Tag: MUSCAT

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Business Lite Blogs UAE News

Muscat Sky Lighting opens in Ruwi

The Group’s concept building materials outlet called ‘Souq’ was opened last year, catering to the increasing needs of the construction sector in the country…reports Vinod Raghavan

Muscat Sky Lighting, part of the ambitiously growing United Oman Sky Group, has opened its brand new showroom exclusively for lighting solutions on Honda road, under the auspices of Hamed al Wuhaibi, member of board of directors of Muscat Municipality, on Sunday.

Arranged in around 1,500 square metre, the state-of-the-art show room is a one stop solution for all lighting solutions and houses most brands from China and elsewhere, according to the promoters.

“We are glad to have opened the first such showroom, which is a dream come true, that offers all lighting solutions to new as well as existing buildings,” said PC Shabeer, Managing Director of the Sky Group.

“What makes us unique is that we can custom-made lights and lighting solutions according to the choices and preferences of our customers. This is in addition to our other showrooms that offer complete building material, construction materials, real estate, electrical and cctv solutions,” he added.

Other business verticals of United Oman Sky Group include equipment, paint products, wooden and joinery interior fitouts, digital offset printing, restaurant and bakery sectors and the like, besides being an authorised dealer in Oman for Asian Paints.

The Group’s concept building materials outlet called ‘Souq’ was opened last year, catering to the increasing needs of the construction sector in the country.

Sky Group is a company based in Oman that has been in the building materials industry for the past 10 years. The company is known for its own brand of building materials called Sky Oman which has gained popularity in the local market.

Sky Group is owned by a young entrepreneur named PC Shabeer, who has been instrumental in the company’s growth and success. Under his leadership, the company has been able to establish a strong presence in the local market and expand its business operations.

ALSO READ-Ambassador Imran Ali Chaudhary Applauds ‘Des Pardes’ Team in Muscat

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Films Lite Blogs UAE News

Ambassador Imran Ali Chaudhary Applauds ‘Des Pardes’ Team in Muscat

He liked the 24-minute film directed by Anirban Ray, filmmaker and journalist, which shows workers from four different nations viz. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, living together, when a co-worker was in deep trouble, all three of them come together and share the burden amongst them and helps their co-worker without thinking for a second of any caste, religion or nationalities…reports Vinod Raghavan

The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Sultanate of Oman felicitated the cast and crew members of short film “Des Pardes” at a jam-packed auditorium of Pakistan School Muscat on Thursday evening.

The Ambassador of Pakistan, Imran Ali Chaudhary, felicitated the entire team individually and presented Certificate of Appreciation which was signed by him personally.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ambassador, who watched the entire film at the special screening at the Pakistan School Muscat auditorium, appreciated the film theme which shows workers from four different nationalities viz. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, sharing their joy and happiness laced with sorry tales. He emphasized that need of the hour is to look beyond the boundaries and think from the human perspective.

He liked the 24-minute film directed by Anirban Ray, filmmaker and journalist, which shows workers from four different nations viz. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, living together, when a co-worker was in deep trouble, all three of them come together and share the burden amongst them and helps their co-worker without thinking for a second of any caste, religion or nationalities.

He also said, that, technology can have its own way, but never neglect the human aspects, which is full of emotions, feelings, understanding and bonding.

He also revealed, that he is working to get the Pakistan embassy works on Fridays which is a weekly holiday in Oman. Backing his point, he said, that Friday is the only day, when a worker gets off day and if they have any work related to Embassy or government departments, it becomes difficult for them to convince their higher-ups to allow them to get their work done on a working day in Embassy.

He also emphasized that the good messages related to humanity should reach widely to the general public and the best mode is via films, newspapers, TV channels and ofcourse social media.

The film was attentively watched by the distinguished guests – spouse of Egyptian Ambassador Manal Adil, Pakistan Ambassador and his family, Ameer Hamza, Chairman, Pakistan School Board, students and parents, Dr. J. Retnakumar, Chairman, Bhavalaya Art & Foundation, Piya Pawani, model and actor, Lovel Edathil Balakrishnan, Indu Baburaj both well-known actors and Lakshmi Kottaneth, known journalist.

The event was hosted by Ambreen Liyaqat, Information Affairs Director, Pakistan Embassy.

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Arts & Culture Lite Blogs Theatre

When Shakespeare became a Malayalee in Muscat

There is a strong old belief that art and culture do not have any boundaries. This proved very much true in Muscat. Although the 150-minute play was in Malayalam language, the audience in the 750-capacity auditorium watched the live performances with much awe in full attendance, and without any break…writes Vinod Raghavan

How often does one find William Shakespeare speaking in Malayalam? But this happened in Muscat last weekend!

After eight months of non-stop efforts in putting together from scratch, the performance of Ithihasam – A Journey to William Shakespeare, was a fitting tribute to the play’s director, Rajesh Balakrishnan. He had put all his dreams and hard work into getting the best from his 40-member team of artists before a jam-packed auditorium of Oman Film Society at Airport Heights, Muscat on November 3 and 4, 2023.

