Why are we caught up in tolerating less than what we want; less than what we deserve; and less than what we are worth?
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All articles filed in Thoughts on Life
What Happened to Courtship? Musings from Our Modern World
Courtship. A period during which a couple develop a romantic relationship before getting married. But does courtship end once you’re officially together? How can it?
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My Perfect Morning: harnessing the power of your imagination
What is my ideal day? Like all innocuous questions, it was easy to ask and difficult to answer. I think of all the things I love doing – like travelling, eating out and hiking – all of which are not possible right now because of the Coronavirus.
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The Journey from Bookkeeping to Poetry
Apprentice-style learn-by-doing is a trademark of Gujarati businesses. I had learnt under a master from the day I emerged from the womb. Business school felt trivial and theoretical in comparison. During my first year, I gave my lecturers a hard time by misbehaving and sleeping in class. My good grades came as a surprise to them. Who needs school when life is our best teacher?
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Mother Mari’s Gift: A Story of Rain
I finally get up and get changed. Not that I had any interest in getting ready. I put on some casual pants and a shirt that I didn’t care much for. The thundered roared outside. I didn’t use to like rain much – but ever since my very first Chopda Pujan at Sri Mariamman Temple, I have a new found respect for rain. Mariamman – or Mother Mari – is the Rain Mother. She is a pre-Vedic Tamil folk goddess. In agricultural societies, abundance was contingent on adequate rainfall. Without rain, crops cannot grow healthy and strong.
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The Art of Zoning In: the lockdown on quality time
Courtesy of the coronavirus, many of us are on lockdown – spending unprecedented hours at home. As someone that’s accustomed to being in professions where people are the heart of everything I do – this lockdown has urged me to slow down. To zone in and figure out what really matters to me.
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The Fulfilment of a Dream
Sometimes it takes a serious blast from the past to make you realise how far you’ve come from where you first started. Two nights ago, I unexpectedly found myself in Singapore’s Holland Village. I hadn’t been there in years – not since I was an accounting student. It was a popular date spot and I had many flashbacks of my life in my late teens.
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The Spiritual Legacy of our Ancestors
We have a responsibility towards our ancestors. To receive an inheritance is not merely about property and assets, but also comes with a corresponding spiritual legacy that includes their vocation, their belief system, and their way of life.
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Musings of an overseas Indian: adapting Hindu customs for the diaspora
I’ve been a minority my whole life. In Singapore, I’m Indian. In India, I’m Singaporean. In Britain, I’m Asian. In Japan, I’m a gaigokujin. Foreigner. The essence of who I am is truly lost in all the labels that people keep giving me. I went to the National Gallery in Singapore last weekend, and the docent told me – ‘Enjoy the rest of your stay here’. No, the comment did not annoy me. To be honest, I thought it was quite amusing. Our preconceived notions about who and what people are can be startlingly different from the truth.
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Shradh: Remembering our Ancestors
In Hinduism, the fortnight of Shradh is the time during which one pays homage to one’s ancestors. We have a responsibility to our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents as they brought us into this world. Their genes are part of our body system and their mental traits influence our thinking.
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