S RY Tidying Up With Marie Kondo - Gulf Times

4GULF TIMES Wednesday, January 30, 2019COMMUNITYCOVER STORYTime for de-cluttering‘By Yvonne VillarrealMarie Kondo has seenyour efforts. TheMt. Everest-sizedheap of clothesthat’s taken overyour bed, the drawers of T-shirtsneatly folded and lined upright,that once-chaotic kitchen pantrythat now looks ready for the pagesof Real Simple magazine.The de-cluttering guru, whoseorganisational philosophy hasdrawn global attention since2011 with her bestselling books,including The Life-ChangingMagic of Tidying Up, has reacheda new level of influence andnotoriety – and criticism –since the launch of her homemakeover show for Netflix, nowstreaming in 190 countries. Withthe debut of Tidying Up WithMarie Kondo, cleverly releasedon Jan 1 for those seeking a resetin the new year, she has quicklyemerged as a cultural and socialmedia sensation. Good lucktrying to evade the before-andafter Instagram photos of newlyorganised sock drawers. The buzzhas lifted Kondo to meme-levelcelebrity, the modern markerof relevancy. Her “spark joy”concept even appeared on postersat last week’s women’s marches.“My team has shared a greatmany photos and memes withme,” Kondo, 34, says through herinterpreter, Marie Iida, who hasbecome a celebrity in her own rightsince appearing on the show.“I’m very surprised by the veryhuge reaction,” Kondo adds, “butwhat makes me especially happyis that so many people who watchthe show have implemented theKonMari method of tidying.”Her method’s hallmark can besummed up as such: Keep itemsthat “spark joy” when held – aconcept she designed to helpdetermine which things to carryinto your future. Items that don’tspark joy should be thanked anddiscarded. It’s a concept repeatedtime and again in the series asKondo helps American families findthe joy in tidying.By now, everyone wants toroam the aisles of the ContainerStore with Kondo or peek insideher Los Angeles home, which shemoved into last fall and shares withher husband and two daughters.Instead, we are, in a minimalistWest Hollywood residence thatserves as the office of KonMari’screative agency, the Outset. KondoI think one of thereasons tidyingand cleaning areconsidered tediousis it’s imposedupon us as a duty.But that’s the mindset I would like tochangestands out in a black-and-whitegingham dress, looking even morepetite and dainty than she appearson TV.She speaks softly but quickly,with graceful hand movementsfor emphasis, while Iida listenscarefully and scribbles onto anotepad to serve up a translation.Kondo says that, when tidying athome, she wears hoodies just likeus. She doesn’t have a junk draweror a secret messy closet, but admitsshe sometimes lets the laundry pileup.“I think one of the reasonstidying and cleaning are consideredtedious is it’s imposed upon us asa duty. But that’s the mind-set Iwould like to change. By tidying,we’re allowed to reorient ourselves;we’re able to discover our senseof value. I’d like to pinpoint thepositive aspects of tidying.”’It’s an undertaking she’s beenpreparing for since she was a kid.Kondo grew up in Tokyo. Herfather was a physician, her mothera homemaker. While other kidsenjoyed recess, Kondo preferredto clean up lockers. The middlechild of three – she has an olderbrother and a younger sister– Kondo willingly took on hersiblings’ chores. Her zealous effortssometimes got her in trouble – likethe time she threw away one of herdad’s suits.Her early ideas of tidying focusedon elimination – “I would comehome from school and even beforeI took off my uniform, I would startrummaging for things to throw out.There was never peace in my heart.I was always just stressed out untilone day I just completely passedout.”The episode brought her to

Wednesday, January 30, 20195COMMUNITYCOVER STORYshift her philosophy – to focus onretaining “things that spark joy.”She never thought she couldturn her hobby into a career. Butwhen she was in college at TokyoWoman’s Christian University, shestarted an organisational consultingbusiness as a side gig to her fulltime job at an HR company. Withina few years, as word-of-mouthspread, Kondo quit her job. Thencame the books, which have soldmore than 11 million copies in 40countries and helped fashion hername into a verb.TV was a logical next step.Gail Berman, chairman and CEOof the Jackal Group, which producesthe Netflix series, says there werediscussions about developingKondo’s book as a scripted series ormovie.“Ultimately, we just came back tothe same thing: It’s really all aboutMarie,” Berman says by phone.