No matter how much Indians like grooving to the tunes of international DJs such as like Tiesto and David Guetta (who performed in the UAE as part of NYE celebrations over the weekend), when it comes to a hardcore party, nothing gets them moving like Bollywood and Punjabi songs, say owners and DJs at nightclubs in New Delhi.
On a recent night, the crowds at various pubs and clubs in the Indian capital were vociferous in their demand for Bollywood songs, and got into heated arguments with DJs who turned a deaf ear on their pleas. At some venues, fights ensued among outraged patrons and indignant spinners.
“It’s disgusting that these DJs and owners do what they want to,” says a visibly irritated Sonal, a young reveller who was partying with her friends at My Bar Headquarters. “We requested the DJ to play Punjabi songs but he kept playing what he wanted to. It makes us feels bad, especially after we have paid high entry charges.”
Most DJs and restaurateurs claim there is a healthy demand for songs from internationally renowned musicians, but admit it’s always the latest Bollywood numbers and Punjabi tracks that top the chart in the clubs.
Yasheel Anand Singh, owner of the popular nightclub Pamphilos, has an easy way of solving the dilemma.
“We will actually be offering both genres – Bollywood and international – on our two floors this year,” he says. “So people with different preferences can enjoy both Hindi and English-language tracks.”
Singh says selecting appropriate DJs who will spin the right mix of crowd-pleasing tracks while catering to the night’s theme, requires a lot of thinking and effort. “Depending on the preferences and demand of our guests, we select the theme for the night. After that we choose the DJ – an important task if we’re planning a special night. It needs a lot of hard work. We finalise and hire them after hearing their samples. Our team ends up doing a lot of brainstorming and research on selecting the right theme for the party and then hiring a DJ who is a perfect fit,” explains Singh.
Delhi-based DJ Saatvic Arora says: “The [Delhi] crowd loves rapper Honey Singh and Baadshah’s songs when it comes to Punjabi tracks. As for Bollywood numbers, they love to groove to the tunes of the songs from the latest films.”
Meanwhile, Guetta tops the list among western DJs. Delhi’s Sam, a local DJ, says: “In international [-language tracks], David Guetta’s numbers top the list. We get the demand of commercial music mostly from the youngsters.”
Hauz Khas Village, Connaught Place and Greater Kailash are among top venues frequented by the city’s up-and-coming crowd. DJs Skull and HRD, who perform regularly at Elf Cafe and Bar in Hauz Khas Village, say they enjoy doing all the research that goes into creating fun playlists for special nights and events. “Music is a universal language, we know what youngsters out there will love. There is a plenty of work involved in selecting music tracks on special nights, where people spend money to enjoy the party,” says Skull.
“We love playing original tracks instead of remixes. But to give the music a personal touch, we remix them live on the console,” adds HRD.
artslife@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
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 biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
