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Business Wire
2 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Mirantis Adds to Leadership Team to Accelerate Revenue and Enhance Customer Engagement
CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mirantis, the Kubernetes-native AI infrastructure company enabling enterprises to build and operate scalable, secure, and sovereign AI infrastructure across any environment, today announced the appointments of two newly created roles – Richard Borenstein as senior vice president of business development and Jerry Ibrahim as chief technology officer, go-to-market (CTO, GTM). "With expanding enterprise adoption of open-source infrastructure, we're investing in leadership that can deepen partner collaboration and translate technical capability into business value," said Alex Freedland, CEO of Mirantis. Share Borenstein will spearhead the company's growth strategy and evolution of its partner ecosystem, driving high-impact alliances and strategic expansion. Ibrahim will drive technical sales alignment and field engagement to ensure Mirantis delivers effective solutions that meet evolving market demands. "With expanding enterprise adoption of open source infrastructure, we're investing in leadership that can deepen partner collaboration and translate technical capability into business value," said Alex Freedland, CEO of Mirantis. 'Richard and Jerry bring the kind of seasoned, results-oriented leadership that will help Mirantis accelerate growth at scale. Their experience building partnerships and driving technical alignment with customer goals is exactly what is needed to accelerate growth, improve engagement, and increase adoption of Mirantis' technologies." Borenstein brings decades of hands-on experience building and scaling high-impact strategic alliances and go-to-market initiatives with some of the world's leading technology companies. Most recently, as chief business development officer at RingCentral, he architected global partnerships that significantly expanded the company's brand presence and international reach. Ibrahim, a seasoned technology executive with more than 30 years of experience innovating and transforming large multi-national enterprises, will align technical strategy with customer priorities across Mirantis' go-to-market activities. He joins Mirantis after serving for the past year as an advisor to the company. Prior to that, Ibrahim was IT CTO at VMware, and has held executive roles at Tesla, Align Technology, and Juniper Networks. These new appointments support Mirantis' broader mission to help customers reduce cloud complexity and maintain control over their infrastructure. As demand grows for vendor-neutral solutions that can operate across clouds and at the edge, Mirantis is aligning its leadership to accelerate customer onboarding, expand service capabilities, and drive sustainable revenue growth. About Mirantis Mirantis is the Kubernetes-native AI infrastructure company, enabling organizations to build and operate scalable, secure, and sovereign infrastructure for modern AI, machine learning, and data-intensive applications. By combining open source innovation with deep expertise in Kubernetes orchestration, Mirantis empowers platform engineering teams to deliver composable, production-ready developer platforms across any environment – on-premises, in the cloud, at the edge, or in data centers. As enterprises navigate the growing complexity of AI-driven workloads, Mirantis delivers the automation, GPU orchestration, and policy-driven control needed to cost-effectively manage infrastructure with confidence and agility. Committed to open standards and freedom from lock-in, Mirantis ensures that customers retain full control of their infrastructure strategy. Mirantis serves many of the world's leading enterprises, including Adobe, Ericsson, Inmarsat, PayPal, and Societe Generale. Learn more at
Times
21-05-2025
- Times
The Balearics are calling — these are the islands' loveliest villas
My first family holiday out of Ireland was a fortnight on Menorca when I was seven. I remember being impressed by Spanish lollipops with bubblegum inside, which cost five pesetas. I liked the beach just fine but I was more intrigued by the dusty hills, the dark mouths of caves, the strong, mysterious breezes that would rake the pines overhead. The peculiar allure of that island I have since come to recognise as a signature murmur heard across the Balearics. By the time I went to Ibiza with a friend — when we were both at the youngest end of our 18-30 package tour group — 'Balearic' also referred to a nebulous subgenre of house and trance music deployed on the dancefloors of Amnesia and Ku. Those superclubs were then in their mid-Nineties pomp, but my best memories of that trip are the bleary sunrises and hungover boat rides over luminous blue meadows of seagrass. Living in Madrid for the past decade, I have hopped on a lot of short, cheap flights back to Ibiza, though usually in winter when the clubs are shuttered and local life ticks over at a pace and volume better suited to my advancing years. In that time, the visitor demographics have grown and spread on all four of the main Balearic islands — Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera — from the summer charter market