Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Walking Down Memory Lane on a Rainy Day



I was all geared up for an evening walk today (Wed. may 18) when it started raining cats and dogs. How did the English people come up with such a saying? Were they attracted by the sound of cats and dogs quarreling and fighting each other or by their rush for shelter when it started to rain. Surely you don't see cats and dogs flying down through the air when it starts to pour. It sounds ludicrous but such ludicrous sayings are the things that live through the ages: things like drop-dead beautiful, straight as an arrow ( the arrow maybe but the flight is a curve), dead as a door nail ( is there nothing else more dead. like a piece of rock?).

So what do you do when alone in the house and its pouring? I start walking..down memory lane. It was on a rainy evening like this when, as a boy living in a village-house by the roadside, I saw a car flying off a corner and landing in an irrigation drainage down the hill. I stood transfixed, realizing how dangerous the ideal means of transport that I dreamt of owning one day could be. Other cars and lorries stopped to help the injured and take them to hospital. I didn't know whether they were dead or alive and found no courage to go and ask the big crowd that gathered there.

On a wet day like this the villagers returning home from work or buying some households need in the shophouses down the road,often stopped to escape the downpours. Some who knew me well did not hesitate to come in and have a chit-chat. Others preferred to wait under the little porch to protect the wooden steps from rain and shine. That was my information exchange center, the place and time to get the hot news in the village. Who married who, which boy was pursuing which girl, the young wives who have gotten themselves pregnant, the local political leaders who were beautifying their houses, buying a new car, or marrying a new wife, who was quarelling with whom etc. That was the social happenings that people care about. There was more jokes and laughter than factual updates.

Sometimes I was caught by the rain in my relative's house. The old man of the house would occupy his time by doing some
rattan on bamboo weaving work to build cages and baskets. Or making ataps from rumbia leaves. We talked as he worked and while he taught me about religion and customs, I informed him of the little that i know about science which I have studied in school. " Western people are trying to go to the moon, Atuk (grandpa). How? They make rockets, that fly thousands of time faster that the aeroplane." He laughed. " You know? Prophet Muhammad went to the seventh level of heaven without an aeroplane or rocket." I interjected. "That was with Allah's help. He won't help human mortals like us to do that." A quick reply.
"He won't help us do what He doesn't want us to do. Otherwise He will." In one house, halfway talking to the old man in the house, I would be focusing my attention on the door to the inside of the house. Usually a sweet young girl.Aminah,would be
waiting to....bring us some hot drinks.

It was during such rainy spells, be it morning, afternoon, evening or night that I could really focus on my studies. The sound of the raindrops drumming on the zinc roof helped me to drum in the things that I read about into my thick head and blocked away all other disturbances and distractions. Recalling the occasion would help me recall the facts that I gathered. When I was doing my studies in the United States, it was always the rainy and cold, cold nights that helped me write a chapter or two of my dissertation. White snow in the moonlight always made me dreamy, in the mood for writing short stories and fiction, not the hard factual stuff that you need for your dissertation.

Back here in Malaysia if it rains in the morning the rubber smallholders will of course be most unhappy while fishermen in the coastal areas will also be afraid of going to the sea especially when lightenings and thunder threaten the sky and herald a storm. Rain in the day also hampers work for the buiders and field workers. But those working in the safe haven of the office couldn't be bothered in the least except that they might get a little droopy. Elsewhere in the open country the birds and the furry critters would not be hampered from enjoying themselves.

Yea, the folks complain and curse when it rains and rains. They also complain when the sun keeps shining very bright heating up the day to perspiration. One can imagine Allah shaking his head and saying, "Human beings! I give them rain they complain and curse. I give them sunshine and they also complain and curse. Yes, they're never thankful."

I stirred at my desk facing the window, about to lament the fact that I missed my evening walk. Hearing the words that formed in my head as above, I smiled and thanked Allah for the rain and this little entry in my blog. Hehehe. Rain is a blessing as well as sunshine. I missed my evening walk but Allah gave me something else more meaningful to do.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

From Sweden
If muslims kill Sweden artists is it self defense to kill muslims?
Help save muslim children from islam.
Send them this info to muslims childrens home page ,
When mohammed was 50 he marry a 9 year old child so he is a fucking pedophile.
And a slave owner read more at,
http://www.mohammedt-shirt.com
Its not mine ip nr

norzah said...

I don't know what to make of the above comment from someone who obviously has a total misunderstanding of Islam, resents Muslims because of the misunderstanding, and holds a very negative impression of Prophet Mohamed, Peace Be Upon Him. I'd rather correct his understanding of the religion, point out the misconception he holds and rectify the impressions he had of the Prophet rather than vilify him. To err is human to forgive divine. An error can be corrected. A misgiving eats up the heart of the misinformed soul.

abdulhalimshah said...