“It’s all about people and theirinteractions with Marie and whatshe has to say. That message wasa simple one: Spark joy, spark joy,spark joy. Once we fully understoodGULF TIMESthat, it really became clear to uswhat the show was.”That it made its home on thecontent-hoarding platform Netflixis fitting. The streaming giant hassteadily been building its benchof binge-worthy unscriptedprogramming – its reboot of “QueerEye” was last year’s success story.“In some of our unscriptedshows, people love to connectwith relatable, emotionalstories and see some kind oftransformation,” says Netflix’svice president of content BelaBajaria. “This was in that veinof being able to follow people’sjourneys. And there’s also a realjoyfulness to Marie – and thatelement shares DNA with some ofour other unscripted shows.Last spring, Kondo visitedeight Los Angeles-area familieslooking to reduce their domesticchaos: There was the empty-nestcouple with too many Christmasdecorations and baseball cards; afamily of four transitioning from afour-bedroom house to a twobedroom apartment; a coupleexpecting their first baby butoverwhelmed by a bounty of shoesand clothing.In this makeover show, theparticipants do the work. Kondosets each family on their journeybefore leaving them on their own– checking in roughly seven timesthroughout the process.Recent widow Margie Hodges, ,who appears in the fourth episode,was living in a two-story CulverCity home filled with belongingsof her three grown children andlate husband before Kondo arrived.She found the process to beenlightening, if a little daunting.“Before the show, I regularlywent through my clothes – or soI thought,” Hodges says. “WhenI started making the mountain ofclothes on my bed, I was mortified.You can’t believe it when you seeit that way . I did have a little bitof a low point when they left mealone for 10 days to work on thejunk bedroom, the one with boxesand photographs and all my craftsupplies. But it sort of becomes thischallenge you don’t want to fail.”Kondo’s technique can be jarringto those who feel overwhelmed, orbound, by their possessions. It’swhy the chatter about the show isso fervent. While Kondo’s methodsled to criticism and analysis longbefore the show premiered, a newwave of think pieces has trickledin. Some focus on the way theshow reveals a gender imbalanceon domestic expectations. Kondocoincidentally wrote a collegethesis on gender and tidying inJapan. “I was actually surprisedafter the show came out that thesame discussions were happeningin the U.S. because from a Japanesestandpoint, we see America as farmore progressive,” she says.And then there was the bookcontroversy. Word spread oversocial media that the Kondomethod allowed you to keep just 30books.“I do think there aremisconceptions,” Kondo says. “Iwas quite surprised because somethings that I’ve never said beforeare being talked about as part ofmy method. I think this occurredbecause in one of my books I saidthat when I was going through mybooks I had about 30 books left.Maybe misreading there.”Kondo clarifies her stance, incase there remains any confusion.“The important concept of mymethod is that you focus not onwhat you want to discard but whatyou want to retain, what you wantto keep in your life. So if you lovebooks, if you’re passionate aboutbooks, go ahead and keep themwith every confidence.”“The show has done well – and ithas done well globally,” Bajaria says.“We’re sparking joy everywhere.It’s too soon to talk about numbers.But we love to see the culturalconversation it’s sparked.”Will that spark of joy stay strongbeyond these initial eight episodes?“If a great many people expressthat hope,” she says, “and if I amgiven the amazing opportunity,then yes, that is a challenge I’d loveto welcome.”Closets and pantries everywhereare bracing for impact.— Los Angeles Times/ TNS

6GULF TIMES Wednesday, January 30, 2019COMMUNITYBPS organises ‘My Fun Day at Birla Paradise’Birla Public School (BPS) recently organised an event ‘My Fun Day at Birla Paradise’. Lukose K Chacko,Chairman of BPS, was the chief guest at the event. The event was attended by Maria Thomas, Directorof BPS; along with A P Sharma, Principal; Shirly Rappai, Senior Vice Principal; and vice principals,headmistresses and heads of various departments. Lukose K Chaco hoisted the school flag andinaugurated the event. The event kicked off with the march past, which was followed by PT, colourfuldrills and karate.The winners of various competitions were felicitated with medals and prices on theoccasion. The students of Kindergarten took part in the closing ceremony. Maria Thomas declared theevent closed and