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Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
Thursday, July 16, 2020
                                                                                        Dhul-Qa’da 25, 1441 AH

                                                                                        Doha today: 320 - 430

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                                                                 As monuments tumble,
                                                                     is history being
                                                                   erased? Historians
                                                                       say no. P4-5

                                                                               COVER
                                                                               STORY

REVIEW                                  BACK PAGE
The perfect comedy for a world          The 7th edition of ‘Colours of
where nothing matters anymore.          the Desert’ to go virtual at Katara.
                            Page 14                                      Page 16
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
2     GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

             COMMUNITY                                                                                                                      ROUND & ABOUT
                                                           SERIES TO BINGE WATCH ON NETFLIX

PRAYER TIME
Fajr                                          3.25am
Shorooq (sunrise)                             4.55am
Zuhr (noon)                                  11.41am
Asr (afternoon)                              3.06pm
Maghreb (sunset)                             6.28pm
Isha (night)                                  7.58pm

USEFUL NUMBERS

Emergency                                       999
Worldwide Emergency Number                        112
Kahramaa – Electricity and Water                 991          Altered Carbon                                                ‘Envoy’ soldier Takeshi Kovacs, who is downloaded from an
Local Directory                                  180          DIRECTION: Laeta Karogridis                                   off-world prison and into a combat ready sleeve at the behest
International Calls Enquires                     150          STARS: Chris Conner, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Will Yun Lee     of Laurens Bancroft, a highly influential aristocrat. Bancroft
Hamad International Airport               40106666            SYNOPSIS: The show is set in a future where                   was killed, and the last automatic backup of his stack was
Labor Department                 44508111, 44406537        consciousness is digitised and stored in cortical stacks         made hours before his death, leaving him with no memory
Mowasalat Taxi                             44588888        implanted in the spine, allowing humans to survive physical      of who killed him and why. While police ruled it a suicide,
Qatar Airways                             44496000         death by having their memories and consciousness ‘re-            Bancroft is convinced he was murdered and wants Kovacs to
Hamad Medical Corporation        44392222, 44393333        sleeved’ into new bodies. The story follows specially trained    find out the truth.
Qatar General Electricity and
Water Corporation                44845555, 44845464
Primary Health Care Corporation             44593333
                                           44593363
Qatar Assistive Technology
Centre                                     44594050
Qatar News Agency                          44450205
                                           44450333
Q-Post – General Postal
Corporation                               44464444

Humanitarian Services Office
(Single window facility for the repatriation of bodies)
Ministry of Interior                40253371, 40253372,
                                                40253369
Ministry of Health                  40253370, 40253364
Hamad Medical Corporation           40253368, 40253365
Qatar Airways                                   40253374

             uote Unquote
            Q
             “He who is brave
                 is free.”
            – Lucius Annaeus
                 Seneca

                                                              The Witcher                             actual monsters and most jobs that          man vowed to spread the word of his
                                                              DIRECTION: Lauren Schmidt               pay well involve the darkest of human       heroics throughout the continent
                                                              STARS: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan,       emotions and desires. Yennefer of           even if he has to embellish them a
                                                           Anya Chalotra                              Vengerberg is an ambitious mage             little for a few coins more, Tissaia de
                                                              SYNOPSIS: Geralt of Rivia,              who came from nothing and wants             Vries, Yennefer’s secretive mentor
            Community Editor                               a brooding professional monster            everything. Princess Cirilla or Ciri is a   who believes in tough love, and Triss
                                                           hunter for hire also known as witcher,     young girl who may or may not possess       Merigold, a good-natured druidic
              Kamran Rehmat                                struggles to keep his humanity             some great mysterious power within          mage and trustworthy friend. The
    e-mail: community@gulf-times.com                       in a medieval dark fantasy world           her. Their destinies, seemingly quite       Nilfgaardian Empire’s sudden brutal
         Telephone: 44466405                               ruled by corrupt kings, queens and         different, slowly intertwine in a rather    invasion of the kingdom of Cintra ruled
              Fax: 44350474                                mages, where poverty, violence and         cosmic fashion. Their companions            by Cirilla’s protective grandmother,
                                                           intolerance are rampant, normal            include Jaskier the bard, Geralt’s          warrior queen Calanthe, puts their
                                                           humans are sometimes worse than            endearingly annoying friend and hype        lives in great danger.
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                    3

 BODY & MIND                                                                                                                   COMMUNITY
 Contact tracing and Covid-19:
What is it and how does it work?
                                                                                                                                                                the risk of the Covid-19 virus
                                                                                                                                                                spreading further. But not all health
                                                                                                                                                                departments have enough staff to
                                                                                                                                                                do contact tracing. Some areas are
                                                                                                                                                                researching and experimenting with
                                                                                                                                                                contact tracing apps that can be
                                                                                                                                                                used. They also research how they
                                                                                                                                                                can maintain and protect the privacy
                                                                                                                                                                of individuals who use the apps. The
                                                                                                                                                                hope is these apps can make it faster
                                                                                                                                                                and easier to find and notify people
                                                                                                                                                                who’ve been exposed to the Covid-19
                                                                                                                                                                virus.
                                                                                                                                                                   For Covid-19 contact tracing, a
                                                                                                                                                                close contact is someone who’s been
                                                                                                                                                                within 6 feet (2 metres) of a person
                                                                                                                                                                with Covid-19 for 15 minutes or
                                                                                                                                                                more within two days of the person’s
                                                                                                                                                                diagnosis. Close contacts can include
                                                                                                                                                                family, friends, co-workers and
                                                                                                                                                                healthcare providers.
                                                                                                                                                                   The health department evaluates
                                                                                                                                                                close contacts and asks them about
                                                                                                                                                                symptoms. Health department staff
                                                                                                                                                                members request that close contacts
                                                                                                                                                                be tested for the virus that causes
                                                                                                                                                                Covid-19. They generally give close
                                                                                                                                                                contacts several instructions. These
                                                                                                                                                                steps can help close contacts reduce
                                                                                                                                                                the risk of unknowingly spreading
                                                                                                                                                                the Covid-19 virus to others.
                                                                                                                                                                   For close contacts who don’t have
                                                                                                                                                                symptoms and can’t be tested, or
                                                                                                                                                                they test negative for the Covid-19
                                                                                                                                                                virus, doctors and the health
                                                                                                                                                                department may:
                                                                                                                                                                   1. Ask them to self-quarantine
                                                                                                                                                                at home for 14 days after they were
                                                                                                                                                                exposed.
                                                                                                                                                                   2. Request that they keep social
                                                                                                                                                                distance from others. They may be
                                                                                                                                                                asked to isolate themselves from
                                                                                                                                                                family and pets, and use a separate
CLOSE CONTACT: For Covid-19 contact tracing, a close contact is someone who’s been within 6 feet (2 metres) of a person with Covid-19 for 15 minutes or         bedroom and bathroom.
more within two days of the person’s diagnosis. Close contacts can include family, friends, co-workers and healthcare providers.                                   3. Request that they monitor their
                                                                                                                                                                health and watch for any Covid-19

Q
              uestion: I’ve heard                                                                                                                               symptoms.
              about contact tracing                                                                                                                                4. Ask them to check their
              being done during the                                                                                                                             temperature twice a day.
              Covid-19 pandemic.                                                                                                                                   For close contacts who have
              What is it and how does                                                                                                                           symptoms and can’t be tested, test
               it work?                                                                                                                                         positive for the Covid-19 virus, or
   Answer: Contact tracing is a                                                                                                                                 develop symptoms, doctors and the
tool that can help slow the spread                                                                                                                              health department may:
of infectious diseases, such as                                                                                                                                    Ask them to self-isolate and
coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).                                                                                                                            recover at home if illness is mild.
In communities using contact                                                                                                                                    People with symptoms will likely
tracing, clinics, labs and hospitals                                                                                                                            be asked to isolate themselves from
send the names of people who                                                                                                                                    family and pets and use a separate
have recently been diagnosed                                                                                                                                    bedroom and bathroom.
with Covid-19 to their local health                                                                                                                                Ask them to seek medical care if
department.                                                                                                                                                     they have any emergency warning
   The health department asks each                                                                                                                              signs, such as trouble breathing or
person with Covid-19 about people                                                                                                                               persistent chest pain.
with whom they’ve recently had                                                                                                                                     Give them specific instructions to
close contact. Health department                                                                                                                                monitor their symptoms and avoid
officials then quickly (usually within                                                                                                                          spreading the Covid-19 virus to
24 hours) alert people who are close                                                                                                                            others.
contacts that they may have been                                                                                                                                   Until a vaccine is available,
exposed to the Covid-19 virus.                                                                                                                                  communities will need to use other
Officials don’t share the name of                                                                                                                               ways to reduce the spread of the
the person who may have exposed                                                                                                                                 Covid-19 virus. Contact tracing can
them. This makes the contact tracing                                                                                                                            be a powerful tool to help reduce the
process anonymous and confidential.                                                                                                                              spread of the Covid-19 virus and help
   The sooner health officials can       CONVENIENT: Contact tracing apps can make it faster and easier to find and notify people who’ve been exposed to        control the Covid-19 outbreak. —
alert close contacts, the lower          the Covid-19 virus.                                                                                                    Mayo Clinic News Network/TNS
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
4       GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

