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Scottish theologian William Barclay asserted that endurance was not the ability to bear hardships but to turn it into glory. The exploits of Pierre Daniel, French athlete living in Qatar, embodies the spirit of Barclary’s words for his sheer endurance. Daniel has been in the spotlight for finishing a run around Qatar alone and then completing another round on a bicycle. The adventurer holds the world record for being the fastest person to cross Qatar from north to south on foot. Community recently caught up with the 37-year-old and interviewed Daniel about his achievements and life. “I was born and raised in France. I studied marketing. I am the son of a designer so I have been involved in designing for a long time. A few years ago I moved to London where I started working for Al Jazeera English as a creative designer doing motion designs and branding. That was my first introduction to Qatar. “Then I moved to Qatar, still working with the news channel. Now, I work for Aspire Foundation. I have been living in Qatar for 10 years. I have three kids, all are born in Qatar.” Speaking about how he got the idea of going for a run around Qatar, Daniel said: “I have asked this question many times to myself. I have always been doing sports. I was a professional ice hockey player 15 years ago in France. I was very active as a kid. We grew up in countryside so we spent a lot of time in nature. I was like many other kids on the bicycle all the time. As a teenager, in summer, I would always go for rock climbing and mountaineering in the Alps. I think all that fostered a sort of character. “While working with Aspire six years ago, we were developing a programme called ‘Step into Health’. The idea was to stimulate and engage people for a healthier and more active lifestyle through walking. People were invited to walk for 10,000 steps every day. I developed some challenges for the programme. Some of the challenges were related to different landmarks in the country. One such challenge was that how many steps one can walk around the country. Just like that I decided to walk around the country in 2012.” When asked how he prepared himself for the adventure, Daniel said: “I was not really trained. At the same time, I was missing my biking and hiking days. I really decided to discover Qatar on foot. The pace is different when you are walking. The animals get closer. We get better sense of nature surrounding us. Being alone also helps in that. In 2012, I decided to walk from Corniche to Dukhan. I covered about 90 kilometres in a bit more than 16 hours. Not long after that, I walked from Gharafa to Al Khor. Then, I walked from Al Zubarah Fort to Doha across the desert. For this, I only used a compass and a map. The pieces of the puzzle were coming together. Then I started cycling and did triathlons and Iron Man. After some time, I registered for a 250 kilometre long marathon in Morocco in 2017. I started improving my running techniques. After Morocco, I did another full Iron Man in Austria.” After all these activities, Daniel decided to run around Qatar and his friends told him that no one else could do it. “I decided to do it all alone. I did it in February 2018. I carried all my equipment. I carried a lot of water but sometime it was not enough. When I started, it was an unusually hot day in February. On the second day, I faced strong head wind. The weather made the challenge tougher for me but at the same time it made the story interesting. “I wanted to also demonstrate the human potential and the natural beauty of Qatar. That was the true purpose of the challenge. I made sure that the people follow my adventure.” Regarding his expedition on cycle, he said: “A good friend of mine, a Qatari, pushed me for this. He was organising charity cycling rides. We both decided to have a cycling trip across Qatar. We did it in November last year. We did the tour for raising awareness about road safety. On our way, we went to some schools to raise road safety awareness. We covered around 500 kilometre on our cycles. We met around 1,000 kids in four days. As far I know, we are the only ones, who have crossed the country on cycles. We also exhibited our true friendship, Qatar and France. It was also our way of being in the community.” Explaining his sense of achievement, Daniel said: “I think it really made me want to be useful in the community. I am really attached with Qatar. I feel very close to Qatar’s national vision of 2030. There are lots of values that are also my personal values like sports, healthy lifestyle, art, education and healthcare. I am also a coach training endurance athletes.” When asked how Qatar has helped him in achieving all this, he said: “This country is actually full of positive energy. This is the one reason I went for the adventure. There is a sense of sharing and sense of helping. The culture is very welcoming. We are very privileged to live here. There are lots of sport activities. They always love sports. It was a perfect match. My envy for doing sports and the availability of the resources were a perfect match.” Speaking about his plans in future, he said: “There are many projects that I want to do. I am also planning to write a book about my experience of running around Qatar. I will tell a full story with all details. It is going to have pictures, my running selfies, and how I made sure to achieve such a thing without affecting my family. The adventures need real courage and one has to go out of comfort zone.” About the world record, he said: “The idea was not for me to be the best at anything. The idea was to create a legacy after the run around Qatar. The idea was to motivate others to go out and challenge themselves and explore Qatar. This is the world record that has to be broken in Qatar. The record was made during my run around the country. I covered 215 kilometres in two days and 21 hours.” Regarding his stay in Qatar, Daniel said: “It is an extremely safe place. We are privileged to raise our kids here. People in other countries are envious of safe Qatar.”

Veteran music composer A.R. Rahman says independent and English music have always been the underdogs in India, and that they need to be helped and nurtured in the coming years. Rahman spoke at a press conference of Nexa Music, which saw artistes Uday Benegal, Clinton Cerejo, Anushka Manchanda and Nikhil D’souza in attendance, along with R.S. Kalsi, Senior Executive Director – Marketing and Sales – Maruti Suzuki India, here on Wednesday. The initiative by Nexa is to provide aspiring Indian musicians a platform to compose original lyrics. It has invited entries from budding musicians across the country. The participants will be mentored by famous music composers, including Rahman, and supported by Cerejo. Commenting on whether English and independent music is going to capture the Indian market, which is full of Bollywood music lovers, Rahman said: “It needs to be helped and it needs to be nurtured. I think nothing is wrong with film music. It is beautiful but it has been commissioned like that, there you have to write for a situation and those are limited, but I think here the whole universe is your imagination.” Rahman said indie music inspires film music. “Sometimes, indie music actually inspires movies and I want that to happen. I want a song from indie music to go in film music. It is not a compulsion, but I feel people’s mind should never be closed. You should trigger the imagination of a common man and that can only happen when you are not restricted in your imagination that you should only write for this actor, actress, story or the director. But here, you can talk about anything.” When asked Rahman whether future of independent artistes is going to get bright in India, he said: “The future is always bright. We actually create the future. All of us create the future. We are trying to create a market here for them, but for that, you need to take a first step and I think tiny steps are already there. “I am not denying that people aren’t working towards this. I think we should collectively come and make this as a success.” Asked about the thought behind Nexa Music, he said: “It is to promote indie and English music in India. They have always been like an underdog. I personally hear many amazing songs on YouTube. I feel like with this encouragement and investment, indie artistes are going to shine.” He said talent will get exposure through the platform. – IANS

A thrilling sense of accomplishment was visible on the face of this fearless adventurer as his family and friends greeted him on his return from what he calls “the challenge of his life.” Khaled al-Jaber, a Qatari adventurer and biker, landed at Hamad International Airport on Wednesday evening after completing his epic bike tour of the longest connected track on earth from North to South Pole in five months. Harley Owners Group – Qatar (HOG), in collaboration with Harley-Davidson, welcomed Khaled on his arrival at the airport and a group of HOG bikers escorted him to Harley-Davidson showroom on Salwa Road where they arranged a welcome reception for him. Khaled, the first Arab to complete the Arctic to Antarctic route, was warmly welcomed by his fellow bikers in Qatar. They hugged him and took photographs with him. They showered praises on him saying that he is one of the most inspiring figures for the future generations of Qatar. Khaled is a computer networking engineering and he is also a film producer. He holds a master’s degree in innovative technology and a BA in computer networks engineering. Biking has been his hobby since his younger days and travelling has also become a passion for him. His recent epic journey ‘Between the Poles’ from North Pole to South Pole covered over 40,000 km across 15 countries in North, Central and South America. On his BMW GS, with local number plate 780, Khaled started his trip in July 2018 and crossed Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa-Rica, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chili, Argentina and Uruguay in five month. The trip ended in Buenos Aires in Argentina from where he took a flight back home. He faced many challenges during the long adventure including turmoil in Central America, and the tough Rocky Mountains in Canada, the Indies in South America. The maximum height he crossed was 49, 00 metre. Talking to Community, Khaled said: “I will not call it a motorcycle challenge. I will call it the challenge of my life, an adventure of my life. I started from the top north facing the Arctic Ocean I went through lots of challenges during the adventure either dealing with my motorbike or with different cultures. I left my comfort zone and got back what is the best feelings I ever have. I learnt millions of lessons with every mile I crossed. “I wanted to show the people who followed me that I was not taking a simple bike trip. Rather, it featured different cultures, countries, food, the people and music. Many people think Central or South American are dangerous zones but they are definitely not. I always tell people that the world is just so beautiful as long as you do not watch the news. Just explore the world and you will definitely love it. There is no such place called dangerous zone.” Sharing his experience further, he said: “I usually avoided travelling at night because of the vision and safety. It was also very important for me not to over-exhaust myself. I had five months of riding. By the first three weeks, I noticed that my body started to complain and you need to listen to your body. That is why from time to time, I stopped for three to five days to explore the country. In one stretch, if it was a smooth road, I covered 500 to 700 kilometres. If it was deep mountain, muddy or river crossing, I sometimes ended up travelling only 80 kilometres in 14 hours.” When asked to share one of his good and bad experience during the journey, Khaled said: “Actually my bad experience was a good experience. I learnt more from the bad experiences. At some border crossings, the people even did not know where Qatar is. Some of them even did not hear of the Middle East. I got late for 12 hours sometime. However, later they sent me a letter of apology.” He said: “I just reached back. I need some time off. I have plans for my future trips that I will announce sometime later.” Khaled had earlier travelled through the Silk Road route that starts from London and ends in Beijing.  He documents every minute of his travels and a film based on his Silk Road journey was showcased during the recently concluded Ajyal Film Festival.

