OMGs

July 12, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I pray. I’ve prayed all my life. Prayers. Gods. Temples. They are staples of my life. Growing up in Alor Setar, I remember my dad prayed a lot. There was always an altar in the house. He rose early every morning. Prayed and headed off to his workplace. Let himself in as he had the […]

Sundari

July 5, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum was livid with her local satellite television provider some weeks ago. A little less now. By chance, she and I discovered that Astro had retimed one of her favourite Tamil dramas, ‘Sundari’ to 7pm from the original 9.00pm slot. Every evening, I do two things before I leave her condominium. Ensure her decoder […]

Corona

June 28, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I didn’t want to write another post on Covid-19. But here I am doing just that. The fact is it’s a little difficult to ignore or delete all things Covid-19 related. It’s everywhere. In my daily, personal, physical, mental and virtual life. I wake up to it and go to sleep with it. I can’t […]

Mirror, mirror…

June 21, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

What is beauty? Who is beautiful? Is there a beauty standard? If yes, who decides and who qualifies? These questions came coursing through my head. While and after I had watched a cooking show with an international model, yes, a model as one of three guest judges. She was tall and thin. Light skinned with […]

My mum’s recipe 7: WIP – Suji Puttu

June 14, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Two weeks ago, my mum announced that she was going to cook Suji or Semolina Puttu for her Friday lunch. Just like Upma, there’s nothing about Puttu that I like. Not the sand-like texture, taste or pale colour. But, that’s just me. Despite my dislike and disinterest in Puttu, I volunteered to help my mum. […]

Rain

June 7, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Rain is not a topic that’s top of my mind. Except, when there’s too much or too little of it. There’s been a lot of rain in KL over the last few months. Like clockwork. This almost daily occurrence made me think about rain. Do I like rain? I do. Late in the night or […]

Staying safe

May 31, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Recently, a close friend tested positive for Covid-19. For weeks, she has been working from home. Not going out. Not meeting up with friends or visiting off-site family members. Her only contacts have been and are her husband and children. So naturally, her positive result was unexpected and a shock. My husband and I were […]

Vaccine hope

May 24, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

A little hope. Seven of my family members have received the first dose of vaccines against the life threatening and omnipresent Covid-19. My mum had hers on May 11. I didn’t know which vaccine she would be given. So naturally, I did the only thing I could do. I prayed for divine intervention and the […]

Daughter-mother

May 17, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I missed the point. I’m the daughter. My mum is the mum. That’s the relationship. Yes, I’m my mum’s carer now. The roles and responsibilities may have somewhat blurred. But the relationship is clear and irrevocable. Mother’s Day was on May 9. The week leading up to it was unusually difficult for me. My tinnitus […]

Happy-smiley

May 10, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I was instantly happy-smiley when I saw the sunrise as I drew my bedroom curtain. Golden shades of orange and yellow illuminated the sky. It was a near perfect morning. I see this glorious scene, many mornings, from my east-facing windows. I feel happy-smiley, and then I… stop. My husband and I live in a […]