Elena_Koshy

SWIPE left. Swipe left. Hmmm. Nope. Swipe left again. Aha! This guy sounds interesting enough. Swipe right!

WADING through the plume of smoke emanating from a heated wok at the corner, my father and I made our way to the only available table in sight. At just after 10am, the morning crowd at the nondescript kopitiam (coffee shop) was steadily thickening.

MY heart sinks as I slow down past the nondescript building perched by the side of a narrow side road. The address is correct, of course, thanks to Waze. “Kilang Perabot (Furniture Factory) The Green Factory” emblazoned across the side of the corrugated metal fence encircling a nondescript warehouse-like building tells me I’m at the right place. I’m a little relieved to have been able to interpret some confusing directions […]

WITH 2022 upon us, we’re all more than ready — after years of isolation, restrictions and lockdowns — to reach out and connect. For people who want to start 2022 by matching their good intentions with genuinely beneficial actions, why not try volunteering?

FOR many people, the picture of the Helmeted hornbill is among Sanjitpaal Singh’s most powerful images. And he gets it. “It’s a rare bird to photograph,” he concedes, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

New Year’s Day rings in the month of January, dedicated by the ancient Romans to their god Janus. Religious Romans promised the two-faced god that they would be better in the new year than they had been in the past. But if good old Janus were to check in on whether I’ve been following through with my own resolutions, he would be REALLY annoyed.

RESOLUTIONS. We all make them, break them and the cycle repeats itself every year without fail. We want to lose weight, eat right, save money — they’re all well-meaning desires to wanting to improve, and more often than not, new beginnings are something we all want.

THE faint strains of the guqin (or quzheng) fills the air and the ancient walls seem to settle in with a sigh. Ah, the familiar sounds of the musical instrument of traditional China’s educated elite. The guqin was believed to be the instrument best able to link man and cosmos, to harmonise heaven and earth; some even claimed it could summon ghosts, cure disease, make birds dance, and fish fly.

“THREE…. TWO…. ONE!”