Reading to our children is one of the best things we can do to help our children on their journey into education. Maggie McKenzie explores the long-term benefits......

In his 1899 book The Theory of the Leisure Class, the economist
and sociologist Thorstein Veblen wrote that “conspicuous
abstention from labor … becomes the conventional mark of
superior pecuniary achievement.” In other words, the richer
one gets, the less one works and the more likely one is to try to
show off one’s ample leisure time. For a while, Veblen’s theory held,
with few exceptions. But no longer. In today’s hectic world, one can
now make a good guess about how rich somebody is based on the
long hours they put in at work. The wealthiest people, on average,
work more than those poorer than them.

In the debate over Earth and its changing climate, rhetoric
frequently suggests that we are destroying the planet. It’s
rather evident that the insatiable greed of humanity is
seriously damaging our precious Mother Earth. Without
thinking of our offspring’s future, we gorge on the world’s
natural resources. We are more like a modern-day camper than a forager of old who truly lived off the land. Moreover, according to the latest report by the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, which represents more than half of US doctors, from rising levels of air pollution to increased water contamination and a widening range for disease-carrying mosquitoes, climate change
is making people sick. And unless the world takes strenuous
action, they warn, “those harms to our health are going to get much worse.”
A healthy planet and a healthy community go hand in hand. To fulfill this goal, we must protect the environment in which we work and live. Our voices and actions help in shaping innovative policies and business practices, and creating a groundswell that will eventually permeate all of our institutions. Whether it’s recycling or buying organic and local, getting rid of the second refrigerator and replacing light bulbs, driving less or not driving at
all, eating less meat, or being the environmental supporter in an institution, every small or large step is meaningful. Going vegan— eliminating our consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products—is the single best thing we can do to protect our environment and reduce pollution. Read more about it on P.24 and find out why your veg choices are more sustainable than you may realize. 

Nothing has the power to change the world like the unconditional love of a mother. Indeed, ‘mother’, or its equivalents, is the most beautiful word in any language. It evokes a spectrum of emotions and a gamut of feelings in the heart of even the most ruthless individual. She is always willing to forgive and accept her children with arms wide open, no matter how much they have gone wrong and hurt her. However, we hardly stop to think of how they feel and whether they need help. In a sense, we neglect them by not appreciating them enough. 

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and it’s that special day that gives you the perfect opportunity to shower your mom with your love and affection. Tell your mother how much she means to you and pamper her with generous gifts. It doesn’t need to be an expensive stuff. You can make her day special with beautiful quotes, poems, and loving words. Let her know how special her love for you is, and acknowledge all the pain and sacrifice she took to raise you to become the way you are today. Thank her for her unconditional love, for forgiving you when you did something wrong, and held you when the world around condemned you. Thank her for being at your side when you needed her the most. Remember how she stayed awake at night to care for you when you were unwell. 

Happy reading!

Many of us grow up with the desire to change the world, to do something to banish all the injustices we see, to help the disadvantaged, and to make a difference to society in some meaningful way. And then, when we are at the stage of deciding what course to take and which career path to pursue, we find that other “considerations” come in the way of our decision. Somewhere the fervour to “do good” gets sidelined by such factors as size of pay packet, perks, comfort of work space, professional growth path and so on. These are important considerations too, but if you are one of those who have the passion and the will to tackle the tough problems of society, then perhaps you should look further. Doing socially meaningful work is not the preserve of social workers alone. Every specialisation has some social value, and it is up to the specialist to find a way to put his/her education and expertise to work in an area where it can make a difference. All kinds of training, from technical to humanistic to social science to pure science, can contribute to developing society in some way. And at the same time, contribute to personal and professional development and fulfilment.

Happy reading!

The dawn of a New Year is seen as a fresh start and a time for pondering what went wrong or right over the previous 12 months. In order to begin something new, we must release the old, possibly by “taking stock” of our lives, goals, hopes, dreams and accomplishments. However, our busy schedules and hectic pace of life can take a toll on our time and energy. Whether working to tight schedules or multi-tasking, sometimes we forget to take time out for ourselves and thus unwittingly miss the opportunity to re-focus our priorities. On the flip side, however, we don’t often have time to consider all the underlying stuff that gives our work shape, character, and meaning, and that time won’t ever appear on its own. 

Knowing the end goal of anything sets our wheels in motion. From daily things, like getting out of bed to go to work in the morning to once-in-a-lifetime things like visiting the Great Wall of China, we get things done when we treat them like goals that need to be accomplished.  Recent findings in the field of neuroscience show that in the arena of neuroplasticity the brain has the ability to become rewired with new neural pathways, allowing a person to have absolute control and determination. Setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on January 1 can help us attain whatever we strive for. After all, it’s the little things that make a big difference. Take your pick from these smart resolutions on P. 26 that will help you lead a life filled with health and happiness. Moving on to this month’s spotlight 
story (P.14), read an incredible story of a nine-year-old cancer sufferer Alexander Goodwin, who is using the power of social media to raise £120k for his treatment. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the past year with Society and look forward to a fabulous 2017.

