Nevertheless - Gulf Times

DOHA 27°C—40°C TODAY LEISURE 12 & 13D LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE 14LL

Rajab 17, 1438 AHFriday, April 14, 2017

CommunityThe Shantiniketan Indian School

student council members for 2017-18 are sworn in at a ceremony.

CommunityMaria Marte, an immigrant in Spain, has

gone from a cleaner at a restaurant to its head chef, overlooking 15 other cooks.

P7 P16

NeverthelessAlec Baldwin reflects on his life, career in witty memoir. P2-3

COVERSTORY

Friday, April 14, 20172 GULF TIMES

COMMUNITY COVER STORY

Community EditorKamran Rehmat

e-mail: [email protected]: 44466405

Fax: 44350474

Emergency 999Worldwide Emergency Number 112Kahramaa – Electricity and Water 991Local Directory 180International Calls Enquires 150Hamad International Airport 40106666Labor Department 44508111, 44406537Mowasalat Taxi 44588888Qatar Airways 44496000Hamad Medical Corporation 44392222, 44393333Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation 44845555, 44845464Primary Health Care Corporation 44593333 44593363 Qatar Assistive Technology Centre 44594050Qatar News Agency 44450205 44450333Q-Post – General Postal Corporation 44464444

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

USEFUL NUMBERS

Quote Unquote

PRAYER TIMEFajr 3.54amShorooq (sunrise) 5.13amZuhr (noon) 11.34amAsr (afternoon) 3.04pmMaghreb (sunset) 5.58pmIsha (night) 7.27pm

Perception is created and twisted

so quickly.

– Louis C. K.

Alec Baldwin writes back

The star he never quite became, as opposed to the star

he is, eats at him. His political preoccupations are many,

and now that he is best known for doing Donald Trump

on Saturday Night Live, other facets of his career have

been pushed to the background, writes Michael Phillips

3Friday, April 14, 2017 GULF TIMES

COMMUNITYCOVER STORY

If you happen to like Alec Baldwin, why do you like him? There are plenty of reasons. Baldwin came up with that jolly, fantastic line

reading in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed — “Patriot Act! I love it I love it I LOVE it!” — and that alone is enough for me.

For many admirers of his work, it starts and ends with Baldwin’s uniquely commanding, medium-grade-sandpaper voice, conveying a hint of authoritarian fellow. Certainly he has played his share of such intimidating men. And on 30 Rock, where Baldwin soared for seven seasons as Tina Fey’s exquisite foil, the network kingpin Jack Donaghy, he reminded everybody how funny he was. As Donaghy, he killed, reliably, treading a fi ne line between deadly understatement and blithe disengagement regarding the petty problems of mere mortals.

In his ruminative new memoir, Nevertheless, Baldwin reveals bits and pieces of a life and career full of switchbacks, some handled more wisely than others. The forlorn, faraway look in Baldwin’s eyes on the book cover suggests a personality with a lot on his mind. The actor, New York Philharmonic orchestra announcer, radio and television personality and combustible activist, “addicted to solitude” by age 9, may be 30-plus years sober, but some addictions are tougher to shake than the chemical ones.

This is Baldwin’s second book. The fi rst, A Promise to Ourselves: A Journey Through Fatherhood and Divorce, came out in 2008. It ground through the many years of Baldwin’s wearying custody travails regarding the now-adult daughter Baldwin shares, uneasily, with his ex-wife, Kim Basinger. Aspects of that legal battle royal come up for further review in Nevertheless, which takes its title from an old, raunchy theatre joke. But mostly the leading man concerns himself here with a tricky childhood and his years as a performer on the rise.

The fi rst half of Nevertheless is swift, eloquent, witty; the later

chapters are more diff use and tend to get caught up in grocery-listing the remaining stops along Baldwin’s resume, as well as his tangles with various agents, managers and publicists. Nevertheless. I’m glad I read it; the good stuff in it is very good.

“Six kids and no help” is how Baldwin describes his mother’s existence, as young Alexander (who went by Xander) and his fi ve siblings grew up in Massapequa, NY. His father died young, at 53, in 1983. “When she struck you,” Baldwin writes early on in Nevertheless, “her right arm sprang toward you … snap! … like Navratilova’s backhand.”

The author recalls the “rivers of Tab” his mother swallowed over the years. The family never had enough money. “Acting,” Baldwin writes, “was a way to ease, though never eliminate, the fi nancial anxieties of the boy from South Shore Long Island who remains inside me today.” He goes on: “I’m not actually writing this book to discuss my work, my opinions, or my life. I’m not writing it to explain some of the painful situations I’ve either landed in or thrown myself into.

I’m writing it because I was paid to write it.”

Baldwin says a lot in three words. Beyond the “rivers of Tab,” he describes his childhood school bus as “a rolling jailhouse.” High school, he says, was “a blur of wanting things I couldn’t have and missing the wonderful moments right in front of me.” That line reminded me of something Baldwin told me in a 2013 interview at the Cannes Film Festival. Baldwin marvelled at that year’s fi lm festival jury president, Steven Spielberg. “He never ceases to amaze me. He’s having a wonderful time. He’s happy. There’s no base line of tension within him. Most people in this business, they don’t have enough of what they want, or they’re worried about losing some of what they’ve accrued.” In Nevertheless Baldwin tacitly acknowledges that, individual fortunes aside, he’ll never be one of the tiny number of Spielbergs in the industry.

We learn of Baldwin’s decision to attend George Washington University in Washington, DC, then New York University. He lands a role on the soap opera The Doctors, before he “snorted and

drank my way to Hollywood.” His relationships with women consisted, he writes, of practising his acting on them. He had a “nagging need for attention that would fi ll the holes my parents were too enervated to address.”

Soon he washed up, happily, on the shores of Knots Landing, on which he played Lisa Hartman’s love interest. It was worth it, he writes, to get to know the actress Julie Harris. A brief engagement to Janine Turner, later of Northern Exposure, gets a nod. In each actor’s life, there are the roads not taken, the acting off ers debated and juggled, decisions regretted. When Baldwin declined to join the original off -Broadway cast of Craig Lucas’ play Prelude to a Kiss in its transfer to Broadway, he had his reasons: a million-dollar payday for the male lead in the ill-fated Neil Simon-scripted romantic comedy The Marrying Man, opposite Basinger. It was “a devastating mistake,” he writes, one that “changed my career and my life forever.”

