Through his efforts, Inder and others members of his community have fed half a million labourers around Dubai in about eight years. Feed-A-Labour initiative doesn’t accept cash donations. Instead, it collects food and connects with construction sites and labour camps. The campaign feeds labourers at the same site for around three years until the work ends.

A labourer said, “we do our job for so many years, every single day and to this moment, no one has ever come out here to visit us.” This was crystallized as an unforgettable memory for Inder

The Intangible Rewards Inder recalls one of the most poignant moments when one labourer stood completely still, even after he had already received his food. When Inder approached the man to ask if he was okay, he burst into tears. Emotionally, he asked, “Who are you all? Why did you come here? Nobody has ever done this for us. Can I just hug you? I wanted to thank you for thinking of us. We do our job for so many years, every single day and to this moment, no one has ever come out here to visit us.” This was crystallized as an unforgettable memory, reminding him that his work was invaluable to those who led arduous lives in the Emirate, building towers of dreams. More recently, Inder has been keen on incorporating the feedback he receives from the labourers, even adapting his donation of food items to what the labourers request. For example, he explains, “Back in January, we were giving out Laban Ups (buttermilk). It was slightly cold, so one labourer asked if it was possible to bring in biscuits in place of the buttermilk to couple with their evening tea.” The following week’s donation was inundated with so many biscuits that the labourers were left awestruck. For every little detail that Inder pays careful attention to, he is rewarded with blessings and unending gratitude from the workers.

Driven by Empathy Inder and his team now plan to grow and scale-up donations to about 10,000 labourers and thus are looking to receive maximum contributions from their members. Having started their noble endeavor for change in Dubai, they hope for the drive to scale across the various Emirate states. Eventually, he plans on diving into healthcare. Inder adds, “We’ve got a diverse range of people involved in the campaign between the ages of 8-55. We’re going slow, but the good thing is we are consistent. We do wish to grow, but we want to be consistent with our activities.” For a real-estate businessperson, Inder is not

 Inder distributing food packages at a construction site

obsessed with the bottom line. Instead, his purpose is clear - To give as he earns. Inder says, “It is a non-monetary business, where you get emotional satisfaction instead of something tangible.” Donors are required to take time out of their busy schedules and participate in appreciating the efforts of Dubai’s unseen, unsung heroes. The primary focus of Feed-ALabour isn’t the donation but the act of donating your presence to someone who can’t reciprocate in the same coin. Associating with this charity invokes selflessness and true empathy, both qualities that are desperately needed in the world today. It thus begins to dawn clearer on us why the initiative refuses cash donations. Inder’s ethos are mighty apparent as he says, “Anyone can donate a couple of hundred dirhams, but to contribute to Feed-A-Labour, you must be physically present.” Inder’s movement is admirable and a significant step in bridging the gap by putting ourselves in the shoes of the less fortunate. If you would like to join Inder’s noble cause, head over to the Facebook group and register to offer a meal and some time from the bottom of your heart.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

A A M H g n i T Fly in S A high M U Beyond Business / tr avel

Japan’s Hamamatsu is renowned for it’s annual kite festival. G.S. HARSHITHA takes you on a soaring journey of all this town offers

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tr avel

Situated on the island of Honshu and the largest city in Shizuka, Japan, Hamamatsu is a town that goes at its own gentle pace. Like most of Japan, it is adorned with cherry blossoms and the long, seemingly never-ending shoreline of the Pacific Ocean. With its industrial hubbub, Hamamatsu is not the dictionary defined ‘tourist spot’, but there are many interesting places to discover and festivals to attend. One of Japan’s most famous and happening festivals is the Hamamatsu Festival, held during the Golden Week that falls in early May. It is a 450-year-old tradition that began in 1558, where giant kites are flown to celebrate the birth of a baby boy to the Lord of Hamamatsu castle. In jubilance, the lord and his close advisers flew a kite with the son’s name written on it. The thrilling three-day festival flows with the kites flown by the district teams from the city. Each district designs a sprawling kite around 3.5m x 3.5m in size, decorated with paper carrying the district’s emblem, attached to short hemp strings that help the kite fly. The teams have a ritual of wearing happi coats with their district emblazoned on them as pride. As morning shines on 3rd of May each year, more than 100 large kites take to the horizons. The kite holders stand at the Nakataima Sand Dunes, releasing them all at the same time when the trumpet sounds. One of the three largest dune areas in Japan, the dunes overlook the Enshu-nada