thanked all the faculty members for their hard work and support.QatarDebate organises third edition of Qatar Universities Debate LeagueQatarDebate, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and CommunityDevelopment, in collaboration with National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW),recently organised the third edition of Qatar Universities Debate League (QUDL) in English at WeillCornell Medicine – Qatar. Some 20 teams from 8 institutions participated in the league, includingCarnegie Mellon University in Qatar, College of North Atlantic Qatar, Georgetown University Schoolof Foreign Service in Qatar, Northwestern University Qatar, Qatar University, Hamad bin KhalifaUniversity, and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.The rounds discussed three thought-provoking topics, including ‘this house would offer Omar alBashir immunity in return for leaving power’, ‘this house would aggressively downsize megacitiesin developing countries’, and ‘this house would only allow non-commercial research anddevelopment of CRISPR technology’.Qatar University won the league, which was followed by Weill Cornell Medicine in Qatar,Northwestern University in Qatar and Georgetown University Qatar.The dignitaries from NCPW who attended the debating league, included Lieutenant AbdulAzizHamdan al-Ahmed, General Secretary of NCPW; Professor Salwan K J al-Ani, PhD Radiation Expert;Wael Nasser Eddin al-Assad, Expert; and Mohamed Abdallah, Expert Assistant. Jamal al-Baker,Community Engagement Manager at QatarDebate, and Aisha Y al-Nesf, Head of EducationalProgrammes at QatarDebate, also attended the event.Students of DMIS participate in THIMUN Qatar ConferenceSome 18 students from Senior Wingof Doha Modern Indian School (DMIS)recently participated in the eightedition of THIMUN Qatar Conference,organised by Qatar Foundation’sPre-University Education at QatarNational Convention Centre. Some1,800 students from 64 local andinternational schools participatedin the conference. The conferenceincluded discussion and debatingsessions.The delegates of DMIS wereassigned two countries to represent,including Spain and United ArabEmirates. They debated on a rangeof topics including disarmament, theenvironment, human rights and therule of law.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019GULF TIMES7COMMUNITYCIGI elects new office bearersCentre for Information and Guidance India (CIGI) Doha Chapter recently elected its new officebearers. The new senior visionaries, include Abdul Kareem K, Academics; Haji K V Abdulla Kutty,Community and Membership; and Mohammed Firoz C M. The newly elected office bearers,include Dr M P Muhammed Shafi, Chairman; Hammad Abdurahiman, Vice Chairman; AmeenAsif AbdulRasheed, General Secretary; Issuddin K K, Chief Co-ordinator; Mansoor Ali P, Treasurer;Vannarath, Senior Co-ordinator of Human Resources and Community Leadership; Mohamed Faisal,Senior Co-ordinator for Career Guidance; and Dr Sameer Kalandan, Executive Member.The newly elected co-ordinators, include Faisal Niyaz Hudawi, Media and Public Relations; RasheedAhmed T S, IT & Knowledge Management Centre; Ruknudin Abdulla, Differential Aptitude Test; NaaziChemmannur, Activity; Faisal A K, Employability; Firos P T, Career Guidance; Thaha Muhammed,Human Resources and Community Leadership; and A K Fazil Hameed, Achievers Club.The deputy co-ordinators, include Haneef Hudawi, Human Resources and Community Leadership;and Siddiq Parambath, Activity.The election process was led by Muhammed Firoz, CIGI International Chairman. Hamad AbdulRahman, Vice Chairman, presented 2018-19 report. Shameer Abdulla, outgoing General Secretary,welcomed the gathering and Haji Abdulla Kutty proposed a vote of thanks.Brainobrain Qatar organises 3rd National Abacus Competition FestivalBrainobrain Qatar recently organised 3rd National Abacus Competition Festival at the Qatar Volleyball Association. Some 600 children participated in the competition and showcased theirconcentration and math skills. The winners were also felicitated on the occasion. Some 200 students who graduated by completing all ten levels of skill development programme were also honoured.OIS marks 70th Republic Day of IndiaOlive International School (OIS) recently organised a special assembly to mark the 70th Republic Day of India. The event was attended by Jacob J M, Principal of OIS, along with vice principal, coordinators, faculty members and students of Grade I-VII. The event kicked off with a patriotic song, which was followed by a drama and dance performance by the students of Grade V.