Happy reading!

In most parts of the world, food is associated with hospitality and expression of friendship.
Therefore, sensitivity to food rules and customs is important in building and strengthening
cross-cultural relationships. In sharing a meal with people from diverse cultural backgrounds
and sampling their traditional dishes our identities expand to take in a fresh feast of experiences
capable of fostering improved intercultural understanding and communication. This can only
yield positive benefits and facilitate intercultural adaptation and competence. Carve out time
from your busy schedule and share a meaningful meal with friends and family. Try a “festive feast”
or a holiday-themed recipe.
Yum! It’s the food issue and we take a closer look at some of the key aspects of Indian cuisine. Well,
before you start messing up the kitchen, let’s find out where you stand on the spectrum of Indian
food knowledge. Are you an old pro who can easily sort out your sambars from your samosas
from your sambals? Or are you an uneasy newbie who can barely order tandoori chicken at a
restaurant, let alone make it yourself? Take our quiz on P.26 and find out how much do you really
know about Indian food.
Moving on to this month’s spotlight story, we have got an incredible story of Qatar-based Indian
expat Biju Chandrika Gangadharan (P.12) who is creating wonders by making sculptures from
bath soaps. We love when artists take ordinary things and make them extraordinary. To Biju,
carving fragrant bath soap is a unique and fascinating form of art. He finds it exciting because
of the suspenseful quality it gives his work. Every new sculpture is a challenge and the more
complicated the sculpture, the more interesting he finds it.
Happy reading!

Gourmet: Carolyn Robb, former personal chef to TRH Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana for over a decade, shares her fantastic selection of snacks and nibbles for you to try...

It’s back-to-school time of the year again. For many children, summer is so much fun and they are very unhappy to let the fun go. So help them see that there’s a way to return to school buses, backpacks and books with a genuine smile instead of a grimace. If you don’t have a fun 

back-to-school tradition, start one. Back-to-school gifts are a great way to show your kids you value their education. Children look to their parents for clues on how to handle various situations. By giving your child a back-to-school gift, you’re telling them education is important and worth celebrating. Wrap up some crayons, pencils, pens, paper, stickers, a colouring book, some fun toys or treats and anything else that says “have a fun school year!” Put it all in a new lunchbox or backpack and surprise your child before the school year begins. It’s a great way to help build the excitement and lessen the back-to-school stress. Simultaneously, understanding a child’s unique style or situation is critical to a successful transition. Check out Dr Samra Tahir’s tips on ‘how to beat the back-to- school blues’ on P.24. According to her, whether your child is excited or anxious, there are many things parents can do to help make the transition as stress-free as possible.

And moving on to this month’s gourmet piece on P.60, Carolyn Robb, former personal chef to TRH Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, shares some sneaky ideas for giving kids the foods they love. A home-made lunch will always make kids feel close to you and comfortable at school, especially since they are able to eat the food they enjoy at home. Pick up a nice little lunch case you think your child might like and show your little one how to open, unpack, eat and repack the excess or whatever is reusable, and how to dispose the waste properly. We hope everyone has a safe, enjoyable, fun-filled, and most importantly, healthy return to school this September!

Society Magazine  Cover - May 2017 Edition

May 2017

Society Magazine  - May 2017

Society Magazine  Cover - April 2017 Edition

April 2017

Society Magazine  - April 2017

Society Magazine  Cover - March 2017 Edition

March 2017

Society Magazine  - March 2017

Society Magazine  Cover - February 2017 Edition

February 2017

Society Magazine  - February 2017

Society Magazine  Cover - January 2017 Edition

January 2017

Society Magazine  - January 2017

Society Magazine  Cover - December 2016 Edition

December 2016

Society Magazine  - December 2016

Society Magazine  Cover - November 2016 Edition

November 2016

Society Magazine  - November 2016

Society Magazine  Cover - October 2016 Edition

October 2016

Society Magazine  - October 2016

Society Magazine  Cover - September 2016 Edition

September 2016

Society Magazine  - September 2016

Society Magazine, a monthly family magazine published by Gulf Times newspaper in Qatar, mirrors the multi-ethnic modern society that is the Qatar of today. For over five years now, month after month, its well laid-out pages with crisply written content, including human interest stories, and sharply focused images have been the joy of families living in Qatar. The magazine offers a broad range of features, primarily based on lifestyle and social issues, relevant to Qatar expatriates and nationals. 
We aim to set the benchmark for editorial credibility in the market with regular features and articles showcased in a contemporary, high-quality format. There is something to hold the interest of every member of the family from tiny tots to the adult seeking intellectual stimulation and easy-to-use information from topics as varied as fashion & beauty, health &wellness;, motoring, education, parenting and technology to arts and culinary tips.  
Although the magazine’s content are not strictly advertising driven, its seamless and flexible editorial approach allows ample scope for well-written advertorials to be featured in every issue based on the cyclical and seasonal nature of local trends that dictate consumer behaviour. This understanding of the reader pulse powers issues focusing on health, travel, back to school, food, festive season etc.
The magazine can be described as both reader and advertiser friendly. The fact that it is distributed free of cost with every copy of the Gulf Times newspaper speaks a lot for its readership and reach.


