The breaking news on Sunday in India breathlessly told that all the hair on MS Dhoni's head had succumbed to some miniature lawnmower and fallen to some floor. Reports did not elaborate on whether anybody had scooped it up and sold it.
Still, I found I could not mock this breaking news - and what a pity, that incapacity to mock - because I did wish to see Dhoni's freshly mowed skull, as I suddenly have grown fascinated with all things Dhoni.
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More on the World Cup
• After huge expectations, India's World Cup celebrations just as big
• It will be hard for Sangakkara's Sri Lanka to stay at the top
• Pakistan reaches out to India, but will we see a cricket tour soon?
• All Cricket World Cup coverage
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As someone who grew up to voting age unable to define "boundary" unless it meant that long line underneath Canada, I still struggle through the toddlerhood of my cricket consciousness, bearing roughly the cricket knowledge of an Indian five-year-old.
What?
OK, an Indian three-year-old.
Yet on Saturday evening in South Mumbai I saw something so jaw-droppingly impressive that it became the first searing memory of my cricket-viewing lifetime.
I saw a man come to bat with just about the whole world coming unglued from its axis, if you will pardon the understatement.
I saw his face with the third wicket fallen and India at 114, and I remember distinctly what I read on that face at that moment, knowing hardly 10 things about the man.
Translation of face: I know about one billion of you are worried. I know Sehwag has gone out even before some of you got back from the loo. I know Tendulkar has followed sombrely, and I know you all feel sad because the daydream plot has gone to shards. I know Malinga has been out there auditioning for "Strictly Come Dancing." If I bothered to squint I reckon I might see some of your furrowed faces. But I just want you to know that I am here. I am here to put a stop to this lunacy. You can feel safe because I am here.
It was a lot to read upon a face, but luckily cricket allows time for rumination.
I remember thinking straight-away that Dhoni must have some gigantic intestines to step out there with that look, at that moment.
The broadcasters declared he had promoted himself in the order and even I understood that, so more was the audacity.
I remember expecting some sort of quick flourish given that look, but that he started off with some little harmless thing for which I don't even know the term.
I then remember, of course, knowing he must have some gigantic intestines given the mastery that followed mostly in tandem with Guatam Gambhir, a show of determination so compelling that it all but took on tangible and metallic qualities.
They call Dhoni's score "91 not out" but I am disappointed they lack terminology such as "91 most certainly not out".
Since then, I have thought and thought about what happened on Saturday evening in South Mumbai, and I have thought about team sports that trade largely on individual performance, and about how Dhoni called to mind basketball's Michael Jordan for forging mirth out of mayhem in such a cool manner at such a huge moment.
Yet while Chicago can be heavy for carrying, India is tons heavier. For a 29-year-old person to go out there before two billion eyeballs during unprecedented urgency and disregard a whole rancid bouquet of common human fears, that trumps even Dhoni's prior reputation for coolness.
Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of future criticism, fear of the stage, fear of being called mean names for the rest of one's life … all those things people fear, he spurned, and maybe even disdained.
And to bring along that countenance while doing so - I am here; you are safe - and then to treat your own closing, skyrocketing a six with something tilting toward nonchalance …
Well, that guy must be the coolest guy ever.
And so I think of that helpless being, the fanatic.
He or she often exists in a perpetual state of fear or dread or fret, knowing how defeat can sting for days and weeks and months, ruining meals and sleeps and life in general.
Yet he or she has zero control. All he or she can crave is that somebody will step out there and quell the havoc and right the ship and soothe the nerves, as rare as that person may be.
Nobody ever did all that any more awesomely than Dhoni steering the heavy bus that seemed to carry all India.
He is my first big cricket memory and, besides, I like his new haircut.
[ cculpepper@thenational.ae ]
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
Tips for holiday homeowners
There are several factors for landlords to consider when preparing to establish a holiday home:
- Revenue potential of the unit: location, view and size
- Design: furnished or unfurnished. Is the design up to standard, while being catchy at the same time?
- Business model: will it be managed by a professional operator or directly by the owner, how often does the owner wants to use it for personal reasons?
- Quality of the operator: guest reviews, customer experience management, application of technology, average utilisation, scope of services rendered
Source: Adam Nowak, managing director of Ultimate Stay Vacation Homes Rental
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
The years Ramadan fell in May
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
SPEC SHEET: APPLE M3 MACBOOK AIR (13")
Processor: Apple M3, 8-core CPU, up to 10-core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Display: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560 x 1664, 224ppi, 500 nits, True Tone, wide colour
Memory: 8/16/24GB
Storage: 256/512GB / 1/2TB
I/O: Thunderbolt 3/USB-4 (2), 3.5mm audio, Touch ID
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 52.6Wh lithium-polymer, up to 18 hours, MagSafe charging
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
Video: Support for Apple ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: 4-speaker system, wide stereo, support for Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking (with AirPods)
Colours: Midnight, silver, space grey, starlight
In the box: MacBook Air, 30W/35W dual-port/70w power adapter, USB-C-to-MagSafe cable, 2 Apple stickers
Price: From Dh4,599
Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
More on Quran memorisation:
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
