‘AFREMBA’ COUNTDOWN TO Nina Olatoke, the harbinger of the All Africa Festival, as she talks all about African heritage, the excitement around AAF, and the importance of an authentic identity into fitness potential of wearable as it now comes with promises to holistic health Call Of Croesus
Femme power Jamula, founder of It sHerWay, on the positive impact
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Electric Vehicles welcome a brand new-addition with the minimalist yet high-tech Tesla 3
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Pick Your Season Seasonal Color Analysis, the TikTok trend that has fashion mongers obsessed, guides you to colors that suit you the best
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Here’s how we should not com municate with the person we should love the most
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Just because you are royalty does not mean that things will not go wrong.
As Princess Elizabeth was getting ready for her wedding, the diamond tiara she had planned to wear snapped in two as the hairdresser was securing it to her veil. The Queen Mother calmed her visibly upset daughter say ing, “there are still two hours to go, and we have other tiaras.”
Thankfully Garrad, the royal jeweler commissioned to make the tiara by the princess’ grand mother was on standby in case of any emergency. His team of craftsmen welded back the tiara for Princess Elizabeth to wear in time for her wedding vows.
Was it luck or exceptional planning that saved the day? It could have been ‘both’ or ‘either’. And what if it was ‘neither’? In that case, it would have been another tiara, as suggested by the Queen Mother. So, if there is anything ‘snapping’ in your life today, please note that there is always an option available if you are willing to see it.
The Queen may have the title as the ‘longest-reigning monarch
in British history’, but she was adoringly nicknamed by her father as “Lilibet” and lovingly referred to as “Cabbage” by her husband, Prince Philip.
The titles don’t define you… it’s the work you do that does. So, whether you are a ‘cabbage’ or ‘pumpkin’ to someone, re member you have it in you to do and create something extraor dinary the world will remember you by.
Like Nina Olatoke, a woman ordinary like any other and the powerhouse behind the prom ising All Africa Festival slated to be much bigger than what it started like last year. Like Niousha Ehsan, the Chief Ener gy Officer at one of the world’s most successful event manage ment firms. Like Linda Benallal from a humble and challenging background, starting a modest fashion line and a humanitarian venture. Like Armin Jamula, who is creating waves of positive impact on female entrepreneurs through her platform ItsHerWay. Like Peter Baics who is helping F&B operators through his con sultancy Baix&Co.
Like Riddhi Roy, Kedar Kalamkar, and myself, who are respectively assisting companies in establishing themselves as
brands, assisting organizations in building better functional teams, and assisting parents to be progressive in their approach. Like the numerous life coaches who guide people on different aspects, helping create a better quality of life.
AI, Wearable Technology, Financial Tools, The Bicycle, and Seasonal Colour Analysis, were all breakthroughs created by ordinary people wanting to create something extraordinary. Whether you are a Queen re ceiving 70,000 letters a year or probably none, know that you have a life that can be valuable to you and others around you.
As the Queen in her wisdom said, “Giant leaps often start with small steps”, and “It’s worth remembering that it is often the small steps, not the giant leaps, that bring about the most lasting change.”
So, whether you are taking small steps or giant leaps, know that you have a head that’s deserving of a crown. ✪
On September 27, Bali, Indonesia, will host the official World Tourism Day event, reflecting the change in perception of tourism’s role as an essen tial development pillar.
The International Day of Observance this year, with the topic “Rethinking Tourism,” will center on re-imagining the sector’s expansion, both in terms of scale and importance. The official day (September 27) will be held in the Republic of Indonesia, but the other UNWTO Member States, non-members, and stakeholders from the whole business sector are welcome to conduct their fes tivities and help spread awareness of the day and its main subject.
“The potential of tourism is enormous, and we have a shared responsibility to make sure it is fully realized. On World Tourism Day 2022, UNWTO calls on everyone, from tourism workers to tourists themselves, as well as small businesses, large corporations, and governments to reflect and rethink what we do and how we do it,” said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UNWTO
At the beginning of this year, there were twice as many foreign visitors than there were in 2021. Arrivals in some areas have reached or even surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Many millions of individuals throughout the world will experience
optimism and opportunity when the last remaining travel restrictions are lifted along with increasing consumer confidence. There is no question that the tourist sector has to undergo significant rethinking to address sustainability and climate change issues. However, rather than just giving it lip service on a specific day, all tourist sectors ought to embrace it as a true year-round commitment.
To achieve tourism’s potential as a tool for recovery and change, World Tourism Day 2022 aims to:
4 Offer a forum for open discussion to pinpoint answers.
4 Promote the idea that tourism can be a moti vating and transformative force, as well as the UNWTO’s and the industry’s collective roles in realizing this potential.
4 To guarantee that tourism is a key component of policymaking, mobilize political will and collaboration.
4 Ask important questions and find answers to reorient tourism for the future. The 27th of September has been designated as World Tourism Day annually since 1980. On this day in 1970, the Organization’s Statutes were adopted for the first time, laying the path for the creation of UNWTO five years later.
“The potential of tourism is enormous, and we have a shared responsibility to make sure it is fully realized”
Zurab Pololikashvili, SecretaryGeneral of UNWTO
able standards.
In accordance with the Paris Agreement, Egypt revised its Nationally Determined Contri butions in June and made them public. They stand for the strat egies that many nations want to use to keep global warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels. In addition, to help the confer ence go “from pledges to imple mentation,” Egypt has invited other African nations to publish their NDCs before Cop27.
According to Egypt’s Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, the country is on track to have all of its national projects comply with green standards by 2030 as the Cop27 host attempts to set an example for other African nations.
“Forty percent of the national budget that funds our national projects is for green projects, and we’re increasing that every year,” said Dr. Fouad on the sidelines of the Egypt Inter national Co-operation Forum (ICF) in Cairo during a threemonth forum that took place just two months before the UN Climate Summit at the Egyptian City of Sharm El Sheikh.
The conference was designed to highlight the potential and problems that the continent of Africa faces as a whole. Partici pants included climate leaders, development partners, the commercial sector, charitable or ganizations, think tanks, and civil society. As a result, Egypt estab
lished a target of 50% government funding for green projects by 2025 and 100% by 2030 as part of its Vision 2030 strategy.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stated that the nation would hit the 50% mark by 2024–2025 during the ICF launching on Wednesday. According to Dr. Fouad, the environment ministry is responsible for en suring that initiatives from the transportation industry to waste management adhere to sustain
“Forty percent of the national budget that funds our national projects is for green projects, and we’re increasing that every year”
Dr. Fouad
“The nation would hit the 50% mark by 2024–2025 during the ICF launching on Wednesday”
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi
“A Cop for implementation would simply mean that we would need to ensure that the decisions made [at Cop26] in Glasgow will be fulfilled,” Dr. Fouad said. He further specified, “there is an urgency for countries to update their NDCs, so we need to see that momentum of more NDCs coming to the secretariat.”
The president has stated that the top carbon emitters in the world must shoulder the lion’s share of the financial burden for mitigation and adaptation pro grams as Egypt only contributes 0.6% of the world’s carbon emis sions. The environment ministry has recently concentrated on waste management and air pol lution concerns, particularly in the Nile Valley and Delta, where roughly 95% of the 103 million people live.
Egypt is also creating new cities like New Alamein City on the Mediterranean coast and its New Administrative Capital to the east of Cairo in an effort to spread out its urban population. A “New Country strategy 20222026” was also laid forth by the African Development Bank and the Ministry of International Cooperation to advance cli mate-smart agricultural practices and boost the production of renewable energy.
Photos: Dr. Fouad — The American University In Cairo, www.aucegypt.edu; President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — WAMDubai’s non-oil private sector economy saw business activity reach a 38-month high as de mand grew and input prices decreased at a record rate. From 56.4 in July to 57.9 in August, the emirate’s headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global purchasing managers’ index increased, reaching its highest level since June 2019.
When the value is over the neutral 50 thresholds, the econ omy is expanding; when it is be low, it is contracting. The result, which was above the long-run series average of 54.5, showed a significant improvement under non-oil operating circumstances.
David Owen, an economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, stated that the most recent PMI data “suggested that input costs at Dubai non-oil businesses had swiftly changed their direction in August, falling for the first time since the start of 2021 and at the quickest pace since the survey
began almost 13 years ago.”
The recent declines in com modity prices were a major fac tor in lower expenses, and the stabilization of gasoline prices encouraged businesses to lower their output prices last month, boosting sales to a 38-month high. Since the start of June, oil prices have decreased by nearly 20%. In addition, input prices fell in August across all sur vey-covered industries, causing a significant reduction in total cost burdens that was the fastest ever seen in the series’ history. The reason for this was a de crease in gasoline, raw materials, and transportation costs.
The travel and tourist sector, one of the three industries tracked by the Dubai PMI survey, saw the largest activity rise in August, followed by wholesale and retail. The fastest increase in productivity in more than three years was seen in the same industry.
As it strives to become the most visited destination in the world, Dubai welcomed 7.12 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2022, more than tripling the 2.52 million tourists counted during the same period in the previous year. Along with other commercial and leisure events like the Arabian Travel Market, the World Government Summit, and Expo 2020 Dubai, the emirate was able to draw in more tourists.
On the other hand, UAE’s neighbor, Saudi Arabia’s econo my, has seen a growth of 12.2% in the second quarter of the year. The economy has grown faster than expected and beyond earlier projections due to increasing oil prices.
“The travel and tourist sector, one of the three industries tracked by the Dubai PMI survey, saw the largest activity rise in August, followed by wholesale and retail”
The headline growth rate exceeded the authority’s 11.8 percent second-quarter flash estimate, which was made public at the end of July. According to the most recent Gastat figures, the king dom’s GDP increased 2.2% from one quarter to the next. J
In a world where Alexa can turn the lights on without you moving a finger, there’s seeming ly nothing AI can’t do. Beyond technology of convenience, AI-powered analysis is now also making our streets safer.
An AI-based project led by Ishanu Chattopadhyay, Assistant Professor of the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago and Professor James Evans analyzed the various historical crime data points available in the public domain to predict fu ture events within distinct 1,000-square-foot urban centers. The technology was demonstrated using data from eight US cities: Atlanta, Austin, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, and San Francisco. This new algorithm can predict crimes an entire week in advance with a 90% accuracy rate, as per a recent paper published in Nature Human Behavior.
Researchers initially collated several years’ worth of data points from 2014 to 2016, using which AI predicted a crime in the upcoming weeks by analyzing past trends. Each year, the database is updated from the Chicago police files on violent and property-related crimes and the number of arrests arising from each incident. This data was then used to program AI models that show how variations in each parameter impacts the other. The technique allowed the team to not only predict crime levels with startling accuracy; it also replicated the same across seven other US cities. Moreover, when tested on datasets from a predictive policing experiment run by the Department of Justice, it outperformed the best alternative approach in 119 of 120 testing categories, such as accuracy, crime pattern detection, and efficiency.
Although early efforts toward this initiative are com mendable, these applications have raised controversy for reinforcing systemic biases in police enforcement and public psyche, and for forming a convoluted rapport of some social groups with crime more than others. Additionally, privacy is a huge concern for most users who interact with AI in real-time.
Ishanu Chattopadhyay told Insider that their mod el concluded that crimes in affluent neighborhoods resulted in a higher number of arrests than those in
We’re a long way from Asimov’s three laws but could Artificial Intelligence offer a real solution to safer cities? Deepika S investigates
impoverished communities, indi cating a bias in police responses to crimes.
Despite the influx of AI that assists in crime detection, detecting specific patterns of fraud committed by the same individual or group is still largely a manual task, as even advanced automated tools aren’t able to decipher patterns from a series of incidences. Instead, they can only predict an average crime level. For a better under standing of instances of crimes, it is important that analysts use a sense of incidental judgment, review past crime reports and compare them to the present day.
Another key application of AI in crime is implemented within the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD is collaborating with a data analytics company called Voyager Analytics, which has de veloped a system that uses AI to analyze social media profiles that detect emerging threats based on
the trends of an individual’s social media activity. Its key focus was on analyzing digital universes of people on the radar to determine their involvement in crime rings or intentions to commit future crimes.
According to Meredith Broussard, a data journalism professor at New York University, it is a guilt-by-as sociation system. Voyager affirms that all its data on individuals, groups, and pages allows its software to conduct a real-time analysis of sentiments that help to find new leads when investigating seemingly inconsequential interactions, behaviors, or interests.
The software can detect people who most fully identify with a given issue. The company’s biggest case study analyzed the ways it would have revealed trends in the social media presence of Adam Alsahli, who was killed last year while attempting to attack a naval base in Texas. Alsahli’s beha-vior on social media show¬cased the types of activity that would invite “proactive vetting and risk assessment”, for his profile strongly indicated a fundamentalist mindset before the attack. They found that 29 of Alsahli’s 31 Facebook and Instagram posts contained Islamic messages, reflecting his pride and identification with his Islamic heritage. The software concluded that his mindset was extremist by a thorough analysis of his social media activity.
Despite its obvious strengths, systems like Voyager are only as good as the data they’re processing. For
instance, in the Adam Alsahli case (which was later amended), many facets of what Voyager processes as signals of fundamentalism could also qualify as free speech or other fundamental activity. This is because parts of the man’s posts essentially read like the social media profile of your average Muslim dad.
Privacy is a major issue that causes concerns for many as the software digs into the virtual activities and transactions to detect any possible criminal intent of a user. Thus, while the nitty-gritty needs finess ing and unbiased, responsible analysis, we can take away from the case’s ongoing desire among police and national investigation agencies to advance their policing while eliminating the deeply embedded biases in the data being used in the systems.
Previous efforts to use AI to predict crime have created controversy because they can contribute to racial bias from analyzed patterns. A recent algorithm developed in Chicago created a list of people most at risk of being a part of a shooting, as a victim or an offender. It turns out, however, that despite these efforts to predict crime, details of the algorithm were initially kept secret, but when the list was finally released, it concluded that 56% of black men in the city between the ages of 20-29 were featured on it. Such grave generalizations cause a huge inaccuracy and erode public trust.
According to Chattopadhyay, efforts have been taken to reduce the effect of this bias, whereby the AI doesn’t identify suspects; instead, it only gives you an idea of the potential sites where crimes would have occurred. He adds, “Law enforcement resources aren’t infinite, so the utility brought by AI would be an optimal measure to predict the possibility of homicides in cities. The data has been released into the public domain so other researchers can check its reasoning and possible conclusions.”
“We created a digital twin of urban environments,” says Chattopadhyay. “If you feed it data from what happened in the past, it will tell you what will hap pen in the future. It’s not magical, and even with limitations, it works really well.”
Our technology is only upscaling, where criminals undoubtedly use the internet and its limitless possibil ities to commit a crime, be it a remotely coordinated terrorist attack or an online fraud. So why should crime investigation lag behind? While AI in governance and administration is trying to catch up with the malicious use of technology, predicting crime using AI without betraying the public’s trust or misidentifying a perpetrator still has a long way to go. ✪
Despite the influx of AI that assists in crime detection, detecting specific patterns of fraud committed by the same individual or group is still largely a manual task
When the Fitbit tracker hit the market in 2009, it created a new niche for people to monitor their physical activity throughout the day. A waist clipon, it was rudimentary compared to the advanced and sophisticated digital wearables of today that can collect real-time, continuous data of chemical and physical indicators in the body to chart its wellness.
Today, wearable gizmos like fitness trackers, smart watches, and smart patches can continuously measure and collate blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart beat, calorie expenditure, sleep quality, breathing, and so on. Specialized wearables can also monitor the electrical function of the brain and heart to in dicate neurological and cardiovascular conditions.
