Arts....you'll be surprised!

           I have so many memories of my childhood.! Life was full of fun and adventures. The jungle was never a scary place. The river taught us the skills of swimming. Nature taught me so much of Allah's creations. I don't know how to explain it but I can only say how lucky I was to be raised in that environment!

        Nature and surroundings allowed me to bring out the talent that I have. The melodies of the jungle are music to my ears. the singing of the birds, the blowing of the wind, the thundering sound of the waterfalls and rivers, the buzzing sound of the bees and the insects of different species and sizes. The difference in behaviour, physical and colours never failed to excite me. I started sketching. The outcome was not as expected but it gave me satisfaction. That was how I killed my time.

        When I was 16, I was in the Art Class. Well, Commerce and Science are not friendly to me! I have a group of close friends who shared the same passion. They were Azahari, Razali, Ibrahim and Azah. We were given a task to draw a mural on the wall of the main block of the school. There was no OHP to perfect the sketching on the wall. What we have was only our common sense and talent. To us, perfection will come with passion and patience. After all, there is nothing perfect in the Arts! Hahahahhahha. Yes, we managed to finish the mural within a few months and it was a masterpiece! But, unfortunately, I have no photo of it. But, the memories will always be there in my mind and in my heart.

        I was an educator and I taught the second language!  But the schools in the cities are always overflowed with English teachers! I ended teaching other subjects including Art and Craft.....I love it! I was lucky to have very understanding principals who then gave me a room purely for my Art and Crafts classes. What more should I ask for? 

     If you can sketch, draw and colour or thinking of doing it,  try to make time for it. Just give it a try. This is a  good hobby besides reading. It is hard for you to stop once started.  It is far easier to learn now. Just switch on Youtube and there are many videos of people sharing their knowledge of arts. Some used Watercolour, Acrylic Paint, Oil Paint, Pencil Color, Crayons or some will use Mixed Media. Just pick one and then just brush up your talent...... as easy as that. Trust me, you will be surprised!

One of the best time to spend with the young ones is arts. Children love colours.

A school project. With a little help, Ammar produced the best.

Together as one

The wave kept on coming

The water came rushing to the shore

With the hissing sound

That never stops

Not even a second

As the wave rolled ashore

The seaweed and shells were dragged along

Hanging to one another

As if they are one

As if they are lovers

Don’t let go

Hang on to me

We will always be together...

Together as one..

Together as one...

Anugerah dari Allah.....

Bayi itu menangis kelaparan

Bayi itu menangis lagi..... 

nak tidur

tak selesa

kembung

Tetapi...

Bayi tidak menangis kerana merindui

Kerana dia belum punya perasaan sebegitu

Cukup masa dia akan tidor

Tidor yang sangat nyenyak

Bertapa comelnya dia

Bertapa tenangnya dia

Bayi tidak tahu erti kesedihan

tidak juga kekayaan atau kemiskinan

Berinya sebuah mainan dan dia  girang

Bayi itu anugerah dari Allah

Kita diamanahkan untuk menjaganya

Menyediakan keperluan hidup

Kasih sayang, perhatian

dan 

memberinya ilmu dunia dan akhirat

Bayi ibarat kain putih dan kita yang mewarnakannya

Bukan warna kulit

tetapi kehidupannya

warna hati budinya

Oleh itu, jalankan tanggungjawabmu

Jaga amanahmu

Kerana kau akan ditanya nanti

Semoga bayi itu membesar menjadi insan yang hebat dalam 

Agamanya,

Bangsanya dan Negaranya...

We are the same.....

          I don't know where these tears come from. It just kept on rolling. I just don't understand how someone has the heart to kill so many innocent people in a place of worship and unarmed. The attack was well planned and they chose the day where many of my brothers and sisters gathered there at that particular time.

          Islam is a religion of peace. We were taught not to hurt people or even animals. We were taught not to interrupt other beliefs. We were taught not to harm people and not to destroy their places of worship. Your religion is yours and my religion is mine. Do what you believe and I do what Allah want me to do.

