the "broken" cup

The subject of history has never been my forte and my classmates would wonder why economics was my choice over history as my fourth subject (it was this system where out of four subjects, you could assign one as your fourth, or an elective: if you passed it, well you get credit, and if you flunked, it made no difference to the final result). History with its many places and dates and not to mention who is who, and  of where and how many of who (the same name in a roll call list) you have was not my favourite place to be running around.  My late professor of world history however had his own way of telling us why learning history is significant. He would do so by asking the class a question, "Why was Napoleon defeated when he tried to invade Russia?" As we pondered what  the answer might be, he would reply "because he did not study his geography." Simply put, the mighty army of Napoleon (in a wrong calculation of time) is said to have been defeated by the...

Ever since the lockdown was initiated, the big question has been "When is it going to end?" How long till we can get up and about the normal life we are so accustomed to? That is still the question today as we carry on through a second extension of the lockdown. If I may say so, it is like further extending the ticking time on a bomb waiting to explode. Just that in this case, it is a desperate bomb of people waiting to run out into the streets and immerse themselves in the business of life again. I will leave the analysis of such a scenario to others though I do hope that the eventual lifting of the lockdown does not throw the town into a frenzied celebration. I want to rather think of how I am living in these days. Am I living well (with a good spirit) despite the inconveniences? Am I living with gratitude (for I know many are not as fortunate as me)? Am I living with fortitude (rather than complaining and getting dragged into some long winded discussions)? Am I living w...

As I type this, a good part of the whole world is gripped with a sense of uncertainty about what will happen next. This comes in the aftermath of a new strain of the corona virus that caused the outbreak of a sickness last December 2019 in Wuhan, China. However, in that bleak city that went through its trial of fire ordeal, there is a fresh hope as a section of the many medical volunteers vacate the city today to go back to their own cities, homes and families. The city and the country is making its way back to being healthy, though slowly. On the other hand, other parts of the world are being infected and for some, they are almost hitting rock bottom. The news is filled with statistics of new infections, of deaths, of efforts being made to find a cure - a vaccine, a race against time. Plans are being cancelled or at best being deferred, containment measures introduced and it had been said that "the long haul" is most likely it. Amidst all these, there has also been a bit of...