Jay Chou is easily one of the most famous superstars in Asia. The Taiwanese pop star, composer, singer and actor, known as Chou Dong (Boss Chou), is so popular that he would be mobbed by fans wherever he goes in Asia.� But in The West, he remains a relative unknown except among the Chinese community.

Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou

The breakout star of The Green Hornet was on the streets of Hollywood on Thursday. As most don�t recognize him, the population is clueless on how wonderful he can perform on the keyboard.

In the skit of absolutely hysterical proportions, Jay Chou was sent out by Jimmy Kimmel to perform in front of Hollywood and Highlands Mall. Located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the entertainer had a keyboard, a backup singers and Chou even sang. The interesting crowd response was somewhat mild compared to an Asian type venue. There was a crowd and even a few cameras, but the tourists were singing Yankee Doodle Dandy with the celebrity.

Jay Chou won�t be unknown much longer. As Kato, the sidekick of ‘The Green Hornet’, he will be making an impression in theaters nationwide as the movie opened for the audiences yesterday.

The Green Hornet is directed by Michel Gondry and star Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz. The Green Hornet has seen many lives, but is most famous for introducing Bruce Lee to the world in the 1966 TV show. Chou plays Lee�s character, Kato, sidekick to Rogen�s main character.

Seth Rogen and Jay Chouin The Green Hornet

Jay Chou and Seth Rogen in action in The Green Hornet

For those in the West who are curious about Jay Chou, this post serves to give you a brief introduction to �Chairman Chou� or �Chou Dong� ( Boss Chou) as Jay Chou is widely known by that nickname in Asia.

Jay Chou (pinyin: Zh?u Ji�l�n) (born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese musician, singer, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. He is well-known for composing all his own songs and songs for other singers. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for popular Chinese singers. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B, rock and pop genres, covering issues such as domestic violence, war, and urbanization.

In 2000 Chou released his first album, titled Jay, under the record company Alfa Music. Since then he has released one album per year except in 2009, selling several million copies each. His music has gained recognition throughout Asia, most notably in regions such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and in overseas Asian communities, winning more than 20 awards each year. He has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide up to 2010.

He debuted his acting career in Initial D (2005), for which he won Best Newcomer Actor in both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). He produced the theme song for the film Ocean Heaven starring Jet Li. His career now extends into directing and running his own record company JVR Music.

Jay Chou in Curse of the Golden Flower

Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County (now New Taipei City), Taiwan. Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother Ye Hui Mei �(pinyin: Y� Hu�m?i) taught fine arts while his father Zhou Yao Zhong (pinyin: Zh?u Y�ozh?ng) was a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three.

During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He is an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and still is to this day, Chopin.

His father left him when he was 14; as a result, he became reclusive and introverted. Although he had friends, he often preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At Tan Jiang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music and began to write songs.

Chou graduated from high school with inadequate grades for university, so he prepared for military service, which was compulsory for all Taiwanese men at the age of 18. However, a sports injury triggered by an unexplainable and severe back pain eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a hereditary spine inflammation disease; as a result, he was exempted from conscription.

Meanwhile, he found himself a job as a waiter. Without his knowing, his friend had entered both their names in a talent show called Super New Talent King. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as “lousy”. Although they did not win, the show’s host Jacky Wu�an influential character in Taiwan’s entertainment business�happened to glance at Chou’s music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang.

Over the next two years he wrote songs for Mandarin pop artists, and also learned recording and sound mixing; his dedication was apparent as he even slept in the music studio. Wu’s music studio was later sold to Alfa Music, and the new manager Yang Jun Rong asked him to release his own album. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD Jay that was released in 2000.

The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions including countries throughout Southeast Asia.

Jay Chou

Since 2000, Chou has released one album per year, except the year 2009, each selling several million copies. From the launch of his music career in 2000, he has won more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia.

