Global Indian Times Podcast

PGA Champion Aaron Rai's Father is Sikh, Wife Hindu, Sponsor Muslim and Coach Christian

(Photo: Gaurika Bishnoi and Aaron Rai at their wedding, 2025. Courtesy Bishnoi Instagram.) March 23, 20264 By Ignatius Chithelen Rai’s PGA Championship win has boosted his popularity in the UK and the larger Indian market. So, he is likely being offered lucrative sponsorship deals by global sports and consumer brand companies. Also, if he chooses, Rai does not have to work hard on improving his golf game. With the PGA Championship win, he can play in the tournament for life. For the next five years, he also automatically qualifies for the other majors, Masters, US Open and The British Open; as well as for the PGA Tour. Will the fame and wealth distract Rai or will he win more tournaments, including majors? In 2020, Rai earned $1.4 million in prize money for winning the Scottish Open. He treated himself to a Mitsubishi Evo car, which then cost roughly $70,000, even though he could easily afford a more expensive, luxurious Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz. Laughing, he explained his choice to a reporter of The Times, London: The Evos, made on a budget, had no flashy interiors, “they were just pure and focused. [https://www.thetimes.com/sport/golf/article/aaron-rai-interview-golf-scottish-open-27sqqj77w] Those are the values I believe in.” Gaurika, a Hindu, and Rai married in 2025. In 2018, Gaurika chatted with Rai’s mother during his round at the Hero Indian Open, part of the DP World Tour. It was held at her home club, the DLF Golf Club, near Delhi. Rai’s mother asked her to wait and meet her son, [https://golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/majors/pga/2026/05/18/2026-pga-championship-aaron-rai-how-he-met-his-wife/90138419007/] she told Golfweek. After Rai’s PGA Championship win, a follower commented on an Instagram post by Gaurika, “the more he listens to you [https://www.instagram.com/p/DMk5OiHR_n8/?img_index=1] the better he plays.” Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Parabilis, with CEO Mathai Mammen, Pursues New Class of Medicines to Treat Cancer

(Photo: Mathai Mammen, CEO, Parabilis) June 13, 2026 Parabilis is developing medicines, based on its helicon peptide platforms, to treat both rare and common cancers. Helicons are a type of peptides capable of modulating proteins in a cell, a task which conventional medicines could not accomplish. Peptides are short chains of molecules called amino acids, which make up a protein. “(W)e have advanced a new class of medicines, [https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7470520862149005312/]Helicons, designed to reach targets long considered undruggable and move closer to our goal of creating extraordinary medicines for patients with serious diseases.” Mathai Mammen, Chairman and Chief Executive of the company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, posted on LinkedIn. Mammen earned his MD from Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University. He received his BSc in Chemistry and Biochemistry from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His mother Molly Mammen was a technician scientist in a cancer lab at Dalhousie University. “I witnessed both overt and subtle discrimination, bias and powerful perseverance [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mathai-mammen_embraceequity-science-medicine-share-7040301479223513088-ZUW2/] and courage, and success in everything that my mother took on professionally and personally,” Mathai Mammen states in a LinkedIn post. His parents migrated to Canada, from Kerala, India, when he was a toddler. By Ignatius Chithelen. He is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. Neither he nor Banyan has any financial or other interests in any of the companies mentioned in this story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Sunny Varkey’s GEMS Schools in the UAE Face Competition from Taaleem's Harrow and Aldar's Cranleigh in the UAE

(Photo: Harrow International School, Dubai. Courtesy Taaleem Holdings) By Ignatius Chithelen June 6, 2026 For decades now, the top students from reputed non-profit and government-run schools have been admitted by the best colleges in the West. Many alumni enroll their children at the top schools they attended, expecting they will then be admitted by a top college. So, they track the number of students from their schools admitted by the top colleges. Since they donate to their college, or know major donors, they lobby college officials to admit the same or larger number of students from their schools. Given such long-established, recruiting of students from the top non-profit and government-run schools, by the top colleges, for-profit schools find it very tough to place their graduates at these colleges. So, typically, college-educated, upper income parents in the West and in India, do not enroll their children in for-profit schools, even those with reputed brand names and modern facilities. Meanwhile, in the Gulf countries, for-profit schools are forecast to see rising demand. Running for-profit schools in those kingdoms is a lucrative business with high profit margins. In fiscal year 2025, for instance, Taaleem had a 15% profit margin; [https://www.taaleem.ae/investor-relations/factsheet/]profits were $44 million on revenues of $307 million, which were both roughly double that in fiscal year 2022. Taaleem, which is listed on the Dubai Stock Exchange, has a market value of around $810 million [https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/TAALEEM.DU/], according to Reuters. It has 4,100 employees. Taaleem pays a licensing fee for its Harrow schools to a subsidiary of the charity which owns Harrow School, UK. The fee is used for a number of charitable aims, including widening access [https://www.harrowschool.org.uk/post/~board/latest-news/post/new-international-schools-partnership-with-uaes-leading-education-provider]to the Harrow School, UK. There are more than a dozen licensed Harrow schools operating around the World, including ten in China and one in Bangalore, India. Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. Neither he nor Banyan has any financial or other interests in any of the companies mentioned in this story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Can Shamsheer Vayalil’s Burjeel Become the Leading Healthcare Company in the Middle East