1. You agree that the use of Magzter.com, the application and its services, are at solely at your own risk. Neither Magzter.com nor its associates nor employees nor third party content providers guarantee that the service will be completely uninterrupted or error-free or foolproof against miscreant activities. Nor do they warranty that you will get the exact results as expected or promised by the website or product.

11. THE SERVICE AND ALL PUBLICATIONS ARE PROVIDED ON AN 'AS IS' AND 'AS AVAILABLE' BASIS. MAGZTER, ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS AND AGENTS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER MAGZTER NOR ITS AFFILIATES, SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS OR AGENTS, MAKES ANY WARRANTY THAT (I) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (II) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (III) THE INFORMATION THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE OR THAT MAY BE CONTAINED IN THE PUBLICATIONS WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, OR (IV) THE QUALITY OF ANY PUBLICATIONS OR THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBTAINING AND MAINTAINING RELIABLE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND YOUR DEVICE. MAGZTER IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR INABILITY TO DOWNLOAD CONTENT. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR MOBILE DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM MAGZTER OR THROUGH OR FROM THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY.

2. You will maintain and promptly update that information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, including the selection and use of all content and services.

2.You will maintain and promptly update that information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your computer, and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, including the selection and use of all content and services.

3. In no event will Magzter.com or any person or entity or third party involved in the creation, production and distribution of the content on the website and the application be liable in contract or legally for any damages, including and not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, special, and consequential incurred to you while or on using Magzter.com. By registering on the website or downloading the application, you agree that the provisions mentioned in this section shall apply to all use of and content on the website and the application.

3. Without prior written or authorised permission from Magzter, you should not modify, copy, distribute or sell any content obtained from Magzter as everything published here is the proprietary property of Magzter or its licensors. As such unauthorised use may also violate applicable laws including copyright and trademark laws, Magzter strictly prohibits these and will terminate your access and account if any such illegal activity is proved or detected. You should also stand liable for the damages caused by these unauthorised activities. Except as permitted by the Publication's lawful owner, you acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading Publications accessed through the Service. Except as explicitly required under copyright law or permitted by the features of the Service you may not modify, reverse engineer, publish, transmit, display, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works of, or in any way commercially exploit or provide to a third party the content of the App, the Publications, or any portion of them without the express permission of Magzter and the owner of such content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to the intellectual property of Magzter or Magzter's licensors.

5. You specifically acknowledge that Magzter.com is not liable for any kind of defamatory or offensive or illegal conduct of other users or third parties or their content and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with you.

8. Magzter reserves all rights to monitor the content published and inputted by you for the purpose of determining whether you are compliant with these terms and conditions and other operating rules determined by Magzter. Magzter has the right to take decisions about the content and delete them at its own will.

9. Magzter is a distributor and NOT a publisher of the Publications and so Magzter has no editorial control over the content, including opinions, advice, statements, services, offers etc., that is represented in the magazines. So Magzter will not take responsibility for the accuracy or the reliability for any information or facts provided therein or that is made available through the service, by anyone other than authorised Magzter employees who are acting on their official capacities. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered by the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of Magzter. Magzter will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information obtained through the Service or from the Publications. The Service may contain links to other Internet sites and third-party resources and Magzter does not assume any responsibility or liability for communications or materials available at such linked sites. These links are provided for your convenience only. You are solely responsible for understanding any terms and conditions that may apply when you visit or place an order through a third-party site.

Choose your favorite titles from 40+ exciting categories

Details of the objectionable content, including its link on our platform

Download your favorite titles and read them offline, anytime and anywhere

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines and newspapers from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from thousands of best-selling titles.

Gift your loved ones with a Magzter Gift Card instantly and give them the freedom to read their favorite magazines from {{magCount}} best-selling international titles.

Girish Ramdas is the Co-founder and CEO of Magzter, a New York based startup that has been making waves in the global digital publishing business. Magzter has crossed 80 million users since its inception in 2011 from more than 150+ countries with 1000s of magazines, newspapers and books from more than 4,500 publishers worldwide. He has more than 25 years of experience in cross-platform publishing, including print, mobile, and Web development. During this period, he has co-founded and run three successful start-up businesses. He has enabled magazine companies to go digital and helps them monetize their content across the digital world. Girish's deep industry experience in online, mobile and publishing ecosystems has made him an expert in acquisition, marketing and monetizing digital content across platforms globally.

