Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is the mark of a civilized society.” — Dr Albert SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer (1875–1965) was a remarkable polymath known for his work as a theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. MY people, the Bidayuh, once lived by paddy and rice in a
“The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.” – Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008), a Japanese farmer, microbiologist and philosopher best known for pioneering natural farming, sometimes called ‘do-nothing farming’. 1960–1970: A boy in a banyan tree, and a lifetime of
“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca (from around 4 BCE to 65 CE), a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, playwright, and adviser to Emperor Nero. ONE day, Galen, a paddy farmer, decided he’d live
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” – Victor Hugo (1802-1885), one of France’s greatest writers and a towering figure of the Romantic Movement in Literature. He was a poet, novelist, playwright, essayist and political thinker whose works shaped French culture
LILO was the only child of Murin, a woman who died sometime in the late 1950s, less than a year after giving birth. In her earliest days, Lilo knew hunger, heat, and the bustle of other people’s lives, but no one told her that her father, Jali, had already decided
“Disdain the things you cannot have; it is best for your peace of mind.” – Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian and social critic – one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century. JAMI had always believed in the fairness of life. He worked
JANUARY often evokes the memory of an old, irksome friend. Perhaps it’s the relentless rain that does it. I remember how my mates and I would brave the downpours, playing football drenched to the skin, until goosebumps crept up our arms and our teeth chattered from the chill. There’s an
“We are born into a world of suffering, and it is what we do with that suffering that defines us.“ Albert Camus (1913-1960), a French philosopher, novelist and essayist, best known for exploring how human beings search for meaning in a world that often feels cruel, indifferent, and unjust –
● The durian season is upon us again, and I can’t resist telling a “duriany” story. ONCE upon a time, in the late 1950s, a mighty durian tree towered over a corner of our remote village in Serian District. And what a specimen it was – tall, defiant, and perfuming
“It is not what we give but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare.” – James Russell Lowell (1819-1891), an American poet, critic, editor, diplomat, and political activist. IF ever there was a man who could turn self-promotion into a grand performance, it was my fellow