Today Baldwin has three young children with his wife, Hilaria, and while he daydreams of going

on a “sleep cruise,” he sounds genuinely grateful and happy for what he has. He has chips on both shoulders, however. The star he never quite became, as opposed to the star he is, eats at him. His political preoccupations are many, and now that Baldwin is best known for doing Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, other facets of his career have been pushed to the background. (The sketches grew less funny, but the fi rst time Baldwin did Tony Bennett on SNL, it was one of the greatest, most aff ectionate celebrity impersonations in modern TV history.)

Baldwin’s a tough critic. State and Main (2000), written by David Mamet, remains “one of the few of my own movies that I can stand watching,” he writes. He’s also a jabber, unrepentant. Just for the hell of it, he takes a shot at Harrison Ford, the guy who swiped his Jack Ryan franchise role after Baldwin originated it in The Hunt for Red October. Baldwin speculates that Ford’s lack of critical respect and Academy Award recognition “must frustrate, if not burden him, after his long career.” Like a few million other US citizens, he looks to the north for inspiration in the Trump era: “Away from the ceaseless noise, hucksterism, and smugness of America, Canada itself is a balm to the soul.”

Such pronouncements, in the end, aren’t as rich as what Baldwin has to say, however reluctantly, about what he does for a living. His memoir concludes with an A-to-Z compendium of actors he admires (Gary Oldman, in his view, is the best fi lm actor of his generation). If navigating a challenging childhood feeds the hungry young performer’s soul, Baldwin wonders if his eldest daughter, Ireland, is destined for success in that direction. “She’s eclectic and funny,” he writes. “But most important of all, she is in no hurry for you to know her. Which compels you to come to her. In acting, that may be the most important quality of all.”

Her father has the same quality. —Chicago Tribune/ TNS

“I’m not actually writing this book to discuss my work, my opinions, or my life. I’m not writing it to explain some of the painful situations I’ve either landed in or thrown myself into. I’m writing it because I was paid to write it”RAVE REVIEWS: Alec Baldwin famously impersonating now-US president Donald Trump on television.

HER OWN WOMAN: Baldwin’s daughter Ireland is in no hurry to make an impression in the profession of her dad.


COMMUNITY TRAVEL

Mexico’s Isla Holbox: Mexico’s Isla Holbox: This way to relaxationThis way to relaxation

Whale Shark Pier, Isla Holbox.

By Christopher Reynolds

Several weeks before I found myself uncomfortably close to the world’s largest shark, I told a few folks I would be going to Holbox.

“Whole what?” asked more than one.

“Holocene,” corrected my smartphone.“Ohl-bosch,” corrected the locals when I

arrived.Isla Holbox, a Mexican island with turquoise

waters, unpaved streets and about 3,000 residents, lies about 120 miles northwest of Cancun, 500 miles south of New Orleans.

It’s not an American household name yet, but it has fi ne sand, palm trees, wild fl amingos and beachfront hotels charging less than $200 a night.

Moreover, if you take a boat out from mid-May through mid-September, you have a good chance of swimming with a whale shark. There is no bigger fi sh.

They grow to as much as 40 feet long and 30,000 pounds. Their grey fl anks are peppered with white polka dots. Their mouths are up to 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Because they’re fi lter-feeders, consuming mostly plankton, they swim through life with their wide mouths open, no teeth in sight.

But fi rst, the island.It’s about 26 miles long and a mile wide and

is developed only at its eastern end. You’ll want mosquito repellent.

Most visitors arrive after a three-hour ride by taxi, van or bus from Cancun, then a half-hour ferry from the coastal town of Chiquila.

The temperature is rarely cooler than 65 degrees, rarely hotter than 90.

Before long, somebody will explain that the word “Holbox” comes from a Mayan phrase for “black hole,” perhaps derived from local freshwater springs.

So far there are no global hotel or restaurant brands – in fact, no hotels with more than about 45 rooms. About a dozen beachfront lodgings are lined up along Holbox’s north-facing shore, where the dock is.

The bohemian-chic, Italian-owned Hotelito Casa las Tortugas, where I was lucky enough to land, is more stylish than most of the island’s lodgings. It has 26 rooms, a pool, a raked-sand beachfront and rates that start at about $186 a night.

Most islanders live in low-rise, no-frills homes constructed in the last 50 years on the fl at, sandy island. Most of the buildings are boxy and modern, often splashed with murals.

There is nothing Spanish Colonial here.Because the island is part of the Yum Balam

Nature Reserve and a hefty distance from Cancun, growth has been limited. One major development proposal has been tied up in court for years.

Yet the place is getting busier as travellers rush in from the US, Europe and Mexico City. As tourism grows (and debate increases about what’s sustainable and what isn’t), a sophisticated crop of restaurants has arisen.

Get off to a good startHere are some of the things you do before

heading out to fi nd a whale shark:Prowl around downtown Holbox. This won’t

take long. The built-up east end is about fi ve by 12 blocks. Most cars are banned, and the streets are dominated by golf carts (you can rent one), scooters, bikes and pedestrians. So far there’s not much nightlife.

Laze on the beach. The sand is fi ne. The

waves are too gentle for surfi ng, but the winds are lively enough to encourage kite boarders.

On nights when the moon is dim, locals say you can spot bioluminescent phytoplankton glowing blue and green in the shallows. I didn’t see that, but I did catch sunrise and sunset at the dock as pelicans swooped and idle fi shing boats bobbed.

Eat well. At El Chapulim, where there’s no menu, chef Erik Winckelmann typically cooks four main dishes each night and comes to your table to collect orders.

At Mandarina, the restaurant at Casa las Tortugas, your dinner might be duck in orange mole and brioche of huitlacoche (a.k.a. corn fungus).

At Milpa, a small, sophisticated dining room that opened in 2016, you might order the Drunken Octopus Roaming Valladolid, which is octopus soaked in sauce under a dome of swirling fumes, with bits of meat and chorizo, corn and bell peppers.