to encompass quieter holidays for nature lovers, longer stays in the off-season, and glam options for those who arrive by yacht to occupy the VIP booths at venues like the spanking new 'hyperclub' [UNVRS] (opening this summer where Ku used to be). The corresponding villa rental business is booming and the very definition of that term might now be stretched to historic Mallorcan townhouses, Menorcan hillside eco-lodges, former farms on Formentera, and luxury compounds atop Ibizan cliffs. Some make handy coastal bases for beach and bar excursions, others take up such remote positions in island interiors that they qualify as genuine retreats for solitary couples or whole extended families. Swimming pools and barbecue pits come as standard these days, but there's always something distinctive about a villa stay on the Balearics — not just the location or design of the property itself, but the angle at which it reflects that particular cast of sunlight off the Mediterranean, and receives that distinctive whispering breeze. Sitting on the roof terrace of your rental, or half asleep in a hammock strung between citrus trees, you could swear you were hearing the same call that coaxed ancient Phoenicians to these shores 3,000 years ago. Or it might just be the bass from a sound system in the distance. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Sleeps 4 The farm built by the owner Lucas Prats's grandfather on this site, high on a hill near the centre of the island, gives its modern iteration a pastoral appeal. Olive and citrus trees grow between the free-standing garden suites, villas and holiday homes since added by Prats and his family. Some fall within a 'traditional' zone of architecture around the original farmhouse; other units are sleek and contemporary. The overall feel is something like a sleepy rural hamlet, perfectly positioned for sunset views all the way down to the Med. Nearby, the village of San Rafael hosts various food and craft markets throughout the week. Details Seven nights' self-catering for four from £4,770 ( Fly to Ibiza • Read our full guide to Ibiza Sleeps 12The architect Rolf Blakstad lovingly modelled Can Nemo on traditional Ibizan fincas — sturdy white stone walls, imposing timber doors — looking east to sunrise from the cape just beyond the bars and beaches of Ibiza Town. Inside it's hypermodern, from the kitchen attended by private chefs (there is also a clay pizza oven and a barbecue pit elsewhere on the property) to a silo-style wine cellar and a basement cocktail bar and disco room that doubles as a cinema. There are 15,000 sq m of gardens, including an area inlaid with a curved pool and hot tub as well as earthier elements such as a roomy chicken coop, whose residents keep the place stocked with free-range Seven nights' full board for 12 from £25,550 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 12Only a ten-minute drive from Ibiza Town and the destination beaches of Bossa and Cavallet, this modernist villa nevertheless feels pretty secluded behind thick shrouds of palms. Within lies a main house with several bedrooms, as well as a separate casita and a bedroom built into a treehouse. Other standout touches include the onsite tennis court, sauna and meditation room, and an outdoor pool with surround-sound music. The house cook makes breakfast every morning, with other meals catered on Seven nights' B&B for 12 from £20,393 ( Fly to Ibiza • 17 of the best hotels in Ibiza Sleeps 10Many Ibizan villas have a chic rustic look but this compound takes the opposite approach, towards cutting-edge minimalism. It's deep in the northeast wilds of the Morna Valley, and its clean, cubist lines stand out against the pines to make a Balearic fortress of solitude. The bedrooms, with huge picture windows, feel part of the wraparound gardens and there is a gorgeous alfresco dining space, where a Sonos sound system plays clear across the saltwater pool and yoga deck. Forest trails lead over the hills to north coast beaches and lookouts. Details: Seven nights' self-catering for ten from £26,120 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 12The owner-architects Diego Alonso and Alexeja Pozzoni put all their taste and training into reworking a 17th-century monastery in Ibiza's northern hills. Beams of juniper and Ibiza's native sabina wood frame a house fitted with a sauna, massage room and glass-walled yoga studio, while the main bedroom is built into a separate casita over manicured Balinese gardens. There are two pools out there — one saltwater, one 'natural' — and an alfresco dining space big enough for a banquet. The setting is maximally rural but you're not far from the landmark fortified church of Sant Miquel village, nor the island's best bullit de peix (fish stew) in Port Balansat. Details Seven nights' self-catering for 12 from £20,640 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 28For those looking to go large literally on Ibiza, here is a renovated townhouse in the old quarter of the capital which a single party can take over as a complete, serviced villa. Its five storeys are stacked with 14 bedrooms, rising to a penthouse terrace suite and rooftop pool overlooking the walled medieval citadel, Dalt Vila. Inside you've got lounges, bars and a full wellness area with a yoga studio and steam room. Outside