Before being cast as Air Force pilot turned Kree warrior Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Captain Marvel, Brie Larson admits she was “never particularly active,” which made the ensuing nine months of hardcore workouts particularly brutal. “Carol is a trained warrior, and I can barely walk in a straight line,” the 29-year-old Oscar winner said with a laugh. “So for me to get to the point where I can do all of the things that were required of me meant really putting myself to the test and dedicating a lot of hours to it.” The first female-led superhero movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel, out March 8, follows Danvers’ literal fall to Earth as she investigates a past shrouded in mystery. Although Captain Marvel has been described as the most powerful Avenger to hit the screen, further details about the film’s plot are equally cryptic.  What is known is that Danvers derives much of her strength from her Kree heritage, an alien race of “noble warrior heroes” with super strength, a prolonged lifespan and other powers. However, a background in the military also informs her fighting style, something Larson and her trainers were deliberate to include. “She’s on a journey from civilian to military to superhero,” said stunt co-ordinator Jim Churchman. “So the styles would change depending on what the scene needed. The action is designed to fit all those story lines.” “We wanted her to feel really raw and scrappy, not super perfect and clean, but still with a bit of style to it,” said Larson.  “But a lot of her fighting style comes from being a Kree warrior, so it also had to be a little otherworldly.” Churchman, who has worked on a handful of Marvel films in recent years including Doctor Strange and Iron Man 3, was impressed by Larson’s determination to nail her own stunt work. “Brie certainly works very hard, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “She took her bumps and bruises and kept going. Often to the point where the conversations with the producers were, ‘Hey, do we have to limit her training a little bit?’ She did some intricate wire work, she did tons of fighting and she was all in.” To prep for the fight scenes, Larson trained in a mix of taekwondo, judo and boxing. Although stuntwomen Joanna Bennett and Renae Moneymaker doubled for her in a number of scenes, Larson did most of her own stunts. “One of my personal challenges was a sequence where she had to be barefoot for an entire fight,” Churchman recalled. “It’s a pretty involved, long fight. I’m like, ‘How do I protect her feet?’ We were trying to come up with latex applications for protection and a lot of times they just don’t look quite right, so Brie ended up doing a lot of it barefoot. She just stepped up and did it.” Larson, who took the lead-actress Oscar for 2015 for her performance in Room, was homeschooled for much of her life, which made learning to take direction hard. “This was one of my first times being a student and there was a learning curve,” she said.  “I realised that I had to learn to learn. I had to learn how to not get frustrated, which is something that definitely parallels Carol, we both want to be the best immediately and don’t have a ton of patience. Recognising that I was starting from the beginning with a completely new skill and it wasn’t going to come easy was huge.” Training lasted for nine months and began with daily 90-minute workouts for the first six months before ramping up to twice-daily two-hour workouts for the final three. Muscle-building exercises included 215-pound deadlifts, 400-pound hip thrusts and single-leg lunges with 40 pounds of weight in hand and 10 pounds strapped to each leg. “I’d do an hour and a half of cardio or strength training, go eat a bunch of food, pass out for an hour and then put on another set of exercise clothes and go to the stunt gym to do fight training and wire work stuff for another two hours after that,” she said.         “There were moments where I cried, there were moments where I thought it was too hard, where I got pushed beyond my comfort zone, but those were ultimately my favourite moments. At the time you’re like, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ And then afterwards you feel so proud of yourself.” “She learned very quickly,” said Churchman. “Her biggest asset was being invested in the character and in the work needed to pull it off. Certainly her physical fitness escalated during the shoot but the bottom line is, you can be the most physically talented person but if you don’t have the discipline and the mental state to push yourself and commit to it, you won’t perform. And she did.” “I was usually pretty dead after around four hours of exercise a day,” Larson admitted. “It’s really a full-time job. I completely turned my body around. I was just pure muscle by the end of all that. But I do think it’s important to say that it took a nutritionist, two different trainers, a paleo meal delivery service, a lot of mozzarella sticks and a lot of sleep and water.” To achieve the most accurate portrayal of an F-15 fighter pilot, Larson also spent a few days at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base, where she was introduced to fighter pilots and weapons systems operators. “These airmen were able to give her some insights into everything from how to hold the throttle to how to use an ejection seat,” said Lt Colonel Nathan Broshear.  “It was a pretty grueling schedule, and then at the end of the day Brie tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey, look, I’d really like to have dinner with these women and spend the evening with them to trade war stories, so to speak.’ And then every night that’s kind of what she did. She spent time with those fighter pilots and got a chance to know who they are and how they tick.” She worked closely with Brig General Jeannie Leavitt, an aviation pioneer and the Air Force’s first female fighter pilot. “I was really impressed with how much effort Brie put into getting the details accurate,” said Leavitt. “It says a lot about her professionalism as an actress. We showed her all types of things. She just wanted to understand the character to get an idea of what it is like for the real-world female fighter pilots.” In addition to speaking to military personnel, Larson got the opportunity to go up in an F-15 for an hour and simulate an aerial battle. “It was awesome,” she said. “In particular, doing a barrel roll and feeling the G-forces later became pieces that were really helpful when we were making the movie … I knew what that felt like.” Before this experience, Larson says she shied away from any attention being aimed toward her body in her work. “I never wanted my body to be a part of the conversation,” she said, citing Hollywood’s tradition of objectification as the main reason. “I just wanted to disappear. And so I never paid attention to it or put thought towards it because I didn’t want anybody else to think about it. So getting to take my body back and own it and make it a weapon and a tool was really powerful.” Captain Marvel has been heralded as the strongest and most powerful Avenger, male or female. But for Larson, the role was just a job, the same as any other. “I just didn’t think about it,” she said. “I just tried to do an accurate job, just like I would any other [film] and not think about the scale of it. My job is still the same at the end of the day, whether it’s in a low-budget film or the biggest budget film, it’s all the same. It’s still just me and a camera and a bunch of people trying to get the shot. “I just tried to approach it like that and have as much fun as possible. Because Carol really does have fun. That’s one of the other pieces of her that I love — when she’s fighting, when she’s in her element, she enjoys it.”  — Los Angeles Times/TNS

