Post holiday blues

Well the Eid holidays have come and gone and life is back to its more relaxed pace. We had our Raya Open House on the first day as usual. The usual number of people came - my brothers and sisters, Repin's friends and a few of mine. This time around Yatie and I decided to cook ourselves instead of getting a caterer and oh boy, was it tiring! We had made the usual ketupat ( bought the ready made leaves from the market), made the rendang (both beef and chicken), as well as the rest of the accompaniments. Apart from that we made pilaf rice which was a hit with almost everybody and my sister Leila asked for the recipe.

Actually pilaf is very easy since its a one dish meal and can be eaten either on its own or with a curry as a side dish. We made the curry just in case somebody wanted gravy with their rice, and since it was the first to finish I guess most people did. They came in a steady stream - almost non stop since we began at 11 am, with first my sisters, then Ranjeet and Jaswant. I think I didn't have a break at all until nearly 7pm, when the last guests, Hamzah and his wife, left. All in all, it was a great day - tiring but entertaining.

I always say that I won't have an open house but then still have it. This year there were fewer people who came compared to last year. Only 3 of my old classmates turned up but other friends came. Repin's old friends came too - quite a few of them- An Min, John, Chow Fatt and Hamzah and their wives. Of our family - most were away this year. Alan and family went back to Perak to Kahdijah's house and Jemi went to Penang. Even Denan didn't come home this year and neither did Jijah.

Idil Fitri

Family portrait without my youngest - Sarah. Taken in Semabok on first day of Raya.

Sometimes I wonder where the time goes - suddenly weeks have just flown by and now in fact its the all ready the first day of Idil Fitri. Today is Idil Fitri - the end of the Muslim month of fasting and abstinence from all things deemed worldly and unpure. I guess that means eating just enough to keep a body going - not over indulging at the breaking of fast, abstaining from impure emotions such as anger, hate, jealousy and envy and so on. The month is a kind of test for us. However, from what I see many of us ( me included) fast for the pleasure of eating all kinds of goodies at the end of the day, which actually beats the concept of Ramadan. Over in the middle east and Pakistan we hear of suicide bombs and shootings and people dying. What would the Prophet (PBUH) say I wonder if he were around. Its rather sad - just as was more or less prophesied on his trip to Heaven and it was said that he asked God to give him 3 boons. The third was that his people be not divided but Allah gave him the two boons except the third. And so it is that until today the Ummah is divided and would always be so until the end of the world.

On the homefront both my sons Rizal and Ridzuan are back. Shasha came on Friday night and Wan and Rizal on Saturday with Pauline and Sophia. She's two now my little grand daughter - a very talkative and cheeky two year old, her face always full of fun and mischief.

Friday was a hectic day with me going grocery shopping to prepare for all the festival goodies - the ketupat, rendang and sambal udang. I had bought the prawns earlier in KL (at the wholesale market) but still had to buy the meat and chicken for the rendang. This year most of my mum in law's relatives will not be coming over since mum has gone back to Semabok. It'll be just mine and Repin's friends and maybe my sisters and brothers.

Saturday was D day - all the cooking was done mainly by Yatie but I had to help of course. That night after the breaking f fast we all turned on the tv to listen to the announcement, but it was more or less already decided. The sighting of the moon would just be for appearances sake. And at 8.30 pm it was announced that Sunday would be Idil Fitri.

At 8pm though it poured. The rain came in sheets - not just a mild drizzle. The takbeer group would continue in spite of the rain but fewer than 30 turned up. I was getting worried when the rain didn't stop after one hour, but luckily towards 10 pm it stopped.

I always feel a pang during the reciting of the Takbeer, welcoming the new month of Syawal and praising of Allah and our prophet, peace be upon him. Visions of raya past fill my mind... I remember those days when both my parents were still alive and the takbeer in Banda Kaba was done by my uncles and other cousins. It was normally a festive occasion with all of us going to each other's houses to wish Id Mubarak. Children would be playing with sparklers, you can hear sounds of the takbeer on the radio in every one's houses and laughter and loud cheerful voices shouting out greetings. Those days have gone forever - they're just memories now. Even when I go back to my village, things are no longer like that anymore. I visited my old aunts - Mami Timah, Mak Esah and Nenek Soyah. Mak can't walk anymore - she has to use a walking stick to help her and Mami is worse. I gave them each a batik sarong and a RM50 angpow. Nothing much really, considering that they're the last of my relatives.

