Monday, July 14, 2008

Fruits of A Labour

Early this morning, my emak broke several branches of the 'Mata Kucing' tree she had planted some 2 years back. The tree, had begun fruiting its first and supposedly, by breaking off a branch or two it would make the tree have more fruits; this, is an old belief that one may not find in any science books. How far true, only Allah s.w.t. knows better. But seeing her break the branches, I rushed to my brother's house and borrowed his camera.

Emak will be 76 this year, and she tires more easily now. This tree, may be the last fruit tree she plants and I would like to record it for reasons of my own. Though it may not concern visitors to my blog, I do hope you will read it through the end. Perhaps then, you might find something worthwhile your stay.

The Front.
Fruits of a labour.
The tree(s) planted outside the house.
Emak's patch. Every 6 months to a year,
she will redo the garden as she quite recently did in the picture above.
That Wak Kromo, is sometimes drafted in to work a 'forced labourer'.

Emak's fern section.
Emak's dwindling orchid plants.
The Fish Pond which that Wak Kromo has been entrusted with.

The Rear.
At the rear of the house, emak plants some medicinal plants which she eats everyday
...and force that Wak Kromo to the same too!

Some call it Bakawali. Others, Pakawali. Then, there's also akarwali. Whatever, it is very bitter but hardy plant. One can just hang it on the wire fencing and it will grow by itself. Anyone needing some, just email me...all you need is about 2 feet of it - half to chop and slice into small pieces to be eaten, and the other half to grow the plant.

The Interior.
A badly taken picture(retaken) of an antique chair - there's a whole set of them!
Near 50years old, the frames are still solid.
Emak's showcase of her brass wares and other things, many of them are of antique value.
Maybe the last of its kind in Malaysia - a carpet picture of the Parliament.
Minus the frame and the plastic covering, it is also nearing 50years old (or perhaps more).
A reminder to that cakapaje: As a child is a gift to a parent, so is the parent to a child.
Emak, the carpet parliament, the Parliament, this life, this nation,
is a gift from Allah s.w.t.
Basically, the scribe means: This, is a gift from your God.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Salam Shah...

menghayati sungguh saya... dari buah mata kucing ke hijau taman, ke damainya kolam dan akhirnya sentuhan kenangan dari brg2 yg masih disimpan...

iye...amanah tu... kena beringat saya ni... thanks bro for sharing.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Queen Raden,

Thank you, ma'am, I should say in return :)

Kerp (Ph.D) said...

aiseh bro, lovely garden you have there lah. but since i'm a fauna man more than flora's, the pond catches my eye the most. mana la tau once all the green lung areas have been wiped out by unscrupulous developer, boleh tandang rumah makcik Hawa utk menikmati kehijauan...wak kromo boleh masak nasik sekali....kihkihhhh...

eh, teringat pulak nasik abg Tat.

cakapaje said...

Salam kerpie,

Bro, can masak, no problem. But, I think you should visit Pak Zawi; he has an entry that would certainly interest you.

Ydiana said...

Hi Shah

Salam. Nice garden your mom has. Should learn a thing or two from her. My neighbour just gave me a 'bunga kantan' to plant in my herbal backyard, but since it does look like helliconia, I decided to plant it in front with the other helliconias and birds of paradise. Eh, citer panjang pulak. Tengah giler gardening ni... :)

Snowflake said...

Assallamualaikum
I can't help noticing that your mum love greens. Unlike most elders, they preferred more colour around their houses. What a cosy corner, simple and well kept that you have there.
How come I did not see any fish in the pond?
Wassallam

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam ydiana,

You and my emak can be good friends, gardening wise. Just so long you don't shanghai the Wak Kromo as your Forced Labourer, that's a OK with me, anytime :)

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam snowflake,

The reason why the other colours are missing is because emak just had the garden redone. Otherwise, it is quite colourful, I assure you.

About the fishes, do click on the photo of the pond :)

jaflam said...

Salam Shah,
Hijau itu damai dan damai itu sempurna. Berbudi dengan tanah tak pernah dikecewakan.

Tahniah kat Mak Hawa mata kuching dah berbuah dan ikan nampak sihat!!!

Unknown said...

Fulamak, lu ada mata kuching la beb. Wa caya lu la.

Amboi hang duduk dalam taman la. I really love green surrounding but never do any gardening in my life. Nice place you've got there, all it needs is a daughter in law for your mother.

Jangan marah ye, why not tackle one of your readers? Just an idea.

ZABS said...

Salam Shah,
Very nice garden. I have a few port of plants at the front, and only pokok pandan at the rear. Huhuhu..
I like this one "all you need is about 2 feet of it - half to chop and slice into small pieces to be eaten, and the other half to grow the plant."
Betullah tu, takkan nak minta je setiap kali nak makan Bakawali tu! Apa khasiatnya ye?

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Dato'

Benar, berbudi pada tanah merupakan satu perkara elok sehinggakan ada beberapa hadith mengenainya.

Alhamdulillah, buahnya manis cuma nipis sedikit kerana kurang baja. Ikan pula, semakin gemuk dan panjang. InsyAllah, saya sampaikan kepada emak. Terima kasih Dato' :)

cakapaje said...

Salam Cikgu,

Mata Kucing tanaman emaik, Cikgu...den menumpang je :)

Hehe...sompat mencelah ngan idea yang bernas lagi tu! lol! Problem is...I also don't know lah! Bak kata Sarah Davies dulu dulu kala: "Que sera sera".

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Pak Zabs,

Pokok Pandan, selain dari gunaan memasak kuih mueh dan campur air sirap, mengharumkan rumah. Talking of which, mano gi pokok pandan rumah ni? lol!

Bakawali ni, bak kata orang tua tua, elok memekat dan membersihkan darah, terutama untuk mereka yang bermasalah kulit dan juga kencing manis. Selain itu, mengamalkan makan Bakawali ini, terbukti nyamuk dan unggas tak datang gigit, insyAllah.

Sebenarnya, dah lama kami pun tak makan Bakawali itu kerana emak sedang amalkan makan daun Hempedu Bumi yang pahitnya, tak dapek den ceritokan. Daun ini pula, insyAllah, elok untuk menurunkan darah tinggi.

Salt N Turmeric said...

Only 2yrs and the mata kucing already bearing fruits? is it sweet? have u tried them yet?

on the brass things, growing up, we were asked to polish those things esp nearing raya. as much as i like to see them, i hate doing tht chore! lol.

cakapaje said...

Salam Princess,

Whoa! You like Fruit Police asking me like that! lol! But yes, give or take a month or 2, it is about 2 years. The ripe fruits, alhamdulillah, is sweet though a bit thin on the flesh.

And the brass ware, its likewise here. Now, due to an allergy, I have been excused from polishing :)

Anonymous said...

Salam Cakap jer,

U memang anak yang soleh!!

(ops!ada kaitan ke dgn entry ni?takperlah ek?)

reramasalju

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam reramasalju,

You humble me with that comment, but I dare not admit to it. Thank you.