In 2003, he was the cover story of Time magazine (Asia version), acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held four world tours, “The One” (2002), “Incomparable” (2004), “Jay Chou The World Tours” (2007�2008) and “The Era” (2010-2011) performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver.

Jay on cover of Time magazine

Unlike most singers, Chou has an enormous amount of creative control over his music. He is not only the songwriter but also the producer in all of his albums; since 2005 he is also the music director and also directs his own music videos.

His music’s distinct sound fuses classical/romantic, hip-hop and Chinese styles. While many of his works fall into contemporary R&B, rap, and rock genres, the term “Chou Style” (pinyin: zh?u sh� f?ng�) has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and his insistence on singing with relaxed enunciation.

He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B or rock to form a new genre called “Zhongguo feng” (pinyin: Zh?nggu� f?ng), which literally means “China wind. Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise.

Rock and roll Jay Chou

Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou’s public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his “personal philosophy”. In his music, this is also evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores topics unconventional for a pop singer, which have been described as “authentic” and “revolutionary”.

There is a misunderstanding about his nickname “Chairman Chou” or �Chou Dong� (pinyin: Zh?u d?ng), used by both the press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on Asian music, but also points at his musical talent. Yet the origin of this nickname emerges from his fever of collecting antiques as the word “dong” comes from “antique” in Chinese.

Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet,modest, and views filial piety as “the most important thing”. In-line with his aim to present a positive image, he is a non-smoker, non-drinker, and does not go to nightclubs. Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour, designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project “Young Voice” in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007. His lyrics for two songs has been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes.

Jay with his mum

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Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated universally at different times of the year and in different ways. For Koreans, the traditional Thanksgiving Holiday is called Chuseok. This year it falls on September 21-23. Chuseok is in essence the Full Moon Harvest Festival. Today therefore marks the start of Chuseok.

Chuseok, originally known as Hangawi (from archaic Korean for “great middle”), is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held around the Autumn Equinox.

Historically and according to popular belief, Chuseok originates from Gabae. Gabae started during the reign of the third king of the kingdom of Silla (57 BC – AD 935), when it was a month-long weaving contest between two teams. Come the day of Gabae, the team that had woven more cloth had won and was treated to a feast by the losing team.

Many scholars also believe Chuseok may originate from ancient shamanistic celebrations of the harvest moon. New harvests are offered to local deities and ancestors, which means Chuseok may have originated as a worship ritual. In some areas, if there is no harvest, worship rituals are postponed, or in areas with no annual harvest, Chuseok is not celebrated.

In modern South Korea, on Chuseok there is a mass exodus of Koreans returning to their hometowns or villages to pay homage to their ancestors. Koreans wake up early on Chuseok morning to perform ancestor memorial services known as cha-rye. �It is a solemn ceremony, involving an elaborate layout of food offerings. After the service, family members gather to enjoy the food blessed by their ancestors. They also visit ancestral graves to trim plants and clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their ancestors. This is known as beol-cho and considered an expression of filial piety.

Ancestor memorial services known as cha-rye

Chuseok is a time to appreciate the bountiful harvests and the representative food for this festival is songpyeon, a crescent-shaped rice cake which is steamed upon pine needles. Songpyeon is made from glutinous rice flour kneaded into the perfect dough. The dough is filled with beans, sesame seeds, chestnuts and other ingredients before it is shaped into a crescent or half-moon. This is then steamed with some pine needles that will infuse the rice cake with a wonderful fragrance. Songpyeon is to Chuseok as pumpkin pie is to Thanksgiving.

On the eve of Chuseok, it is a tradition for families to make songpyon together under the bright moon. This helps to foster ties as family members come from far and wide to enjoy the moment.

Other foods commonly prepared are jeon, japchae and bulgogi.

Jeon are savory pancakes made from various vegetables, sliced fish meat, minced pork or beef.

Korean jeon pancakes

Japchae (jabchae, chapchae) is a Korean dish made from cellophane noodles (called dangmyeon), stir fried in sesame oil with various vegetables (typically thinly-sliced carrots, onion, spinach, and mushrooms), sometimes served with beef, and flavoured with soy sauce, and sweetened with sugar. It is usually served garnished with sesame seeds and slivers of chili. It may be served either hot or cold.

Japchae

Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of thin slices of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef marinated with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and other ingredients such as scallions, or mushrooms, especially white button mushrooms or shiitake. Bulgogi literally means “fire meat” in Korean, which refers to the cooking technique -over an open flame – rather than the dish’s spiciness. The term is also applied to variations such as dak bulgogi (made with chicken) or dwaeji bulgogi (made with pork), although the seasonings are different.

Bulgogi

A variety of folk games are played on Chuseok to celebrate the coming of Autumn and rich harvest. Village folk dress themselves to look like a cow or a turtle, and go from house to house along with a Nongak band playing music. Other common folk games played on Chuseok are tug of war, ssireum and archery. Folk games also vary from region to region. Ganggangsullae dance which is forming a circle under a moon is performed by women and children in southwestern coastal regions, and cockfight or bullfighting in the southern regions.

Nongak band playing music

Ssireum...Korean wrestling

Ganggang sullae dance

In Korea, during the days prior to the actually holiday, streets and stores are packed with shoppers buying food and gifts. Gift-giving is an important aspect of the holiday. Liquor is often given to colleagues and work supervisors.

As for travel, Chuseok is similar to the U.S. and Europe around the Christmas Holidays. Each year record numbers of Koreans jam the roads, rail lines, and airports with holiday traffic. In fact, most airline and train travel has been booked for months.

Korea�s rapid industrialization, urbanization, and globalization have changed the way of life in Korea but in the celebration of Chuseok, family remains the bedrock of Korean society. Chuseok underlines how � in the face of rapid industrialization and modernization � Korean culture still imbues family ties with great importance and tries to maintain continuity between older and younger generations.

To all Koreans, let me wish you all:

Chuseok jal ji nae sae yo

It is the time of the year when superstitions reign supreme for a lot of Chinese people. We are right now in the midst of the Hungry Ghost Month which runs from August 10 to September 7 this year, with the Hungry Ghost Festival �or zh?ng yu�n ji� falling on August 24.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Festival and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the netherworld, wandering in search for food. On Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.

On Ghost Day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mache form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.

Chinese celebrate this festival in order to remember their dead family members and pay tribute to them. They also feel that offering food to the deceased appeases them and wards off bad luck. It�s important to give them a sumptuous feast, to please them and to bring luck to the family. Taoists and Buddhists perform ceremonies on this day to ease the sufferings of the deceased. Chinese perform these rituals due to fear that the revengeful spirit may come back to take revenge. Some even think that the ghosts would seek revenge on those who had wronged them in their lives.

Offerings during a Hungry Ghost Festival

There is also the belief that some entertainment be provided to please those wandering ghosts. The Ghost Festival in Singapore and Malaysia is modernized by the ‘concert-like’ live night performances on outdoor stages in some neighborhood. The live show is popularly known as �ge-tai�, performed by a group of singers, dancers and entertainers. �Nowadays performances by young girls wearing trendy revealing attire have become very popular. The festival is funded by the residents of each individual residential districts. Karaoke too can be heard and funny Mandarin or Hokkien pantomime is played to the delights of the older generations. Many chairs are lay in front of the stage where the first rows are reserved for the souls of the dead.

Audience at a Hungry Ghost Festival getai show..the first row of seats are reserved for visitors from the netherworld

A scantily-dressed performer at a Hungry Ghost Festival show in Malaysia

The Chinese also do a lot of offerings to the deceased. These offerings are made by burning fake money notes, known as hell money, and even paper television sets, houses and cars to give to their dead relatives. The Chinese feel that these offerings reach the ghosts and help them live comfortably in their world. �Some Chinese even burn paper hand phones, computers and other modern gadgets but there are some Chinese who shy away from burning such modern gadgets as they fear that their dead ancestors may not know how to use these gadgets and would therefore �drag� them to the other world so that they can teach their dead ancestors how to use the gadgets.