Ramadan

Its three days since Sarah went back to Russia. At least this time around she got to spend part of Ramadan with us at home. For 4 years she's been fasting in Russia, eating I dont know what. It isn't much but even a week of Ramadan with her at home is better than nothing I guess. Its now well into the second week of Ramadan - probably about 13 days maybe. I never counted actually - just followed the days as they come. Ramadan this year is quieter I feel although the bazaars are still running. I went to Alpha Angle this morning and it was very quiet - the car park was almost empty. Of course there are hundreds of people at the Ramadan bazaar which can be quite claustrophobic, however the malls are almost empty.

Our Ramadan bazaars here in Kuala Lumpur are quite something. Food of all varieties - some you've never seen before, most traditional delicacies and whatever kind of food - Western, Eastern, Asian and whatever - just name it and you can find it here. But of course you have to be wary - not all the food sellers are experienced cooks. In fact many are once in a blue moon cooks - trying to make a quick buck during the Ramadan. For the horde of office workers who throng the bazzaar anything that look interesting and appetising will do! Only the experienced shopper will know the difference between the real sellers and the 'fly by night' sellers.

I haven't managed to do any tarawih prayers yet though we did attend one at OUM the other day. What I really wanted to do was go back to Malacca and stay there for the whole month so that I can attend the prayers every day. But since my husband is here I guess I have to remain in KL, at least until close to Raya.

Today we started baking cookies for the Eid which will be on 20th or 21st of September. I think I'll bake at least 3 types - choc chips, pineapple tarts and Repin's favourite -using ghee. All so unhealthy but oh so delicious.

This raya will be Sophie's first that she will understand. Last year she was only 1 year old and sick with fever. Hopefully she'll be fine this year so that I can see her running around the Malacca house playing.

OUM Raya Day

As usual OUM hosted its raya on a working day. This time around, probably to save costs, no singers were invited, which is probably a good thing too because the last time they invited outside singers, one of them wore a shamelessly tight outfit you could see everything, including her map of India. Ha ha. The flowers arranged by Prof Shaari were again fantastic, though Puan Sri commented on the fans which were held up by white, cloth covered poles. She said they looked like batu nesan or grave stones and that it affected her mood. However where food is concerned there's nothing fantastic about it- everything was run of the mill. The weather was good - no rain, though it had rained heavily for the past few afternoons - but as can be expected it was humid. Sweat trickled down my back. I bet no trace of makeup or lipstick can be seen anymore on my face. There was a fairly large crowd, though from what I heard they were mainly from the admin and other staff. Few lecturers turned up. I wonder why. Don't they feel they belong? When I was working I enjoyed mixing with the other staff and here I see that the academic staff hardly mix at all. Except the Heads of course. I sat with prof Zoraini, Prof Rahmah and Dr Widad as well as Hanin who is now the Director of CIDT. We were entertained by the staff some of whom sang very well. There was also a Bhangra group. They sang a few Hindi songs and also performed a Bhangra dance for us which was really energetic and fun.

Idil Fitri

Raya Breakfast

Today is the 1st of Syawal and Idil Fitri.








Me and my grand daughter

Picture here is Rizal and Sophia having breakfast of lempeng.
Of course we also have ketupat, but the little one wanted her nenek's lempeng ( a kind of pancake), so lempeng it is, Raya or no.

The pace was really hectic this morning - especially around 11 am when all my mother in law's relatives came. In fact, it started just after the Eid prayers. First Hasnan and family came, then Faridah and her family and from then on it was just one long line of visitors with no stops in between. I think at one time there were easily 50 people in the house - there was no space to turn even! Let alone eat. Luckily I had the foresight to cater from Mami Enon. Of course we had the usual stuff - ketupat, rendang, sambal tumis ikan bilis as well as udang, Urap kelapa.