you've got the Old Town and marina, with the landmark nightclub Pacha and restaurants such as Ibiza Food Studio practically next door. Details Seven nights' self-catering for 28 from £9,502 ( Fly to Ibiza • The historic side of the island that everyone knows for partying Sleeps 9The west coast of Ibiza looks out to the pyramidal islet Es Vedra, which has long been a vector for weird legends, UFO sightings and so on. It's the island's totemic focal point for sunset-viewing, and this simple modern villa gives you the full panorama from the 'infinity edge' of its swimming pool. Drinks at dusk at this elevation may be as sublime an experience as Ibiza can offer. It's about two miles downhill to the beaches of Cala Carbo and Cala d'Hort — the latter home to the seafood restaurant El Seven nights' self-catering for nine from £3,836 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 12The Ses Salines Nature Reserve stretches all the way over the channel from Ibiza to north Formentera, crossing salt deposits, seagrass meadows and green coastal fields to reach the gates of this country villa. Surrounded by Mediterranean gardens and covered with bright spillages of bougainvillea that seem an organic part of the park, the grounds extend to an outdoor pool and courts for volleyball and badminton (as well as a full gym). Insulated as it feels, the house is only a ten-minute walk from Migjorn Beach, which forms a chain of rocky and sandy coves along the south coast, where there are many points en route for seafood or cocktails. Details Seven nights' self-catering for 12 from £20,280 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 8A modern villa annexed to a little country house, this one delivers on two key promises of Formentera by way of breezy seaside tranquillity and proximity to the gilded nightlife of the capital, Sant Francesc. Super-stylish but unflashy, the design favours Balearic white stone walls and native woods. Beyond the sunbeds and hammocks arrayed around the pool and garden, nature trails lead straight out of the gate to the beach at Cala Saona, to the lighthouse at Cap Barbaria and to the capital's growing locus of boutiques, bars and Seven nights' self-catering for eight from £2,100 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 12The house is a gem, distinguished by an especially lovely attic room, a library, and an outdoor pool, lounge and dining area under a thatched canopy. But the location adds immense value: a large herb-scented garden blurs into surrounding vineyards and beyond to the lighthouse at Faro de la Mola, its beam winking over the starry Med by night. La Mola is little more than a mile away for excursions to shops and bars, with a secluded beach, Es Calo des Mort, only a little further Seven nights' self-catering for 12 from £7,150 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 6A modern villa built in 2019, this is styled like an exclusive beach club set on a pine-forested hill over the northwest coast. Interiors are fresh and stylish — all Dutch furniture and whitewashed walls — and there's an emphasis on outdoor living by way of an alfresco kitchen, fire pit, tennis court and swimming pool. It's right on the edge of Can Marroig too, a former estate turned nature reserve with natural pools in disused quarries, protected habitats for native birds such as the Balearic shearwater, and a prime dive site around an undersea rock Seven nights' self-catering for six from £4,120 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 4A relatively small and simple option geared towards the traditional quietude of Formentera: a two-bedroom bungalow in classic Balearic blue and white, with a fireplace, terracotta tiling and some nicely chosen artworks. It opens to one of those covered garden verandas that allow for all-day dining and lounging. Migjorn Beach nearby begins a stretch of white sands and sheltered coves, with the idyllic fishing village Es Calo almost as Seven nights' self-catering for four from £1,449 ( Fly to Ibiza Sleeps 12A Mallorcan country house in a garden of palm and fruit trees, with the Serra de Tramuntana mountains as a painterly backdrop and the culture-rich medieval town of Pollensa just out of view. Recent restoration work preserved the traditional stone walls, wood beams and classical archways while adding smart modern lighting and entertainment systems. Besides the large pool and orchard-view terrace, the big sell for many will be a full leisure annexe with pool and football tables, exercise equipment and a separate hangout Seven nights' self-catering for 12 from £7,968, including flights ( Sleeps 10 This one has the trifecta many seek on Mallorca: an outdoor pool, a seabird's vantage over the Med, and equally easy access to town and beach. The garden terrace looks unobstructed over the southeast edge of the island, and it's a short walk downhill to the sand at Cala Esmeralda or dockside bars and restaurants in Cala d'Or. Cooking within the villa itself is easy and appealing enough to stay put — there's a fully kitted kitchen and a substantial barbecue area out on the Seven nights' self-catering for 10 from £5,880, including flights ( • Read our full guide to Mallorca Sleeps 7Most Mallorca villas are at least a little out of town, but this slots neatly into the historical centre of