It is a 450-year-old tradition that began in 1558, where giant kites are flown to celebrate the birth of a baby boy to the Lord of Hamamatsu castle

/ Beyond Business

Sea, where strong winds blow that are necessary to fly kites. The kites are decorated with the names of baby boys as well as the marks or designs of each town (cho). According to popular belief, the higher the kites fly, the healthier the baby boys grow up. At various points throughout the day, the group will hoist the child onto the father’s shoulders and jiggle him around the place. Weeks prior to the event, people are very sportive and start practicing chanting, blowing the trumpet, and banging drums to elicit the noise and cheer that the festival is known for. Tourists who visit this festival have a lot of fun seeing the group launching and flying the kites. To reach this event, people usually take a bus from the bus station near JR Hamamatsu, where English-speaking volunteers guide you through the participation process. This sport tests the teams’ skill and strength. There is no particular time for the event; there are teams who embark on the kite flying proceedings right from 4 am onwards, but 10 am is when the things start to heat up (literally too!), with the merrymaking concluding at 4 pm. It is advised that people wear light clothes to beat the summer heat waves and comfortable shoes and be ready to get it all muddy and have fun. The flying area is lined with festival stalls selling crowd-pleasing delights such as yakisoba, okonomiyaki, and chocolate bananas. There’s even a beer tent if you wish to 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / tr avel  Hamamatsu Flower Park

 Yakisoba  Okonomiyaki  Frozen chocolate Bananas

The city of Hamamatsu is the hub of industry, famous for the production of musical instruments associated with big brands like Yamaha and Kawai Pianos, and factories of Honda Motor Company match the levels of intoxication of the kite fliers and go high with the kites. The air is alive with raucous cheer as the teams joust with their kites amidst the smoke and chaotic fun. If you can attend only one day out of three, the final day is the best to witness. In celebration of Children’s Day, called Kodomo no hi on May 5th, the day opens with kite-flying by children in the morning. This is then followed by Kite-Fighting, the most anticipated part of the entire festival. The aim is to take down other kites by slashing their strings mid-air with your kite, and the kite remaining flying in the air is supposed to bless the newborn child and bring good fortune for their future. Be warned though. Sometimes things get intense during the competition, so if a scuffle breaks out between the teams, the police on location intervene so it remains safe.

Out and about Apart from the festival, there is much you can explore in the city of Hamamatsu:

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 Hamamatsu Castle

Hamamatsu Castle The Hamamatsu Castle played a key role in the unification of Japan. The castle served as the home of young Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of Japan’s last shogunate or hereditary military dictatorship, living there for 17 years before finally uniting Japan following the Battle of Sekigahara and relocating the capital to Edo. Today, the concrete and steel structure is a modern revision built on the foundations of the original structure. To reach this castle takes a combination of a bullet train, regular train, bus or taxi, where you can check it out between 8:30 am and 4 pm on weekdays. During spring, the place is inundated with spring blossoms. A small museum in the modern castle displays weapons, armor, and other artifacts related to the Tokugawa clan and castle. It sits in the heart of a large, beautiful park with a lovely garden and pond, reminiscent of Tokyo’s larger parks, making it

the ideal place to relax and click some pictures.

Hamamatsu Flower Park The garden is at the edge of Lake Hamana, surrounded by 3000 flower species during all four seasons. As soon as you enter, the first thing you will encounter is the patio area covered with large blooming flowers to welcome you. As the seasons pass, different colors of flowers take over the garden - red, white, and pink plum blooming during the early months of the year, purple and yellow flowers in the mid months, with spring bringing Japan’s famed cherry blossoms. The “Hamamatsu Chrysanthemum Convention” is held during November, where the members of this committee compete with each other on the basis of the

tr avel

/ Beyond Business The name literally translates to “the warm forest,” and with the cute and aesthetic ambiance it creates, it stays true to its name

flowers they have grown in different colors and shapes. If you come as a family and take the ferry, there are several playgrounds set up, as well as a children’s plaza.

Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments This is the first municipal museum of musical instruments in Japan that cultivate a vast knowledge and understanding of music, musical instruments as well as culture of the city. It was established as the “Creation of a city of Music.” Artsy people should come and admire the true art here. This museum is small enough to cover it all in an hour.