          Humans were born in multicolours. It's only colour! It is not something that we can choose but was given by Allah! We should feel greatful about it and be proud of it! Our needs and wants are the same. We eat when we are hungry. We work. We play. We breed. We do things the same because we are humans. We are all the sons of Adam and Eve. There is no reason to look down at others just because we are coloured and no reason to hate because we are Muslim! 

          When something bad happened, everyone pointed to us. Terrorists! You looked down at us, jilted us, hate us and sometimes hurt us. But a mass murdering in An Noor's Mosque in Christchurch is too much! Our brothers and sisters were shot without any mercy! What have they done to you? What was playing in the killer's mind? What if those who were shot are your family? How would you feel?

         A father left his home to perform the Friday Jumaah prayer at the mosque and in a blink of an eye, he was shot dead and then his corpse was sent home! Can you imagine how his wife and children felt? Just imagine how the family is going to move on with that kind of memories throughout their life? But, as I said, Islam is a religion of peace. Not to worry, we will not hate others of your kind, your families, your places of worship or even your country. Instead, we will make dua that Allah will change you to be a good man and may Allah lead you to the right path.

         To all my brothers and sisters who lost their family members and friends on last Friday in Christchurch, May Allahu Subhanahuwataala give you peace and make you a stronger person and May Allah give you all the courage to accept this faith. May your children grow up to become better Muslims. 

          I don't know any of them but they are my brothers and sisters in Islam. It hurt me as much as it hurt their family and friends. My fellow citizens and his children were victims of the act too. I wish them well. For those victims who are still in the hospital, I wish all of you a speedy recovery and the whole world will mourn for those who lost their lives. May their souls be in peace. May all of them wait for us in Jannah. InsyaAllah!

          To the people of New Zealand, we felt sorry for what had happened in your country and to your people. New Zealand is one of the favourite destinations for vacation. Most of my friends who visited, simply love your country.  I hope this incidence will not give a negative impact on you but it will be for a while.... but,  that mosque will always stay alive...... forever!

     

Will we be ready?

The seagulls were calling

Flying up and down

Looking for something

One came nearer....

And ......swoosh!

It took a small slice of my bread

And off it flew away

That’s what life is

Thought we have it all

Forever ours

Forever it will be

But we live on a borrowed time

What we have is temporary

What we have is a loan

What we have in this world is not ours...

It has to be returned

So enjoy while it last

Make the best out of it

Because.....there will come the day

Allah will ask it back

Something sentimental value

That belongs to us

May it be your loved ones....

May it be you....

May it be me....

So... don’t be sad

Just be glad you once had it

Allah knows best

He knows what we need

And how much we need

So.... just follow the flow

Make dua.....

And you will be Okay!

The seagulls came back

To ask for more......

Will we be ready?

True friendship.....

Like the ocean, the land and the breeze...each complimenting one another.

            Every morning before the Subuh Adzan, being Muslim,  my husband and I will drive to the mosque for Jemaah.  It is said that Allah promised something good to whoever performs Subuh in the mosque. It is not said what but it is a surprise.

            As usual, after solah,  we will meet and greet our Jemaah who are also our friends and neighbours.  We will have breakfast together to the few choices of restaurants around Shah Alam. Lots of news that we shared together .. about the economy, politics and also vacations... I preferred the later.

          The best of all is the togetherness. But sometimes I will be the most beautiful at the table because I was the only girl if the others did not bring their wives along. But, I will always make myself comfortable. Sometimes I just chip in some ideas which I knew from my readings and discussions with my husband.  Sometimes I will throw some ideas in which I believed in. No harm was done!

          Our favourite places for breakfast is at The Mawaddah Restaurant, Khulafah Restaurant, Syed Restaurant, Gembira Restaurant, Ceria Restaurant, Jayati Restaurant and lately at Capati MakCik! It all depends on our choices of food for that particular morning. But, where ever we are or whatever we ordered, the togetherness is the best of all. 

          Thank you to DIMY, DSAK, DSSH, Abang RK, Abe AH, Hj Rosli, DMisri and DKI......It is a pleasure being among all of you. We are like the beach where the ocean meets the sand and the rocks and the trees will dance to the breeze. It comes naturally without any prejudice and pretentious. Everybody speaks and everybody listens. Everybody looks forward to the next day!

Everything comes naturally...like us.

