Deepavali difference

October 28, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Yesterday was Deepavali, the Festival of Lights. My mum’s favourite celebration since she was a little girl. Every year, the mental preparation for the big day starts many months earlier. How do I know this? She loves to talk about her Deepavali plans: cakes (must-haves), number of guests (the usual suspects) menu for the day (similar […]

Not so young

October 21, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Her movements, familiar. Her hair, lustrous. Her body, slim. Her face, recognisable, yet not. There were traces of a pretty young girl whom I thought I knew from years ago. I was doing my prayers in the temple, as I do every Tuesday, when I noticed this not so young lady prostrating outside one of the […]

Value of things

October 14, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Should a porridge soup cooker cost the same as a brunch for two people? Should a hotel room per night cost as much as or more than some people’s monthly grocery bill or salary? Naturally, I am not comparing like for like. But, it made me wonder what I was willing to pay for the different […]

Irony

October 7, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

When I was five, I wanted a bicycle. Not any bicycle. A two-wheel bicycle with pneumatic tyres. Preferably pink in colour. I used to watch this girl, who was a little older than me, ride along the road, in front of my house in Alor Setar. I wanted a bike just like hers. My dad […]

My mum

September 23, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I cannot picture my mum as a child. All mums must have been children once, for sure. But, I can’t imagine mine being young and doing the stuff children do – play, have childhood friends, go to school etc. etc. I’ve known my mum all my life, but only as an adult. She was 28 […]

Haze…again

September 16, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I bought an air pollution and haze KN95 respiratory mask last week. The mask was designed specifically for the situation at hand. Yes, another year of the same old, same old. Haze. It’s back. It’s choking Kuala Lumpur and many states in Malaysia with its familiar and acrid thick smog. Unwelcomed. Unwanted. But, here it […]

Dolphins of Monkey Mia

September 2, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Up close with the bottlenose dolphins in Monkey Mia.

Selfie Musuem

August 26, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

It was a coincidence. My husband and I were having dinner at the Pavilion mall in Kuala Lumpur. I couldn’t help but notice a woman, she had her back to me, snapping photo after photo of herself. She was reviewing and editing every shot, probably using an app that was intended to make you look […]

Flying adventures

August 19, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Flying adventures and … misadventures

Liars, leaders and supporters

August 12, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

This is the world I live in now. Not telling the truth isn’t a big deal. It’s almost fashionable to lie. There are no repercussions. There is no price to pay. Even when liars are called out on their lies – with evidence staring them in their faces – they get away scot-free. The liars […]