Kanzanji Ropeway This is the only ropeway ride that crosses a lake in Japan. Visitors climb aboard the cable cars, dangling over the Hamanako lake in both a terrifying and exhilarating jaunt. Also known as a lover’s spot, you will feel the love in the air at this scenic location, with the sprawling waters beneath you and Mount Fuji standing tall in the distance. The romance is only heightened by the beautiful chimes of music emanating from the music bells, which toll during certain hours of the day. This wondrous experience costs around 420 to 840 yen, depending on the visitor’s age.

Nukumori no Mori There is more romance and adorable settings in store for you with the Nukumori no Mori, a village-themed attraction set up in a forest, with whimsical stone cottages along with housing cottages and shops. The name literally translates to “the warm forest,” and with the cute and aesthetic ambiance it creates, it stays true to its name. This place is best visited during the daytime with your family or partner to enjoy everything in store.

 Nukumori no Mori

Getting down to business  Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments  Kanzanji Ropeway

Despite its natural bounty, Hamamatsu is uniquely industrial and international. The city of Hamamatsu is the hub of industry, famous for the production of musical instruments associated with big brands like Yamaha and Kawai Pianos, and factories of Honda Motor Company, Roland Corporation, Sony, Suzuki Motor Company, and Hamamatsu Photonics (which is also headquartered here), as well as a large airbase for Japan’s defense force. It is now a leading industrial center with strong economic ties to Nagoya. Apart from the production of musical instruments, it is also known for the manufacture of motorcycles and consumer goods, as well as cotton dyeing and weaving. In addition, Hamamatsu serves as the marketing hub for western Shizuoka, including Lake Hamana and the lower Tenry River. The local allure of this quaint city comes out in full swing during this Kite Festival. If Japan has been a part of your bucket list for long, don’t hesitate to fly to the land of the rising sun and enjoy the culture, food, and simple living that Hamamatsu promises you.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / health

‘SCREENING’

YOUR SCREEN TIME With work, play, pleasure, and convenience all linked to our devices, its perils loom large. Qiraat Attar shares 4 tips to help detach from screen addiction

aving worked from home for over two years, your workstation has become your duty and your refuge. Boundaries are nearly non-existent - Your eyes are glued to the screen as you take calls from the kitchen, record notes in the shower, furiously read emails and respond to them at the dinner table. You think you’re doing great - can’t go wrong with hyper-presence and peak productivity, right? Wrong. An Indian study revealed that for adults, screen time has increased to more than 60–80% from before the pandemic. Another study by UC San Francisco researchers found that 12- to 13-year-old US children doubled their non-school-related screen time to 7.7 hours a day in May 2020. These statistics are testament that we have become overly dependent on our devices, heralding insidious but devastating consequences. How much time do you spend online? Take a guess and note it down. Now, how much of this time is spent voluntarily? With the routine of a formal workplace snatched away, our tasks and our leisures have blended together. Instead of genuine relaxation, leisure has taken on the form of binge-watching TV shows, YouTube, and idle surfing. Additionally, social media apps like Instagram,

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Facebook, and even LinkedIn are proven time-killers.

The Tipping Point

Spending long hours staring at a screen takes a toll on your eyes. It can cause ‘computer vision syndrome’, which causes retina damage and blurred vision. The blue-light-emanating- screens suppress the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, causing fitful sleep. Thanks to our devices, all the sitting we do exacerbates the risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. One study found that spending more than four hours a day sitting in front of a screen more than doubles your likelihood of dying or being hospitalized for heart disease — a risk that cannot be canceled out by exercise.

 Screenagers, documentary by Delaney Ruston

Excess screen time skews your perspective, dismantling the creator in you to forge you into a relentless, unthinking consumer. An interesting documentary, Screenagers, by physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston revealed that the apps which have you glued to your screen can produce a drug-like effect. When parents abruptly take away the device from their child, meltdowns are common for teenagers. That’s because of intense addiction to dopamine, the ‘feel-good hormone’, part of the brain’s pleasure and reward circuits. Overindulgence in your devices for both work or pleasure impacts you negatively in the long run. While working non-stop may cause burnout, a compulsion to binge without thought essentially leaves you as a bystander, forever watching the moving images of somebody else’s life rather than crafting your own.

Ditching The Screen

Our digital devices are deeply entrenched in our lives. To kick this compulsion, a few behavioral changes are necessary. BOSS KNOWS BEST: Create an alter ego - your own ‘stern, no-nonsense boss’ avatar that wants to see you grow to your full potential. This boss decides a stipulated time for tasks and ensures you complete them within the duration. Line up a commitment to ensure you adhere to deadlines - if you are working on a task in the morning, set up a brunch date with a friend a couple of hours later instead of allowing the said task to spill over the entire day.

