DUBAI // Artist Anjali Srinivasan is breathing new life into unwanted glass by turning discarded bottles, jars and even window panes into beautiful ornaments.
Glass is one of the easiest items to recycle but tonnes of it still ends up in landfills. Ms Srinivasan hopes to encourage residents to create their own art and stresses the need to act more responsibly with glass waste.
“As someone who works with glass I respect it,” says the graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. “I don’t want it to be rubbish.
“The idea is to give people a better option. We always tell people we upcycle their waste, we make it better.”
Ms Srinivasan’s interest in glassmaking started about two decades ago when she studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in her native India.
She was given an assignment to design glass tableware which led her to the town of Firozabad, where glass is made on a large scale.
“The town is actually really scary,” says Ms Srinivasan, 37.
“When I went there the working conditions were abysmal.”
Despite the conditions, she was fascinated with “the beautiful rhythm glass has when it is hot”, and decided to find out more creating with it.
She soon discovered the work of American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and contacted him to ask for advice about where she should study glassblowing. He wrote back, giving her some benefit of his experience.
It was only when she was enrolled at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University that she realised how important he was as an artist.
“I should have saved that email,” she says.
After an apprenticeship in Sweden and a job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Ms Srinivasan returned to India to work as a consultant for the government, helping to re-energise traditional crafts.
She decided last year to set up shop in Dubai in Al Quoz.
It took almost 12 months to design and build her workshop, which she has called ChoChoMa Studios.
She had to hire an electrical engineer to instal the glassblowing and sculpting equipment she uses to create her works.
Her pieces vary from tiles to separation walls and large-scale installations.
She also gives glassmaking classes in basic, one-hour modules to allow students to try relatively simple tasks such as making beads.
People can also learn the more complicated process of blowing glass – no mean feat as the glass has first to be melted in a furnace at 1,200°C before being pliable.
“We are trying to be as flexible as possible with people’s desire to learn,” Ms Srinivasan says.
Tirtha Chatterjee, 28, helped Ms Srinivasan collect 150 glass bottles from Bianca Mozzarella and Co in Jumeirah and other restaurants, turning what was regarded as waste into decorative ice cream scoops and tumblers.
“It is good to see how the trash becomes a treasure,” Ms Chatterjee says.
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Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
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Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
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T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
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Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
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Rating: 3.5/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
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Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
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Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
The specs
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