              COMMUNITY                                                                                                                         COVER STORY

                                Whose history?
                   Erected in most cases decades after the war ended, the monuments
                     better illustrate how white southerners sought to rewrite history
                           and impart noble motives to the dead, say historians
                                                                                                                                               By Chris Joyner

                                                                                                                                               L
                                                                                                                                                          ast month, dozens of
                                                                                                                                                          protesters squared off against
                                                                                                                                                          50 police officers in riot gear
                                                                                                                                                          at the Georgia Capitol and
                                                                                                                                                          began to chant.
                                                                                                                                                  “Tear down Gordon! Tear down
                                                                                                                                               Gordon!”
                                                                                                                                                  The target of their ire was the regal
                                                                                                                                               figure of Confederate General John
                                                                                                                                               Brown Gordon, a former Georgia
                                                                                                                                               governor, senator and a white
                                                                                                                                               supremacist who is generally regarded
                                                                                                                                               as a state leader of the Ku Klux Klan in
                                                                                                                                               the years following the Civil War.
                                                                                                                                                  The statue depicts Gordon in his
                                                                                                                                               Confederate uniform astride his horse,
                                                                                                                                               and has held a prominent spot on the
                                                                                                                                               statehouse lawn since its unveiling 113
                                                                                                                                               years ago to a throng of white Atlantans
                                                                                                                                               and a band playing Dixie.
                                                                                                                                                  Gordon remains, but Confederate
                                                                                                                                               statues across the Southeast are falling,
                                                                                                                                               including the court-ordered removal of
                                                                                                                                               a 112-year-old obelisk from the Decatur
                                                                                                                                               square June 12. Gone, too, is the
                                                                                                                                               contextual marker, placed just last year,
                                                                                                                                               that informed visitors the monument
                                                                                                                                               was erected to “glorify the ‘lost cause’
                                                                                                                                               of the Confederacy.”
                                                                                                                                                  Likewise, on June 30 Rockdale
                                                                                                                                               County removed a 1913 Confederate
                                                                                                                                               monument from the courthouse lawn
                                                                                                                                               in Conyers, and officials in Henry
                                                                                                                                               County officials voted July 7 to take
                                                                                                                                               down the memorial on McDonough
                                                                                                                                               square.
                                                                                                                                                  While President Donald Trump
RESONANT CRY: A woman wearing a face mask with the words “I can’t breathe” looks on during a protest against the death in Minneapolis police   and others have called the removals
custody of George Floyd, in front of a US consulate in Barcelona, Spain. — Reuters                                                             an attempt to erase American history,
                                                                                                                                               historians have long discounted
                                                                                                                                               Confederate memorials as accurate

                                          ‘
                                                                                                                                               representations of the Civil War.
                                                                                                                                                  Erected in most cases decades after
                                                                                                                                               the war ended, the monuments better
                                                                                                                                               illustrate how white southerners sought
                                                                                                                                               to rewrite history and impart noble
                                                                                                                                               motives to the dead, they say.
                                                            I’ve been studying history in some                                                    “I’ve been studying history in some
                                                                                                                                               ways all my life. I’ve been doing it
                                                            ways all my life. I’ve been doing it                                               professionally for over 30 years, and I
                                                                                                                                               can’t say that I’ve ever learned much
                                                            professionally for over 30 years,                                                  history at all from a monument,” said
                                                            and I can’t say that I’ve ever                                                     Kenneth Noe, Draughon Professor of
                                                                                                                                               Southern History at Auburn University.
                                                            learned much history at all                                                        “Those aren’t the sources we use.”
                                                                                                                                                  University of Alabama history
                                                            from a monument                                                                    professor Hilary Green was succinct.
                                                                                                                                                  “Monuments do a very poor job in
                                                                                                                                               talking about history,” she said.
                                                            — Kenneth Noe, Draughon                                                               The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
                                                                                                                                               spoke to five historians who specialise
                                                            Professor of Southern History                                                      in Civil War and Southern history about
                                                                                                                                               calls to remove Confederate statues
                                                            at Auburn University                                                               many consider a vestige of segregation
                                                                                                                                               and white supremacy. William Sturkey,
                                                                                                                                               a professor of Southern history at the
                                                                                                                                               University of North Carolina at Chapel
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                        5

