Monday 27 February 2012
Thursday 23 February 2012
Extraordinary ordinary...
For 22 years I see this view every school day. Watching the padi fields from ploughing, planting, growing, harvesting and burning the dried fields. Then, the same cycle is repeated all over again for the next planting season. I take this new route since the last 2 years due to the traffic congestion along my usual main road journey home. They are upgrading roadworks and building the new electric railway line. It's further by 7km but it's worth it rather than being stuck in a jam after school which can be so depressing. The road along kampung Tok Kling is just enough for 2 cars. The stretch of road is lined with padi fields as far as the eyes can see.
My school is situated smack in the middle of padi fields. It is surrounded by acres and acres of padi fields and bordered by Jerai mountain. It is a lovely view and spectacular especially when the padi is growing where the lush, dark and refreshing green soothes the tired souls of the overworked teachers. The students can be quite trying at times that all I need to do on the journey home is to switch on the lite. fm channel and take in the view of the flying herons and storks looking for food in the padi fields. Mind you it's not like one or two birds but flocks of them. You can see specks of white against a green background during growing season and among the golden, ripened padi during harvesting season. Captivating. Early morning when I reached the school, especially after heavy rain the night before, it will be like driving through the twilight zone. The school can hardly be seen. You drive straight on through the mist and suddenly, hey presto! there's the school. :=D
Another view that always bring a smile to my face is the kekabu tree. This week I see the splendour of almost all the kekabu blooming and opening itself for all to take and fully utilise it. Yet, it's still there on the tree in its white, fluffy, cloudy glory. A single lone tree by the roadside along my way home.
Alhamdulillah. Thank you, Allah swt for the simple things in life. For teaching me to be thankful and grateful for just being alive and still able to see this view. Until the roadworks are completed, I shall bask in this simple therapy of de-stressing after a day with my misfits and trying students. ^-^
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| The breaking of dawn - the time I reach school to start a new school day... |
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| Padi fields as far as the eye can see... photos courtesy of Akmal |
Alhamdulillah. Thank you, Allah swt for the simple things in life. For teaching me to be thankful and grateful for just being alive and still able to see this view. Until the roadworks are completed, I shall bask in this simple therapy of de-stressing after a day with my misfits and trying students. ^-^
Tuesday 21 February 2012
Another servant of Allah being called...
The environment at the old hospital was so quiet and tranquil. No sounds of the busy traffic. The chirping of happily fed birds. The many people going about their own business. The sound of babies crying. The mischievous children running all over the place. It was so quiet. As quiet as the graveyard. The few people around the place were busy doing their own work or absorbed in their own minds.
It was almost midnight, Monday 20th February. Sofiah, my nearest neighbour, called at about 11:30pm. I was just about to go to sleep. I was afraid the call was from one of the boys. They will call at whatever time they want to call even though they know by nature I would have gone to sleep. Calls at midnight are seldom good news. I answered the call only to be informed that Abang Talib had passed away at about 10:30pm. I told Noor I was too sleepy to go. He said it was up to me but he, the nocturnal owl, would go. I felt guilty. Allah swt had sent me the news and I was obliged to fulfill my duty as a neighbour.
I was glad I went. I did not know this couple very well. I knew their children. Shahidah was Akmal's friend being of same age group. I quite liked the solitude of the hospital at midnight. I felt at home with it. Abang Talib was an ex-policeman. He had just retired last year. After his retirement they discovered that he had third stage liver cancer. The doctors could not do anything much and gave him six months top to live. He was in and out of hospital often. He was admitted into hospital last Thursday and he never made it. I saw a few men wearing formal batik shirts around the bed and paying their respects to Kak Timah. One of them was the Chief of Police for Kedah. Kak Timah is also a police personnel. They must had come from a function. That was nice. The usual neighbours were around. Noor and I planned to leave early but they said they were taking out the body to be sent to Jitra, Abang Talib's kampung. So, we waited out of respect for the dead to leave. I could only said a silent prayer hoping that everything would go smoothly. InsyaAllah. We finally reached home at almost 1:00am.