In the event that you encounter any objectionable content on our platform, we have put in place a grievance redressal policy to address your concerns.

Magzter Inc. (“Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) knows that you care about how your personal information is used and shared. Please read the following privacy policy (the “Policy”) to learn more about our privacy practices. By visiting any of the websites operated by the Company, and any sub-domains thereof, or using any of our mobile applications and other methods of content distribution (collectively, the “Service”), you acknowledge that you accept the practices and policies outlined in this Policy, and you hereby consent that we will collect, use, and share your information in the following ways.

Magzter Inc. is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 80 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

Magzter is committed to providing a safe and secure platform for our users. Please note that Magzter is merely a platform for publishers to distribute their content. We do not control or endorse the content published on our platform. We cannot be held responsible for the actions of our publishers or their content.

Magzter is not responsible for compensating any party that has suffered damages or incurred costs due to any content, or part of the content, that violates their rights. Magzter is not liable to face any legal action in civil court for any violation of rights caused by any content, or part of the content, that infringes the rights of a third party.

Magzter offers the world’s largest {{allyoucanread}} subscription service called {{gold}} which gives digital readers unlimited access to 9,000+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

Magzter offers the world’s largest “All-You-Can-Read” subscription service called Magzter GOLD which gives digital readers unlimited access to 9,000+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

Name

Note: This will only share the cover and the publication information, but not the content.

Please fill out this form if you need any help regarding publishing your content on Magzter

Prior to Magzter, he was the President of Dot Com Infoway (DCI) and Galatta Media. His duties included strategic marketing, partnership development, and monetizing content globally. DCI grew from a small team of 3 in 2000 to 300 by 2011 and was dealing with web, software and app development for clients globally.

Since we launched, Magzter has been committed to partnering with global organizations to provide the greatest possible newsstand technology & service to our customers. Whether you are looking to offer magazine subscriptions to your customer database or just want to learn more, Magzter is committed to helping your business grow. To find out more, please fill out the questionnaire below:

The DMCA allows us to restore the removed content if the party filing the original DMCA Notice does not file a court action against you within ten business days of receiving the copy of your Counter Notice.

This Policy covers Company’s treatment of personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) and other information about you and your computer or device that Company gathers when you are accessing the Service. We may collect Personal Information from you, as explained in more detail below, and we use this Personal Information internally in connection with our Services, including to personalize, provide, and improve our products, services, content, and advertising, and to allow you to set up a user account and profile, to contact you, to fulfill your requests for certain products and services, and to analyze how you use the Services. In certain cases, we may also share some Personal Information with third parties, but only as described in point 4.

This title is included with your Magzter GOLD subscription

To analyze the quality of content and provide appropriate feedback to publishers

We have designated a Grievance Officer to address any complaints related to objectionable content.

We request that any complaint related to objectionable content be sent to the Grievance Officer through email to the above-mentioned email address. We also request that you provide the following details when making a complaint:

and the App that provides you the capability to order, subscribe to and receive the delivery of various magazines, books, news and magazine and publication related content (collectively known as 'Publications') and to have these digital versions of the Publications delivered to you

c. We also collect information associated with your use of the application in order to make personalized recommendations. If you provide your third-party account credentials to us, you understand some content and/or information in those accounts (“Third Party Account Information”) may be transmitted into your account with us if you authorize such transmissions, and that Third Party Account Information transmitted to the Service is covered by this Policy.

f. The Personal Information we collect allows us to respond to your requests, improve our products and services, customize the advertising and content you see, and communicate with you about new products.

is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 88 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

n. We will also use usage information in order to ensure users adhere to our Terms of Use. For example, a user’s usage information will help us confirm that a user only downloads a magazine or other content a permitted number of times or to a permitted number of devices.

which gives digital readers unlimited access to 9,000+ magazines and newspapers for a monthly subscription price. Magzter also has the largest number of stories in the world with its game-changing ezRead 2.0 feature for its apps, which enables smartphone and small-screen mobile users to enjoy magazine content the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with article text that is easy to read and is accompanied by stunning videos and high resolution photography.

{{magzter}} is the World's largest and fastest growing self-service, cross-platform digital newsstand with over 88 million users since its inception in 2011 and thousands of magazines and newspapers across 40+ categories and 60+ languages. Headquartered in New York, Magzter has its local presence in Amsterdam, London, Mexico City, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Singapore, and will soon be expanding to other countries. Founded by global entrepreneurs, Girish Ramdas and Vijay Radhakrishnan in June 2011, Magzter enables magazine and newspaper publishers around the world to create and deliver digital editions of their titles to global consumers.

Society Magazine - October 2016

Society Magazine - October 2016

In this issue

Society Magazine Description: