If my father only knew I put his age in the newspaper!


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I have a great father. He has embraced his three daughters with open arms and has never showed any sign of preference toward his only son.

In many societies, when a girl hits 18, she is expected to get married and have children. There is an expression in India that bringing up a daughter is like watering a neighbour's plant because she is a temporary family member who will eventually leave the house after marriage. While reading an article about female infanticide in India, I realised how blessed we in my family are to have such loving parents who have given us more than required. All of us are older than18 and they still take good care of us, even though three of us have jobs.

Last week, my editors asked if I knew anyone who had lived in the UAE for more than 50 years and could remember their early life. This was part of the Qasr Al Hosn project. I told them that my father has been living here since the 1930s. One of the reporters asked me if he would be willing to be interviewed and photographed.

When I asked him about it, he smiled. I did not know if that meant yes or no, so it was interesting to discover -- for the first time --  that a "smile" means "yes" in Al Hameli household.  We were running out of time, so the reporter asked me to interview him.

The next day, I sat with him and asked questions about his early memories of Qasr Al Hosn. He was very expressive and seemed enthusiastic as he answered all of my questions. For me, it was painful to find out how much my parents and many others  struggled to make a living.

When the photographer arrived, he was even happier; he thought I had been teasing about this. I also knew he was happy to have the opportunity to reminisce about the olden and golden days which many are not aware of.

I asked him if he thought young people should know more about their grandparents' early lives. He said, "You guys will never appreciate or ponder upon what we went through because you live in a good condition." I asked him the same question twice and his answer was the same.

Although I was looking for a different answer, he was right. We will never appreciate what they went through without being in their shoes.

I can never repay my parents, all I can do is take good care of them in their old age as they took care of me in my youth.

My father could not wait for the newspaper to come out and rejoice. I hid one thing from  him, however. I did not tell him that I was going to mention his age in the article. But that is the only thing that proved he has lived here for more than 50 years .

I wonder if, knowing this, he would regret being interviewed and photographed. In our family, you never know what to expect.

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Director: Kushan Nandy

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami

Three stars

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

Freezer tips

  • Always make sure food is completely cool before freezing.
  • If you’re cooking in large batches, divide into either family-sized or individual portions to freeze.
  • Ensure the food is well wrapped in foil or cling film. Even better, store in fully sealable, labelled containers or zip-lock freezer bags.
  • The easiest and safest way to defrost items such as the stews and sauces mentioned is to do so in the fridge for several hours or overnight.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

THE CLOWN OF GAZA

Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah 

Starring: Alaa Meqdad

Rating: 4/5

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
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
MATCH INFO

FA Cup final

Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)