Kak Bani commented that quite a few men had left us. We have a few widows and single mothers. Our housing estate are full of folks in their fifties. Having lived here for 22 years, we grow old together. Some of us have retired. Most of their children got married here. I hope we all learned a lesson from all this. Life is too short. We are obligated to take care of our own self. I wish Noor would learn a lesson and takes care of himself better.
"Allah menyeru 3 kali dalam hidup kita. Azan solat, seruan haji dan panggilan kematian. Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan dipermudahkan untuk yang hidup. Amin."
It was almost midnight, Monday 20th February. Sofiah, my nearest neighbour, called at about 11:30pm. I was just about to go to sleep. I was afraid the call was from one of the boys. They will call at whatever time they want to call even though they know by nature I would have gone to sleep. Calls at midnight are seldom good news. I answered the call only to be informed that Abang Talib had passed away at about 10:30pm. I told Noor I was too sleepy to go. He said it was up to me but he, the nocturnal owl, would go. I felt guilty. Allah swt had sent me the news and I was obliged to fulfill my duty as a neighbour.
I was glad I went. I did not know this couple very well. I knew their children. Shahidah was Akmal's friend being of same age group. I quite liked the solitude of the hospital at midnight. I felt at home with it. Abang Talib was an ex-policeman. He had just retired last year. After his retirement they discovered that he had third stage liver cancer. The doctors could not do anything much and gave him six months top to live. He was in and out of hospital often. He was admitted into hospital last Thursday and he never made it. I saw a few men wearing formal batik shirts around the bed and paying their respects to Kak Timah. One of them was the Chief of Police for Kedah. Kak Timah is also a police personnel. They must had come from a function. That was nice. The usual neighbours were around. Noor and I planned to leave early but they said they were taking out the body to be sent to Jitra, Abang Talib's kampung. So, we waited out of respect for the dead to leave. I could only said a silent prayer hoping that everything would go smoothly. InsyaAllah. We finally reached home at almost 1:00am.
Kak Bani commented that quite a few men had left us. We have a few widows and single mothers. Our housing estate are full of folks in their fifties. Having lived here for 22 years, we grow old together. Some of us have retired. Most of their children got married here. I hope we all learned a lesson from all this. Life is too short. We are obligated to take care of our own self. I wish Noor would learn a lesson and takes care of himself better.
"Allah menyeru 3 kali dalam hidup kita. Azan solat, seruan haji dan panggilan kematian. Semoga rohnya dicucuri rahmat dan dipermudahkan untuk yang hidup. Amin."
Monday 20 February 2012
Saturday 18 February 2012
Bon Voyage Amelia Azizi
18th February 2012. 9:30am MAS flight to Brisbane. I could not go to the airport to see Amy off. I wish her all the best, have fun but be good! Whatever is her interpretation. :-)
Amy is my younger sister's eldest daughter. She is only a year older than Akmal. Very sweet girl. She is going to University of Queensland to complete her twinning programme with HELP University in business. She is going to be there for the year. Hopefully, before the year is out, Akmal will get the opportunity to visit her as it is near The Great Barrier Reef, Akmal's passion. InsyaAllah.