Found out later that Min and Yah came but turned back because of the crowd.Sigh...

I think for me raya will never be the same until Sara comes home. I miss my poor baby - even eating and entertaining isn't the same without her.

Raya Preparations

Its already the 27th day of Ramadan. I'm still in Malacca with my maid and mother in law and this is the longest yet that I've stayed in Malacca. Well apart from that time when Sara had her attachment at GH. Its kind of nice - the pace is more relaxed yet the days are full. I love waking up early with mum and Yati for the Sahur, and stay up until the dawn prayers. Then its garden time with Chichi and Ginger. I'm always fascinated by the koi in the pond - just staring at the golden red and orange shapes swimming or gobbling food. Then its TLC time with my roses and talking of roses, I wish somebody out there would tell me what to do about those horrid little creatures in the earth (not earthworms) - they're whitish, fat and look like maggots. Perhaps they are? I don't know what they are and they're killing my roses from the inside out - through the roots.I've changed the soil, picked them out one by one and yet they are still there. The roses die a slow death - first the leaves will fall and even when there are buds, they wont open but just dry up and fall. What can I do to get rid of this problem? Mildew and blackspot I can overcome. Even bugs can be killed. These aliens seem to thrive on insecticide!

On Raya preparations - this year Raya will be at our house in BB so we're preparing a lot of food. WE have the buka puasa feast for Raya Eve for the whole gang (about 30 of us) and the 1st day raya feast too. I'm catering the raya day food but we're cooking all the rendang, sambal, urap kelapa, lodeh etc for the buka puasa feast. Just thinking of it gives me a headache but I'm lucky I have yati. She's quite efficient and works without complaints. THis year I gave her a gold chain for Raya - for helping me with my mum in law who can sometimes be a real trial.Not that I dont love her - she's the only mum I have after all.

Ramadan in Banda Kaba days

Since coming back from Singapore, I've been in Melaka with my mum in law. I love staying here for the fasting month because its so easy to go for Tarawih and the neighbours are great. We always get cake exchanges - just as in the kampungs of old. Tradition has not died here - or at least this tradition is still very much alive. I remember Ramadan when I was young, living with my grandma. Normally we'd be woken up by a guy who goes around the kampung beating a drum or gendang. THis would be about 4 am. He'd call up the words, " Sahur!" as he walked. Then Grandma would wake up and cook the rice, fry some fish and heat up some curry from the previous meal. By 5am we'd have woken up, my sister Laila and I. Then we'd all take the sahur together - my grandparents, Lela, Yusof and myself after which we kids would go back to bed while my gran waited for the fajar prayers. This was the norm throughout my growing up years. The guy who went around waking us up was Ismail Botak - from infront. At that time I think he must have been a teenager but I wonder where he is now. Breaking fast also has a tradition. We'd normally gather at the dining room, where the food is already spread. There were no tables or chairs in those days - we all sat cross legged on the mengkuang mat and waited for the siren from the fire brigade to sound off the time for breaking the fast. WE'd start off with a date each - in the tradition of our reverred Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Then only would be allowed to eat. Grandfather was a stickler for rules and traditions. He'd normally recite the prayers first before slowly taking a date from the plate. Once he had taken his date, then only were we allowed to take one each. We'd have to chew slowly, sipping water only after the date is completely eaten. As a child you can imagine my impatience to really start the meal and gulp down a whole glass of water! After the meal, he'd do his maghrib prayers then get ready to go to the madrasah. This would be for the Tarawih prayers. Girls, especially the young ones were not encouraged to go because it would be crowded and there wouldn't be enough space. I only went for Tarawih when I was in my teens. Walking back after Tarawih is also a memory much loved. The madrasah was quite far - just outside the kampung, next to the Fire Station in Jalan Banda Kaba. WE'd have to pass a huge Bunga Tanjung tree, which was reputed to be haunted by Langsuyar - the eerie and frightening looking vampires that preyed on young men! We'd be deliciously frightened as we passed this dark lane filled with shadows of the tree. There was no light in this part and it was very dark. Heart beating fast we'd dare each other to pass the tree alone until one of us would run past the tree with the others following suit, laughing and shouting loudly because it was known that langsuyars are afraid of noise.

