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IOL News
19-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The political parallels of Trump and Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice'
Ramaphosa should go no further than only saying 'I do' to the laws he signed and not give an inch beyond for the 49 Afrikaners who were Trump's flagship and pound of flesh have a Portia 'not a drop of blood' addendum to them as Trump tries to cut his pound of flesh. Image: AFP The second coming of Trump on the political platform of the United States with his arse open for would be wiling lickers reminds me of Shylock, the money lender in the Merchant of Venice. But the book comes with entertaining memories. In 1969 at the age of twelve I was in the seventh year of schooling and a year shy away from sitting for the exit exams that would qualify me to enter the five year duration of secondary and high school study. In my class were some distinguished veteran scholars who were aged 25 and 26 years respectively. These veterans had been on it from the day my eldest brother who is thirteen years older than myself set foot in school. They had been in class with each of my four siblings subsequently and ultimately myself. I was the last to share experience of studying with them. Our set book was The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare the greatest author of literature. Those who read the work of Shakespeare will know how complex it is to read it. It comes deep with Victorian English of thou and shalt and third person expressions and long complex sentences. In the 20th Century Shakesperean writing appear akin to English. It is not easy to read. By way of background Shylock, the Jew was a shrewd money lender and between himself and Antonio, a wealthy merchant, there was no love lost. Antonio had his dear friend Bassanio, who needed money. Antonio borrowed money from his worst enemy. A bond was signed for the money and Antonio offered a pound of flesh that would be cut from his left breast should the money fail to be delivered on the day. Shylock would perform the act of slicing out the pound of flesh. A sure death sentence to his enemy, Antonio. As fate would have it, Antonio's fleet of ships could not arrive on time and Shylock sought justice. But even as the ships arrived, but late, Shylock would have none of it but wanted justice - his pound of flesh. We had to act play the Merchant of Venice and often the teacher will nominate those who should read. The veterans were always reluctant to do so given the complexity of the English and the Shakespearean structure. On this afternoon, we had to act play Chapter 4 from page 88 and surprise, surprise Mrs Mabusa asked for volunteers this time around. One of the veterans raised his hand and Pinkie Motloha who was seated next to me and I started giggling, so was the rest of the class burst in laughter in anticipation. And we raised our hands too. But the order of selection was by who raised their hands first. The veteran was first. You see page 88 starts with two short sentences and subsequent ones are massive paragraphs. The veteran volunteered himself to be Antonio. At that the giggles turned into massive laughter because not only does Antonio answer with a short sentence of 'I do' when Portia the lawyer asks, 'Do you confess this bond?' but that is the only utterance Antonio he makes in the whole section. Of course, after regaling the court with sentences that were appealing to Shylock and the Jew was getting ready for his pound of flesh, Portia made the most devastating sentence to Shylock – not a drop of blood should be shed. The Duke affirmed the legal standing of that ordering Shylock to cut one and only a pound and no blood shed. Shylock was about to collapse as he forfeited not only the pound of flesh but the money that was borrowed. Perhaps when asked about the laws he signed, Ramaphosa should go no further than only saying 'I do' to the laws he signed and not give an inch beyond for the 49 Afrikaners who were Trump's flagship and pound of flesh have a Portia 'not a drop of blood' addendum to them as Trump tries to cut his pound of flesh. This is the 'no drop of blood addendum.' Whilst South African government has performed very badly on the economy, crime, corruption and everything else. They have not lied about the facts as these are not only in the reports of the Statistician-General, they are also in our faces. What is also in our faces regarding these numbers is the fact that Whites only have a 6.5% unemployment rate, a mere 2 percentage points above the US unemployment of 4.3 %. This is a far cry from the 43% unemployment rate of the Blacks. The data of the Statistician-General shows that 73% of Whites are in the fifth quintile as opposed to only 13.7% amongst Blacks. Of course, duplicity ridden Trump will turn the tables against Ramaphosa and question his governance over poverty of the Black. He may well justify the massive inequality gap as one leaving Whites with no option but to fear for the greedy eyes of Blacks over White god given accumulation. He may well ask for guarantees. Ramaphosa has to stick to 'yes I do' regarding the bills he signed into law. No more no less. He should leave Trump's arse to trump. Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a Research Associate at Oxford University, and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa. Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, among other hats. Image: Supplied BUSINESS REPORT
The Guardian
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Oramo review – Carwithen comes in from the cold
Doreen Carwithen's concerto for piano and strings is emerging blinking into the light from half a century of oblivion, and one suspects that the return to life has further to go. Premiered at the 1952 Proms, when it was the only music by any female composer that season, the concerto languished until after Carwithen's death in 2003. Now the 30-minute piece has been recorded twice, received its German premiere last month, and, in the latest step in its reawakening, was the centrepiece of the latest Barbican Hall concert by Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Carwithen's champions, who include the soloist in both this and the German performances, Alexandra Dariescu, make large claims for concerto and composer alike. Despite Dariescu's unstinting performance, however, Carwithen's piece does not entirely justify them. The concerto is accomplished for sure, with neatly crafted moods veering between late romantic and neo-classical, but more is hinted at than is achieved, even in the intimacy between the piano and a solo violin in the slow movement. The closest the concerto comes to a crux or a moment of revelation is in the thundering solo cadenza in the final movement. It took only a few bars of Malcolm Arnold's fifth symphony, which took up the second half of the concert, to encounter the colour and incisiveness missing from the Carwithen. Arnold's writing memorialises four friends who had all recently died when the symphony was written in 1961. There is undoubtedly darkness in the scoring but, for the most part, the symphony brims with contrast and confidence. There is a serenity in the slow movement and a jauntiness in the two that follow that make a strong case for treating this as Arnold's most successful orchestral work. Oramo has long been a committed advocate of it, which this performance confirmed, and he brandished the score for its own round of applause at the end. Right at the start of the evening, the BBC Singers joined Oramo and the orchestra for a ravishing performance of Vaughan Williams's Serenade to Music . The setting of part of the scene between Lorenzo and Jessica in act five of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice is one of Vaughan Williams' most transcendent achievements. In today's grim times it poured even more balm than usual into the soul.
