Also known as Chhoti Teej, Madhusrava Teej and Shravana Teej, today is the festival of Hariyali Teej aka Green Teej, a festival celebrated on the third day after the full moon in the month of Shraavan, the fifth month of the Hindu calendar which begins in mid to late July and ends in August. As this is the monsoon season when the surroundings become green, the Shraavana Teej is also called Hariyali Teej. The month of Shravan is very important for the sub-continent as it is connected to the arrival of the south-west monsoons. The festival usually falls a couple of days before the festival of Nag Panchami, when snakes are worshipped. The festival of Hariyali Teej holds the same significance as Karwa Chauth observed by the married Hindu women in certain parts of India.
Teej is the generic name for a number of Hindu festivals that are celebrated by women in many parts of India, mainly in north and central India and Nepal. The monsoon festivals of Teej are primarily dedicated to Goddess Parvati and her union with Lord Shiva with women often fasting in celebrations. Teej refers to the third day that falls every month after the new moon or amavasya, and the third day after the full moon night of every month. The festival celebrates the bounty of nature, the arrival of clouds and rain, greenery and birds with social activity, rituals and customs. These festivals for women, include dancing, singing, getting together with friends and telling stories, dressing up with henna-coloured hands and feet, wearing red, green or orange clothes, sharing festive foodsand playing under trees on swings.
Hariyali Teej is also celebrated to remember the reunion of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the day they married. As per Hindu mythology, on this day, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati was abducted by her friends to stop her marriage with Lord Vishnu. Goddess Parvati’s friends knew that she secretly loved Lord Shiva and yearned to marry him, so her friends kidnapped and hid her in the forest. Goddess Parvati used this time to pray Lord Shiva who was so moved by the prayers that he agreed and they were married with the blessings of her father. Goddess Parvati fasted and was austere for many years and was accepted by Lord Shiva as his wife in her 108th birth and is also known as Teej Mata. Devotes observe fast and do a special puja (prayer) to worship the moon with milk, flowers, and curd. On Sindhara Teej married daughters receive the gifts by her mother such clothes, bangles, bindi, mehandi, etc. Ghevar, a special sweet, are given to them on this day. These gifts are known as Sindhara.
On Teej, just as on Karva Chauth, the mother sends a baya or gift. The baya, which consists of a variety of foodstuffs, is placed on a thaali or a plate at a place of worship where a chowk or square has been decorated, and an idol or picture of Goddess Parvati has been installed. The puja is performed in the morning while the evenings are set aside for folk singing and dancing, including women’s prayers for their husbands’ longevity and their families.
The traditional areas of celebration of Hariyali Teej are Punjab, Haryan Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In Punjab, Teej is known as Teeyan and is seen as a seasonal festival which is dedicated to the onset of the monsoon. During Hariyali Teej, girls play on swings that are set up under trees or open courtyards and during Teej, in-laws, husbands and other family members give gifts, typically new clothes and accessories, to girls and women. Boys fly kites and make sweets. The festival is celebrated by women of all faiths, and lasts from the third day of the bright half of the lunar month of Sawan as per the Punjabi calendar to the full moon of Sawan for about 13 days. Teeyan involves women getting together and performing Gidda, married women visiting their families and receiving gifts. It is also traditional for women to ride on swings. Fairs are organised in schools and colleges where dance competitions are held.
In Haryana, the festival is celebrated as an official holiday. Many functions are organised by the government to celebrate this festival, which welcomes the rainy season. Boys traditionally flew kites from morning to evening. Swings are set up in open courtyards, under trees for the season. Girls apply henna to their hands and feet and are excused from household chores on this day. On Teej, girls often receive new clothes from their parents.
In Rajasthan, Teej welcomes the monsoon and is observed in the month of Shravan which comes in July or August. The monsoon rains fall on the parched land and the pleasing scent of the wet soil rises into the air. Swings are hung from trees and women dressed in green clothes sing songs in celebration of the advent of the monsoon. This festival is dedicated to Goddess Parvati, commemorating her union with Lord Shiva. Goddess Parvati is worshipped by seekers of conjugal bliss and happiness. An elaborate procession is taken out in Jaipur for two consecutive days during the festival watched by people in large numbers. The Teej idol is covered with a canopy whereas the Gangaur idol is open. The traditional ghevar sweet is also associated with the festival. The day before Haryali Teej, is celebrated as Sinjara, wherein women put henna on their hands and eat.