Pollensa at the north end of the island — a five-storey townhouse with a beautiful façade built from the same yellow stone as surrounding architecture (mostly 17th and 18th century). The interior rises from an open-plan ground-level lounge to a top-floor master bedroom overlooking those timewarped rooflines, and the sweetest touch is a private pool terrace that fills the outer courtyard. Pollensa's market, beach, medieval churches and central square Placa Major are effectively around the Seven nights' self-catering for seven from £1,718 ( Fly to Mallorca Sleeps 11Big enough for almost a dozen, with a child-friendly dorm-style bedroom, this south-coast villa rolls out across various outdoor dining and lounging spaces so guests can also look west to sunset over the Med from the pool or roof terrace at dusk. Son Bou beach is just downhill through a small, sleepy residential area, and the location makes a perfect jump-off point for exploring some of the island's most isolated coves and sea caves in rented boats or Seven nights' self-catering for 11 from £6,127, including flights ( • 25 of the best hotels in Mallorca Sleeps 2More a chalet than a complex, this whitewashed bungalow is concentrated on simple, essential pleasures: a private pool with loungers under almond trees, and a cooling, cane-covered porch oriented toward the sunrise. The interior is a cosy open-plan arrangement of kitchen and living room, and surrounding land leads out through orchards into the Tramuntana mountains — prime hiking, cycling, and climbing territory — with the small, sweet central Mallorcan village of Selva a short walk Seven nights' self-catering for two from £1,904 ( Fly to Mallorca Sleeps 10The garden really sells this hillside ranch, with 18-acre grounds across a northwestern valley of olive and orange groves. There are many shaded places to sit or eat half hidden out there under ancient trees while the main house uses lots of local wood inside for added organic effect, from walls to wardrobes to ceiling beams. It's not unduly rustic though: you've also got a cinema room and a big modern kitchen for cooking with the olive oil made on-site. Soller itself is the closest place to eat out, an incredibly attractive town with an outstanding art museum at Can Prunera ( Seven nights' self-catering for ten from £4,582 ( Fly to Mallorca Sleeps 6Rentals are hard to come by in and around the pretty northern fishing village of Cala San Vicente, most local villas being private summer retreats for Spanish owners. This house in the residential outskirts has more character than surrounding properties too, all exposed beams and stones with a lovely lounge on the balcony and a walled garden terrace around the pool. Four separate beaches are a short walk away in turquoise coves under sheer cliffs, and an hour's gentle hike will bring you to Puerto Pollensa for lunch at the new marina. Details Seven nights' self-catering for six from £4,669, including flights, care hire and concierge services ( Sleeps 22That very cool name for a villa — the Eagle's Beak — testifies to the prime hilltop position chosen by the merchant family who built their weekend retreat here almost 200 years ago. It's isolated in a hikeable expanse of central countryside, and a recent restoration revived the best original features: vaulted ceilings, Cuban tiles, a country club living room with a marble bar and library. Eleven bedrooms make room for a big crowd of guests but the set-up allows everyone to spread out across the yoga studio, cinema, and ceramic workshop, with Balinese sunbeds at the pool pavilion in a French-style landscaped Seven nights' full board for 22 from £20,300 ( Fly to Menorca Sleeps 14A 74-acre estate near the island's southeast beaches, this villa sprawls across a private vineyard, mini-golf course, pétanque court and bowling lanes, not to mention two outdoor pools and a hot tub. The interior is modern-Mediterranean; it houses a library, lounge and screening room personalised with the owners' tasteful art. Their passions are also geared toward the gardens, where the grapes, olives, and lavender yield wines, honeys, and oils so good they're used by chefs in Paris (and by the optional house cook right here in the villa kitchen). A housekeeper and concierge service is Seven nights' self-catering for 14 from £12,191 ( Fly to Menorca • Read our full guide to Menorca Sleeps 13At the edge of Alcaufar, a small fishing village on the southeast coast, this property descends to its own private cave, converted into a summer hangout. A concrete platform drops directly into the Med, with a buoy just offshore that guests can rent to tie up small boats out front. It's a fine spot for sailing, the local cove and beach being the very spot where the French landed to retake the island from the British in 1756. Wrapped inside a large garden, the house itself makes for a pretty singular Seven nights' self-catering for 13 from £6,470 ( Fly to Menorca Sleeps 14An actual working finca here, on a 2,500-acre plot home to pigs, cattle and Menorcan horses that you can ride along the isolated trail to the north coast beach of Cala Pilar. That remoteness is a big part of the appeal, with a main farmhouse, a separate lodge in a converted cowshed and an outdoor pool in fields of almonds, olives, herbs and vegetables. Design-wise