Now that we have stepped into a new year, it may be time to take a brief pause from our hectic schedule.
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.
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.
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.
Of late, I have been reflecting on an interesting aspect of our social discourse.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The past week has been tumultuous and agonising for most Americans. A week of speculation, media hype, and political and personal
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
“I'll miss you… may God be with you, etc.” Her response? A text with a single emoji, that of a crying face.