Al Khor, Qatar: As Nami Hader, a 30-year-old gardener from Nepal, approached the entrance to a park outside Qatar's second city Al Khor one day last month, a security guard blocked his way."I wanted to visit the park but I was turned away," said Hader. Qatari families have the right to do these simple things," said Mohannadi."Honestly it's embarrassing for all bachelors around Doha," said Sudeep Paraaj, a steel worker from India's Kerala province."The small Gulf Arab state's reliance on foreign workers to power a 0-billion construction boom ahead of the 2022 World Cup has drawn criticism from labour unions who say migrants are exploited and forced to live in squalid conditions.Unsettled by development pace"Bachelor workers are eroding the privacy and comfort of families," Rashed Al Fadeh, a Qatari journalist, wrote in a column for local Arabic-language daily al-Sharq last year, saying workers overrunning neighborhoods was damaging Qatar's social fabric.

Doha is limited for us.The newly-renovated park - its boating lake, miniature golf course and neatly manicured lawns - was off-limits to men unaccompanied by women or children, the guard said."So-called "bachelor bans" that bar lone men from entering malls and parks on certain days of the week and from living in residential neighborhoods are a common, often loosely-enforced, practice in the conservative Muslim Gulf. This hurts us."Unsettled by the ferocious pace of development and the strain it has put on resources in his home city of Al Khor, 50 km (31 miles) north of the capital Doha, Nasser al-Mohannadi, a member of Qatar's only elected body the Central Municipal Council, is petitioning the government to introduce family-only days in malls across the country.6 million workers including an open-air theatre recently built at a workers' sports complex near Al Khor. but now the purity of our lives, sleep and rest is disturbed.But a recent ramping up of family-only rules in Qatar is excluding the country's vast South Asian workforce, mostly young men who live as temporary residents away from their families, and cutting them off from society, rights groups say.."Going shopping without being stared at, enjoying a park not crowded with men who may look at women and not respect traditions."There is an old graveyard area near Grand Hamad Street [in Doha] which could be developed and set aside for low-income workers for their weekend gatherings.Other workers use plywood to partition villas in Doha into separate apartments, defying a 2010 law that rules it illegal for workers to live in "family areas". "This says to me I am not welcome.6 million, 75 percent of whom are male, according to the country's ministry of planning. "People in camps who live six to a room want to leave to the city whenever they can.In December, construction workers were turned away from a parade event along Doha's corniche marking Qatar's national day celebrations.No one knows exactly how many Qatari citizens there are as the government refuses to release a total but estimates say there are between 200,000 to 250,000.. "It's for families only."A government official said relations between local citizens and expatriates were "harmonious" and "deeply respectful" and that Qatar was working to improve facilities for its more than 1."No bachelors," the guard said.A government official said Qatar was seeking to improve conditions for migrant workers.Local authorities say the measure, enforced by businesses and municipalities, allows families and women who live in crowded and male-dominated cities space to enjoy public facilities."Poor housing is part of the problem," said Paraaj.""No-Go" Housing ZonesAuthorities have in recent months taken steps to further separate workers from locals: ministry of interior maps which highlight in stark green and yellow Doha's "no-go" housing zones for migrant workers were plastered last month on billboards across the capital."Migrant workers who live in labour camps in the desert outside cities often travel to air-conditioned shopping centres in the capital on weekends to transfer money home and escape the summer's searing temperatures."Today if you go to Al Khor on the weekend you may not see one person wearing traditional dress, no Qataris ."Some Qatari families have abandoned habits inherent China Fabric for bag Manufacturers to them and no longer open their doors to visitors."

We are exploring many options including reserving one day a week for workers in public parks when families would not be let in," said the official."Friday is a day off for us but if we go to the parks or the big markets we are turned away.The ‘ban’ bars lone men from entering malls and parks on certain days of the week. We are accustomed to being generous towards outsiders .. It is sad..The tremendous influx of workers has also raised concern among Qataris - outnumbered by foreigners in their own country - that rapid demographic change threatens their way of life.."Qatar's population stands at 2. You can feel like a stranger there now.