Qatar has been taking fast strides in economic growth, health, sports, education and cultural areas. Despite all obstacles — the continuing unjust siege for example — a resilient Qatar has been able to achieve its short and long term goals. At the same time, the country is not oblivious to its responsibilities related to environment and nature. The authorities have been showing great interest in keeping the environment clean and developing green areas at different sites. Ashghal, Public Works Authority, has undertaken numerous projects related to protecting environment and enhancing wildlife in Qatar. One such project is ‘Al Karaana Lagoons: Reclamation, Rehabilitation & Wildlife Enhancement.’ Al Karaana Lagoon, located 60km southwest of Doha, has been used since 2006 to receive liquid industrial waste discharged by tankers. In 2016, the lagoon also started receiving treated sewage water from Al Karaana treatment station. A French group, Suez, a leader in the field of soil treatment, was awarded the reclamation and rehabilitation contract for Al Karaana Lagoon in December 2017. The area of the project is estimated at 4.5km and includes removal works as well as excavation works on large areas. Community recently got an opportunity to interview Pascal Vidil, project director, about the project and his experiences at length. Introducing himself, Pascal said: “I came to Qatar in 2017 as the project director with SUEZ, one of the world’s leading environmental services companies. I am 51 and live with my wife in Qatar. We have three children. I am an engineer in mechanics, having graduated from France. I have worked for 16 years in oil and gas sector. “I joined SUEZ in 2009 and started working on water treatment projects. I worked with a desalination plant project in Bahrain in 2010. Then, I moved back to France. I did few other works like procurement. I again moved to the project management and did projects in France and Poland. In Poland, we had a big incinerator to take care of. SUEZ has been working on different projects related to water treatment in different countries. It also has different projects in the Gulf countries. In Qatar, we have been carrying out projects in Lusail, Doha west, Barwa city and in Al Karaana Lagoons. The project of Al Karaana Lagoons is being carried out by our company for Ashghal. In the Middle East, Ashghal is our best client. We have quite good relations with them. We want to work with Ashghal in future as well. Speaking about the ongoing project and its environmental values, the project director said that a consultant firm did the environmental impact assessment of the site for Ashghal. The Qatari government wanted to make the site a better place for wildlife. After the environmental assessment, they launched the tender in 2016.  “We won this tender in 2017. The project is a huge place. Actually, it is the area of around 500 hectares. It was an old quarry from where they might have been taking material for construction. Since 2006, they have been using this place as a disposal area where they have been dumping waste. They have built sand boundaries to make sure that the waste is restricted in a specific area. The authorities have been dumping waste water here coming from [different] industries or municipal waste. The waste water has mainly been coming from car wash stations. Also, there are hydrocarbons and you can see oil floating in the area. There have been heavy metals and different kinds of pollutants. The site is right in the middle of the desert. They have been dumping the waste for 10 years and there were lots of sediments accumulated there. The water has been evaporating regularly leaving behinds the polluting particles. There is a lot of evaporation in Qatar — between two to three metres of evaporation per year. That is why, they have used this area in the middle of the desert to evaporate and get rid of the water. This has been working quite well. All on the site is accumulation of pollutants with different levels of pollution.  Some particles have been burning under the sun and have been depolluted naturally, I would say. The thickness of the polluted particles varies. Sometimes, there is more than two metres of sediments and sometime it is matter of just centimetres,” he said. The French engineer further said: “As the part of the work to be done by the contractor SUEZ, we have to first build specific lagoons to continue to receive the trucks with waste water. We are still receiving like, let’s say, 100,000 cubic metre water per month and 200 trucks a day. We have created a lagoon like a big swimming pool with a liner that is an HDP liner. Now, it is completely water-tight. No water goes in the ground. This pool is something like one kilometre by 200 metre area. The bed liner [plastic] is three millimetre thick. Again, this will be temporary as Ashghal will also build a plant to treat the water. This lagoon will also be dismantled in near future. “We also have transferred some water from existing lagoons to the new temporary pool. We have started to collect the sediments with the excavators and started transferring them to a landfill site that is also covered with a bed liner. After transferring all the sediments, we will compact it and cover it to be completely captivated. We dump the highly polluted sediments and low polluted sediments in different areas in the landfill site.” The project director said that they had completed about 75 percent of the project. “We have depolluted about 65 percent of the whole area. We have to complete the project by June 2020. We continue to dry different patches where there is still some polluted water. Then, we will create 73 hectares of lagoons with clean water with nice shape. There will also be a liner at the bed of the pound. The water [treated sewage water] will come from a water treatment plant. The water is clean for irrigation. We will put some trees and reeds. We will create some small islands. The plantation will sustain in the water during even the hotter days. Already, there are different kinds of plants and birds in the area.” Sharing his experience of working on the project, Pascal said: “We have 400 people on the site with two civil works sub-contractors. It is an exciting project because it is very huge. I find an opportunity to apply my project management skills. The project’s cost is QR450 million. “It is nice to see the government has started to develop more and more green areas in Qatar. There are many green areas and water pounds for the wildlife. I am happy to be the part of the efforts of Qatar to make the country more beautiful. I am really encouraged by the authorities to develop the lagoons for the wildlife.” The engineer also sees Qatar as a very friendly country for expatriates. I find a lot of interesting and friendly people in Qatar. “There are about 5,000 French expatriates here. I like to do water sports in the sea. I am excited to see the fast development of the country as a whole.”

A joy of winter is that supermarket produce sections come alive with a wide range of oranges, varieties that stretch beyond familiar Valencias. Think of blood oranges, with their showy red-orange flesh. Or pink-tinted Cara Caras. Or small, juicy mandarins. “When it’s cold outside, we have something nice and bright to look forward to,” said Lindsey Wolterstorff, produce manager of Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville, Minn. “We start to see stuff ramping up in December, and by January we’re in the heart of citrus season. It’ll wane out as spring comes in, when lots of little green vegetables can start to grow.” The appearance of navel oranges (so named because the seedless variety, an ideal eating orange, sports a belly button-like knob) generally heralds the season’s arrival. “Then it’s satsumas, and then clementines bring on another wave of excitement,” said Alex Christensen, assistant produce manager of the Seward Co-op’s Franklin Avenue store in Minneapolis. “Once the blood oranges hit, people are all-citrus, all the time. And that’s great, because it’s the time to do it.” Kevin Hannigan, co-owner of the Produce Exchange in the Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis, said that year-round availability can make oranges commonplace. “But when you get great oranges in season, they’re like great peaches at the peak of ripeness. People get excited about them, and we work hard to get the best.” WHAT THE PROS BUY Wolterstorff gravitates toward the Cara Cara. “It’s everything you get in a navel, but they have an herbal, floral quality, and a much more complex flavor,” she said.  “They’re orange on the outside, and a beautiful pink on the inside. They’ve got the look of grapefruit without the sour and bitter qualities that some people don’t like.” Samuel Philpot is one of two produce buyers at Eastside Food Co-op in Minneapolis. He looks forward to the midseason arrival of the TDE mandarin. “They’re a relatively new variety, a mix of Temple, Dancy and Encore mandarins,” he said “They’re my favorite, by far. The first season that they came in, I was blown away. They have a really nice, tangy profile. They’re not just about sweetness they have a well-rounded flavor.” For Christensen, it’s all about the minneola tangelo, the fist-sized, bell-shaped cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit. “They’re the juiciest citrus that we see all season,” he said. “They start out a little watery, but the flavor gets richer and richer as they go on, and they end really well.” Hannigan’s tastes are more universal. “I love it when we get great navel oranges, and I’m a big fan of sweet-tart citrus, so I love the clementines and the minneolas,” he said. “It sounds silly, but I love them all.” COOKING WITH ORANGES Oranges are berries, the fruit of subtropical evergreen trees. The majority of cultivated oranges end up in juice. If you rely on oranges just for their juice, consider dropping temporarily, anyway - the ubiquitous Valencia, and replacing (or at least supplementing) it with a blood orange, a Cara Cara or another more colourful and flavourful seasonal fruit. “The Valencia is the best juicing orange, it’s always going to give the greatest bang for your buck,” said Wolterstorff. “But you can use - or at least add in hints of other types of oranges to give juices so much more complexity.” But with oranges, there’s more than juice. Because eating oranges is physically restorative: An average-size orange contains 100 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, and also boasts vitamin A, potassium and dietary fiber. And their bright, refreshing bite is as spiritually energising as a burst of sunlight on an overcast January day. “In general, my personal suggestion is that, if you want to eat more citrus, then literally, eat more citrus,” said Christensen. “Recognize that there are different flavors. That’s the joy of produce. Just eat it fresh, and whole. That’s the healthiest way to appreciate the flavor, directly.” That said, oranges brighten just about any dish they touch. Acidic oranges make great stand-ins for similarly acidic tomatoes, and they’re delicious with avocados and olives. Wolterstorff likes to pair oranges with vanilla yogurt. “I’m also a huge sweet/savory person,” she said. “I just made a pork roast, and I sliced up onions and Cara Caras and cooked the pork on top of that, and it created a delicious pan sauce.” Hannigan pointed to the growth of fresh citrus zest in cocktails and mocktails. “Or just adding zest to water,” he said. “People are looking to eliminate sugar and give more choices to their kids.” Philpot likes to make candied citrus rind, simmering orange peels in a simple syrup made of water and sugar. “It’s easy,” he said. “You take them out of the syrup, and when they dry they get crispy and light. It’s a nice way to make candy, or a pastry garnish.” Oranges can be stored on the counter for a few days. Just don’t place them in a bowl with apples or bananas, since both emit ethylene gas, which accelerates the ripening process. In terms of longevity, oranges will thrive in the refrigerator. Be sure to keep them out of plastic bags, which will draw moisture from the fruit and hasten their spoilage. Remember: The dead of winter is the time for maximum orange enjoyment. “By comparison to other years, this is a very good year for oranges,” said Hannigan. “California had a hot growing summer, and then it got cold, and that helps the oranges. They’re picking up steam, and they’re getting really, really good.” - Star Tribune (Minneapolis)/ Los Angeles Times