it's all fittingly traditional: whitewashed walls, rattan furniture, stone fireplaces and a big old country-style dining table, where hosts Toni and Sisca provide outstanding homemade meals (as well as sorting hikes, rides, and massages on request).Details Seven nights' full board for 14 from £13,617 ( Fly to Menorca • The Med island where you can still find splendid isolation Sleeps 8Many Balearic island villas play up proximity to a beach, but few have the Med itself at the end of the garden. This mid-sized, light-filled villa near the southern tip of Menorca looks straight out the kitchen window to an elevated terrace and sun deck overlooking a glowing blue swimming pool on a vivid green lawn, with the sea so close that passing sailboats seem to float over the boundary hedge. The fishing hamlet of Cala Torret on the doorstep, and the bigger, busier coastal resort of Binibeca less than a mile Seven nights' self-catering for eight from £2,170 ( Fly to Menorca Sleeps 4It can be tricky to find smaller villas with a bit of character, especially in the Balearic summer, but this little gem is a good call for couples or families with up to two children. Right on the sea near the southwestern beach of Cala en Bosch, it's a stone-built, open-plan bungalow recently modernised with a subtle maritime design that suits the name and setting. There's a pool terrace outside framed by high walls and plants that make the place feel nicely tucked away from a pretty rich and dynamic corner of the island — a lot of good bars and restaurants are clustered inside the medieval walls of Ciutadella, less than seven miles Seven nights' self-catering for fourfrom £3,640 with flights (
Yomiuri Shimbun
21-04-2025
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Geigi Tradition Regains Glamor in Shizuoka Pref. Spa Town; Support Organization Helps Performers Recover from Pandemic Crisis
The Yomiuri Shimbun Geigi women dance at an ozashiki party. The Yomiuri Shimbun Kumi, right, stands with another geigi in front of Izunagaoka Kenban. IZUNOKUNI, Shizuoka — As I walked down a narrow path on the edge of an onsen spa town in Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture, the sound of a shamisen floated from an old two-story house. I could faintly hear Nagauta traditional chanting, too. I opened the house's aged glass door and was greeted by a beaming woman in a kimono. 'Irasshai,' (Welcome) she said. Her name was Kumi, and she was a geigi, another word for a geisha. The Izunagaoka onsen hot spring resort area comprises two hot springs: Kona onsen, which is believed to have been used from about 1,300 years ago, and the adjacent Nagaoka onsen, which came into use toward the end of the Meiji era (1867-1912). According to the Izunokuni municipal government's tourism and culture department, the city is home to 39 hotels and ryokan inns, which received about 600,000 guests in fiscal 2023. Banquets and events in the spa town are livened up by geigi women, who all belong to Izunagaoka Kenban, a cooperative organization of geisha workers. It arranges the women's party appearance schedules and provides them with a place to practice their art. It also once operated the only geigi school in Japan outside of Kyoto. The school's nameboard still hangs in the cooperative's entryway. The Yomiuri Shimbun Wooden nameplates show the names of past and present geigi women and the ryokan inns where they have performed. According to Kumi, who is also an executive of the cooperative, there were more than 400 geigi women active in the 1960s and 1970s. With changing times, such as the bursting of the bubble economy, they have retired one after another. But their name plates still remain in the rehearsal room at the cooperative, a reminder of the bustling good old days. As the geigi grew older, their number dwindled, and they had fallen to just 10 in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic further reduced the number of party opportunities, creating what Kumi described as an 'existential threat.' But then, the flame of spa resort culture was rekindled by Ayame Ikueikai, a geigi support group founded in 2018. Local companies and individuals can become members of the group by paying annual dues of ¥50,000 per corporate member and ¥10,000 per individual member. The Yomiuri Shimbun These uchiwa fans are used to show support for geigi at ozashiki parties. Kumi is grateful to the group. 'If it weren't for those membership fees, we wouldn't have been able to cover the costs to keep the cooperative running,' she said. Thanks to the support from 'danna-shu' (patrons), they managed to overcome the crisis without losing a single woman. In November last year, they resumed the stage performance 'Izu Ayame-za,' which showcases their honed performing skills, for the first time in five years. 'Things are finally coming back to the pre-pandemic normal. This is going to be a make-or-break time for us,' Kumi said, with a smile of powerful determination. Izunagaoka Kenban The Yomiuri Shimbun Address: 1037 Nagaoka, Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture Access: Take the Izuhakone Railway to Izunagaoka Station. From there, ride a bus to the Onsen-Eki bus stop, then get off and walk for about seven minutes. Note: Visitors can try on the type of kimono that geigi wear for ¥27,500.
