Kelvin Kiptum: A Life Done As Fast As His Race
In the running world, no marathon is created equal, says Ryan Fan, a special needs educator and marathon runner. By that analogy, it can be argued no marathon runner is…
Thayalan Balakrishnan: Leaving A Sounding Impact On The World … In His Own Quiet Way
Introversion is the behavior of focusing on inner thoughts and ideas, rather than expressing them openly. Introverts enjoy spending time with just one or two people, rather than large groups…
Devaki Krishnan: First woman elected to public office in Malaysia
Tan Sri Devaki Krishnan, the first Malaysian woman elected to public service (an honour recognised in the Malaysia Book of Records), achieved eminence in Malaysian politics before the country was…
Chandramalar Chelliah: Matriarch of Malaysian police force
THE send-off was remarkable. Dressed in their full uniforms, the police officers reverently lifted the coffin onto their shoulders and carried it to the hearse nearby. Once the coffin was…
Franz Beckenbauer: The German Footballer Who Made Maradona Weep
It was epic football theater: Diego Maradona, the Argentine hailed as the game’s greatest, was weeping uncontrollably. The man responsible for his tears, known as “Der Kaiser”, or The Emperor,…
Lewis Pragasam: The Drum God Who Was Too Human
Macaques, the most brilliant of monkeys, have a habit of intimidating uninvited guests by beating the trees they are on. Chimpanzees also make crude drumming sounds to signal distress. Humans,…
Tony Bennett: The Crooner Who Left His Heart With You, Not San Francisco
Twenty Grammy awards over nearly a century of living. Tony Bennett, the singer loved not just in America but across the world, didn’t leave his heart in San Francisco as…
Malaysia’s Mother Mangalam: New World Care in Old-School World
The 15-year-old was about to put the buttered slice of bread into her mouth, when it was yanked from her hand. “This bread belongs to Pure Life. It’s not for…
Tina Turner: “Simply The Best” Female Rocker We Knew
The limo was headed to the Hilton Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas. Seated at the back was one of the rock world’s greatest divas. At that moment though, she didn’t…
Elyse Bree Nantha: A Go-Getter Extraordinaire
It is rare for undergraduates to be awarded honours in competition with tenured staff. The University of Nottingham UK does exactly that with the annual Vice-Chancellor’s Medal (right), recognising those…
Harry Belafonte: The Man Who Married Pop With Politics
Music has often intertwined with politics, sometimes striking the right chord with it and sometimes being not so in harmony. Harry Belafonte, however, married the two and made sure politics…
Vani Jairam: The Indian Nightingale Who Never Sung About Herself
The year was 1971. The Hindustani music world — the epicenter of what the world calls Bollywood — was enthralled by a powerful new voice that came not from a…
Benedict: He Who Showed Popes They Can Resign, Apologize For Their Faults
What measures the greatness of a pope? A Time magazine cover? Millions of Twitter followers? Pope Benedict XVI, whose life ended on the very last day of 2022, will be…
Pele: If Football Had A Face, This Had To Be The One
He was named Edson Arantes do Nascimento, after Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb. If his parents thought he’d be just as brilliant, they weren’t wrong — only…
‘Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: Grace Audrey McDonnell (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
Grace Audrey McDonnell was the love and light of her family's lives. Every year on November 4th, balloons go up on the mailbox in front of the McDonnells’ home. The…
‘Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: James Radley Mattioli (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
James Radley Mattioli used to be first in his family to wake up each morning, ready to go to school with his adored older sister, Anna. “He couldn't wait to…
‘Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: Ana Marquez-Greene (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
Ana Grace Marquez-Greene’s love for singing was evident before she was even able to talk. “In a musical family, her gift for melody, pitch, and rhythm stood out remarkably,” Ana's…
‘Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: Jesse Lewis (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
Jesse Lewis had just witnessed his teacher getting shot in the hallway of the first grade classrooms of Sandy Hook Elementary School and saw the gunman pausing to reload. “Run!”…
‘Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: Chase Kowalski (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
The Kowalskis could seldom focus on the birthday of their son Chase Michael-Anthony because Halloween fell on that day too. Chase was born on Oct. 31, 2005, and each birthday…
Remembering America’s Gun Victims’: Catherine Violet Hubbard (Sandy Hook, Connecticut)
On a quiet street in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, Catherine Violet Hubbard was being remembered lovingly by her mother. “This was Catherine in the fall, we had gone pumpkin picking,” Jennifer…