This was my favourite meal of the visit. Until that night, I’d never before walked home on unpaved streets from a dinner of molecular cuisine.

Look for feathers and scales. Some people get boat rides to the mangroves, where they paddle kayaks and often see crocodiles.

Many visitors sign up for a half-day island-hopping boat tour that includes Isla del Pajaros, where I spotted fl amingos, and

After swimming with whale sharks, a boatload of tourists visits an undeveloped beach.

Yalahau, a freshwater spring where you can swim and snack on ceviche while iguanas and a coatimundi (a close relative of the raccoon) skirmish for scraps.

See the whale sharksOn most Mondays, tour company V.I.P.

Holbox Experience off ers a free boat excursion for travellers who want to collect marine litter from the island’s remote northern beaches.

The company’s whale shark expedition costs about $125 per person. You borrow wet suits, mask and fi ns. A guide instructs you never to touch the creatures, which have been labelled “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

That’s in large part because of demand in Asia for the fi ns, meat and oil of the animals, which are supposed to be protected worldwide. But “harvesting” isn’t the only threat.

The World Wildlife Fund says that reckless tour-boat captains can interrupt sharks’ feeding or collide with them, and it works with whale tour operators to promote safe practices.

If your expedition is like mine, you’ll board a motorboat and ride about two hours to a cluster of whale sharks, which will likely be surrounded by a gaggle of boats bearing tourists from Holbox, Cancun and Isla Mujeres.

At some point, there will be snorkelling and a sand bar to explore. But the sharks are the main event.

Once your captain gets the boat close to one of their telltale dorsal fi ns, your guide fl ops into the water. Guests follow, two at a time.

For most people the greatest astonishment comes the moment you duck your head beneath the surface. Beneath those dorsal fi ns, 10 to 15 tons of animal loom like the hidden bulk of an iceberg, but living and swimming at your side.

You might notice a harmless remora or two (they use a sucker on the top of their heads to attach themselves to larger fi sh) gliding along in the shark’s shadow.

But apart from swimming to keep up, you have nothing to do but gawk at this docile wonder and forget the wider world.

That’s what I did, anyway, until my guide gestured for me to swim back to the boat. I turned and started kicking my way through the open, blue water.

Your peripheral vision is limited in a mask. And I was swimming at an angle. And now something else was moving nearby...

Suddenly I was staring at a big, black oval directly in front of me. The mouth of another whale shark. Three feet tall, 4 feet wide, 5 feet away. It was like staring into the open end of a sleeping bag and fi nding deep space inside.

That waterproof camera in my right hand? Completely forgotten.

Fortunately the shark – which probably swam alongside a dozen scrawny, fl ailing mammals that day – showed no sign of caring. It made no sudden moves.

I barely succeeded in getting out of its way. Never touched it.

Then its flank passed before me, a blur of white dots, and I was alone again. The whole encounter took about three minutes.

The only thing left to do was fi nd my boat, fl op aboard and hope that these sharks and this island can thrive, or at least survive, amid the attention that’s bound to come.

The best way to Isla Holbox, MexicoFrom Cancun, travellers take a two- to

three-hour drive to the town of Chiquila. By public bus (www.ado.com.mx), one-way fares are about $15. By shuttle bus, fares are $40-$80 per person (for a couple) from V.I.P. Holbox (www.vipholbox.com) and Holbox Shuttle (holboxshuttle.com). By taxis, fares are usually $100-$130 each way.

The only way to reach Holbox from Chiquila is the Chiquila-Holbox ferry, about $5 each way for a 20-to 30-minute ride.

What to doSeveral companies offer daylong

whale-shark tours ($125-$135 per person) and half-day trips to Isla Pajaros, Isla Pasion and Yalahau Lagoon (about $30 per person). Among them: V.I.P. Holbox, www.vipholbox.com, and Holbox Adventure, holboxadventure.com

Where to stayThe island is small enough that these

hotels don’t have street addresses.Hotelito Casa de las Tortugas, (984)

875-2129, www.holboxcasalastortugas.com Twenty-six rooms. Doubles $186-$421, breakfast and taxes included. Three-night minimum with full payment in advance.

Posada Mawimbi (984) 875-2003, www.mawimbi.net Nine rooms, two bungalows. Doubles $158-$248, depending on season. Continental breakfast and taxes included.

La Chaya Eco Hotel (984) 875-2142, www.lachayaholbox.com Nine rooms, many with sea views. Doubles about $95, breakfast and taxes included.

Where to eatEl Chapulim, Avenida Tiburon Ballenas;

(984) 137-6069, www.lat.ms/chapulim Mexican bistro. Dinner entrees about $15.

Restaurante Milpa, Calle Palomino; (984) 875 2026, www.lat.ms /milpa Modern Mexican. Dinner entrees about $10-$13.

Mandarina Restaurant and Beach Club, Hotelito Casa las Tortugas, (984) 875-2129, www.holboxcasalastortugas.com/dine-drink. Dinner entrees about $15-$25.

To learn moreIsla Holbox, www.holboxisland.com –

Los Angeles Times/TNS


COMMUNITYTRAVEL

In the waters near Isla Holbox, snorkellers swim alongside whale sharks, which are considered the largest fish on earth.

Milpa, an ambitious restaurant, opened in early 2016 on Isla Holbox. Dishes include this octopus plate.

El Chapulin is one of several restaurants here. Yalahau, a freshwater spring with bracingly cool water, is part of many boat tours around Isla Holbox, Mexico.

Besides whale shark sightings from May through September, the turquoise waters off Isla Holbox off er colourful snorkelling.

Even the busiest streets in the tiny tourist destination are unpaved and dominated by pedestrians, bikes and golf carts.


COMMUNITY CUISINE

I am sure that you must have heard the word “Tandoor” and must have relished some Tandoori food delicacies as well. A Tandoor is a

cylindrical clay oven used for roasting and baking. Tandoori is the adjective, meaning “pertaining to Tandoor,” and is used to describe a dish cooked in Tandoor.