The celebrations of Hariyali Teej are very elaborate in all the Krishna temples in Vridavan in Uttar Pradesh. Swings are laid for the deity and this ceremony is known as Jhullan Leela. Religious hymes and songs are chanted in all the temples and idols of Lord Krishna and Goddess Radha are beautifully adorned with ornaments and after the celebrations; water is showered over the devotees to mark the arrival of monsoons.
The tradition of Vat Vriksha also forms an important part of the Shravani Teej. In many places, swings are hung on the branches of a banyan tree or Vat Vriksha and even in houses. Women spend the day swinging along and dancing and singing with other women. On the day of Hariyali Teej women are given all the liberty for enjoyment and merry making. In Hindu mythology the banyan tree is sacred and its hanging branches are said to reflect knowledge. So, worshipping the Vat Vriksha on the occasion of Hariyali Teej is also considered auspicious.
On the day of Hariyali Teej, women also observe strict fast known as Nirjala Vrat, where they are not allowed to even drink water for the whole day. The Hariyali Teej vrat can be kept both by married and unmarried women and the fast is broken at night after worshipping the moon. On this day women worship Teej Mata or Goddess Parvati for the prosperity and well-being of their husbands. The idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are worshipped and songs are sung in their honour.
Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene: Environmental Perspectives on Life in Singapore – edited by Matthew Schneider-Mayerson
In this era of climate crisis, in which our very futures are at stake, sustainability is a global imperative. Yet we tend to associate sustainability, nature, and the environment with distant places, science, and policy. The truth is that everything is environmental, from transportation to taxes, work to love, cities to cuisine.
This book is the first to examine contemporary Singapore from an ecocultural lens, looking at the ways that Singaporean life and culture is deeply entangled with the nonhuman lives that flourish all around us. The authors represent a new generation of cultural critics and environmental thinkers, who will inherit the future we are creating today. From chilli crab to Tiger Beer, Changi Airport to Pulau Semakau, O-levels to orang minyak films, these essays offer fresh perspectives on familiar subjects, prompting us to recognise the incredible urgency of climate change and the need to transform our ways of thinking, acting, learning, living, and governing so as to maintain a stable planet and a decent future.
Today Singapore celebrates its 56th National Day and in honour of that, here are some perhaps known and unknown facts of the country I now call home.
Singapore is not just one island, but is made up of 63 other offshore that surround the main island. These include Sentosa, the largest of the offshore islands, Pulau Ubin, St John’s Island and Sisters’ Islands.
Singapore is one of the 20 smallest countries in the world. The main island is 42 km long and 23 km wide and has a total land area of just 683 sq km.
There are only three city-states that exist in the world, and Singapore is one of them, other than Monaco and Vatican City.
After New Zealand, Singapore is the easiest place across the globe to do business, according to a business list published by the World Bank.
Singapore is the least corrupt city in Asia and the third least corrupt in the world, after Denmark and New Zealand at number one and tied in third place with Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Standing 165 meters high, the Singapore Wheel is the second-highest in the world, losing the first rank by only 2 meters.
Singapore’s Changi airport has been has been named the world’s best airport for the eighth year in a row at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards in 2020.
Singapore’s national carrier, Singapore Airlines has also consistently been voted the best airline with SIA at number 2 in the 2020 Skytrax World Awards.
As of April 2021, Singaporean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 192 countries and territories, ranking the Singaporean passport 2nd in terms of number of countries a passport holder can visit without pre-arrival visa arrangements according to the Henley Passport Index.
There are over 3000 kilometres of roads in Singapore, which when stretched from end to end, can cover the distance between Singapore and Hong Kong.
Singapore is the second most densely populated country in the world after Monaco as well as being fully urbanised.
