76 years ago, a woman gave birth to a baby girl, the 6th child in a family which suffered 4 losses due to childhood sickness in the years just before the outbreak of World War II. The girl that was born on November 18, 1932, later became a teacher at the age of 12, at a time where several of her first year pupils were of the same age as her. The profession she and most of her surviving siblings chose were not necessarily of their choice; in an age where most houses had no electricity nor running water, there were not much. That, and the fact that their late father was a Teacher and Headmaster.
A day or 2 just before her children celebrated her birthday with her, she suffered a small fall when a leg of the stool she was sitting on broke. Though there were no apparent injury, there is just so much a body and person can suffer beatings, physically and otherwise. This fall, was the 3rd she had in the past 15years. The last fall she had, she suffered a fractured rib bone which still nags at her every once so often.
The lady, who must have turned heads during her younger days, has been described by some friends as 'Ingat orangnya garang. Tapi bila dah kenal hatibudi dia, memang jatuh kasih dengan dia!'. Looking at her now, many still do not believe her age as it is. SubhanAllah! A woman of beauty with the heart of gold.
That woman, is my emak. And I thank Allah s.w.t. for this most precious gift.
Emak, seen above with Emi's m-i-l, at Nur Sara's birthday 2 Sundays earlier.
The 2 Birthday Girls: Emak with Nur Sara, Emi's daughter. Taken months earlier, though she would love to, she can no longer carry even a 5year old close to her chest. But had she, then I would surely made noise as its been more than 40 years now since she last carried me. Oops!
He who does not know he does not know He who knows he does not know He who does not know he know He who knows he know.
With full humility, I claim the first sentence.
Its been more than 12 years now. The trays that had been wrapped in old newspapers and kept in one of the boxes marked as 'kitchenware', were brought out and unwrapped. They are then washed lovingly and left to dry in the sun, neatly arranged as only a woman can. After a full day soak, they are then brought in to be washed again. Only this time, a cloth was used to wipe them dry.
I stood transfixed, lost for words, as she moved about preparing the necessary items for the session early this morning. This, was the day I had eagerly waited for...a day that has not been one like it for more than 12 years. Due to her age and sometimes aching body, she had to postpone her coming out of retirement from a fortnight ago to today. And it was only when she felt her body was up to the occasion, did she began issuing orders to buy the necessities - she had, in fact, forced her body to do so as tomorrow, on the 5th of August, is an occasion she had marked to give something special to a lady whom she have yet to meet, but seem to have already like.
The recipe she has in hand might not be recognised by many of the younger generation today. Yet, apart from the green fingers she posses, some of her cooking and delicacies are much sought after by friends and relatives; not to mention her children, that cakapaje bloke, most especially. Interestingly, in this case, her Sultana cookies are not grabbed quickly by her children. Rather, like children, they go for the crust first, leaving the cookies for a later date.
As the sun rose higher, cakapaje volunteered to assist in any manner he can. Knowing his emak well, that she would never delegate any task which she can manage herself, he left the day free from any schedules so he could 'force' her into accepting his helping hand - using the excuse of wanting to learn which melted her resolute. And thus, an apprentice was that cakapaje...for a brief while.
No sooner had he baked a tray of which the results can be seen below, he received a call and had to rush down to Bangsar, leaving emak by herself.
The Apprentice's Work! An art, it certainly is not.
And by the time cakapaje return, the Master had completed several trays already.
For half of the later part of last night, several houses in this area was kept awake by a the cry of a tiny kitten, calling out for its mother. Efforts by several to coax the kitten out of its hiding place under a car met with failures until someone brought a saucer of milk and soon, everyone was sighing with relief as the kitten lapped up the milk and became quiet....for a short while. Less than half an hour later, it started its meowing which, for the tine size it is, was rather deafening. Worse still, it had crept into a neighbour's compound and again, hid under a car. No one wanted to jump in and caused any misunderstanding. What, with the recent break-ins and with 4 cases of car-jacking here, it would be better to cover the ears with cotton or pillows. But its sad, hearing the cry of the kitten and makes one wonder of the fate of the mother. A mother - any mother - would normally never abandon her baby.