(Photo: Burjeel Medical City, Abu Dhabi. Courtesy Burjeetl.) By Ignatius Chithelen May 30, 2026 Burjeel, an Abu Dhabi based for-profit company, operates 115 healthcare facilities, across the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, part of the Gulf region. They include 20 hospitals, 39 medical centers, 30 physiotherapy and wellness centers, 15 pharmacies, and 11 other allied services, including Tajmeel cosmetology and dental centers. Burjeel’s facilities, which have 1,700 beds, employ more than 11,000, including nearly 1,800 doctors. Burjeel is pursuing organic revenue growth, without incurring major capital expenses, by admitting more patients It seeks to do this by raising the utilization of its bed capacity, from the current 67 percent to 80 to 85 percent. [https://burjeelholdings.com/investors/investment-case/] Also, over the next three years, Burjeel plans to set up two new hospitals [https://burjeelholdings.com/strategy/strategy/] in Dubai, four out-patient surgery centers, six medical centers, and two fertility clinics in the UAE. Earlier this month, Vayalil posted on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/drshamsheervp/], where he has 244,000 followers, “The encouragement and support of the UAE leadership always inspire us to think bigger, build for the future, and turn ambition into reality.” Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. Neither he nor Banyan has any financial or other interests in any of the companies mentioned in this story. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

PGA Champion Aaron Rai's Father is Sikh, Wife Gaurika a Hindu and Sponsor Shabir Randeree a Muslim

(Photo: Gaurika Bishnoi and Aaron Rai at their wedding, 2025. Courtesy Bishnoi Instagram.) March 23, 20264 By Ignatius Chithelen Rai’s PGA Championship win has boosted his popularity in the UK and the larger Indian market. So, he is likely being offered lucrative sponsorship deals by global sports and consumer brand companies. Also, if he chooses, Rai does not have to work hard on improving his golf game. With the PGA Championship win, he can play in the tournament for life. For the next five years, he also automatically qualifies for the other majors, Masters, US Open and The British Open; as well as for the PGA Tour. Will the fame and wealth distract Rai or will he win more tournaments, including majors? In 2020, Rai earned $1.4 million in prize money for winning the Scottish Open. He treated himself to a Mitsubishi Evo car, which then cost roughly $70,000, even though he could easily afford a more expensive, luxurious Rolls Royce or Mercedes Benz. Laughing, he explained his choice to a reporter of The Times, London: The Evos, made on a budget, had no flashy interiors, “they were just pure and focused. [https://www.thetimes.com/sport/golf/article/aaron-rai-interview-golf-scottish-open-27sqqj77w] Those are the values I believe in.” Gaurika, a Hindu, and Rai married in 2025. In 2018, Gaurika chatted with Rai’s mother during his round at the Hero Indian Open, part of the DP World Tour. It was held at her home club, the DLF Golf Club, near Delhi. Rai’s mother asked her to wait and meet her son, [https://golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/majors/pga/2026/05/18/2026-pga-championship-aaron-rai-how-he-met-his-wife/90138419007/] she told Golfweek. After Rai’s PGA Championship win, a follower commented on an Instagram post by Gaurika, “the more he listens to you [https://www.instagram.com/p/DMk5OiHR_n8/?img_index=1] the better he plays.” Ignatius Chithelen is the publisher of Global Indian Times and author of https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.htmlSix Degrees of Education [https://www.strandbooks.com/six-degrees-of-education-from-teaching-in-mumbai-to-investment-research-in-new-york-9780997470307.html] and Passage from India to America. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Passage-from-India-to-America-Billionaire-Engineers-Extremist-Politics-Advantage-to-Canada-China-Paperback-9780997470376/163965773] A Chartered Financial Analyst, he is manager of Banyan Tree Capital, New York. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.globalindiantimes.com [https://www.globalindiantimes.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]