The digital health wearables market is estimated to hit 30 billion USD by 2026. Today, in the US, 30% of the entire population owns some kind of health tracker. But let’s do a little tracking of our own - how did this gigantic industry come into being?
Earlier, pedometers were an athlete’s companion to count their steps. Sports research was done via manual entries of data into spreadsheets, sometimes using devices like clunky wireless heart rate monitors. With time, as computers shrunk and fit into our pockets as smartphones, real-time monitoring became available to everyone. To achieve this, sophisticated sensors and trackers were developed, and a whole new class of digital wearables emerged.
The evolution was cemented when COVID hit, and the importance of ‘decentralized care’ increased. The requirement arose for remote health management, and telehealth bridged the gap as several patients and doctors worldwide were forced to receive and administer care ‘in place’ respectively. This has opened up research and development for wearable medical monitors that can remotely alert healthcare givers of
Sleek and sophisticated, digital health wearables promise invaluable medical information and limitless innovations in the healthcare and wellness sector. Megha Agrawal puts her finger on the pulse of this trend
an immensely successful way to make this technology popular with mainstream audiences. People have worn rings and bracelets for mil lennia, and wristwatches have been around for almost a century. So, switching from a regular wristwatch to a smartwatch is a comparably low adoption hurdle. As a result, digital wearables are one of the most successful examples of TAM or Technology Adoption Model. This model predicts the success of any new technology commercially depending on its compatibility and perceived complexity of usage.
For athletes, wearables have revolutionized their training and fitness regime. Many parameters like the Heart Rate Variability or HRV and Sweat Rate that could only be measured in lab conditions with bulky equipment can now be constantly monitored. These parameters can help experts deter mine athletes’ fitness ability and probability of injury, providing a lot of predictive power to improve their performance. In addition, the sports industry envisions a future where a digital clone of every athlete and sports person can be created, allowing any fitness regime, treatment, and diet to be first tested on these clones to get a digital result.
Fitness tracker augmentation
According to FutureMarke tInsights, the global market for health digital wearables is going to grow to 60 billion USD in 2030.
Wristwear accounts for 29.4% of the total global market. Apple globally accounts for 36% of the total shipments in 2022 Q1 and Samsung at 10% of the market share.
The countries with highest adaptation rates are USA followed by Spain, Turkey, Singapore and Switzerland. Numbers are expected to rise rapidly in Russia and China. Currently North America is the largest consumer with 38% market share.
By 2024, more than 160 million medical wearables units are expected to ship. The driving factors behind this boom are remote healthcare, pandemic after effects, health and wellbeing awareness, home diagnostics for chronic disease management.
to sportswear is another upcoming market, with an estimated share of 5.3 billion USD by the end of 2022. Using special polymers, lightweight sensors get woven into fabrics to track movement and bodily functions and then relay the data to smartphones. Sensoria, a leader in this field, offers smart socks, smart upper garments, and sensor anklets as a re al-time run tracking system.
Medical wearables are a marginally different ver tical but have similar tech and integration capa bilities with AI and cloud computing. 2021 saw an investment of over 50 billion USD in digital health products with a primary focus on telehealth and medical data analysis. These wearables carry the potential to revolutionize healthcare as they become mainstream and increasingly commercially viable. In most countries, the healthcare system is overloaded. Skilled personnel are critically needed yet acutely missed. Being a vital part of the medical triumvirate of ‘Monitoring’, ‘Data Analysis’, and ‘Predictive Prevention and Cure’, wearable tech is wholeheartedly welcome in healthcare. Automating the monitoring and diagnostics with wearables can shift that burden to free up health caregivers for more pressing, hands-on duties.
As technology evolves with better sensors and AIbacked data analysis tools, every patient’s medical history can be recorded with real-time monitoring that can provide great insights into disease prevention and cure. Patients with respiratory and pulmonary issues, chronic disorders like hypertension, diabetes, endocrine disorders, and cancers can be vigilantly monitored, complications anticipated, and drugs timely administered.
It is estimated that there are 450 million users of health wearables today ranging from biosensors to smart patches and smart clothing. Smart patches are small, unobtrusive patches adhered to human skin to collect data via microneedles and sensors and also to administer drugs. They are designed for single-function specialization like diabetes mon itoring. Blood pressure monitors are very sought after but pricey wearables. Omron’s Blood Pressure monitor, the HeartGuide, costs 500 USD. Compa nies like Palarum are designing medical wearable clothing like smart socks for fall detection and post-surgery movement monitoring through motion sensors. Owlet specializes in pediatric monitoring for medical conditions and wellbeing alike.
Another promising lead is the development of insideables and implants. Implants like microchips
under the skin can help with very accurate endocrine and hematologic monitoring. Insideables refer to hard capsules that can be swallowed to place sensors inside the body to measure organ functions. Both technolo gies appear fantastic and akin to science fiction, but several insideables are awaiting government approval to enter clinical trials. So, these technologies are not very far away on the horizon.
Wearables have seen rapid growth in the past few years with breakneck innovation and mounting funding. But this technology is still in its infancy. Present commercial models come with accuracy issues. For example, smartwatches can be fooled with hand or hip moment to mimic walking, hence getting erroneous data. Another major concern today is privacy policies. Many companies like Fitbit have revealed personal data captured on their website. There are concerns that this data will be used for targeted advertisements.
Also, wellness wearables have short-term studies to support them, but long-term study data is yet to reveal its learnings. Health wearables achieve good short-term results by ‘prompting’ and continuously monitoring users to make healthy decisions. But forming lifelong healthy habits is a tall order re quiring human intervention, self-motivation, and willpower. Users of wellness wearables agree that these gadgets are great for raising awareness around health, but most users do not deem them vital to their health routines.
In our anecdotal survey, Saptaparni, a 28-year-old business analyst, mentions that the maximum benefit of her smartwatch is increasing her step count. This is a great habit as sitting is considered the new cancer today. For her, the other most used features are gauging sleep quality and monitoring heart rate as precautionary measures to catch any problems beforehand.
It has been suggested that wellness wearables will actually become indispensable once AI augmen tation and sensors become more advanced. Then, the wearables can interact with their users on an entirely different level. For example, rather than just displaying the calorie expenditure, the user will get personalized suggestions as to what to eat that day and where they can go for their healthy meals in their vicinity. An increase in cortisol in the user’s bloodstream will prompt the wearable to advise the user to perform any form of immediate exercise to reduce stress.
With serious attention and funding, the technol ogy expects an iterative improvement in leaps and bounds, making digital wearables an inevitable reality of everyday life. ✪
AI augmentation and sensors become more advanced. The user will get personalized suggestions as to what to eat that day and where they can go for their healthy meals in their vicinitySensoria smart socks Palarum
We have entered an age where every generation, including teens, needs an astute grasp of their financial situation. When did this shift occur and how does it play out in a world of disappearing federal currencies and encrypted wallets? Qiraat Attar explores the money mindset
Many know how to make money, but fewer understand what it is to be financially literate.
Financial literacy is a long-term way of looking at our savings and investments. No one intends to work their entire lives, but expenditures don’t end, especially in the sunset years of our life. A solid financial plan can ensure that life is as smooth sailing when we’re retired as it is when we’re hustling in the prime of our life.
Today, by the time you hit your early 20s, there has already been a significant investment in your future towards your education. Vivek Gangadhar, a financial planner with two decades of experience and hundreds of clients, spoke to us about the mindset of the youth and the common money mistakes.
“The youth believe in a ‘get rich quick’ mentality, but it can be dangerous. Initially, you might get some good returns, but ultimately, your entire capital can get wiped out. They’re also caught up in the shiny object syndrome, where they want the best of ma terial comforts like the latest shoes, accessories, and gadgets, which may be out of reach at the moment. This causes them to get lured into EMIs, loans, and other debts, which can wipe away massive wealth when accumulated over a long time.”
He explains with a simple example. “A person’s total EMI of 10,000 INR per month (equals $125), if properly invested in a carefully selected investment portfolio of 15% interest rate, has the potential to yield around 3.7 crores ($ 465,000) in 25 years.”
According to a survey of 15-year-olds in the United States, 18 percent of respondents lacked the basic financial skills used in everyday situations, such as creating a simple budget and understanding an in voice. High schoolers scored an average of 48 percent, indicating the need for strong financial education at that level.
Today, a lack of such knowledge can be cata strophic. There are experts trained to help you save money and multiply it while still enjoying the occasional indulgence.
A 2022 Investopedia Financial Literacy Survey of 1000 adults from each generation, including Gen Z (18-25), millennials (26-41), Gen X (42-57), and baby boomers (58-76) revealed that despite some investing experience, most Americans have only rudimentary knowledge about investment. Overall, 57% of adults polled by Investopedia are invested, but only one-third have advanced investing knowledge. Even fewer (one in four) reported having a thorough understanding of digital currency concepts such as cryptocurrency, blockchain, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The survey revealed that millennials had the strongest grasp of investing at 44%. Gen X follows closely behind (37%), followed by Gen Z (31%) and baby boomers (26%).
On home turf, the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development published a research paper revealing
some sordid facts about the Arab youth – 26% of young Arabs had some form of personal debt, rising to 52% in Saudi Arabia. Credit card culture is to blame for a large portion of the problem.
Personal debt was admitted by 23% of UAE resi dents. Bank loans accounted for 38% of all obliga tions, followed by credit cards (32%) and student loans (15%). The report also revealed that around 70% of Emiratis are in debt because of their penchant for owning luxuries.
Given the situation, it is of utmost importance for the Arab youth to have substantial financial means so that their ambitions can be supplemented by their income. The study suggests building financial literacy curricula into children’s early education to build money skills and responsible fiscal behavior that kids need, especially if their parents are poor at these skills too. For teens, outreach programs are an excellent way to teach them financial basics and some advanced lessons such as home ownership, mastering banking skills, and leveraging credit without abusing it.
The Emirati youth is also enamored with cryp tocurrency, evidenced by “The Future of Financial Services Report,” which reveals that interest in digital assets is high, with two-thirds of UAE residents (67%) saying they want to invest in cryptocurrencies within the next five years.
Vivek also shed some light on the youth fad for cryptocurrency. Compared to older adults aged 45+, young UAE respondents aged 25-34 (74%) are more likely to say they are interested in cryptocurrencies.
“Cryptocurrency is money for the new generation. It’s a financial revolution. So, if you’re staying away from crypto, you lose. But I advise you to go for cryptocurrency, which has strong technology and blockchain backing it. Albeit, it has to be related to good gaming or Web3. There are more than 600,000 cryptocurrencies in the market, of which people know of around 20,000, and far fewer are credible. Therefore,
Personal debt was admitted by 23% of UAE residents. Bank loans accounted for 38% of all obligations, followed by credit cards (32%) and student loans (15%)
one must always research and look for the founders behind the currency, for that builds credibility.”
Vivek laments the lack of financial education. “Even as a chartered accountant, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India doesn’t teach personal finance. Neither do the premier institutions like IITs offer any courses on financial literacy.”
However, you can take steps to get informed. Fi
nancial books are a great way to immerse yourself in concepts about personal finance. Some classic money mindset books on financial discourse are Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and You’re So Money: Live Rich, Even When You’re Not by Farnoosh Torabi.
Alternately, universities and some prolific finance writers have created comprehensive courses that will lead one through the steps to build your finance habit. You can find highly rated courses on Cour sera, Udemy, and Khan Academy, or opt for specific courses like the Ramsey+ course by personal finance guru Dave Ramsey.
Apps that serve as portals for investment in stocks, mutual funds, and cryptocurrency also parallelly offer videos and short courses on strengthening your financial acumen. For instance, the Indian investment app Groww gives the market analysis of experts for every company, with percentages indicating if the experts believe it’s a good time to buy, sell or hold.
There are more than 600,000 cryptocurrencies in the market, of which people know of around 20,000, and far fewer are credible
“ Time is the biggest challenge for an HNI client. Due to lack of time, they cannot find the right person to manage their money. So, it’s all random investment, which does not help with growth.
— Chakrivardhan and Chakravarthy, Financial Consultants
Ideally, someone dipping their toes into the market can invest small amounts in learning about the basics of finance while simultaneously gaining hands-on experience and growing their funds.
A set of people known as high-net-worth individu als (HNI) require a special kind of financial advice. Chakrivardhan and Chakravarthy, two financial con sultants for this sought-after bracket, shed some light on the unique needs of these highly accomplished individuals like doctors, lawyers, or business leaders, who have their basic goals met but their aspirational dreams are yet to be manifested.
“Time is the biggest challenge for an HNI client. Due to lack of time, they cannot find the right per son to manage their money and end up relying on suggestions from friends, family, or a bank for their investment. So, it’s all random investment, which does not help with growth.”
The advisers clarify that the management style is slightly different for this clientele. Firstly, it cannot be a one-time transaction with them, for they need several consistent meetings to thoroughly explore and understand their options.
Additionally, HNI clients need to be offered suitable product baskets to help them meet their financial goals.
“A product is a financial scheme like a life insurance policy, mutual funds, fixed deposits, and bond funds, through which one can invest. The product should give the person access to move forwards. Ultimately, there is no bad or good product. It comes down to the suitability of the product. You need to look at if that product is aligned to your financial goal.”
Chakri and Chakra outline the differences between why HNI clients’ needs demand special attention.
“An ordinary person invests to fulfill Maslow’s hier archy of needs. But in the case of HNI, many of their needs are already met. Their concerns are different, such as insurance, taxation, and savings after taxes. Capital preservation and managing with the right investment is their biggest worry.”
In the United States, over 15 million seniors are economically insecure, living at or below 200% of the federal poverty line (FPL). It reminds us that people who do not take financial literacy seriously in their younger days may face financial crises later in life.
Vivek explains, “20 years down the lane, wrong financial decisions can truly derail a person’s life, ruin their relationships. The number one reason for divorce across the world is financial discord.”
As he sees it, people come under pressure to meet life’s milestones, such as buying a new house and car even when they may not be ready, steeping them into debt. “They end up borrowing from the bank for a new house they can’t afford. If you borrow for
20 years under a housing loan, that’s 60 lac rupees. With a steady EMI, you could end paying for 20 years up to 1.28 or 1.3 crores, ultimately costing you double your house and giving you nowhere near the same in resale value.”
The psychological impact of financial instability is tremendous. Vivek says, “Financial stress can become cancerous and affect every area of your life - giving you low self-esteem and low competence in life. You end up with extremely limited options, thus working for a paltry salary and putting boundaries on your life.”
One needs to strike the right balance to have a solid financial portfolio while also enjoying the finer things in life. Thus, there is something to take from all generations for some knowledge about money. From our parents’ generation, we can learn how to be frugal, not impulse-driven but driven by absolute necessity, forgoing trendy purchases for savings for a rainy day. From the millennials, we can learn to enjoy the experiences life has to offer, such as a fabulous family vacation once a year and dining out for special occasions. And from the newest generations, we can learn income diversification, a return to minimal ism, and a thorough exploration of all the available financial options to make our dream of a debt-free and stress-free future a reality. ✪
In the case of HNI, their concerns are different, such as insurance, taxation, and savings after taxes. Capital preservation and managing with the right investment is their biggest worry
Atribute to the late queen of England, the much-loved Elizabeth II. Words will not be enough...
A deafening silence that fills the streets of the UK and the Commonwealth echoes around the world, and they are all for one woman: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen left behind a royal legacy as she passed away on Thursday, 8th September, at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. She was 96 years old.
Upon the death of her father in 1952, Eliz abeth became Queen Elizabeth II. She was crowned a year later in Westminster Abbey and broadcast a speech to the Commonwealth. Ready to take on as the new monarch was a woman determined, and a woman capable of delivering.
