THE HOUSE OF A FRIEND IN JANDA BAIK... and the Reality that you choose, and that has chosen you

"It is so green here, Papa."

After 2 weeks of no-holiday-holiday (according to Mikhail), we finally managed to break the grip of endless tuitions (for him) and work (for myself) to escape the city and make our way up to Janda Baik, that idyllic little village nesting in the hills outside Kuala Lumpur.

Nothing to do but lie in bed with the laptop. But to be honest we just spent a short time
in the room before heading out to explore the resort.

There is a small balcony fronting the lake which is actually pool-sized. But the fishes
make a happy company, coming under the balcony hoping to be fed whenever you
venture out. Can they see us from down there, or do they have another sense
that alerts them to the presence of an obliging human?

The flowers are in full bloom up here in Janda Baik.
This giant yellomindus blimeyidontknowthenamus
is at least 3 inches long from stem to petal.

We headed to a nearby house of a Friend. Another friend is caretaker but he was not
at home. Mikhail tried to make friends with the many(many) cats of the house. But
he observed, "These village cats are different. They are not so friendly." 

We got lost looking for the family retreat of another friend, Sheik Feisal Bajrai. With
almost zero network in some parts of the village, it was difficult going. But next morning
we woke up early and found the house. The gate was shut, but Mika opened it and we happily
trespassed in. I walked around the back and found Feisal's mum and dad and a Singaporean
relative having early coffee. Uncle Bajrai invited us in, and they fed us fried rice.
This is what you call Hadramaut hospitality. He he he.

We brought our bow and arrows, so after breakfast we set for some serious play at archery.
For almost 2 hours, I reckoned, we shot arrows, together with Feisal's relations from
Temasek. Balqies, his daughter also joined in the fray. I am happy to say that the new
45 pounder bow excelled! Feisal showed me his 60 pounder whose strings I could
barely budge. What a beautiful morning in their 1.4 acre estate... lovely.

After the easy archery exercise, we bade our gratitude and farewell to the Bajrais
before heading back to the House of a Friend. And again, we missed our custodian
friend, Tutak. But we did not mind much. We sat around under the ancient house and
Mikhail made friends successfully this time with his cats. Nothing better than a little
bribe to seal a friendship, I always believe. He he he.

It seemed a sin not to stop by the streams that run through the village.
So on the way back we took a break by a nice bend of river and Mikhail played
in the shallows. Unfortunately the shorts he wore was not meant for such
aquatic fun and kept dropping down. He was mooning everyone there. And I
was constantly shouting to him without any effect, "Pull your pants up, Mika!!"

Well, that's my short record of our road trip, sunshine. My final observation is the many, many sightings of moths, butterflies and dragonflies through out the trip. They were everywhere, hovering and buzzing about, their wings flapping energetically in the breeze. With each flap of their wing, a dzikr (remembrance) of Allah's (swt) name can be heard, but even more, can be seen. You just need a little of that God-given imagination of yours to realise the manifestation of love that is welling up in your heart. And of course, if you have asked God for your firstborn to be a tasbih (rosary) to ever remind you of Him and His Beloved Muhammad (saws), it is no mere imagination. 

It is the Reality you choose, and the Reality that has chosen you.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

-Notrumi Embun, 12th June 2014

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Janda Baik, The District of Virtuous Widows and Divorcees - a short road trip

Good morning, sunshine. Alas,  no sunshine here this morning as an overcast sky hides the Sun and its life-giving light. It has been raining here for weeks on end, and I cannot now recall a day when it didn't rain. And we are not getting the mild cozy sort of morning drizzle nowadays, but a series of evening rainstorms that is lively enough to cause landslides and uproot trees. Not to mention making potholes all along the affected roads. More work for the municipal councils, I guess.

But yesterday I managed to visit the small hillside district of Janda Baik (literally meaning Virtuous Widows / Divorcees). I guess this is my fav spot to run away from the urban rat race, and even though we were there only for a couple of hours, it certainly did my spirit a whole lot of wonderful. It was the rivers, the trees, the flowers and the food that did it for me. In the company of Heche and friends (none of them being widows or divorcees nor too virtuous. He he he) , we made our way to the small villages and took some pictures. I hope you like them...

5. The Eye III

I shall never be ready

For Thee, o’ Lord!

I shall be caught in Thy clutches

Like a deer surprised in the forest,

Like a fish

Entangled in the net,

Like a bride seeing her groom for the first time,

And gasping shyly, “Oh, Lord!”

