Bustling with foodies at all times of day, Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex is also set to become the go-to spot for culture vultures.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) will welcome visitors starting March 31, according to a statement by Reliance Industries, which is owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
The multidisciplinary centre is named after Ambani’s wife, Nita, who has long been a patron of the arts as well as owning the Mumbai Indians IPL team, and the statement also specified that the couple’s daughter, Isha, announced the official opening this month.
“NMACC is the culmination of my mother’s passion for arts, culture and her love for India. She has always dreamt of creating a platform that would welcome creatives at large … to showcase the best of what India has to offer to the world and bring the world to India,” said Isha.
The centre will comprise The Studio Theatre; a 2,000-seat Grand Theatre; and a space called The Cube, all for the performing arts; plus a 1,486-square-metre Art House for exhibitions.
What’s on the culture calendar
The launch will coincide with a grand three-day programme open to all. On March 31, Indian playwright and director Feroz Abbas Khan will present Civilisation to Nation: The Journey of Our Nation.
This, we are told, is a “a sensory narrative of Indian culture told through the tenets of the classical Natya Shastra with more than 700 performers”. The ancient Sanskrit text on the performing arts, Natya Shastra takes in art forms such as dance, music and puppetry.
On April 1, eminent fashion journalist, costume expert and Vogue magazine's global editor Hamish Bowles will curate India in Fashion: The Impact of Indian Dress and Textiles on the Fashionable Imagination.
The exhibition will trace the influence of India’s sartorial traditions in textiles, jewellery and surface ornamentation on global fashion, from the 18th to the 21st centuries. An accompanying coffee-table book by Rizzoli will be published to coincide with the exhibit.
On April 2, cultural theorist Ranjit Hoskote and American gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch, former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, will present Sangam Confluence.
The group art show will celebrate diverse cultural impulses and traditions, and explore the multiplicity of India through the works of 11 contemporary artists.
The Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre will open at the Jio World Centre in Mumbai on March 31; www.jioworldcentre.com
Her penchant for the arts aside, Nita Ambani is also a jewellery connoisseur. Scroll through the gallery below to see some of her magnificent pieces






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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Stage result
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UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
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Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
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Despacito's dominance in numbers
Released: 2017
Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon
Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube
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Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.
Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
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What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
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- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
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Towering concerns
Breast cancer in men: the facts
1) Breast cancer is men is rare but can develop rapidly. It usually occurs in those over the ages of 60, but can occasionally affect younger men.
2) Symptoms can include a lump, discharge, swollen glands or a rash.
3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.
4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.
5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Company%20Profile
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
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Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
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Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order