Woke up later than usual to the sound of the house telephone ringing. Emak picked it up and heard her mentioning one of her grandson's name, and saying how much she misses him. That, had me feeling very sad. Of the 11 grandchildren emak has, 5 are in the US and another 2 in Canada. And of the 4 remaining here, one will be leaving for studies in UK this September. And that grandson she spoke to, Suffian (story here), she has not seen him for more than 10 years now, and last spoke to him about 3 or 4 years ago before he joined the US Navy. A woman of emak's age, nothing makes them happier but to see their grandchildren. No, this definitely is not going to be a good Monday. And true enough...
Received DocTA's message about a friend whom I shall not name here on accounts of her privacy. But it seems, her last medical examination revealed a regrowth of cancer which has spread to her liver. What, can one do to assist her? The best I can, is to pray for her wellbeing and hope for the best. Also, which is rather late now for me to do, is to wish her the very best for today too, falls her birthday. To my friend "Verily, we are helpless without Thou, oh Allah!. Give us strength to prevail over which you have put onto us. And remember, Allah s.w.t. would not burden us what we cannot endure. Happy birthday, my friend".
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.
I don't know who the baby is, nor do I know the parents. But amongst the picks available at you tube, this was the most decent and adorable. And no, this entry has nothing to do with the song, though if ever there is a bonnie, it would be nice to sing it to her. This entry is actually a short story about bones. And it has no medical reference of whatsoever.
My emak likes to tell stories of her younger days in Melaka. Sometimes it would be tales of the days whilst in Pantai Belimbing, other times it would be about Melaka Pindah. Now, I can't recall where exactly this tale took place, but its about an old man who has 2 doting sons; the younger one living with him, the other in a city.
As the tale goes, one day when the younger son was about to leave for the market, he asked the father if he needed or wanted anything. Unhesitatingly the old man said he would like to eat 'sup tulang'. Thus off went the son to the market for the day's buy, as well as some fine bones for the soup the old man wanted.
When he got back, he asked his wife to prepare the soup according to the old man's wish, with no further thoughts about it. But somehow, the old man was not thoroughly satisfied as the dish prepared was nowhere near to the recipe of his beloved wife, who passed away several years before. Thus while he was feeling sad about missing his wife, the elder son came to the house unexpectedly. Like any faithful son, the first question he would asked was whether the father has had his meal. The father, still teary eyed, replied sadly 'Adik engkau beri aku tulang je hari ni'. Enraged, the elder son confronted his younger brother who replied nonchalantly 'Dah itu yang ayah mintak!' Can't remember how the story ended, but it was quite hilarious when I heard it quite sometime back. Perhaps, the ending could have been on the same line as in an old McD TV advertisement "Where's your beef?".
Now, since we have moved on from bonnie to bones, and now beef, I don't mind telling you I'm feeling rather peckish now, even though emak and I had a meal of Otai Burger earlier; while she had a chicken, I had a double beef. Maybe after 2 days without proper meal, both our bodies are craving for some real food. Now, don't get me wrong, or confused this part with the old man earlier as emak and I are still recovering from a minor bout of food poisoning we suffered late Wednesday evening. Due to this, I was unable to assist Doc Lo'Lo' in her Parliamentary preparation. Fat good I would be there, actually, for never have I seen any parliament papers, nor have I seen any sittings. But it would have been a good experience. Talking of which...though it may not succeed, the motion to remove an old bone from the Parliament is indeed much welcome. Let's hope it goes through and with it, the removal of the entire cabinet of old bones too. With them around, life, of late, has not been exactly bonnie.