Almost as important as honoring your ancestors, offerings to ghosts without families must be made, so that they will not cause you any harm. Ghost month is the most dangerous time of the year, and malevolent spirits are on the look out to capture souls.

Going swimming during the Ghost Month is considered bad as an evil ghost may cause you to drown.This makes ghost month a bad time to do activities such as evening strolls, traveling, picnics, moving house, or starting a new business. No late night are tolerated during the seventh month. Most mums or grandmothers nag for all to be home before midnight. In addition to this, children are also advised to return home early and not to wander around alone at night. This belief is due to the reason that the wandering ghosts might possess children. And during the seventh month, if any death is reported it will be pointed out that, it is due to disobedience. Do not step on the burnt incense papers, you could be possessed. Weddings and business launches are not held as it may bring bad luck. Whistling should be avoided as it may draw�souls to one�s home.

The last day of the Ghost Month is when the Gates of Hell are closed up again. The chants of Taoist priests inform the spirits that it�s time to return, and as they are confined once again to the underworld, they let out an unearthly wail of lament.� To make sure all the hungry ghosts find their way back to hell, people flow water lanterns and set them outside their houses. These lanterns are made by setting a lotus flower-shaped lantern on a paper boat. The lanterns are used to direct the ghosts back to the underworld, and when they go out, it symbolizes that they have found their way back.

In 2004, Amanda Chong Wei- Zhen, then a 15-year old Singaporean student of Raffles Girls’ School, took part in the Commonwealth Essay Competition, choosing to compete in the higher age category for 16-18 year old as a personal challenge to compete with writers older than herself. She won the Top Prize in the competition that attracted over 5000 entries from 52 countries!

Amanda Chong

Her short story, titled What The Modern Woman Wants, focuses on the generational gaps and the conflicts in values between a modern career woman and her old mother. She got the inspiration for her essay from the book “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan. She used mother-daughter relationship as a platform to explore the themes of identity and what a modern woman wants.

The message she wanted to convey was that we should not forsake our roots for the sake of success and material gains and that what society holds important today are fleeting and ephemeral. Material wealth does not equate to happiness.

Her essay was hailed as a “powerfully moving and ironical critique of modern restlessness and its potentially cruel consequences” by the Chief Examiner Charles Kemp.

This is her essay……..

What The Modern Woman Wants………by Amanda Chong

The old woman sat in the backseat of the magenta convertible as it careened down the highway, clutching tightly to the plastic bag on her lap, afraid it may be kidnapped by the wind. She was not used to such speed, with trembling hands she pulled the seatbelt tighter but was careful not to touch the patent leather seats with her callused fingers, her daughter had warned her not to dirty it, ‘Fingerprints show very clearly on white, Ma.’

Her daughter, Bee Choo, was driving and talking on her sleek silver mobile phone using big words the old woman could barely understand. ‘Finance’ ‘Liquidation’ ‘Assets’ ‘Investments’… Her voice was crisp and important and had an unfamiliar lilt to it. Her BeeChoo sounded like one of those foreign girls on television. She was speaking in an American accent.

The old lady clucked her tongue in disapproval. ‘I absolutely cannot have this. We have to sell!’ Herdaughter exclaimed agitatedly as she stepped on the accelerator; her perfectly manicured fingernails gripping onto the steering wheel in irritation.

‘I can’t DEAL with this anymore!’ she yelled as she clicked the phone shut and hurled it angrily toward the backseat. The mobile phone hit the old woman on the forehead and nestled soundlessly into her lap. She calmly picked it up and handed it to her daughter.

‘Sorry, Ma,’ she said, losing the American pretence and switching to Mandarin. ‘I have a big client in America. There have been a lot of problems.’ The old lady nodded knowingly. Her daughter was big and important.

