I was a very bright student since I was in Kindergarten. I always loved reading and my dad would always take me to book fairs. Coming from a middle-class family, life had been tough and being the eldest, I was very close to my parents and to their challenges. Despite our daily problems, we never gave up and my mother and father worked so hard to raise us and send us to school. Me, saving my pocket money, teaching my siblings how to save, on mother’s and father’s day, we used to make our parents so cheerful with gifts and our gestures. After I completed my HSC and obtained very good results and got the chance to go to the University, I didn’t. I wanted to be independent since my parents were growing old and I could not let them work more to spend on me. I had younger siblings. Therefore, I started giving tuitions at home; since I was 3 I already knew I wanted to be a teacher. All these years at school, I was writing, reading and practising to be a teacher. Even my school teachers used to make me do the classes in their place 15 mins before the bell rang. Blackboard, chalks school and students were my world. The whole neighbourhood started sending their kids at my place and I was 18 years old at that time. Now my students see me on the road calling Miss and I’m so proud of them- of their success. Between 19-21, I was employed in colleges across Mauritius. I enrolled myself for a BA in English/French and Psychology as Sub at the University of South Africa through distance learning. I did so well. Due to financial issues, I could not complete a year. I was awarded with a certificate for my high marks and any time I could continue my studies from where I left. One day, I got the chance to work in Dubai- I flew on Emirates. I worked as a hostess at the Indego Restaurant at the Grosvenor House. I was the pride of Mauritius, featured in magazines and we even walked the red carpet at the Grosvenor Grammy. Finally, a top shot CEO proposed me to be his Executive Assistant! I was so honest that I told him I had no experience as a secretary for as far as I knew, a course was required for that. ‘My dad used to say, put the person without experience on the job and see how she does the job better than the rest and see how she grows,’ he said to me. I kept thinking about that and the potentials he saw in me, my current manager also advised me to move. They believed in me more than I did. So, I left and joined Hayat Communications. I knew what to expect of me and in a week I was so strong. I grew in that company so much. They were all impressed with my ideas and methods of working. They were appalled. They asked me how did you manage on your own? I said my dad was a very organised person. He used to maintain files at home and he taught me a lot. My mother was the best too, she taught me the rules of the house and hierarchy. Few years later, I was asked to be HR officer in Bahrain for the opening of a new branch: again, no experience but I did the job well. I had learnt a lot; been an executive, PRO, office manager. After that I came back to Dubai and years later I reverted to Islam. When I married my Arab husband years later, after the birth of my son, I was a full-fledged mother. I loved being housewife and at home. In between we were all here in Mauritius to take care of my sick father who was suffering from the Alzheimer’s. After the demise of my dad, I realised that one dream of mine remained unfulfilled and it was dad’s dream as well. Therefore, I wrote Bereft in a month. I received support from my family- my husband being my greatest support, just like dad. A year after, I completed my Diploma in Creative Writing from the Writers Bureau UK. Here I am, not giving up on anything, not leaving tasks incomplete. I wanted to make myself and my family proud of me. I shall continue writing as it makes me happy. Please do check my books, specially OBSTINACY-The Dauntless Chase, as it’s a part of me. BEREFT remains my favourite work. Thanks all for your support and hope to see you at my book signing event on Saturday 17th July 2021. If you need any help on writing, please do reach out to me. I read, rate and give honest reviews on Goodreads. I owe my success to my Allah and I am grateful to Him. I am now graduated with a Gold Seal! My journey will not stop here. I have a lot to achieve. In sha’ Allah. 𝒟𝒽𝒾𝓈𝒽𝓃𝒶 ℛ𝒶𝒹𝒽𝒶𝓎 𝑨𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓/𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒✦𝐹𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑦 ✦𝑀𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦✦𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒈: http://dhishna.weebly.com/ 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: http://www.dhishna.net/ 𝑻𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓~𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 ~𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌: dhishna_writes 🄽🄾🅅🄴🄻🅂🅃🄰🅁 🄰🄼🄰🅉🄾🄽 🄱🄰🅁🄽🄴🅂◆🄽🄾🄱🄻🄴 🅂🄼🄰🅂🄷🅆🄾🅁🄳🅂 🄺🄾🄱🄾 🄰🄿🄿🄻🄴 🄱🄾🄾🄺🅂 🅇🄻🄸🄱🅁🄸🅂 🄶🄾🄾🄳🅁🄴🄰🄳🅂 🅆🄴🄴🄱🄻🅈 You must have heard about BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), the very famous boy band that has mesmerised the planet.
