Towering maple trees cast cool shadows on the paved pathways on the campus. The sky is blindingly blue, the greenery lush and abundant. A stiff spring breeze freshens the air. The ocean, framed by mountains, their peaks still snow-streaked, glints in the distance. And then there are the thousands upon thousands of exultant faces.
New graduates. Accompanied by proud, smiling parents. Only a few of the fathers are in formal clothes. Most of them wear smart casuals. The mothers, some in ethnic clothes and jewellery, are all decked up.
Graduation day on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver is like no other. You can sniff the sense of well-being in the atmosphere.
My daughter is one of these newly minted graduates with a major in English literature and a minor in creative writing. We have been invited to – and attended – a reception organised by the English department. Cakes, coffee and custom-made chocolates monogrammed with the insignia of the university are passed around.
Tuum Est is UBC’s motto. Printed below a crest of ocean waves beneath a setting sun, it translates from the Latin as "It is yours". This day – after four years of hard work, of making new friends and forging new paths, of learning to live away from home, of fending for oneself, of negotiating complications and crises as one turns from teenager to adult – this day is purely theirs. Tuum Est.
My daughter stands in a long, snaking line to collect the regalia she – and every other graduate – has rented for the day. Cap and gown that transform a 21-year old, that lend gravitas, a scholarly air. Or is that just me?
In August 2019, we had come, my wife, daughter and I, as she started life as a university student halfway across the world from her Delhi home. The day she moved into her campus accommodation (my wife and I stayed on for a few more days after she moved, doleful and intermittently weeping), my daughter and I had watched Liverpool crush Arsenal – the football team we fanatically support – in the Premier League on the TV in the Airbnb in which we were staying.
On the way to the campus – a long drive that felt as though it were not long enough, that seemed to be snatching her away too soon, too abruptly, from us after 18 years of togetherness – our taxi barrelled into a car coming from the opposite direction. Ill omens, I’d thought. But now, here amid the mountains and the sea, the stately trees and vast sweep of the campus, her undergraduate years are about to end on a high note.
More than 15,000 students graduate from UBC every year. The university allots slots for students throughout the day over several days. Each convocation ceremony lasts two hours. Our daughter’s slot is from 1pm to 3pm. After the ceremony, each graduate – having instantaneously turned into a UBC alumnus by dint of the precious degree she hugs to herself – is treated to a glass of wine by the university. It is a generous gesture.
The convocation is held at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts – a huge, vaulted, domed thing on the edge of the sea, all lavish chandeliers and stuccoed pillars, giant TV screens and tier upon tier of upholstered seating.
The ceremony is immaculately choreographed. Music. Brief, stirring speeches. The students asked to take a moment to stand with their backs to the stage and thank their families. Resounding, sincere applause.
Then the name of each graduate is called out. When her turn comes, our daughter walks to the stage. Short, measured, graceful steps, not a hint of being overawed. Her name is pronounced perfectly. Her image beamed on the giant screen, she takes the stage, faces the audience, collects her degree, and smiles. It is a poised smile, infused as much with relief as pleasure. Or so it seems to me.
She makes her way back to her seat. It is over. The whole sequence takes all of five seconds. When I email an English writer friend about this, he responds: “Yes, five seconds, but what five seconds!”
We troop out, the entire packed auditorium, after the graduates have been allowed to leave first. We assemble at the Flagpole Plaza, where a huge marquee has been erected for the occasion. Her three closest friends – none of whom graduated in this particular slot – are waiting.
My daughter is not one for the public display of affection. I shake her hand, squeezing it a bit harder than usual, and say: “Many congratulations!” Her friends find this unaccountably funny.
There are pictures and more pictures. Each of her friends takes literally hundreds – various backdrops, gown on, gown off, cap on, cap off, throwing cap up in the air – and airdrop them on to her phone.
On such a day, even the enactment of a cliche seems original, a joyous action. My daughter tells me: “I froze on the stage. I blanked out. I can’t remember those seconds at all.”
On this sun-drenched afternoon, the tail of her gown fluttering in the wind, the seagulls wheeling and dipping above us, we head to the bar where she will be served her richly deserved glass of wine.
In a sense, it all feels a little underwhelming to me: to fly 15 hours to be witness to those five seconds. In another sense, though, it appears freighted with symbolism, layered with significance. Graduation day is a unique celebration. It is also a unique milestone. Onwards and upwards.
Soumya Bhattacharya is the author of six books, among them Dad’s the Word, about the pleasures and perils of fatherhood
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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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
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
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