Bingkisan buat Asmah

       Allahyarhammah Asmah binti Daud adalah seorang insan yang istimewa. Hadirnya di dunia hanya buat seketika tetapi cukup untuk memberi kebahagiaan kepada semua. 

     Allahyarhammah adalah seorang anak, isteri, ibu dan penddik yang dedikasi. Dikenali sebagai seorang insan yang amat lemah- lembut dan baik budi pekerti serta seorang yang bijak pandai. Namun, sedalam mana kasih kita pada manusia, satu hari dia pasti akan meninggalkan kita. Sebab itu, usahlah terlalu berharap kepada manusia tetapi berharap terus kepada Allah. Allah PASTI tidak akan meninggalkan kita.

     Allahyarmmah Asmah dijemput pulang ke Rahmatullah pada hari Sabtu 23 Febuari 2019 di Kota Bahru.Memang pahit untuk menerima pemergiannya tetapi amat sedih melihat penderitaannya.

    Sajak ini kutuliskan buat keluarganya khasnya suaminya Wan Mohd Asyraf. Bersabarlah dan redholah dengan Qadha dan Qadar Allah. 


______________________________________________________

Asmah kusayang....

Kelmarin, kau begitu girang sekali

Kelmarin, kau ketawa riang

Lebar senyumanmu

Di majlis itu, terserlah watak keibuanmu,

Bangganya kau dengan Sumayyah

Lahirnya tidak cukup bulan

Tetapi kini comel dan mongel

Lagaknya mencuit hati

Tidak kusangka....

Itulah hari akhir  kau menyusuinya

Asmah kusayang......

Sekian lama kau tidak bersuara

Kau mendiamkan diri sahaja

Aku merindui suaramu sayang

Berkedip mata pun tidak

Aku rindu kerlinganmu

Aku tahu...kau amat merinduiku

Merindui Sumayyah

Aku bangga memperisterikanmu

Hadirmu menambah gahku

Setiap langkahku bermakna bersamamu

Kehadiran siKecil pengikat kasih kita

Terima kasih, sayangku

Asmah kusayang.....

Sejauh mana kasihku padamu

Sedalam mana cintaku kepadamu

Kau milikNya

Kita semua milikNya

Kau dijemput kembali

Meninggalkan aku menyepi

Dahan mana nak aku berpegang

Batang mana nak aku bersandar

Buat seketika aku keliru

Kini langkahku longlai

Segalanya  haru-biru

Aku jadi tdak menentu

Bisakah aku tanpamu....

Bisakah aku tanpamu....

Namun....aku redho

Asmah kusayang...

Tak sanggup aku melihat kau kesakitan

Aku terkedu dan terkelu

Tak mampu aku melihatmu begitu

Aku jadi kaku...

Aku jadi buntu...

Kini terjawab segalanya

Tamat sudah penderitaanmu

Pergilah sayang

Aku akan merinduimu

Aku akan mengenangimu

Saat-saat indah bersamamu.....

Wahai hati....sabarlah kamu

Asmah kusayang....

Allah lebih menyayangimu

Qadha dan QadarNya

Segalanya sudah termaktub

Aku terima...

Aku akur...

Akan kujaga Sumayyah dengan baik

Sebagaimana janjiku kepadamu

Dialah penghubung cinta kita

Tidurlah sayang...

Istirehatlah...

Sesungguhnya kau isteri yang baik

Kau anak yang baik

Kau ibu yang baik

Kutitipkan sepotong doa buatmu

Semoga kau berbahagia di sana

InSyaAllah...ketemu kita di pintu Syurga

Nantikan kami di sana...

Asmah kusayang

Aku cinta kepadamu......

Allahyarham Asmah bersama Wan Sumayyah dan Wan Mohd Asyraf.

Looking for an old friend

          

          I knew I had to think of something. They have already chosen their way but not me. The exam is going to be over soon and they already knew their targets and destinations....unlike me! This worried me so much but I did not know what to think or where to go! I was raised in a big family and we have to do things on our own to satisfy ourselves..... my style...come what may!!!