When Night Shyamalan’s superhero story Glass arrives in theatres on Friday, Glenn Frischette, a co-owner of Fourth World Comics in Smithtown, NY, plans to be among the first to see it. Frischette, 70, says he’s been waiting nearly 20 years to see Glass, the final instalment in a trilogy that launched in 2000 with Unbreakable, starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, and continued only recently with 2016’s Split, featuring James McAvoy as a mentally ill man nicknamed The Beast. “I always wanted to see a sequel to Unbreakable,” Frischette says. “People always ask me, ‘What’s your favourite superhero movie?’ And I always make sure to put Unbreakable in there.” Among patrons at his store, says Frischette, the advance buzz on Glass seems about as strong as it was for such major hits as Deadpool and Venom. In an otherwise typically quiet January, Glass seems poised to make a splash. It marks the reunion of Willis and Jackson as memorable foes from an acclaimed film that still has a loyal following. It comes close on the heels of Split, an unexpected hit that earned $278 million on a reported $9 million budget. What’s more, Shyamalan, one of America’s best-known, if much-maligned, filmmakers, seems to be enjoying a comeback after a long string of such duds as The Lady in the Water and The Last Airbender. “Superheroes are in right now and people are looking for unique takes on the genre, and this is shaping up to be one of them,” says Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com. He predicts the film could enjoy a strong $70 million opening weekend — a January rarity. “It will be the first effectively big movie of the year,” he says. “It’s almost like a mini-tentpole in January.” Glass completes what’s being called the Eastrail 177 Trilogy, named for the train in Unbreakable that crashes and leaves survivor David Dunn (Willis) wondering how he emerged unscathed. The film ends — spoiler alert — with an ailing, fragile man named Elijah Price (Samuel L Jackson) revealing himself as Dunn’s arch-villain, Mr Glass. Unbreakable impressed critics with its unusually thoughtful treatment of a comic-book-style narrative. Roger Ebert wrote that it required “attention and patience on the part of the audience” and that the actors “give performances you would expect in serious dramas.” “When it came out, there was that uncertainty — could they really pull off a good comic book movie?” says Joe Mulvey, a Queens-based comics writer and illustrator. At the time, the genre was defined mostly by pulpy fare such as Blade and Joel Schumacher’s widely ridiculed Batman and Robin, he says, but Unbreakable — not based on any existing property — came as a revelation. “Look! It can be done right!” Mulvey recalls thinking. “There’s a story about a person who’s a superhero, but it can be taken seriously and done well.” Following his success with The Sixth Sense (1999), Unbreakable helped make Shyamalan a household name. In August 2002, Newsweek put him on its cover with the headline, The Next Spielberg. Instead, critics began to tire of Shyamalan’s twist endings and what seemed like an egotistical streak (the director almost always appears in his own films). The Village met with mixed reviews in 2004, Lady In the Water was near-universally panned in 2006 and The Last Airbender, an unlikely fantasy-adventure from 2010, holds a scant 5 percent rating at RottenTomatoes. “He was in real movie jail for a while,” says Brent Lang, executive editor of Film and Media at Variety magazine. “He had a formula that he became overly reliant on, and it became kind of gimmicky.” What helped Shyamalan bounce back, Lang says, was The Visit, his effort for Blumhouse Productions, a studio famous for low-budget, high-profit horror films (Paranormal Activity, Insidious, Get Out). A creepy-funny take on the Hansel and Gretel story, The Visit marked a back-to-basics approach for Shyamalan and earned $98 million worldwide on a reported budget of just $5 million. While Shyamalan’s career was faltering, though, two interesting things happened. One, superhero movies became not just popular but deeply entrenched in entertainment and pop culture. And two, the horror genre slowly evolved from splattery fare like Saw to more deep-reaching, well-crafted movies like Let the Right One In and Get Out. Shyamalan met both trends head-on with Split, a kind of superhero-horror hybrid driven by McAvoy’s high-energy performance and connected to Unbreakable thanks to — another spoiler alert — a wry cameo from Willis as David Dunn. “Shyamalan has this self-contained nature and this self-referential nature to his films — they have a timeless quality,” says Bruce Nash, publisher of the box-office tracking site The Numbers. “That turns out to be a kind of advantage, when you can come back to an idea and it still resonates with an audience all these years later.” With Willis, Jackson and McAvoy reprising their roles, plus new addition Sarah Paulson as a psychiatrist, Glass seems likely to appeal to Shyamalan fans, comics fans and possibly moviegoers who wouldn’t otherwise see a superhero movie at all. “I’m really excited for this movie,” says Tom Brennan, a Bronx-based former editor for Marvel who now teaches a comics course for Drexel University in Philadelphia. “People are thinking: Let’s go check this out and see if he can pull it off. There’s hope that it succeeds, because it could open the doors for more alternative forms of comic-book storytelling.”   —Newsday/TNS

Paro likes to be pet on the head and wag its tail. As the white baby seal follows people’s movements with its big black eyes, it’s hard to believe the pup is actually a therapeutic robot. Paro is designed to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease, autism and other conditions. Japanese inventor Takanori Shibata says he was inspired to create the robot seal by therapies using real animals. “Interaction with animals improves the mood of the people, motivates people and also improves depression and anxiety,” he tells DPA in the Spanish capital, Madrid. But some people are allergic to animals, which can also transmit diseases, he says. “At hospitals, nursing homes or other facilities, it is difficult to keep and manage animals,” he observes, adding that the upkeep for them also costs a hefty sum. It occurred to him that an animal robot could make such treatments more widely available, and he designed prototype robots in the form of a dog, a cat and a seal. Patients found the seal the easiest to relate to, because unlike with dogs and cats, they had no expectations about how it should behave. “When they [started] to interact with the dog robot or cat robot ... they compared the robot with ... real dogs or cats and they expected too much of the robot,” Shibata said. “In the case of the seal robot, people ... just accepted it.” The robot’s original name, Paro, means “stoppage” in Spanish, and it was therefore renamed Nuka for the Spanish market. The robot learns its new name after hearing it several times, Shibata explains. The furry seal contains sensors that allow it to perceive what is happening in its surroundings, to recognise light and to know where a voice is coming from. It looks at the person talking to it, makes whining noises and sucks a dummy. The robot, which costs about 5,600 dollars, has been in use since 2003 in more than 30 countries, including Japan, Denmark and the United States. Shibata says that research on people with Alzheimer’s or similar diseases has shown that the company of Paro/Nuka can reduce depression, anxiety and loneliness. “People with dementia tend to have behavioural problems ... but the interaction with Nuka can suppress such negative behaviours [as] agitation, depression, wandering, walking around,” he adds. In Spain, the therapeutic effects of Nuka have been analysed in the city of Salamanca by the State Reference Centre (CRE), which is linked to the Institute of Elderly People and Social Services (Imserso). The seal robot improved patients’ quality of life by helping them relax, improving their mood and lowering their blood pressure, says Elena Gonzalez Ingelmo from CRE. However, the robot did not make a big difference for serious states of anxiety and depression, she said. Patients found a real dog more enjoyable than Nuka, but both generated “very positive emotional aspects” in them, Gonzalez Ingelmo adds. Dementia patients have also been given dolls, which can make them less agitated, but they do not have the same impact as Paro/Nuka, according to Gonzalez Ingelmo and Shibata. Patients accompanied by the robot have been able to reduce their intake of psychoactive drugs, which “have a lot of side effects,” Shibata says. Some people have questioned whether it is ethical to confide the care of human beings to robots, but Paro’s inventor stresses that it does not replace human caretakers. “Robots can assist or help the caregivers” by calming the patients and making it easier to communicate with them, he says. Paro may also be able to provide company to not just elderly patients, says Shibata, who now wants to send the robot to space. The seal robot could accompany astronauts on longer missions, on which they are isolated and can get very lonely, he says. “Interacting with Paro can improve the conditions on a spaceship or at a base on Mars, so Paro would be a very good companion for astronauts.” – DPA

Kumar Sanu, Bollywood melody king and playback singer, in a recent concert at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC) captivated a big gathering, mainly Indian expatriates, with his melodious voice and a gripping conversation.  Kedarnath Bhattacharya, better known as Kumar Sanu entertained the audience with his evergreen soundtracks of the 1990s. During his performance, people of all ages kept dancing on the euphonious lyrics of their choice. The concert started at 7:30pm and continued till 11:00pm with a break of 15 minutes in between. The concert was attended by Indian ambassador P Kumaran and prominent community figures.  Sanu had a strong stage presence. Well, strong enough to keep the audience dancing and waving their hands in the air for constant three hours.  He not only sang the most cherished songs for the audience but also grabbed their attention with witty comments. Sanu took the stage for a number of our favourites, including Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha, Sochenge Tumhe Payar, Mera Dil Bhi Kitna Pagal Hey, and Dheere Dheere Se Meri. “This is my second time in Doha and I love to be in Qatar. I have performed in UAE but I find the audience in Doha much more loving and appreciative towards my music and soundtracks. I have sung about 20, 000 songs. If you will ask me, I will certainly sing all for you here,” the singer said as people kept shouting ‘once more!’ after every performance. “Wherever I go, I see people loving romantic songs from the ’90s era and after all these years it makes me believe that only worthy music can last this long and forever. I am happy to see the younger generation also enjoying the melody and poetry of the songs and can relate to it, even today.” The ambassador presented a bouquet to the 61-year-old singer. Kumaran said, “We all are privileged to have Sanu amongst us in Doha today. We all have grown up listening to his songs during 1980s’, ’90s and beyond. It is wonderful to listen to him live today. I want to thank the organisers for their efforts in making this possible. We need a brilliant start to India-Qatar Year of Culture 2019. We look forward to many more wonderful performances in the coming months. We have been trying to finalise the list of activities with Qatar Museum and Katara for 2019 and I request to all of you to be patient and wait until we release the final list of the upcoming events.” Talking to Community, Subramanya Hebbagelu, former Vice President of Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ), a community organisation affiliated with the Indian Cultural Centre, said, “It was a wonderful musical night for the Indian expatriates. There were families and children, all dancing and enjoying to the most. Though the songs are from ’90s era, the community enjoyed listening to the evergreen soundtracks live by the singer himself. I am very happy to have had revisited the ’90s with this concert. I believe many people had a kind of nostalgia while listening to Sanu again. The auditorium was fantastic. The seats were really comfortable and the ambience was amazing.” Sanu has won numerous film awards and other recognition for his illustrious career as a singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award for five consecutive years. In 2009, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his achievements. Sanu notably holds the Guinness World Record for most songs recorded by a singer in 24 hours with 28 songs. The concert was a part of the ongoing Shop Qatar Festival’s third edition. Organised by Qatar National Tourism Council, the festival’s other activities offer special offers for the bargain-hunter, the style-savvy and the fashion-forward. Shop Qatar, the country’s only nation-wide shopping festival, brings a host of new features for the residents and the visitors to enjoy until January 20. Besides offering discounts and promotions, the festival’s 14 retail partners will also host exclusive entertainment and roaming mall shows for families and children.