Was on the line with Doc TA earlier today and he asked about my trip to Terengganu. Told him it will only be next Friday (the 13th?), and only for the weekend. But then again, when I think about it, hmm...I might as well just not. Off course, that will not sit well with my cousin Azman, not to mention emak - we are supposed to go in 2 cars and rendezvous with many other cousins in KT. From there we are supposed to...what else, but that which Malays very much love to do - form a convoy to send a groom!
Now, don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against going for the wedding. Nor do I have anything against the state of Terengganu. In fact, I rate it as one of the best state to enjoy the sun. I mean, with miles and miles of white sandy beaches, the beautiful sound of ocean waves crashing on them, the nice friendly people...the east coast state is more like heaven compared to KL, with its agonising miles and miles of traffic snarls, the irritating sound of horns by impatient drivers trying to crash their way through, rude and high-strung people; yes, Terengganu must be where heaven is on earth. Except for...
Now, another reason why I have to make this trip, which outranks the wedding itself, is emak. No, its not because she'll beat me to a pulp if I don't, but...
Before her only brother passed away, emak had planned for a trip to Langkawi for she and her siblings. Somehow, she felt like it was going to be their last outing together, and they agreed to go, but the date was never finalised due to one reason or another. Time passed by too quickly. In mid December last year, emak's only brother passed away and with the sad turn of events, the trip was shelved for good - Langkawi was the only place in Malaysia aruah never had the chance to visit. Thus when emak mentioned about this trip, I gladly agreed to her request even though I now have this phobia not about the beaches, nor the nice friendly people there, but...
There is an old saying "Once bitten, twice shy". But being the knucklehead I am, I had to stretch it to 3 times. Hopefully there will not be a 4th time.
For some reasons which Allah s.w.t. only knows, going to Terengganu is like singing the song 'luka (luka) lama berdarah kembali'. Yes, it true - 3 failed affairs of the heart with those pretty lasses from the state of Terengganu. Hey! Its not like when I met these ladies for the first time, I asked which state they are from - it, just turned out that way. Though the fact that it turned out that way 3 times in a row, is something that puzzles me to this day. Hmm...must be a message there somwhere.
Back to the trip, perhaps what I can do is leave emak, her sister and my cousin in KT, while I drive on to KB. Sounds like a good idea, but I think not. Oh well, bring on the 4th!
When I first heard this song back in 1976, I was like many other people thinking it was just another love song about a boy and a girl. The song after all, did not indicate otherwise, except for a line in the lyrics which many either chose to ignore or did not understand. Then, somehow sometime later, I read what the true meaning of this was.
Released in 1972, this song was written and sung by David Gates in memory of his father who had died earlier. The excerpt here says it all: "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record Everything I Own about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, gave my life to me, set me free,' it says it all."
Half the night earlier, I was on the line chatting with a very dear and close friend, and mentioned the loss Cikgu and akak just had. Whilst doing that, I could not help but wonder how or what I would do were I to be in the situation.
For the past 15 years or so my emak and I have been living an almost solitary life. I mean, we have been through an awful lot together and though there have been times where I have been out of line, she has always been there for me as she would with any of her children.
Funny, its only now I realised that last I wrote about emak was more than a year ago. And as much as I would like to so now, I find myself unable to do for so many reasons. The fears which I relayed earlier in the evening was soothed and calmed by the dear friend who said "lets cross the bridge when we get to it"; a most apt and wise thing to say and do, thank you. But lets not get into that now.
If ever there is a song I would like to dedicate to my emak, I guess the song above is it.
"Wahai Pemeliharaku, kasihanilah mereka(ibubapa) sebagaimana mereka memelihara aku semasa aku kecil." (17:24)
Emak, seen above with Emi's m-i-l, at Nur Sara's birthday 2 Sundays earlier.
The 2 Birthday Girls: Emak with Nur Sara, Emi's daughter. Taken months earlier, though she would love to, she can no longer carry even a 5year old close to her chest. But had she, then I would surely made noise as its been more than 40 years now since she last carried me. Oops!
