My father loved nature. He had a keen appreciation for the outdoors, despite (or perhaps because of) living in city where green spaces were slowly being consumed by commercial and residential construction to accommodate a fast-growing and ambition-filled population. Ye...

It was my first exam in college as an undergrad. I had taken up English literature as my major, and in those days, the entire assessment was conducted through ‘final exams’ at the end of the academic year. I had worked hard through the year, preparing my notes, attendi...

I'm not sure when I began to truly grasp the fact that my father was struggling with a disabling mental illness. Perhaps, it was around the time when my father had a nervous breakdown. Or when one of my friends in the colony, where I grew up, one day told me that her p...

My first lessons in critical thinking came from my mother, and the lessons were often delivered with a twinkle in the eye. 

One day, while we were talking to each other, I 'corrected' Ma's pronunciation of a word. I had just recently started my college studies, and had...

My mother was one of the most patient people I knew...and the most amazing of teachers. Married at the age of 16, Ma didn't have the opportunity to finish her college education. She had been a brilliant student in school, excelling in mathematics and languages. In coll...

Many years ago, on one of my visits to Sunday Book Bazaar, I picked up a book and asked the bookseller the price. He replied rudely, asking if I was serious about purchasing the book or was just wasting his time. Upset at his rudeness, I put the book down without anoth...