“The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.” ~ Saint Jerome. The first part of this quote is an adage in many languages. Every adage, including this one, was evolved over the years and had come into existence from the forge of human experiences. TheyContinue reading “The Mirror In You”
Author Archives: nowhereperspectives
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World! Rising majestically 7970 feet above the mean sea level from the Sacred Valley that is situated 80 kilometres northwest of Cuzco, Peru, Machu Picchu is considered as the lost city of the Incas, the most prominent tribe that ruled large swathes of South AmericaContinue reading “Machu Picchu”
Is Blood Thicker than Water?
Is blood thicker than water? Or, is it as good as or worse than water? In other words, is one’s relation with one’s own family members more valuable than that with non-family members? I had a flash of these thoughts when I came across a few disturbing news reports: children abandoning their elderly parents atContinue reading “Is Blood Thicker than Water?”
The Land of a Million Elephants
Laos — pronounced with ‘s’ silent — is sandwiched among buzzing tourist destinations in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar. Therefore, the attention it commands from a global traveler is predictably dwarfed. Yet any tourist who chooses to put this country on his/her itinerary is sure to be enthralled by this picturesque place. JuxtaposedContinue reading “The Land of a Million Elephants”
Why This Pandemic?
This is my thirteenth blog related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and a few of the previous blogs had an underlying theme that the pandemic was a warning, possibly the last one before an all-out attack, of Mother Nature, telling man to stop its overexploration and start to live within his means. Why does man overexploitContinue reading “Why This Pandemic?”
Floating Villages of Siem Reap
How long have you stayed in water at a stretch? A pool-goer will answer: a couple of hours while the answer could be a whole day by a sea-surfer. Fishermen spend days, even months at sea, so do sailors. None of them, however, spend their whole life in water. But there are people who liveContinue reading “Floating Villages of Siem Reap”
Experience
The simplest definition of experience is that it is the sum total of acquired knowledge. Man’s knowledge-base has two elements: basic knowledge and acquired knowledge. Basic knowledge is all that we learn from our parents, teachers, books and the ecosystem of upbringing from the first day of our birth until we embark on the journeyContinue reading “Experience”
The City of White Nights
In July 2018 I visited Saint Petersburg, the city founded by and named after Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. History seeps through every pore of this magnificent city. The city was founded on the territory captured from the Swiss and was initially named as Sankt-Pieter-Burch — the Russian equivalent of St. Petersburg. The naming andContinue reading “The City of White Nights”
Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – Invisible Webs of Economic Linkages
The International Labour Organization, or the I.L.O., recently stated that 1.20 billion people out of the 3.30 billion working population would lose their jobs due to the pandemic. Is it an exaggerated figure or closer to an impending reality? Let’s look at it based on what is happening around us. I am working in theContinue reading “Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – Invisible Webs of Economic Linkages”
Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – The Great Suppression
It is for the first time in the modern era that the world is facing economic downturn due to an unconventional economic reason. We had witnessed conventional economic downturns like the Great Depression of 1929 and the Recession of 2008. Both resulted in the collapse of the world economy in varying degrees and wreaked havocContinue reading “Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – The Great Suppression”
Cusco and The Incas
Cusco was the cultural and administrative capital of the Inca civilization that arose from the highlands of Peru in the early 13th century. The Incas, like the Mayans of Southern Mexico and Central America, were able to build one of the largest empires through the conquests of large parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, ColombiaContinue reading “Cusco and The Incas”
Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – A Preview
COVID1-19 unleashed an unprecedented economic downslide. The world hovers dangerously on the precipice of a global economic recession. It’s skating on precariously thin ice that’s melting fast. The economic downturn promises to be a long drawn one with no hopes of an upturn anywhere on the horizon. In this series, I intend to look atContinue reading “Economic Perils of Gargantuan Proportions – A Preview”
COVIDian Reflections: Nature Does When Man Refuses to Do
