When a little girl inherits a dark spirit after the death of her estranged grandmother, she delightedly welcomes her new companion. What Suraya does not know is that inheriting a pelesit, a supernatural creature in Malaysian folklore, comes with hidden dangers because these critters can play spiteful tricks when they get angry. Malaysian author Hanna Alkaf's recently published second novel, The Girl and the Ghost, revolves around the unstable friendship between a young girl and a pelesit and how it is possible to wring out peace from even the most strained relationships.
“In Malaysia, we’re very familiar with our ghosts,” says Alkaf says. “We grow up with the knowledge that the boundaries between the supernatural world and our own are thin and permeable, and that we must make accommodations accordingly. I really wanted to write a story that got that idea across.”
Alkaf takes a layered path to highlight the permeable boundaries between the real and imagined world. When Suraya angers the pelesit, it retaliates by making her see and do extraordinary things, raising questions about her mental health, and making possible to view the narrative through two different lenses – as events arising out of the actions of a supernatural being or as the manifestation of a mental disorder.
“One of the things I want readers to take away from this book is that you can be haunted by many things – ghosts or spirits, failure, loss, memories, the past and that these hauntings can shape you in different ways,” Alkaf says. “Allowing that room for doubt – what is real, what is imagined – drives home how thin the borders are between what we think of as supernatural versus what we think of as real.”
I try to write these stories as truthfully as I can – from experience, and based on research – so more kids get to see themselves and their communities in the stories they consume
Alkaf started her writing career as a journalist and turned to fiction only in her thirties, except for a short story she wrote when she was 18. Then she wrote her first novel, The Weight of Our Sky. Published last year and set against the backdrop of the race riots in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969, it also has a parallel narrative touching upon a combination of supernatural intrusion and mental health issues. Sixteen-year-old Melati believes that a jinn lives inside her, commanding her constantly to perform counting and tapping rituals to make sure her mother stays alive. But when racial tensions between the Chinese and Malays come to a head one day, Melati and her mother are separated in a burning city without any means of getting in touch with each other.
This story of heartbreak and hope looks at Melati’s journey in finding the courage to escape from the violence on the street as well as the insistent voice of the jinn, so she can get be reunited with her mother.
Of the recurring theme of mental health in both her novels, Alkaf says, “The thing about the way mental health is usually written into the narrative is that it’s a very western interpretation of mental illness and treatment.
In Malaysia, mental health cannot be separated from culture and faith, and I try to write these stories as truthfully as I can – from experience, and based on research – so more kids get to see themselves and their communities in the stories they consume, and so others can expand their understanding of what mental health means in different worlds.”
With The Weight of Our Sky, Alkaf says she wanted to tell a story about the riots and imprint the incident into minds because it is not discussed much in the country. "Humans are built for a story; if I could write something that would evoke an emotional response, if I could cloak it in an engaging narrative, people would be more likely to remember it, and talk about it."
The Weight of Our Sky was met with acclaim worldwide and won the US Freeman Book Award for Southeast Asian Literature last year. Alkaf's third novel is a murder mystery, titled Queen of the Tiles, and is scheduled to be published in 2022.
A tale by Alkaf appears in the young adult short story anthology, Once Upon an Eid, edited by Aisha Saeed and S K Ali, and published in May 2020. The anthology brings together a canvas of narratives from Muslim authors hailing from diverse cultures. Alkaf's contribution, a prose-poem titled Taste, centres around a young girl trying to rise above the void created by her mother's sudden absence by creating the traditional Eid meal just as she and her mother had initially planned.
In each of her works Alkaf makes it a point to have her characters reach inside and pull out the courage to face challenging situations in spite of their fear. In The Girl and the Ghost, Suraya has to face a lot of anger-from the grown-ups around her, classmates, besides a furious supernatural force, but instead of backing off, she marches ahead in spite of the dangers.
Alkaf says through this story, she wanted to show children that while life is full of scary things – which may or may not involve ghosts or ghouls – everyone has the strength and courage to overcome almost anything, and that no darkness is too overwhelming when you realise that you have it in you to generate your own light.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MEYDAN RESULTS
6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
Winner Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The bio
His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell
His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard
Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece
Favourite movie - The Last Emperor
Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great
Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group C
Liverpool v Red Star Belgrade
Anfield, Liverpool
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Episode list:
Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5: Travel and tourism
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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more from Janine di Giovanni
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, six-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: from Dh321,200
On sale: now
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
