The breaking news on Sunday in India breathlessly told that all the hair on MS Dhoni's head had succumbed to some miniature lawnmower and fallen to some floor. Reports did not elaborate on whether anybody had scooped it up and sold it.
Still, I found I could not mock this breaking news - and what a pity, that incapacity to mock - because I did wish to see Dhoni's freshly mowed skull, as I suddenly have grown fascinated with all things Dhoni.
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More on the World Cup
• After huge expectations, India's World Cup celebrations just as big
• It will be hard for Sangakkara's Sri Lanka to stay at the top
• Pakistan reaches out to India, but will we see a cricket tour soon?
• All Cricket World Cup coverage
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As someone who grew up to voting age unable to define "boundary" unless it meant that long line underneath Canada, I still struggle through the toddlerhood of my cricket consciousness, bearing roughly the cricket knowledge of an Indian five-year-old.
What?
OK, an Indian three-year-old.
Yet on Saturday evening in South Mumbai I saw something so jaw-droppingly impressive that it became the first searing memory of my cricket-viewing lifetime.
I saw a man come to bat with just about the whole world coming unglued from its axis, if you will pardon the understatement.
I saw his face with the third wicket fallen and India at 114, and I remember distinctly what I read on that face at that moment, knowing hardly 10 things about the man.
Translation of face: I know about one billion of you are worried. I know Sehwag has gone out even before some of you got back from the loo. I know Tendulkar has followed sombrely, and I know you all feel sad because the daydream plot has gone to shards. I know Malinga has been out there auditioning for "Strictly Come Dancing." If I bothered to squint I reckon I might see some of your furrowed faces. But I just want you to know that I am here. I am here to put a stop to this lunacy. You can feel safe because I am here.
It was a lot to read upon a face, but luckily cricket allows time for rumination.
I remember thinking straight-away that Dhoni must have some gigantic intestines to step out there with that look, at that moment.
The broadcasters declared he had promoted himself in the order and even I understood that, so more was the audacity.
I remember expecting some sort of quick flourish given that look, but that he started off with some little harmless thing for which I don't even know the term.
I then remember, of course, knowing he must have some gigantic intestines given the mastery that followed mostly in tandem with Guatam Gambhir, a show of determination so compelling that it all but took on tangible and metallic qualities.
They call Dhoni's score "91 not out" but I am disappointed they lack terminology such as "91 most certainly not out".
Since then, I have thought and thought about what happened on Saturday evening in South Mumbai, and I have thought about team sports that trade largely on individual performance, and about how Dhoni called to mind basketball's Michael Jordan for forging mirth out of mayhem in such a cool manner at such a huge moment.
Yet while Chicago can be heavy for carrying, India is tons heavier. For a 29-year-old person to go out there before two billion eyeballs during unprecedented urgency and disregard a whole rancid bouquet of common human fears, that trumps even Dhoni's prior reputation for coolness.
Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of future criticism, fear of the stage, fear of being called mean names for the rest of one's life … all those things people fear, he spurned, and maybe even disdained.
And to bring along that countenance while doing so - I am here; you are safe - and then to treat your own closing, skyrocketing a six with something tilting toward nonchalance …
Well, that guy must be the coolest guy ever.
And so I think of that helpless being, the fanatic.
He or she often exists in a perpetual state of fear or dread or fret, knowing how defeat can sting for days and weeks and months, ruining meals and sleeps and life in general.
Yet he or she has zero control. All he or she can crave is that somebody will step out there and quell the havoc and right the ship and soothe the nerves, as rare as that person may be.
Nobody ever did all that any more awesomely than Dhoni steering the heavy bus that seemed to carry all India.
He is my first big cricket memory and, besides, I like his new haircut.
cculpepper@thenational.ae
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The%20specs
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
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Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 720hp
Torque: 770Nm
Price: Dh1,100,000
On sale: now
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The%20trailblazers
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Company%20Profile
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Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The%20Boy%20and%20the%20Heron
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now