So, last Thursday, 16th February, we had a "makan-makan" and majlis bacaan Yaasin at Wah's house. Kak Ti was the chef, Wah the assistant cook, me...the general worker, Kak Haj is the baby sitter for Aina (our first grandchild aka Kak Ti's grand daughter). It was only the few of us (14 in all) who could make it after office. We had fun bonding and catching up and of course, once the sisters met up, a lot of teasing and making fun of each other. It was a happy and relax occasion. We all let Amy go with happy thoughts and laughter. Anyway, there were already plans to visit her by Nadia and Kak Haj in September. Since they are going for Nadia's convo in Adelaide, they will drop by to Brisbane. This is the frist time Adik is letting off her child away from home. No scholarship. Parents' sponsorship. :-D
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| The farewell dinner - courtesy of Kak Ti's cooking |
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| The farewell cupcakes - the rows of boomerangs were eaten up...yummmyyyy |
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Al-Fatihah
Selesai waktu Isyak di masjid, aku ke kereta dan bersedia untuk menghidupkan enjin untuk pulang. Sabtu, 5 Februari 2012 / 11 Rabiulawal 1433H. Malam ini malam Maulud Nabi. Aku bersyukur diizinkan kelapangan ruang dan waktu berjemaah di masjid pada malam ini. Tiba-tiba telefon ku berdering. Telefon memang selalu ditinggalkan di dalam kereta tika aku ke masjid. Jiran ku, Sofiah mencari aku. Berita sedih pemergian Abang Not, jiran yang telah memotong kakinya yang aku ceritakan di dalam blog yang lalu. Aku terus menelefon Noor dan aku akan menunggunya di rumah. Kami akan pergi selepas dia menutup kedai. Sepanjang perjalanan aku pulang aku hanya mampu melafazkan innalillah-wainna-illaihi-raji'un. Daripada Allah kita datang dan hanya kepadaNya kita kembali. Aku hanya mampu menghadiahkan Al-fatihah dan semoga Kak Om dan anak-anak sabar serta redha dengan pemergiannya.
Kami sampai di hospital Sultanah Bahiyah kira-kira pukul 10 malam. Kebanyakan jiran sudah pun pulang daripada menziarahi jenazah di rumah mayat hospital. Esok jenazah akan terus ke Kodiang, kampung Abang Not. Kak Om minta pihak hospital uruskan jenazah sebagai menjaga kehormatan dan maruah aruah. Aku menuju ke kumpulan jiran wanita yang aku sangat kenal. Mereka menerima aku seadanya. Aku jarang berkumpul dan bersembang. Malah jarang keluar rumah dan bermasyarakat. Namun, mereka tidak pernah pulaukan aku. Malah, jika aku dijemput untuk apa-apa majlis sekali pun, aku akan berusaha untuk pergi. Kami duduk di atas rumput di luar rumah mayat. Nooraini, yang mengajar anak-anak ku sehingga khatam Quran; Sofiah, yang selalu menghubungi ku jika ada sesuatu yang berlaku di taman perumahan kami; Kak Kiah, Kak Odah, Kak Chik dan Faten. Kami cuma berada di situ untuk memberikan sokongan moral buat Kak Om. Sambil duduk dan bertanya khabar, Nooraini memberi sedikit tazkirah. Malam ini Maulud Nabi. Langit begitu cerah. Angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa. Kami tidak merasa kesedihan yang teramat. Ketenangan di muka Kak Om membuat kami amat menghormatinya. Kesabaran dan kekuatan dia kami merasa. Keredhaannya kami teruja. Adakah kami nanti akan dapat melalui detik ini seperti mana dia? Dalam kelembutan ada kekuatan MasyaAllah. Subhanallalh Alhamdulillah.
Abag Not telah memotong kaki kanannya akibat diabetes bulan lepas. Tiga hari sebelum dia menghembuskan nafasnya yang terakhir, dia menjalani pemotongan kaki kiri dan tangan kanan. Dia tidak sedar daripada pembedahan itu. Dia pergi ketika azan maghrib berkumandang menyeru umat Muhammad solat. Kak Om perasan mesin jantung telah menjadi garisan yang lurus. Sabarnya Kak Om melayan kerenah seorang suami yang dalam kesakitan. Allah lebih sayangkan hambaNya. Hanya Dia tahu setakat mana hambaNya mampu mengahdapi ujian yang diberi. Kak Om adalah seorang yang sangat lembut bicaranya. Halus perkataannya. Jarang malah aku rasa tak pernah tengok Kak Om marah.