A lot of enthusiasm, a lot of fun, a lot of resolutions and plates full of delicacies. It is time to celebrate a bygone 365 days and welcome what lies ahead, in good spirits, and feeling optimistic about the future. It’s the perfect time for celebration with family, friends and loved ones. New Year celebrations are not new. The earliest known New Year celebrations were in Mesopotamia and date backs to 2000 BC. January 1 as New Year was never a standard practice. Romans, for instance, celebrated March 1 as New Year. Some other cultures went for winter solstice or summer equinox.  In order to realign the Roman calendar with the sun, Julius Caesar had to add 90 extra days to the year 46 BC. when he introduced his new Julian calendar and January 1 was accepted as the beginning of the new year. The Gregorian calendar was introduced 400 years ago by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. With most countries now using it as their de facto calendar, January 1 as New Year’s Day is arguably the most celebrated event, often observed with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts in each time zone. New Year’s Eve customs around the world are all unique. The superstitions are meant to create good luck, fortune, happiness and overall a better future. Eating black-eyed peas on the day of New Year is believed to bring good luck in several parts of US. Estonians eat 7, 9 or 12 meals on the eve of New Year. Danish throw dishes at the doorsteps of other people. Spanish tradition is to eat 12 grapes at midnight of December 31. Each grape represents one of our wishes, and if we manage to stuff every one into our mouth, ‘all our dreams will come true!’ At midnight on December 31, Buddhist temples all over Japan ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolise the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief. Greeks have the tradition of breaking pomegranates right at their doorsteps. Fireworks originated centuries ago and are believed to have been invented by the Chinese. They are said to chase away evil spirits and bring good luck, making them a perfect way to begin a new year! Around the world, the Times Square ball drop in Manhattan is considered the ‘official’ countdown to the New Year. One million people gather at Times Square to watch it and another one billion people tune in to watch the ceremony. Starting exactly at 11:59pm, the 11,875 lbs ball with 2688 Waterford crystal triangles goes through a minute-long descent and hits the ground at the stroke of the midnight.  As the roller coaster that was 2018 comes to a close, the celebrations have already begun. There’s no better way to celebrate ‘auld langsyne’ than making wishes and going into the new year with a positive attitude. Welcome to Nutty’ Infotainment. YAYS! And our time starts NOW! Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve. It was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788. What does the title Auld Lang Syne mean? Times gone by In 2011, officials in the Independent State of Samoa decided to move from the eastern side of the International Date Line to the western side, making it the first country to do what every year?  Celebrate New Year When was the first ball dropping celebration atop the One Times Square in New York held? December 31, 1907. Name the one thousand year long musical composition which began playing at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, and will continue to play without repetition until the last moment of 2999, at which point it will complete its cycle and begin again. It can be heard in the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London, where it has been playing since it began. Longplayer There are only 14 possible calendars.  When can the 2018 calendar be used next? In 2029 A very important historical proclamation was formally made this day (Dec 30) in 1922 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. What was it?  Creation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Who holds the record for the most singles titles at the Qatar Open, currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour? Roger Federer. He won the title in 2005, 2006 and 2011. How many steps is it to the top of the Empire State Building, from the first to the 102nd floor? 1,860 A group of ravens is called unkindness. What is a group of unicorns called? Blessing Identify the below Filipino nationalist and polymath who was executed this day (Dec 30) in 1896 by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion.  (Answer next week. Answer to last week’s photo-quiz: Mikhail Kalashnikov, Father of AK-47 or Avtomat Kalashnikov.)

As controversy erupted over upcoming film The Accidental Prime Minister, a biopic on former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, lead actor of the movie Anupam Kher on Friday said that after certification of a film by the censor board, nobody has the right to ask for showing the film before its release. Earlier in the day, Satyajeet Tambe Patil, President of the Maharashtra State Youth Congress, sent a letter to the producer of the film demanding a special screening before it is released. He raised objections to “incorrect presentation of the facts” in the film, the trailer of which was released on Thursday. Sharing his view on the issue, Kher, who is narrating the character of Singh, told the media: “It’s nobody’s right to ask us to show our film to them before releasing it. The film is based on the book (by the same title), and it is based on facts. “We have bought the rights and have followed all the legalities. Everything was in the public domain... Now, how can people have issues? Why should I screen it for anyone? We have shown it to the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification), that’s enough.” However, he added: “If Dr Manmohan Singh asks us, we will show him for sure.” Directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, the film also features Akshaye Khanna, Aahana Kumra and Arjun Mathur, among others. While many Congress members found the film objectionable, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promoted its trailer in social media. “I have done more than 500 films...there are not even that many political parties. So how can one say that I made this film to support any party?” he responded when mediapersons asked if he is doing the film to extend support to the BJP. Asked if this is one of the strategies to make a political statement ahead of the 2019 elections, the National award winning actor said: “Why not? What is the problem in releasing a political film around elections? We do release patriotic films on national holidays...” The film is scheduled to release on January 11. – IANS

Strings, internationally acclaimed Pakistani pop band, is all set to rock Doha on January 9 along will two other prominent Pakistani singers, including Quratulain Balouch and Ali Sethi at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), as a part of the ongoing third edition of Shop Qatar Festival. The marathon concert is presented by QTickets in association with Shop Qatar as part of the month-long festivities. This is the first time that the key artistes will perform in Qatar at one concert. Tickets are available on QTickets website. The aspirants can also buy tickets from select outlets and restaurants. The price of the tickets are QR100 for bronze, QR200 for silver, QR350 for gold and QR500 for premium. The concert is scheduled to take place from 7pm to 10pm at QNCC’s Al Mayasa auditorium. “Q-tickets is bringing a unique, vibrant and unmissable celebration to Doha. Expect a journey through original numbers and sheer nostalgia, as PK Music Fest celebrates the supreme talent of the legendary artistes – Strings, who have been delivering great music for almost three decades now. All of them, including Strings, Quratulain and Sethi are one of the best music artistes of Pakistan and we aim to keep it raw and electrifying,” said the organisers in a statement to Community. Dr Tejinder, CEO of Q-tickets, said, “We have been fans and supporters of Strings since the beginning. Our children have grown up with wonderful memories of those nostalgic tunes. We take immense pride in celebrating great artistes and hope to pass on such wonderful soundtracks and music to the future generations to come. This collaboration is a part of our endeavour to keep bringing the best entertainment to Doha. Strings includes two vocalists and four live band members from Karachi. The band was initially formed by four college students – Bilal Maqsood (vocals and guitars), Faisal Kapadia (vocals), Rafiq Wazir Ali (synthesiser) and Kareem Bashir Bhoy (bass guitar) – in 1988. The band is one of the best pop bands from Pakistan with a huge following in India as well. Spider Man soundtrack was composed and played by them. They have quite some Indian Bollywood soundtracks to their credit as well. They successfully ran the Coke Studio franchise in Pakistan and increased the fan base along with the introduction of new names in the music industry. They are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year and will amuse the audience with some brand new songs along with their popular old hits like Sir Kiye yeh Pahaar. Quratulain Balouch, a singer and songwriter, is also known as QB or the Humsafar Girl. She became popular for her soundtrack Woh Humsafar Tha, OST of drama serial Humsafar (2011), on premier entertainment channel HUM TV. Some of her other known tracks include Roshan Sitara, Behkawa, Naina Tere, etc. Ali Sethi was globally recognised for his first published novel, The Wish Maker. The book was short-listed for DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize Award. Sethi has written several columns for New York Times, The New Yorker, The Caravan, and The Friday Times. In 2013, he shifted his focus towards his music career and made his film debut as a singer in The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013) and released a cover single Mohabbat Karne Waley later that year. Later, he released four cover singles including his own version of Reshma’s song Kithay Nain Na Jori, which earned him critical appraisal. He has re-invigoured old songs of Mehdi Hassan, a popular ghazal singer of Pakistan. Organised by National Tourism Council, Shop Qatar’s activities offer special offers for the bargain-hunter, the style-savvy and the fashion-forward. Shop Qatar, the country’s only nation-wide shopping festival, brings a host of new features for the residents and the visitors to enjoy until January 20. Besides offering discounts and promotions, the festival’s 14 retail partners will also host exclusive entertainment and roaming mall shows for families and children. Unique shopping tours at Souq Waqif, fashion-focused events, concerts, and other live performances also await festival-goers and shoppers.