Khaleej Times
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
'I really want to dress up US President Donald Trump': Designer Sumbul Ahmad
What happens when you shed the cloak of expectation placed on your shoulders by the world? When you decide your dream is 'good enough' to pursue in spite of detractors, in spite of difficulties? Well, you stitch together a future that's designed to your liking. At least if you are Sumbul Ahmad. The now globally renowned menswear designer, who is from the royal family of Jehangirabad, Lucknow, was always drawn to fashion. When she went to the US to study, she recalls, she would love to see stylish dressing. 'I used to go to these newsagent shops to see magazines and to buy magazines, GQ and Vogue,' she tells City Times in an interview. And as she saw the photographed outfits, the itch to create her own brand, to see her own label stretched across glossy pages would begin. 'From that time, I wanted to get into this business. But I had to finish college because my parents sent me… I had to be educated,' she says, adding that what she learned in college has come in handy over the years. That said, her path to international runways would not be easy, for when her father heard about her plans, he was stunned; he expected her to follow the traditional route and marry. 'I said, No… I just left,' she says baldly. This may be a dramatic telling – she told her mother to buy her a ticket (which she did) to London. She did however only carry 200 pounds (Dh910) with her when she left. 'I was crying and all that. But then I said to myself, 'You've come out of the house. You've left your comfort zone. You cannot go back like this. You have to be successful before you return,' she says. Which is why she stuck with her plan to get into the industry even when it got hard, and her monetary reserves dried up. 'Later on, of course, my mother supported me and I worked my way up,' she smiles. Come 1996, she was in a position to launch her eponymous brand in the UK capital, becoming the first Pakistani designer brand in the country. And there has been no looking back. She has dressed everyone from politicians such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair to actors such as Al Pacino (for the film Merchant of Venice) and Shah Rukh Khan. Here are edited excerpts from an interview. Why did you choose to design menswear? I have chosen to do men's fashion designing because it is simpler than women's wear and there is less competition. My brand is a luxury brand, but it's got tailored suits and bespoke clothes and those off the shelf too. Why did you decide on London as your base all those years ago? Fashion is sold in London, it's close to Paris, and I had no problem of language there(I learned French later). I set up my business there because I was little bit aware of London as well. You've dressed the rich and the famous. What's the difference between dressing an A-Lister as opposed to your regular clientele? Sometimes, a regular client can be more…fussy. But that's ok. I think it's an open door, because the thing is, obviously if somebody is going to wear something, they're going to wear it to their liking. I'm the same, so it's fine, because at the end of the day, they're paying you. If somebody is paying you they should be able to feel comfortable. I think that's their right. Who has been your greatest support during this journey? My great support was my late aunt, Jameela (Jackie) Rafi Muneer. She was the one who actually used to nail me down and say, 'You can do it'. She used to give me moral support. And of course, my late mother — her prayers are with me. My late aunt and mum taught me to love people, even if they are bad to you, you still give love to them, which I do and I get the positive results. Do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs? The main thing is to be able to make any dream come true, you have to leave your comfort zone and accept anything that comes your way. Success is not just made out of being financially sound. It's about your work. If you weren't a designer, what would you do? I always wanted to be a lawyer, and I always wanted to run my own business. So I would have had my own firm, maybe something to do with financial advice. Why now, why Dubai? Dubai now is the centre… there's security. There's anything you want, from shopping to restaurants to cafes to clubs to other sports. And it's one of the best places in the world to live. I'm really happy here. If you could dress anyone, who would it be? The one person I really want to dress up and I love is the US President Donald Trump. I've already reached out to him on social media. What's next for you? Now the aim is to open up a unique menswear boutique in Dubai. I want people from all over the world to come to Dubai to buy my brand. I'll be launching a perfume this year in Dubai as well. I have also written a script for a romantic Bollywood film (which started as a biography), which I want to film in my family's palace (Jahangirabad Palace in India), and, of course, Dubai and London. Who do you want to perform your role? Alia Bhatt ALSO READ:
