The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Every Friday morning, Prameela Nadkarni packs lunch boxes with home-cooked meals and heads over to the hospital.
Some days she makes poori and bhaaji – fried bread with spicy potatoes. At other times she makes perfumed biryani, stuffed with spiced meats, to feed dozens of patients at Dubai's Rashid Hospital who have no family in the country.
For 17 years, Ms Nadkarni has been visiting hospitals and prisons, providing comfort, counsel and company for people who have no one else.
The Indian, 58, moved to Dubai in 1989 with her husband, and decided to delve into social work.
“In 2003, one of my customers mentioned there were patients in Rashid Hospital who need help. I started going to visit patients and I thought I was making a difference,” Ms Nadkarni says.
Ms Nadkarni joined a volunteer organisation, Valley of Love, and with her friend Elizabeth Kuruvilla, began visiting the hospital every week.
I felt that I had been blessed with a good life and that I should give back to society rather than limit myself to work and home
“The patients missed home-cooked meals and talking to their families. They would look forward to us coming over on Fridays with food.
“They would see everyone around them being cared for by loved ones. By just being there, we were helping them.
“When you are in the hospital, you need someone. We could see the relief in their eyes when we talked to them.”
Their conversations would revolve around their families, and though language was a barrier at times, they managed to communicate.
Sometimes Ms Nadkarni would help them call their family back home.
“They would give us a list of requests, usually simple fare like lentils, rice, vegetables and every Friday I would start cooking at 6.30am,” she says.
In 2007, when a patient they visited was transferred to Dubai’s central prison, Ms Nadkarni and her friend started visiting them there.
“When we went to the prison, people would tell us of their regrets. We used our money to send them funds so that they could buy food,” she says.
Now, Ms Nadkarni is unable to go the hospital but visits the prison every Tuesday.
“It is rewarding to see how people’s perspectives change and they become more forgiving,” she says.
She faced resistance at home as her family worried for her safety but she could not be deterred.
“I would have people calling me from the prison but was never afraid. I knew people who had been convicted of crimes. But, it was not my place to judge them,” she says.
“I felt that I had been blessed with a good life and that I should give back to society rather than limit myself to work and home.
“I had a wonderful childhood, a great family and two lovely daughters. I had time on my hands and wanted to give back to the community.”
She has helped pay for plane tickets to repatriate many people.
“Some of the people we helped repatriate keep in touch and are friends with us on Facebook now,” she says.
“My family was shocked at my dedication of waking up early and going to the hospital. They knew I loved my sleep, so they could not believe that I would wake up at 6.30am to cook.”
She plans to retire in India and wants to join a charity and keep up her work.
Ms Nadkarni's daughter, Vimla, 27, says her mother has been helping others for as long as she can remember.
“From a young age I have seen my mother visit old and sick people in Rashid Hospital. I remember accompanying her on these visits as a child and just making patients smile or listening to their stories. All they needed was some comfort and company and my mum provided that."
The pair would wear protective gear to visit a Russian woman kept in isolation while she was unwell.
“She was an artist and drew me a few sketches. When she was discharged and went back to Russia, we threw her a little farewell party in the garden of Rashid Hospital,” Vimla says.
“I remember many patients beaming when we walked in to the wards and that happiness left me feeling content, knowing that my mother and I were able to make so many people smile even in a hospital ward.”
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Racecard
6pm: The Pointe - Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.35pm: Palm West Beach - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (T) 1,800m
7.10pm: The View at the Palm - Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.45pm: Nakeel Graduate Stakes - Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
8.20pm: Club Vista Mare - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: The Palm Fountain - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm: The Palm Tower - Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m
Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:
Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm
Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm
Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm
Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