Even as a young 25-year-old, Her Majesty was known for taking a serious interest in gov ernment and political affairs, apart from her ceremonial duties. Well, we certainly cannot agree more on this one! With her awe-inspiring compassion, dignity a tireless commitment to serving her country, the Queen has stunned us all with a record-setting monarchy.
The most notable of her achievements is undoubtedly her service in World War II in 1939. She was only 13 years old then. As the war dragged, Princess Elizabeth and Margaret were evacuated from Windsor Castle. However, Elizabeth felt a keen sense of duty even as a child and insisted on enlisting. Despite many pushbacks from the Royal family, Elizabeth was allowed to join the military effort when she was 18.
On her 21st birthday, she delivered a message in South Africa, where she dedicated her life to serving the British Empire. In her message, she said: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted
The young princess’ dedication and willingness to serve her country made her a hero even as a young girl. During a Speech on her Coronation Day, 2nd June 1953, Queen Elizabeth pledged to serve her country with all her heart.
“The ceremonies you have seen today are ancient, and some of their origins are veiled in the mists of the past. But their spirit and meaning shine through the ages, perhaps, more brightly than ever. I have in sincerity pledged myself to your service, as so many of you are pledged to mine. Throughout all my life and with all my heart, I shall strive to be worthy of your trust.”
Indeed, this was a woman born to lead the way.
Her Majesty’s health slowly deteriorated over time. However, regardless of her health issues, Queen Elizabeth continued to serve her country tirelessly and did not shy away from her responsibilities.
Well, it is an irrevocable fact that her com mitment, humanity, love, and wisdom are to be remembered.
And we will all remember!
The most well-traveled Queen in British history- we will remember.
The stability Her Majesty brought in – we will remember.
The first female British royal to serve as an active duty military member - we will remember.
Thanks to 70 long years, a Queen of love, wisdom, and humanity- we will remember.
The world will for sure continue to miss and remember Britain’s longest-reigning sov ereignty! ✪
The 4th annual DigiMarCon Middle East, the re gion’s premier conference and exhibition on digital marketing, media, and advertising, will be held at The Hyatt Regency Dubai Hotel in Dubai on October 18 and 19. Two days of in-person or online sessions will cover the best practices, newest trends, real-world solutions, strategy, networking, and the latest in Internet, Mobile, AdTech, MarTech, and SaaS technologies.
You will get all you need to succeed in digital mar keting, media, and advertising at DigiMarCon Middle East 2022! Avail of keynotes, knowledgeable panels, as well as digital marketing solution providers and their products in a vibrant, community-based setting. You will leave with your mind, notepad, and a professional toolkit with action items and ideas to lead and super charge your agency, team, or account to even greater success. Conventional thought will be challenged, and new ways of thinking will emerge at this event that brings together the best of the digital marketing world. It is the ideal venue to develop a professional network, find business partners, generate new ideas, learn, and grow as a marketing professional.
Participate at DigiMarCon Middle East 2022 to learn how to flourish as a marketer in a quickly changing digital environment. Top keynote speakers, case studies, strategy sessions, networking opportu nities, and more in a clean and safe setting! Discover why participants to this must-attend event keep re turning year after year! Register on the official website (https://digimarconmiddleeast.com/register/) right now to reserve your seat.
Organized by Mohammed Bin Rashid Housing Establishment, DecoBuild is a yearly décor, interior design, and building material show. This year, it is taking place from 20 to 23 October at Dubai World Trade Center. In order to highlight the best products and solutions for residential, commercial, hospitality, and real estate develop ers, the exhibition brings together elite industry experts from interior designers, architects, con tractors, furniture and lighting companies, and smart home companies.
DecoBuild is the most recent and ideal platform for prospective residential project owners and those looking to establish a private residential unit. Visitors from neighboring states, as well as residents of the UAE, can access all the infor mation regarding the most recent engineering designs, contemporary interiors, contracting, the
trade of construction materials, lighting and elec trics, and both public and private projects.
The program is carried out under the objectives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, which include improving the housing system for Emiratis and ensuring their stability. The occasion offers opportunities for net working, business transactions with suppliers and manufacturers, and learning about the most recent advancements and services in various industries. Registrations are now open on the official website (https://decobuild.evsreg.com/)
Thousands of highly qualified professionals with expertise in affiliate marketing and internet ad vertising congregate at KINZA Dubai, the world’s biggest and most well-known affiliate marking event. Taking place at Festival Arena, Dubai, on 26 and 27 October, this is a must-visit event for anyone interested in professional and mutual development.
The ADSbase integrated communications hold ing company’s KINZA 360 cross-continental affil iate marketing forum hosts industry professionals from around the world, including webmasters, SEO gurus, direct advertisers, and many more. Since its inception in 2014, the event has rapidly expanded, attracting more than 2,000 participants each time.
You will meet the top affiliate brands here fo cused on a shared future and skilled at capitalizing on the most competitive markets. Additionally, you’ll interact with well-known entrepreneurs, businesspeople, and moneymakers who constantly have fresh skills to share with you. KINZA is a wel coming environment for developing professionally, growing together, earning more money, and, of course, having fun.
With 3500+ attendees, more than 30 top-notch speakers, and 100+ exhibitors, you can get in touch with prominent influencers, money makers, and business moguls who serve as constant inspirations and from whom you will have new skills to learn from. Prices start at $169 and can be bought on the official website https://dubai.kinza360. com/#buy-tickets.
Use code ASPIRE12 to get a 12% off on tickets.
Dubai’s most well-known design event is taking place from 9 - 12 November at Dubai Design District. Downtown Design is the only trade show in the Middle East devoted to original, innovative, and high-quality design. The four-day showcase draws experts and enthusiasts of design from var ious fields, including interior design, architecture, retail, and hospitality.
Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Downtown Design is the commercial centerpiece of Dubai Design Week, the most signif icant creative festival in the region. With a schedule of events covering a wide range of design-related topics, bringing together thought leaders and de cision-makers of the global design stage, the event draws more than 100,000 visitors to Dubai Design District (d3) over the week.
For the event, students, studios, and businesses
arrange modern, limited-edition works and invite viewers from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia to celebrate the future of design. This year’s edition will feature the largest Downtown Editions, the fair’s exhibition of limited edition and collect ible creations, and is scheduled to feature labels from 20 different nations.
New goods by well-known businesses will also be unveiled with impressive interactive displays and eye-catching activations. View a vast array of objects, including furniture, carpets, lighting, and home decor. Talk and interact with eminent archi tects, designers, and specialists. ✪
One of the foremost, rich, and transcending cultures in the world, the African heritage, has been rather shrouded in our times. Now, the All Africa Festival plans to remedy that with a spectacle worthy of the intent, and one woman in particular is at the forefront, leaving no stone unturned in introducing the best of Africa to the world.
We’re in conversation with Nina Olatoke, the co-founder of All Africa Festival, talking about their tentative beginning, the extravaganza that is AAF 2022, and what the future holds for them.
As a child, Nina grew up in Nigeria in the 80s, raised by a determined, hardworking mother. She was an entrepreneur in her own right, involved in several local businesses, which afforded Nina and her siblings a privileged upbringing.
“A lot of the values instilled in me today are the values my mother upheld through her life - being direct, open, transparent, and honest. She believed in creating a wide impact in the lives of the people around her, and staying determined and succeeding despite the circumstances, knowing that life can be unfair.”
Raised in the umbra of her mother’s infallible principles, Nina carries that very determination, drive, and inclusivity within herself. She puts it best as she quietly proclaims, “I’m very much my mother’s daughter.”
Perhaps these very principles formed the trigger point of the All Africa Festival. Nina was involved with the African
She’s determined, she’s hardworking, she has her feet firmly in the present with her eyes on the future.
Qiraat Attar catches up with Nina Olatoke, the harbinger of the All Africa Festival and talks about African heritage, the excitement around AAF and the importance of authentic identity
Food Festival in 2018 at Creek park. To Nina, that event was a humble attempt at exploring if people would enjoy a little slice of Africa through its expansive gastronomic offerings.
Walking through the attendees, Nina stumbled across two people who would plant the seed in her mind to take this experiment to the next level, Kai Lea Charles, founder of Black Girl in Dubai where she promotes black businesses, and Delroy Simms, a Jamaican freelance journalist. Kai said something that stayed imprinted in Nina’s mind, “It’s beautiful to see so many African cultures together. But as a British Caribbean, with my heritage, where am I? I don’t see myself here.” On the other hand, Delroy drew her attention to a typical festival goof-up that didn’t fit well into African American heritage. Gathering this feedback, Nina realized that the African story was bigger and as yet untold.
The first year of the All Africa festival in 2021 was es
sentially a viability test of the idea. The first All-African festival was held in Burj Park, drawing a crowd of 12,000 people over three days. The humongous attendance gave Nina the confidence to scale it up, confident that she had created something people wanted to experience.
Speaking of the artist lineup this year, Nina appears vis ibly excited when she says, “We had artists like Mohamed Ramadan, who I am a huge fan of and just totally in awe of as a person. We’re delighted to say he’s coming back again this year. South African amapiano artists including Focalistic are also returning this year. We have Zimbabwean artist Gemma Griffiths also returning this year, who’s very popular for singing in Shona, the local language. We also have Boubou Design, the social media artist from Senegal, who paints online upside down and flips it.”
The festival is working closely with the Cuban embassy
this year to showcase a strong Afro-Cuban presence, as well as with other non-African nations, like vendors from Trinidad and Tobago, whose government has taken part in sponsoring some of those cultures. Last year, AAF had a film tent, literature, art, fashion, food, and authentic African furniture design.
“This year, we’re picking some categories and honing in on them. For instance, we want to expand the film tent and create its stream that makes it viable. Last year, we did trailers of three movies produced locally by people from the African community. This year, we’re working with a film producer to curate something special around that, hoping that it will pick up a life of its own and then expand into a kind of film festival dedicated to African movies next year. So when we do this in 2023, we will actually have the Africa Film Festival, happening the week after the festival in the park.”
In terms of art, Nina is proud to note that one of their
major successes from last year was to host blue chip or high-profile African art. The idea often propagated is that African artistry is more handicrafts, not ‘real’ art. “We wanted to dispel that myth, so we built a fantastic gallery last year. At the time, we called it the Efie gallery to hold odd pieces for the festival. But based on the reception we received from the art world, it opened our eyes that there is a huge demand. You tend to have galleries that are walled galleries or European galleries with a section for African artists, but you never see galleries that are predominantly 100% African art dedicated to African artists. So as a result of that, my partners created Efie gallery which is now a full functioning gallery in the UAE based out of Dubai.”
This year, Nina’s team is working closely with Africa Fash ion Week, which will debut this year with AAF. While the
The festival is working closely with the Cuban embassy this year to showcase a strong Afro-Cuban presence, as well as with other non-African nations, like vendors from Trinidad and Tobago! Culture Couture stands " Zoe Modiga wowing the crowd at the 2021 festival " Angolan Mission at the 2021 festival # El Anatsui’s ‘Detsi’ art work displayed at the Efie Gallery # Vendors selling artifacts at the 2021 festival
festival will still have a runway elements, the major fashion event will take place the weekend of the festival, which they will be cross-promoting on their platforms as the fashion extension of AAF.
“As part of my team, we have Eliane Sarr, owner and creative director for Savannah creations, a huge fashion African-owned brand in Dubai. She was the first African designer to have her own space in Galeries Lafayette in Dubai Mall, and we’re so proud of her. She will be curating everything regarding fashion on the AAF stage. We don’t want to own everything. We have subject matter experts that run the things.”
The Fashion Week will be debuting this year under Thando, who is the owner and creative director for Ntombi Couture. Nina says, “She has been on this journey with us before we even became the All Africa Festival. The fact that she was part of the board made it easy for me to agree to plug it into the festival.”
AAF is also going wider on the food spread this year. “We’re having a lot of interest from businesses that are setting up for the first time in the UAE and are using the All Africa Festival as a platform to push their brands. We have a Trinidadian food vendor that’s coming up. In fact, we don’t just have food vendors that are African Continental, but all diasporan cultures coming in full force, like Jamaican, African-American, Cajun-African-American, Afro-Cuban perspective, food from Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt - the whole wide remit. So we’re going beyond the continental aspect to make it all-inclusive.”
Altogether, Nina envisions a celebration of the unification of all the cultures and all the aspects brought together, as a three or four-week blowout in Dubai with the tagline ‘Afremba’. Nina elucidates, “Afremba stands for ‘Africa’, combined with ‘ba’ from the ‘ber’ months that is October, November, and December. Thus, we will have a curated time called Afremba, or the African month of celebration in the UAE that will start from the middle of October until probably the second week of November, where we will have different aspects of African culture just plugged in. And in the middle of that will be the All Africa Festival, a big celebration of everything coming together.”
Nina promises a jam-packed event that will keep you buzzing from the start, right to the finish line. “Most fes tivals start the day slow and then build up to a headliner. We’re starting the day with a headliner and closing with a headliner too. The stage opens at 4 pm, so if you turn up by 4.30 pm, there’s a good chance you might miss one of the biggest acts of the day.”
Nina made a conscious decision to have more diversity and inclusivity in the planning committee to represent all aspects of the African heritage properly. “I’ve already mentioned Kai and Delroy. We also have William Stenhouse, African American from the UAE Africa Networking Group. We have Heath Baily, a teacher and a principal in Dubai. We have Joe Osawaye, the founder and CEO of Kiza, the biggest Pan African restaurant
" Mohamed Ramadan live on stage at the festival and coming back in 2022 " Jaysus performing at the 2021 festival "" Shenseea performing live on stage at the 2021 festivalin Dubai. We have Yvonne Mtengwa from Travel Essence Magazine, a PR expert from Zimbabwe. We have Mayowa Adegoke, a channel correspondent for Channels Television from Nigeria. My life partner, Tim Olatoke, runs Ojamea.com, which is a Pan African online marketplace, one of the biggest in the UAE. We have someone representing Egypt as well. Thus, we are making efforts to bring diverse perspectives to the table, representing all varied cultures of Africa.”
Nina also speaks highly of her partner VM, who has been a constant, unflinching support that Nina needed to bring AAF to fruition. “She is one of the most incredible women I have ever met. When it came to setting up the All Africa Festival, she was one of the first people I called to tell me exactly what was going on and what my visions were. And in that moment, after knowing me for barely six months and a handful of conversations, she said, ‘Nina, I’m in this with you’. And from that moment on, she has come onboard from not just an advisory perspective, but in all aspects, supporting every step of the way for us to be able to deliver this dream.”
Nina is committed to making AAF unique in its identity and a completely family-oriented festival, a rare feat in the festival circuit. “We are the only non-alcohol festival that celebrates African culture in the UAE, and we’ve done that intentionally because we want to open this to a wider remit of people. Last year, of the 12,000 attendees, 44% were of
Middle Eastern backgrounds. Only 33% identified themselves as African. That’s because we want to share the culture, narrative, and everything else, not just with the African diaspora but with people of the whole world.”
AAF is far from being a profit-driven gambit for Nina; it is an assertion of her heritage and her rich and complex identity. “This is not a money-making venture, nor is it a recipe for popularity. It’s really about expanding knowledge, expanding areas of synergy, and building bridges of understanding.”
The 2022 festival spans from the 28th to the 30th of Oc tober. Follow them on their social media, @allafricafestival, for all the exciting updates, artist lineup, and this wholesome and epic celebration of Africa.
Nina has worked in a number of illustrious organizations, where her expertise and ability to bring people together, leaving their differences aside, has served the companies in not only maintaining employee satisfaction but also meeting their DEI initiatives. Of course, no position has been as close to her heart as her current work with BDP International (logistics solutions company), which understands and whole heartedly supports her work towards the All Africa festival.
