Play, Learn, Earn, Adjourn Arun Kumar Every evening, the sun descends below the tree line behind our home and paints the blue canvas of the sky with different hues of red, orange, pink, and some other shades of color that I cannot even begin to name. Most evenings, I hardly…

Orange Pekoe Tea Arun Kumar Be it winter, spring, summer, or fall, if I am home and not zooming around in some distant part of the galaxy in search of nirvana, the day begins with a cup of loose-leaf orange pekoe black tea. Holding a warm cup of freshly brewed…

Love and Hate for Chemistry Arun Kumar Chemistry. Chem·is·try. It was one of the subjects among few others that I disliked during my halcyon days of high school years. Chemistry felt different from physics or mathematics where after learning a few basic principles, the rest could be deduced using hierarchical…

Lines on my palm Arun Kumar When going through occasional rough patches in my life, I look upward towards the sky for solace, but if the day is cloudy, I turn to find comfort in the lines criss crossing my palm. According to palmistry, different lines indicate different traits in…

The lost ritual of shaving Arun Kumar It is a beautiful day outside. One of those days when one wonders why the powers to be not wake up, take some time out from their political bickering and declare it a national holiday and give their citizens a chance to celebrate…

Building a framework for living #14: The starting point Arun Kumar Once again, I am back on the trail walking through the woods on a sunny afternoon that occasionally comes to grace us when transitioning from winter to summer. It is a beautiful crisp sunny spring afternoon. Spring is the…

Cliffs above the ocean Arun Kumar Cabo de Roca, Portugal. Diamond Head, Hawaii. Point Udall, St. Croix, US Virgin Island. All three are different specks on the sphere of the globe. They are far apart but have something in common. All three are cliffs high above the ocean and provide…

Building a framework for living #13: An ecosystem of interconnected engagements Arun Kumar In-ter-con-nect-ed-ness. A long word with six syllables. Within itself, it has the even taller responsibility of saying that everything that surrounds us has threads coming out that extend and touch others. …

Building a framework for living #12: Other consequences of portfolio of engagements Arun Kumar When I walk in the woods it engages different senses and stirs different perspectives — seeing the magic of sunlight filtering down through the leaves; hearing the sound of wind rustling in between the trees; a…