Illustration: Sumeet Gupta

RETURN TO JOY: Once you notice your screen time reducing, fill the negative space by returning to your hobbies or picking up new ones. Choose hobbies that you can get involved in immersively - such as painting, learning a new sport, crafts, writing, or even something quirky like visiting new cafes in the town you’ve lived in forever. NO FOMO: We live in a media-addled society. Every new piece of content or entertainment is touted as ‘pathbreaking’, ‘must-watch’, or ‘Oscar-worthy’. Well, it’s not. Learn to ignore the FOMO, which insists you have to be up-to-date with all the latest shows and movies or scroll social media relentlessly to stay with viral trends and hacks. These portals are vying for your precious time, so get picky about where you put it. GET MOVING: Excessive screen time brings with it complimentary issues of poor posture, sedentary lifestyle, and near-constant lethargy. This leads to

stiff joints and swift aging. Forego excessive screen staring for simple and effective physical exercises - taking a walk, a short swim, or practicing yoga or meditation. If being without your phone or laptop is vastly unappealing to you, opt to watch energetic or upbeat music videos and dance to them or listen to a stimulating podcast when walking or running.

Set Your Sights On A Better You

You will notice a marked improvement in your life as your dependence on your devices decreases. The lowered exposure to blue light will improve your eyesight and correct your sleep patterns. Substituting this habit with healthier patterns of movement and activity can help you ditch the chronic lethargy, lose weight, have youthful skin and sharp posture. On a deeper level, not losing precious hours to binge-watching or mindless social media surfing opens up hours of your day to inculcate better habits or devote time for the things you always felt you had no time for.

Real-Life Beckons

The truth is - real life is pretty mundane. It becomes exciting when you make it so. That is why humans are wired to respond to dopamine - you seek absolute pleasure, happiness, and achievement, for which your neurobiology rewards you with dopamine, indicating to your innate biology that it is fun to try new things.

Self-help gurus advise a ‘dopamine detox’ or ‘digital detox’, where they suggest to stop seeking to end boredom when it happens; instead, lean into it and let your creativity find a way out of it With artificially-induced dopamine constantly flooding your system owing to screen addiction, no achievement will feel rewarding enough, no new experience fulfilling enough. Essentially, all the daily habits and excursions designed to make the human experience a crazy joyride seem ‘meh’. This is why productivity and self-help gurus advise a ‘dopamine detox’ or ‘digital detox’, where they suggest to stop seeking to end boredom when it happens; instead, lean into it and let your creativity find a way out of it. We have a limited 24 hours a day, and those are to be divided between the things that are essential and the things that give us true joy. Turn off your phone or system and step into the real world; for real joy isn’t meant to be two-dimensional.  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / auto

FUNCTIONAL BEAUTY Brace yourselves as S.DEEPIKA takes you onboard INFINITY’S QX60 2022 edition that redefines driving luxury and aesthetics. Packed with 3-rows as an SUV should and yet wearing the crown of luxury, the all-new Infiniti QX60 goes from carpool lane to concert hall in the blink of an eye. Fall in love with this aesthetically beautiful yet stunningly functional masterpiece that keeps you connected kinesthetically to the future.

Design

The exterior • The graceful, sporty proportions and intricate design of the all-new QX60 subtly flaunt the power under the bonnet. • The 2022 QX60 has been completely reimagined, with a higher waistline, wider, more muscular proportions, a more pronounced hood, and striking and powerful proportions all around. • The QX60's rear D-pillar features an all-new wrap-around glass treatment that rejects traditional vehicle design in favor of clean, luxurious simplicity. • This car is their first two-tone model, with colors like Moonbow Blue, Deep Bordeaux, Majestic White, Grand Blue, Warm Titanium, Graphite Shadow paired with a Black Obsidian roof. Alternately, the entire vehicle is also available in a single solid tone of the aforementioned shades. Cabin style and interiors • The QX60’s cabins offer a space contrast like never before - uncluttered interiors that are incredibly open, offering a boosted sense of calm that stays consistent through the ride. • Both front seats have eight-way power adjustments, but Infiniti also offers options like ventilated front

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seats, a massage feature, and heated rear seats. • The QX60's standard panoramic moonroof has an awe-inspiring effect. • The QX60 uses a unique theater-seating approach to its internal layout, slightly raising the height of each row as you move further back to give passengers a better view of the road ahead and a more connected overall experience. • The interior material – the most decadent leather – renders the seats akin to thrones which have plenty of reclining room.