“When I joined BDP, my role had never existed in the organization. It was really the first time a senior HR leader had held the role, based out of Dubai, looking after Europe,
Boubou Design live painting at the 2022 announcement event in Dubai " Nigerian musician Rema visiting Efie Gallery during the 2021 festival
“This is not a money-making venture, nor is it a recipe for popularity. It’s really about expanding knowledge, expanding areas of synergy, and building bridges of understanding.”!
the Middle East, and Africa. It was a position to build the HR strategy first from a regional perspective, and then from a global perspective.” Every opportunity is a risk, but with this leap, Nina truly found herself home in an organization and has made lifelong friends here. “The kind of support I get from my organization for the All Africa Festival, people can’t believe it. Last year, I got promoted to the global vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion globally, in addi tion to my role. Part of the reason for that promotion was my work towards the All Africa Festival.” To Nina, her progress is a testament to what corporations can achieve when they create space for people to bring their authentic selves to work.
To BDP, the All Africa Festival is an emblem of Nina’s passion, relating strongly to her identity as well as her pledge to improve DEI at work. As she puts it, “I think what makes it less clashing is that the All Africa Festival really touches on diversity, equity, and inclusion. That is a big part of my role within BDP, rolling out our DEI strategy globally. So because there is a natural synergy between those two, and
both touch my passion fire most of the time, it doesn’t feel like work. The support from my boss Marcia Lyssy, CHRO BDP International and leaders within the organization has been phenomenal.”
Nina reflects, “I think I’m constantly working on my identity. My aim to have an impact on people around me transcends my background and transcends my race. From a racial perspective, I definitely see myself as a strong black African woman, but my identity is focused more on what I do as a human - How much empathy do I have? How do I support the people around me? How do I have a broader impact while still remaining my authentic self? I never want to walk into a room and have to put on a mask that is so far from who I am that I lose myself in the process. I consider myself a dream chasing, an account ability-enabling person that tries to see the best in everyone and just wants to make a difference.”
Nina attributes her fastidious work ethic and the many challenges she takes on to the strength and support lent by her family. Her husband, Tim Olatoke, whom she met when they were in university, is her rock. She remembers, “Two and a half weeks ago, I had to be away on a business trip, which was so packed that I wouldn’t be able to do much from an AAF perspective. My hus band stepped in and picked everything up while running his company. So I always have his valuable support.”
Of course, for her kids, the AAF is a joyous and enthusiastic event where they get to chip in with the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff, get into the swing of preparations and meet the famous and uber-cool artists who form the performance lineup.
Ultimately, for Nina, there is one thing that she wants someone like a little African kid to take away when he sees the pomp and festivities at the All Africa Festival. PRIDE.
“I want that little kid to stand on the AAF grounds with either or both parents, watch someone like Boubou Design paint on stage and the stellar artists playing music, and see the talents coming out of Africa while the Burj Khalifa lights up behind them. I want that child to look at that and say how proud they are. That they are part of this amazing culture of talented people celebrated at the highest level in the most premium location in Dubai and feel confident in having such a community around them. That’s what I would want the child to feel. Pride, in who they are, where they come from.” ✪
“I think I’m constantly working on my identity. My aim to have an impact on people around me transcends my background and transcends my race”
When 16-year-old Niousha Ehsan decided to homeschool herself in order to get through her education quicker, little did she know that three years later, she would co-found one of the top 50 event companies in the world. She had finished a two-month Diploma course just before she made this decision. At 16, while simultane ously working at an advertising agency in Dubai, Niousha pursued a bachelor’s degree in Business Management as a parttime student at Middlesex University. Turning 19 must have been memorable for her as she became the co-founder of LINKVIVA Events and embarked on a particularly stellar journey.
LINKVIVA was, in 2009, a simple of fice with a single desk backed by little other than the talent of the very young and spirited Niousha. She eventually set up a secondary office in London and made Dubai her headquarters. Today she runs the global show with a team of 50 employees, a remarkable story in itself. To date, hundreds of clients have walked through the doors of this success ful agency to experience an innovative range of world-class events.
The title ‘Chief Energy Officer’ is not a mere label, but the very philosophy Niousha lives by. It is the code of passion, integrity, and focus that have been the driving forces in executing her entrepre neurial game plan for nearly two decades.
Niousha says, “As the Chief energy
Niousha Ehsan built up one of the world’s most successful event management firms before she was out of her teens. Julia Jasmine talks to the remarkable entrepreneur about her journey and her inclusive vision
“As the Chief energy officer of LINKVIVA, I am determined to ensure that every employee has the tools and opportunities to succeed. We always aim to ensure we deliver the best for our clients”
—Niousha Ehsan, Co-founder of LINKVIVA
officer of LINKVIVA, I am determined to ensure that every employee has the tools and opportu nities to succeed. Whether that time by the ping pong table, in the quiet room or a brainstorming session with the team - we are a collaborative and inclusive community committed to helping each other become the best version of ourselves. We always aim to take that forward to ensure we deliver the best for our clients.”
Armoured with an absolute sense of self-determi nation and dedication, Niousha steered her way from one successful milestone to the next. Being featured on the Top 50 GCC Women Leaders list and being a two-time award-winning CEO of the year are just two of her many accolades. Her phenomenally professional approach to delivery paved the way for her to become a performing Board Member of the International Live Events Association (ILEA), a functioning member of the Advisory Board to Dominican Ambassador, His Excellency Hubert John Charles, and an integral committee member at YPO Mena One Chapter. All of these have, however, been just the icing on the cake. Her biggest win, she believes, is just being her authentic self - an unerring master of her own environment and evolution.
“Though I firmly believe in manifesting your reality, and anyone being able to bring anything they want into fruition, I am quick to remind as piring entrepreneurs that hard work is a step that can’t be skipped, and success isn’t immediate - but it is within reach. Your circumstances - whether it may be a lack of finances, an unfavorable up bringing, or any other disadvantage - can actually be a source of hope and inspiration for others, as long as you’re willing to relentlessly pursue your goals,” says Niousha about the art of reaching and surpassing a predetermined goal.
At LINKVIVA Events, the clients are treated to a constellation of well-crafted festivals, sporting events, corporate events, brand activations, and regional activations. Niousha has strived to ensure that her agency meets and exceeds the industry standards of MICE (meetings, incentives, confer ences, and exhibitions). She facilitates end-to-end ideation and creative staging of several presti gious events for multinational and government clients. Dubai Run, Dubai Ride, MOTB (Market Outside the Box), and the MOTN Festival are only some of the noteworthy events organized by LINKVIVA.
The agency has catalogued over 1000 events to date. Crafting memorable experiences involving innovative strategies and inventive conceptual ization has always been the prime objective. The events are creatively planned and executed to
communicate messages to the necessary target audience effectively. Since 2003, hundreds of satisfied clients have walked out of the agency doors with smiles and memories of having been part of a unique experience.
The professional excellence of the agency is recognized by the number of Awards they have garnered over the years. LINKVIVA Events was ranked as one of the top 100 SMEs in Dubai –ranking 39 against 4500 nominated businesses. It is also a Winner of the Outstanding Activa tion Award, Middle East Event Awards, Highly Commended - Most Improved Company Award in Finance Middle East Business Vision Awards, The Best Event Delivered, Middle East Events, Best SME companies to work for in the UAE - A Great Place to Work Award. In addition, it was Nominated for Best Consumer Show, Middle East Event Awards. It goes without saying that Niousha, as Chief energy officer, has played a significant role in these prestigious accolades that LINKVIVA has won.
Niousha did not just stop with a professional qualification and began to explore the field of coaching, something that had long held her in terest. This led to her becoming a certified Life and NLP coach, whereby she uses all these skills to mentor and empower women. She is actively involved in helping other women break the glass ceiling in their professional lives, and by doing so, she continues to pass on the baton of inspira tion and hope. Niousha has recently joined ‘The Playing Field’, a UAE-established organization, to further women’s progress in the GCC and beyond.
A believer in the potential of people, Niousha Ehsan practices an inclusive working model and has delivered on a community-enriched work atmosphere. As a leader, she strives to maintain positively charged organizational processes and invests efforts in up-skilling those that work for and with her. Niousha walks the talk and is living proof that ‘Happiness is Profitable’. One only has to look at her life, achievements, and dynamic company to understand how true this is. ✪
“At LINKVIVA Events, the clients are treated to a constellation of well-crafted festivals, sporting events, corporate events, brand activations, and regional activations”
She came to the UAE twenty years ago with an idea and turned it into a functional business with a social angle. Ayesha Mude talks to the inspiring Linda Benallal about her journey, her vision and upward destinations
Twenty years ago, a young girl left France and came to Dubai with only 500 euros in her purse and a pocketful of dreams wanting to leave her mark in the world in a very special way. Two decades later, she has turned those dreams into a living reality that surpassed even her own expectations providing inspiration to many.
When Linda Benallal first arrived on the shores of Dubai, she landed a role as a marketing manager for a French company and handled several wellknown names and brands. To make ends meet she ended up living far out of the city and battled long commutes to her place of work. No mean feat, as many of us know.
The daily commute was not the only issue. Linda was not conversant in English, and despite her work experience and talents, communication was tough for the native French speaker. So, she enrolled for a course at the British Council in Dubai and worked diligently at learning the language. She also want ed to learn the local language and threw herself whole-heartedly into this as well, actively pursuing friendships and interactions with the local community, who introduced her to new learnings in Islam, the Arabic language, their customs and traditions. With her customary flair for life, she embraced everything the city had to offer and fell in love with the culture and people of Dubai.
From the outset, Linda was focused on achieving the Emirati Dream and says, “I was looking for knowl edge when I was young, but when you start working you want to succeed, to do something and become someone big.”
—Linda Benallal, Founder of Innocent Touch ParisShe decided, wisely, that one of the better ways to get to where she wanted was to start working in Dubai’s booming real estate sector and joined the upswing industry to give it a whirl. However, she soon realized this was not her cup of tea and it was time to shift gears again.
Linda’s humble beginnings gave her exceptional flexibility that translated into swift action and navi gated her career path to seek out new opportunities and areas of interest that led her to work within a hedge fund on Sheikh Zayed Road. Life began to
“I was looking for knowledge when I was young, but when you start working you want to succeed, to do something and become someone big”
look up as finances stabilized; she bought her first car, improved her English language skill, and finally started to save.
Ever looking up, Linda knew this would not be enough and hence decided to pursue a business man agement degree in the UK and perfect her abilities in English. On her return to Dubai, armed with a new degree and upgraded skills, she set about to network and create a resource pool of the best business minds she could find.
In her innovative way, Linda explored several options before she settled on a chosen path. She worked for Ülker International as the office manager of their first office in the Middle East, then as a Key Account Manager for the most prominent IT security firm in the country, and later did a stint with Roche as the Procurement Manager of the Middle East.
With all the experience gained in multiple sectors and diverse global corporate giants, Linda finally realized Fashion is where her true passion lay. Being French, she had always loved fashion and design. Inheriting fashion sensibilities from her mother, a dressmaker of some distinction who possessed sartorial elegance and taught her to look at clothes as a form of creativity and self-expression, Linda launched her brand ‘Innocent Touch Paris’. Combining her pen chant for fine fabrics and her learnings from locals on Islam, she plotted a new course for herself that kick-started a new era of elegant and modest couture.
“I wanted my brand to pass a message,” says Linda, firmly wanting to break the stereotype with her fashion line. Her message remains simple - to showcase to the world the beauty of Islam and how its learnings are those of peace and harmony. This is why she named her brand ‘Innocent Touch’.
With this driving message, her brand took off with a much-felt presence at exhibitions, fashion shows, and designer meets worldwide. Innocent Touch quickly gained popularity followed by dozens of TV appearances, making her a personality of some note. The brand enjoyed a successful upward tra jectory from its beginnings in 2013 till 2017, when Linda was struck down by a personal tragedy and put everything on hold.
Those who know Linda will say this about her - she is a positive woman with solid core values that drive her functioning. Despite the success, she has stayed humble and honors the values she was raised with. Her ties to her parents are loving and strong, and in 2017 when her father fell very sick, she put her life and business on hold and went back to France to care for him. Having spent so many years away from family and her home country, she spent three years, until 2020, taking care of her parents and investing
Her message remains simple - to showcase to the world the beauty of Islam and how its learnings are those of peace and harmony. This is why she named her brand ‘Innocent Touch’
time with her family.
After her father’s passing, Linda got back into the game. While her absolute dream remained fashion, she was also keen to give something back to society.
The circumstances of her early years made her want to do something positive for the lesser fortunate. And so, from fashion she made the shift to social innovation to help people from poor backgrounds build a better life for themselves.
And thus began her new venture, LMB Project Management Services. Today her company is working on building a bridge between Africa and the UAE. She has undertaken and organized two big conferences to build upon and create awareness of the conditions in underdeveloped nations and find channels to assist disenfranchised communities there.
Linda has come a long way from the girl who arrived with a dream all those years ago. She firmly believes all her success is due to the UAE, its visionary lead ers, and the incredible opportunities it presents to entrepreneurs. She is an outspoken advocate of life in her chosen country of residence and is determined to reignite her fashion brand to its former glory while still running her other business.
Much as can be said of her love for the Emirates, it can be stated with certainty that the UAE returns the affection granting her the Golden Visa. After all, entrepreneurs like her keep the country on fast forward and pave the way for others to follow suit. ✪
help with their daily operations, Baix&Co. offers assistance in expanding their port folio, especially in the area of franchising and going global. The consultancy also assists in upgrading the services, products, processes, and relevant technologies used in restaurants or help them focus more on areas that are lacking. “There is no such restaurant out there where everything works perfectly well or where there is no room for improvement left,” says Peter. “The restaurant industry is constantly and unstoppably evolving and improv ing; therefore, a good consultant who is aware of the industry’s global innovations, trends, and directions can add value to the already successful businesses too.”
Baix&Co. has helped both private and government sector clients from regions such as Europe, Asia, the UK, Caribbe an, the Middle East, and many more to attain peak success. These projects aren’t always about opening a new restaurant or upgrading and innovating; some are as small as implementing short-term policies and procedures.
Established during the peak pandemic period in 2020, Baix&Co is constantly evolv ing and offering services a Restaurant or F&B services business can possibly need or think of. With an aim to simplify processes, control operational costs, maximize guest expe rience and loyalty, and simultaneously achieve higher productivity and efficiency, Baix & Co. collaborates with businesses to design progressive F&B strategies on all fronts. Peter Baics, Co-founder and Managing Director of Baix & Co, speaks of his expertise in a niche yet dynamic and highly competitive sector.
Owning a restaurant is a highly personal business; often, there is a huge gap be tween the visions of the founders and what comes to be executed. This is where Baix&Co. comes to aid. The company believes that every project is different and hence does not implement a cook ie-cutter formula when dealing with its clients. “All restaurant businesses are set on the same core principles, but the concept, location, vision, budget, etc. influence the way we approach and tailor our services for the clients,” says Peter.
On the other hand, for the highly success ful restaurant operators who do not need
In a world of cut-throat competition, what makes Baix& Co. stand out from others is their understanding of customer or consumer psychology which makes the service highly personalized with effective outcomes. “We like to know our clients personally, know their story and what’s behind wanting to have a restaurant or restaurants, what is their vision and where do they see their businesses in 10-20 or 50 years from now,” comments Peter, who has over 20 years of industry experience. For this flourishing consultancy, the clients are not just a one-time project; they are friends and business partners.
Baix&Co. is constantly searching for innovations, solutions, preventions, and operational practices and up-leveling its game and strategies to suit every client’s needs. “Trust and integrity are vital to me in business and personal life,” says Peter. With strong attributes such as these, the consultancy and its clients are sure to thrive in the dynamic world of F&B. ✪
Peter Baics speaks to ASPIRE on his brainchild, Baix&Co., an independent restaurant and F&B operations consultancy
“A good consultant who is aware of the industry’s global innovations, trends, and directions can add value to the already successful businesses too.”