Balakrishnan had a strong belief in himself to bring out the best in those hitherto unknown faces, who came together from different walks of life to perform together and put life into the characters that they played. Entire Oman, it appeared, was patiently waiting to see them perform in a play that was about the great dramatist of the 15th century, William Shakespeare.

The play was in Malayalam, but language was not a deterrent to the theatre lovers of Oman. Many in the audience hailed from different parts of the world – from Oman, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and many from the West Asian countries besides the different states of India. They all equally enjoyed the performances of the actors.

There is a strong old belief that art and culture do not have any boundaries. This proved very much true in Muscat. Although the 150-minute play was in Malayalam language, the audience in the 750-capacity auditorium watched the live performances with much awe in full attendance, and without any break.

Even the VVIP guests including Nepal Ambassador Dornath Aryal who was accompanied by his wife, Sri Lankan Ambassador Ahamed Lebbe Sabarulla Khan, and Reena Jain, First Secretary, Embassy of India in Oman, watched the entire drama along with the top officials of the Oman Film Society, as well as  Al Sheikh Syed Fayyaz Ali Shah, Chairman of Syed Fayyaz Group of Companies and Aftab Patel of Al Omaniya Financial Services.

Among those who attended the show was also Omani Actress Habiba Al Salti.

The main role of William Shakespeare was played by the versatile actor Biju Vargheese and his wife Anna’s role was portrayed by Dhanya Manoj,  a teacher in Muscat.

The play was produced by Dr. J. Retnakumar’s Bhavalaya Art and Culture Foundation in collaboration with International Organisation Creative LLC.

Dr Retnakumar, who had earlier played the role of ‘King Lear’ in a short film made by Oman’s known short filmmaker Anirban Ray, said, “The inspiration to bring Shakespearean theatre to Oman was born from a deep desire to infuse our culture with the timeless brilliance of the bard. It was a journey marked by relentless struggle, assembling a big cast and crew dedicated to bringing the play to the land of the Sultanate of Oman.

“We faced the monumental task of recreating the old English world on stage, and we were fortunate to have special stage craft experts such as Sugathan Master, who joined us from India,” Dr.Retnakumar said.

A real feel of Shakespeare’s village and his house in Stratford was created by veteran Sujathan Master, who was camping in Muscat for over a month and was minutely working with the script details with the Director and his assistants.

The director of the play Balakrishnan, a down-to-earth man, has many credentials in the field of art and culture. Untouched by the glamour of theatre, he was seen at a Ruwi restaurant after the show, having traditional Kerala food along with Sugathan Master and the scriptwriter Ashok Shashi. @C Global Bihari – https://globalbihari.com/

ALSO READ-Theatre Needs More Support, Corporate Backing Lacking

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Arab News

Annual HSBC Ramadhan Masters Golf Series concludes at Ras Al Hamra

The HSBC Ramadhan Masters Golf Series is an annual recurring event at Ras Al Hamra golf club and consists of 12 events; including 9 individual and 3 pairs events…reports Asian Lite News

The annual HSBC Ramadhan Masters Golf Series concluded at Ras Al Hamra golf club on Thursday 28th April with a presentation ceremony attended by representatives from HSBC and a large number of participants who represented all of the Muscat golf clubs.  Being the only floodlit golf course, Ras Al Hamra becomes the home of golf during the holy month of Ramadhan and provides a great venue for all golfers from Muscat and particularly those who are observing fasting during the day and finds it difficult to pursue their passion for the game of golf while fasting.

The HSBC Ramadhan Masters Golf Series is an annual recurring event at Ras Al Hamra golf club and consists of 12 events; including 9 individual and 3 pairs events. Participants are divided into 3 divisions based on their handicaps and compete within their respective divisions.  Three competition takes place 3 times a week in different formats with participants vying for both divisional and novelty prizes and the order of merit that runs throughout the month which will determine the winners and runner-up in each division. The month-long series saw more than 650 rounds of golf played and an average tournament participation of around 55 players.

This year’s HSBC Ramadhan masters golf series was supported by Al Felaij Watches and Altaf Ahmed Beg Trade The prize presentation ceremony was to award prizes to the overall order of merit winners in each division as well as the overall winner of the series who has accumulated most order of merit points during the month long series.

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Carlos Moreno emerged as the overall winner of the order of merit with 78 order of merit points. Overall Gross order of Merit winner was Ahmed Al Wahaibi with a combined gross score of 141 and runner-up was Hussain Dad with a score of 145. Division 1 Order of Merit winner was Ferdie Gericke with 65 points and runner-up was Juan Moreno with 56 points. Division 2 Order of Merit winner was Elana Pienaar with 60 points and runner-up was Henry Geddam with 59 points. Division 3 Order of Merit winner was Mitrangshu Dutta with 40 points and runner-up was Wessel Pienaar with 36 points.

Simon Walker, Ras Al Hamra Golf Club Captain thanked all participants and sponsors who made it possible for the club to host this great event. With special thanks to Shawn Skibinsky, Ras Al Hamra Golf Club Operations Manager and his team who managed the month-long series in an impeccable way ensuring timely issuance of match draws and results announcements.