Brandon Stanton began a photography blog in 2010 entitled ‘Humans of New York’. He trawled the streets of the US city, initially with the aim of capturing the pictures of 10,000 strangers simply going about their business. His project evolved into a montage of flourishing New York. Photos are accompanied by illustrative text, a snippet… Read more »

Early on a Friday morning, we enter the Muslim quarter of old Jerusalem through Damascus Gate. Arab-owned shops are opening languidly. Some display images of Mecca and Medina, indicating that the owner has been there on pilgrimage.

Growing up in a multi-cultural and multi-religious society like Malaysia, the one thing you learn at a very early age is that there are many forms of worship. My belief system is built on this foundation of inclusiveness, and I am thankful to have been raised in an environment where I never heard my parents utter a derogatory word against anyone.

I went to watch a performance of Mavin Khoo’s dance show ‘I am with you Muruga’, an extraordinary dance of devotion to the fearsome id of Lord Murugan. Not much is known of Lord Murugan. He is the enigmatic younger brother of the popular elephant-headed god Ganesha, who is well known for his role as the scribe of Vyasa’s Mahabharata as well as his love of laddhus, the Indian sweet.

Udjo Ngalagena and his wife Uum Sumiati established the House of Angklung in 1966 with a clear mission to conserve and preserve Sundanese, the distinctive language and culture of the western portion of the island of Java, especially Sundanese music performed with local classical instruments.