A tuk-tuk driver in India recently learnt you can’t always take tourists “for a ride” .
The driver, from Hyderabad, was stumped when a tourist took a seat in his tuk-tuk and loudly – and fluently – sang a Bollywood song after he refused to drive her to Charminar, the city’s best-known landmark.
Christine Fair, a research scholar from the University of Chicago who is on a trip across India, has hit upon a novel way to get local cabbies and tuk-tuk drivers to do their job: sing at the top of your voice.
Fair recently uploaded a video of herself addressing the driver in fluent Hindi, telling him she wouldn’t take no for an answer, and breaking into the song Mujhe Neend Na Aaye from the 1990s romantic drama Dil. The embarrassed driver has no choice but to give in.
Fair – who can speak Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu and has a PhD in South Asian Languages and Civilisations – told the Indian daily Hindustan Times that she has done the same with taxi drivers in Delhi and Mumbai.
“I just plop myself in the back seat and explain that I will just sing until he goes. Again, polite. But I’m willing to sing my little dil [heart] out. They concede.”
Watch the video for big laughs.
aahmed@thenational.ae
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Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
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THE BIO
Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.
Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.
She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.
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Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
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Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
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Rat:witty, creative, charming
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Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
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Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
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A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
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