Akhi Norzah,
Lest I be misunderstood too, I think it is our duty to defend our beloved Prophet S.A.W from such misconceptions that is tantamount to blasphemy by deleting such comment from your blog. Your forgiving attitude and the desire to show him how forgiving Islam is to the ill-informed is laudable, but it could be at the same time misconstrued as being weak and giving that comment certain undeserving place. If it is not too much for me to suggest , please delete it from your blog because it could well be deemed to allow "fitnah" to be on the loose. My apologies to you ya Akhi. Na'uzibillahu minal zalik.

norzah said...

I respect your view very much Akhi AHS and the comment from Sweden is definitely a blashphemy of the the gighest order/ But if I delete it now my reply and your comment will become meaningless, It's as if we are running away from a misguided soul and allowing him to get away with what he believed in as if he had been right.He might even see it a a sign of the fact that we are unable to denounce what he said, let alone try to convince him that he is wrong.
With all due respect to your suggestion therefore, I will let the comment be read by others first and get their response, knowing full well that the falsehood of the charge is obvious and it would not cause any
erosion of anyone's iman or akidah. It is therefire not of any immediate danger nor an indication of our acceptance of the charge. Our comments attest to our objection and we cannot therefore be said to
'allow 'fitnah' or blasphemy to ride on this blog.
Maybe some of our readers would like to take a crack at trying to correct the views of this misguided soul.
Your suggestion will be complied with as soon as I hear some other views on the matter. Meanwhile check Mahaguru 58's reply to another affront of the Islamic faith by a foreigner.

norzah said...

To Anonymous from Sweden,



Thanks for your emotional comment. I've checked the sources. Who were the Swedish artists killed? There was only an attempt to assassinate Kurt Westernaard and to damage Lars Wick’s house by some fanatics, as a result of Jyllands-Posten publication of the satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad on Sept. 30, 2005. No killing, as far as I know. Prophet Muhammad's marriage to Sayyidina Abu Bakar's 9 year old daughter was quoted by Sani Yarima of Nigeria, an ex-Governor or Zamfura, to justify his own marriage to an underaged Egyptian girl of 15 in Nigeria. The legal age for a girl to get married in Egypt is 18 and so it is in many other Muslim countries, including Malaysia. Aishah remained with her parents until of age and lived with the Prophet SAW only after His first wife, Khadijah, passed away. This happened some 1500 yrs ago. It's now 2010, my friend. Wake up. The Muslims protect their young as well as, if not more rigorously, than the followers of other faiths.

rambomadonna said...

Funny, your entry was just expressing your gratefulness to Allah of the blessings and wonderful memories/life, be it rain or shine. I do not know what prompted mr anonymous to think that Muslims are killers? Humans are humans, you do not have to embrace a particular religion to be killers/terrorists. It is a brain game! Once your fuse gone haywire ... an innocent man can run amok (by the way .. I watched Criminal Minds)

On a lighter note, phewww ... baru puas nak menaip comment on my laptop. I read this entry yesterday on my Blackberry during the Muslim Chinese Trade and Culture forum ... tp the QWERTY keypad to small nak type comment. And it was raining cats and dogs ... BTW the forum was at MIECC. Nak pengsan jugak paham Mandarin depa yang rata2 from minoriti group from Nan Jiang, Krysgystan and Kazakhstan. And I baru sedar betapa picisan nya my Mandarin huhuhu

So I decided to try out some of the wonderful products at the exhibition centre. One product caught my attention ... the Rose Tea ... terkenang I dengan the story of the Fragrance Princess. Sejuk2 hujan-hujan ni sedap minum Rose Tea.

And not far ada Halal Roasted Duck Rice from Muhammad Chan Cafe. Lapar .... I saw that the roasted duck atrracted a lot of participants from the minority China group ... maybe most of their diet are mutton or lamb kot. I ambik jer their contact number and business card. Maybe useful one day.

Talking about rain and Chinese Muslim .... if I am caught in the rain and stranded in South City Plaza ... I will go to the basement floor and have 2 Tea Eggs. The smell of tea egg broth memang inviting yum yum ...

Since I am not taking the food photos so baik I eat them kan?

norzah said...

Mr Anonymous was voicing a residual anger over the strong Muslims objection to and protest over the publication of the Prophet Muhammad cartoos by the Swedish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. You can google 'Paophet Mhammad Cartoons" to see the carricatures and controversy over the matter. It seems that to the Swedes and western people in general, making jokes and drawing satirical cartoons of their leaders and even Jesus Christ is nothing. Just google "Jesus Christ Cartoons" and you'll see them all. But Muslims love and revere Prophet Muhammad SAW and don't even allow his picture or likeness to be portrayed. Less so being insulted trough caricatures and cartoons,
I retain the comment by Anonymous so that one can feel the nature of their sentiment and animosity against the Muslims.

So you're at South City Plaza enjoying tea egg broth. Well just don't take too much for you'll savour things more when taken in small quantities, hehehe. As for your mastery of Mandarin with Kazakhstan's accent, just don't let the sentence I sleep with my Mum become I sleeo with my horse, huhuhu, because Ma can be both.