Many of you would have heard about the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. It was an agreement under the guidance of the United Nations to cut down global greenhouse gas emissions to keep the increase in atmospheric temperature below 2 °C above the pre-industrial levels, with a long-term goal of making it 1.5 °C. TheContinue reading “COVIDian Reflections: Nature Does When Man Refuses to Do”
The Land of Our First Grandparents
Science traces the first man to unicellular Amoeba that evolved 800 million years ago. Christianity says that Adam is the first human. Hinduism has two concepts for the origin of man as explained in Rig Veda – Hiranyagarbha and Purusha concepts,. In whichever of these or other concepts of man’s origin that you believe in,Continue reading “The Land of Our First Grandparents”
COVIDian Reflections: W.H.O. Through the Prism of Trust, Intelligence and Wisdom
Does trust have any relation with intelligence and wisdom? In other words, can trust turn an intelligent person into foolish one, at least temporarily, and unknowingly cajole him/her to take unwise decisions? Let us look at these questions in the light of the actions of the World Health Organisation, or W.H.O., during the COVID-19 pandemic.Continue reading “COVIDian Reflections: W.H.O. Through the Prism of Trust, Intelligence and Wisdom”
Beautiful Hong Kong
Geographically, Hong Kong has three regions: Hong Kong island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Hong Kong island is connected to the Kowloon Peninsula through underwater metro train tunnels, bus tunnels and also through ferry services. Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railways, or M.T.R., runs completely underground and rated as the best metro rail network in theContinue reading “Beautiful Hong Kong”
COVIDian Reflections – Old Questions, New Answers
How big is a man? If you ask this question to a physicist, his answer will be as big as an electron. The same question will evoke a different response from a biologist with an answer: as big as a DNA. A chemist’s answer will be like as big as an element. Now, a doctor’sContinue reading “COVIDian Reflections – Old Questions, New Answers”
COVID-19 Fight – The Kerala Model, A Masterclass in Disaster Management
This is a sequel to the blog: COVID-19 Fight – the Kerala Model. What makes Kerala resilient in the face of a calamity like COVID-19? This question will be answered as we course down through this blog. Before we proceed further, let me ask a fundamental question, “What is the most important resource in theContinue reading “COVID-19 Fight – The Kerala Model, A Masterclass in Disaster Management”
COVIDian Reflections – Behavioral Changes
A fine morning during the Corona lockdown! The secretary of a housing society of around 70 people in Cochin, Kerala, India, sent a message to the society’s WhatsApp group, telling those who needed vegetables to list out their requirements. A steady stream of messages from the members followed, which the secretary quickly tabulated and forwardedContinue reading “COVIDian Reflections – Behavioral Changes”
COVID-19 Fight – The Kerala Model
The ongoing fight against COVID-19 by Kerala is, in all probability, the best in the world. Most of you could possibly know that as a country, it is Singapore that is waging the best war against the virus, with 1114 infected cases and a mortality rate of 0.45% as on April 3, 2020. But oneContinue reading “COVID-19 Fight – The Kerala Model”
COVIDian Reflections – Coexist
For the first time in the history of modern man, animals can roam around without the fear of being attacked by their big brother. Animals bear the brunt of man’s cruelty arising out of his ostentatious ways of living and false feeling of valor. But it is payback time today. He is being haunted –Continue reading “COVIDian Reflections – Coexist”
Somaliland
Most of you would have heard about Somalia. But, how many of you know about a country called Somaliland? It must be very few because this country does not exist on the roaster maintained by the United Nations or foreign governments. There are 9 self-declared countries, including Somaliland, that are not recognized by the UNContinue reading “Somaliland”
COVIDian Reflections: Slow Down, or I will Slow You Down
When the Dow Jones index surges by a few points, many in the world go richer and celebrate the northward journey of the index. There are millions around the world, tuned to their computer to check the daily fluctuations of their fortunes based on the movement of prices of commodities and shares. There are timesContinue reading “COVIDian Reflections: Slow Down, or I will Slow You Down”
The Land of Smiles
Cambodia, known as the Land of Smiles, has a special place on my mind as it was the country where I celebrated the Diamond milestone of my travel history — from the first country of Singapore to the 60th country of Cambodia. It is Cambodia for foreigners, but the country is fondly called as Compuchea,Continue reading “The Land of Smiles”
