Celebrate Ramadan
It’s the month of Ramadan and it is a time of blessings and forgiveness (“Ramadan 2019: Everything you need to know”, Gulf News, May 6). For those who work, it also means shorter working hours. Ramadan is a great time to catch up with friends and family and the UAE has many iftars and activities in different parts, for people to check out. Personally I will be checking out a few iftars myself. I enjoy the good ambience combined with traditional Arabic music, it creates a great experience. Moreover, the exquisite buffets available have a variety of cuisines to keep people’s taste buds excited. May this month bring great blessings to everyone and their families. Ramadan Kareem to all.
From Mr Wasif Naushad
Sharjah
Spirit of togetherness
Ramadan is a beautiful month (“Video: Flavours of an Iranian family iftar in UAE”, Gulf News, May 8). I have lived in the UAE for more than 10 years and I love the spirit in the city during this time. Even though I do not celebrate it, I have many friends who do. Being invited to an iftar, or going to the malls and seeing the decorations and festivities always makes me feel warm and at home. It is also nice to see non-Muslims take extra care to be respectful during this time, towards their Muslim brothers and sisters. The UAE is a country that sets an example for the rest of the world. Keeping in mind the unrest, war and intolerance present elsewhere, let us try and see each other as one. For the Year of Tolerance, let’s aspire to be warm, welcoming and concerned for each other.
From Ms Shalini Rathi
Dubai
Fast cars and fasting
Let’s hope accidents reported on the major highways less this Ramadan (“41 per cent decrease in road deaths during Ramadan in UAE”, Gulf News, May 7). It’s important to realise that fasting Muslims would be very hungry and thirsty by late afternoon and it’s natural to feel more irritable. So, a little patience in the afternoon will go a long way. If someone looks like they are in a hurry, or seems rude, consider that they might be fasting and be gentle with them. Let’s be tolerant.
From Ms Elize van Wyk
UAE
Marks don’t make the man
When I was in school, I remember a lot of people gave too much importance to marks and percentages (“CBSE Grade 12 results: Two girls top with 499 out of 500 marks”, Gulf News, May 3). It was as if a child would not amount to anything in life if they did not receive a 90 per cent in a subject. Maybe this is a construct of society which naturally puts pressure on parents, but this needs to stop. This attitude of being so focused on scores, forces children to grow up with a different mind-set. They fail to love learning and focus only on getting the grade. While studying and getting good grades is important, being good at extracurricular activities, having hobbies and dedicating time for your personal development is also important. For the children who have received their Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results and have done well, congratulations! For those who have not done well, this isn’t the end of the road. Life gives you plenty of opportunities to prove yourself and shine. Marks don’t always make the man.
From Ms Anya M.
Dubai
A new India?
As a common man, I feel that dragging the name of the late Indian politician Rajiv Gandhi, who is not even alive to defend himself, is not correct (“India elections 2019: I am a Hindu, but who is this ‘Hindu voter’ the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) panders to?”, Gulf News, May 6). One should not forget that the Congress party President and his wards, right from the announcement of elections, have been spreading lies about the recent Rafael Deal by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Calling Modi a ‘chor’ (thief), which is also condemnable. Ironically, even after the strictures passed by the Supreme Court of India, Rahul Gandhi has still not stopped his behaviour. Unfortunately, we have to digest such jibes and see a new India stoop lower during this year’s elections. The ultimate suffers are the common people.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
Chennai, India
Cricket cups and scores
I really feel sorry for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), one of the Indian premier League (IPL) teams, especially their star batsman Andre Russell, for not being able to make the playoff place (“IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians sweep aside Kolkata Knight Riders”, Gulf News, May 6). It was an off day for the entire team, who collectively failed. Anyway, it proved to be a memorable season for Russell, whose heroics earned him a place in the West Indies World Cup squad. The rest of the team was patchy and whenever Russell failed, the team too lost. The captain was right when he said that the team was not up to the mark against Mumbai Indians team. I hope to see a much-improved team next season. Incidentally, it was a lucky day for cricketer Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Hope their luck continues during the World Cup tournament too.
From Ms Kavitha Srikanth
Chennai, India
Stormy weather
The consequences of storm Fani, in the Indian states of Odisha were indeed terrible (“Normal traffic, flights resume after cyclone in Odisha”, Gulf News, May 7). It has affected the normal lives of people, who were evacuated in two days’ time. One hopes the international community and Non-Profit Organisations do the needful and help the helpless.
From Mr Thomas Matthew Parackel
Kerala, India
Natural disasters
After two decades, the Indian state of Odisha is facing a tough cyclone. The government has taken precautionary measures to evacuate millions of people to a safe place and this is appreciated. Earlier, Odisha saw many cyclones and tragic calamities. I hope this time the government does a better job in taking care of people from any unforeseen happenings. No one can stop nature’s fury. All we can do is pray for safety.
From Mr K. Ragavan
Bengaluru, India
Shift in focus
It takes us far from our clinical role because pharmacists are now involved in insurance approval (“95 per cent pharmacies in Pakistan are run without a pharmacist”, Gulf News, May 6). Their main focus is on insurance approvals - submitting, then calling insurance companies. It makes us deviate from checking patients.
From Ms Naureen Wajid
UAE
A serious issue
Visiting a hospital in Pakistan is a nightmare sometimes. After seeing the doctor you have to wait in queue for your prescribed medicines. If any additional tests need to be conducted then another hour is gone. It’s worse if you are visiting with a toddler.
From Ms Atia Sulman
UAE
Live without attachments
Often, we get attached to people, things, and places and build hopes on them. Along with attachment, we create room for expectations. These expectations are similar to the expectations parents have from children, a wife had from her husband, and vice versa. Employees have expectations from their bosses and the list goes on. When it doesn’t work out the way we want, it breaks our heart. We take things like this too personally and it affects our mental health.
We shouldn’t link our happiness to the actions of other people. If you want to achieve the maximum from life then it is important to live without expectations. Expectations take away ones peace of mind and ruins relationships. One should perform their duty and abandon all attachment to success or failure.
Attachment is nothing but natural consequences of exclusiveness.
From Ms Tejal Shah
Dubai
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