 COVER STORY                                                                                                                         COMMUNITY
Hill, said white Southerners erected                                                                                                                                     Before the flood of Civil
the monuments decades after the                                                                                                                                        War monuments were erected,
Civil War in a bloody campaign to                                                                                                                                      Americans did not have much of a
reassert white supremacy and strip                                                                                                                                     history of building such memorials.
Blacks of newly earned freedoms.                                                                                                                                         “John Quincy Adams famously
   “People that make the argument                                                                                                                                      said, ‘Democracy has no
that taking down monuments is                                                                                                                                          monuments. It strikes no metals,’”
erasing history truly have no idea                                                                                                                                     Brown said. For example, Benjamin
how much history has been erased,”                                                                                                                                     Franklin, perhaps the most
he said. “These activist organisations                                                                                                                                 universally admired of the Founding
(who erected the monuments)                                                                                                                                            Fathers after George Washington,
sought to reshape history, reshape                                                                                                                                     had no statue to his memory until
the meaning behind the Civil War,                                                                                                                                      the mid-1850s. “It was a cultural
reshape what happened during                                                                                                                                           form that had been developed in
Reconstruction, reshape the                                                                                                                                            monarchical and imperial orders.”
participation of African Americans in
the history of this region and in our                                                                                                                                      First markers in the north
country. Those were the people who                                                                                                                                         The soul-shaking death count of
were actually erased.”                                                                                                                                                 the Civil War changed that.
   More and more local leaders                                                                                                                                             “So many people died,”
are reflecting that academic                                                                                                                                            Brown said. “They died far from
perspective as they confront                                                                                                                                           home, away from their families,
controversies over memorials                                                                                                                                           violently at a young age, and most
in their own communities. Last                                                                                                                                         importantly of all, their bodies
month, the Kennesaw City Council                                                                                                                                       didn’t come back.”
approved a resolution removing                                                                                                                                             To commemorate the lost,
the Confederate battle flag from a                                                                                                                                      Brown said local leaders began
war memorial on the city’s Main             THE AWAKENING: Protesters at the East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis make a statement.                      erecting monuments — in the
Street. Mayor Derek Easterling                                                                                                                                         North. “It is death that puts the
said the decision was met with              authorities are moving ahead. Last                                                between 1890 and World War               public monument on the national
overwhelming approval from local            month, the University of Alabama             ‘Lost cause ideology’                I as whites in Southern states           landscape,” he said.
residents. He said addressing these         removed a plaque and memorial                Karen Cox, a history professor at    sought to reassert their political           But the proliferation of
monuments isn’t erasing history.            boulder placed by the United              the University of North Carolina at     and social dominance following           monuments decades later in the
   “Removing a statue is not going          Daughters of the Confederacy in           Charlotte, said historians have been    Reconstruction.                          South took a somewhat different
to change how people feel,” he              1914 on the campus quad.                  “slow on the uptake” in considering        Cox said the monuments do have        tone. And it did not go unnoticed by
said. “It’s not going to change what           Alabama has a law protecting           the fate of the more than 700           a historical meaning, just not for       the newly freed African Americans
happened.”                                  monuments as well, but the                Confederate monuments spread            the Civil War.                           and their children, Green said.
   But he said local leaders can take       university found a loophole in the        across the South.                          “What it teaches us is about              “From the very beginning
actions to address the message              law that allowed the removal of              “There really (hadn’t) been a lot    the history of the Jim Crow              African Americans were openly
monuments send. In the case of              the memorial boulder. Similarly,          of discussion among historians          period,” she said. “What it’s            hostile to this landscape because
Kennesaw, the council removed the           DeKalb County removed the Lost            until the Charleston massacre,”         about is the generation of people        it is occurring in the time with
Confederate battle flag, replacing it        Cause obelisk after a judge declared      she said, referring to the June 17,     who put those monuments up,              disenfranchisement. It also is
with the flag flown during the Civil          it a public nuisance.                     2015, mass murder of nine African       who attended the unveilings,             occurring in a time with lynching.
War, an action designed to remove              DeKalb County CEO Michael              Americans in a Black church in          etc. It’s about their desire to          It’s also coming at a time where Jim
the most controversial element of           Thurmond, who has written books           Charleston by a white supremacist.      memorialise the Confederacy and          Crow realities are becoming real
the display.                                about Georgia history, ordered the           Noe said he believes the opinion     Confederate principles — things          and that moment of Reconstruction
                                            removal of the monument, but he           of historians has evolved over the      like states rights, things like white    is closing,” she said. “They are
   A historical reckoning                   dismisses the idea that history is        past five years.                         supremacy.”                              seeing themselves being erased.”
   Thomas Brown, a history                  being erased.                                “If you had asked me several            She said white leaders sent               Sturkey, of UNC, said African
professor at the University of                 “I’ve spent a major portion of my      years ago what do we do with the        a distinct message to the Black          Americans resisted the erection of
South Carolina and scholar on the           adult life and even earlier researching   monuments, I would have said,           community by placing many of the         monuments “from the jump.” He
role of monuments in American               and writing about the American Civil      ‘Interpret them.’ That’s what we        statues in front of the courthouse       pointed to one instance in Chatham
culture, said the ground is shifting        War. For me, it was and remains the       historians do, right? We interpret      where trials were held and citizens      County, North Carolina, more than
rapidly since the death of George           defining moment in the history of our      the past,” he said. “That has largely   registered to vote.                      a century ago.
Floyd in Minneapolis refocused the          nation,” he said.                         been rejected, and it was rejected by      “These monuments only                     “Their Confederate monument
nation’s attention on institutional            But he said the monuments              both sides.”                            represent a particular version of        was defaced within 10 days of
racism. And popular opinion on              that were erected after the end of           Some of the outrage following        history. It’s one that is crafted in     going up in the early 1900s,” he
the meaning and relevance of                Reconstruction were put there to          the attack in Charleston slayings       Lost Cause ideology,” she said,          said. “It was an African American
Confederate memorials has shifted           romanticise the South’s role in           focused on symbols like the             referring to the idea that the South     who climbed the Confederate
too, he said.                               the Civil War as a heroic struggle,       Confederate battle flag, the             cause in the Civil War was noble         monument and poured tar over its
   “The community that put up the           rather than a fight to preserve            carving at Stone Mountain and           and just. “It’s not history as much      face to protest the erection of that
John Gordon statue in 1907 is not           slavery.                                  several high-profile Confederate         as it is myth-making.”                   particular monument.”
the community that will debate its             “The Southerners fought                memorials from Richmond to                 “They certainly speak to the              Green said that historical unrest
fate today,” he said. “I do think it        valiantly, but they fought for the        Birmingham to New Orleans. Cox,         culture of the times,” added Noe.        is important to consider. While
could be a healthy discussion for           worst cause any people have ever          who has published books on the          “But it was a culture in which           diverse groups of white and black
Atlanta now.”                               fought for,” he said. “There has to       movement to erect the monuments,        one segment of the population            protesters are gathering around
   Forty-four of Gordon’s living            be some reckoning with that fact.”        said most of them were erected          dominated another.”                      monuments in cities across the
descendants are among those                                                                                                                                            nation, there has always been
who have joined the discussion,                                                                                                                                        protest by Blacks who saw them as
noting in a letter to Republican                                                                                                                                       symbols of lost freedoms.
Governor Brian Kemp that the                                                                                “People that make the                                          “People rejected these from
“primary purpose of the statue
was to celebrate and mythologise
                                                                                                            argument that taking                                       the beginning. These were never
                                                                                                                                                                       uncontested, neutral sites, and it is
the white supremacists of the                                                                               down monuments is                                          showing today,” she said.
Confederacy.” The descendants                                                                                                                                              But as monuments fall, exciting
want Kemp to remove it.
                                                                                                            erasing history truly have                                 cheers or boos from various
   Legally removing Confederate                                                                             no idea how much history                                   corners, Green believes this is only
monuments in Georgia is difficult.                                                                                                                                     the start of the labour of knitting a
A Senate bill Kemp signed last year                                                                         has been erased”                                           new American identity.
forbids the removal of monuments,                                                                                                                                          “Taking down monuments is easy.
markers, plaques and place names                                                                                                                                       Putting up monuments is easy. But
dedicated to “historically significant                                                                       — William Sturkey, Professor                               having those difficult conversations
military, religious, civil, civil rights,                                                                                                                              that undergird the activists that led
political, social, or cultural events or                                                                    of Southern history at                                     to the toppling? That’s the hard part.
series of events” or to honor military
service, including in the Confederate
                                                                                                            University of North Carolina                               That’s going to take more time,” she
                                                                                                                                                                       said. “This is the start, not the end, of
Army. And it stiffened penalties for                                                                        at Chapel Hill                                             the conversation.”
anyone who vandalises a monument.                                                                                                                                          — The Atlanta Journal-
   Yet, elsewhere in the Deep South,                                                                                                                                   Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia)
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
6        GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

                   COMMUNITY
     Students of Bhavan’s
                                                                                 Students of BPS perform brilliantly in CBSE exams
     produce excellent CBSE
                                                                                   The students of Grade-X of Birla Public School (BPS)       George, Allen Joseph Gladly, Anfaz Muhammed, Anna
     results                                                                       recently excelled in CBSE Board examination with 100%
                                                                                   pass result. Arya Cherilasseri and Melissa Susan George
                                                                                                                                              George, Pragya Ranjan, Shane Boby, Muhammed
                                                                                                                                              Hashim Abdul Rahman, Subhashini Sudhakar, Ananya
                                                                                   bagged first position in the school with 97.60%, which     Kadungorth Manoj, Reeva Prashantbhai Shah,
                                                                                   was followed by Prisha Badwaik, second with 97.40%;        Aparna Sharma, Shaza Ziyad, Ruba Sadiq, Alamelu
                                                                                   and Anna George, third with 97.20%. 155 students scored    Venkatachalam, Anith Benov, Diya Zainab, Yash Gabra,
                                                                                   more than 90% marks and 256 students scored marks          Prisha Badwaik, Anupama Mary Thomas, Sanjay Krishna
                                                                                   above 75%.                                                 Kumar, Shaymanti Bhowmik, Arya Cherilasseri, Athira
                                                                                   The students who scored A1 grades in five subjects,        Santhosh Kumar Narayanan, Sadiq Hussain Parappil,
                                                                                   include Arya Ananthan, Dhamini Manoj, Edwin Basil Judy,    Sivakami Gopinath, Kishen Gandhi, Maizah Maharoof,
                                                                                   Joel John Manappurathu, Parvathi Rajesh Nair, Rimsha       Mehrose Fatima, Rahul Raghuveer Kamath, Shrijeeta
                                                                                   Danish, Wajid Ajmal, Abhiram Suresh, Abin Varghese         Ghosh, and Eesha Vilas Khawade.

