On a dusty construction site off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi motorway, artisans watch closely as a snow-white marble pillar is carefully lowered into a space being transformed into the country’s first traditional hand-carved Hindu temple.
The group of men in blue overalls shut out the noisy hum of whirring cranes as they guide the cords that hold the carved frame to drop gently on to a waiting column.
Work on Abu Dhabi’s historic Hindu temple in Abu Mureikha area is now past the halfway mark and elaborate marble columns are being fitted in the main prayer hall.
By this time next year, the scaffolding and makeshift staircases will be removed.
When the two-storey temple opens in February next year, worshippers will walk past pink sandstone exterior walls and file into the cool, white marble interior that will house Hindu deities worshipped across India.
It has taken more than four years of in-depth research, sculptures painstakingly carved by hand and skilled artistry for the temple to reach this key phase.
Hi-tech spiritual oasis
Modern technology is being deployed to bring alive ancient scriptures.
More than 300 sensors are placed at different levels to provide live data and monitor seismic activity.
Detailed information of work completed and pillars added is uploaded daily into a 3D digital model for engineers to monitor progress.
“The Baps Hindu mandir [temple] will be considered a spiritual oasis for global harmony,” Swami Brahmavihari, head of international relations for Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha, the organisation building the temple, told The National.
“We are planning to open in February 2024.
“The first part, which is the stone traditional mandir, is almost 55 per cent completed.
“Visitors will [soon] be able to see the shape of the temple which is in the shape of summits and pinnacles and see the beautiful intricate work from the outside.”
Waterways to symbolise Indian rivers
In the months ahead, seven towering shikhars — or spires — will be built on top of the stone murals currently being fitted.
The number seven is key as it represents the emirates of the UAE.
The temple’s granite foundation that is now visible will be filled and canals dug in the surrounding sandy area.
Space has been set aside for people to sit on flights of steps leading to the water in an amphitheatre section that will resemble ghats in India — passages leading to a river.
Water from Indian rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati will be added to the canals, with one waterway illuminated.
“We will bring water from Indian rivers but as water in the river Sarasvati has dried up, we will have a river of light that will go under the temple and emerge on the other side,” said Pranav Desai, director of the temple project.
A visitor’s centre, two parks named harmony and faith, a community hall for 3,000 people, a majlis or welcome area, an amphitheatre and a food court will be ready by next February.
Readying for tens of thousands of visitors
About 2,000 worshippers can pray in the temple at any given time, and temple organisers expect to welcome up to 40,000 people daily across the site during festivals.
The temple complex is spread over 5.4 hectares of land gifted to the Indian community in 2015 by President Sheikh Mohamed, when he was Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
A parking zone of the same size will accommodate 1,200 cars, 30 buses and two helipads.
As people walk into the main prayer hall, they will see carvings that chronicle ageless stories, such as the jubilation of people celebrating the return of the Hindu god Ram to the ancient kingdom of Ayodhya and his coronation.
There will be a section with sculptures from other ancient civilisations, including the Arab world and Africa.
“Most temples have carvings of elephants but we made sure to have horses and camels to represent the UAE,” Mr Desai said.
“Each horse and camel is uniquely carved, as none of the designs are repeated.
“So, the movement of each horse or the action of the person sitting on the camel will be different.”
Join in temple construction
Sculptors in India’s northern states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have captured likenesses of musicians playing the flute, people stringing up lights for the Diwali festival, riders on horses and men on top of garlanded elephants.
It takes a sculptor up to a year to complete one pillar.
Tall columns are being fitted on site by 70 skilled artisans from Rajasthan and Gujarat, and from the eastern state of Odisha.
They will be joined by 50 more sculptors as the work gathers pace to pull together the mammoth project.
At the site, there is a steady trickle of visitors throughout the week, with people laying flowers on earthen bricks later used in the construction.
More than two million hand-made bricks have been used in the temple that once complete will have 200 pillars and reach a height of 32m.
A total of 20,000 tonnes of stone — 5,500 tonnes of white marble and 14,500 tonnes of pink sandstone — are being used.
Architectural marvel
In keeping with ancient Hindu temples, the Abu Dhabi structure has been constructed without steel reinforcements.
A compression technique uses multiple layers of stone to add strength, with granite at the foundation, followed by pink sandstone, and finally the marble work.
Each column carved in India has a specific number code linked to numbers marked on the Abu Dhabi site.
Once the material arrives, artisans chisel grooves that allow the stone to be fitted on to its matching section.
“It’s all carved and hand-pieced together like a giant jigsaw without using any steel — this itself is a wonder using traditional architecture that is 10,000 years old,” Swami Brahmavihari said.
“The temple stands for ancient Indian values of love and harmony.
“It’s in a place — the UAE — which values love, harmony and tolerance.
“This is the time to tell the world that there is harmony among religions, cultures, countries and civilisations.”
Another Hindu temple opened in Jebel Ali in Dubai in October last year.
Visitors from all faiths can visit the site, view the exhibition or participate in the brick ceremony. Details on mandir.ae
SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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South Korea
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Persuasion
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarrie%20Cracknell%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDakota%20Johnson%2C%20Cosmo%20Jarvis%2C%20Richard%20E%20Grant%2C%20Henry%20Golding%20and%20Nikki%20Amuka-Bird%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
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
WE%20NO%20LONGER%20PREFER%20MOUNTAINS
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
Matches on Bein Sports
