“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” That’s Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Sonnet 43. I wonder if she had to endure a modern Valentine’s Day where the ways that seem to count inevitably include: A box of artisanal, handcrafted, bean-to-bar chocolates; an entirely … Continue readingRoti Valentine
We are not what we wear. We are not our waistlines. We are not the wrinkles around our mouths, we are not the dark circles around our eyes. This is what I keep telling myself, over the years, over and over. Yet, if I am … Continue readingThe body and the balance
Diwali. Divali. Deepavali. Different variations on the same name, the same celebration. For though the languages and dialects and foods and rituals may vary, it is still the Festival of Lights that is being celebrated by Hindus all round the world, and here in Malaysia, … Continue readingDeepavali duets
I. Gods and children Sunday morning. You could hear a not-quite silence filling the air. Most folks are still sleeping, it’s the weekend after all. Some of us are stirring though. Some of us had woken for hours already. The world is constantly alive at … Continue readingGods and children
How do I know that you are the One? I see around me couples who have been together for years, some married with mortgages and kids, some who run businesses together; others separated by distance due to dilemmas of work or visas, yet knowing that … Continue readingThis sea of us
AftermathIn which we can barely talk to each other, in which we struggle despite the best of intentions. When it hurts so bad, I finally understand what it means to bleed, to be slashed and torn asunder, slowly sure. Why do we both feel so … Continue readingAfter, —