    Aasif Safeer                        Mariam Zeenath Fazil

                                                                                                    Arya Cherilasseri                        Prisha Badwaik

    Arundhathy Soumyapriya Arun         Muhammed Saadh

  The students of Grade-X of Bhavan’s Public School recently excelled in
  CBSE examinations. Aasif Safeer bagged first position in the school with
  97%, which was followed by Muhammed Saadh, second with 95.6%;
  Arundhathy Soumyapriya Arun, third with 95.4%; and Mariam Zeenath
  Fazil, fourth with 94.4%. Above 65% of the total students appeared in the
  examination secured distinction marks and above.
                                                                                                     Anna George                             Melissa Susan George

NIS students clinch 100% result in CBSE exams
The students of Grade-X of Noble International School (NIS) recently excelled in CBSE Board examination with 100% pass result. Ridha Zakeer Hussain bagged first position in the school with 96.4%
percentage aggregate. The students gained 100%. 59% of students secured distinction. The management of the school along with Principal and Vice Principal congratulated the students and staff
members.
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                      7

                                                                                                                                 COMMUNITY
Ideal Indian School produces outstanding CBSE results
The students of Grade-X of Ideal Indian School recently excelled in CBSE examinations with           Zareen and Maryam, Urdu with 99%; Qabas Wahbi Mohamed Abuelhassan and Fatma Ibrahim
100% pass results. Out of 305 students, who appeared for the examination 153 students secured        Adem Hamed, Arabic with 96%; Zoya Khan, French with 98%; K S Najla, Tamil with 91%; and Arjuna
Distinction while 99 secured first class. The first position was bagged by Mohamd Anas Ezzuddin      Suvaraj K R, Painting with 94%. Other toppers, include Harshith Ramesh, Amrutha V, Treesa Joshy,
and Zahrah Sainudin, with 96.6%, which was followed by Ali Mohammed Haneefa, second with             Aadhil Juman, Nikhil P Biju, Najiya Basheer, Samiya S Qureshi, Hamad Ibrahim, Akshay Satish
96.2%; and Aswin Arunkumar Thenamkandiyil and Devika Sanil, third with 95.4%.                        Kumar, Christy Mariya, Syed Ahmed Hussain, Abdul Basit, Sameera Abdul Rahman, Ayshath
The subject toppers, include Aleesha Mary Shijo, Gayathri Satheesh K, Farheen Mahaboob and           Fashna, Mohammed Badiuzzaman, Sana Seraj, Jemi Nainan Xavier, Sheba Ann Jacob, and Sajad
Yohan Luke, English with 99%; Mohamd Anas Ezzuddin and Syeda Maksuda Jahan, Mathematics              Salih.
with 99%; Muhammad Nabeeh P, Social Science with 100%; Mohamd Anas Ezzuddin, Science                 Dr Hassan Kunhi M P, President of IIS, along with Syed Shoukath Ali, Principal of IIS, congratulated
with 99%; Hesham Ahsan, Hindi with 95%; Zainab Abdul Mujeeb, Malayalam with 99%; Nuzhat              the students and staff members for their achievements.

Gayathri Satheesh           K S Najla                  Jemi Nainan Xavier           Sheba Ann Jacob              Nuzhat Zareen                 Maryam                          Syed Ahmed Hussain

Sana Seraj                  Nikhil P Biju              Farheen Mahaboob             Abdul Basit                  Ali Mohammed Haneefa          Sameera Abdul Rahman            Qabas Wahbi

Devika Sanil                Zoya Khan                  Ayshath Fashna               Samiya S Qureshi             Aadhil Juman                  Fatma Ibrahim                   Hesham Ahsan

Christy Mariya              Treesa Joshy               Mohammed                     Yohan Luke                   Aleesha Mary                  Aswin Arunkumar                 Harshith Ramesh
                                                       Badiuzzaman

Amrutha V                   Muhammad Nabeeh            Zahrah Sainudin              Najiya Basheer               Arjuna Suvaraj K R            Syeda Maksuda Jahan             Sajad Salih

                                                        Hamad Ibrahim              Akshay Satish Kumar           Zainab Abdul Mujeeb              Mohamd Anas Ezzuddin
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
8       GULF TIMES                   Thursday, July 16, 2020

               COMMUNITY
Students of SIS excel in CBSE exams
Students of Shantiniketan Indian School recently excelled in CBSE Board examination with            99% in English; Thansiha Thajudheen, 99% in Social Science; Maria Abraham, Aanisa Panangattayil,
100% pass result.. The high achieving students, include Thansiha Thajudheen, 96.2%; Anar            Lamiya Ibrahim, Anar Namboorimadathil Najumuddin, Daana Odam Manniyil, Haleem Ahmed
Namboorimadathil Najumuddin, 94.8%; Shweta, 94.6%; Adithya Hubli, 94.4%; Daana Odam Manniyil,       Fakrudeen Ali Ahammed, Farha, 99% in Malayalam; Thansiha Thajudheen, 98% in Arabic; Adithya
94%; Shourya Pratap Bisht, 93.6%; Adithya Nandakumar, 93.4%; Haleem Ahmed Fakrudeen Ali             Hubli, 97% in Science; Fatma, 97% in Urdu; Shourya Pratap Bisht, 95% in Hindi; and Lailathunnoor Riaz
Ahammed, 93%; Maria Abraham, 93%; Afrah Shirin, 93%; Shifan Illyas, 92.4%; Lamiya Ibrahim, 91.8%;   Ahamed, 84% in Tamil.
Dhiya Kalani Santhosh, 90.8%; Nouba Juraij, 90.2%; and Aditya Kakkanatte Shajil, 90%.               K C Abdul Latheef, President of SIS, along with Dr Subhash B. Nair, Principal of SIS, congratulated the
The subject toppers include, Adithya Hubli, 100% in Mathematics; Maria Abraham and Shweta,          students and teachers for their hard work.

Shourya Pratap Bisht        Lailathunnoor Riaz           Lamiya Ibrahim               Thansiha Thajudheen       Aditya Kakkanatte Shajil      Farha                             Fatma
                            Ahamed

Afrah Shirin                Nouba Juraij                 Adithya Nandakumar           Daana Odam Manniyil       Dhiya Kalani Santhosh         Aanisa Panangattayil              Shweta

                         Anar Namboorimadathil        Shifan Illyas               Maria Abraham              Adithya Hubli                 Haleem Ahmed
                         Najumuddin                                                                                                        Fakrudeen Ali Ahammed

Students of Grade-X of DMIS shine in CBSE Board examinations
The students of Grade-X of Doha Modern Indian School recently excelled in CBSE Board                Mujeeb, 99 marks in English; Amy Elizabeth Jacob, Deep Oak, Arya Atul Hardas, Anisha Balachander,
examinations. 34 out of 89 students secured 90% and above aggregate. Arya Atul Hardas and Deep      99 in Mathematics; Deep Oak, Arya Atul Hardas, Joanna T Kurian, Krishnendu, 98 in Science; Deep
Amrish Oak secured first position with 97% aggregate percentage, which was followed by Amy          Oak, 98 in Social Science; Deep Oak, 98 in Hindi; Hanan Abdul Hameed, 97 in Hindi; Shabeel Naseem,
Elizabeth with 96.6%, second position; and Arya Mahesh Garud, third with 96.4%                      99 in Arabic; Sathyasri S, 93 in Tamil; and Amy Elizabeth Jacob, 99 in French. School management
The subject toppers, include Gopika Sujith, Arya Mahesh, Vaisakh Menon, Swathi Suresh, Linah        along with principal of DMIS congratulated students, parents and staff members.

Students with 95% and above:

Hanan Abdul Hameed                Arya Mahesh                         Vaisakh Menon                  Shabeel Naseem                    Joanna T Kurian                      Shruti Kunder

Arya Atul Hardas                   Deep Amrish Oak                    Amy Elizabeth                  Aiman Mohamed Ali                  Giselle Amanda Monteiro             Prabhat Singh
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                   9

                                                                                                                                COMMUNITY
MES students produce excellent CBSE results
The students of Grade-X of MES Indian School recently excelled in CBSE examinations with 100%        Students who secured A1 in all 5 subjects, include Bhavna Biju Chacko, Nandana Othayoth, Bavisha
pass result. A total of 569 students appeared in the examination. Bhavna Biju Chacko bagged first    Rajesh, Jeswin Binu Chacko, Mariya Rose Elanjikkal Jose, Lavanya Kodappully Baiju, Afiya Jahubar
position in the school with 97.4, which was followed by Nandana Othayoth, second with 97.2%; and     Ali, Jabla Chonari, Amatun Noor, Niya Ann Raji, Muhammed Bilal, Ann Mary James, Fathima Fida
Bavisha Rajesh, third with 97%.                                                                      Palayangal, Sneha Jiljith T, Niya Fathima, Rifna Mohamed Rafi, Shazia Fathima Munaj, Shazia
Students who secured 100 marks in various subjects, include Sidra Amina, Christina Abraham,          Nanakkal, Fatma Ahmed, Fathima Qudsiya, Juveriya Mohammad, Areez Asad, Ayisha Raniya A K,
Bhavyasri Rajesh, in English; Juveriya Mohammad, in Social Science; Rehaq Awad, Arabic; Blessy       and Raniya Shirin M K Hameeda Kadar, Principal of MES, congratulated the teachers and students
Koshy, French; Afiyah Anjum and Anam Aziz, Urdu.                                                     for achievements.

