Accessories such as statement earrings, sparkling bags and colourful bindis make an ensemble look more festive. Photo: Panna Munyal
Accessories such as statement earrings, sparkling bags and colourful bindis make an ensemble look more festive. Photo: Panna Munyal
Accessories such as statement earrings, sparkling bags and colourful bindis make an ensemble look more festive. Photo: Panna Munyal
Accessories such as statement earrings, sparkling bags and colourful bindis make an ensemble look more festive. Photo: Panna Munyal

Choosing a Diwali outfit for a Dubai bash is at once pleasurable and painstaking


Panna Munyal
  • English
  • Arabic

I possess exactly one pair of silver payals. And I wrap them around my ankles precisely once a year. The same goes for the colourful bindis stashed away in the bottom drawer of my dresser. And the embroidered potli that holds said bindis (and not much else), should one get swiped off my forehead during my sister-in-law's annual Diwali bash. I will, after all, be air-kissing close to 100 guests.

The Festival of Lights is (almost) here. And like millions of Indians, finding the right festive garb is high on my to-do list. As is cleaning the house from top to bottom to entice Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, to cross my threshold, and buying sweets by the platterful for gifts and eating purposes.

Buying new clothes is considered auspicious during Diwali, because the festival represents fortuitous beginnings. Several designer trunk shows come to town and desi stores in Old Dubai are ablaze with outfits encrusted with sequins, crystals, mirrorwork and even faux gemstones. All the more difficult to find one, though, if you’re on the prowl for apparel that is contemporary (not for me sleeves of pearls tipped with diamantes), wearable (sashaying about in a 10-kilogram lehenga isn’t my strong suit), and still manages to get a nod of approval from dozens of bling-tastic aunties.

Most years I rely on the intricate embroidery skills that Indian tailors the world over have mastered. I pick chikankari kurtas from Lucknow, with the simple white-work floral embroidery standing out against a maroon brocade or a yellow muslin.

The writer, in yellow, at a Diwali party in Dubai. Photo: Panna Munyal
The writer, in yellow, at a Diwali party in Dubai. Photo: Panna Munyal

Another time a Rajasthani gota patti shalwar with silver lace and shimmering sequins was suitable. My favourite thus far is the zardosi goldwork anarkali suit in raw silk, which I donned for a mid-November Diwali. But I fear the weather won’t permit the notoriously heavy fabric this year.

And so the search continues, although I have my eye on a sari-dress that does not require endless draping, and has a thick, raw-gold border that looks lush but is lightweight.

The sari-dress is but one of the many “Indo-western” outfit options to choose from. From evening dresses with intricate embroidery, to skirts and tops interwoven with metallic threadwork, this category of Indianwear is ideal for those who want to repeat the outfit for other, less-Indian occasions. Simply forgo the bindis and jootis, and put on a beret and boots instead.

Accessories, then, go a long way towards completing a Diwali outfit. From ethnic choker necklaces and swinging jhumkas to cocktail rings that resemble the sun, sparkling jewellery (real or costume) is half the festive-wardrobe battle won.

One has to be careful not to overdo it, though. A heavily embroidered choli will clash with a statement necklace, while abstract-shaped rings and clasp bangles will snag on certain fabrics ― your own and, worse, those of others. I once spent 15 mortifying minutes disentangling my spiky square bracelet from an unamused aunt wearing a netted bustier. It was a mesh.

This is why I swear by earrings ― my weak spot and, arguably, the most effective piece of jewellery to pair with an Indian outfit, and with low chances of snag. Visible whether you’re standing or sitting, chandelier earrings lend an air of elegance and flatter most face shapes and hairstyles (just remember to prep the lobes with baby oil a few hours ahead).

Another hack I rely on is to pair a simple outfit with a luxe-looking dupatta, tassels and all. It doubles as the ornamentation against a solid colour fabric and photographs beautifully to boot.

All this planning (and agonising) aside, donning traditional garb is a great deal of fun, both for its novelty and cultural value. To those of us living abroad, Diwali provides a rare chance to pick up and put on Indian clothes in all their finery, as well as promoting a sense of community when everyone comes together to celebrate in their sparkling best.

Plus, it’s a blessing that the drapes and folds of most Indian clothes hide the evidence of all that gorging on all those plattersful of sweets, which is almost par for the course during this most hedonistic of festivals.

Scroll through the gallery below to see the mithais commonly eaten during Diwali

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ICC men's cricketer of the year

2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi

Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20Vol%203
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Gunn%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chris%20Pratt%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Dave%20Bautista%2C%20Vin%20Diesel%2C%20Bradley%20Cooper%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In%20the%20Land%20of%20Saints%20and%20Sinners
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERobert%20Lorenz%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Liam%20Neeson%2C%20Kerry%20Condon%2C%20Jack%20Gleeson%2C%20Ciaran%20Hinds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Match info

Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')

Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare

Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.

Essentials

The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours 
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.

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UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

Community Shield info

Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)

Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte

Referee Bobby Madley

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'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

While you're here
Results

Stage Two:

1. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 04:20:45

2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates

4. Olav Kooij (NED) Jumbo-Visma

5. Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ

General Classification:

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Fenix 09:03:03

2. Dmitry Strakhov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:04

3. Mark Cavendish (GBR) QuickStep-AlphaVinyl 00:00:06

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:00:10

5. Pascal Ackermann (GER) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:12

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
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Updated: October 21, 2022, 6:02 PM`