THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Following your dreams can require a leap of faith. But for Abu Dhabi oud player, composer and teacher Mohammed Dohai his passion for the classical Arabic instrument proved overwhelming.
Having spent a decade as a civil inspector, working on engineering projects in the UAE, six years ago the Yemen-born father of two made the bold move to dedicate himself to the oud full-time.
From overseeing irrigation and stormwater projects, Dohai went to performing overseas, playing live on TV to millions and becoming an instructor at the Abu Dhabi branch of Bait Al Oud – the prestigious international conservatory dedicated to the challenging instrument.
Sometimes, I'd be holding the oud, then I'd feel tired and wake up the next day, still holding the oud
"My mother, my family, asked me to keep the oud as a hobby," Dohai, 41, told The National. "But, if I don't play it every day, I feel there's something wrong. It's like a kind of meditation or getting positive energy."
Watching Dohai play an original composition in Bait Al Oud’s airy villa, it is clear that he is a natural. But it is a talent buttressed by years of painstaking practice.
Before he started as a Bait Al Oud instructor in 2015, Dohai had to play for an audience at the institute. “We had to practise a long time,” he says. “I remember it was like eight hours or 10 hours. Sometimes, I’d be holding the oud, then I’d feel tired and wake up the next day, still holding the oud. And I’d be dreaming that I was still practising.”
It has been a long journey since Dohai’s brother Adnan – a pianist and composer – introduced him to the oud in 1996, bringing one back from a trip to Cairo. Dohai’s father Saeed Mohammed Dohai – a veteran Abu Dhabi journalist and poet – gave him some music books to study, before he found teachers in Zaydoon Triko and Salem Abdulkareem, both renowned players in their own right.
Long years of balancing his day job for Dorsch Group with his passion for music followed. In 2013, Dohai composed an oud soundtrack for the Abu Dhabi short film Madrasa but his move to Bait Al Oud, under the direction of Iraqi virtuoso Naseer Shamma, led to a string of high-profile performances at home and abroad.
Among these was a unique event at Al Jahli Fort, Al Ain in 2017. Here, he collaborated with famous French equestrian and choreographer Bartabas, who guided a horse around Dohai who was playing a haunting melody.
That year he represented the UAE at a National Day event in Latvia and was part of an international orchestral performance led by Shamma at the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
In April 2019, Dohai performed at the International Oud Forum in Fujairah and in June he played on pan-Arab channel MBC's Sabah Al Khair Ya Arab morning programme to an audience of 130 million, accompanied by Adnan, the brother who introduced him to the oud all those years ago.
Although Covid-19 is curtailing performances, Dohai continues to teach at Bait Al Oud, bringing his experience even to those who have just picked up the instrument . It is these raw recruits he enjoys coaching the most.
“Beginners are much better because when a student comes, maybe he has been playing for two years already and maybe he has some mistakes,” he said.
“So, I have to fix these mistakes, which takes more time than the beginners, whose position is easier and they will follow your instructions.”
But why the oud – a tricky instrument that takes hours of daily practise to master? “It is like when you find something you are looking for,” Dohai said.
“When I found the oud, I felt: ‘This is what I want.’”
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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
Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