          During my time, the Form Five pupil had to sit for this exam called the Malaysian Certificate of Education or in short MCE. We had to do well because the results will take us to our better future....well that was what people think! Did I achieve? Well....just enough. My headmaster laughed at me because I scored a distinction in English and only credit in my Bahasa Melayu! I was not surprised because I have my own reasons. Whatever my results were, it did not take me abroad....simply local! No regret!

          I grew up in many places but the most that I liked was a palm oil plantation deep in the jungle. A place called Padang Kubu in Kemaman, Terengganu. Nothing special about that place but nature really educates me. So, when I read stories about Mowgli, I got excited. The only difference is he was raised by wolves and friends with the animals..... not me! the resemblance is only the jungle. 

          The plantation was managed by TDMB. It was a massive project of planting palm trees and doing all the infrastructures plus the building of the mill and so on.  Arwah Abah joined the company and became a Surveyor Officer. He was a very young and handsome guy with 9 children and a wife to feed! Both my Mak and Abah were very hardworking and always think positive about anything. Besides working in the field or in his office, he helped Mak with baking and cooking. He would ride on his motorcycle before dusk to the one and only coffee shop belonged to Uncle Teck Lee.

          Among the managers in that plantation was Mr Wilsher, an Englishman.  Aunty Ani, his wife is a Malaysian. They have five children. The three big ones are Karen, Mark and Eddie.  Kevin and Karina were still toddlers. The first three went to the same school as my siblings and I. They cannot converse in Bahasa Melayu and so we, whom we regarded ourselves as the lucky ones because Abah speaks English at home. So we brushed our second language with the Wilshers. We became close friends. Now, that was one of the reasons why my English is better than my Bahasa Melayu!

          Eddie was in the same class as I was and he was a kind of a loud person. It was funny because he is a Wilsher but he looked very Asian! If you lined up Eddie and Mark, you will never guess that they are brothers! Hahahahha.... last I heard about him was he taught English in Indonesia but he is back in the UK now. And so is Mark. I managed to contact Eddie once and glad to know that he still remembered the place where we grew up together. Alhamdulillah. Karen is our senior. She was in the secondary while we were in our primary. 

         I am still looking for my friend, Karen. Heard that she is now in Australia. I am scrolling through the net to find her. I miss her very much. Wherever you are my dear Karen, I hope you are well and I wish you the best in health and pray to Allah that we will meet again someday. InSyaAllah. 

         I heard Mr Wilsher has passed away. May he rest in peace. I wish Aunty Ani and all the Wilshers the best.

          

The Wilshers. 

          

          

Reunited.....

         

         We used to work together.  She was much senior but we got along very well. She is a very hard working person and is always serious in her work. I can tell you that, she is and will always be my idol. A person whom I will share my stories, a person whom I can rely on should any circumstances happened... she is the one. Kak Min was trained in Maktab Perguruan Perempuan Melayu Melaka many-many years ago. Up until today, she is still actively involved in the alumni. She always keeps herself updated in many ways she can. And her memories....wow! She got good memories of names and places and time!!! OMG!

This is where I first met Kak Min.  She was my boss,
A sister, mentor, best friend and a great travelling companion.

          I moved to the north, in Penang in 1993 because my husband was sent there to work. Just imagine, we were from the south in Johor Bahru for 9 years and had to begin anew in the north. The environment is so different and so is everything. It is warmer. and the traffic frightened me especially the motorists! It took me a few months to get used to everything. No joke!

Some of the plants in Kak Min's garden.

          After a year as colleagues, Kak Min had to go off to enjoy her retirement.  We became even closer. We went places together. We even drove together up to Bukit Kayu Hitam ... just the two of us. We will always find or create reasons to go out! Hahaha ahh.

          One day, our canteen operator, Munirah who was very close to us invited us to join her to the UK to visit her daughter Mawar Murni in Derby. Her husband, Allahyarham  Muhammad bin Arshad joined too. Kak Min wanted to visit her daughter Yati and her family in Scotland too. I have never been to that part of the world! So I tagged along. That was my first visit to the UK and a taste of Europe! It was full of fun, laughter, excitement and adventures. We travelled like youngsters. We brought just enough money for this trip. No shopping. We brought with us a small bag each.

We got lost a few times before we mastered.
hahahahhaaha.