Keeping up appearances, in other words."While such a system of checks might not seem quite as dramatically vital in a modern world centuries, shame in fact functions in pretty much the exact same way today. "Our ancestors lived in small, cooperative social groups that lived by hunting and gathering."What is key," said Sznycer, "is that life in our ancestors’ world selected for a neural programme — shame — that today makes you care about how much others value you, and motivates you to avoid things that would trigger negative reevaluations of you by others." According to the researchers, the power of shame to coerce us into behaving in certain "acceptable" ways goes back to ancient human groupings when our inclusion in social life was crucial to our ongoing survival. But, according to a new study, feelings of embarrassment and humiliation are in effect a kind of evolutionary survival mechanism."The more you are valued by the individuals with whom you live, the more weight they will China 600D fabric put on your welfare in making decisions.".

In this world, your life depended on others valuing you enough to give you and your children food, protection and care," said one of the team, anthropologist John Tooby, also of UC Santa Barbara. An international team of researchers says that shame performs a vital role in maintaining our ties to the social fabric, much like other defence mechanisms that prohibit us from doing ourselves physical harm. "The function of shame is to prevent us from damaging our social relationships or to motivate us to repair them."The function of pain is to prevent us from damaging our own tissue," said evolutionary psychologist Daniel Sznycer from the University of California. The researchers describe the process as a kind of internal map we each keep of which acts would trigger a devaluation of our reputation in the eyes of others.Shame is such a powerful and uncomfortable emotion that people might find it hard to believe that it’s actually good for something.

Stressing on the fact that unity and diversity is a part of India’s civilisation value, the President said, "The fabric of our society will remain strong when every individual irrespective of caste, creed, language, religion, region can live and partake in progress without fear and prejudice.At a time when the debate over claims of rising intolerance is rocking the country, President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday underlined the pluralistic nature of India and endorsed "forbearance, restraint and acceptance of views different from some of our core principles." Speaking at the closing ceremony of the bicentenary celebrations of the diocese of Calcutta at St."Mr Mukherjee said that the country is unique in the sense that 130 crore people, speaking 100 languages, 1,600 dialects, with substantial presence of major ethnic groups like the Mongoloid, Caucasian and Dravidians all live under one system, one flag, one Constitution, one administration, one jurisprudence.. "

The river has a tremendous influence, right from its starting point to its mouth in the Bay of Bengal. "India prides itself on its pluralistic ideas."Earlier in the day, President Pranab Mukherjee batted for Clean Ganga initiative and asked the trustees of the temple at Salkia in Howrah to ensure that no pollutants are thrown into the river. Mr Mukherjee Wholesale Polyester Oxford fabric inaugurated a 51-ft statue of Lord Shiva facing the river at Banshidhar Jalan Smriti Mandir, Salkia, on Sunday morning. Here several major religions have thrived because of its assimilative capacity, which has come to define our civilisation. "Belief in pluralism and acceptance of multi-religion makes our nation an oasis for peaceful existence and communal harmony," he added. Paul’s Cathedral, Mr Mukherjee said every religion preaches the fundamental values of humanity. Cleaning of the river is as important as worship of the river," President Mukherjee added.

But minutes later a deformed face peeps back and she runs home in fright. It becomes clear that Sadhna Aunty, in her father’s shoes, is ready to sacrifice her daughter for the family. It occurs to Rakhee that maybe the creature locked in the forest was not a yakshi but someone like Sita, imprisoned by a Ravana. Rakhee is suddenly awake to the whispers in Varma house: Amma stealing secret kisses with Prem, Vijay Uncle and Sadhna Aunty talking about saving the family name and keeping Dev away. Her attempt yields rich results. Deep in the forest she finds a high wall and a locked door.

