Tea Leaves

Uluru, the massive sandstone monolith also known as Ayers Rock, is one of Australia's most important Indigenous sites. (Getty Images)
Tea Leaves

Time to listen to Australia's Indigenous voices

After 234 years, original inhabitants deserve proper hearing

23 March 2022
Children look out the windows of a school bus at an English-language school in New Delhi in December 1995. Only 0.02% of Indians speak English as their first language, yet English is the language of the supreme court, elite business, much of government and the national media.
Tea Leaves

Politics of language loom large in India

Time is running out for India's English-speaking minority amid Hindi-based mass culture

16 March 2022
Netflix's apocalyptic South Korean series "Hellbound" became the world's most-watched television show on Netflix in a mere 24 hours upon its release in 2021. (Courtesy of Netflix)
Tea Leaves

Asian horror films challenge Western dominance

Global smash hits have raised the bar on quality of future productions

9 March 2022
Some of the symbols Indian political parties use to distinguish themselves from their rivals during elections. 
Tea Leaves

In the world's biggest democracy, symbols matter

India's party political emblems remain important despite rising literacy

2 March 2022
Up close and virtual: Bangkok Naughty Boo is among a new generation of influencers making an impact in Thailand. (Courtesy of BDA World Service)
Tea Leaves

In Thailand, virtual celebrities wield real influence

Amplified through hip and lavish lifestyles, avatars outshine flesh-and-blood social media stars

23 February 2022
Sunrise in Penang as seen from The Habitat Penang Hill, with the twinkling lights of the town in the distance. (Courtesy of J&A Productions)
Tea Leaves

Pandemic unlocks a city dweller's love of nature

Malaysian biodiversity project offers conservation lesson for Asia

16 February 2022
An outdoor bath at an inn in Shiobara Onsen, Tochigi Prefecture. A sense of the divine power believed to reside in natural springs can be experienced at countless spas across the country. (Photo by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

Japan sees spiritual experience in the humble bath

Bathing is much more than a good long soak

9 February 2022
Pattaya was the birthplace of mass tourism to Thailand, but it has fallen out favor in recent years. (All photos by George Styllis)
Tea Leaves

How the pandemic transformed a Thai beach resort

Lockdowns and art help Pattaya shed its 'sexy' image

2 February 2022
The author at Kartarpur Sahib, a gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) in the Pakistani state of Punjab on the site where the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, lived for 18 years until his death in 1539. (All photos by Sonia Sarkar)
Tea Leaves

Making friends with the 'enemy'

An Indian writer takes a brief but meaningful day trip to Pakistan

26 January 2022
Thais invariably stood up in cinemas for the king's anthem during the reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016, but times have changed.
Tea Leaves

The politics of Thai cinemas

To stand or not to stand -- an evening at the movies becomes an 'inflection point' in generational zeitgeist

19 January 2022
Activists of Hindu Sena or "Hindu Army" burn an effigy of Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav as they demand a Central Bureau of Investigation enquiry to certify their conviction that Mohammed Akhlaq, who was lynched by a mob of Hindus for allegedly storing beef in his house, was indeed storing beef for consumption on Oct. 9 in 2015 in New Delhi.
Tea Leaves

India highlights dark side of vegetarianism

Cow protection campaign by vigilante ideologues threatens safety of beef eaters

12 January 2022
The Shochika Theatre in Osaka where Louis Armstrong performed during his Japanese tour in 1954.
Tea Leaves

Japan's jazz coffee bars transcend global barriers

For devoted followers, 'kissa' celebrate coffee, cool music and delights of cultural appropriation

5 January 2022
A screenshot of "Squid Game Parody," a Vietnamese show on YouTube that satirizes the Netflix original.
Tea Leaves

Vietnam's 'Squid Game' comedies entertain, but to what end?

Copycat fad shows how a single hit cultural product can shape public imagination

22 December 2021
Anchilee “Ann” Scott-Kemmis celebrates being crowned Miss Universe Thailand in Pattaya on Oct. 24. (Photo from her Instagram)
Tea Leaves

Thailand's 'revolution' in beauty standards only skin-deep

Latest choices might break the mold but Miss Universe contest holds Thailand back from broader social change

15 December 2021
Film nostalgia at the Katsushika Shibamata Tora-san Museum. (All photos by Stephen Mansfield)
Tea Leaves

The meaning of Tora-san

More than five decades on, unique Japanese film series remains relevant

8 December 2021
Traditional Thai costumes also have Victorian and Indian influences. (All photos by Andrew Benfield)
Tea Leaves

Thai lessons in cultural appreciation

Pad thai noodles and tuk-tuks highlight influences from around the world

1 December 2021
A seller of yakiimo, or freshly roasted sweet potatoes, parked near the Meguro River in western Tokyo, with his specially outfitted truck. (Photo by Edward M. Gomez)
Tea Leaves

Japan's street vendors preserve a fading culture

In towns and cities throughout the country, itinerant merchants help energize urban life

24 November 2021
Office workers walk down a street in central Tokyo in June. The typical Japanese salaryman has been forced to live a stressful life.
Tea Leaves

Why I'd rather be a Japanese woman than a Japanese man

Unrealized female potential is preferable to the insufferable life of a salaryman

17 November 2021
When a gold-painted head appeared early in 2020, perched on a concrete plinth in a Melbourne park, no one quite knew what to make of it. (Screenshot from Bundoora Homestead Art Centre's Vimeo)
Tea Leaves

Golden heads and fake hotels -- a salve in pandemic times

Melbourne's eclectic public art encourages political expression in lengthy lockdowns

10 November 2021
Onoda in handmade camouflage gear. (All photos courtesy of Le Pacte)
Tea Leaves

Onoda, the man who fought reality

Japanese soldier's quixotic campaign comes to life on the big screen

3 November 2021
Yohani Diloka De Silva's song's success offered millions a chance to hear the Sinhala language for the first time. (Photo courtesy of Pettah Effect)
Tea Leaves

When music breaks language barriers

Neglected South Asian tongues can take heart in massive reach of Sinhala popular song

27 October 2021
Health workers wait to administer COVID-19 swab tests to travelers at the airport on the Thai resort island of Phuket on July 1. 
Tea Leaves

Back on the beach in Thailand's model 'sandbox'

Ring-fencing of resort island shows possible way forward for tourism

20 October 2021
Afghan girls play Cricket in Kandahar, the former Taliban stronghold and the birthplace of Taliban's spiritual leader late Mullah Omar, ahead of World Women Day in March 2018. 
Tea Leaves

How the Taliban have divided the cricket world

Ban on women's matches threatens men's tour of Australia

13 October 2021
Then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, fourth left, French President France Emmanuel Macron, second left, stand on the submarine HMAS Waller in Sydney in May 2018. 
Tea Leaves

Reflections on the French connection down under

Submarine debacle takes Australia-France relations into troubled waters, despite cultural and historical ties

6 October 2021
A cicada shell is seen on a tree in Tokyo on Aug. 11. The loud, distinctive songs of these bugs are indelible symbols of summer in Japan.
Tea Leaves

Japan's summer sounds reverberate across imagination

Amid rain and virus anxiety, sonic ambience offers unexpected pleasures

29 September 2021