Singapore has often been called, locally and internationally as the Little Red Dot.This term was first coined by then Indonesian President Habibie who used it to make a remark about the country’s appearance on the map which is usually represented as a red dot. Although that was an unfortunate reference and one which Singaporeans did not take too well to, the term has stuck and is commonly used by the media.
The national language of Singapore is Malay. The four official languages of the country are English, Chinese, Tamil, and Malay. And although English is Singapore’s language of business, locals speak Singlish, not just English. So visitors should not be too surprised to hear Singaporeans adding exclamations like ‘lah’ and ‘leh’ to their sentence. Singlish— our colourful local slang— is an integral part of everyday conversation amongst Singaporeans. So what is Singlish? Singlish is a collection of colloquial catchphrases and lingo influenced by Singapore’s multiculturalism. Other examples include the Singlish term “chope”, which means to reserve a seat. Locals often chope seats at a hawker centre using packets of tissue paper. And like many Asian countries, Singaporeans also tend to refer to older strangers as Aunties and Uncles.
Singapore is renowned for having some of the cleanest streets in the world, largely due to a 50,000-strong cleaning workforce employed to keep the streets clean. Singapore is also known for its strict laws on littering, spitting on the streets, vandalism and public urination that can result in heavy fines and/or a punishment called Corrective Work Order, where offenders are required to pick up litter in public wearing a bright vest.
Singapore once disappeared from maps. There was a period of time when the city was wiped out from the map. With the exchange of hands between the Majapahit Empire and Siam’s Ayutthaya Kingdom in present day Thailand, as well as marking itself as an important trading port for the Sultanate of Johor, Singapore became hot sauce for traders. This led to Portuguese pirates burning the city down in 1613, leaving the city obsolete for more than a hundred years until migrants from around the region started setting camp, rising it from its ashes. In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles established a British trading post, and word about Singapore got around.
Singapore’s time zone has been changed six times. From 1905 to 1932, Singapore was seven hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time or GMT, and then it moved 20 minutes forward from 1933 to 1941, and a further 10 minutes forward from 1941 to 1942. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, clocks were moved an hour and 30 minutes ahead to sync with Japan’s time. When the war ended, the clocks reverted back and finally settled to sync with Malaysia’s in 1982. Currently Singapore is 8 hours ahead of the GMT.
The red of Singapore’s flag represents universal brotherhood and equality of man while the white symbolizes purity and virtue. The crescent moon stands for a young nation on the rise and the five stars signify the ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.
A Gallups Law & Order study has highlighted Singapore as the safest country in the world, for several years running. The UN Office on Crime & Drugs also ranks Singapore as the country with the lowest crime rate in the world together with Japan, at 0.2% homicides in 2017.
80% of Singaporeans live in government housing. The Singapore government owns almost 80% of the land and has used it to guarantee housing to its citizens in what is known as HDBs or Housing Development Board which offers discounted housing to its citizens.
Chewing gum has been banned in Singapore since 1992. But it is not the chewing which carries a penalty, but the importing of it. But locals are known to bring in some chewing gum, especially from Malaysia, but one needs to be careful as technically, bringing some gum from an overseas trip turns one into a chewing gum smuggler. The penalties are quite strict with a fine of up to S$100,000 and 2 years imprisonment.
Singapore is that it is home to two very profitable casinos which jointly generate over $4bn in revenues annually and puts the country on fourth place in the world casino ranking by gross revenues, but even though it’s far behind the world’s largest casino market of Macau which generates $33bn because of Singapore size, it represents a much larger percentage of GDP. Local residents, including Singapore citizens and permanent residents need to pay $100 to access the casino but entrance is free to foreign visitors.
Buildings in Singapore cannot be higher than 280 metres. Currently, there are three buildings of that height – OUB Centre, UOB Plaza and Republic Plaza.
The National Stadium at the Sports Hub has the world’s largest dome with a retractable roof. The 20,000 sqm roof dome measures 312m in diameter and can open and close in 20 minutes. In 2016, the National Day Parade returned to the National Stadium after 10 years. The dome roof let performers ‘fly’ through the air in a first for the Parade!