Why are they so popular when most of their songs are in their own mother language-Korean? That is simply because the music and lyrics that are composed are all with deep meanings. Themes like hard work, pain, life, simplicity and kindness are what this generation should be exposed to; not to those indecent aggressive meaningless songs that we hear nowadays. Well, coming back to those flawless gentlemen; Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook, as they are known not only for their singing and dancing, but they also have those RUN BTS episodes where they are thrown into entertaining games. Furthermore, BTS is not of those boys who want their fans (Army) to focus only on their physique-they want their talent to be recognised. Their regular campaigns that promote self-love, kindness and child care have contributed largely to their success. The group launched the anti-violence campaign on 1 November 2017, added more to their popularity among youths. BTS is a band formed since 2010, debuted in 2013 and Army hopes that they do not disband. Are you an Army? You can browse those merches, notepads, pens, bookmarks, stickers in Mauritius at: Le Crack Boutik: www.lecrackboutik.com Luventia Ltd: www.luventia.mu Alternatively, if you have not listened to their superhits that made it to the Billboard: Butter, Dynamite, the list goes on, just as their song-Life Goes On! Find out more about BTS on their website:https://ibighit.com/bts/eng/ SARANGHAE! Yuliya Safonova, of Ukrainian origin, is the owner of Zafirah Fashion, launched in 2011 in Dubai and worldwide. Zafirah Fashion, a brand featuring women’s clothing; abayas, jalabiyas, tops, blouses, coats, jackets, resort wears, beach tunics and evening dresses, with stunning embroideries have charmed the world.
Greetings Ms. Yuliya. It is a pleasure for me to have you with me to speak about fashion, your achievements and how your creativity inspires other women. How did you come up with such a lovely name ‘Zafirah’ for your creations? Why Zafirah? Lots of people ask me this, since they know that my name is Yuliya. It all began I went to Guangzhou to order packaging materials. I thought that I would come to a nice office, meet with graphic designer, we discuss my needs, and they come up with a list of ideas for the branding, logo, etc... In reality to my astonishment, that was a corner in a street market with hundreds of people passing by and pushing me, and I had a carton box instead of a chair! A roadside meeting! I was given one minute to come up with a logo and brand. I went to Google with my hands shaking and I found out that Zafirah as a female name carried the message of success. Bang! Zafirah was born on a street market in China. What are the courses you have followed before starting Zafirah Fashion? Only art school when I was a kid. I did not know anything about sewing or sketching or even marketing or business. Just recently I start learning, and now I feel the need to pursue my studies in fashion design academy in order to grow. Who has been your support all through since the start? I was lucky with my partner in business who showed me all secrets, from the factory owner who showed me all designs, to the sellers from fabric market who gave me the best unique pieces of fabrics which they did not even share with others; to tailors who allowed me to pay them only when I had the means to pay back, to the media people who promoted me and did not charge me anything, I am grateful to all... the list is long! What advice would you give to women and the next generation aspiring to be as successful as you? Number one advice- just do it, but minimize your risks. Prepare a few items, try to sell them online or in exhibitions, see the response of people, feel yourself doing this- how happy you are there. You can share the exhibition booth with someone, you don’t need any license for that. It’s much easier than you could think! 3 mistakes which you could avoid;
My catwalk collection got the theme the four elements to showcase my work. Along with that, I had to present eight black looks and eight white ones just like Yin and Yang. Therefore, I used Swarovski crystals for the element of fire, sequins and floating organza for water, feathers for air, and flowery 3D embroidery for the earth. I’ve got genuine Swarovski stones for a few thousand euros, and Lebanese couture workshop in Dubai Design District did the embroidery. It took around one month for four looks with crystals. Where do you see yourself in two years? Definitely in sustainable fashion. It’s a narrow niche, still, and I don’t want to leave a bad mark on our planet. I’m against overconsumption and fast fashion. How do you manage and spend your free time? I always learn something, that’s the biggest fun for me. I have about 10 courses in my head which I want to take, and 100 ideas which I want to implement. I want to have 8 hands and 4 heads to do everything I have in mind! I would like to thank Ms. Yuliya for her time and advices. To get in touch with her, here are the details: Website: https://taplink.cc/zafirah_fashion Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zafirah_fashion/ Zaarah Geerdharry, a Mauritian and Suleiman Al Hajjar, an Emirati, are set to conquer hearts in Mauritius.The story
Both heartbroken, when they meet each other in Dubai, the love and care that settle between them are wonderful. However, Suleiman has trust issues and one day he crosses all limits. Zaarah drifts away from him, for he hurts her self-respect due to some misunderstandings. Find out if things will get better or worse between them. A novel that deals with love, struggles, pain, heartbreak and faith. Received 5 stars rating and positive reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Paperback available for purchase at Rs. 500. Hardback can be purchased directly from me-contact on: https://www.facebook.com/dhishna.writes/ https://www.instagram.com/dhishna_writes/ Submit your reviews on: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7069997.Dhishna https://www.amazon.com/Bereft-Dhishna/dp/1664100997 Thank you.