It is a story about a journey from abject poverty, through desolate orphanage to educational excellence, enviable career path and inspirational achievements. Abdul Nassar, a 42-year-old expatriate from Kerala, has not only become an inspiration in his native area but also in Qatar among well qualified and successful people.  Born and brought up in a family always struggling to keep the wolf from the door, Nassar has made significant achievements through his resolve, determination and hard work. He is a marathon runner, a writer, and a motivational speaker. Nassar, who currently works with Qatar Petroleum as a chartered accountant, in an interview with Community shares his struggle and accomplishments at length. Sharing his background, Nassar said: “I have three daughters. My wife is a homeopath. I have been in Qatar since 2007. I was born into abject poverty. My father was a religious teacher in a mosque. When I was about 12, my parents sent me to an orphanage to ease their financial burdens. In the time spent in the orphanage, I learnt that education was the only way forward. I felt very lonely and urged my father that I would live with him in the mosque, where he used to teach and go to a nearby village school. When I realised that my father put me in the orphanage because of poverty, I committed myself to getting good education. “In my 10th grade examination, I barely got passing marks because I had not attended a good school. However, I passed 12th grade with excellent marks and did my BCom [Bachelor of Commerce] with distinction. During my college days, I learnt kung fu and worked as an instructor to support my education expenses. Later, I completed Chartered Accountancy in three and a half years with the support of some welfare organisations. “After joining the Indian Oil Corporation through a campus interview, there was no looking back. I have worked with Cairns Energy in India, Sabic in Saudi Arabia, Tasweeq in Qatar and am now working with Qatar Petroleum. I have supported my two younger brothers and a sister. One of my younger brothers is also a chartered accountant. My nephews and nieces are all inspired by me and doing well in studies. After obtaining good education and prosperous career, Nassar started working hard. The challenging career brought both affluence and bad health at the same time. He said: “My health started deteriorating; I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I went on medication. I got worried when one of cousins, in his mid-40s died in his sleep in the UAE where he was working.  It was six years ago that I got inspired by the words of a visiting motivational speaker from Canada. I turned to a healthy lifestyle where I started regular walk, then jogging and finally, running. After two years practice, I started attending different marathons. I covered 42-kilometre-long marathons in Qatar, Kuwait, and France. Nassar recently took part in Ironman Race in Malaysia. He prepared for the race only after he got knee problem and was suggested to go for cross fitness training. He said: “I started thinking about preparing myself for triathlon, running, swimming and cycling. My knees improved by doing cycling. For swimming, I got proper training to be a professional swimmer. “In Ironman Race, I did eight kilometre open sea swimming, cycling for 180 kilometres, and running for 42 kilometres. It is considered the toughest one-day endurance challenge. I did all this in less than 15 hours. I may be the only chartered account completing the race so far. Meeting the challenges successfully, Nassar turned to be a motivational figure. He has also penned a book The Road Less Travelled. He has shared his story to inspire others. He is also a very good toastmaster. “I thought about sharing my story and motivating others a few years ago when I visited my village and some schools. I always tell the students in my native area that they can get everything in life only through education. The students got interested in my life and my friends advised me to note down my personal experiences. I got my book published very recently. I have started paying back to my people. I got good help from different people in my childhood and now I can pay it forward. “I have learnt that if you want to achieve some big goal, you need to break it into short targets. I did it while I was doing chartered accountancy. I would always concentrate on my subject or one paper instead of thinking how I would pass the whole course. “In Qatar, I also see many people looking for some kind of motivation. Both my successful career and athleticism are a sort of motivation for many people here. One needs to come out of one’s comfort zone. Nassar’s book has been receiving a good response both in Qatar and in India. “It is an international publication and its publisher is from Australia. The book is available online. It is basically a speech from me. The readers feel that I am talking to them. They feel connected.” People in Qatar see him more as a fitness inspiration. They come to him for advice on physical fitness. “Currently, I am having sessions on how to improve physical fitness while doing a regular job or a business,” he said. Sharing his future plans and goals, the marathon runner said: “I have bigger dreams. My book speaks about what is the real purpose of life. I have been switching my goals in all these years. I have learnt a lot. I want to share what I have learnt and see people happy. I want to leave behind a legacy. “I plan to work and raise awareness against the dowry system. I also plan to raise awareness about how important it is to support and educate a girl child. I will work for gender equality. “I also focus on a particular area where I will work to support the people. I want to support the people facing false and frivolous litigation. I want to discourage misuse of law especially in India.” In his advice to the young people, Nassar said: “What I have realised throughout my life is that the time is an invaluable thing. We have very limited time. I want to do different things. I will advise the youth that life and time both are very limited. Make maximum use of your life.” 

Qatar chapter of Nepal Engineers’ Association (NEA) recently celebrated 56th Engineers’ Day at Marriott Hotel. The programme was chaired by Padam Narayan Sah, President of NEA-Qatar. Hare Ram Shrestha, President of NEA Kathmandu, was the chief guest at the event. The guest of honours at the event, included Ahmed Jassim al-Jolo, President of Federation of Arab Engineers; Dinesh Chandra Panthi, Former Deputy General Secretary of NEA Katmandu; CK Krishna, Chief Wholesale Banking Officer at Doha Bank; Dr Shaligram Pokhrel, Professor of Mechanical And Industrial Engineering at Qatar University; and Arjun Prasad Bhatterai, former president of NEA-Qatar. The event was attended by over 150 engineers from various expatriate communities, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. The event kicked off with Qatar and Nepal national anthem, which was followed by one-minute silence as a tribute to late Babukaji Rajthala, past Adviser to NEA Qatar.  Rakesh Krishna Chaudhary, Vice President of NEA, welcomed the gathering.  While speaking on the occasion, Arjun Prasad Bhattarai, said, “In Nepal, the day is celebrated as a tribute to the NEA Formation Day which was established in 1962. NEA-Qatar has become a good platform for all Nepali engineers to share knowledge and information.” CK Krishna announced that Doha Bank has established a new branch in Nepal.  Ahmed Jassim al-Jolo, said, “There are many Nepali engineers in preparation of FIFA World Cup 2022 and Qatar Vision 2030.” Mohammad Nurain presented an activity report of NEA-Qatar at the event. A short documentary about the organisation was also part of the programme. On the occasion, Professor Shaligram Pokharel presented a paper entitled ‘Hydropower as a potential venture in Nepal’. In his presentation, he mentioned that there are over 6,000 rivers and rivulets in Nepal with technically viable electricity generation of 44GW.  The event was concluded with an award ceremony. Life Time Achievement Awards for Senior Engineers, including Rajiv Dangol, Arjun Prasad Bhatterai, Pradip Jha and Ravi Kanta Lal were presented at the event.  The event was hosted by Mohamed Nurain, General Secretary of NEA-Qatar.  

Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weinachten, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale or Merry Christmas. Call it whatever you may. We all love Christmas! Are you looking for some conversational ammunition this holiday season? Well, you are in the right company. Welcome to ‘Nutty’s Infortainment. YAYS!’ Although Christmas is all about traditions, there are plenty of very interesting and sometimes even weird things about this holiday. The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 AD in Patara in modern Turkey. Santa has different names around the world – Kris Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France, DeushkaMoroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia and Kanakaloka in Hawaii.  In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Santa Claus) arrives from Spain, not from the North Pole. Sinterklaas has his little helpers, but not like adorable hard-working elves. They are black-faced boys and girls who can steal your kids if they misbehave, and bring them back to Spain which is, according to the Dutch, a severe punishment. In Germany, Poland and Ukraine, finding a spider or a spider’s web on a Christmas tree is believed to be a harbinger of prosperity and goodness. In fact, spiders and spider webs are often used as Christmas tree decorations to bring luck and prosperity. Rudolph, the Reindeer was actually conceived by a department store, Montgomery Ward, as a marketing gimmick to get kids to buy holiday colouring books. Rudolph was almost named Rollo or Reginald. The original Rudolph did not have a red nose. In that day and age, red noses were seen as an indicator of chronic alcoholism. Rudolph’s now red nose is probably the “result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system”.  Jingle Bells wasn’t originally written as a Christmas song. It doesn’t even mention Christmas. That’s because it was actually written for Thanksgiving. When the holiday ditty was first printed in 1857, it was released under the title ‘One Horse Open Sleigh’. The song was written by James Lord Pierpont, uncle of J P Morgan, one of the most powerful financiers of the Gilded Age. The best-selling Christmas singles ever is Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, shifting over 50 million copies worldwide since 1942. Over 500 covers have been recorded by various artistes in different languages. Paul McCartney still earns $400,000 a year from his Wonderful Christmas time which is widely regarded as the worst singles he has ever recorded. There are two islands named after Christmas. One is the Christmas Island, formerly known as Kiritimati in the Pacific Ocean, and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. In addition, there are three towns in the United States that are named after Santa Claus. They are in Arizona, Georgia, and Indiana. And your time starts NOW! What is common to ‘Midwinter’, ‘Nativity’ and ‘Yule’?  These are names given to Christmas from the old times. Christmas is also called Navidad in Spanish, Natale in Italian and Noel in French. At which QSRs do Japanese people traditionally go for Christmas dinner?  KFC. To enjoy some fried chicken – the closest food to turkey that they can get in Japan. Who authored the novella A Christmas Carol?  Charles Dickens A mailing address has been assigned to Santa Claus by Canada Post. What is the zip code? H0H 0H0. The postal service responds each year to tens of thousands of children’s letters from around the world addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada The first ever musical recording in space was performed in 2012 on the Internatinal Space Station by Col. Chris Hadfield. It was the Christmas Carol, Jewel in The Night. Which was the first song ever broadcast from  the space? Jingle Bells. Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965. Yesterday (December 22, 2018) was winter solstice in Qatar. In terms of daylight, by what duration was this shorter than the summer solstice on June 21, 2018?  3 hours and 9 minutes What does ‘da capo’ means in music terminology? To be repeated from the beginning. On December 23, 1986, an experimental airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, created a first as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California. What was it? The first non-stop, around-the-world flight without refuelling. Who was the first person of colour to win a Grand Slam title in Tennis? Athea Gibson. She won the French Championships in 1956. The Russian general below was also an inventor, military engineer and small arms designer. He is most famous for developing an assault rifle. He died this day (December 23) in 2013. Identify him?  (Answer next week. Answer to last week’s photo-quiz: Shirley Temple.)