Efficiency and Mechanics • Tuned for efficiency as you progress

through the gears, with the transmission's halt very subtle in Sport mode, allows for seamless handling. • The steering is vastly improved over previous models, with a better on-center feel for fewer maneuvers while cruising. • The electric power-assist system retains its predecessor's light feeling at low speeds, but strengthens for more sport on bends and curves at higher speeds.

Near Misses

While we like the add-ons like optional massaging front seats and a 10.8-inch color head-up display, the responsiveness leaves something to be desired, as its capacitive-touch buttons for the radio and climate control functions require a decisive poke to activate.

Tech and Infotainment

• No matter which road you’re on,

the car ensures connectedness in every way. • Apple Play and Android Auto are synchronous with the infotainment system, so you can connect your phone easily to the car and receive calls, emails, and so much more. • To increase the sense of calm, Infiniti has added a richer audio system: a 17 speaker Bose system, surrounding the cabin with acoustics that will bring life to the multimedia system • Charging is quick and easy with the wireless charging features and multiple USB ports. • ProPILOT Assist reduces the stress of stop-and-go driving in traffic by controlling the acceleration, braking, and steering during single-lane highway travel.

Safety • Infiniti Advanced Air Bag System

Engine and Performance • The 3.5L V6 direct-injection engine in the QX60 produces 295 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque, with an idle start/stop feature that improves efficiency. • The 9-speed automatic transmission with manual-mode paddle shifters provides confident control and palpable responsiveness, no matter the terrain. • The new QX60's exceptional fuel-economy estimates for frontwheel-drive models are 21 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway, with a 1 mpg decrease on the highway (‘mpg’ is miles per gallon).

(AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags for the driver and front passenger shows heightened attention to safety detail. • The LATCH System (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) makes it easier to install compatible child restraint seats. • Its lane departure feature, which sounds an audible warning if you drift into the lanes, is part of its preventative safety. • For safe and secure rides, standard rear automatic braking, forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection, predictive forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert (with haptic steering wheel alert), and high beam assist are included.

Nemesis

While the QX60 comes at par with rivals such as the Lexus GX 460, Acura MDX, Audi Q5, BMW X5, it does better because the Infiniti has created something fresh and entirely new while redesigning this crucial member of the brand's mid luxury SUV collection.

X-factor

The Infiniti QX60 focuses on two elements – luxury and calm, and delivers admirably on them. This results in a vehicle with interior leather in texture, color and experience that you’ve never witnessed before and a smooth, seamless ride where you are in control of experiencing the adventure, but not the external chaos.

Price point

Selling at a starting price of approx. AED 175,000

When does it launch?

The QX 60 will be on sale to drivers in early 2022. Expect it in Dubai markets by May or June 2022. J 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / st yle

8 Ways to Dress Up Your Walls

What are your walls saying about you? Qiraat Attar offers some tips to boldly display your style across your home.

H 54

Home decor is not merely aesthetic; it’s an expression of you. It is a way to convey who you are before you’ve said a word. Your home is your refuge, your abode, a place to shed the layers of external veneer and become, truly, unfettered you. Sterile, blank walls are for empty homes and unvisited corridors; homes full of life deserve to be adorned with the evidence of happiness and occupancy in them. You may know your vibe, but do you know what goes

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with it? Unfortunately, many people don’t pay attention to it and end up accumulating art and decor that feels mismatched and incompatible. Interior or wall styles call for trial and error; people evolve, tastes change. Look around you at your walls. Is it time for a redo? Feel your hands along the empty spaces on your walls, and walk with us through the various styles that speak to you, give you joy and add color to your walls.

You can’t go wrong with paintings This is, without doubt, the vastest category on the list. Since humanity’s cave-dwelling days, painting on the walls was our earliest attempt at art, preserving memory, offering posterity, and passing lessons down to their successors. Not only is it vast, it is also extremely flexible. You can opt

for full coverage art, where the artwork covers the entire wall. If you love entertaining guests, abstract or interpretive art can be intriguing and act as a conversation starter with new people. You could also add modern art as per your preferred theme, such as paintings dominated in hues of blue near your aquariums or artwork in yellow and orange in your plant nursery. With a little discerning, add paintings that contribute the right mood to your space.