As she peers in through the keyhole a beautiful garden greets her. She stumbles into a family secret: a stunning garden, a peacock named Puck and a girl named Tulasi." She barges in shouting "Aba! Aba!" only to find the man is not her father but Amma’s old friend Prem. The girl named Tulsi has stayed inside those walls since she was born. It does come but not without damaging the fabric of the novel. Someone she calls "teacher" brings her food and teaches her. The bright Kerala provides the plasma for the story to run. The two girls bond like sisters. The story is in the form of a letter written by a girl to her fiancé. Rakhee and her cousins plan to enact the Ramayana. From learning to eat the Indian way to sleeping on a hard bed, everything is new for her.The happy family picture at the end seems unreal and neutralises the thick aroma of secrets. Rakhee takes to visiting her regularly, stealing books and eatables from the house for her. She has gone to "lay her demons at rest". But she falters in the end as she doesn’t know when it comes. Rakhee and her cousin Krishna wonder: Why does everyone treat him like he is the king That night she catches Amma sneaking into the forbidden woods with her elder sister, Sadhana Chechi. The story should have ended here but it lingers on. Perhaps some elements should have been left incomplete after all what wouldn’t we do to uncoil the coiled and then coil it up again. Next day after a harrowing visit to the hospital opened by her grandfather, Rakhee rushes to find Amma. This time determined to find more. In the din of a house teeming with relatives and servants, Rakhee misses her father acutely. Her narrative is quick and her story knows its way through dense family histories. As Rakhee thinks of ways to save Geetanjali, she realises her mother and Prem also have a plan of their own that includes her but excludes her Abba. But Rakhee is determined to bring her parents together. Nair is a skilled writer. The Varma household is unlike anything Rakhee has seen. The first signs of mystery in the Varma house emerge with the appearance of Dev Uncle. She cannot leave the place as she had been told she was the daughter of the Tulsi plant and was "different" from the others. Meanwhile, a visit to Savitri Ammomma, grandfather’s sister, introduces a new piece in the puzzle: Sadhna Aunty. Nair treads the precarious line between so-called chick-lit and serious fiction. She allows relationships betwe-en women characters to grow away from the world of clichés. While most of the story is through the eyes opf a child, the writer of the letter emerges in the end making peace wi-th her mother. The story runs in first person and much of it is the voice of a 10-year-old Rakhee Singh who is brought from her Minnesota home to a village called Malanad in Kerala. The characters grow old in the shadow of what happened that year in Malanad and wait for the ultimate filmy union to come about. She knows something is amiss between her parents. By now Rakhee’s bag is full of threads that don’t lead anywhere: Amma’s said betrothal to Dev Uncle, her relationship with Prem, Sadhna Aunty’s rebellious marriage, a deranged servant woman Hema and the girl locked in the garden.Things come to a break point when the elders announce the betrothal of Sadhna Aunty’s eldest daughter Geetanjali to Dev Uncle. The first attempt to keep a secret is often the beginning of its end.Nair creates a world remarkable for its milieu. It is a women-centric story that comes across as natural. Kamala Nair’s The Girl in The Garden is a gripping story about coming of age.As several skeletons tumble out of the Varma cabinet, Rakhee chooses to return to Minnesota with her father while her mother stays behind, living next door to her China Pu coated Oxford fabric childhood lover. A vibrant hum runs along the narrative, never letting it flag. As Dev greets Rakhee in his stutter, "H-h-h-how are you , molay," she shrinks back.Secrets have a chequered life. Nothing, not even the fear of a child-devouring yakshi (demon), can keep a 10-year-old Rakhee away from woods. She goes back into the forest.

It had started since letters from India began arriving for Amma in Minnesota. Born in London, Nair lives in New York City where she grew up. Rakhee’s coming of age, young girls’ discovering their sprouting bodies and a strikingly beautiful Amma, find place in the story without becoming its sole obsession. Annoyed, she runs out into the woods where her Amma had begged her not to go. The children watch Dev order the women around. Something had started to change since then. From Amma’s room she hears a man’s soft voice and Amma’s reply, "I missed you so much.