Celebrated Indian lyricist and poet Gulzar and classical vocalist Ajoy Chakrabarty unite this week to pay tribute to artistic legend Rabindranath Tagore, with two performances as part of the Abu Dhabi Festival.
Here is all you need to know about these singular talents.
Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore is a monumental figure in world literature – as evidenced when, in 1913, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Writing extensively during a five-decade career, Tagore’s poetry and novels were widely translated and acted as an influential bridge both in and out of India, exchanging ideas and ideals on art and philosophy with the wider world.
Less well known is the fact that Tagore – who was born in 1861 and died in 1941 – left behind a body of musical work that included more than 2,000 songs, many of them in traditional raaga and taala forms.
In his Bengali verse, Tagore tackled themes of aspiration, joy, sorrow and love – emotions that will be brought to life in Abu Dhabi through a mixture of his poetry and music.
Gulzar
Born Sampooran Singh Kalra, Gulzar is best known as the lyricist behind songs from dozens of Indian movies, but is also a renowned writer and poet.
His greatest international success came in 2009, when he was honoured with both an Oscar and a Grammy for co-writing A R Rahman's Jai Ho, the theme song from global blockbuster film Slumdog Millionaire.
Last year the 81-year-old national treasure was awarded India’s highest cinema honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He has also won a total of 21 Filmfare awards during his career.
But it would be a mistake to characterise Gulzar simply by his successful work in motion pictures. After getting his big break in movies in the early 1960s, Gulzar built on this success to carve an artistically fruitful parallel creative life on the page, experimenting with many written forms including poems, short stories and children’s books. In 2002 he was rewarded with the Sahitya Akademi Award for the Best Urdu Writer.
Gulzar has also written film scripts, ballets and TV serials, and directed movies. He is regarded as true auteur, who should be celebrated for maintaining the balancing act of both creative and commercial success.
During the Abu Dhabi performances, Gulzar will recite Hindi and English translations of Tagore’s work.
Ajoy Chakrabarty
Joining Gulzar on the stage in the capital will be renowned Indian classical vocalist Chakrabarty.
A legend in his home country, he also ranks among one of the nation’s best known talents internationally.
The stages he has graced include New York’s Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Centre, London’s Royal Albert Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris.
The word “prolific” does not do Chakrabarty justice – he has more than 100 albums to his name, many of them released ed internationally. He works across genres, from traditional to contemporary, releasing albums from pure to light classical, including thumris, dadras, bhajans and other types of devotional songs.
Renowned for his versatility, Chakrabarty is comfortable singing in several languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Telegu, Persian and English.
Stylistically, his voice is able to subtly adopt the styles of song forms from across the country. This malleability can be traced to the breadth and depth of his stewardship.
The son of singer Shri Ajit Kumar Chakraborty, he was mentored by renowned Padmabhushan Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh, among a long list of other maestros.
At the Classics, Chakrabarty will perform a selection of Tagore’s compositions, including dhrupads, khayal songs, thumris, geet and songs based on Western tunes.
A Tribute to Rabindranath Tagore, tonight at Abu Dhabi Theatre, Corniche and Wednesday in Al Ain, both at 8pm. Ticket prices start at Dh80 (students Dh30) from www.abudhabiclassics.ae
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
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- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
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The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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