It was a good year for the troubadours — the modern-day equivalent to the town criers of old, and those who take it on themselves to inform and enlighten those within earshot to the dangers and the virtues of the world around them. The modes of expression of today’s bards extend well beyond the solo voice with an acoustic guitar of yore, a genre broad enough to encompass elements of rock, blues, folk, country, gospel and R&B. The subjects they address are equally wide-ranging, from the haunting experiences of combat veterans and their families and social ills resulting from neighbourhood gentrification to the simple joys of new love and the rewards of sticking to one’s guns against all odds. Here are my favourite singer/songwriter albums of 2018: 1. Mary Gauthier, Rifles & Rosary Beads (In the Black) A collaboration between esteemed Louisiana-bred singer-songwriter Gauthier and US military combat veterans — male and female — is more than emotionally potent and more than lyrically insightful. By also taking in observations from the spouses and family members of veterans, all in conjunction with the Songwriting With Soldiers programme, this stands as the too-rare example of music that is genuinely important. These songs matter, as they express, with uncommon power, the harrowing experiences of the people who go to war. 2. Ry Cooder, The Prodigal Son (Fantasy) The revered roots music guitarist gets back to what he’s long done so well: playing guitar with expressive power and nuance and singing of matters personal and political. Here he uses a combination of original songs and blues, gospel and folk chestnuts that reiterate Nick Lowe’s timeless question: What is so funny about peace, love and understanding? 3. John Prine, Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy) His wit remains inordinately piercing, and his ability to turn a phrase that can melt hearts is as strong as ever, one manifestation being that not one but two of the new songs — Summer’s End and Knockin’ On Your Screen Door — just earned Prine and songwriting partner Pat McLaughlin Grammy nominations for best American roots song. 4. Kacey Musgraves, Golden Hour Her latest songs often state their case in more ambiguous but still compelling ways, less in-your-face than on her previous two albums, showing she’s as curious about expanding her horizons as she is in keeping her fans entertained. 5. Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Downey to Lubbock An Americana odd couple, at least that’s how it might have looked on paper. But the Southern California roots rocker and the West Texas Zen cowboy find plenty of common ground for their sensibilities. The album’s high point is arguably Alvin’s imagined conversation between two iconic figures from the American West, Billy the Kid and Geronimo. 6. David Byrne, American Utopia (Nonesuch) Playful as always, brilliant as ever, Byrne applies his disarming, alien-in-his-own-backyard perspective across 10 captivating songs, from the proud-to-be-nerdy opening track I Dance Like This to Bullet, an intricate play-by-play of violence and destruction. He assembled one of the most inventive rock tours ever to bring these songs to live in concert halls. 7. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Tearing at the Seams (Stax) The follow-up to the neo-soul band’s 2015 debut keeps the good vibrations flowing, as Rateliff injects unusually elliptical ideas into visceral vintage R&B musical settings. That music allows the band to convey a multiplicity of emotions in a song like the irresistible You Worry Me, in which Rateliff’s unflinching gaze extends as far inward as outward at someone who’s in jeopardy of losing faith. 8. Rosanne Cash, She Remembers Everything (Blue Note) Cash writes songs of exquisite beauty and reassurance amid exceedingly troubled times. She never flinches from those troubles, but also refuses to give into them. She understands the comfort found in shared struggle, which she seems to outline in My Least Favorite Life: The whisper of two broken wings/Maybe they’re yours, maybe they’re mine. 9. Ashley McBryde, Girl Going Nowhere (Warner Music Nashville) Yet another take-no-prisoners addition to contemporary country music, McBryde weds impeccable craft with acute vision that place her in the estimable country of such firebrands as Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price and Brandy Clark. 10. I’m With Her, See You Around (Rounder) Scintillating three-part harmonies from accomplished solo singer-songwriters Sara Watkins, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz are a key part of the motivating force that brought them together in this new configuration. The fact that all three are ace songwriters as well brings a lyrical gravitas that lends intellectual and emotional depth to the vocal beauty. – Los Angeles Times/TNS

It is a season of sports in Qatar. The majority of expatriates in Qatar come from five South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and they love playing cricket. There are many community organisations and groups that organise cricket tournaments every year. The players, mostly blue collar workers, take part in the tournaments for the sake of physical activity, mental satisfaction and community appreciation. Hyderabadis in Qatar (HIQ) is a community group of Indian expatriates from Hyderabad. The group is more known for its cricket-related activities than community activities. Recently, HIQ held the opening ceremony for its upcoming cricket tournament ‘Cric Qatar Champions League’ at Gulf Horizon Hotel. It is one of the biggest community cricket tournaments in Qatar. The event included various cultural activities.  The event was attended by notable personalities, including Srinivas Gadde, Managing Director of Dana World Contracting Company; Syed Hussaini, Commercial Manager of Al Rayan; and Mukarram Hussain from Medgulf. Speaking on the occasion, Srinivas Gadde urged the expatriate workers and children to shun electronic gadgets and take up cricket as a sport and to take part in other physical activities. Syed Rafi, Chairman of HIQ, shared the details of one of the biggest community cricket tournament with Community. He said, “This is the third edition of the tournament that will continue for nine weeks. Last year, we had 22 teams and this year we have about 40 teams participating. Each team has players from the five South Asian countries. The tournament will be played on league basis. The teams have been divided into eight groups. Every team has to play four matches at the league level. The top two teams from each group will proceed to the pre-quarter finals and the knock-out stage.” Rafi said, “The matches will be played from 6:30am to 9:00am and then from 1:30pm to 4:30pm every Friday. We have two grounds at Barwa City, four at Al Wukair, two in Al Wakrah and two each in Al Gharafa and Ain Khaled, where the matches will be played.” Sharing that how different this tournament is different from other such leagues, he said, “Usually, the entry fee is very high in other cricket tournaments. For this tournament, each team has to pay QR300. Further, we will be having live streaming session of the last three matches on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. For this tournament, we have also launched our mobile app for digital scorecard.” “Cricket has taught me discipline, fairness and commitment and I want to pay back to the game by organising such tournaments. Qatar will witness more of such tournaments in the coming days,” he said. Abdul Rehman, Captain of Team Emad, said, “I work as a transport supervisor with DPS-Modern Indian School. I have been in Qatar for over 10 years now. I am very excited because this year the tournament is much bigger and longer. I am playing for a different team this year.” He added, “I am an all-rounder. Cricket is my passion. I have taken part in different tournaments but Cric Qatar is different because of the organisers as they continue to bring in and introduce technical innovations to the sport. I play cricket as a passion and for the sake of physical activity. I get to socialise and meet up other player members. It is a very healthy and productive activity. I see a bright future of the sport in Qatar.” Vijitha Kusumasiri is a Sri Lankan expatriate and Captain of United Asian Cricket Club. He said, “I have been living in Qatar for over 20 years. I work as a project manager with a catering company. I am crazy about cricket. In my team, there are players from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is very good to have such variety of players in one team.” “Cricket is a part time activity. I find it very relaxing when it comes to my mental and physical health. Majority of the players are blue collar workers. Cricket gives them an opportunity to meet others and do some physical activity every Friday.”

