“We’ll catch the Number 99 bus to City Hall,” she said. “From there, we’ll take the Skytrain. Three stops, and we’ll emerge near the Number 48 bus stop. It will take approximately 20 minutes.”
My wife and I were planning a trip to Steveston, a historic port, fishing village and one of British Columbia’s breathtakingly beautiful tourist attractions at the mouth of the Fraser River. Or, rather, our daughter was planning it for us.
Seated at the dining table, ably aided by Google Maps, intent with concentration and purpose, a filament of hair falling across her brow. The visit turned out exactly as she had planned it. She led, and her parents tagged along like overgrown children.
Few things compare with the delight of a father being witness to the blossoming of his child into a fine, admirable, composed adult
A few days later. “We must go to Sahel, a Persian restaurant. You’ll love it. Both the ghormet [beef stew with green lentils] and gheimeh [beef stew with red beans, split peas and vegetables] are delicious,” she said.
“How far is it?” I meekly asked, although the sense that I was in expert hands was growing stronger by the day. “Oh, West Broadway. One bus ride. Barely 15 minutes.” She called, found out the opening hours and made reservations. Again, she led. We followed.
The food really was magnificent.
What a difference four years make! In August 2019, when all three of us visited Vancouver for the first time because Oishi was starting her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia, I was the one making plans. Where to go, how to get to those spots, where to eat and how to spend our days. This time around, when we stayed with our daughter through her long summer holidays (she is now doing postgraduate studies at UBC), the roles had been reversed.
She has staked out Vancouver as her very own territory. She has had a peripatetic childhood and young adulthood, but nowhere have I seen her so much at home, so comfortable in her skin.
She intimately knew the vast and excellent public transport system. She introduced us to new places. She took us to off-the-beaten-track restaurants – places that locals know offer splendid food with value for money. She knew which grocery store to buy fresh produce from, which ones to avoid because they were unduly expensive, which ones to buy meat and fish from.
There was a time when she used to come to my bookshelves. Now I found hers packed with treasures old and new for me
On any foreign trip, figuring out these small things takes time and involves certain hit-and-miss endeavours. Not on this occasion, though. Oishi became tour guide, stern guardian and expert in the place the writer Douglas Coupland, in his fine memoir-cum-travel book, calls “city of glass”. Oh, and since I wanted to read it, she got me a copy from the university library.
Previously, on any holiday, I used to be the leader of the family unit. In Vancouver in the summer of 2023, however, I ceded complete ground. It was both a pride and a joy.
There was a time when she used to come to my bookshelves to pick out books, to ask for recommendations about what to read. Certainly this was true when she was in grades 11 and 12 at school in Delhi. When we visited in the summer, because it was a long stay and our luggage was enormous, I had packed only one hardback book. I had my Kindle.
I found myself wandering to her shelves, finding them packed with treasures old and new for me. I read Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf (to my shame, I had not before), reread Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Jacob’s Room (two great modernist texts that I enjoyed with renewed and heightened appreciation), and plenty more. Again, a role reversal that offered me pride and joy in equal measure.
Few things compare to the delight of a father being witness to the blossoming of his child into a fine, admirable, composed adult. And although one sees it for oneself, there is still an element of incredulity in one’s response – a fair bit of wonder. So this is how the past has segued into the present, is it? My gosh!
The late, great English writer Martin Amis once said that after one turns 50, the past becomes a vast continent. In my case, it surely has. Many of my waking hours are preoccupied with Oishi’s growing-up memories. But the present, at this age, is just as much of a vast continent. It is signposted with incidents of her having become a young woman full of knowledge, poise and charm.
Soumya Bhattacharya is the author of six books of fiction, non-fiction and memoir, the latest being the novel Thirteen Kinds of Love
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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HOW TO WATCH
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TikTok: @thenationalnews
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kasabian%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EColumbia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
Europa League group stage draw
Group A: Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Astana, Slavia Prague.
Group B: Dynamo Kiev, Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Skenderbeu.
Group C: Sporting Braga, Ludogorets, Hoffenheim, Istanbul Basaksehir.
Group D: AC Milan, Austria Vienna , Rijeka, AEK Athens.
Group E: Lyon, Everton, Atalanta, Apollon Limassol.
Group F: FC Copenhagen, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sheriff Tiraspol, FC Zlin.
Group G: Vitoria Plzen, Steaua Bucarest, Hapoel Beer-Sheva, FC Lugano.
Group H: Arsenal, BATE Borisov, Cologne, Red Star Belgrade.
Group I: Salzburg, Marseille, Vitoria Guimaraes, Konyaspor.
Group J: Athletic Bilbao, Hertha Berlin, Zorya Luhansk, Ostersund.
Group K: Lazio, Nice, Zulte Waregem, Vitesse Arnhem.
Group L: Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Rosenborg, Vardar
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
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
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30:
- UAE bt Nepal by 78 runs
- Hong Kong bt Singapore by 5 wickets
- Oman bt Malaysia by 2 wickets
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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