Bee Choo stared at her mother from the rear view window, wondering what she was thinking. Her mother’s wrinkled countenance always carried the same cryptic look.

The phone began to ring again, an artificially cheerful digital tune, which broke the awkward silence. ‘Hello, Beatrice! Yes, this is Elaine.’ Elaine. The old woman cringed. I didn’t name her Elaine. She remembered her daughter telling her, how an English name was very important for ‘networking’, Chinese ones being easily forgotten.

‘Oh no, I can’t see you for lunch today. I have to take the ancient relic to the temple for her weird daily prayer ritual.’

Ancient Relic. The old woman understood perfectly it was referring to her. Her daughter always assumed that her mother’s silence meant she did not comprehend.

‘Yes, I know! My car seats will be reeking of joss sticks! ‘The old woman pursed her lips tightly, her hands gripping her plastic bag in defence. The car curved smoothly into the temple courtyard. It looked almost garish next to the dull sheen of the ageing temple’s roof. The old woman got out of the back seat, and made her unhurried way to the main hall.

Her daughter stepped out of the car in her business suit and stilettos and reapplied her lipstick as she made her brisk way to her mother’s side.

‘Ma, I’ll wait outside. I have an important phone call to make,’ she said, not bothering to hide her disgust at the pungent fumes of incense.

The old lady hobbled into the temple hall and lit a joss stick. She knelt down solemnly and whispered her now familiar daily prayer to the Gods.

Thank you God of the Sky, you have given my daughter luck all these years. Everything I prayed for, you have given her. She has everything a young woman in this world could possibly want. She has a big house with a swimming pool, a maid to help her, as she is too clumsy to sew or cook.

Her love life has been blessed; she is engaged to a rich and handsome angmoh man. Her company is now the top financial firm and even men listen to what she says. She lives the perfect life. You have given her everything except happiness. I ask that the gods be merciful to her even if she has lost her roots while reaping the harvest of success.

What you see is not true; she is a filial daughter to me. She gives me a room in her big house and provides well for me. She is rude to me only because I affect her happiness. A young woman does not want to be hindered by her old mother. It is my fault.

The old lady prayed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, with her head bowed in reverence she planted the half-burnt joss stick into an urn of smouldering ashes.

She bowed once more. The old woman had been praying for her daughter for thirty-two years. When her stomach was round like a melon, she came to the temple and prayed that it was a son.

Then the time was ripe and the baby slipped out of her womb, bawling and adorable with fat thighs and pink cheeks, but unmistakably, a girl. Her husband had kicked and punched her for producing a useless baby who could not work or carry the family name.

Still, the woman returned to the temple with her new-born girl tied to her waist in a sarong and prayed that her daughter would grow up and have everything she ever wanted. Her husband left her and she prayed that her daughter would never have to depend on a man.

She prayed every day that her daughter would be a great woman, the woman that she, meek and uneducated, could never become. A woman with nengkan; the ability to do anything she set her mind to. A woman who commanded respect in the hearts of men. When she opened her mouth to speak, precious pearls would fall out and men would listen.

She will not be like me, the woman prayed as she watched her daughter grow up and drift away from her, speaking a language she scarcely understood. She watched her daughter transform from a quiet girl, to one who openly defied her, calling her laotu;old-fashioned. She wanted her mother to be ‘modern’, a word so new there was no Chinese word for it.

Now her daughter was too clever for her and the old woman wondered why she had prayed like that. The gods had been faithful to her persistent prayer, but the wealth and success that poured forth so richly had buried the girl’s roots and now she stood, faceless, with no identity, bound to the soil of her ancestors by only a string of origami banknotes.

Her daughter had forgotten her mother’s values. Her wants were so ephemeral; that of a modern woman. Power, Wealth, access to the best fashion boutiques, and yet her daughter had not found true happiness. The old woman knew that you could find happiness with much less. When her daughter left the earth everything she had would count for nothing. People would look to her legacy and say that she was a great woman, but she would be forgotten once the wind blows over, like the ashes of burnt paper convertibles and mansions.