Have you ever wondered where does this word come from? One theory relates that Tandoor originated in Persia and was brought to India via Afghanistan by Arabs. Another story relates that there is evidence that Tandoor may have been native to India dating as far back as 3000 BC.

The word “Tandoor” is derived from the Persian word “Tanur”, meaning “Fire”, In Turkey “Tannur” became “Tandur”. In Afghanistan, the Tandoor was built in the ground and was (and still is) used to serve bread to the entire communities.

Jahangir, the Mughal emperor in India, is credited for making the Tandoor mobile and portable. He instructed his cooks to take the Tandoor along wherever he travelled. Thus Tandoor was made portable in steel drums, insulated with glass wool and the cylindrical clay drum in the centre. Tandoor was used to make naans, roast game birds and lamb chunks.

Tandoori Chicken also originated during the reign of Jahangir. One of the oldest Tandoor installed in restaurants in India was at The Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi in 1948. Earlier Tandoors were fuelled with charcoal but due to the increasing price and environmental concerns regarding this fossil fuel, more and more Tandoors are being fi red by petroleum gas/natural gas. Most of the Tandoors in the United States use natural gas as their fuel.

Tandoor is commonly used in

India, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Middle Eastern countries and Bangladesh as the common kitchen oven. The Tandoor is an integral and important fi xture in any Indian kitchen. Working on a Tandoor requires a special skill and is a highly skilled trade in the industry. The trick is to quickly slap the bread to the super-hot clay walls with bare hands. It also requires years of practice to master the art of making succulent meat chunks on skewers and serving them smoking hot. Controlling the heat in a charcoal fi red Tandoor is the key to a perfectly cooked bread/ tikka. The internal heat is controlled with a small air vent in the base of the Tandoor and takes a lot of practice and patience to master.

The internal temperature in a Tandoor can reach up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit and it is designed to be lit for long periods of time and maintain the high

cooking temperature. The design of a Tandoor is a combination of makeshift earth oven and horizontal round masonry oven. Some modern day even also use electricity to attain high temperatures. The popularity of Tandoori cuisine is so much that electric Tandoors have been installed on latest luxury cruise liners in America.

The basic design of Tandoor makes it very effi cient and contemporary ovens cannot match the quality of Tandoor cooked foods. The products cooked in a Tandoor have a typical distinct aroma, taste and texture and this makes Tandoori cuisine so popular and unique worldwide.

One dish that is synonymous with Tandoor is “Tandoori Chicken” and today I will share my on recipe so that you can enjoy it with friends and family over a get-together.

Tandoori Chicken

IngredientsChicken, whole 900gm

First marinationDeggi mirch powder 1 tspMustard oil 1 tbspSalt 1/2 tspLemon juice 1 tsp

Second marinationYoghurt 1 cupsGinger paste 1/2 tbspGarlic paste 1/2 tbspLemon juice 1/2 tspDeggi Mirch powder 1/2 tspMustard oil 1 tbspCoriander powder 1 tspCumin powder 1/3 tspSalt to tasteChat masala 1 tspUnsalted butter 1 tbsp

GarnishRed onion rings to garnishLemon wedge 4-5 nos

MethodPlace the yoghurt in a fi ne

strainer and leave it overnight in the refrigerator to drain the water and get thick yoghurt.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces and keep aside.

Combine the fi rst marinade ingredients in a zip lock bag and place the chicken into the bag and refrigerate overnight.

In a separate mixing bowl prepare the second marinade by combining yoghurt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, red chilli powder, mustard oil, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and whisk to get a smooth paste.

Marinate the chicken in the prepared marinade for 1-2 hours.

Skewer the chicken and place a drip tray underneath or place the chicken in a roasting tray lined with aluminium foil.

Roast in a preheated oven at 425 degree Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes or till the internal temperature of chicken is over 165 degree Fahrenheit in the thickest part.

Baste the chicken with clarifi ed butter and serve hot, dusted with chat masala and onion rings and lemon wedges on the side.

Note: Deggi mirch is a special chilli which is added in the recipe for the bright red colour. You can replace it with cayenne pepper. You can replace chicken with your choice of meat or vegetables like mushroom, broccoli, pineapple to make an assorted Tandoori platter.

Chef Tarun Kapoor, Culinary Mastermind,

USA. He may be contacted at [email protected]

Tandoori Chicken. Photo by the author

Learning the art of the Tandoor


COMMUNITY

SIS student council sworn inThe Shantiniketan Indian School (SIS) student council members for 2017-18 were sworn in recently. The ceremony was attended by SIS president K C Abdul Latheef, general secretary Abdul Khader, principal Dr Subhash B Nair, senior vice-principal Shihabudeen Pulath, vice-principal Dudley O’Connor, and administrator Abdul Salam in addition to teachers and parents. Latheef invested the

badges of off ice on head boy Prabhat Shahi, head girl Amina Karim, IT secretary Nishath Ahmed, cultural secretary Sushanth Kumar Deep, literary secretary Urba Chowdhury, sports captain Farsan Riaz, assistant head boy Ahmed Mohammed and assistant head girl Montaha Ahmed. The badges were also conferred upon the house captains and house prefects.

Hanan Cricket Club wins cricket tournamentHanan Cricket Club won the inaugural Thrissur Jilla Souhrida Vedi Premier Cricket League recently. They defeated Galhina Cricket Club to win the tournament. Souhrida Vedi President P Mohsin gave the prizes to the finalists.


COMMUNITY INFOGR


COMMUNITYRAPHIC


COMMUNITY

In Taiwan, beautiful handwriting is social media’s latest craze

By Yu-Tzu Chiu

In downtown Taipei on a recent weekday, Taiwanese shoppers are fl ocking not to an Apple Store, nor to trendy clothing brands, but to a fountain pen

boutique.The shop is off ering them

something far more valuable than new pens – it promises to help improve their handwriting skills.

Since opening the business nine years ago, owner TY Lee says he has helped countless customers perfect their penmanship and regain self-confi dence.

“Before talking about handwriting, you fi rst need to know how to hold your pen correctly,” the 66-year-old owner says.

In Taiwan, showing off beautiful penmanship is one of the hottest new social media trends. Many believe that having nice handwriting reveals a more fl attering side of one’s personality.