Bananas are so crucial to the diet of the Yekwana people of Venezuela that they honour esteemed guests like Noel Mueller by inviting them to stay in the hut where the fruits are stored. That diet — and the health of the Yekwana and a neighbouring tribe, the Yanomami — may also be factors in explaining why blood pressure rises with age among Americans and other peoples of developed nations, according to research done by the Baltimore epidemiologist. Mueller, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, visited the tribes in their remote homeland in the Amazonian rain forest two years ago in order to test a long-held dogma of cardiology: that blood pressure rises steadily across the human lifespan as a consequence of ageing. Mueller has long been sceptical of that conventional wisdom, in part because most research supporting the idea has been conducted by Western scientists on Western subjects. Gathering data among the two Amerindian tribes, he and an international research team found that blood pressure did not rise at all across the lifespans of Yanomami individuals, who have almost no exposure to Western influences. It did rise somewhat among the Yekwana, who have a little such exposure — but their increase was not nearly as steep as Westerners’ across time. In other words, where blood pressure does increase with age, it does so commensurately with exposure to the salt-heavy diet Westerners favour — and that suggests we can take measures to prevent the rise. “If age doesn’t cause a rise in blood pressure, that suggests that the rise in blood pressure with age is due to lifestyle components, and those can be largely modified,” Mueller said. “It may not be true for all cardiovascular risk factors, but the fact that it’s true for blood pressure is pretty astounding and important. It’s something we can really do something about.” The findings were published in an article in last month’s issue of JAMA Cardiology. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects more than a billion people worldwide, most of them in developing countries, according to a 20-year joint study by the World Bank and the World Health Organisation published in 2010. About 75 million Americans are affected. The study, titled the Global Burden of Disease, found that high blood pressure — which is associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure — is the single largest contributing factor to disability and death in the world. The difference between sudden cardiac arrest and heart attacks “High blood pressure is a very common thing, and it’s becoming more common around the world every year,” Mueller said. “If we know it’s caused by lifestyle components, not ageing, we know it’s something we can really do something about.” A Wisconsin native who earned his bachelors, masters and PhD degrees at the University of Minnesota, Mueller, 34, has long been interested less in how to cure existing diseases than in preventing their development in the first place. That interest — and fluency in Spanish, a skill he developed while living in South America — led him to Hopkins, where he joined the faculty in 2015 and enjoys joint appointments in the Department of Epidemiology and at the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research. He has also long been intrigued by the results of INTERSALT, a study of hypertension conducted around the world during the 1980s. That study found that the Yanomami — a tribe of about 35,000 hunter-gatherer-gardeners who live in a remote region of southern Venezuela and northern Brazil — had the lowest average blood-pressure measurements of all the people studied. Among the most isolated people on earth from Western life, the Yanomami live on a high-fibre diet featuring lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, including bananas, plantains and casaba melons, and proteins such as the meat from capybaras. Members of the tribe have an average daily salt intake of about 1 gram — about one-tenth that of Americans. A smaller nearby tribe, the Yekwana, meanwhile, registered blood pressure slightly higher than the Yanomamis. Numbering about 6,600 people, the Yekwana are an isolated tribe as well, and have a similarly high-fibre diet. But an airstrip for small-engine planes in their midst offers them greater access to a few Western goods, including salt and a range of processed foods and condiments. With the help of microbiologist Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello of Rutgers University, a Venezuelan citizen, and Dr Oscar-Noya Alarcon, a parasitologist with the Amazonic Center for Research and Control of Tropical Diseases in Venezuela, Mueller’s team secured the necessary governmental permissions to focus more intently on the health of the two tribes than INTERSALT did. The team flew into the jungle, landing on the Yekwanas’ airstrip, and stayed with them during a 10-day expedition, living on the tribe’s traditional diet and making frequent excursions to visit the Yanomami. The researchers laid the foundation for a cross-sectional study — a statistical snapshot of a population at a given point in time — by measuring the blood pressure of 72 Yanomami and 83 Yekwana people between ages 1 and 60. The mean increase in blood pressure from one year to the next was markedly higher in the more Westernized Yekwana than in the Yanomami, and the differences were apparent in both of the most commonly used forms of blood-pressure measurement. The Yekwanas’ systolic blood pressure, which is measured in the arteries when the heart muscle is contracting, rose by 0.25 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg) per year; their diastolic blood pressure (taken between heartbeats) rose by 0.18 mm Hg annually. The Yanomamis’ never rose at all. The study also showed that the difference in blood pressure measurements between the tribes began before age 20, suggesting that blood-pressure differences may emerge in childhood. Among other observations, the team noticed that members of the Yekwana made liberal use of salt and ketchup on their foods when it was delivered by plane — and took to wearing T-shirts with Western logos — whereas the Yanomami, who lived a day’s travel away by canoe, showed no such influences. Finding remedies lies outside the scope of the study, but heavy salt intake is known to be linked to high blood pressure. Starting a regimen such as the DASH diet, then, with its emphasis on fruits, fiber and whole grains, and maintaining it can help, Mueller said, even starting in childhood. Mueller’s team could firm up their results by studying the Yekwana and the Yanomami over a course of years, but the increasing volatility of Venezuelan politics — and the difficulty of securing funding for research projects outside the United States — could complicate the goal. That would be unfortunate for Mueller the sightseer, who said the team was fortunate enough to travel by helicopter over such jaw-dropping scenery as Angel Falls, the highest waterfall on earth, and the flat-topped tepui mountains. He also loved the hospitality of the Yekwana, a people whose leaders were kind enough to allow him to stay in the hut in which they store their fruit. The arrangement did cause an awkward moment when the epidemiologist woke up one night to find a tarantula near his hammock and bats flying around his head — a situation that left him reaching for a machete in panic. Yet believes that reaching across cultures can bring a lot of insight, scientific and otherwise. “It’s important to understand the underlying causes of high blood pressure in isolated populations,” Mueller said. “And the people there were so sweet and welcoming. They wanted to leave the best impression of their tribes. I wish more of my research could include the Yekwana and the Yanomami.”  —The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Love to decorate your homes with ceramics wares and glass painting? Beware, they may contain high levels of cadmium that can raise the risk of cancer, warns researchers. Cadmium is commonly used to give products a bright red, orange or yellow pigment, but over time the decoration on glass can start to flake and the glaze on ceramics fail, ingestion of which can potentially raise risks to human health as well as the environment. The findings, led by the University of Plymouth in the UK, showed that cadmium was also found in everyday household products like second-hand plastic toys, drinking glasses and beverage bottles. The surfaces of these common items were covered by cadmium more than the recommended levels which is said to be ranging from 50 to 800 parts per million (ppm). The highest readings of up to 70,000 ppm were recorded on the enamels of old and new drinking glasses and bottles, with cadmium detected in about 70 per cent of the 197 logos, patterns, text, pictures and cartoons tested on 72 products, the researchers revealed in the paper published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. “If you asked most people about cadmium, they would probably know very little about it. But it is listed among the World Health Organisation’s 10 chemicals of major public health concern, alongside substances such as lead and asbestos,” said Andrew Turner, Associate Professor from the varsity. “The health risk depends on how easily the cadmium can flake off or leach out. Additional tests performed indicate that this is greatest for enamelled glassware,” said Turner. In addition, cadmium was found in new ceramic items such as mugs, plates and bowls, with the highest recorded level of 40,000 ppm, and in old plastic products including toys, with a maximum 35,000 ppm in a decorative brooch. – IANS

The recently inaugurated exhibition will continue until January 10 next year. QTargets art exhibition is a platform, created by Ukrainian artist couple – Andrii and Nadiia Chernovil, for the talented people of all ages and backgrounds to show their skills by illustrating special peace messages on target papers. The project, curated by Nadiia who is an interior designer by profession, aims at creatively expressing the individual messages of peace.  Thousands of messengers from more than 65 countries, more than 100 artworks of 60 local and international artists unite the art, sport and peaceful philosophy in the exhibition. The project was started some two months ago at the Gate Mall and it has invited almost everybody to share their messages of peace in an innovative and creative way on the target papers. The project and the exhibition are supported by Salam Inc, The Gate Mall, Gulf English School, Qatar University, College of North Atlantic Qatar, Road World Championships Qatar, International Athletes from 49th World Military Shooting Championships, Doha SkyDive Qatar Team, Soul Riders and Soul Jeepers Qatar Team, Qatar National Football team, Katara Cultural Village and Salam - Chernovol Art Gallery. The inauguration ceremony of the exhibition was attended by notable personalities, including Abdul Salam AbuIssa, CEO of Salam International; Ali al-Kuwari, President of Qatar Shooting and Archery Federation ;and Ali al-Marri, Founder of DC Center, along with the diplomats and the team of Gate Mall.  Speaking on the occasion, Ali al-Kuwari said, “The project started in 2016 when Nadiia came to my office with the idea. Initially, I thought it was a nice idea but I had no clue that it would become so big and international. Target papers are primarily used for the shooting sport and the sport is loved in Qatar as a tradition. Nadiia’s idea to use the target papers for the peace message through art works got my interest instantly. We provided the target papers to them. I am amazed by the response of the artists and the messages of peace. It is becoming an international event. We are going to hold an international shooting competition in February and we will invite Nadiia with her artworks to exhibit at the competition site as well. You will be able to see shooting and enjoy the artwork at the same time.” While addressing the gathering, Nadiia said, “I am really thankful for all the support and help I got from Salam International and others for the project.” “We are happy to present the artworks that share the idea of peace, unity and positive thinking. It is an incredibly strong message that we would like to communicate to the world from Qatar. It is our aim to make sure the target paper is accepted as a canvas for artwork by the world. “Since 2016, QTargets have had thousands of messengers from more than 65 countries, including students, visitors in Qatar, famous artists, athletes, politicians, and musicians. They all have expressed their message of peace to the world through the project. QTargets project is a place for everyone. It is a project that originated in Qatar.” There are also two masterpieces exhibited at the exhibition. One art piece is titled ‘Spirit of the Qatari Emirs’ and the other is named as ‘Blooming Qatar’, signed by more than 400 visitors at the Gate Mall. While giving description of ‘Spirit of the Qatari Emirs’, the artist Andrii said, “The art piece is from the past to the present through the sands of time, clearing the sky above the country with powerful and mighty wings, the spirit of the Qatari Emirs moves swiftly.” “Trusting, and submitting to the mercy of the heavens, they look to the future with the watchful eye of a falcon. And as a bird supports itself with wings, so they support their people and their country in the present, giving honour and tribute to their ancestors who started their way in the past, at the source of the prosperity of the country of Qatar,” he added. “Qatar is a country where trees and green grass is hardly ever seen. However, from these hot sands, we witness special and beautiful flowers breaking through towards the sun. In the same way Qatar breeds strong and purposeful leaders who develop, the prosperity of this country with a dignified humility,” he said while describing his ‘Blooming Qatar’ artwork.