The Independent
18-04-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
How endurance sports are taking India by storm: ‘It's the feeling of being alive'
Beads of sweat broke out on Sylvia Ku's forehead as she rowed, ran, pushed a heavy sled, and carried a hefty kettlebell that tested her balance. Her heart pounded, her muscles burned but she kept going – pushing past exhaustion, chasing the thrill of endurance. At the Yodha Race – which describes itself as 'tough and gruelling' and 'made for those who believe they can destroy all limits' – Ku was completely tuned in. 'I had to do it,' she tells The Independent. Ku, 34, told herself she was 'just gonna go have fun. Focus on giving my best.' She successfully completed the race, held in Bengaluru in the southern Indian state of Karnataka in March last year, when many other competitors gave up. 'Yoddha Race was one helluva experience! From conquering obstacles to battling the blazing sun, it was a true test of grit and heart. Heading home with sunburns, sore muscles, and memories of pure adrenaline-fueled fun. Can't wait to do it all over again!' she wrote on her Instagram. She had been a CrossFit athlete and that training came in handy. 'Yodha Race was more like CrossFit,' Ku says. 'So that's something that I enjoy because it has a lot to do with strength, power, and endurance.' Once considered a niche pursuit of elite athletes, endurance sports events such as Yodha Race and Devil's Circuit, which bills itself 'Asia's biggest obstacle course race', and ultramarathons like the Khardung La Challenge have exploded in popularity in India in recent years. And thousands of Indians are embracing the challenge, from college students and corporate employees to homemakers and powerlifters. But what is fueling this endurance sports revolution? And why now? Zeba Zaidi, CEO of Spectacom Global, which organises Devil's Circuit, has witnessed the transformation firsthand. 'When we started, we had about 1,000 people show up. Now, in a single season, we see over 70,000 participants across cities. It's been incredible to watch the community grow,' she tells The Independent. 'Devil's Circuit began in 2012 with just one city and has since expanded into a 10-city annual calendar, attracting over 60,000 participants each year.' Ms Zaidi says nearly 72 per cent of participants are corporate workers, seeking an escape from the grind of office life. The Devil's Circuit has over the years fostered a thriving community of 'Devilslayers', now over two million strong, Ms Zaidi says. Globally, endurance events such as Tough Mudder and Spartan Race are known for their intense obstacle courses while Hyrox – a hybrid fitness race – blends endurance with strength challenges. More extreme races such as the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon and the Death Race push athletes to the absolute limits. In India, the movement has not quite reached such intense levels – but it is catching up fast. For many Indians, these grit-based events go beyond just competition. For Yathartha Gairola, a physics teacher and an avid fitness enthusiast from Dehradun in northern India, testing his limits has become a lifestyle. 'Life is stressful, and everyone needs an escape,' he tells The Independent. 'Some find it in alcohol or drugs, but I think this is a much better, healthier escape – one that actually makes you stronger.' Gairola, 25, has participated in at least 10 Devil's Circuit races this season. 'In February last year, I was scrolling Instagram and came across an ad for Devil's Circuit,' he says. 'It had obstacles, endurance, and strength training – everything I love. I thought, 'This looks interesting; let me try it out.' I participated in my first event in March, and I was hooked.' 'After my first Devil's Circuit, I went to their website and saw that the season was ending but then I found out the next season had 10 events in 10 different cities. I decided, 'I will prioritise this on my weekends.' So, I booked all of them,' he continues. 