Lost, yet found Not all those who wander are lost, but that doesn’t mean memories from your wanderlust vacations won’t vanish. The antidote - collectibles from your trips! Think about it - people buy more collectibles on their travels than at any other time - don’t leave it languishing in

a corner. Instead, if you are a seasoned traveler, decorate your walls with trinkets, posters, and other stuff from them. A picture collage of all the nature hikes you’ve undertaken or a framed memory of all your plane and train tickets that have taken you to lands unseen would be so cool. A Japanese decorative fan, traditional Indian calendars, local hand-drawn maps from faraway lands, caricature sketches from Paris, postcards from your friend’s trips could be ensconced forever in frames on your wall, bringing the globe in your living room.

Bend the rules Wire art has risen to prominence, a confounding style, with wire artists showcasing their work and process on social media. It is created by bending a piece of wire to trace out a silhouette or a pattern, not meant to be an exact replica but rather as a spiritual imagination. A firm addition to modern, abstract art, this textured style lends an ultra-sophisticated air to whichever wall or room you add it to. Animals, poses of people in repose or in dance, nature, or human expressions are often inspirations for this wire art form. Not only does it establish you as a thorough connoisseur of beauty, it will also have people spend endless hours trying to eke out various interpretations from it. If you are feeling quirky, you could also request a wire artist to create a piece modeled on yourself. 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / st yle For the love of nostalgia If you travel for work often, you probably miss your family a lot. These strong relationships are the incredible support system keeping you going through life, and it is a gift to have one by your side. You can get a professional family portrait clicked (ala ‘Modern Family’ style), perfect for adorning the walls of your vacation home. You can opt for a collage with you and your childhood friends, either in a single frame or as a cluster of multiple pictures, all of which create a nostalgic walk down memory lane. A more DIY crafty affair looks charming too, with polaroids decked up on string lights or colored jute ropes. Black and white or sepia tones are great for childhood pictures and old memories. Set these up in intimate spaces such as your bedroom, kids’ rooms, or even your foyer entering your home to have a trusting homey energy in the house.

Invoking divine omniscience Every religion has art, iconography, or religious depiction that makes its way onto walls - stained glass murals of Mary or Jesus, depictions of Saraswati, Laxmi or Shiva, or renditions of the Buddha and his teachings. Likewise, you may have seen images of the Ka’bah or the framed verses of the Quran lend a gentle aura to several homes across the Middle East. Those fastidious about design will be pleased to know that several artists and commercial design brands have merged religious and spiritual iconography with stupefying typography, colors, and modern styles that go beautifully with architecturally futuristic homes. Use these in places where you invoke God or need peace - around your workstation, a prayer room, or your cherished

corner of meditation. The art will impart positive energy and create a cleansing aura that indicates that divine forces in the Universe are always watching over you.

Movie magic! For some of us, our fandoms define us, forming a large part of life and our memories. Thus, we wear our taste on our sleeve - be it movies, music, bands, books, or superheroes. So let the stories that have dazzled us on the silver screen go forth and add pizzazz to your life and your walls. You can obtain prints of movie posters (you can even get authentic vintage ones that are incredibly classy), music album cover prints, or 56

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your favorite superhero crystallized on your walls. In fact, these are fairly easy to obtain since most movie productions like Marvel, DC, Warner Bros, and all major publishing houses like Penguin sell high-quality merchandise. It shows that you are a connoisseur of the fine art of cinema and storytelling, and these stories are universally loved, so even family and friends will find them relatable.

Infinite tapestries This is a very classy, old-school, austere style. Large, palatial homes with expansive walls suit this style exceptionally well. Imagine light Persian rugs, Syrian carpets, printed Indian 'chadars', or tapestry to add color to your walls. This also gives the added advantage of protecting your paint from usual wear and tear.

When such statement indoor pieces especially specific to a particular culture or region are included, you can complete the interior ensemble with decor pieces, statues, murals, shelf toppers, even door handles and frames of that culture so that you can commit to a specific style and allow it to flourish in your home.

Gorgeous chaos All of this might come across as a bit too restrictive for some folks. Why should one have just one boring style? Why does it have to be either oil paintings alone or exclusively vintage movie posters? If you are the kind who abhors uniformity and can't be bothered to fit an aesthetic, we’ve got an idea that will help you break the rules and still create a scene with the miscellaneous artwork style. You must have seen this in bars, speakeasies, or comedy clubs, where they opt for a blend of styles for that artistically disheveled,

flea market vibe. It is youthful and rebellious, even ironic if you take austere or stately painted walls and do them up with mixed wall art instead of sticking to expensive or predictable creations. This is a splendid option for the stubborn non-conformist or those who tend to buy things on a whim instead of planning elaborate looks for your home.