Singapore is seriously green. In fact, it is one of the world’s greenest cities with nearly half of Singapore’s land area or approximately 700 sq km under green cover. Beyond numerous parks and gardens, there are pockets of undiscovered plant life housed in the most unusual of places. Like the Parkroyal on Pickering which is known for its hotel-in-a-garden concept and its four-storey cascading vertical garden. Other than green areas, parks and park connectors, Singapore is rich in biodiversity in its nature reserves and is home to over 2,100 native vascular plant species. The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in particular, is said to contain more tree species in a single hectare than the total number of tree species found in North America. However, Singapore also has one of the highest percentages of green spaces of any city in the world at 30% according to a study by MIT and the World Economic Forum.
Singapore is also home to the world’s first night zoo with the Night Safari providing a nocturnal experience like no other in the city. Opened in 1994, the 35-hectare park features over 1,000 animals in their naturalistic night-time environments. Visitors can hop onto a 40-minute tram ride for an overview of the park’s main attractions and also walk along the four interlinked walking trails within the park, for a zoo trip like no other.
Singapore is a city of man-made waterfalls. According to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the first man-made waterfall was built at Jurong Bird Park in 1971. Dropping from a height of 30 metres, it is said to be the tallest waterfall in an aviary to date. At the Gardens by the Bay, in the Cloud Forest dome, there is a huge, 35-metre waterfall, which is the centrepiece of the misty conservatory, designed to house plant life from the tropical highlands. And no trip to Singapore is complete without a visit to the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. Housed in the retail and lifestyle complex of Jewel Changi Airport, the HSBC Rain Vortex soars at 40 metres, and is surrounded by a lush indoor garden.
Singapore pioneered the first F1 night race which has been held annually since 2008. The Grand Prix Season Singapore features a gamut of concerts, racing and entertainment activities, for Formula One fans and visitors of all ages. The Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix made racing history as the world’s first ever FORMULA 1 night race. The twisty Marina Bay street circuit has largely remained unchanged in the years since; the track’s brightly lit floodlights also add to the spectacular night views of Singapore. According to Formula 1, the Marina Bay Street Circuit also boasts more corners, 23 in all, than any other circuits on the Formula One race calendar.
It’s home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site with some unique VIPs. The Singapore Botanic Gardens became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015 and has a history of over 150 years since its founding in 1859, more than a century older than modern Singapore itself. Its most popular attraction is the National Orchid Garden, which houses thousands of orchid species known as Very Important Plants or VIPs. Over 200 hybrid orchids in this garden have been affectionately named after visiting foreign dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as celebrities like actors Jackie Chan, Zhou Xun and Bae Yong Jun. Singapore’s first botanic garden opened in 1822, on the slopes of the area now known as Fort Canning Hill. Measuring just 19 hectares, the garden closed in 1829 due to rising costs and its land was then used for various public projects, including an Armenian church, a school and a hospital.
Everyone has heard about the Merlion, Singapore’s iconic emblem. The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and a fish’s tail. But what many people don’t know is that the Merlion was partly inspired by the city’s Sanskrit name, Singapura, which means Lion City. This Sanskrit name is thought to have been given by a Sumatran prince Sang Nila Utama, who ruled Temasek, a settlement on the Singapura island during the early 14thcentury. While hunting for animals, the prince spotted a strange creature moving quickly, which was identified as a lion by his advisors. However, there were no records of lions native to Singapore. It might have been a tiger that he saw, for tigers used to be found in the wild in Singapore, up until the 1930s. The Merlion is however is completely made up and was designed by Alec Fraser-Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March, 1964 to 1997 and has been its trademarked symbol since 20 July 1966.
Built in 1869, and originally named Edinburgh Bridge after the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit, Cavenagh Bridge is the oldest bridge in Singapore. It was named Cavenagh after the last India-appointed Governor of the Straits Settlement, Sir Orfeur Cavenagh. The Cavenagh coat of arms and original signages still stand at each end of the bridge that’s used by pedestrians today. Based on the vintage police notices that are still up, no vehicles, even cattle and horses, are allowed to cross the bridge to this date. The bridge spans the Singapore river and provides scenic views of the city’s business district. On the other hand, the close-by Anderson Bridge has a morbid past. Completed in 1910 and named after then Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States, Sir John Anderson, the steely exterior of the bridge, before becoming part of the famous F1 street circuit, used to have severed heads of spies and criminals hanging from it during the Japanese occupation of Singapore.
