As written for The UAE Community Blog. Residents of the Emirates were racked with the shocking news that Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed (younger brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi) was involved in a plane crash last Friday. On the recovery of his body from a […]
The norm when it comes to most charity dinners or events, is that donors have to fork up a heavy sum (usually a fixed amount) to book themselves a ’table.’ These to-do’s are normally frequented by the elite of the social hierarchy and is heavy with an air of pretension so thick that the muah-muah’s […]
I very grudgingly drove up to the festival venue on Saturday the 14th of March. It was the last day of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, and judging by the back-to-back sessions I had lined up for day, I had a sinking feeling this day was going to just whizz past. Having said hello […]
Day 3 of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature was probably the day with the most attendance; being a public holiday might have had something to do with it. When I arrived at the venue at 10.00am, the InterCon was teeming with the anticipation of another lit-induced high. Sessions were due to start for the […]
When I scored an interview with Alexander McCall Smith, I was so ecstatic that I walked into the room without my pen and notepad. Only after excusing myself to hurry out and get them, did we finally sit down for an interview. Sorry, chat. Best known as the man behind The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency […]
I had much to look forward to from Day 2 of the Lit Fest. The possibility of rubbing shoulders with many more of the great Litteratis and the agenda of sessions I had scheduled for the day had me rushing out of the office half way though the day. Being a Thursday evening and the […]
Some might have grown out of the books they used to read as a child, but for others it’s harder to let go. I managed to catch a quick chat with Ian Whybrow at the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature this evening; best-selling author of over a 100 children’s books, so well-received that they’ve been […]
My excuse for not being present at the grand opening of the Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature, is work. Eager though to make sure I made the most of what I had missed, I rushed straight from the office to the festival venue. The evening was relatively calmer in comparison to earlier in the day […]
As written for The UAE Community Blog The term book or reading is tragically fast becoming (if not already) synonymous with the moniker nerd, or even geek. Imagine then the tag assigned to an entire festival dedicated to the sole purpose of promoting literature. The Emirates Airlines International Festival of Literature (EAIFL) was launched in 2009 to dispel that very […]
As written for The UAE Community Blog The newly enforced (and long overdue) ruling in Dubai against the levying of service tax at restaurants has turned the cards in our favour, for both expats and locals alike. For many a night out we’ve failed to take into account with how much weightage that 10% obligatory […]
As written for The March 18 Movement Freedom of expression. A term that weighs different on the scales of every individual. Be it invisible fetters that hold back tears, or physical restraints that gag your right to scream. Be it the dread of a tyrant’s wrath, or the fear of thoughts out loud breaking that […]
The Kaftan Writer 
March 31, 2010
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