Styling tips Other aspects will come into play if you go from being a decor experimenter to a fullfledged expert. Where you place your wall art, its size and proportions, and your use of negative space all contribute to creating a space that is both pleasing but also cohesive. Here are some tips: Careful with your bedroom

wall art. If you have trouble falling asleep, dark-themed or overtly interpretive pieces will make it even harder. Overly cluttered walls will

make your space look smaller and even untidy. For maximum impact, place your art at eye level. If you want to draw attention to your high ceilings, hang them higher. If you have only a few pieces, highly dispersed decor won’t feel impactful - A sofa here, then a fireplace farther away, and wall art scattered across rooms. Instead, create beautiful niche spaces with complementary decor that you can enjoy all together and which photograph better too. 2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / a spire+ An entrepreneur needs to know a lot. Way more than the business idea he or she is growing. ASPIRE brings you a range of know-how to have you effortlessly conversing with everyone you meet. Success is not what you do, it is how you do it… WE’RE THE MILLERS

DAUGHTERS OF DESTINY

Laugh Out Loud

A World of Learning

Fans of Rachel Green will love this one. A crime comedy that will have you falling off your seats in laughter. When a small-time drug dealer David Clark gets robbed, he’s unable to pay off his supplier. Instead, the two strike a deal, and David is forced to smuggle a truckload of drugs across the Mexican border into the US. So David convinces his neighbours to come with him on a road trip in exchange for some of the profits. Of his neighbors, one is a lady stripper, one a 19-year old runaway girl, and one an awkward 18year old teenage boy. Masquerading as the perfect, all-American family, they set out on a series of misadventures that get funnier and funnier with every plot turn. The movie stars Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis in a heartwarming story that explores family life, loyalty and bravery, and innocence in a wonderful mix. Unsurprisingly, the movie was nominated for four People’s Choice Awards and six MTV movie awards. Released almost ten tears ago, it’s available on Netflix, so if you haven’t seen it already, grab that popcorn and settle down for an evening of laughter. Warning! You might want to watch this with people over eighteen as there’s some fairly adult content that doesn’t make this family movie… exactly a family movie.  Available on Netflix.

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WATCH it

Nurture vs. nature… how much of who we become is down to accident of birth or the nurturing we get after we are born. This brilliantly filmed documentary follows a unique educational experiment where children from some of the poorest sections of India are put into a boarding school of some distinction where they are given a high-quality education and exposure to a wider world than they were born into. The program tracks the lives of

some of the students of Shanthi Bhavan and their families as they navigate a difficult path balancing new learning and hopes for a bright future against age-old systems of patriarchy and prejudice. This heartwarming, moving documentary deftly delves into cultures and changing times with sympathy and truthful precision, exposing a world where the triumph of the human spirit over adversity reigns supreme. The lives of these children, born into acute deprivation and poverty, are inspiring as the benefits of love, acceptance, and a good education see them become stones cast into a deep pool for a ripple effect that is so needed in the world today. Keep a box of tissues handy… you’ll need them.  Available on Netflix.

READ it

TAP COLOR PRO

Colour yourself happy

KITH AND KIN BY SHEILA KUMAR

DO it

Stories about life

While most publishers say short stories do not sell, we readers know that few things delight the soul as much as a collection of well-crafted short stories. From the pens of greats like Asimov, Doyle, and Bond, we have been entertained with characters, plots, and places that have given us rest from our daily labors. To add to the list of short stories one must-read is the collection of life snippets by an author who understands human nature perfectly and isn’t afraid to showcase it using superb imagery and a compassionate eye. Kith and Kin give you a collection of 19 short stories, all set within a single-family living in Kerala, India. The stories are a beautiful commentary on the richness of individual human experiences involving marriage, feminism, matriarchy and patriarchy as they nestle side by side in grudging discomfort, as generational shifts in thinking and old ways are forced to give way to new thoughts and a different way of being. Sheila Kumar deftly brings to life the personalities in her book and one is left with the sense of having intimately lived with the characters in the book and having visited the darkest corners of Mon Repos, the family home that provides the primary setting for the stories. But, also, like all good books, Kith and Kin paint a vivid picture of a place, in this case, Kerala and the city of Cochin and the fierce and beautiful sunsets over the famous Vembanad Lake. The stories are armchair travel at its finest and a look at a unique culture through the lives of a family that navigates changing times and ideals. The stories are real, human, endearing, poignant, clever, and they are, ultimately, the stories of all of us. A must-read and definitely recommended as a corporate giveaway if you want to earn brownie points with clients or customers.