Forever regretting she had ever

Questioned the match!

.................................................

The union between the Lover (aka Allah) and the loved (aka you) is a union without any fear or risk of separation. No widows, widowers or divorcees in the spiritual union will add to the (sadly) long list of divorces and separations of the wholly mortal nature. For once God has entered your life, there is no more separation, and the only uncertainty lies wholly in the limitations of our ilmu (knowledge) and adab (good manners) towards our Maker... 

Have a lovely day, sunshine. And a good beginning of your working week.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Back to Janda Baik with Dad - pictures tell stories

Yesterday late morning, me and my dad made a short lunch trip to Janda Baik. Remember the place? I went there earlier this year with my pal, Moses (See below for earlier postings). It was a gentle drive on a hot day, so no hurry to get anywhere on time. The road was not too heavy with traffic because it was not a long weekend, and in less than forty minutes we were disembarking at the small town of Bukit Tinggi, Pahang, which sat at the foothill of Janda Baik.

Bukit Tinggi used to be a 'very black area' my father noted. This was during the
Communist insurgence era in the 60s-70s. There is still a sizable police contingent
based in town, although the days of the Malayan Communist Party is long gone. The town
is predominantly chinese and on weekends there is normally a large crowd of visitors, coming
here to buy fresh fruits and veggies (especially ginger). A couple of seafood restaurants here
do brisk business serving the day-trippers. From Bukit Tinggi you can see the hills of
Janda Baik up there.

We made a pit stop for water and fags. I have learnt to time what I do with my father
according to his speed now. He is still a very proud man and fiercely independent and
will only accept a helping hand if absolutely necessary. So this is what I normally do,
keeping a close but not too close orbit near him. We bought our needs and were soon
on our way up hill.

This is in fact our main but modest objective for our drive. To have beef and bones soup
in a very small stall along the main Janda Baik road. We arrived nicely for lunch and the
soup was piping hot. We also had some freshwater fish cooked in tumeric herb and the
infamous Durian fruit. The dish is called masak tempoyak. It is very savoury.

The stall partly stood on stilts over a small pond which is full of talapia freshwater
fish. You cannot actually see them very clearly in this picture, but there are so many
of them in the murky water. As you eat you can hear the talapia jumping in and out
of the water, happy and contented. I love the fishy rural leafy ambience of the stall. 

Cat: Hey cityboy.
Me: Hullo there.
Cat: I see you have some boney scraps of meat leftover on your plate.
Me: Indeed I do. How observant of you.
Cat: Gimme some, will you?
Me: Sure, why not.

This tree fell over after a heavy downpour the night I was last in Janda Baik.
I wish the authorities would do something about it. Or are they waiting for
the telephone lines to actually break or the telephone poles topple over?

By one of the minor roads, We passed by this abandoned construction site. Someone
wanted to build a small house by this beautiful part of the stream that runs through
Janda Baik. How sad they never got to finish their house.

I actually stopped at the site and asked my dad to wait a while. Because I saw
something which disturbed my picturesque view. Someone or something had
broken a framed verse of the holy scriptures that was originally there. I tidied it up and place
the famous  Ayatul Kursi back properly against the wooden shed wall.
I like things to be 'just so' you know?

Our last stop was to look for the house of our former help, Kak Dah. After much
slow-driving and looking at the houses, my father suggested we try this house. I made
my way through the compound and found myself watched cautiously by a watch-geese.
These big (and strong) fowls are well known for being ill-tempered and have a reputation of
chasing strangers away. But this geese was contented just to observe me and make sure I
was not up to some thievery. 

As it turned out, it was not Kak Dah's house. But the kindly gentlemen who lived there with his wife (who coincidentally was also named Zaidah) tried to help us. Haji Aziz (for that is his name) made a few phone calls and found out that Kak Dah is not staying here, but her brother is. Alas, both her mother and father, who were my parents' good friends, have both passed away. Haji Aziz gave us directions to Kak Dah's house but we couldn't find it. Why didn't I take his number? But never mind, because we made a new friend in Janda Baik. Which is always a happy ending for a day's outing however way you look at it.

Thank you for keeping me company, sunshine.

Janda Baik Earlier Posting:
* A Village of Good Widows - Pictures tell stories
* Tao of Banana - a berryful contemplation of gratitude

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way