Research Connection

Why have trees from the genus ficus, ordinarily known as fig trees, figured so much in human imagination and spiritual life? Because in them, we see a reflection of ourselves, albeit a purer and more organic form. Gnarled brown limbs, stilted feet that purposefully stand their ground give them a human, or rather, superhuman stature. That is why men have bestowed them with spirits, evil and benign. Fed them with the souls of angels and demons. The legend, the myth, has been cultivated by human actions as well. Men have left groves of fig trees untouched, while felling the other trees around them, contributing to their longevity and seeming immortality. But the power of fig trees is not just a figment of human imagination. Extracts of their roots, bark, fruits and stems have been known to cure a hundred ailments. Being able to return health and life, why should they not be seen as harbinger of life? And then there is their intimacy with the wasps. They admit wasps into their most private...

Walking in a North-Southerly direction from the Botanic Gardens Gate to the Tanglin Gate of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, one would arrive at a garden of orchids somewhere around the midpoint of the walk. It is a lovely place, this garden of orchids, and it offers the visitor a bounty of senses- sights and smells surrounding flowers from the family, Orchidaceae. When visitors come to Singapore, be they family of friends, I love to offer them this place. So, when  I Chun's cousin  Lilian, came from Taiwan with her friend in November last year, I naturally brought them to the National Orchid Garden. When my Thai friends, Joy and Nat visited Singapore for a holiday barely a month later, NOG was part of the Botanic Gardens itinerary that I had curated for them. And I could tell that they all loved the place too! Since I appeared to be acting as a tour guide to NOG quite often, I thought that it might be useful to learn more about orchids and their dedicated garden, so that I migh...

I have always wondered what it would feel like to take a road trip up North, in the land of my birth, Malaysia. I don't know of the exact point when it started, but perhaps the idea was sowed in my mind upon watching the Netflix Japanese series, `Road to the Red Restaurants List'. In this absorbing show, a diligent office worker takes weekend trips to interesting regional spots, by himself, while his wife and daughter are away attending pop concerts. For these weekend `escapades', he has set three rules for himself- no spending above a fixed budget, which necessitates him sleeping on the floor of his Honda Freed, he has to travel alone, and the trip would only consume his weekends, i.e. he would leave after his office work on Fridays and come home after lunch on Saturday. Saturday mornings would be the time for sightseeing, which weren't very elaborate affairs, such as enjoying the scenery of a lake, playing fireworks at an esplanade or visiting a local temple. The high...

Dear Papa and Mummy, Hope that everyone is fine over there in KL and having good fun this weekend! As for us (your loving family in Singapore), we're all doing fine too. Perhaps we were a little down during the last few days, both in body and mind, being hit hard by the flu. But we are on the path to recovery now. And it helps that there are these little unsung parks scattered around the island, that play a big part in reviving the body and soul. Singapore, being the Garden City that it is, surely has its share of beautiful parks and gardens. Amongst these are East Coast Park, West Coast Park, Kent Ridge Park and MacRitchie Reservoir Park, which were part of the itinerary during my Coast-to-Coast adventures. But there are also many smaller parks, local residential parks not found in any guidebook or even mentioned in websites, for example, `The Top 50 Parks of Singapore'. To the uninitiated, they might even appear as afterthoughts in the mind of the city planners, just to patch...

While my adventures and experiences at the Botanic Gardens have been mostly dry, warm or breezy affairs, there have been days when my visits were coincident with rain, light drizzles or tropical thunderstorms.  There was one instance during the pandemic when I was caught in a heavy shower while  walking in the vicinity of several buildings, some of which were undergoing renovation. A worker, observing me taking refuge uncomfortably in the shallow overhang of a the building facade where he was, kindly admitted me into its shelter. Another time, the rain was pouring so heavily near the Nassim headquarters of the Gardens, to the extent that even the sheltered areas were partially flooded! That particular visit to the Gardens had begun promisingly enough. I had first walked the Evolution Garden path which told the story of Life on Earth, from the first living organisms that thrived in its primordial oceans, to the appearance of the first plants and animals on land. It was designed...