The New Year of Baháʼís and Persians is upon us. Millions worldwide celebrated Naw-Rúz on 20 March, the day of the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Literally translated as "New Day", Naw-Rúz is a time of joy and celebration, with winter's cold and dark ending and spring's warmth and light beginning. To all my friends, Happy Naw-Rúz, with all the change and hope it brings!
He came from a Romano-British imperial family, but he was abducted and enslaved as a herdsman in the Irish hills. He escaped Ireland but returned as a missionary, planning to convert the Irish people to Christianity. Thirty years later, in 461 AD, Patrick died and became Ireland's patron saint. That day, March 17, has since become Saint Patrick's Day, a day of wild celebration all over the world.
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS ignited the internet for an inauguration image that showed him seated in thick mittens, a parka, and a totally chilled out mood. Memes broke out in hundreds and flooded social networks. The images became a hilarious sideshow to the Biden inauguration, and punctuated the global community's sense of joy at the start of a new presidency.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S inauguration this week was like no other in American history. It went through heightened security measures and COVID-19 precautions in the nation's capital. It also became the first inauguration snubbed by the outgoing president since 1869.
HERE ARE excerpts from President Joe Biden's inaugural address, which I received on email this morning from the Biden Inaugural Committee. President Biden wrote the 21-minute speech with the assistance of speechwriter Vinay Reddy, senior advisor Mike Donilon, incoming Secretary of State Tony Blinken, and chief of staff Ron Klain. The address was described by the New York Times as "a return to the ordinary discord of democracy, with a reminder that politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path."
AMERICA HAS a new president, and a new day has begun. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. takes office as the 46th president of the United States at the crossroads of historical moments. On the one hand, Kamala Harris is sworn in as the country's first female vice president. On the other, America is experiencing deep economic losses, socio-political divisions, and health crises like never before. President Biden delivered a 21-minute speech filled with compassion and commitment. It left me teary-eyed.
PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi has launched one of the world's biggest inoculation drives—targeting India's 10.5 million infections (against a population of 1.4 billion). The country anticipated this inoculation drive highly, as its many lockdowns have not impacted virus control. The first phase of the vaccination rollout targets 30 million healthcare and frontline workers. By July, the government plans to inoculate 300 million people.
THE BAHÁ'Í World News Service has released a video compendium of the most compelling stories of the global Bahá’í community in 2020. The video illustrates what Bahá’ís do: collectively serving humanity and refining their lives according to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The year needed the greatest need for togetherness, and Baháʼís have shown how hope, effort, and unity helped alleviate human suffering in societies worldwide.
SOURCE: The New York Times
THE VIOLENCE at the US Capitol wasn't just a defacement of America's image as the exemplar of democracy. It was a threat to the idea that peace is inevitable. If such disruptive forces could happen at the very core of America's leadership, then it could happen everywhere.
MY YOUTUBE channel, Paul Ancheta, has just hit the 1,000-subscriber mark! I can't thank each one of them enough.
"KAMALA" IS Sanskrit for "lotus". May the new POTUS and "LOTUS" at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue help bring in the fragrance of healing and unifying these disunited states of America.
I GREW up in the Philippines saying "Hey Joe" to any American I'd see, and lived in India saying "Hi Kamala" to acquaintances. So it's such a welcome and hopeful treat to now say "Hello Joe and Kamala, it's so nice to have you both where you belong"!
DO YOU remember when you joined Twitter? I do—it's been 13 years, since 6 August 2007. I signed up after hearing an American speaker at a conference gush over this newly-launched app. She proclaimed its ability to keep you instantly updated on news due to its real-time messaging technology.
WITH ROADS and workplaces practically deserted, COVID-19 may have brought in a positive consequence: lower pollution levels and wildlife taking over human space. Smog has lifted in places like Los Angeles and New Delhi. The canals of Venice are sparkling, and swans are swimming. Around the world, animals are venturing out in places previously held by people.
IT WAS another midsummer morning in Delhi, with temperature hovering at 38 degrees Celsius. I was expecting the heat to top yesterday's temperature, which touched the highest mark this season at 40.9 degrees Celsius. Suddenly, the skies turned dark, dusty winds howled, and rain threw its pellets. Then, just as suddenly, it all stopped. A massive dust storm just hit the city, and it left behind an eerie stillness.
WEARING A mask, I stepped out of the house in Garden Estate to pick up grocery delivered at the main gate. This was the first time I ventured out during the lockdown, and the experience was astonishing. I saw the bluest sky I've ever seen in Delhi, and heard choruses of birds seeming to outdo each other's chirps. Spring flowers were in a blaze of morning glory. The sun, normally hot this time of the year, was unusually warm—the wind was in fact rather breezy.
AS WE enter the fourth week of COVID-19's spread in India, Lenskart has taken the decisive call to support the larger cause of fighting the virus and to secure the well-being of its employees, partners, and customers. All our offices across India are now shut down. We are working from home to ensure that no operations are negatively impacted and the optical requirements of our customers are continously serviced.
The idea of working from home sounds delightful until you actually start working from home. I've quickly learned that it calls for solid self-discipline and full self-accountability. The familiarity of living rooms and bedrooms can tempt, and the hustle and bustle of domestic chores can distract. It's important to create a boundary between the space to work and the space to unwind.
The photo on the left is my makeshift but comfortable workstation. The glass coffee table in my library is now my desk. I never managed to bring home office stationery when we started the remote work arrangement, but I've kept what is needed to always keep the motivation running: a pot of air-purifying sansevieria, a water jug, a tea mug, and Barbra Streisand.
My heart goes out to everyone affected by COVID-19. Please stay safe.
THE GOVERNMENT of India ordered a nationwide lockdown today. For the next 21 days, all social movements outside homes are banned across this subcontinent of 1.3 billion people. No one is allowed to step out of their homes. Travel and transport on land and air are frozen. There are already ten reported fatalities in India, with rates of infection expected to leap in the coming weeks. The fight against COVID-19 has now entered a severe, historic stage.
THE GOVERNMENT of India declared a 14-hour "Janata Curfew" (people's curfew) today as it began to step up its fight against COVID-19. The number of infections in the country has now reached 500, and several offices have started requiring their staff to work from home. Today's curfew meant that nobody is allowed to leave home from 7AM to 9PM.
WHEN MICHEL Legrand passed away late last month, he left a large body of music for film and television, raging from the avant-garde to the more commercial productions. His music was romantic but never banal, original but never inaccessible. His most memorable works begin low-key, almost like a whisper, and then intensify in rhythm before finally surprising us with an unexpected jump from minor to major chord. His deep-seated love for jazz buttresses the playful, rhythmic, and sophisticated qualities of his compositions.