You know you are in Dubai when you are facing health issues and find out that various medical tests and treatments are not covered by your insurance company. This was what happened to Mehreen, aged 30, as she recounted her miserable experience after being diagnosed with BI-RADS (Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System) Category 3, and spending more than five thousand dirhams for her treatment.
It all started in 2008 when she suffered from hormonal imbalance, although a common issue among women, hers was serious. One day, she was petrified when she noticed blood discharges from her breasts. ‘I almost fainted and started crying thinking that I had cancer and I was going to die soon,’ Mehreen told me. Fortunately, when she went for a breast ultra-sound at a reputed hospital, the doctor said that there was nothing wrong with her. No lumps were detected and her reports were clear. It was only a hormonal imbalance for which Dr. Nirmala prescribed contraceptive pills to cure her. To her joy, after three months, she was back to a normal state, and was expecting her first baby. She made sure that she did all her follow ups and check ups with Dr. Nirmala only. Months later, when Mehreen held her son for the very first time, it was the best moment of her life. However, six years later, things started to get more serious in her life when this time there was fluid discharged in high quantity from her breasts. Since Dr. Nirmala was no longer in UAE, she had to go to another medical center that was closer to her. The lady doctor, Dr. Neetu, advised her to go for several tests such as, Thyroid, Prolactin and Sonomammography (breasts ultra-sound), in spite of finding no lumps after the breast examination. Luckily, the first two tests’ results were normal whereas the Sonomammography was not a good one. Mehreen was diagnosed with BI-RADS 2 (Bilateral Fibroadenosis with left sided benign cyst). Mehreen got very worried-not only were the bills soaring high, but it seemed that she would need more and more tests, medications for a longer period and life was already so hard in Dubai. When she sat with Dr. Neetu to enquire about her case, Mehreen was shocked at the doctor’s reaction. She seemed to be so casual about it and she had that cold expression that disturbed Mehreen a lot. ‘Will I be fine doctor?’ asked Mehreen ‘We cannot say,’ was the reply. ‘What would you advise me then? How should I take care of myself? I still cannot understand how could I face this issue when no one else has ever been diagnosed with it in my family history?’ Mehreen was panicked. ‘It just come and we do not know why. I advise you to eat healthy food and do another ultra-sound after 6 months,’ she explained. ‘And if I am still not normal?’ questioned Mehreen. ‘Then, what?... Surgery. Simple,’ she still had that indifferent expression. She had no empathy. This is what she lacked as a doctor. Was not she supposed to understand her plight? So Mehreen decided not to come back again. Now after advice from her close friends, Mehreen went to a very professional doctor who referred her to a well-known Diagnostic Center in Dubai. But things did not turn out well. She did a Bilateral Diagnostic Mammography that at first even the doctor was confused about it saying there was something wrong with her and they needed her to come back for a second opinion. The funniest part was when she was asked to pay again. She was very angry and complained saying, ‘ You are the ones who did not understand my report and asked me to come again, so I will not pay. It is not my mistake if you did not do it properly at first!’ So, the medial center did not charge her one more time, for fear she complained to the authorities. When she received her reports, the doctor wanted to meet her and she said that she was now on BI-RADS Category 3 (most likely consistent with benign findings) and she was advised to go for a biopsy immediately to be able to go further with her treatment. Knowing that the biopsy as well will be very expensive and not under insurance coverage, she was reluctant. On top of that, she was very scared of biopsy and surgeries. After consulting all her friends, they all told her to follow the doctor’s advice, as nowadays this was a common issue among women and needed to be treated immediately to avoid any problem in future. But Mehreen decided to take matters in her hand and did a lot of researches online, and found out that biopsy was recommended from Category 4 onward. Hence, she booked the appointment anyway. That day, she set out for her appointment and wanted to get more information about biopsy and BIRADS from the doctor herself. She had a very bad day; since morning she was stuck in traffic due to accidents on the road and when she got to the Diagnostic Center, she was one hour late. The doctor’s assistant told her that