At his shop, Lee keeps samples of his customers’ earlier, less polished handwriting, in which traditional Chinese words sometimes look like the errant threads of a spider web or like wiggling worms.

But after learning a few tricks and just 30 minutes of practice, Lee says, customers can markedly improve the aesthetics of their script.

“Everybody has the possibility to change. It’s like if you thought you were unattractive because you didn’t know how to dress properly. After you get some tips, you can change,” Lee says.

The trend has triggered a boom in sales of stationery, fountain pens, ink

cartridges and bottled ink products, with stores across Taiwan reporting hefty year-over-year sales growth.

At Lee’s shop, sales have tripled in the past three years, he says, as customers purchase new products while revisiting elementary-school lessons about stroke orders and improving their structures for complex Chinese characters.

“We use a fountain pen to ‘draw’ words and a ball-point pen to ‘carve’ characters,” Lee explains.

People are eager to return to old-fashioned, pen-on-paper writing for many diff erent reasons.

“For me, using a fountain pen to copy good poems, quotes or the Buddhist sutras is a way to not only sharpen my handwriting skills but also to practice mindfulness and meditation,” says Jason Cheng.

Handwritten letters or cards can create warmer feelings in today’s cold digital era, in which the pace of communication sometimes feels too rushed, Cheng adds.

And writing slowly also off ers therapeutic healing benefi ts, he believes.

Livia Yang, a 25-year-old graduate student, came to Lee’s shop to buy a new fountain pen as a gift for a friend who just got her fi rst job. “I fi nd it really interesting that friends in my generation like to post images of their beautiful handwriting on Facebook,” Yang says.

The trend has become so popular that there have even been local media reports of people stealing the handwriting of others and claiming it as their own.

Meanwhile, many new handwriting books have been published in Taiwan, and sales of the most popular titles have skyrocketed, says Li-yi Lu, a clerk at Taipei-based San Min Book Company.

Tsung-han Yu, 29, recently bought some books to improve his handwriting, saying he simply wanted “to better understand the structure of characters.”

Lee, the shop owner, says he fi rst noticed in the early 2000s, around the time that online blogs began to fl ourish, that computers were stealing away people’s basic handwriting skills.

He felt particularly sorry for high-ranking offi cials, who revealed their poor penmanship when publicly brushing Spring Festival couplets during lunar new year festivities.

“For basic communication, we need around 3,000 traditional Chinese characters, of both the simple and the intricate types. If you don’t write them by hand, you just forget them,” he says.

Nowadays, Lee says, many people in Taiwan forget how to write

complicated or rarely used traditional Chinese characters and sometimes even hesitate before writing simple words.

Noting the reliance on computers’ automatic suggestions to help fi nd words, Lee often asks people, “Without a computer, can you really write?”

But the shop owner insists he does not have solutions to the problems of handwriting in the digital era.

“My experience just tells me that people’s skills can defi nitely be sharpened by practice. That’s the reason I off er free classes at my shop to teach my customers,” Lee says.

Customers are often returning, asking for more tips on how they can improve their handwriting. – DPA

T Y Lee demonstrating beautiful handwriting of words representing dpa.

Lee teaches customers how to hold a fountain pen correctly.

Lee’s fountain pen shop in Taipei sells several Taiwan-made fountain pens.


COMMUNITYLEISURE

Colour by choice

Maze Picture crosswordConnect the dots


COMMUNITY CARTOON


COMMUNITYLEISURE

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 row and every 3x3

box contains the digits 1 to 9 and none

is repeated.

Sudoku

lollygag (also lallygag)(LOL-ee-gag)

MEANING:

verb intr.: To fool around, waste time,

or spend time lazily.

ETYMOLOGY:

Origin unknown. Earliest

documented use: 1880.

USAGE:

“[Photographer Nathan] Benn didn’t

lollygag. Between June and October,

he exposed 286 rolls of film.”

Mark Feeney; A Vivid Time Capsule

of the North Shore; The Boston

Globe (Massachusetts); Jan 12, 2017.

codswallop(KODZ-wol-uhp)

MEANING:

noun: Nonsense.

ETYMOLOGY:

Of unknown origin. According to

a popular story, a fellow named

Hiram Codd came up with the

design of a soft-drink bottle with a

marble in its neck to keep the fizz.

Wallop was slang for beer and those

who preferred alcoholic drinks

dismissively referred to the soft-

drink as Codd’s Wallop. This story

is unproven. Earliest documented

use: 1959.

USAGE:

“And to think that there are people

out there -- including some I used

to vaguely respect -- who actually

buy into and believe that kind of

codswallop.”

Jesus, St John, and Mahatma Gandhi

need YOU; Malta Today (San Gwann);

Jan 19, 2017.

foray(FOR-ay)

MEANING:

noun: 1. An initial attempt into a new

activity or area. 2. A sudden raid,

especially for taking plunder.

verb tr.: To pillage.

verb intr.: To make one’s way into a

new activity or area.

ETYMOLOGY:

Probably a back-formation

from forayer (raider), from Old

French forrer (to forage). Earliest

documented use: 1400.

USAGE:

“There were brief forays into

discomfiting reality, to be fair.”

Michael Den Tandt; Tory Hopefuls

Avoid the Big Issues; Montreal

Gazette (Canada); Feb 6, 2017.

gargantua(gar-GAN-choo-uh)

MEANING:

noun: A giant in size, feats, stature,

or (physical or intellectual)

appetites.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Gargantua, a voracious giant,

the father of Pantagruel, in a series of

novels by François Rabelais (c. 1490-

1553). The son also has given a word to

the English language: pantagruelian.

Earliest documented use: 1571.

USAGE:

“In Io’s sky, Jupiter crawls like a

gargantua, a bright, vast, streaked

disk eating the blackness of space,

so huge it seems intent on crushing

everything under it.”

Dana Wilde; Io Roars and Shakes Its

Fires in Empty Space; Bangor Daily

News (Maine); Apr 23, 2007.