Jaseem Ahmed                Jabla C                     Aman Russell                Muhammed Bilal              Fathima Qudsiya              Lavanya Kodappully             Arhaan Mudassir
                                                                                                                                             Baiju                          Rajpurkar

Anam Aziz                   Juveriya M                  Ashfak Abdulla              Bhavna Biju Chacko          Niya Ann Raji                Shazia Fathima                 Shiza Fatma Jeelani

Mohammed Athar Ali          Afiyah Anjum                Maria Rose                  Bavisha Rajesh              Fathima Fida                 Sneha Jiljith T                Rehaq Awad

Raniya Shirin               Areez Asad                  Bhavyasri Rajesh            Blessy Koshy                Sidra Amina                  Wasil Iftekhar                 Divya Jayakumar

Niya Fathima                Nandana Othayoth            Fatma Ahmed                 Shazia N                    Afiya Jahubar Ali            Rifna Mohamed Rafi             Ann Mary James

                            Amatun Noor                 Jeswin Binu Chacko          Ayisha Raniya                Christina                      Ashin Benisha
Ctrl+Alt+Del As monuments tumble, is history being erased? Historians
10 GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

              COMMUNITY
Students of DPS-MIS excel in CBSE exams
The students of Grade-X of DPS-Modern Indian School (DPS-MIS) recently excelled in CBSE            Odayammadathu Malethu Veedu, Krishna Ravishankar, Julia Anna Joseph, Satyam Agarwal, Elvin
Board examinations with 100% pass result. Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran secured first position with    Joshua Pinto, Tahniath Qadri, Hafiz Ahmed Raffi, and Nandini Premraj Patil, 100 in Mathematics;
98.2% aggregate percentage, which was followed by Neha Francis Cheeramvelil, second position       Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran, 99 in Science; Hafiz Ahmed Raffi, 100 in Social Science; and Sriram
with 97.80%; Sudharsan Podhala Gopikrishna and Mehra Yanaa Arun, third with 97.60%; Nesha          Malarvizhi Kumaran, Krishna Ravishankar, Radhika Amar Desai, Satyam Agarwal, Sidharth
Naseem Neela Parambil, Nithina Odayammadathu and Tisha Jain, fourth with 97.40%; and Krishna       Sreekumar, Kundanika Khanna, Hamza Ahmad Sajid, Noel Adrian D Souza, Varsha Vinod Chekkura
Ravishankar, fifth with 97.20%. Out of 355 students who appeared for CBSE AISSE 127 students       Keloth, 100 in Information Technology.
secured 90% and above. The management of DPS-MIS, along with the principal and vice principals     Students with A1 in all subjects, include Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran, Neha Francis Cheeramvelil,
congratulated the students and staff members.                                                      Sudharsan Podhala Gopikrishna, Mehra Yanaa Arun, Nesha Naseem Neela Parambil, Nithina
The subject toppers, include Merchant Aina Fatema Asim and Ann Denny Peter, 100 marks in           Odayammadathu Malethu Veedu, Tisha Jain, Krishna Ravishankar, Linayasmine Padinhare
English; Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran, Krishna Ravishankar, and Naveen Kumaran Swaminathan,           Peedikayil, Merchant Aina Fatema Asim, Saumya Murgai, Radhika Amar Desai, Alen Sudheer,
97 in Tamil; Neha Francis Cheeramvelil, Nesha Naseem Neela Parambil, Alen Sudheer, Anjana          Pranav Menon, Advaith Raghav Subhash Chakkuth, Prisha Hemant Doshi, Ananya Raju, Abia
Sajeevakumar, Julia Anna Joseph, and Mithra Manoj Nair, 99 in Malayalam; Sudharsan Podhala         Kakkat Ubaid, Aibal Jain, Renuka Sreekumar, Sandeep Ramesh Kumar, Afsheen Wasfiya Abdul
Gopikrishna, Advaith Raghav Subhash Chakkuth, Ann Denny Peter, and Jason Christy Thomas,           Wahab, Raman Kishore Lakshmi Makesh, Noel Adrian D Souza, Hana Sheena Nizam, Vanya
99 in French; Merchant Aina Fatema Asim, 97 in Hindi; Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran, Nithina           Sharma, Naveen Kumaran Swaminathan, and Mithra Manoj Nair.

Varsha Vinod Chekkura      Saumya Murgai              Linayasmine Padinhare       Merchant Aina Fatema        Sidharth Sreekumar          Krishna Ravishankar            Advaith Raghav Subhash
Keloth                                                Peedikayil                  Asim                                                                                   Chakkuth

Tisha Jain                 Pranav Menon               Mithra Manoj Nair           Nandini Premraj Patil       Hafiz Ahmed Raffi           Radhika Amar Desai             Prisha Hemant Doshi

Sudharsan Podhala          Jason Christy Thomas       Naveen Kumaran              Alen Sudheer                Hamza Ahmad Sajid          Kundanika Khanna            Sriram Malarvizhi Kumaran
Gopikrishna                                           Swaminathan

Anjana Sajeevakumar        Julia Anna Joseph          Nithina Odayammadathu       Tahniath Qadri              Satyam Agarwal              Subbulakshmi                   Ann Denny Peter
                                                      Malethu Veedu                                                                       Arumugam

                                Nesha Naseem Neela         Elvin Joshua Pinto          Noel Adrian D Souza        Neha Francis                 Mehra Yanaa Arun
                                Parambil                                                                          Cheeramvelil
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                            11

 LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE                                                                                                                                COMMUNITY
 Growing plants inside – the easy way
A
              fter months of self-           for those starting out on their
              isolating, this weekend        adventure in the great indoors.
              I masked-up and                   Cacti and succulents are
              joined the queue for           experiencing a huge spike in
              my garden centre.              interest, and there is one simple tip
As someone who normally visits               that will eliminate the key cause
nurseries or plant shops at least            of death and ill health. Place your
twice a week, it was a huge relief to        plant no more than 1m away from
be surrounded by all the greenery.           a window. Despite glass appearing
But perhaps what was even more               transparent, it filters out almost
exciting were the enormous                   all UVB rays. For every metre you
numbers of young people waiting              go from a window this can halve,
patiently in line to get a houseplant        then halve again – something these
fix. Working in an industry that              desert dwellers can’t handle. If you
has struggled for decades to figure           don’t have any sill space, consider
out how to make itself relevant              another plant.
and accessible to those under 50,               Ferns are the number one
it’s wonderful to finally see a new           houseplant people tell me they
generation discovering the joys of           struggle to grow, and the problem
the natural world through indoor             is almost always simple: lack
gardening.                                   of moisture – in particular, the
   But with so much frankly                  consistent, stable moisture levels
terrible advice on houseplants               these plants love. As even the best
out there (ironically on the very            gardeners can lapse from time to
social media platforms that have             time, the solution to this is to pick
created this new flowering of                 large, waxy-leaved species, such
interest), I also had to repress the         as bird’s nest ferns and staghorn                When it comes to the oh-so-                  microclimate for plants from the              zamiifolia) and cast iron plant
desperate compulsion to advise               ferns. They have developed a                  trendy terrariums, the secret                   rainforest floor, but the exact               (Aspidistra eliator) are almost
the 20-somethings on the plants              shiny coating as a way to prevent             really is to ignore everything you              opposite of what desert dwellers              bombproof. A delivery man once
they were buying. However, doling            water loss. Maidenhair ferns are              have seen on Pinterest and never,               need. Go for ferns, mosses and                left an aspidistra in my mum’s bin
out unsolicited advice is a bit more         lovely, but not a great choice for            ever plant cacti or succulents in               orchids instead.                              cupboard, which she eventually
socially acceptable in a magazine            total beginners, unless you’re                them. The glass creates a low-                    Finally, if you are a timid                 discovered a couple of months
column than to random people                 up for a challenge and lots of                light, high-humidity environment                first timer and want something                 later, only for it to appear totally
in queues, so here are my top tips           dedication.                                   within, which is a perfect                      unkillable, ZZ plant (Zamioculcas             unscathed. —The Guardian

             ARIES
             March 21 — April 19
                                                                                         TAURUS
                                                                                         April 20 — May 20
                                                                                                                                                                      GEMINI
                                                                                                                                                                      May 21 — June 20

Go ahead and make a list today, Aries. Powerful emotions are likely         If you look carefully today, Taurus, you’re apt to notice aspects of         Be careful about becoming too stubborn today, Gemini. This is one
to lure you from your current path unless you have some sort of             people that you never noticed before. There could be a frenzy of             of those days in which you’re asked to build a structure in a very
concrete plan to fall back on. Put idle hands to use by delegating          activity that catches you in its net and takes you away. Look to other       windy area. If you insist on using the most rigid materials, you’ll find
tasks to the people around you. You’ll be amazed at the little blocks       people for guidance as you go along. When you ask for help, you’ll           that the structure you build ends up snapping in two. If, however,
of time you have when you stay on task and keep yourself and                get it. At the same time, you’ll learn a great deal about the people         you construct your building with flexible materials, it will bend in the
everyone else around you in motion.                                         who end up helping you.                                                      wind and last far longer.