8GULF TIMESWednesday, January 30, 2019COMMUNITYToyota Hilux steals show claimingvictory at 2019 Dakar RallySIS organises ‘Reading Festival’Junior Section of Shantiniketan Indian School(SIS) recently organised ‘Reading Festival’ withthe objective of promoting love for reading andcreativity among students. The project wasinitiated through the promotion of children’sauthors, including Leo Tolstoy, JK Rowling,Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, andRoald Dahl as display on bulletin boards. All theactivities challenged the minds of the studentsto question, imagine, wonder and connectedthem with the joy of reading books from thelibrary. The themes for the stories includedanimals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Thestudents from KG – Grade VIII participated in thefestival. KC Abdul Latheef, President of SIS, alongwith Muhammed Najeeb C H , ManagementCommittee Member; and Dr Subhash B Nair,Principal of SIS, patronised the festival andapplauded the efforts of the students andteachers.WCM-Q offers Qatari students a chanceto work with world-class scientistsAccording to a press release, Qatari highschool and college students with a passionfor science are invited to apply for a summerresearch internship at Weill Cornell MedicineQatar (WCM-Q), a leading biomedical researchinstitution.Applications are now open for the WCM-QResearch Internship for National High SchoolStudents, which is offered as a two-week orfour-week programme that earns participants50 to 100 volunteer hours. Applications arealso open for the WCM-Q Research Internshipfor National College Students, which is offeredas a four-week or eight-week programme andteaches both laboratory skills and researchmanagement skills. Both internships are partof WCM-Q’s Biomedical Research TrainingProgrammes for Nationals initiative.WCM-Q launched its biomedical researchprogramme in 2009, focusing on diseasesprevalent in the Arabian Gulf includingdiabetes and obesity. Qatari high schooland college students are invited to applyfor the summer internships in the college’slaboratories as part of WCM-Q’s outreachprogrammes and its ambition under theQatar Foundation umbrella to increase local,homegrown research capacity in Qatar.WCM-Q is part of Cornell University, an IvyLeague school.The training programmes offer studentsthe chance to learn key research skills andto work alongside world-class professionalscientists to tackle major real-life issues ofhigh significance. These internships provideQatari nationals with valuable opportunities tolearn new skills and take the first step towardssuccessful careers in science and research.The internships also give Qatari nationalsthe chance to be a part of Qatar’s ongoingmission to diversify its economy, which hasseen the country establish itself as a keyregional scientific and educational hub inrecent years.The deadline to apply for both the ResearchInternship for National High School Studentsand the Research Internship for NationalCollege Students is Sunday, May 26, 2019.According to a press release, from theArabian Desert, to the frozen polar wastes,Toyota’s vehicles have proved themselvesas trusted top performers, whatever theenvironment. Now it has gone further in itsworld-conquering achievements by claimingToyota’s first victory in the 41st edition ofthe gruelling Dakar Rally. GAZOO RacingSouth Africa’s modified Hilux led throughoutten days and more than 3,000 miles (4,828kilometres) of harsh desert driving in Peru toclaim the win in the car category.Even though the pick-up was speciallyadapted to deal with the challenge, includinga mid-mounted V8 engine, its success isanother demonstration of the reliable andhard-wearing quality of the engineering thathas defined Hilux for decades.Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota,commented, “I would like to sincerely thankall teams that chose Toyota for this year’sDakar Rally. Thank you for your hard work!Nasser and I drove the winning Hilux in Spainin late 2017. At that time, the team presentedme with the second-place trophy from apast event, promising me that next timethey would secure the first-place trophy. Iam thrilled that they were able to fulfil thatpromise!”He added, “There are no proper roads in thedesert. However, if cars cannot run in suchharsh conditions, they are without a raisond’être. Cars must be able to run whereverdrivers want to go. I believe passionatelythat, ‘roads make cars.’ This year and goingforward, the Toyota Group as a whole willstrive to continue making ‘ever-better’ carsby traversing a wide variety of roads andterrains across the world. Thank you for yourcontinued support.”The challenges faced by the GAZOORacing South Africa Hilux on the Dakarwere exceptional, but Nasser al-Attiyah andco-driver Mathieu Baumel successfullynegotiated the ten stages to seal a historicfirst victory for Toyota in one of the world’stoughest motorsports events.Nasser al-Attiyah, who has won Dakar Rallytwice previously, said, “We are so happyto win, not only for ourselves, but also forToyota and the entire GAZOO Racing SAteam. Everyone has worked so hard for solong and really deserve this. Thank you forletting us drive this car.”Glyn Hall, Team Principal, said, “This victorywas long overdue. Winning the Dakar isnever easy, there are a lot of people trying.This year’s race was no exception and itbrought a rollercoaster of emotions andresults for the team.”Since 2012, the team had posted five podiumplaces and seven top-five finishes, whereasal-Attiyah’s win comes after a second-placeresult in 2018. The Hilux was also the firstpetrol vehicle in its class to take victory sincethe start of the Dakar’s South American era,being powered by a mid-mounted, normallyaspirated V8.There was further success for Toyota in theevent with the Team Land Cruiser Auto Body(TLC)’s #350, driven by Christian Lavieilleand Jean-Pierre Garcin, winning the DakarProduction Division category for the sixthconsecutive year. Meanwhile, #349, drivenby Akira Miura and Laurent Lichtleuchter,secured second place in the category.Christian Lavieille said, “I feel amazing thatwe were able to both finish with a 1-2 finishand also get our 6th consecutive win in theProduction Category. This year’s rally wasincredibly difficult, we got stuck many timesand had many punctures, but with our twocars working together with our mechanicsproviding us with perfect maintenance. Thisis an amazing team and I am incrediblygrateful to all of the fans that supported us.”

Wednesday, January 30, 2019GULF TIMES9COMMUNITYTRAVELMEDITATION: Today one can visit over 25 international Buddhist monasteries, study Buddhism, meditation and visit Buddha’s birthplace itself within the Mayadevi Gardens in Lumbini.Lumbini: a place for beautifularchitectural details and heritageBy Usha Wagle GautamTourists travelling to Nepalgenerally flip the glossy pagesof guide books with captivatingmountains on them. Thesemountains, including the tallestMount Everest, are located in the northernregion of the country. On contrary, thesouthern region Nepal is a home to lushjungles and national parks with composites ofrare flaura and fauna.Lumbini is one such place in Nepal thatholds a great importance in reference tocultural heritage and attract thousandsof tourists every season. Lumbini, oneof the world’s most important spiritualsites, is home to the historic birthplace ofthe Buddha. Today you can visit over

Marie Kondo, cleverly released on Jan 1 for those seeking a reset in the new year, she has quickly emerged as a cultural and social media sensation. Good luck trying to evade the before-and-after Instagram photos of newly organised sock drawers. The buzz has lifted Kondo to meme-level c