After I got married and moved away from the kampung, this was one of the things I missed. There is no place that has all these traditions anywhere in Malacca I think. Raya is always best in Banda Kaba. At least it was when both my parents were alive.

On the eve of Hari Raya we'd all be very busy. The house would have been ready by then - spring cleaned and painted, new curtains hung and new cushion covers for the living room chairs. My dad and brothers would be busy stirring the dodol, which is sticky paste made of coconut milk, the brown sugar from coconut which we call gula tuak and glutinous rice flour. This would be mixed together and stirred for hours over a huge wok called a kawah over a slow open fire, usually made of coconut shells and coal. The end result is a sweet sticky brownish paste called dodol. This was my mum's specialty. She made such good dodol that neighbours and relatives from everywhere would ask her to make it for them. This would also be the day for us to boil the ketupat, prepare the sambal and rendang as well as the urap kelapa - the special accompaniments of our special dish - the ketupat. Ketupat is actually rice - cooked in specially made coconut leaves woven to form a squarish shaped container.

The rice is put into these and boiled until cooked. Picture of ketupat below:

Its eaten with the sambal - chilli cooked with prawns or anchovy, rendang and urap kelapa. On the first day of raya all the houses will have this favourite dish, plus special raya cakes. Normally my parents would hardly sleep on the eve of raya and neither would us kids. The excitement and suspense and general happiness at the ending of a month of self -deprivations would make us kids so full of excitement that sleep seemed impossible. Then there would be the fire crackers and fireworks that everyone would be playing. It was like a fiesta. The whole village would be alive with the laughter of children running here and there, shouts of "hari raya" filled your ears, interspersed with the sounds of the Takbeer. Just thinking of those happy, carefree days makes me nostalgic.

OUM Raya Open House

The setting was lovely - over the pond and beside the waterfall was the dais upon which stood the musicians. The platform itself was decorated simply but beautifully with large bouquets of white roses and crocuses, also white. There were roses everywhere - at every corner of the platform. All in the same tall and elegant pots, decorated with ferns and roses.
There must have been at least a hundred tables and there were so many people. Most of the staff who knew me came and said hi or shook hands or salaamed. The food of course was mediocre - we were at the VIP table so food was served. However the rest of the staff - as Dr John Arul said - the phlebians - had the honour of picking and choosing their own food at the fantastic buffet at the back of the garage. Of course we could have taken the food there but I was too lazy to get up and anyway its only food. However the singers more than made up for it. One of them was Haziq, who was in last year's AF. Farhan was also there as was The Singing Shop, courtesy of Tan Sri Azman. Most of the staff were dressed up to the nines - in their raya clothes. Some brought children along and since it was also a Deepavali thing - most of the Indian staff were also there. I saw Kul with her two daughters - she introduced them to Jean, who was the guest of honour. Jean came during the UMNO general assembly so she had to wear the UMNO uniform - red and white. She looks like a fairly nice and simple person - down to earth and friendly, unlike the PM's late wife. Things went on until fairly late in the afternoon so I made my excuses and went back to Pohling's to again take up my role as child minder!

Idil Fitri in Melaka

This is already the 3rd day of raya. This raya is Sophia's first - all my children except Sarah are here. It's great and yet sad too because we wont be a full quorum until Sarah finishes her studies in 2011. Then only can we all enjoy a raya with the whole family. Where will we be then I wonder. Will Repin and I still be around to celebrate it? Will my mother in law still be around too? Let's hope so.
For the first time since we moved to Melaka we had breakfast in our own house - not at Mother's house in Semabok. Then my sisters and brothers came to the house - more like an attack than a visit!! It was a great day, though I felt quite tired at the end of the day.


The picture above shows Yah, Jasmin and their children with me at the waterfall. And this is me with my grand daughter, Sophia