Post-Covid musings: After the deluge
Now that we have stepped into a new year, it may be time to take a brief pause from our hectic schedule.
Begum Sufia Kamal: A moral hero
Today, after a period of hiatus, I have once again taken up my pen (metaphorically) to remember and celebrate a hero—a woman of courage and integrity who changed the world, not with fire and fury but with her soft touch.
The Age of Alternate Reality
Common sense tells us that life’s experiences should help us acquire a degree of certainty about most issues. However, I seem to be the exception to this conventional wisdom.
Nationalistic competition or cosmopolitan carnival?
While I cannot claim to be an avid football fan, the World Cup bug does attack me every four years. I write this column on a sleepless night, disturbed and disenchanted after watching the rather physical and hostile match between England and Colombia, fighting for a place in the quarterfinals.
Social laws of upward motion
Of late, I have been reflecting on an interesting aspect of our social discourse.
When ‘them’ becomes ‘us’
As one more year fades away into the realm of the past, it may be useful to reflect on the core aspects of our life.
Seeing life anew
As some of you may have noticed, I have been absent from the writing scene for about six months. No, I haven’t retired from column writing—rather it has been a forced hiatus. Forced by an eye condition that struck without any prior warning. The affliction that stole part of my right eyesight came stealthily and silently—a white fog refusing to be dislodged obstructed my vision.
When being wrong can feel right
I never imagined that most of the values and precepts I learned while growing up would become dated and rendered almost irrelevant during my lifetime. In particular, the lessons in humility that our parents and teachers taught us seem to have simply gone out of the window.
The Rise of Hate
In the “long 18th century” (1685-1815), European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented during the course of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment.
America's moment of self-reckoning?
The past week has been tumultuous and agonising for most Americans. A week of speculation, media hype, and political and personal
A champion in triumph or defeat
Years ago, when I first migrated to the United States, I was asked to read Robert Ringer's Winning through Intimidation as part of my acculturation process.
Something to reflect upon
Today, I choose to address an issue that has generated years of soul-searching resulting in an inner struggle to draw the line between right and wrong.
Testing the limits of sexual harassment
Earlier this month, The New York Times published an explosive story on allegations of sexual harassmenagainst Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The report was based on accounts of multiple women accusing him of all forms of sexual misdemeanour ranging from rape to verbal abuse.
“We the people”
Of late, I have started avoiding social gatherings. The reason? Friends and acquaintances have become somewhat edgy and contentious, so that even civil discussions quickly rise to high decibel levels. Needless to say, the divisive issues mostly relate to world affairs and politics, with conversations rotating in circles!
Reweaving a lost past
It is not always easy to travel back in time. For, we have a tendency to block the memories that generate emotional turbulence of some sort.
It's all in a word
“I'll miss you… may God be with you, etc.” Her response? A text with a single emoji, that of a crying face.