Allah permudahkan pemergian Abang Not. Dia beri hari malam maulud. Hari Ahad, esoknya, cuti umum. Cuaca yang sangat syahdu dan tenang. Anak yang memang ambil cuti sebulan hanya untuk menjaga ayahnya. Anak-anak yang lain yang sentiasa berada di sisinya. Mampukah aku berbuat demikian satu hari nanti? Ya Allah, redhailah hamba mu itu. Kasihanilah yang masih hidup. Izinkanlah kami mengambil iktibar daripada pemergian hamba mu itu.
Hampir tengah malam. Kami bersurai untuk pulang dan meninggalkan Kak Om serta anak-anaknya dan keluarga Abang Not untuk menghabiskan waktu terakhir bersama-sama. Al-fatihah.
Kami sampai di hospital Sultanah Bahiyah kira-kira pukul 10 malam. Kebanyakan jiran sudah pun pulang daripada menziarahi jenazah di rumah mayat hospital. Esok jenazah akan terus ke Kodiang, kampung Abang Not. Kak Om minta pihak hospital uruskan jenazah sebagai menjaga kehormatan dan maruah aruah. Aku menuju ke kumpulan jiran wanita yang aku sangat kenal. Mereka menerima aku seadanya. Aku jarang berkumpul dan bersembang. Malah jarang keluar rumah dan bermasyarakat. Namun, mereka tidak pernah pulaukan aku. Malah, jika aku dijemput untuk apa-apa majlis sekali pun, aku akan berusaha untuk pergi. Kami duduk di atas rumput di luar rumah mayat. Nooraini, yang mengajar anak-anak ku sehingga khatam Quran; Sofiah, yang selalu menghubungi ku jika ada sesuatu yang berlaku di taman perumahan kami; Kak Kiah, Kak Odah, Kak Chik dan Faten. Kami cuma berada di situ untuk memberikan sokongan moral buat Kak Om. Sambil duduk dan bertanya khabar, Nooraini memberi sedikit tazkirah. Malam ini Maulud Nabi. Langit begitu cerah. Angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa. Kami tidak merasa kesedihan yang teramat. Ketenangan di muka Kak Om membuat kami amat menghormatinya. Kesabaran dan kekuatan dia kami merasa. Keredhaannya kami teruja. Adakah kami nanti akan dapat melalui detik ini seperti mana dia? Dalam kelembutan ada kekuatan MasyaAllah. Subhanallalh Alhamdulillah.
Abag Not telah memotong kaki kanannya akibat diabetes bulan lepas. Tiga hari sebelum dia menghembuskan nafasnya yang terakhir, dia menjalani pemotongan kaki kiri dan tangan kanan. Dia tidak sedar daripada pembedahan itu. Dia pergi ketika azan maghrib berkumandang menyeru umat Muhammad solat. Kak Om perasan mesin jantung telah menjadi garisan yang lurus. Sabarnya Kak Om melayan kerenah seorang suami yang dalam kesakitan. Allah lebih sayangkan hambaNya. Hanya Dia tahu setakat mana hambaNya mampu mengahdapi ujian yang diberi. Kak Om adalah seorang yang sangat lembut bicaranya. Halus perkataannya. Jarang malah aku rasa tak pernah tengok Kak Om marah.
Allah permudahkan pemergian Abang Not. Dia beri hari malam maulud. Hari Ahad, esoknya, cuti umum. Cuaca yang sangat syahdu dan tenang. Anak yang memang ambil cuti sebulan hanya untuk menjaga ayahnya. Anak-anak yang lain yang sentiasa berada di sisinya. Mampukah aku berbuat demikian satu hari nanti? Ya Allah, redhailah hamba mu itu. Kasihanilah yang masih hidup. Izinkanlah kami mengambil iktibar daripada pemergian hamba mu itu.
Hampir tengah malam. Kami bersurai untuk pulang dan meninggalkan Kak Om serta anak-anaknya dan keluarga Abang Not untuk menghabiskan waktu terakhir bersama-sama. Al-fatihah.
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