         
          We shared everything to cut cost including our food and that reminds me of an incident in Switzerland! The tour bus stopped for lunch break. What was served are food that is forbidden? All we could eat is the choices of salad.  So we took only 2 bowls but there were 6 of us. We shared the salad equally amongst us. We were so naive that we did not know the way they charge for the food.  When we asked for the bill, our jaws dropped. They charged according to the number of people.  We did not have enough Swiss Franc and the bus is about to leave! How to pay?  

We took the boat ride in Interlaken, Switzerland.

          Out of six, there were 5 Malaysians and another was a teacher from the UK.  She travelled alone and since we were the most talkative and friendly lots, she got hooked to us. So, she paid for lunch and we became friends. She even told us that she had a little corner in her school sharing the stories of our country....Malaysia. Thank you, Erin Augustina. She even visited us in Malaysia and she had the same problem too here!...  Hahhahahh. She spent her summer holidays with us and then when she had to leave home,  we sent her to the airport but the flight already left yesterday! hahahahha. Can you imagine! We laughed out loud even though we were panicked earlier. We each chip in some money and paid for her ticket and off she went home. . We really had a good laugh at ourselves.  

Kak Min's daughter took us to the countrysides in Scotland.
Picturesque!

        We visited many cities and countries. We travelled by plane, train, ferry, coach and car. Whenever we remember our trip we will end up with laughter because of the experiences that we shared. Kak Min is a very good travelling companion. She trusted me full heartedly even though we were total strangers in a land far away from home. That boosted my confidence in taking charge. She never complained but she would always be there to listen and solved our little problems. She would give good and logical bits of advice whenever she can and that was very much appreciated. That's what friends are for.

Kak Min.
My mentor, my idol, my best friend, my sister...
she is everything!

          Last week my neighbour lost her mum. The funeral was held in Pulau Pinang.  My husband and I with another two friends tagged along with the convoy. It took us 5 hours to drive to Sungai Ara but everything went as planned. We spent a night on the island. It has been quite some time that I have not visited this island. If the Waze refused to work on that day, I will surely get lost. 

          We slept well that night. very tired. The apartment which we rented was on the 29th floor out of 30! The next morning,  We drove to the place where I stayed before! It gave me mixed feelings to go down to memory lane. I love this place so much. I have many friends here and they are very nice people. I was teaching for two years here. I drove around the area and every corners and nook brought back memories.

 

            That was when I thought about Kak Min. I have to look for her. I have to apologise for not visiting her. But I cannot remember which house is hers. I told the others to look for a house with a beautiful garden because Kak Min loves plants very much. I drove slowly and suddenly I saw this tiny lady sweeping dried leaves in her garden. I almost jumped out of the car! It was a real excitement seeing an 81 yr old friend of mine still as healthy as she was before. It is like she never grows old! Did time just stop here? MasyaAllah. We hugged and we cried. We missed each other so much! Alhamdulillah Allah gave us the time and health to see each other again! I was so sad when Min told me that her husband passed away 4 years ago in the month of Ramadhan.  That was how long I did not visit her! Maybe longer...... What was I thinking?

A side elevation of the house where I used to stay.
We had good memories here. It was a good place to raise our
children because of the environment.

             An hour or two is not enough to catch up with an old friend. Kak Min called another friend of ours, Kak Rajibah. She was also teaching at the same school. And now you see, three retired teachers sharing their pasts and they told me of our friends who had passed away and some just moved on to other places and are unable to contact. The funniest part was, both Kak Min and Kak Rajibah had a hearing problem.....hahhahahahhah. Just imagine when they travelled together! Some things will surely be left unheard! hahahhaha.

This was where I did my weekly marketing.

My family's favourite place for breakfast. We even meet our frienfds and neighbours here.
Lots of choices in food and beverages.

          We continued from breakfast until lunch. So sad that I had to leave but I will come back and who knows we might travel again together...for old time sake! 

            I am so glad to be able to see them again and we promised not to stay away for so long anymore. InsyaAllah. Subhanallah.... Allah made me drive to this place. Alhamdulillah...I am so very thankful to Him. Thank you, Allah. 