— wordsmith.org

Yesterday’s Solutions

WordwatchSuper Cryptic Clues

Mall Cinema (1): Smurfs: The Lost Village (2D) 2pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 3:45pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 6:15pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 8:45pm; Kadamvan (Tamil) 11:15pm.Mall Cinema (2): Rabbit School (2D) 2pm; Smurfs: The Lost Village (2D) 3:45pm; Robo Dog:Airborne (2D) 5:30pm; Beauty & The Beast (2D) 7:15pm; Eloise (2D) 9:30pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 11:15pm.Mall Cinema (3): The Great Father (Malayalam) 2:30pm; Shivalinga (Tamil) 5:30pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 8:30pm; The Great Father (Malayalam) 11pm.Landmark Cinema (1): The Great Father (Malayalam) 2:15pm; Eloise (2D) 5pm;

Shivalinga (Tamil) 6:45pm; Robo Dog:Airborne (2D) 9:15pm; The Great Father (Malayalam) 11pm.Landmark Cinema (2): Rabbit School (2D) 2:30pm; Smurfs: The Lost Village (2D) 4:15pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 6pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 8:30pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 11pm.Landmark Cinema (3): Robo Dog:Airborne (2D) 2:15pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 4pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 6:30pm; Kadamvan (Tamil) 9pm; Eloise (2D) 11:30pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (1): The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 2:30pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 5pm; The Fate

Of The Furious (2D) 8pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 11pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (2): Smurfs: The Lost Village (2D) 3pm; Rabbit School (2D) 4:45pm; Shivalinga (Tamil) 6:30pm; Robo Dog:Airborne (2D) 9pm; The Great Father (Malayalam) 11pm.Royal Plaza Cinema Palace (3): Beauty & The Beast (2D) 2:15pm; The Fate Of The Furious (2D) 4:30pm; The Great Father (Malayalam) 6:45pm; Eloise (2D) 9:30pm; Kadamvan (Tamil) 11:15pm.Asian Town Cinema: The Great Father (Malayalam) 1, 4, 4:30, 7, 10pm, 1 &1:30am; Take Off (Malayalam) 1:30, 4:30, 6:30pm & 12:30am; Kalamban (Tamil) 1:30, 7:30pm & 1:30am; Shivalinga (Tamil) 12:30, 3:30, 9:30pm.

Across3. Though versatile, is he liable

to go to pieces? (3,2,5)8. The trio’s playing as

accompaniment to a girl (6)9. Some crushed walnuts on the

grass (4)10. Big enough for a seance?

(6,4)11. Spot turned on him (3)13. The rate is shown on page

one (4)14. Country road ran windingly

(7)15. An injection for the tot (4)17. A measuring device for the

dispenser (5)20. Something to eat, for Olaf? (5)22. Round about the figure

there’s a light (4)24. Acted oddly about being

housed and made a fuss (7)25. A piece of ivory will do (4)27. The cat is, as monsieur said,

after the duck (3)28. ‘Tut, this isn’t the bitter I

ordered’? (4,6)29. How the book I inspired was

dedicated? (4)30. Went out boxed (6)31. Promise sun to them on a

cruise (6,4)

Down1. Van? (8)2. Simply marvellous as the

minister (6)3. Spoil most awfully the little

creatures (7)4. Help an upset girl (5)5. Dossier responsible for the

row (4)6. Like the undamaged tent you

can live in for nothing? (4-4)7. What only the elite have for

tea at Wimbledon? (4-4)12. Also says, when one sums up

(4)14. A scrap with a cat (4)16. Claimed to have grasped it (4)17. And certainly not a big

reduction (4,4)18. Understand all will be dry (8)19. By all accounts, made out a

list (4)21. The man put the minced pork

in the boot (4-4)23. The gold one in the smart

cover is, in fact, not very good (7)

25. He’s a terrible bore, right? (6)26. Left in a car by a lady (5)28. Aim and get near (4)

Yesterday’s Solutions

Across: 1 Recall; 5 Enamel; 8 Oiled; 9 Season; 10 Intent; 11 Gowns; 14 Straiten; 16 Nitwit; 18 Take up the thread; 20 Return; 22 Unloaded; 25 Later; 27 Amends; 28 Amount; 29 Oaken; 30 Lesson; 31 Tapped.

Down: 1 Rushes; 2 Cram; 3 Long-stop; 4 Slow in the uptake; 5 Edison; 6 Meet; 7 Latent; 12 Take out; 13 Eternal; 15 Trade; 17 Irate; 19 Tolerant; 20 Retail; 21 Nelson; 23 Dotted; 24 Mess; 26 Dump.

Intrigued by all the brain-training products out there to keep your mind sharp and spirits young? You may want to consider something

else: A hearing test.That’s right. Mounting evidence

links untreated hearing loss to impaired memory and diminished cognitive function. What that means is, if you keep brushing off that suspected hearing loss of yours, your cognition may pay.

Researchers have found that when people with unaddressed hearing loss strain to hear, they tend to do more poorly on memory tests. They may figure out what is being said, but because so much

effort goes into just hearing it, their ability to remember what they heard often suffers.

Experts believe this has to do with what they call “cognitive load.” That is, in order to compensate for the hearing loss and make out the words, people with untreated hearing loss may draw on cognitive resources they’d normally use to remember what they’ve heard. Experts say that untreated hearing loss may even interfere with the person’s ability to accurately process and make sense of what was said or heard.

In fact, research shows that people with poorer hearing

have less gray matter in the auditory cortex, a region of the brain needed to support speech comprehension.

Other research shows a link between hearing loss and dementia. One Johns Hopkins study found that seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing. Another found that hearing loss is associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults. And a third revealed a link between hearing loss and accelerated brain tissue loss.

Some experts believe that

interventions, like professionally fitted hearing aids, could potentially help.

The bottom line is we actually “hear” with our brain, not with our ears.

So if you think you may have hearing loss, do something about it. Make an appointment with a

hearing health care professional, and get a hearing test.

After all, research suggests that treating hearing loss may be one of the best things you can actually do to help protect your memory and cognitive function.