             CANCER
             June 21 — July 22
                                                                                         LEO
                                                                                         July 23 — August 22
                                                                                                                                                                      VIRGO
                                                                                                                                                                      August 23 — September 22

It’s a good thing you have a flexible attitude, Cancer, especially          You could be frustrated by others’ lack of commitment today, Leo.            You should be feeling emotionally strong today, Virgo, although
today. Your adaptive powers could be put to the test as you find            You could try to make plans with people but they keep changing               you could find that an idea runs through your head that asks you to
yourself surrounded by fickle emotions and stubborn attitudes.              their minds about what they want to do. Perhaps they’re emotionally          slow down and take things once step at a time. The internal dialogue
Don’t get too hung up on getting straight answers from people               insecure and afraid to take the next step. Don’t let other people hold       could drive you crazy if you aren’t careful. The most important thing
today, for they’re apt to be just as confused as you about certain          you back. Make plans and stick to them. Other people will fall into          to do now is simply follow your heart. Do what you love to do, and
issues. Play it cool for now and ride the waves easily to shore.            place accordingly. You don’t need to prod them.                              associate with the people you love and respect the most.

             LIBRA
             September 23 — October 22
                                                                                         SCORPIO
                                                                                         October 23 — November 21
                                                                                                                                                                      SAGITTARIUS
                                                                                                                                                                      November 22 — December 21

Make the effort to get to a body of water today, Libra. Whether it’s        You may find it hard to connect with your emotions today, Scorpio.           You may find that your heart is bouncing back and forth like a
the ocean, a river, or lake, the sense of expansion and comfort that        It could be that it’s difficult to find a bit of quiet time when you can     tennis ball today, Sagittarius. One minute you could be drawn one
you’ll find there will be extremely healing. Know that you are the          really sit down and listen to your inner voice. There are distractions       way, while the next minute you’re drawn in a completely different
greatest healer you have for yourself and that you have incredible          all around that are pulling you in many different directions. Keep           direction. Instead of trying to fight this feeling, take advantage of it.
power to share this gift with others, too. Augment this healing             in mind that these forces aren’t necessarily acting in your best             Consciously or unconsciously, what you’re really doing is exploring.
energy with a return to nature.                                             interests.                                                                   Try new things until you’re sure that you’ve found what you need.

             CAPRICORN
             December 22 — January 19
                                                                                         AQUARIUS
                                                                                         January 20 — February 18
                                                                                                                                                                      PISCES
                                                                                                                                                                      February 19 — March 20

Your energy level is high today, Capricorn, but don’t let this turn into    You could think that your life is too boring for anyone else to care         In an effort to be the brightest and best star on the stage, Pisces,
a head-in-the-clouds attitude. Keep one foot firmly planted on the          about, Aquarius. Don’t fall into a well of self-pity and convince yourself   you might actually be driving away the most important members of
ground, because you may need to keep a level head in a work or              that there simply isn’t enough excitement in your life and never will be.    your audience. Make sure that you aren’t putting on different masks
personal situation. Keep in mind that the best way to deal with this        Believe that you have the power to cure any such downtrodden feeling         with different people just so you can appease those you’re with.
is to use your positive energy to heal the difficult situation instead of   that you might have at this time. Consider joining a spiritual support       Others can see right through any disguise you try to put on. Trying
letting this difficult situation get you down.                              group where you can honestly share your feelings.                            to deceive others is simply a sign of disrespect.
12 GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

                                     COMMUNITY                                                    CARTOONS/PUZZLES
                Wordsearch                                                     Adam

                                                                               Pooch Cafe

BARE                                 HARE                 STARE       FAIR
FLARE                                SQUARE               ÉCLAIR      PEAR
RARE                                 DARE                 PAIR        WHERE
BEAR                                 MARE                 WARE        FLAIR
HAIR                                 STAIR                FARE        PRAYER
SNARE                                DECLARE              PARE
CARE                                 MAYOR                WEAR

                Codeword
Every letter of the alphabet is used at least once.
Squares with the same number in have the same letter
in. Work out which number represents which letter.
Puzzles courtesy: Puzzlechoice.com

                                                                               Garfield

                Sudoku

                                                                               Bound And Gagged

                                       Sudoku is a puzzle based
                                       on a 9x9 grid. The grid is
                                       also divided into nine (3x3)
                                       boxes. You are given a
                                       selection of values and to
                                       complete the puzzle, you
                                       must fill the grid so that
                                       every column, every anone
                                       is repeated.
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES   13

 PUZZLES                                                                              COMMUNITY
 Super Cryptic Clues                                                     Colouring

Across                               Down
1 White rose cultivated              2 Fungus in chocolate (7)
differently (9)                      3 Grub found in lettuce at
8 A mostly dreary time –but not      supermarket (4)
for children (5)                     4 See law being broken by a
9 Forgetting a name is unusual       beast (6)
(7)                                  5 Former nurse attempts to find
10 Steal an elevator (4)             guards (8)
11 Shopped, yet bread has been       6 Observe opening for estate
ordered! (8)                         agent (4)
13 The fat of the land, say? (6)     7 Man united, somehow, with a
14 Stay with mother in control (6)   single relative (6,4)
17 Satisfies silly sausages (8)      8 Loyalty, for example, in union
19 The language of Monsieur          (10)
Dumas? (4)                           12 Fool repeatedly at home for
21 Card game making some             killer (8)
American a star (7)                  15 Dressed for a military
22 So far Yeats is read in           operation, we hear (7)
translation (2,3)                    16 Extremely simple harp
23 New deal with China to supply     designed for an angel (6)
spicy food (9)                       18 Was a vocalist in Los Angeles?
                                     (4)
                                     20 Don’t succeed in making
                                     female suffer (4)

 Solution                                                                Answers

                                                                         Wordsearch        Codeword
14 GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

               COMMUNITY                                                                                                                                                         REVIEWS

 The perfect comedy for a world
 where nothing matters anymore
                                                                                                                                                            they’ve been lacking, Nyles coasting in a
By Katie Walsh                                                                                                                                              vapid relationship with bridesmaid Misty
                                                                                                                                                            (Meredith Hagner, who absolutely owns the
                                                                                                                                                            niche she’s carved out for herself playing