The old woman wished she could go back and erase all her big hopes and prayers for her daughter; now she had only one want: That her daughter be happy. She looked out of the temple gate. She saw her daughter speaking on the phone, her brow furrowed with anger and worry. Being at the top is not good, the woman thought, there is only one way to go from there -down.

The old woman carefully unfolded the plastic bag and spread out a packet of beehoon in front of the altar. Her daughter often mocked her for worshipping porcelain Gods. How could she pray to them so faithfully and expect pieces of ceramic to fly to her aid? But her daughter had her own gods too, idols of wealth, success and power that she was enslaved to and worshipped every day of her life.

Every day was a quest for the idols, and the idols she worshipped counted for nothing in eternity. All the wants her daughter had would slowly suck the life out of her and leave her, an empty soulless shell at the altar.

The old lady watched her joss tick. The dull heat had left a teetering grey stem that was on the danger of collapsing. Modern woman nowadays, the old lady sighed in resignation, as she bowed to the east one final time to end her ritual. Modern woman nowadays want so much that they lose their souls and wonder why they cannot find it.

Her joss stick disintegrated into a soft grey powder. She met her daughter outside the temple, the same look of worry and frustration was etched on her daughter’s face. An empty expression, as if she was ploughing through the soil of her wants looking for the one thing that would sow the seeds of happiness.

They climbed into the convertible in silence and her daughter drove along the highway, this time not as fast as she had done before.

�Ma,� Bee Choo finally said, �I don’t know how to put this. Mark and I have been talking about it and we plan to move out of the big house. The property market is good now, and we managed to get a buyer willing to pay seven million for it. We decided we’d prefer a cosier penthouse apartment instead. We found a perfect one in Orchard Road. Once we move in to our apartment we plan to get rid of the maid, so we can have more space to ourselves…�

The old woman nodded knowingly. Bee Choo swallowed hard. �We’d get someone to come into do the housework and we can eat out – but once the maid is gone, there won’t be anyone to look after you. You will be awfully lonely at home and, besides that, the apartment is rather small. There won’t be space. We thought about it for a long time, and we decided the best thing for you is if you moved to a Home. There’s one near Hougang – it’s a Christian home, a very nice one.�

The old woman did not raise an eyebrow. �I’ve been there; the matron is willing to take you in. It’s beautiful with gardens and lots of old people to keep you company! I hardly have time for you, you’d be happier there.�

�You’d be happier there, really.� Her daughter repeated as if to affirm herself. This time the old woman had no plastic bag of food offerings to cling tightly to; she bit her lip and fastened her seat belt, as if it would protect her from a daughter who did not want her anymore. She sunk deep into the leather seat, letting her shoulders sag, and her fingers trace the white seat.

�Ma?� her daughter asked, searching the rear view window for her mother. �Is everything okay?� What had to be done, had to be done. �Yes,� she said firmly, louder than she intended, �if it will make you happy,� she added more quietly.

�It’s for you, Ma! You’ll be happier there. You can move there tomorrow, I already got the maid to pack your things.� Elaine said triumphantly, mentally ticking yet another item off her agenda.

�I knew everything would be fine.�

Elaine smiled widely; she felt liberated. Perhaps getting rid of her mother would make her happier. She had thought about it. It seemed the only hindrance in her pursuit of happiness. She was happy now. She had everything a modern woman ever wanted; Money, Status, Career, Love,Power and now, Freedom, without her mother and her old-fashioned ways to weigh her down…

Yes, she was free. Her phone buzzed urgently, she picked it up and read the message, still beaming from ear to ear. ‘�Stocks 10% increase!�

Yes, things were definitely beginning to look up for her… And while searching for the meaning of life in the luminance of her hand phone screen, the old woman in the backseat became invisible, and she did not see the tears.