© Brandpoint


COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE/HOROSCOPE

ARIESMarch 21 — April 19

CANCERJune 21 — July 22

LIBRASeptember 23 — October 22

CAPRICORNDecember 22 — January 19

TAURUSApril 20 — May 20

LEOJuly 23 — August 22

SCORPIOOctober 23 — November 21

AQUARIUSJanuary 20 — February 18

GEMINIMay 21 — June 20

VIRGOAugust 23 — September 22

SAGITTARIUSNovember 22 — December 21

PISCESFebruary 19 — March 20

Finally, money later today in your twelfth house of secrets and your

Pandora’s box of what if? Over the weekend make sure you allow

yourself time to unwind relax and forgive yourself Aries.

It’s never easy for you to give up control, is it Cancers? Admit it,

power turns you on. Interestingly enough, there is a hit show on TV

in the United States called Power and 50 cents who is a Cancerian, is

the executive producer of the show.

Patience is a virtue as they say. You definitely have a lot of patience

– that comes with the territory of being born under the sign of Libra.

Keep on being patient. Your ruler Venus finally moves direct this

weekend. Wasn’t it worth the wait?

Being open and allowing other people to see just who you are up

close and personal is never easy. However, this is one of those times

when showing your true colours denote and allowing other people

in to your inner realm and sanctum is a wonderful thing.

Avoid silly arguments based on emotion versus fact with your

other half today. The Moon shining in Scorpio, your one on one

relationship zone makes this the perfect day to address something

important with someone important to you.

Avoid having any kind of emotionally charged conversation today if

possible. Venus is getting ready to move direct in your eighth house

of intimacy and joint finances. Talking with your other half about

money right now could be dangerous.

Don’t let someone talk you into doing something today that you

really know feel in your heart is a stupid thing to do. Sure you’re

trying to be one of the gang and maybe make some new friends.

Chances are none of that will apply.

While you can avoid something or someone as much as you want

and like to, chances are they want to talk to you. Do you owe anyone

money? That is something that you may have to deal with this

weekend with Venus giving direct in your money zone tomorrow.

Unless you feel as if something or someone is truly holding you

back, you must move forward with whatever project you are

working on right now. Despite the fact that Mercury your ruler is

retrograde (through May 3), if the project is something you started

before April 8 it’s fine to continue.

In your opposite sign of Pisces, your one–on–one relationships zone,

the reemergence of Venus over the weekend is a good sign. Things

are looking up Virgos. Make things work.

Feeling lucky today? You should be with Venus finally moving direct

in your fourth house of home and family. If you’ve been hoping for

good news for one or more of your children or even work on a new

arrival in the house it could be right around the cosmic corner.

Happy days are here again! Venus moves directly over the weekend

and spends the next week in your sign. Time to write all those wrong

either your other business partner or someone that you will say

things hadn’t gotten off to a start with.

Want a memory boost? Try a hearing test

Friday, April 14, 2017 15GULF TIMES

COMMUNITYSHOWBIZ

RELAXED: Alia Bhatt.

CANDID: Sanaya Irani, right, with husband Mohit Sehgal on a cruise.

Alia Bhatt cool about not winning National Award

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, who has just been awarded the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year Award, says that she did not feel bad for not winning the National Award for Best Actress this year.

Alia’s performance in Udta Punjab was received well by critics and audiences alike. At the media interaction after the awards, reporters expressed their sympathy for Alia not getting a National Award.

“Please don’t feel bad. I am not going anywhere. There is lot of time. I did not feel bad so even you don’t feel bad about it,” the Student of the Year actress said.

“It’s a moment to celebrate as Hindi and Marathi cinema won so many awards and it’s a very big

moment to celebrate talent,” Alia said.

Expressing her joy on winning the Lokmat Award, Alia said, “It’s a great moment. Winning this award shows that you are now in the heart line of your country. So it’s great.”

Alia was last seen in Badrinath Ki Dulhania, a romantic comedy fi lm directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by her mentor Karan Johar.

Asked when she would start working for her next fi lm Dragon, she said: “Ranbir is here, I will ask him when he will fi nish his shooting for Dutt so that we can start the fi lm, I will go and ask for the dates.”

Dragon, a superhero fi lm, will see Alia and Ranbir together on screen for the fi rst time. Written and directed by Ayan Mukherji and produced by Karan Johar, it also stars Amitabh Bachchan. — IANS

Actress Swara Bhaskar, who is known for being outspoken about her thoughts, says she is not afraid to speak her mind as she“doesn’t have much at stake”.

“To be brutally honest, I do not have that much at stake. I am not Shah Rukh Khan or Aamir Khan. I don’t have crores of endorsements to lose. I don’t have the kind of visibility that they do. I don’t have lots of property or companies. What will suff er in my case? And I don’t think Bollywood is that narrow minded that they would not caste me in a fi lm because of what I think,” Swara said.

“My producers sometimes get a little like, ‘Swara, can you not say so much?’So now I have a plan. I will say whatever I want to say until there are two months to the release of my fi lm. Then, I will calm myself and I will only post about my fi lm,” she added.

The 29-year-old, who has recently delivered a powerhouse performance in Anaarkali of Aarah, will next be seen on screen in romantic comedy Aapkey Kamrey Mein Koi Rehta Hai, directed by Gaurav S. Sinha. The actress spoke about this and more in a candid talk for an upcoming episode of Off Centre on CNN-News18. It will aired tomorrow. — IANS

By Ellen Gray

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are back for 13 more episodes of Netfl ix’s Grace and Frankie, and the third season’s the most charming yet.

Created by Marta Kauff man — of Friends fame — with Howard J. Morris, Grace and Frankie is about the odd-couple friendship

of Grace Hanson (Fonda) and Frankie Bergstein (Tomlin), who fi nd themselves living together after their former husbands (Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) reveal their decades-long aff air and decide to marry.

At least the women got the beach house, a setting straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie that helps undercut the sadness its title characters still occasionally experience over the loss of their former lives.

They’ve mostly moved on, though, and

this season have gone into business together, producing and marketing a device designed specifi cally for women of a certain age, a project that both exposes their very diff erent approaches to work and life and, along with Frankie’s ongoing aff air with Jacob (Ernie Hudson), allows the kind of age-appropriate sex jokes TV seldom allows women over 50.

