Friday, July 11, 2008

You Can't Dance The Tango To A Ghazal Tune

As I write, I am also listening to ydiana's recording of 'Could It Be Magic?'.

Back a week or two, I had made the request for her to play this song. Ydiana graciously accepted the challenge, and in the short time between then and now, I must say she played remarkably well for someone who has just picked up playing the piano. Bravo! And if someone ask me how well do I play to comment on someone else, the answer would be 'I don't play well!'

Forced to picked it up at 13, I never progress beyond beginners level. Years later, repeated attempt to get professional teachers only saw me being chased out as they thought I was just fooling around with them. So no, I don't play well. But my playing style would definitely be different from the way ydiana played. For this song, I would definitely play it loud at the chorus. Still, playing styles always differ from one song to another, most especially the mood one is in.

Coincidentally, I see ydiana's performance being related to Dato' Jefflam's entry about Unesco declaring Melaka and Penang as World Heritage Site. My view is simple; heritage is related to tradition, and tradition is related to music, where music has a universal appeal no matter the style or beat. Off course, one person's preference may be another's poison. Now, that brings us to a topic which I have just read.

Clearing the stack of old newspapers and magazines in my room, I came across a 2005 issue of WWF's magazine, Green Heart. The topic which interest me most was on Malaysia's own Tarantulas, as well as turtle nesting season. For the former, insyAllah, I will write about it some other time; its the turtles that I wish to share.

Reading the very short article, I was surprised that there are still turtles coming to Terengganu to nest. I mentioned surprised, as I had thought Giant Leatherback Turtles are already extinct, or at least on Malaysia's shores.

Apart from having been a tourist attractions in the past years, the very activity which pulled in the tourist drove the turtles away as they are normally timid creatures from the deep. Part of the reason why they come ashore to lay their eggs at night, is to ensure safety of their nest. But with tourist clambering all over just to gawk at them, they lose their privacy and begin nesting elsewhere in the pacific. Apart from the tourist distraction, their eggs are also poached by people wanting to make quick money; turtle eggs after all, are considered a delicacy by some. It was a good thing then that the Fishery Department managed to reduce the egg-poaching activity and began moving newly laid eggs to protected sites. Whether it was timely or not to save the turtles, only Allah s.w.t. knows.

Now, I was not a witness to this, but was told of the tireless effort by our marine officers in looking after this natural heritage we have.

As soon as the eggs in the protected sites hatch, the officers would scoop them by the pail-load, and take them far out into the sea where they are released by hand, several at a time. But many of the baby turtles - attracted to the electric lights on the mainland - swims back to the shore. There, before predators swoops in, other waiting officers pick them up, and the process is repeated again. This, goes on for 3 nights until the last of the baby turtles are nowhere to be found on the beach.

Anyway, I'm not about to write a thesis about turtles now. Just that, next when someone offer you to eat turtle eggs, perhaps it would be better to think of our of the efforts of our marine officers. For those interested to know more, this site here, might assist.

So, what has these all got to do with the title of this entry, one might ask. Well, nothing direct actually. The title was just a headline proposed to a client some many years ago. When another was chosen, I used it as my own tagline. Got the idea from the Wolverine character in Marvel's Uncanny X-Men comic books. Basically, the meaning is straight forward. Like nature for example, you cannot expect it to change to our wants and desire; rather, it is we who should blend into them. Hey, nature don't need humans! But we certainly do need them.


ps. Now that I had another look at the picture, I think it is a Hawksbill and not Giant Leatherback.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

salam shah,
syabas ydiana!would love to hear ydiana on the piano, inshaAllah kalau ada rezki. mana tau ada bloggers recital ke satu hari. tapi jangan harap saya nak menggesek.

you can adopt a turtle kat aquaria. my nephew and niece adopt one named merlin. tak sure pulak merlin ni jenia apa.

Ydiana said...

H Shah

Salam. Thanks for the compliments, but I don't think I fully deserve the 'raving reviews'..hahaha. Its just a so-so performance, but definitely a lot of effort put through.

When you mentioned about your 'failed' attempt at piano classes, reminds me my 'failed' attempts at swimming lessons. 3 times! But that's another long story. Maybe you were not interested then because of the 'approach' meaning traditional piano lessons. It can be boring to some, especially kids. You may want to learn playing by ear, maybe?

As for the turtle eggs...I dah 'tobat' tak nak makan lagi. Eversince I was small, my mom gave it to me when I was hungry...hehehe, so bantai je la. Now teringat pulak lagu sudirman, penyu menanggis.

For Acciacctura (I always wonder, how do I pronounce your name?)
Thanks! As for now, I'm just happy to perform online. Still not up to public performance standard lagi..hehehe Pandai main biola ke?

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Accia,

Lor...kek ydiana je ke? Den pun, nak gak! ;) Gurau je ye.

Bak turtle tu, den takmuh adopt dan bubuh dalam aquarium bab kesian kat depa lah. Turtle ni kan reptile yang perlu berjemur luar dari air. Kek kedia ikan tu, turtle turtle ni takdak tompat nak berjomur langsung! Kek rumah den pun takdak, so den tak sampai hati nak boli.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam ydiana,

The compliments, comes straight from the heart :) And you are most welcome.

About Accia, her short name is E. And she and her hubby, bang lan, are both violinists who could easily make it into London Philharmonic anytime they want to; that's how good they are.

(pst Accia: lopeh ni, leh le dapek free body scraping, lol!)

Anonymous said...

salam shah,
eh sorry, den datang lagi.

turtle tu tak adopt dalam aqurium shah. dia mintak duit sponsor, pas tu dia ada macam chip yang ada nomboq serial orang yang adopt dalam turtle tu. then dia lepas turtle tu kat laut. time to time mereka akan inform orang yang adopt ni tentang kehadiran turtle tu di mana-mana perairan. gitulah lebih kurang, anak sedara den cerita.

ydiana,
sebutnya lebih kurang gini, achakatura. jangan sebut lagi pasal biola, nanti den sodeh. heehee...tak de lah, saya dah pencen sebenaqnya.

shah,
LSO? MPO pun tak lepas! heeheehee...nasib baik carburetor dung tak pakai string! heehee...

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Accia,

Hehe, datang berkali kali pung takpa, den lagi suka ;) Oh, adopt cara tu, insteresting...tapi kalau cukup duit le! Accia tulis sikit kat blog pasai cerita ni, leh?

And...alah, merendah diri lak dia :)

Anonymous said...

assalamualaikum tiger

ydiana, u deserve the compliments

enjoy it..

bukan senang nak dapat pujian

drp anak aunty Hawa ni

dia makan kueh pon sorang2 jer :p

i kecik2 tiup recorder tau

tu pun tiup sukahati

janji keluar bunyi ;)

cutenya ninja turtle tu

cam tuan rumah ni..

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam mk,

Eh! Bukan mk tu...siapa ye? lol!

jaflam said...

Salam Shah,
We have to educate the young to love nature and other living things because they are part of our survival chain.

I was amazed looking at how the Sultan of Kedah loved his animals and trees surrounding his palace. His birds were so manja with him as shown at the Majallah 3 just now.

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam Dato,

Yes, we do have to educate the young more.

With regards to the Sultan of Kedah, I missed it.

Ydiana said...

Salam again

Acciaccatura...thanks for the pronounciation. Very unique. What does it mean? And how about recording your violin too?

Minah, thanks!

Shah, tq for hosting. :)

cakapaje said...

Wa'alaikumusalam ydiana,

You are most welcome. As for Accia, I think you just might have to ask her that in her blog.