W
                  e’ve probably all been to                                                                                                                 absurd ditzes), Sarah stuck in the broken
                  a wedding that felt like                                                                                                                  divorcee rut.
                  it would never end. For                                                                                                                      Barbakow and Siara build a world around a
                  Sarah (Cristin Milioti), that                                                                                                             fantastical premise, but it that feels real and
                  wedding is her younger                                                                                                                    natural. The infinite time loop is outlandish
sister’s, where she’s drowning herself in                                                                                                                   enough, so there’s no need to mug for cheap
red wine and extremely unprepared to                                                                                                                        laughs, and the laugh-out-loud moments
give a speech. Now imagine living that                                                                                                                      are organically earned. It offers the actors
nightmarish day again, and again, and again.                                                                                                                a sense of freedom to be as real or as kooky
This is a vision of a sun-drenched, perfectly                                                                                                               as they want to be. It’s nice to see Samberg
Pinterested hell that screenwriter Andy Siara                                                                                                               in a romantic leading role that plays on his
and director Max Barbakow have conjured as                                                                                                                  strengths of sweet silliness, but Palm Springs
the setting for their cerebral Groundhog Day-                                                                                                               belongs to Milioti, in a breakout performance.
inspired rom-com, Palm Springs.                                                                                                                             Although she’s had an enormously successful
   Sarah is saved from the speech by a                                                                                                                      career on stage and in TV, this feels like the
beer-swilling character in a Hawaiian shirt,                                                                                                                first leading film role for Milioti that allows
Nyles (Andy Samberg), who seems to have                                                                                                                     her to show new shades of her range. She’s
perfected his wedding routine, anticipating                                                                                                                 darker, funnier, wackier than she’s been
every dance move, predicting every hookup.                                                                                                                  before, but still grounded.
He’s either really, really intuitive, or he’s                                                                                                                  The canon of infinite time loop texts is
been here before. When Sarah follows               there are no consequences for anything you          the other hand, craves more: more meaning,           often about finding serenity in the insanity,
him into the desert at night, she discovers        do? Hit by a car? Wake up in the morning.           more weight to her actions, more redemption.         their neurotic protagonists learning to
that Nyles is trapped in an infinite time          Hook up with the bartender? Wake up in the            These are the questions that drive the             surrender to the scenario. That message is
loop, like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day or         morning. Perform an elaborate dance routine         curious existence of Nyles and Sarah in Palm         even more poignant now, as we all seem to
Natasha Lyonne in Russian Doll, and now            wearing matching denim jackets in the local         Springs, which is as high-concept as it is low-      be trapped in the never-ending sameness
she is too.                                        dive bar? Wake up in the morning. It’s the          key. Barbakow achieves a chill and stylish           of quarantine. But Palm Springs takes it one
   Against the expansive desert backdrop and       power of an infinitely clean slate, which            vibe for what is fundamentally a hangout             step further: It’s not just about accepting, but
a repeating ritual of love, Sarah and Nyles will   Nyles uses to test the boundaries of polite         movie that begs the question: How weird              finding connection in the madness. Maybe
reckon with what it means to never grow old,       behaviour and enjoy a perpetual vacation,           can you get? What Nyles and Sarah find in             that’s the only way to find salvation within,
never die. How will you live your life when        sipping cervezas on a pool floaty. Sarah, on         the weirdness is the deep human connection           and possibly escape the loop. – TNS

             Dirt Music beautifully shot, but
            squanders meaningful potential
                                         She has a penchant for pre-dawn          other. Georgie and Jim are never
By Katie Walsh                           ocean swims and afternoon naps.          direct, so when she meets Lu
                                         Mostly ignored and judged by             and he’s rather forthright, it’s a
                                         Jim, she casts her eye toward a          refreshing change of pace, even

T
            here’s so much potential     poacher she spots in the bay in          though Georgie still struggles to
            in Gregor Jordan’s Dirt      the early mornings, Lu (Hedlund).        be upfront. In fact, much of the
            Music. First, there’s        Both Macdonald and Hedlund are           issue with the film is that Georgie
            the source material,         bronzed, sinewy, at the peak of          is not an easy character to get
            Tim Winton’s Booker          sun-drenched beauty.                     inside. She’s self-destructive;
Prize-shortlisted 2002 novel of             But then the film just sort            her main coping mechanism is
the same name. (It was awarded           of stalls out in a rotation of           plunging into bodies of water.
the highest accolade for Australian      meaningful looks and tearful             But she rarely says exactly what
literature, the Miles Franklin           whispers and gazing at ocean vistas.     she’s thinking. Or when she does,
Award, and is here adapted by the        Lu has a recently tragic past, and       it seems too little too late. The
experienced screenwriter Jack            the memories of his loss haunt           script is frustratingly abstruse at
Thorne.) Then there’s the two            him, audibly, and visibly, nearly        times.
vastly underrated and enormously         constantly, in visions of his brother,      The film undeniably captures the
talented stars, Scottish actress         sister-in-law and niece singing          breathtaking and unique landscape
Kelly Macdonald and American             bluegrass music in their family          of coastal Western Australia. It’s
star Garrett Hedlund. There’s the        band. In their small town, Lu and        an incredibly beautiful film, but
stunning setting, on the coast of        Jim are bound by Georgie, but also       it’s a challenge to emotionally
Western Australia, near Perth,           by layers of tragedy that are slowly     connect to it. It feels like the outline
which is captured gorgeously by          revealed. When it all becomes too        of what would have been an epic
cinematographer Sam Chiplin (with        much, Lu takes off for a remote          novel, but in the translation to the
underwater photography shot by           island, running away from his past,      screen, it has lost its interiority, and
Rick Rifici).                             his memories, from Georgie and           anything profound it might have
   The first 30 minutes or so of          Jim, into a punishing wilderness.        communicated. In 2009, legendary           never get a script that I thought        the problem. There’s something
Dirt Music are a mysterious thrill.         At first, there’s a certain charm     Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce          captured the poetry of the novel,        deeply lacking about this screen
Macdonald is Georgie, the younger        to the rather taciturn script, in        (Rabbit-Proof Fence) was attached          and there’s the problem. A poetic        version of Dirt Music, and
girlfriend of a well-known local         which the characters talk around         to adapt the novel, but by 2014, he        novel is just difficult to translate     ultimately, all that potential is sadly
fisherman, Jim (David Wenham).            each other rather than to each           admitted in an interview, “I could         into a movie.” Therein seems to be       squandered. – TNS
Thursday, July 16, 2020   GULF TIMES                 15
 SHOWBIZ                                                                                                                           COMMUNITY
   Rajkummar Rao to star                    Sailesh and (producer) Dil Raju,”        Sharing his thoughts, the
   in Hindi remake of                       said Rajkummar.                       director said: “Yes, I see HIT has
   Telugu thriller HIT                         On working on the Hindi            the potential to be a successful
                                            remake, Kolanu said: “The first       franchise in Bollywood too. I feel
      Actor Rajkummar Rao is all            case of HIT tells the story of a      the premise of HIT is very global.
   set to star in the Hindi remake of       police officer who is constantly      Of course, I will be making
   Telugu superhit cop thriller HIT.        fighting a battle with his past       very minor changes to suit the
      HIT, which stands for                 and his present. So it’s a troubled   sensibilities of the audience all
   Homicide Intervention Team,              character. I wanted to cast           over India. The idea is to create
   tells the story of a police officer      someone who can bring that            a realistic world of crime and
   who is on the trail of a missing         darkness to the role and still        investigation and put a bunch
   woman. Director Sailesh Kolanu,          make the audience root for him        of beautifully flawed and grey
   who garnered accolades for the           with a matured performance. I         characters in that world. And
   Telugu original, will helm the           felt Raj can evoke that kind of a     then let multiple stories unfold
   project in Hindi.                        response. I have been following       within that world.”
      “When I saw HIT, I instantly          Rajkummar’s work ever since              Producer Dil Raju, who is
   connected with it. It’s an               I watched Shaitan. He is a            remaking Nani’s Jersey in Hindi
   engaging story, relevant in              terrific actor and has managed        with Shahid Kapoor, will be
   today’s environment. As an               to surprise us everytime with his     backing the venture along with
   actor, I am always on the look           performances.”                        Kuldeep Rathore.
   out to play characters I haven’t            HIT is planned as a massive           The film is in pre-production
   explored and HIT gives me a              investigation franchise in the        and will go on floors in 2021.
   chance to do that. I’m looking           South and Kolanu is keen to           Other details will be announced          RELEVANT: Rajkummar believes the story of HIT is relevant in today’s
   forward to take this journey with        follow that in Bollywood too.         soon. –IANS                              environment

  Women bring difference to
politics of the set: Hanna creator
                                                                                                                                                                     and embarks on a journey of self-
By Sugandha Rawal                                                                                                                                                    discovery.
                                                                                                                                                                        Reflecting back on the thought
                                                                                                                                                                     behind creating the show, Farr