Moving on, too, are Sheen’s and Waterston’s characters, lawyers facing tough decisions about retirement and working through the

challenges of a new marriage, a new home, and plenty of old baggage. The blended family’s adult children — played by Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael and Baron Vaughn — all have solid storylines of their own.

But what I love most about this season is how Fonda and Tomlin’s off screen friendship has continued to bloom into onscreen chemistry. Their characters may have arrived here by accident, but they’ve both come to the right place. —Philadelphia Daily News/TNS

Fonda, Tomlin hit stride in Grace and Frankie new season

I’m a better dancer than my husband: Sanaya Irani

Actress Sanaya Irani, who is currently seen as a contestant alongside her husband Mohit Sehgal on dance reality show Nach Baliye 8, says she considers herself a better dancer than him.

“I am a non-dancer. When I was a part of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 8, its judges used to say that a non-dancer came into the fi nals. But now I fi nd this funny that suddenly in Nach Baliye, people are calling me a dancer,” Sanaya said.

“Still, I consider myself a non-dancer. It’s just that I am a better dancer than Mohit. I feel it will take time for us to understand each other’s dance. It’s hard, but it’s amazing how our bodies are tuning slowly yet steadily,” she added.

“I have better knowledge of music and rhythm than Mohit. He has less knowledge in dance, but he is working hard. I am very happy that with every week he is improving his skills. It is diffi cult for him. Still, I feel he will learn it for sure,” she said. — IANS

Don’t have much at stake, says Swara on being outspoken

CHILLED: Swara Bhaskar.


COMMUNITY

From cleaner to Michelin-starred chef: an immigrant's success storyBy Laura del Rio

It is early in the morning at the prestigious Club Allard restaurant, and you can hear the sound of someone vacuuming between the

chairs and tables.Fourteen years ago, that someone

could have been Maria Marte, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who began working at Club Allard as a cleaner. Marte is now head chef, with 15 cooks under her.

She has done so well with her fusion of Mediterranean and Caribbean cuisine that Club Allard retained its two Michelin stars in the latest Michelin Guide.

“So many things have happened to me so quickly I’m barely taking it in,” she says. “All I’ve done is work, struggle and I haven’t been able to register success. I remember I’m famous when somebody tells me about it.”

Marte’s story can be summed up in three words: “Dream, Struggle, Cook” – the same three words in the title of her recently released autobiography-cookbook.

Right now, life is so good for Marte that it seems hard to believe the struggles of her past. “Success is the result of the seed you planted so many years before,” she says. “I feel happy when people stop me on the street and some people say to me: ‘I want to be like you some day.’”

It all began in 1976 in Jarabacoa, the village in the Dominican Republic where she was born. Marte was the youngest of eight siblings and she always had an interest in cooking. Her mother taught her how to make jams, and she would accompany her father to his work at a restaurant that prepared local food.

Marte gave birth to a son at 16 and then separated from his father. Five years later, she had twins with another partner, with whom she also broke up.

To make ends meet, she went to work at a butane gas-bottling fi rm, as well as painting plaques and even setting up a small catering business. But in 2003 she decided to emigrate to Madrid, where her oldest son had relocated to be with his father. She had to leave her two youngest children in the Dominican Republic.

In Madrid, Marte embarked on the diffi cult path that would eventually lead to the heights of haute cuisine. When she began work as a cleaner and dishwasher at Club Allard – a job her former boyfriend got for her – she became known as “La Negra”, or “the black girl.”

When she fi rst mentioned her interest in cooking, her companions

made fun of her and she had to keep badgering the chefs until they gave her a helper’s spot when one became available.

At that time, she had to endure

disdain and racism as well as jealousy from some of her work mates.

But she is not resentful. “I think of myself as a mirror in which many

people can look at themselves and think: ‘If Maria was able [to bear it], why can’t I?’” she says. “Racism has always existed but I think you should not bear grudges – about anything.”

Marte slowly became an assistant to the Club Allard’s head chef at the time, Diego Guerrero. He had confi dence in her, but he questioned her creativity. Marte recalls in her book how he once said to her: “You’re good, but only with somebody like me at your side.”

But Marte was not daunted. In 2013, Guerrero left Club Allard unexpectedly and Marte asked to be allowed to take over the kitchen.

When she did, she had to live through more nasty comments being made about her. But six months later, Marte had revolutionised the menu and the restaurant continued to fi ll up with customers and receive good reviews from critics.

Since she began as head chef at Club Allard “it has changed in every way,” Marte says. “It has developed an intensity of fl avours that it did not have before. It has my own seal, the seal of my identity, which is the fusion of Caribbean cuisine with Mediterranean.”

Marte’s innovative cooking has created sophisticated dishes – such as hibiscus fl owers with potato starch – that mix the fl avours of the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Asia.

Her cooking has gained the attention of Spanish cooking greats such as Basque experts Pedro Subijana and Martin Berasategui, of whom she speaks fondly in her book.

Marte’s biggest professional break came in 2015, when Club Allard held on to the two Michelin stars it had already been awarded. Now, Marte wants a third star – the highest rating Michelin gives.

“We are working for the third star. I know we’re going to achieve it. This is an engine that moves us. We all want three Michelin stars.”

Marte spends so much time in the Club Allard kitchens that she practically sleeps there. Sometimes she works 16-hour shifts, but she is always happy to go out to greet patrons when they fi nish their meals.

For Marte, an outing to a restaurant is “like a grand theatrical performance.”

“We all have to eat, but this is a gastronomic experience. This is a performance. At home you don’t eat 14 dishes. Each dish is an experience.

“You are the play’s lead performer and people want to see you at the end,” Marte explains. “What we do is very nice and we have to share it with people.”

Marte is not considering returning to the Dominican Republic any time soon. “I think there’s still a lot to be done in Madrid, in Club Allard. The Club is a part of my life. I’ve been here for 14 years and I owe it a lot. There is a moral and professional commitment.” – DPA

Maria Marte emigrated to Spain from the Dominican Republic. She always loved to cook and learned to make jams from her mother as a young child.

Marte at the Club Allard restaurant in Madrid, which she has transformed to off er a fusion of Caribbean and Mediterranean food.

Documents

Nevertheless - Gulf Times