Want to space out, forget the world and the pressure of business and other life stresses for a while. Well, forget mandalas, meditations, running or dancing, and channel color therapy in the easiest way possible. Tap Colour Pro takes coloring to a whole new fun level. Choose from a plethora of pictures, from farm scenes to fairies to flower gardens, and start choosing from the numbered color palette to start filling in the colors into the pictures. It’s incredibly easy to use, has virtually no learning curve, is surprisingly time-consuming and delightfully hypnotic. You can do it on the move while on the metro, while waiting for a meeting with the client, or just to tune out to give your brain a breather. Download it now for hours of coloring fun that let’s the adult in you connect to the child inside. Or use it to keep your children entertained during those long waits in traffic snarls. Or use it to feel an unbelievable sense of accomplishment when you fill in that last, tiny section of color. A download you will not regret. Though watch yourself; you may end up spending more time on it than you should. Available from Playstore. COMPILED BY SANGEETHA SHINDE  2 0 2 2 — A P R I L — ASPIRE

Beyond Business / the l a st word

A ‘REAL’ PRIVILEGE

Who we truly are will reflect in how others are around you. So, what are we putting out into the world?

grew up in an environment and culture that applauded conformity, and any deviation from the norm was severely and quickly punished. ‘Uncles’ could touch me inappropriately after leading prayers in church, and ‘aunties’ could report me for crimes that I did not commit in the name of social propriety. ‘Friends’ could treat me like toilet paper for being the wrong color, and ‘teachers’ could dismiss me for questioning the system. And in this atmosphere, I grew up not being allowed to explore who I really was or what I really felt. Navigating the expectations of others became my normal. As decades slipped by and social media raised narcissism to a well-paid art, my real self slid into even darker recesses, and I have had to claw my way out of that hiding place where I only shone as much as others polished me.

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Somewhere along the way came the realization that it was okay to be my imperfect self. To have breakups, to have failures, to have health issues and lousy bosses and horrid family members, and to not measure myself by anyone else’s expectations of what I should be. It was slow…this realization process. But today, it’s easy to pay compliments to another woman, pardon another soul without giving way to hate, to see good in someone who has harmed me, and have compassion for an alternate viewpoint. And I can do this because despite the plethora of naysayers that have compromised the majority of my socio-psychological influences, I sometimes ran into people who loved me so authentically that I wasn’t afraid to be myself around them. I could collapse into a hormonal mess, or spend three days in pyjamas around them, or be utterly imperfect in all sorts of annoying ways… and they allowed me to be that way without any judgement. And that in turn propelled me into being a healer, for these people taught me a powerful lesson about being authentic and holding space for others without compromising my own well-being. Authenticity has been studied since time immemorial. We have packaged it into books, magazines, philosophies, and each of us has our own version of it. Also, never before, in the history of mankind, has hypocrisy been paraded more openly as authenticity. Gurus and godmen, influencers and ineptitude… never before has the good life been this bad. And while I continue to meander through this mire of madness we call life, I believe I have arrived at a formula for being genuine amidst all the posturing, and it contains two elements. Firstly - these days, I try to ensure my social media posts align with my highest ideals and my actual inner landscape rather than painting a fake picture of my life for others to envy. And second, and this is truly important - I try to let people be themselves around me. Whether doing it at close quarters or from a safe distance, I allow people feel safe enough to be their most authentic selves around me. Because to enable authenticity in others, we have to first connect to who we really are, accept all our own glories and all our brokenness, and be equally comfortable with both. There’s nothing quite like becoming the star of your own reality show. Believe me… tune in once and you’ll never be able to stop watching. But don’t take my word for it. Greater minds than mine have said it from time immemorial. Still, few have said it better than Carl Gustav Jung, who beautifully summed it up when he so elegantly and accurately stated, “The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.” Embrace the privilege. 

Sangeetha Shinde Tee is an author of four books, editor of 3 international magazines, an acclaimed healer, and reluctant entrepreneur. Also an unconventional traveler, rebellious truth seeker, and inveterate animal rescuer, she is working on her fifth book - a collection of ghost stories from around the world. Find out more about her life, books, and work at www. sangeethashindetee.com

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