Singapore is the only country in the modern world to gain independence against its own will. The late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew wanted a merger and unity. However, due to extreme political fallouts, the Malaysian parliament unanimously voted to expel Singapore, forcing the little red dot to stand as an independent and sovereign state.
From the From the 1960s to the 1990s, the government deemed long hair to be negative and detrimental to the country. Therefore, popular bands like Led Zeppelin and the Bee Gees had to cancel their Singapore tours due to the ban.
Collectively, Singaporeans are the fastest pedestrians in the world, walking at a speed of about 6.15 kilometres per hour.
Of the only five official Tintin shops in the world, one of them is in Chinatown in Singapore with the remaining four in Japan and Europe.
One can find the National Anthem of Singapore on the back of the SGD 1000 note, written in micro text.
Military service is compulsory for all male Singapore citizens and second generation permanent residents who serve for two years in active duty as full-time national servicemen (NSFs) in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF) or Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), following which they transition to an operationally-ready reservist state as operationally-ready national servicemen (NSmen). Enlistees are called up after they finish their A levels or diploma, and are usually 18 years and above, though they can enlist early after they turn 16 with parental consent. As operationally ready servicemen, they need to come back for training on an annual basis as part of the reservist force until they turn 40 or complete a certain amount of training sessions.
The signature Singapore Sling, which contains gin, Cointreau, cherry brandy, Dom Benedictine, pineapple juice, Grenadine, Angostura bitters and lime, was first served at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel in the year 1915.
Singapore as a country has grown in land size in the last decades. This is not through expansion or invasion of other countries but through land reclamation efforts which started in varying degrees, since the arrival of the British in 1822. Around 25% of Singapore today did not exist at independence and has been reclaimed from the sea to cater to industrial and population growth.
The USB flash drive that the whole world uses was invented in Singapore. Trek 2000 International came up with the thumb drive in 2000.
The Mint Museum of Toys is the world’s first museum for toy artefacts. It houses a world-class collection of over 50,000 vintage toys and collectibles, of which 8,000 are on display in the museum.
Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth is the largest fountain in the world! Made of cast iron, it cost almost US$6 million to build in 1997.
Singapore is the only country in the world that reclaims and recycles water. The five NEWater plants meet up to 40% of the country’s current water needs.
Singaporeans speak in a mixture of languages even in a single sentence. Growing up in a multicultural society, it’s not uncommon to have friends from different races and when that happens, one tends to learn phrases from each other’s languages. So its not difficult to have people speaking multiple language in any conversation.
So here are some known and unknown facts about Singapore for those who don’t know this city. Happy birthday Singapore and may you continue to grow and prosper. Majulah Singapura!
Today’s positivity quote is from the Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey which is all about having a positive attitude and how this will translate their lives. A good attitude is the key to ensuring your outlook in life is a forward facing one and this in turn will help an individual achieve the successes in life they want, be it personal, professional or even within the community.
The Tokyo Olympics are now ongoing and India has had a dream run there. Both hockey teams, Men and Women did very well, with the Men’s team getting the bronze and the Women’s team losing to Great Britain narrowly in the play-offs for the bronze. I was so looking forward to a gold from India and to see the tricolour rise up as the national anthem plays. I experienced this five years back at the Rio Olympics. It was a Saturday morning and I was at my doctor to get medicines. While waiting to pay the money, the TV started showing Joseph Schooling’s 100 meter butterfly event and the entire doctor’s office waited in bated breath to see if Schooling will make it to the podium. And when he came first, we all erupted in joy and cheer. I quickly paid the money and rushed home because I wanted to see the medal ceremony and when the Singapore flag was raised and the Majulah Singapura tune was played, I got goosebumps! And just I was typing this, we heard that India’s Neeraj Chopra took the gold for the men’s Javelin throw. And when S called me for the medal ceremony, I had that same rush of pride when I heard the strains of the Indian National anthem, Jana Gana Mana played.
