Bollywood music composer Shravan Rathod, one half of the famed Nadeem-Shravan duo, has died of Covid-19 at the age of 66.
The musician, best known for his work in Bollywood films in the nineties, had just returned from the Kumbh Mela with his wife before they both tested positive for the coronavirus, his son Sanjeev Rathod told The Indian Express.
Rathod was admitted to Mumbai's SL Raheja Hospital on Monday in a critical condition and died on Thursday night, according to Indian news agency PTI.
The Kumbh Mela, a Hindu religious festival held in the North Indian city of Haridwar this year, attracted millions of devotees earlier in April, sparking outrage as the country reels from a second wave of coronavirus.
"We had never thought our family would have to go through such tough times, my father passed away, I am Covid positive and so is my mother. My brother is also positive and is in home isolation, but since our father has died, he is being allowed to do the final procedures to do last rites for our father," Sanjeev, also a music composer, told The Indian Express.
Shravan Rathod’s musical partner Nadeem, who had earlier urged fans to pray for Rathod’s recovery, said it was “a very sad day for music”.
“I have lost my younger brother today,” Saifi posted on Facebook.
Known popularly as Nadeem-Shravan, the duo composed the music for some of the biggest Bollywood movies in the nineties including Aashiqui (1990), Saajan (1991), Dilwale (1994), Raja Hindustani (1996) and Pardes (1997).
The pair split in 2005 amid rumours of a conflict and both musicians continued their work independently. They reunited in 2009 for the David Dhawan film Do Knot Disturb. Rathod has since gone on to promote his sons as the music duo Sanjeev-Darshan.
Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman posted a tribute on Twitter on Thursday.
"Our music community and your fans will miss you immensely," he said.
Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, who starred in many of the films Nadeem-Shravan worked on, added: "Shravan (and Nadeem) walked 30 years alongside me in my career with the evergreen album for Phool Aur Kaante."
India on Friday posted the world’s biggest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus infections for the second consecutive day, with almost 332,730 new daily cases.
The UAE's National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) announced Thursday it was suspending flights from India starting Saturday.
While the ruling did not include transit flights coming into the UAE and bound for India, UAE citizens, diplomatic missions between the two countries, official delegations, business flights and golden residency holders are excluded from this decision.
"Those coming from India through other countries are required to have a period of stay in those countries of not less than 14 days in order to be allowed to enter the country, starting from 23:59pm on Saturday, April 24, for a period of 10 days, which can be extended with the continuation of cargo flights between the two countries," NCEMA said on Twitter.
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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
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"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
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1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
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THE BIO
Mr Al Qassimi is 37 and lives in Dubai
He is a keen drummer and loves gardening
His favourite way to unwind is spending time with his two children and cooking