she had missed her appointment and had either to wait if no patient turned up she could go in, or to reschedule for another day. The ‘another day’ would mean after a month. How could she come on another day when it was an emergency? She begged to talk to the doctor at least only for fifteen minutes. But the assistant said to wait for an hour more and she would do her best to accommodate her. As Mehreen was in the waiting area, she could see so many magazines about survivors of breast cancer. She read all the inspirational stories as she had a lot of time to do so. At the same time she nervously kept an eye on the time and on the patients as well. There were young women of about her age, some of them were very old too. After two hours, she noticed that there was a gap in the schedule, so she rushed to the assistant to request her to let her meet the doctor. She replied, ‘ No, I am sorry we can’t because maybe the patient pops in!’ Mehreen was now so furious and she said, ‘ You told me to wait and when a patient is late you would let me go in! I just need to talk to the doctor and it will not take more than fifteen minutes!’ She replied, ‘Please come on another day’. Seeing that nothing is going to change, Mehreen snatched her file from them and went out. Once she got home, something caught her attention. Attached to her report was that of a lady that mentioned that she needed a biopsy. Actually, the center had mixed her report with someone else’s, but still when they compiled the information, they released the results on Mehreen’s name. She could not stop thanking God for having saved her from doing a biopsy, because as per her knowledge, once you start doing biopsy, it could be endless. Who would want to be pricked all her life? Finally she was referred to a very good hospital, where Doctor Samah did all her best to try to find out what the root cause. She saw the report from the previous Diagnostic Center and noticed that it could be a wrong one. However, she advised Mehreen to ignore it. Dr. Sama was very patient and jotted down all the information that she needed to know about Mehreen. Mehreen knew that because no one has had this issue in her family for generations, and that she had a son whom she breastfed till he was two, her chances for breast cancer was quite less. Dr. Sama advised her to go for the Ferritin and Vitamin D tests to start her treatment. The result came as a lack of deficiency in both and therefore was given medication. Needless to say, all these treatments and medications were not covered under insurance and drove Mehreen more anxious. Dr. Sama advised her to do another breast ultrasound, as well as a breast mammogram. The result conclude that it was BI-RADS 3, but there was no need to go for any biopsy at this stage. Additionally, Dr. Sama encouraged her to have a healthy diet, less stress and to take the medications she had advised to combat hormonal imbalance. She also assured her that there was nothing to worry about, but continuous follow up was recommended. So, Mehreen got back home, a bit relieved and made up her mind to make her own diet plan. First she required to add foods that were going to boost her Vitamin D and Iron and from now on she was going to have more dairy products (milk, yoghurt, cheese), green leafy vegetables (spinach, pak choi, broccoli, cabbage…), pulses (lentils, red kidney beans..), fruits (strawberries, bananas, apples, cherries, grapes, avocado, papaya…), meat and fish. She also recommended green tea or other herbal teas, to be mixed with honey, at least twice per day. Of course, drinking about two liters of water daily is advisable. In terms of cooking oil, she recommended sunflower oil, and not forgetting to emphasize that olive oil was the best of all. As far as exercise is concerned, she said that she is always super-active; doing her own house chores and often going for long walks, helped her maintain her weight. She had also not given up on the supplements prescribed by her doctor. The good news is that after six months, when she has gone for another mammogram, she was diagnosed with BI-RADS 1 and that would mean she would only require a follow up after a year, just to be on a safer side. Mehreen has shared her personal experience with me, mentioning that she wanted to warn women about taking the decision of going for biopsy or surgery without getting a second opinion. If we wish to, we can take an initiative to help ourselves and by taking care of ourselves. Things to know about BI-RADS categories: |
AuthorWriting keeps me alive. After the success of my first work- "OBSTINACY: The Dauntless Chase", which was published in April 2013, I am currently working on my upcoming novel, "Bereft" to be released soon. Don't ever give up. Life is the best teacher." Archives
December 2023
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