          Friends are like treasure. To have a good life, we first must have a good spouse and we must have good friends. I have good sets of friends of a different time, place and era and I am so very proud of my friends and I love them very much.....Alhamdulillah.

Three retired teachers got back together after many years.

Your mother or you?

          Every year, every single year of our lives, we celebrate the date we were born. Friends and families will send in beautiful notes, wishes, dua and quotes to us. this is something that we look forward to every year.

          When I was younger, I have never celebrated my birthday. No birthday cakes, no balloons, no finger foods, no friends celebrating but my Allahyarham Mak had a way to remind her of the day. She would cook a kind of porridge called the Bubur Merah Bubur Putih. What is it made of? She took a cup of rice grains or glutinous rice grains and washed it nicely. Then she would add in maybe 3 or 4 cups of water and cooked until it boiled. Let it simmer.

Gula Melaka, Coconut milk and Pandan leaves.

          Then my Mak will take out a quarter part of the porridge and put it in another pot.  For the big portion, Mak will add in a piece of Gula Melaka/Palm Sugar and a pinch of salt. When the sugar has diluted and you will see that the porridge turned into brownish colour. To add a bit of a flavour, Mak added in Pandan leaves which she would make it look like ribbons. Wow, the smell......!! Then Mak will put the fire off and set the porridge aside. For the quarter portion, Mak added in coconut milk and a pinch of salt. Let it simmer and then just put the fire off. Put it aside. 

        When all of the family members were ready, Arwah Abah will recite a dua and then Mak would take a small bowl and scooped the brown sweet porridge and then topped it with a spoonful of the white porridge. It looked so inviting and the taste is so so good.

        I do not understand the importance of preparing this porridge for this occasion until a dear friend of mine whose husband just love having this porridge on birthdays and any other important days for his family. ...Birthdays,, weddings family gatherings and also taken as deserts at any days. She told me that, her husband's ancestors said that the significance is that the brown coloured porridge resembles the red blood cell and the white porridge resembles the white blood cell. By having balanced the two coloured cells, one will be very healthy. So the porridge means Long Live! Come to think of it,  it made sense you know!

Bubur Merah Bubur Putih

          But we totally have forgotten that our birthday is our mother’s labour day.  For those who have given birth naturally will know the pain, we went through! I once told my friends long ago....... it is okay for me to get pregnant many times if only I can pass the labour pain to others!!  Hahahahahahha!

           But please do not forget about your parents especially your mother on your birthdays. Without them we are nothing. Mothers had to go through hardship throughout her pregnancy. She vomited, suffered nausea, leg cramps, backache, constipation, spent sleepless nights and on the day we were born, she had to go through the worst pain just to push us out from her belly! Bones will be cracking, blood rushed out and she will have to do it with all the balance energy she has. She had to pull up her strength to push us out! Can you imagine the pain, the struggle she went through.  So, how can we ever forget her on our birthdays? Can you? Why in the world should we get all the gifts and attention after all that she went through? We should be getting them gifts instead or at least spent the day with her. Take her somewhere and tell her how much we owed her. Tell her how much you love her. 

          Unfortunately, I only discovered this when my mother was long gone.  She died in 2003 and the worst part of it was, I was away at that time. All I can remember of Mak was her beautiful voice whenever she read old poems in Bahasa Melayu. We called it Syair.  The poems were usually about the stories of the past, about hopes and expectations, about how to look at people, how to behave and many more. She did it so beautifully with the rhythm that I will never forget.  It was a serenade that you hope it will not end. So now, since both my Mak and Abah are gone, every year on my birthday, I will visit make time to visit their graves in Muar, Johor and made dua for them. This is my way of thanking them for bringing me into this world and made me who I am now.

A poem about giving advises to her children.

A poem about how to look at people and how to manage your life.

          For those whose parents are still alive, give the best to them. The least you can do is to give them comfort. Speak softly to them and avoid hurting their feelings. They don’t expect much from us, a little attention, love and tender care is all that they want from us. We can never repay them but as Muslims, we were taught that whatever good deeds we did, they will get the benefits too. 

So, whom do you think deserved the celebration? Your mother or you? May Allah grant my parents Jannah. InSyaAllah.