B
               ritish writer-producer                                                                                                                                said: “The reason I first came up
               David Farr is narrating                                                                                                                               with Hanna idea was I had two
               the story of Hanna                                                                                                                                    daughters, who were very young
               through a female gaze,                                                                                                                                when I was writing the film. And
               and says women leading                                                                                                                                all they were allowed to watch was
the show behind the camera not                                                                                                                                       Mary Poppins and Sound of Music.
just influences the narrative, but                                                                                                                                    And meanwhile, if you’re a boy, you
bring a big difference to the politics                                                                                                                               seem to be able to watch westerns
of the set as well.                                                                                                                                                  and you could watch gangsters. You
   The web series Hanna spins a                                                                                                                                      could see boys doing everything.
new world from the story of Joe                                                                                                                                      And you could see it didn’t seem it
Wright’s acclaimed 2011 film of the                                                                                                                                   was available to young women.
same name. Farr, who co-wrote the                                                                                                                                       “Now, it has become a big
original feature film, is driving the                                                                                                                                 political point, since 2008, or 2009
narrative of the show.                                                                                                                                               when I was writing that, and rightly
   “Although the film was about                                                                                                                                       so... It’s not just an action movie
Hanna, and she was the central                                                                                                                                       or an action TV show. It’s about a
character, that (male perspective)                                                                                                                                   person who learns who they are and
was still a very strong thing. It does                                                                                                                               learns to be what they want to be,
feel like a male view, and the film                                                                                                                                   but through a thriller and through
was directed by a man,” Farr told                                                                                                                                    an action experience. And so yeah,
IANS when asked about embracing                                                                                                                                      right now with what’s going on in
the female grace.                                                                                                                                                    the world, there’s an incredible
   He continued: “We have made a           WEB SERIES: Hanna spins a new world from the story of Joe Wright’s acclaimed 2011 film of the same name.                  young energy that is in the world,
big choice all through the seasons                                                                                                                                   the moment where young people
to have female directors for large         of diverse kinds at a high level.      women that she meets who are all         to the table and I felt there was a lot   really, whether it’s race or gender,
numbers of the episodes. It’s              Because if you do that, everything     destined to become assassins. What       to learn from them.”                      really are trying to explore and
definitely more than half and I            changes. And I think we are a part     they brought was such a kind of             With a cast led by Esme, Mireille      express who they are.
think it makes a big difference.           of that process, which I’m proud       more personal take on, you know,         Enos, and Joel Kinnaman, the first            “Suddenly, I think our show
It makes a big difference to the           of.”                                   what it is to be a woman in the          season of Amazon Prime Video              has gained a new politics, which
politics of the set. And it was               Farr, also known for adding his     world,” said the writer.                 show Hanna narrated the story of          is something that is inherent to
the single easiest and clearest            creative vision to series The Night       “I can’t feel that. I’ve got two      a young girl named Hanna, who             the show, and I’m excited by the
decision we made. We didn’t                Manager, noted that working with       daughters, who are now 20 and 18.        has lived in a forest and has gained      context in which it’s coming out.”
choose people just because they            talented women has been an eye-        So I guess I’ve experienced that         extraordinary physical abilities. It is      Within weeks of the premiere of
were women but we made a                   opening and learning experience        secondhand through that. But they        about her experience with modern          its second season, the Esme Creed-
conscious choice that they are             for him.                               felt it in a visceral sense. The way     reality. It explored the dynamics of      Miles starrer action drama series
really good, amazing talents. It              “In the first season (of Hanna), I   choices are somehow made for you,        a father-daughter bond, emotional         Hanna has been renewed for a third
does bring a different eye and a           wrote almost every episode myself      the way conversations are somehow        issues of a family while highlighting     season.
different voice. It just becomes a         except one. In the second season, I    taken over by men put bluntly, or        the dilemma of how teenagers                 “There is a crucial further
creative thing and fun. It’s not that      gave over half the episodes to four    power structures. And so that was        grow in the modern world and do           development of what will happen
you don’t have to be earnest about         other writers and three of them        something that they brought to it in     they ever fit in. The eight-episode        in the next season in my head, and
it, it’s just that you release different   were women. And they sketched          a way that was very specific. And I       second season follows the journey         I know the next stage for the show,”
voices. And that’s my simple thing         out the story about Hanna, and         felt I learned a great deal from them    of Hanna as she evades the pursuit        Farr had said before the release of
that you just got to release voices        this extraordinary group of young      as writers. So, they’re bringing a lot   of a “sinister government agency”,        the second season. – IANS
16 GULF TIMES Thursday, July 16, 2020

              COMMUNITY
                                         th
 The 7 edition of ‘Colours of
Desert’ to go virtual at Katara
                                        “The online exhibition is inviting
By Mudassir Raja
                                        those artists interested to contribute
                                        towards developing the content of

T
             hough there is a great
             degree of uncertainty in
             the world because of the   these electronic exhibitions, which
             coronavirus outbreak,
             people continue to show    will be displayed after the completion
resilience and perseverance while
trying to move on with their lives.     of collection, arrangement and
   Qatar has already established
itself as a hub of artistic and         organisation of art pieces on the
cultural activities. While the
novel coronavirus pandemic has          Katara website. These exhibitions
put a halt on large gatherings and
art events, both authorities and        include topics that explore the
artists continue to find virtual and
electronic platforms to showcase        composition of the final art including,
their creativity.
   ‘The Colours of Desert 2020 -        the story of the Qatari cuisine, eco-
7th Edition’ is a series of annual
exhibitions that highlights different   habitats and natural life”
aspects of Qatar through creative
works. Its last six editions have                          — Lina al-Aali, curator
earned immense appreciation for
portraying different colours of                                 of the exhibition
life in Qatar. This year the annual
exhibition of MAPS International, a
Doha-based social art community,
will go virtual in August due to
the current Covid-19 pandemic
situation. The exhibition will be
organised via personalised virtual
gallery in collaboration with Katara
Cultural Village.
   The Exhibition will be based
on the theme of ‘Qatar – Road
to 2022.’ The registration for the
artists is currently underway.
Artists based in Qatar and the
foreign participants of earlier
Qatar International Art Festival
exhibitions, also organised by
MAPS International, can take part
in the upcoming virtual exhibition.
The eligible media include;
painting, photography, mixed
media, oil/chalk pastels, block/ink
print, pottery/vessels, sculpture,
digital art, collage, metal work,
fibre/textile art, wood work, and
contemporary craft.
   Lina al-Aali is the curator of
the exhibition. She is an artist,
author, certified trainer and former
member of the Board of Directors
of the Qatar Society of Fine Arts.      Rashmi Agarwal, president of MAPS
Sharing her views on the upcoming       International.
exhibition with Community, she
said: “Any exhibition is a chance       after the completion of collection,       The exhibition highlights the          exhibition by highlighting the           sevens; sound has seven notes; there
for any artist to show their talents,   arrangement and organisation of           diversity of life and culture in       significance of the digit seven in        are seven directions; seven days in a
especially with organiser like MAPS     art pieces on the Katara website.         Qatar. The artists show their love     the universe and life. “Seven is         week; the earth was created in seven
International. They are not only        These exhibitions include topics          and loyalty towards Qatar. We are      the number of completeness and           days; a cube has seven dimensions;
considering artists based in Qatar      that explore the composition of           expecting over 75 artists from 25      perfection – both physically and         and so on.”
but also from aboard to strengthen      the final art including, the story of      different countries to take part in    spiritually. It derives much of its         Highlighting the support the
the Qatari identity. The exhibition     the Qatari cuisine, eco-habitats          the exhibition. The theme for this     meaning from being tied directly         community of artists gets from
is also aligned with the concept of     and natural life. These exhibitions       exhibition is very important. The      to God’s creation of all things.         Katara, she said: “I am really thankful
different colours of desert.”           provide a platform for the exchange       artists will creatively portray the    The number seven is much more            to Katara for their continuous
   About the online exhibitions,        of creative ideas that can contribute     journey of Qatar to 2022. No doubt,    prevalent in nature than most of         support and encouragement.
Lina said: “The online exhibition       to reducing the negative effects of the   destination is very important but      us realise. There are seven colours      They have always been helpful and
is inviting those artists interested    coronavirus pandemic.”                    the journey to reach the destination   in a rainbow; seven oceans; seven        supportive through all our previous
to contribute towards developing           Rashmi Agarwal, president of           is equally important.”                 continents; seven vertebrae in the       exhibitions. It would not have been
the content of these electronic         MAPS International, said: “There             Rashmi expressed her enthusiasm     neck; seven layers of skin – two outer   possible without the collaboration of
exhibitions, which will be displayed    are different colours in a desert.        about the 7th edition of the           and five inner; ocean waves roll in       Katara.”
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