Sacha Jafri’s mother thought he was clinically mad. His father was convinced he was a genius. One of them was right.
As a biracial child growing up on the margins in the UK, Jafri relied on a scholarship to enter Eton – never mind that the wealth generated by his great, great grandfather who was a maharaja in India somehow vanished within a few generations – where he studied with Prince William. As Jafri adds, he was severely dyslexic at the time. “The head of dyslexia for Europe chose three people around the world to conduct a case study, and I was one of them.” She found that his normal IQ was so low, it couldn’t be plotted. However, his social IQ was above 200 and also couldn’t be plotted on a chart. “She said, ‘One of the wires in your brain is in the wrong place. You shouldn’t actually be able to exist in this world, because these two parts of the brain do not connect’.”
As a result of the dyslexia, Jafri says that he was bullied and couldn’t really fit in. When the headmaster at Eton summoned his parents – which is when they presented two starkly different reactions to their son’s condition – he also offered Jafri the keys to a porter cabin which would be exclusively his and filled with paint, canvas and an easel. He was allowed to do whatever he wanted there, provided he could make it to all his other classes. That sparked a real interest and the start of his work as an artist. “I then got into Oxford University and got an MA from Oxford, scoring a double first.”
Esta historia es de la edición April 2021 de Gulf Business.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición April 2021 de Gulf Business.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Green lights
It hasn’t even been a full year that Stellantis, one of the world’s biggest auto companies, has been in existence. Still, its wheels are spinning furiously. Here’s what it has in store for the region
Purpose through corporate responsibility
Every organisation must deeply reflect about whether they are leaving behind a legacy or a liability, says Abdulaziz AlSowailim, EY MENA chairman and CEO
Analysing the layers of a coconut
When we have a sense of clarity as to our purpose in life, then we institute the correct practices and habits around us, and set realistic and achievable results
DUNES TO DOMINION
FOR A COUNTRY RICH IN TRADITION AND DRIVEN BY AMBITION, THE UAE’S JOURNEY DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS HAS BEEN UNPRECEDENTED. WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE NEXT 50?
Building strong
International investors are boosting Dubai’s residential property market, which has rebounded strongly from the Covid crisis, writes Aarti Nagraj
CHASING THE AMERCIAN DREAM
FOR SHAI ZAMANIAN, THE US IS A LAND OF LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES, AN AVENUE HE AIMS TO OPEN FOR FAMILIES WORLDWIDE VIA IMMIGRATION. HERE’S HOW HE IS BRINGING HIS GOAL TO FRUITION
OBITUARY: JOCELYN HENDERSON (1921-2021)
THE GRANDE DAME OF ABU DHABI – THE WIFE OF A FORMER DIPLOMAT – PASSED AWAY IN THE UAE CAPITAL AGED 100
THE DIGITAL DISRUPTORS
IN THE COMING YEARS, THE GCC IS EXPECTED TO PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN SECTORS SUCH AS HEALTHCARE, MANUFACTURING, EDUCATION AND RETAIL, WHICH WILL HELP BOOST THE GROWTH OF ITS NON-OIL ECONOMY
Signed, sealed, delivered
Nicolas Baretzki, CEO of Montblanc, partnered with one of the world’s most recognisable luxury brands, Ferrari, earlier this year. Here’s where the partnership, and the German company as well, is headed next
UP, UP AND AWAY
AS THE FIRST IN-PERSON AIRSHOW TO TAKE PLACE SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF THE PANDEMIC, THE EVENT SAW SEVERAL DEALS ANNOUNCED