When Armin Jamula first pitched the idea of ItsHerWay to her family and friends, nobody believed in her vi sion. At that point, there were only a handful of female entrepreneurs, and the idea of supporting women to create and run their own businesses seemed foreign to everyone she spoke to. However, five years later, Armin’s endeavor now continues to help over 2000 women create a business out of their calling.
A media and marketing professional, Armin has been in the industry for over a decade before taking up her first entrepreneurship role as co-founder for an in-house marketing agency for Ahmad Ramadhan Juma group, Jalapeno Marketing Management. During her three years with the group, she launched several hospitality and retail brands and revamped their corporate brand.
She left the partnership to start her own venture backed by the principle of “By Women for Women” and created the platform with a mission to “support and empower business-driven women in the region.” ItsHerWay has grown to be a community, a social enterprise of like-minded women geared to excel in their chosen paths.
The members of ItsHerWay, belong to different nationali ties and are known as Shepreneurs. They are supported in every way possible, from licensing, marketing, and payment solutions to logistics for all their enterprise requirements.
ItsHerWay is based on the foundational pillars of Com merce, Community, and Collaboration.
The e-commerce arm of ItsHerWay is a fully-functional marketplace for all entrepreneurs to gain clients for their handmade or sourced creations and reach a wider audience. The platform isn’t only for women selling products in all categories. One could be offering their services toofrom various forms of coaching to marketing, consultancy, photography, PR services, and more.
“We believe in the power of She, and our platform is built on the belief that when women support women, incredible things happen. ItsHerWay aims to build a community of strong-willed, self-taught, and talented #Shepreneurs,” says Armin.
This community of #Shepreneurs also offers the ideal opportunistic setting for collaborations where women from
all backgrounds meet and share knowledge and resources about launching and managing profitable businesses.
Currently pursuing a specialization degree in strategy at Harvard Business School, Armin is passionate about honing a positive learning curve to ensure her businesses, ventures, and associations have the best in class to offer.
So far, the platform has a total of 2200 business own ers, with a 73% plus in the volume of business generated from 2021 as more and more global service providers are looking to tap the UAE market by becoming vendors.
Future expansion plans in Saudi and United Kingdom are underway for the following year. Armin encourages all female entrepreneurs worldwide to join her community and help fulfill her vision of increasing the success rate of women-run enterprises and having more than 100,000 regional businesses owned and run by women by 2030. ✪
“We believe in the power of She, and our platform is built on the belief that when women support women, incredible things happen”
— Armin Jamula, Founder ItsHerWay
43% of all global entrepreneurs are women. Pallavi Biju speaks to Armin Jamula, founder of ItsHerWay, about the positive impact her organization makes on female entrepreneurs
When we are young, children are socialized to bond with others over their varied in terests. Their life consists of classes where they sit eagerly around a teacher
to learn, play sports together, debate, and jostle on the playground, but ultimately build the innate social skills that make us functional humans.
Many structures that support and harmonize us in our growing years often end abruptly in adulthood because it is assumed that adults have everything ‘figured out’.
Well, quite the contrary. Adults, too, have an innate need to shed the cobwebs and meet new people, learn fascinating subjects that interest them without pressure, participate in purposeful inter actions, uplevel their vibe with like-minded folks, and much more.
Hence, to develop bonds that go beyond the famil ial and the professional, we need an avenue where people can come together outside rigid conformity, get their hands dirty, learn new hobbies or new skills, interact with people that influence them to broaden their perspective, and simply, experience a sense of community. The answers to these questions lie in community spaces, a concept that is experiencing a heartening post-pandemic revival.
The ideas that could lead to a community space or an event sprouting up are infinite. Community spaces can take on many avatars - from a vegan cooking class to nature walks, from a women’s appreciation and wellness chat to a storytelling gathering or a folk music festival. There is also little limit on age or gender barriers; as long as the content is not ob jectionable for children, anyone who feels drawn to the subject can partake in the gathering. Gatherings can be ticketed (for a price), or free of cost - the effort
The famous song title by The Beatles takes on new meaning in contemporary times as events and networks serve to bring together communities in newer and more meaningful ways. Qiraat Attar reports Come Togetherof organizing and infrastructure may cost a fee, but several events like book clubs, prayer meets, etc. do not charge the participants.
The common factor, however, is the free-spirit ed nature of community events. Outside of rigid structures of school or work, coming together to learn something can be truly democratic, up to the will and intent of the little group. For instance, an ‘Introduction to Writing’ gathering does not have to make you Shakespeare in a day, but it can propel you to make progress on the craft and perhaps shed your inhibitions around narrating your work and story to other people for fear of being judged.
These gatherings may often have a guide or leader to lead the discussion, moderate it, and keep it on course, but it is not always necessary. For instance, prayer circles will keep rotating their chorus leaders to impart a sense of accountability to each member and also allow them to enjoy the pleasure of leadership.
We spoke to Ekta Singh, a prolific community space curator in the heart of Bangalore, who has conducted over 150 online and hundreds of offline events in a bid to bring people together.
She says, “In these times, when overuse of electronic devices reigns, meeting people in person has come back. The pandemic created a barrier, a disconnec tion in our social lives. People now crave interaction more than ever; that’s why communal events are so important. In fact, when I organize events, the people who attend are pleasantly surprised that these spaces exist as a way to meet new people and make friends.”
A potent benefit is also decreasing social anxiety by allowing a safe space to blossom where even shy and introverted people can cautiously interact and share ideas with people they connect with. Ekta routinely sees teenagers and college students revisit community events in the realms of poetry and performance. As per her experience, she says, “Community is a buzzword, especially for Gen Z. It can be a very youth-driven affair - thronged by teens, young adults, and working professionals. For example, college kids have friends and peers but often harbor unexpressed skills and talents. As they grow up, they need a safe space where they can express themselves. Since they’re at a delicate stage when they’re forming opinions, ideologies, and their personalities, they need a community around them to grow into their authentic selves.”
She has observed people’s inclinations shift as the years pass by, and inner healing certainly seems to be all the rage, having found its footing in urban dwellings. “Requests have increased for gatherings around mental health, healing, yogic breathing, sound healing, amongst others, which highlights how people are leaning towards the spiritual. People also seek a good, stress-free time, which is why music events are always in demand.”
Ultimately, the goal is more than just an evening of entertainment for an audience. Ekta sees these events creating a bigger impact on people’s social health and their level of contentment with life.
“When people come together and find a place where they can feel and express, it grows like wildfire. In olden times, the slow pace of life meant that you could sit down, do nothing, and simply talk to people for hours. Now, due to our trappings, that doesn’t exist anymore. Thus, making room for endeavors like this is all the more important.”
When people come together, united by a common cause or an overarching idea, magic can happen. To this day, environmental conservation efforts deep in the jungles are only possible with the collective efforts of the tribal communities, organized amongst themselves without external authority and driven by goodness devoid of profit.
Similarly, even in our modern haunts, community spaces can go beyond involving people in a cause or educating them; they can goad them into action. Be it the safety of women on the streets (like the ‘Take back the night’ rallies in the USA) or cleanliness drives in neighborhoods; community spaces can sow the seeds of grassroots movements. As Ekta herself attests, “There is a deeper exercise than just orga nizing events; I want to create real impact. I intend to rope in scientists to make the community aware about sustainability, which could impact hundreds of families. Community spaces can go beyond mere education and mobilization - we can be the positive change we want to bring in society.” ✪
Community spaces can take on many avatars. There is also little limit on age or gender barriers; as long as the content is not objectionable for children, anyone who feels drawn to the subject can partake in the gathering
Life coaches, the gurus to your dream life, have transformed from an unregulated industry to become almost indispensable to the lives of modern humans. Deepika S explores this rapidly growing need for today’s times
Previously an obscure profession, Life-Coaching has experienced sig nificant growth in recent years and is now accepted as an established, respected occupation. If you search up the hashtag #lifecoach on Ins tagram, you’ll be surprised to find over 13.2 million posts, which only indicates the growing trend and people warming up to the idea of life coaching.
Be it former president Bill Clinton or even art ists like Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, and sportswoman Serena Williams, these celebrities have been pushing the idea forward after personally ex periencing its impact.
As people’s lives become increasingly complex, they
often need a little help to find and stay on the right path. Now more than ever, people aren’t leaving their lives to fate; they are making their own decisions about how they want their lives to be.
What’s the fuss about Prashant Welling, a life coach, based in the UAE, affirms, “Life coaches can help you name your fears, take action, and learn how to use them as a force for success. A coach transforms the way you think and shifts your perspective, helps you clarify your goals, identify the obstacles holding you back, and develop strategies for overcoming each obstacle.”
As opposed to therapy which works to keep your mental and emotional health in check and resolve
past traumas, life coaching is more oriented towards the future as coaches refine your targets and objectives through a purposeful strategy. The aim is always the client’s agenda. The sessions help the client ‘get out of their own way’ and create new paths to lead a successful and contented life.
A CEO (prefers to stay anonymous) who has been a coachee for over eight years says, “I did all that I could for myself with the knowledge and experience I had. There was only so far I could go and no further. This was because of two things - either I lacked the resources (internal or external), or I had the resources (internal or external) and was oblivious of it or did not know how to make the best use of what I had. Thankfully I was receptive to the idea of receiving help to change my reality. And this is one decision I do not regret.”
Following the social revolution sparked by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the number of people seeking life coaching has skyrocketed worldwide. Coaches in the UAE say there has been more demand in the past four months than ever.
Naheed Khan, another life coach, says that so cial media has boosted awareness of life coaching. “Self-image, self-esteem, relationships, money, and career are a few aspects that have become very im portant to people,” she says, pleased that there is a growing tribe showing a keen interest in investing in their self-development.
According to a new study published on work-life balance by a leading cloud-tech company, Kisi, Dubai is ranked as one of the most overworked cities globally. This isn’t surprising, as challenges have increased tre mendously with hybrid work schedules. In addition, substantial technology enhancements have triggered job losses all over the world and have plunged people into different, sometimes unmanageable professional and personal challenges.
In the last ten years or so, companies have seen how life coaches directly help boost their bottom line. Generally, a productive team leads to higher profit margins, so more businesses are hiring coaches in order to invigorate their workforce. However, it’s not just big companies that benefit from the existence of life coaches. Whether it’s an overworked Fortune 500 CEO or a wide-eyed young professional who needs help, a life coach will always be on hand to assist as best they can.
“Everyone needs a life coach because there is power in someone else, especially a professional, reflecting on what you say and seeking to open up your mind, identify your blind spots, encourage discovery, and support you in creating action,” says Prashant.
Many factors influence people’s choice of a life coach,
be it the coach’s experience and credentials or a rec ommendation from family or acquaintances. Each coach has something different and unique to offer, even if they are coaching on the same subject. Speak to a couple of coaches to gauge your comfort level, as this is crucial to the outcomes. Some coaches tend to be warmer and more supportive, while others can be more confronting and really challenge you. Knowing that their style aligns with your needs will help you find the right life coach for you. As you evolve, you may feel the need for help in different areas of life and different coaches to assist you with it.
Ultimately, it’s what you want to achieve personally through the coach which should be the driving force of your coaching journey. Life coaching ultimately depends on the coachee and how much work they will put into re-engineering their lives.
Our CEO in question validates the all-importance of it when he tells us, “All areas of my life have improved - be it relationships, health, or finances. I am happier, less stressed, and with more clarity and focus. Life has become a never-ending adventure with so much to explore at every step of the way.
This does not mean that there are no challenges. In fact, there are bigger challenges with bigger aspi rations. However, I am better equipped to deal with it and hence can dare to dream even bigger because I know there is a solution to everything.”
So, no matter how complex, there will be a life coach waiting for you. Be open to being a life-long coachee, and the right coach will show up to to increase your human potential, personal and professional growth. ✪
“Life coaches can help you name your fears, take action, and learn how to use them as a force for success. A coach transforms the way you think and shifts your perspective, helps you clarify your goals, identify the obstacles holding you back, and develop strategies for overcoming each obstacle.”
— Prashant Welling, Life Coach
“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” —Patrick Lencioni
Why do thought leaders give tremendous weightage to teamwork in an organizational setup? If it is so important, then why is it rare to find?
Well, to begin with, it's because of our limited perspectives on teamwork and the importance of team building. We presume skilled individuals will combine to produce skilled performance in the same way we presume two plus two adds up to four.
This is not what collaboration is. Collaboration is when the result exceeds the sum of the parts, where two + two can be eight. This may not be the case in mathematics, but it is possible to achieve collabo ration at the workplace by creating highly effective teams through team building.
With today's complex business processes, no entre preneur, leader, manager, or anyone for that matter can do it individually. You can be alone to go fast, but one needs to be together to go far.
The usual perception and understanding of team build ing is about organizing activities and games. Well, this is just a tiny part of the complete process.
Yes, you read that right. Team Building is more than just an event. Instead, it is a continuous pro cess of diagnosing team dynamics and instituting plans and processes to improve team performance.
Let’s take an analogy to understand this better. One can relate Team Building to a car with four wheels driven by the leader. The destination of this car is improved performance.
The first two wheels are related to Team Dynamics.
1ST WHEEL: CONTEXT — Does organizational culture, structure, and systems support teamwork? For example – is teamwork rewarded?
2ND WHEEL: COMPOSITION — Do team members have
the required individual skills, experience, and moti vation to do the job? Are we getting the right people on broad?
The other two wheels are related to Instituting Plans and Processes.
3RD WHEEL: COMPETENCIES — Is the team consistently developing behavioral team skills and competencies like goal setting, decision making, conflict management, etc.?
4TH WHEEL: CHANGE — Is the team measuring its performance and devising more effective ways of working together?
The car won't run at the expected pace if any of the wheels is flat.
All these can be explained individually in depth. For want of space, let’s, for now, look only at the third wheel of competencies and developing them through behavioral training. A regular combination of experiential and classroom training can yield excellent team-building results.
Below are behaviors required for building highly ef fective teams (HET).
HET is purpose-driven. The purpose is different from generating profit, making money, or just winning. It’s bigger than that and can be explained as their “Why” or “Just Cause” which fuels every action they take. Profit or winning becomes the outcome of their purpose. Usually, this purpose is known as the “Vision” of the organization in the corporate setup. HET believes in its purpose and creates milestones/goals for its fulfill ment. These milestones and goals are their tangible, time-bound performance results.
HET members are comfortable sharing their weak nesses, skill deficiencies, interpersonal shortcomings, and mistakes with each other. They feel psycholog
How can you implement professional agility and cohesion amongst those that work with and for you. These strategies offer an incisive road map Team Time
ically safe to being exposed. Usually, it is difficult for everyone to be vulnerable as we have learned to become competitive and being protective of our reputation. HET breaks this barrier and goes beyond that. The secret sauce here is Trust. Trusting each other encourages everyone to be open and share their respective vulnerabilities. Since the attention is on collective performance results, any individual weak ness becomes the team's weakness. Working in silos is not something you see in HET.
If you are thinking about how conflicts can be en gaging and productive, then you probably haven't encountered any HET, which believes that conflicts are constructive and a must to grow. They do not fear it and constantly engage in conflicts to make deci sions. In any team, every member is unique, and it's natural for everyone to come up with different ideas. HET extracts and exploits ideas from all of them. Different perspectives are discussed, even if topics are critical and controversial. Average teams ignore such matters even if critical to team success but not HET. Engaging in conflicts prevents back-channel politics and personal attacks. It saves time as it is utilized for quick decision-making rather than solving interpersonal ego and status problems.
As simple as it seems, the commitment habit is chal lenging to develop. In a team setup, commitment
is a function of clarity of objectives and buy-in from every team member, even if they were against the final decision in the initial discussion. Lack of commitment is the ene my of decision-making. In HET, everyone commits to the decision. Members are committed when they
exhibit the following signs – having no ambiguity about the direction and priorities, having no fear of failure, developing abilities to learn from mistakes, taking advantage of opportunities, pivoting without guilt, etc.
Big word, right? Not for HET as they live this word. Being accountable for self and every team member makes any team high performing. This reflects keeping ambitious standards for each other. In simple words, accountability boils down to the willingness of team members to call their peers on performance and be havior that might hurt the team. Mediocrity is not tolerated. Fear of letting teammates down motivates people in HET. Many thought leaders agree that peer pressure is the most effective and efficient means for maintaining high performance.
All five behaviors are interdependent. No team can become HET by developing just one or two habits listed above. It’s a complete cycle. If teams are not driven by purpose and do not know their performance results, what will they commit to? If they do not commit themselves to results, why and how are they going to discuss and brainstorm ideas? If there are no real discussions and decisions, then do we really have anything and anyone to hold accountable for? It is always the integrated and not the individual approach that wins.
Whether you run a large organization or a small business, you need teams, and you need to build them systematically to go as far as you possibly can. ✪
Team Building is more than just an event. Instead, it is a continuous process of diagnosing team dynamics and instituting plans and processes to improve team performance
“
You can register a business to start one, but you cannot open a brand with a registration!
I remember during a business trip to New Zealand a few years back, my local business partner suggested I should migrate to the country, with the words - “There are more lambs in New Zealand than skilled personnel, so you will definitely be respected in case you considering migrating to this part of the world, as the country really needs you!”
Drawing analogy to what he said, there is no dearth of business infrastructure or technology as an aide to business – but even with a growing number of business registrations, are there as many brands? (discounting self-proclaimed brands in the count)
The answer is definitely not. We do not have as many brands as there should be!
So, what is going wrong or stopping businesses from turning into brands? (a business and a brand are not interchangeable words in the dictionary, which many unfortunately try to do!)”
Let's look at the Brand Theory that gives us some fundamentals:
• Brands are all about the emotional connection between the business and the client – the client being at the center of attention and attraction.
• Successful brands are empathetic.
• Authenticity is key to success.
• Modern-day technology is a great catalyst for pro moting your brand.
• Brands are all about the experience they deliver.
Despite having known these ‘universal truth’ theories on brands, we are still unable to deliver 'the brand' on a daily basis to reign over customers' minds. Let us revisit some of these facts presented above and add on a few more insights observed in practice to understand what ails brand making. Rather look at some guaranteed success guidelines to making a brand.
Emotions are very much a part of our lives but unfortu nately read wrong so often. A common misconception is about the different types of emotions. They are
organized into levels – primary, secondary, tertiary, and so on. So unless there is clarity of what ‘sort of emotions’ you are trying to evoke, you are more likely to miss out on how that emotion can be triggered. For instance, in a recent survey, I found that less than 15% of people knew that the emotion called LOVE is not basic or primary. Two basic emotions, JOY and TRUST, work to produce the emotion called LOVE. If you want someone to fall in love with your business, it becomes a relatively easier process knowing the scientific theory behind it.
2. Empathy in action: Too much or too less
Too much or too less – Empathy is a necessary ingre dient to making a brand. The simplest way to describe empathy as a commoner is to put yourself in the cus
tomer’s shoes and realize where the shoe pinches! But this is where the chaos begins. Say I run a business and understand the customer’s pain point in detail. Now one of the following three may happen:
1. I interpret the findings with my own biases and turn a bit blind in love with my product or business.
2. I just want to see how this can make a ‘selling prop osition’ without showing honest effort to reduce the pain.
3. I get so overwhelmed with the findings that I really have no clue how to align my business with the requirement.
So what summarizes the situation is the lack the balance in being empathetic. Most consultants and
Guidelines from a branding expert on what it takes to turn your business into a brand, one that makes your audience tick
Even with a growing number of business registrations, are there as many brands? We do not have as many brands as there should be!
coaches definitely guide a business to practice em pathy, with very few showing how the value can be interweaved with the business proposition.
Decoded as just being yourself, authenticity in brand making is a deeper concept than said. We all have a unique story to tell. In our social lives, we connect with or make friends with whom we resonate in our thoughts and ideas. The same is with business; we would love to connect with those ‘chunks’ or ‘seg ments’ of an authentic story that resonates with the natural story of the business. More such segments of the original business storyline align with our lives, the closer it is to our hearts and better positioned to be a brand. Being authentic is being yourself, just as your customers would be able to connect themselves to, not authenticity gone wild!
Dating back to the origin of the term, technology is all about techniques, skills, and application of something scientific to human use. Technology on its own is not a magic wand that can turn a business into a Cinderella ready for the ball night! While brands demand visi bility, a disorganized approach or reach is not only a waste of resources but also fails to create the necessary impression. Being on social media or other forms of media has become relatively easier to access, but the lack of design behind the brand is often missed. (A small note here – do not confuse design with strategy, they are quite different terms, and why else would the
As human beings, we are blessed to experience life with our five senses. And the channels through which we collect and process an experience are – eyes, nose, ears, touch, and tongue. Unfortunately, we are sometimes so biased (rather stereotyped) with our senses that we fail to explore an optimum balance of it all. There have been multiple scientific experiments to analyze how the senses influence decision-making. But off late, the realm of experiences is expanding, and people are looking beyond mere marketing gimmicks. With virtual platforms offering spiritual experiences, meditation, and collaborative meetups, this is just the beginning of defining new age experience. More businesses fall short of being a brand on this aspect, as they are stuck on to those cliché experiences. With the customer’s expectations evolving at a faster pace than ever before, the search for innovative experiences is touching new heights every day.
The problem in our lives is now a problem of plenty! We are flooded with free sessions, master classes, DIY branding books, seminars, webinars, consultants, and a bunch of tools at our easy disposal. But not many of them give clarity on the design of a brand. Amongst all this chaos and din, somewhere, the brand’s voice gets lost, and the attitude goes unnoticed. We cannot change the way the crowd behaves, but the choice remains ours – be a member to the party (which is running a business well) or carve out your mark by the strength of your design (making a brand memorable). ✪
English language make them into two different words!)
Progressive Parenting Coach The Ultimate Gift
If one were to ask, “Which is the toughest and the most daunting job in the world today?” the answer would be, hands down, unanimously - being a parent.
The good thing is you’re not alone. Every par ent feels the pressure and has internally got the fear and niggling worry - are they doing the right things for their child or their teenagers who will soon become adults.
We, as parents, tend to protect our children against the difficulties of life and shield them against hardships that they inevitably must face in their environments as they grow into adulthood. The question all parents must answer is whether or not to shield their children from difficulties or try to be the emotional cushion in their life. How do we, as parents prep our children for life? How do we strengthen them to face and overcome any challenge that life throws at them?
Children look up to their parents to support and guide them in their journey because parents ARE the primary caretakers and influencers in a child’s life. And we need to be very careful in fulfilling our responsi bilities as a parent because we are not only nurturing a child, we are building the future.
All parents want their children to be healthy, happy, and productive. They want to maximize their child’s growth and give them as much opportunity as possible to not only survive but to thrive throughout life.
This is the long-term goal of parenting. Therefore, parenting actually begins by thinking about the final result. And therefore, parents must be ‘progressive’ in their approach.
Families who classify themselves as progressive or have a progressive parenting style are on the rise, and this phrase isn’t just a way of showing political affil iation. When used in a familial context, ‘progressive’ embodies a set of values and parenting choices that come from intentional and big-picture thinking.
Progressive parenting is not a rigid set of steps or one solid method of parenting. It is not about a child’s development or creating little geniuses. It is not about
raising a well-mannered child. Rather, it is an approach that focuses on ensuring that children have an envi ronment that fosters confidence, self-reliance, empathy, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness.
As far as parenting goes, many types of growth hap pen at once. Obviously, the growth of the child, but also the growth of the parent — as an individual, the growth of the relationship and bond between parent and child, the growth between siblings, if any, and the growth of the family as a unit.
Progressive parenting also focuses on the parent’s ability to meet their personal needs in order to be more responsive to the needs of their child. It is about parenting with the big picture in mind - grounded, connected kids from toddlers to teens to adulthood.
In a world where so many websites, parenting books, and workshops give you a list of dos and don’ts on ways to become better parents, it can get a bit overwhelming
Progressive parenting is not a rigid set of steps or one solid method of parenting.
It is not about a child’s development or creating little geniuses. It is not about raising a well-mannered child
To lead children to be their best selves is the best present a child can be given. Here are some techniques to wrap the perfect prezzie
and confusing for a parent.
Society has led us to believe that imparting good education is most important for building a successful life for our children. But, this education really starts with babies in the womb who are listening and feeling everything that the mother experiences, and this can impact the all-around development of the child. So, truly, parenting begins from the womb.
The Goulding Method® is a safe, non-intrusive, ethical, and positive technique for parents that can be applied from pregnancy to the child’s puberty (i.e., 0-12 years of age). This is a tool that parents use in the safety and comfort of their homes to eliminate behavioral, developmental, academic, or physical issues and create changes that last for an entire lifespan.
The primary role of the Goulding Method™ is to allow the child to develop calmness and a positive self-image. The strength of the process is both its simplicity in content and application.
Parents (and adoptive parents) can learn to apply this method with a registered Goulding Method Con sultant for extra peace of mind. Joane Goulding, the founder of the Goulding Method™, says, “After many years of bringing my parenting approach to the world, I’m confident that my method is no longer simply a ‘process’. I’ve proven to have assisted families in raising emotionally secure children, and I’m proud my method has touched every community across the globe. I created the process that is now a trusted method.”
While the Goulding Method™ is a wonderful tool for parents with kids between the ages of 0-12 years, parenting really is also a lot about the parent them
The principles of Progressive Parenting can be applied to any stage of life between parent and child, or even grandchild. We have designed a module on 18 fundamen tals that compiles all the major learnings into a 4-hour workshop. These fundamental learnings can also be ap plied to other members of the family, no matter what age, and to colleagues at the workplace. Applying even 4-5 of them will create a shift that is hard to miss.
selves. And so, there are certain basic fundamentals to parenting which, when learned and applied, can change the family dynamics 180º. Google search the word ‘principles of parenting’ and it will show you bulleted lists of some principles to follow.
According to Dr. Laurence Steinberg, professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, good parenting helps protect children from developing emotional angst, antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and a desire to achieve.
As one of the most researched areas in the field of social science, parenting is a skill that can be learned. No matter what your parenting questions or worries, or concerns, an expert is your best bet to guide you through this complex, yet satisfying, journey.
And remember, it is never too late to turn things around. Children are never problematic, they are just constantly responding to stimulus! With just the right amount of care, support and nurturing, they can surpass any difficulty and be the best versions of themselves that they can be. ✪
The need of the hour for charity and philan thropy is dire. While humanity as a whole is moving toward scientific progress, poverty, inequality, and fundamental rights violation remain a significant threat to our society’s foundation. Pandemics, natural disasters, and wars weaken this foundation further. The Covid pandemic has ravaged the social and economic state of the world. More than 15 million people lost their lives, and health care ser vices broke down in 92% of countries. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals report for 2022 states that the Covid pandemic has erased more than four years of progress against poverty. The number of people living below the extreme poverty line has gone up from 581 million to 675 million in 2022. The Ukraine war has deepened the food crisis. More than 150 million children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. One out of every ten people in the world
sleeps hungry. The number of refugees has gone up alarmingly. Today, for every 10,000 humans in the world, there are 311 refugees with no guaranteed human rights. Furthermore, an estimated 641 million women have faced some form of intimate abuse at least once in their lifetime. 1 out of 10 children are engaged in child labor.
While these numbers are frightening, knowing them is the first necessary step toward social and economic reforms. The first step to dealing with a problem is awareness and acceptance that the problem exists. These comprehensive and scary sta tistics educate people globally about human plight. With enough effort, a solidarity can be built that can trigger international cooperation and charity, philanthropy, and volunteer work at an unprece dented scale.
Our ravaged planet and its inhabitants have had to cope with a lot lately but hope blooms with ‘International Day of Charity’ when small acts of kindness are encouraged. Megha Agrawal looks at this wonderful global undertaking
The observance of ‘International Day of Charity’ is one such groundbreaking initiative with a twopronged approach. The first prong is to apply very concentrated effort to educate the masses on pressing issues stemming from poverty like short ages in healthcare services, child protection, food crisis, violation of human rights of the marginalized and underprivileged, and humanitarian issues like refugee situation from war torn countries, gender inequality, racism, caste discrimination, and even climate change. The second prong is to enable people to act in order to fix these issues by bringing awareness towards worthy charities and good works and encouraging them to donate time, money, intellect, and effort towards these causes.
Mother Teresa has said - “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that miss ing drop.”
An extraordinary human being, Mother Teresa had a deep understanding of both - the nature of human sufferings and the nature of human empa thy to soothe these sufferings. Her belief that even though small, every step taken out of kindness to alleviate human suffering is powerful and has a long-lasting impact has proven right with her life’s works in India and internationally to establish charities to help the poor and the unprotected. She was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, which she entirely donated to charity.
It is apt that the UN chose Mother Teresa’s death anniversary to carry forward her indomita ble will to serve mankind by declaring the 5th of September as the ‘International Day for Charity’. This initiative also aligns perfectly with the UN’s long-term agenda of Sustainable Development for 2030, which comprises three core elements - eco nomic growth, social inclusion, and environmental protection aimed to create development that also preserves a world for future generations.
Since being established in 2012, the International day of Charity has been celebrated by many world governments by pledging to causes, providing foreign aid, lending patronage to charities, and running national campaigns on social media. Tags like #CharityDay, #CharityDay2022, have made the event popular. Big foundations like WaterAid, Global Poverty Project, The Coca-Cola Founda tion, and Candid have since been major advocates of the International Day of Charity.
Private sectors, corporations, and individuals also participate around the world.
In 2020, when the world was in the throes of the pandemic, the UAE government distinguished itself by seamlessly and efficiently managing the pandemic, displaying solidarity with other countries to fight it, rendering medical aid, and repatriating expats. The UAE government also donated 1.3% of its total income to charitable works and aid around the world in comparison to 0.7% world average. Emirates Red Crescent has lent aid to Syrian and Yemeni refugees and spent over 150 million AED on local and international initiatives. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation spent 1.4 bil lion AED in 2019 on development and relief work in 108 countries affecting 71 million people.
This year, the UAE government has lent human itarian aid to Pakistan to combat monsoon floods. Sixteen humanitarian flights carried 3000 tonnes of relief aid to Pakistan, with more planned. The UAE has also opened an air corridor to carry relief aid from other countries.
These significant initiatives show that more and
The UAE government also donated 1.3% of its total income to charitable works and aid around the world in comparison to 0.7% world average. Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation spent 1.4 billion AED in 2019 on development and relief work in 108 countries affecting 71 million people
more people are willing to participate and help in charitable causes they believe in. Local and regional fundraisers and charity events have also picked up the pace. This heralds a tremendous positive change in society as people become more connect ed, conscious, and caring towards each other.
As Winston Churchill, another great leader the world has seen, said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a LIFE by what we give.” ✪
This is the stuff dreams are made off. Sreeram Viswanath explores the vividly exciting experience of Thailand's cultural panorama - the Chiang Mai Lantern Festival and the Lopburi Buffet Festival
Thailand never ceases to mesmerize those who visit its shores with festivals depicting its beautiful culture and heritage. The scenic landscapes, the stunning beach es, and the mouth-watering food add to the magnificence.
Those who love the coast may hit Koh Chang and Koh Kood,
given the low possibility of rains, with a temperature range of 28 degrees Celcius. However, no visit to the coastal region can be complete without a visit to Phuket, especially the Phang Nga bay. The place is a veritable paradise, where lagoons, caves, and mangroves stun and enthrall visitors. Some places in the north can be cold but not freezing.
The areas around Kanchanaburi in central Thailand experience delightful weather conditions during this time of the year. November is an excellent time to visit many parts of Thailand. The dry, sunny temperature makes Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand the ideal hangout spot, especially if one has two very popular festivals to partake in.
The Chiang Mai Lantern Festival: A Celebration of Light, Peace, and Culture
The Chiang Mai Lantern Festival is a festival of light and culture
that takes place annually in the third week of November. Local residents and visitors come together to share their love for peace, family, and community by lighting lanterns and other activ ities such as parades, food stands, cultural performances, a beauty pageant called Miss Chiang Mai Lantern, and epic fireworks show.
The festival is celebrated on a full moon night, precisely on the 12th month of the lunar calen dar. In 2022, the festival occurs on November 8th-9th, coinciding with the Lay Krathong Festival.
The origins of the Chiang Mai
Lantern Festival are rooted in the city’s history, not just because Chiang Mai is one of Thailand's most beautiful cities. Legend has it that this city was once ruled by an evil witch named Mae Bae, who was very jealous of anyone more beautiful than her. So, she decided to lock up all the girls she deemed beautiful inside her castle and later disguised herself as a man to trick any other eligi ble bachelorettes into marrying her. When she discovered that one woman had escaped her im prisonment, she tried to find and kill her with poisoned apples.
But to Mae Bae's fury, this wom an managed to run away with the help of seven princes. This story has been passed down for generations in Chiang Mai and is still told today during the annual festival. In a way, it reflects that peace in some form will prevail over evil or malice.
If you are going to be a part of this event, you are entering a flurry of activities that guarantee wow moments. The show's high light would be the lantern and parades, cultural performances, food stands, the Miss Chiang Mai Lantern beauty pageant, and the lanterns that will parade across the city. Giant lanterns are lit 20 meters above in the sky and made to float down the river, an act that symbolizes wishes of peace and happi ness for all, where bad luck is waved away to embrace new beginnings. This symbolism also appeals to couples who get married on this occasion. People of the Thai culture are known to include coins in their kra Chiang Mai, a place covered with misty, forested mountains, helps travelers get a taste of something unique that cannot be found anywhere else in the country.
thongs (floating) as an offering to Buddha and water spirits.
One can find a local twist to the festivities if they witness it from the Ping River, Three Kings Monument, and the Thapae Gate. The locals use the Nawarat Bridge of the Ping River to release their floating lanterns. A stroll down these candlelit streets makes for a tranquil, fulfilling experience.
Traditional northern-style mu sic and dances such as ping-pong, northern-style singing, and Luna folk music performances are or chestrated. In addition, partakers of the event will be treated to authentic Thai food.
Chiang Mai, a place covered with misty, forested mountains, helps travelers get a taste of something unique that cannot be found anywhere else in the country. This mountain city is known for its thick tropical forests, trekking spots, and ancient constructions. The Doi Inthanon National Park is a part of the great Himalayan
" Famous tra ditional Thai food: Chicken red curry with eggplant and hot chili Pad Thai
$ Delicious fresh street food
Mountain Range; little wonder why it is home to earthy villages and jaw-dropping viewpoints.
Ching Mai shows again why the hills, every one of them, makes the world a slower, simple, yet richer place.
The Lopburi Monkey Buffet Festival: Thailand's most Insta-famous event
The Lopburi Monkey Buffet Festival may seem like a real-life version of that cartoon where the
animals break out of their zoo enclosure for an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord, with monkeys roaming around a town and din ing the same way humans do.
Each year, on the day of this queer festival, monkeys roam freely about Lopburi, climbing trees, rummaging through trash, and hunting for food. Locals feed the monkeys during the festival to earn merit, but the animals are also permitted to eat any human food they can get their hands on. Monkeys don't just get any treat; they are offered over 4000 kilos of food prepared by local chefs. The menu includes fruit salad and carvings, sticky rice, and some delicious Thai desserts cherished by the town's people. It may seem bizarre, but this is an annual phenomenon in the small town of Lopburi in Thailand, home to the country's largest population of monkeys. The festival goes a long way in showing how humans and ani mals can coexist harmoniously while showcasing how weird and
# Lantern fly over grand palace in Bangkok city, Thailandwonderful Thailand can be.
The origins of the festival date back to the days of yore, to the Ramayana, that the residents of this Thai town believe in. Legend has it that Lord Rama built this town of Lopburi with the able assistance of Lord Hanuman, a deity in the monkey form very revered in Hinduism. Naturally, this deifies the monkeys of this town, with people ready to forgive the many antics of these mischievous animals.
Many believe that these primitive species make this place in Northern Thailand (which al ready has a temple crowded with monkeys) a place of great luck.
The monkeys are curious about human visitors, and many will attempt to steal food from tables. Their favorite hangouts include the restaurants along Anusawari Road and Watsalay (also known as "Monkey Temple").
The monkey buffet is not the only part of the festivity, though, as an enthralling cultural feast makes for a treat to the senses. The festival is held on the last weekend of November every year, which in 2022 falls on the 26th and 27th. The Lopburi Symphony can be witnessed on the eve of the festival, on the 26th, when King Narai's Palace opens its halls to a ceremony performed by some very talented Thai artists, which includes the National Symphony Orchestra.
The best place to start is per
haps the city's famous dish, Lop buri's famous sticky rice with sweet pork. You can find this at almost any restaurant in the town. Pok-pok, a local version of the stir-fry dish, must be tried. Other popular local dishes in clude hot wings with spicy dips, shum-shum, and pad thai.
Youm Suk Sam is a great place to start. It's also near the entrance to the Lopburi Na tional Park, where you can see monkeys in their natural habi tat. Sawan Budd Rot is another good option, as the monkeys tend to linger there longer than at other restaurants. Another good reason to visit this restau rant is that the King of Thai land visits this restaurant at the same time every year. The Siam View Hotel is a good option if you want to see the monkeys being fed by people.
The capital and more Bangkok, the capital of this land of smiles, is much more than a cos mopolitan. The city is known for a vibrant buzz, a street life that must be experienced or even lived with, and spiritual athrough the waters of the Chao Pao River. People who wish to take a peaceful detour may spend some time in the monumental Grand Palace, which houses a complex of eye-capturing buildings such as the Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho (home to a 46-meter-long reclining Buddha), the Royal reception Halls, and the iconic temple of the Dawn. Bangkok’s most delicious food is found on the street. Places such as Khaosan Road and Chinatown are ideal places to begin with.
The other must-visit place is Koh Samui (Samui Island), followed by its two smaller sisters: Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. A popular resort island with stunning beaches and plenty of fun activities, even golf. Diving, snorkeling, and basking on the picturesque jungle-backed beach es are popular things to do here, as well as boat tours around the sublime seascape of Ang Thong National Marine Park. This is also the place where you go to party in style. With plenty of beach clubs, discos, lounge bars, and beer bars, there is a lot to do once the sun has set.
Thailand is a culture that must be experienced and taken back home to be cherished for a long time. ✪
Monkeys don't just get any treat; they are offered over 4000 kilos of food prepared by local chefs. The menu includes fruit salad and carvings, sticky rice, and some delicious Thai desserts
" Ao Nang beach Krabi $ Ping River at Pha Daeng Luang
$ Lopburi Monkey Buffet Festival
An activity that’s coming back in a big way as our sedentary lifestyle makes us weaker, obese, and age faster is cycling. The ben efits of cycling are numerous, and they range from health to economic, from envi ronmental to social. But despite its fetch ing simplicity, people across the world are still sitting on the benefits of this exercise form, unknowing of the simple ways in which it can boost our mental and physical health.
Cycling is an active transportation technology that has a direct impact on the health of a community. It can reduce obesity, keep heart disease at bay, and prevent Type 2 Diabe tes, amongst other illnesses. Efficient in burning calories and fat, it is a full-body exercise that targets almost all the major muscle groups. It’s a low-impact activity that’s easier on the joints than running or other high-impact exercises, making
it suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels. Combined with strength training, cycling also helps build muscle and maintain bone density, thus preventing diseases like osteoporosis.
Cycling is an excellent way to stay de-stressed. Its physical benefits are evident and stand on its own. But in the mental realm, it reduces stress levels and provides people with energy, which in itself helps the body perform at its peak.
The mechanics are yours, but here are some basics No hard and fast rules govern cycling, nor do you have to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy road bike or special cycling shoes and other accessories. It’s as simple as you can imagine, take your bike out and fly with the wind, pedaling away in delight. Like any exercise, cycling has a tiny element of danger that can be easily avoided by using personal protective equipment like pads or gloves. The vehi cle must be in good condition, with sturdy breaks and a functional bell, making it safe and smooth to drive for riders and pedestrians alike.
Since it is an easy enough activity, the only thing you should note is if you can ride steadily, keep
Life Cycleall know the joyful exercise of cycling helps people stay in shape and improve their cardiovascular fitness; but there’s a lot more to this oft-ignored form of body movement, reveals SREERAM VISWANATH
your balance and maintain speed without falling. Some of the common cycling modes include:
Road cycling: The most widespread form of cycling, road cycling is pursued both as a leisure and a racing endeavor. It is contested in various global forms, including a one-day race, time trials, criterium, and multi-state events like the Tour De France. Road cycling is known to improve cardio health and muscle conditioning (among other health benefits).
Mountain biking: Motoring through the mountains could be a delight for those who enjoy being outdoors amidst nature’s bliss. The rugged nature of hills can improve your strength, stamina, and flexibility. It is perfect for backpackers who want to familiarize themselves with hilly terrains, although beginners may find it a touch daunting. Indoor/ Static cycling: Indoor cycling is the easiest and can be done at home or in a gym. You may practice the same by following a pre-recorded class or by creating your own indoor cycling workout.
Tandem cycling: A tandem cycle refers to a twin bicycle, a special form that you can ride in tandem with a partner. The practice, a kind of novelty cycling, dates back to the late 1800s. It is a mode of cycling that can promote teamwork and make riding more joyful, but the effort involved is more. Tandem cycling can be tried out around tourist facilities, parks, and bike stores.
Keeping it fresh: If you’ve done the same old workout for the last few months and are ready for a change, why not try cycling somewhere new? Find a cycling event in your area or a cycling meet-up group and get along with a friend who’s experienced in cycling to help you out.
Overcoming beginner issues: If you’re a beginner cyclist, it is quite natural to encounter a few issues along the way. Here’s how you can overcome them: Choice of bikes: Road bikes and mountain bikes cater to different purposes and different terrains. Get this appropriately checked before purchasing your bike. Mountain bikes, for example, are fitted in with shock-absorption suspension, which makes them capable of smoothly traversing through rocks, roots, and bumps.
Saddle sores: If you’re cycling relentlessly, you may get “saddle sores”. These are small wounds on your skin that can be painful. You can prevent them by ensuring that you are on the right bike, wearing clean shorts, and applying chamois cream (an ti-chaffing) to your skin before beginning to cycle.
Poor diet: If you’re cycling and eating poorly, cycling results will be poor. To yield the best results, you must consume enough calories and get enough protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals with
every meal. You should eat foods that are easy to digest, do not make you feel heavy, and can keep you energized while cycling.
Back pains: Choosing a cycle that doesn’t gel well with your body size could expose
you to many problems, making you uncomfort able. It may end up causing pain in the neck, back, and knee. Moreover, a bike you are not very confident about renders you an unsure, unsafe rider. To avoid this, choose a bike that fits in well with your height or inside leg. Precisely speaking, you should be measuring your saddle height, ped al position, and wheel size.
The sun and the rain: Backpackers have a love for nature, and we appreciate it (for that’s what you call the joy of cycling). But the vagaries of nature have always proved to be the best examples of the adage ‘better safe than sorry’. Cycling in the rain could make mountain biking riskier due to the imminent danger of visibility and the risk of landfalls. Exposure to the sun could make you fall victim to heat strokes. This is where cyclists must keep enough water stock and get themselves protected with adequate sunscreens.
Cycling can make each of us a part of a world that celebrates its existence, with the capability of enhancing it in many ways. This pledge of good health and sustainability can be taken up by peo ple young and old, proving that not all good roads are paved with difficulty. ✪
Cycling is an excellent way to stay de-stressed, which in itself helps the body perform at its peakTandem cycling Mountain Biking Road cycling Indoor/ Static cycling
The brand that put electric vehicles on the map once again proves why their creations set new standards, with the minimalist Tesla 3 with massive upgrades. Qiraat Attar takes the wheel to gauge this newest 4-wheel offering
The electric vehicle arena, both in market and innovation, has really opened up to new players and new perspectives. But, we never forget the first, do we? Tesla's latest Model 3 launch certainly ups the ante with its understated style and consummate functionality.
It has also made it to the 'Car and Driver 2022' Editor's Choice List, so our interest is officially piqued. The question has to be asked - does the EV buck stop at the 2022 iteration of the Tesla 3?
The exterior:
• The Tesla 3, in keeping with its minimalism, refrains from flash in the exteriors and goes for strength instead.
• The frame is built for safetyrigid structure, impact protection in the bonnet, and the low floor guarantees low rollover risk.
• The car sports a tinted glass roof, a pert rear, slick LED detailing at the front and rear of the vehicle with 18-inch Aero wheels that can be upgraded to 19-inch Sport wheels.
• The standard color choice is a pristine pearl white, but you can also opt for metallic silver at no extra cost. For a price, you can snazz up your Tesla with bright red, solid black, or metallic blue.
• Tesla 3 stays true to itself with a chic interior design. Most of the
features are controlled by the touchscreen in the dashboard, allowing for easy access for the driver.
• Its low floor heightens the feeling of spaciousness in the vehicle.
• The front seats are supportive and comfortable, but the rear seats don’t match up and can feel cramped for adults.
• You can fold all the seats flat, creating an uninterrupted cargo floor for hauling large items. There’s actually enough room for 15 carry-on suitcases.
• The infotainment is kind of puz zling because despite its sophisti cation, the car does not come with AM radio and SiriusXM satellite radio. It also does not sport An droid Auto or Apple CarPlay.
• Navigation, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity are available in Tesla 3.
• Entertainment options are aplenty with Netflix, YouTube, and a host of arcade games to make the charging-station layover time pass without frustration.
• On the chargers - The 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range has an 11.5-kW charger and a 75-kWh battery pack, which would take around 6.5 hours to charge fully using a Level 2 charger.
• The Tesla Supercharger charges at 250 kW, lowering the charging time to approximately 15 to 25 minutes.
• The Tesla characteristically holds the battery under the floor, which yields a low center of grav ity and cuts chances of a rollover in an accident. Additionally, steering is a lot easier and the car stays stable as it swerves on sharp turns.
• Electric Vehicle is one half of the equation - the complemen tary parts are charging stations available conveniently across your region, much like fuel bunks for the humble petrol or die sel-powered car.
• The Model 3 has several charging options, including Tesla's Supercharger network, adapters for DC public-charging stations, 240- and 120-volt outlets, and a home-charging station.
• The UAE has 629 connectors across 277 locations, so you know your Tesla will not run out of juice when you're gunning your EV with no clear destination for the joy of driving.
• The most striking feature of the Tesla 3 is how it subverts expectations. Instead of glamor, it goes for sturdy exteriors, clean-cut interiors, and superior functionality to offer the everyman a chance to own a Tesla and do their bit for the environment while gaining some bragging rights for owning this coveted brand.