In Singapore, 78% of the population have received at least 1 dose while 65% of the population have completed the full regimen. In Singapore, many vaccination centres have now a walk-in policy so anyone who is not yet vaccinated can just walk in and have it done. We are also preparing to get on with life with COVID as the country opens up its economy and moves towards treating the virus as endemic. Restrictions are slowly being eased, especially for those who are fully vaccinated and the hope is that by the end of the year, life will become a bit more normal, albeit a life having to live with the virus. A lot of other countries are also pushing for their citizens to become fully vaccinated with some like Pakistan using the carrot and stick approach where those who are not vaccinated and especially working for the government having salaries withheld and others having phone sim cards blocked and even not being allowed to leave the country. This may be a good approach, especially for those countries which have a lot of resistance to vaccination.
Singapore has been consistently reporting high double digit and low triple digits for the past few weeks, though we can see a declining trend. But and not in a good way, we have had a few deaths this week taking our death toll to 40. Almost every single person who passed away was unvaccinated and elderly, so to those who are on the fence, or have elderly and vulnerable at home who have vaccine hesitancy, just look at the numbers not only in your own country, but also elsewhere.
That’s all for this week. Some news was good while the others were not so good, but we’re all in here for the long haul and the sooner we have the upper hand on this virus, we faster we can move on and get our lives, which has been paused for almost two years now. Take care and talk soon!
From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 – Lee Kuan Yew
Few gave tiny Singapore much chance of survival when it was granted independence in 1965. How is it, then, that today the former British colonial trading post is a thriving Asian metropolis with not only the world’s number one airline, best airport, and busiest port of trade, but also the world’s fourth–highest per capita real income?
The story of that transformation is told here by Singapore’s charismatic, controversial founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. Rising from a legacy of divisive colonialism, the devastation of the Second World War, and general poverty and disorder following the withdrawal of foreign forces, Singapore now is hailed as a city of the future. This miraculous history is dramatically recounted by the man who not only lived through it all but who fearlessly forged ahead and brought about most of these changes.
Delving deep into his own meticulous notes, as well as previously unpublished government papers and official records, Lee details the extraordinary efforts it took for an island city–state in Southeast Asia to survive at that time.
Lee explains how he and his cabinet colleagues finished off the communist threat to the fledgling state’s security and began the arduous process of nation building: forging basic infrastructural roads through a land that still consisted primarily of swamps, creating an army from a hitherto racially and ideologically divided population, stamping out the last vestiges of colonial–era corruption, providing mass public housing, and establishing a national airline and airport.
In this illuminating account, Lee writes frankly about his trenchant approach to political opponents and his often unorthodox views on human rights, democracy, and inherited intelligence, aiming always “to be correct, not politically correct.” Nothing in Singapore escaped his watchful eye: whether choosing shrubs for the greening of the country, restoring the romance of the historic Raffles Hotel, or openly, unabashedly persuading young men to marry women as well educated as themselves. Today’s safe, tidy Singapore bears Lee’s unmistakable stamp, for which he is unapologetic: “If this is a nanny state, I am proud to have fostered one.”
Though Lee’s domestic canvas in Singapore was small, his vigor and talent assured him a larger place in world affairs. With inimitable style, he brings history to life with cogent analyses of some of the greatest strategic issues of recent times and reveals how, over the years, he navigated the shifting tides of relations among America, China, and Taiwan, acting as confidant, sounding board, and messenger for them. He also includes candid, sometimes acerbic pen portraits of his political peers, including the indomitable Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the poetry–spouting Jiang Zemin, and ideologues George Bush and Deng Xiaoping.
Lee also lifts the veil on his family life and writes tenderly of his wife and stalwart partner, Kwa Geok Choo, and of their pride in their three children –– particularly the eldest son, Hsien Loong, who is now Singapore’s deputy prime minister.
For more than three decades, Lee Kuan Yew has been praised and vilified in equal measure, and he has established himself as a force impossible to ignore in Asian and international politics. From Third World to First offers readers a compelling glimpse into this visionary’s heart, soul, and mind.
Memories and Such 