'I really feel alive when I do these events. I am so intensely focused that I cannot think of the past or the future – I am completely in the present. Every breath, every movement is in the now. That feeling of being alive is what keeps me coming back.' Endurance races are also being seen as a new challenge for Indians who already enjoy more traditional fitness routines, like gym workouts or casual sports. Instead of exercising solely for health or 'aesthetics', they now see such events as a way to test not just their physical but mental limits. Esha Shah, a triathlete from Pune in Maharashtra state who has competed in multiple endurance events across India, including triathlons, tells The Independent that it was during the Covid pandemic that people she knew began taking their health more seriously. She says running often serves as an entry point for beginners who then progress to obstacle races and even triathlons. According to Statista, the number of India marathon participants grew by 230 per cent between 2008 and 2018. For many, the best part of these grit-based events is that you do not have to be a professional athlete to take part. It's about resilience, determination and pushing your limits. Shah, founder of activewear brand Spry Athletica, says there is another aspect of appeal to endurance sports. 'Participating in something like this also gives people bragging rights,' she says. 'It's like, 'I did something cool with my life'.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Esha | Fitness, Yoga, Running (@eshafromadbulb) She notes, however, that endurance sports tend to draw people who have the financial means and career flexibility to dedicate time and resources to intensive training. Social media has also played a key role in the popularity of the movement. Posts about finish-line triumphs and medal moments, set to trending music, inspire people to try it out. And now fitness brands, too, are taking notice. Another striking feature of endurance sports events in India is the increasing participation of women. Zaidi says that 45 per cent of the Devil's Circuit participants are women with a median age of 28. The event welcomes anyone from 16 to 75 years of age. For Rimpa Karmakar, 42, from Bengaluru, a sedentary lifestyle is what she wants to avoid when she grows older. A senior design manager at IBM, she wakes up at 4am to train before sending her daughter to school and taking on her corporate executive duties for the rest of the day. She recently ran the Yodha Race and posted triumphant pictures on her Instagram. 'I do not want to be like my parents who are dependent on us, taking medicines. What am I earning for? To spend it on hospitals?' she tells The Independent. 'When I retire at 60, I don't want my child to take me on a pilgrimage. I want to pack my own bags, carry my own luggage and take them on a trip instead.' Ku, who is also a fitness coach in Bengaluru, says obstacle courses, ultra races and strategic pacing push athletes to a level of resilience that routine gym workouts rarely match. 'Training every day is fine – personal records, lifting, seeing everything in the gym – but this feeling of doing it outside, the obstacle, the run, the time pressure when you have to finish it fast,' she says, 'it's different.' The mental game, she says, is just as tough as the physical one. Zaidi sees a bright future for grit-based fitness events in the country. ' Obstacle course racing is only going to get bigger. We are already seeing corporates, schools and even smaller towns getting involved,' she says. 'In five years, I see it becoming as mainstream as marathons in India, something that people train for year-round and not just as a one-off challenge.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Singapore man jailed for stabbing ex-lover's boyfriend
SINGAPORE, March 28 — A 64-year-old man who stabbed his former lover's new boyfriend at a Choa Chu Kang void deck was sentenced to 13 years and eight months in jail on March 27. According to The Straits Times, Ong Eng Siew also punched his ex-lover, identified as 'Berlin,' before fleeing the scene in June 2021. He later sent her voice messages urging her not to call the police, blaming her for the attack, and telling the victim, Ku Teck Eng, to 'settle the matter' without police involvement if he was '(a) man.' In January, Ong pleaded guilty to attempted murder and voluntarily causing hurt, with three other charges considered in sentencing. High Court Judge Mavis Chionh cited the attack's severity, public alarm, and Ong's alcohol intoxication as aggravating factors. She noted Ong continued stabbing Ku, 52, even after he fell. The prosecution sought a jail term of 10 to 12 years, while the defence argued for seven to eight years, citing Ong's adjustment disorder. The judge accepted the disorder had a role but gave it limited weight in mitigation. However, she considered Ong's guilty plea and his S$2,000 (RM6,600) compensation to Ku.