• The performance varies considerably across the three trims of Tesla 3. The most affordable base trim that will afford a stunning Tesla parked in your driveway without breaking your bank offers a range of 272 miles. The middle tier, Long Range trim offers the most impressive range of 358 miles.
• This EV’s strong, silent engine gains speed smoothly, with the Long Range model going from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and the higher trim spanning the same speed in just 3.5 seconds.
• The Tesla 3, being the cheapest of all vehicular offerings, has some amenities cut down, but Autopilot is not one of them. It comes with Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer. For the complete Self-Driving package, you need to pay a steep price.
• Other safety features include standard automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control.
• The puzzling lack of infotain ment certainly weakens Tesla compared to its counterparts.
• Another issue is buying a Tesla if charging stations are not ubiquitous in your region, but that should improve with the increased adoption of EVs in the future.
• Is it evolution if we’re not learning something new? Tesla’s economy is not measured in kmph or mpg but in MPGe, meaning miles per gallon equivalent. MPGe indicates the distance a car can travel on 33.7kWh of electricity. So, if a vehicle can travel 60 miles on 33.7kWh of electricity, its MPGe is 60.
• The Tesla, of course, fares superiorly, for the various versions of the Model 3 are rated between 113 MPGe and 141 MPGe by the EPA.
• The Ford Mustang Mach-E stands out for its sporty performance and practical cargo area, while the allnew BMW i4 is a true luxury sport sedan that also happens to be an EV.
• Rear wheel drive - AED 184,990
• Long range - AED 215,990
• Performance - AED 235,990
• Ordering this vehicle now in UAE guarantees that you can call this EV delight your own by January to March 2023. J
Are you someone who seems to have a plethora of color options in your closet but can’t seem to choose the right one for you? Worry not, as seasonal color analysis may be the solution for you. Pallavi Biju tells you more about this TikTok trend that has fashion mongers obsessed
There is a science behind why silver jewelry seems to look better on you than gold and why you always get complimented when you wear that one mauve shirt. Maybe people always seem to talk to you more when you wear yellow, or your friends have told you that wearing blue eyeliner brings out your brown eyes.
Maybe you are clued into exactly what shade of pink looks good on you, or you’re the clue less kind who can’t tell cornflow er blue from sapphire on your best day. Wherever you are in your personal style journey, the Seasonal Color Analysis can help you look better, feel better, and up your fashion game without going on a shopping spree, mak ing the best of what you own.
Seasonal color analysis is a sci entific system that factors your skin tone, eye color, and hair color to determine your ideal color palette. It analyzes this information to determine the hues of your skin, hair, and eyes and their nuances to choose the colors that suit you best.
Each season's color scheme replicates the color palette that falls in a certain category for an individual. Why does that mat
ter? Your skin, eyes, and hair are all of a distinct shade, forming part of your characteristic colors. Identifying this natural color scheme and matching it to one of the twelve color seasons are the goals of color analysis.
Seasons are a good reference point since we are already at tuned to certain hues with each one, such as light pink blossoms in the spring, white snow in the winter, and deep crimson foliage in the fall. Each season is then divided into a subtype, such as cool, soft, or deep, which simply indicate the intensity of the colors of that during that season. Seasonal color analysis is a more in-depth and comprehensive version of the basic color analy sis and is also based on the color theory.
You’ve probably heard of the color theory in school. This theory is your second-grade art class but is elevated to help you find your most flattering hues.
The color wheel and its asso ciated theory play a massive role in the fashion and beauty indus
try. In fact, it forms the crux of all things style. When concep tualizing the color palette for their designs, fashion designers and makeup artists frequently turn to the color wheel, which is an essential tool for them. Although some utilize up to 24 colors, the conventional color wheel has 12 hues. But how can we make use of this to elevate our style and save some time in the morning?
Although consulting a specialist is recommended for an accurate and personalized result, we believe our readers already have a great sense of style and are just looking to evolve upwards! Fret not, as it is quite easy to find your perfect color season by following a few easy steps. All you need is a mirror! Pay careful attention and evaluate your physical features like eyes, hair, and skin to assess if they have warm or cold un dertones in order to decide your color season. Use your natural hair color, your desired wig color, or if you have colored hair. There are plenty of free resources avail able online that can help you figure out your undertones (you can find one on www.popsugar. com under what-my-understone
quiz). Just answer some simple questions like whether gold jewelry suits you better or silver jewelry and whether you get sunburned or tanned easily. Your results will either be cool leaning, warm leaning, completely warm, or completely cool.
The four potential combinations of these undertones are rep resented by the seasons. Read on and compare your features to find out your perfect color season!
You are a Spring if your: Skin: Clear, warm undertone, and you have lighter skin for your ethnicity
Hair: Light blond to medium brown, or strawberry blonde with gold or red undertones. Eyes: Clear blue, turquoise, green, hazel, or light brown
You are a Summer if your: Skin: Cool undertone and low contrast between hair and skin Hair: Light blond to medium brown with cool, ashy undertones Eyes: Blue, grey-blue, cool green, grey-brown, slate
You are an Autumn if your: Skin: Warm, golden undertone with a rich overall coloring Hair: Mid-brown to black or medium to deep red with golden or red undertones
Eyes: Hazel, medium to blackbrown, olive or warm green
You are a Winter if your: Skin: Cool or olive undertones and high contrast between skin, hair, and eyes with an overall deep coloring
Hair: Ashy mid-brown to dark brown to black with cool under tones
Eyes: Mid-brown to blackbrown, grey-blue, clear blue, and cool green
The most distinguishing characteristic of your coloring—light, deep, clear, soft, warm, or cool— determines the secondary element. Your secondary factor can assist you in further narrowing your own seasonal color scheme and can also help you identify whether palettes around may contain certain colors that are complementary to your skin tone. Here’s a rundown of the six secondary factors.
You’re either a Light Summer or a Light Spring. Your skin tone is light for your ethnicity, your eyes are either light blue, green, or grey, and you have light hair (blond or light brown). You look best in your color palette's gentle, mild, and subdued tones, such as peach (Spring) or a light lavender (Summer).
Light Spring celebrities include Blake Lively and Taylor Swift, while Michelle Pfeiffer and Lili Reinhart are Light Summer.
Either you are a Deep Autumn or Deep Winter. You have deep brown, emerald, or black eyes and dark brown or black hair. You look stunning in your palette's rich, deep hues, such as deep terracotta (Autumn) or black (Winter).
Meghan Markle and Eva Mendes are both deep Autumn, while Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Kim Kardashian are Deep Winter.
You are either a Warm Spring or a Warm Autumn. There is a strong warm undertone to your overall coloring. Your hair is either strawberry blond to deep auburn or golden blond to brown. Your eyes are light to medium brown, topaz, hazel, or green. The mid-range hues in your color scheme that are neither too powerful nor too light are excellent for you, such as a medium tomato red (Autumn) or a delicate aquamarine (Spring).
Hayden Panettiere and Cameron Diaz are both examples of Warm Spring. On the other hand, Shailene Woodley and Aishwarya Rai serve as examples of Warm Autumn.
You are either a Cool Summer or a Cool Winter. Regardless of whether you have light skin or dark hair, there is a cool undertone to your overall coloring. Similar to the warm type, you look best in your palette's mid-range hues, such as periwinkle (Summer) or emeraldgreen (Winter).
While Anna Kendrick and Barbara Palvin are examples of Cool Summers, Selena Gomez and Kendall Jenner are cool Winters.
Either a Clear Winter or a Clear Spring describes you. Your overall color scheme has strong saturation and contrast levels. Your eyes are blue, brilliant green, topaz, amber, or turquoise, and your hair is medium brown to black or vibrant, bright blond. You look best in bold, clear colors, such as a hot pink (Winter) or a bright, warm pink (Spring).
Megan Fox and Camila Mendes are examples of a Clear winter color palette, while Sonam K Ahuja and Vanessa Hudgens are Clear Spring celebrities.
You are either a Soft Summer or a Soft Autumn. Your skin, hair, and eyes don't have much contrast, and the majority of your coloring is very neutral. You don't have very light or dark hair. Your eyes are either brown, hazel, grey-blue, or green. Soft, understated colors like olive green (Autumn) or blue teal suit you best (Summer).
Both Bella Hadid and Jennifer Aniston serve as examples of Soft summer celebrities, while Elizabeth Olsen and Rihanna are Soft Autumn celebrities.
Whatever your seasonal color analysis, don’t be afraid to experiment outside the box. Even with the analysis, fashion is a joyous experiment, you may strike high or tumble, but you have to have fun with it. At the end of the day, what looks best on you is what you decide to wear with panache. As fashion designer Kenzo Takada said, “Fashion is like eating. You shouldn’t stick with the same menu.” ✪
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…
Few cartoon characters have captured the business of life as beautifully as the long-running series of Calvin and Hobbes. First appearing as a daily strip, it ran for ten years from 1985 to 1995. It featured the existential antics and philosophical angst of everyday living through the adventures and conversations between six-yearold Calvin and his anthropomorphized stuffed tiger, Hobbes. While Hobbes is nothing more than a stuffed animal to the rest of the world, he comes to life most delightfully in his private interactions with Calvin. And together, they explore the entire spectrum of human existence, poignantly and, in most cases, humorously, delving into the subtleties of changing seasons, friendship, family, and politics with a searing soul searching that leaves the reader enchanted, amused, and bemused.
Bill Watterson, the creator of the strip, has crafted a spectrum of characters with incisive wit, showcasing the highs and lows of daily existence with a deft pen. Both the writing and the art are in a league by themselves. Unsurprisingly, the comic strip won numerous awards and was internationally syndicated and translated into several languages. Collections and treasuries of the comic strips were compiled into books, and no book lover’s library can be complete without the addition of at least one of these. From ‘Days Are Just Packed’ to ‘Scien tific Progress Goes Boink’, these books both enter tain and uplift. If you want some heavy philosophy presented with the lightest touch; if you want to see your own life through a humorous yet quizzical lens; or if you just want to drown out the cares of the world and immerse yourself in a world of wit, wisdom, and humor… then these strips are your go to. Pick one, any one of the collections, or get them all... it will not disappoint. Available online as dai ly strips, or order the books off Amazon.
Have you been looking for a new fine-dining restaurant that serves mouthwatering delicacies to refresh your palate? Head on to Orientale, Dubai’s first and only fine-dining Pan-Asian restaurant in the non-alcohol category. Every dish at Orientale is backed by a ‘tale’, a connection to the origins of culinary perfection.
The restaurant specializes in exquisitely crafted treats from all around the Orient. The ambiance of the place captures the romanticism of the warm furnishings and the aroma of the expertly cooked gourmet meal. The inviting surroundings and de licious food are guaranteed to brighten your spirits and create the ideal atmosphere for a leisurely and pleasurable evening.
The restaurant also offers daily business lunch buffets for only AED 69, which includes unlimited food from a variety of more than 15 dishes. With almost half the menu (40%) being vegetarian, Orientale offers the widest choice of menu items for this segment of food lovers.
The restaurant also serves the most extensive spread of Vegan food ever (30% of the menu is veg
an), creating exciting flavors like never before, thanks to chefs with the best culinary expertise.
From more familiar dishes like California Roll and Spring Rolls to lesser-known yet delectable Nam Prik Sea Bass Fish Dumplings and Smoked Salmon Japanese Flat Breads, the ingredients work together to provide you with an unparalleled culinary ex perience, whose heart-melting flavors will immediately win you over. Experience total Zen and outstanding service for a calm evening where you can savor delectable dishes and mocktails with Asian cuisine inspiration.
A gourmet dinner can
be ordered online, allowing you to enjoy the 5-star experience in the comfort of your home.
Located on Umm Suqeim road in Al Barsha, valet parking assistance is also available for a hassle-free dining experience.
Few periods in history have captured modern-day imagi nation as the Tudor period has. Henry the VIII and his six wives, the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, who was mother to the redoubtable and legendary Queen Elizabeth I… documentaries, films, YouTube, and Instagram are filled to the brim with stories of the men and women who lived and ruled 15th and 16th century England. But the historical backdrop to the fascinating Tudors was equally gripping- the struggle for power between the warring houses of York and Lancaster, cousins who both had equal claims to the throne.
And as such, unsurprisingly, these have also fired up the imagination of writers and filmmakers. The White Queen, a mini-series made by BBC One, takes a look at the lives of the women involved in the long battle for the throne of England. Beginning in 1464, the story broadly follows the lives of three powerful women, Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, and Anne Neville, who were instrumental in the power struggle between the two houses.
Elizabeth Woodville, who marries Edward of York, delivers a striking performance as the commoner who married a king. While there is much creative license taken with setting, timelines, and costumes according to the critics, the series nevertheless delivers a beautiful retelling of a turbulent time in British history and captures the formidable courage and cunning of the women who played vital roles in the shaping of those times.
Unsurprisingly, The White Queen was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a People’s Choice Award. It is an entertaining binge-watch over a weekend after the rigors and stresses of a week of work.
Viewer discretion is advised as some scenes are unsuitable for those under 18. Available on Starz.
REVIEWED BY SANGEETHA SHINDE Photo: Ed Miller© 2013 Starz Entertainment LLCIused to have a terrible habit. It began when I was very little and it continued for decades. It was so ingrained into me that I did not realize that this was even, in fact, a bad habit. It was the derogatory, dismissive, insulting way I was speaking to the most important person in my life.
You see, I had succumbed to peer pressure in my early years and listened to what the world had to say about this human who deserved only my love and support. I looked at this individual with incredibly harsh eyes and only of fered criticism every step of the way. Every achievement was underplayed, and every failure magnified to galactic proportions. And as I watched this person crumble before my eyes, I lacked empathy and compassion, and in time, I also began to enjoy using this soul as my personal punching bag. I took out all my frustrations and sorrows on the one person who never ever fought back and, with every blow I landed, became weaker, more afraid, and unbearably di minished in the process.
I did this for reasons that, in retrospect, seem so shallow and inconsequential. Culture told me this was the right talk, and society made me believe that tough love was real love. Internalized misogyny and patriarchal codes convinced me cruelty was the way to go. How wrong I was!
Somewhere along the way, I forgot to be kind and blocked out the obvious pain I was inflicting on this special person. I lost sight of the important fact that I had been handed this soul in a human body to take care of, cherish and protect. That it was my responsibility and, perhaps, my calling to give this human being the best of my love, the best of devotion, and the best treatment I was capable of.
But did I? No. Instead, I used terrible words... “ugly”, “use less”, “stupid”, “ignorant”... and today I am deeply ashamed.
In all those long years, I never once offered praise. I never said, “I love you,” and never once offered any real comfort
when things went wrong. And, as if all this inhumanity was not enough, I got into a pattern of comparing this person to all others and always found fault. Always found something lacking. It almost became a vocation with me… finding mud to fling at this long-suffering soul. I thought doing this actually made me feel better.
Until one day, when the world had deserted me, and bit terness and sorrow became constant companions, I looked around and saw that this person was still there with me. Weakened, but not defeated, by my judgment and ill-treat ment over the years. And when I looked into those eyes that reflected back to me every moment of abuse I had inflicted… I suddenly saw how worthy the individual was behind the pain and sorrow I had caused. And I was appalled.
I was horrified at my treatment of this precious human who only deserved the best. I was humbled by the incred ible endurance and the indomitable spirit that lay before my gaze. I saw the beauty, the talent, the joy, the service, the humanity of this perfect being. In a flash, I saw how my inhumanity had worked against this magnificent creation, this biological receptacle for divinity on earth.
And in that moment of realization, I decided to change my love language with the one person I was destined to spend the rest of my life with.
So tell me now… how do you really treat yourself? ✪
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
A short essay on how we should not communicate with the person we should love the most
