.: Ledang Part II :.

Just some of the ledang pictures...out of the 300 plus shots...

.: rain on ledang:.

i love rain. i sincerely do. rain can brighten up my mood instantly. i am in fact more productive at school and at work when it is raining.

then, i realised, well, not always. not when i am carrying a WET bag of capacity 60+10l, with WET heavy clothes, wearing WET socks in WET boots, trekking down ledang, from base camp at kolam ayer gajah to the resort, at NIGHT. That itself almost took 6 whole hours, by the end of which, i was totally exhausted (i walk weird now)

oh yes, to the horror of my mom (who thinks that mountains should not be climbed during the rainy season - i shouldve heeded her warning), i climbed gunung ledang on the 15-16th december (more like 17th coz we were stuck there for sometime) with 12 others. part of fmsa programme for the out of school youth/youth at risk.

learnt a lot from the trip like the fact that i am not as fit as i used to be (i promised myself that i will start my jogging/sports routine again - there was a time i can jog to bedok reservoir from my home in simei without stopping even for a mere moment). of course more importantly, got to know the youth better. well, when you've climbed 1,276 m together in gruelling weather, all defences are down and sharing opinions, feelings and thoughts (which could be quite hard for the youth in normal circumstances) was an easy feat. we talked about love, life

and ...

oh, of course there's the perk of taking pictures with my VERY OWN panasonic lumix. blossom blogged about my purchase at sim lim square(the night before i went to ledang - i brought the manual up ledang but was too exhausted to read) so you may want to read http://withinmyneurons.blogspot.com/ ...

well, i didnt have the time to fully explore the functions of the camera but got excited using the zoom (12x optical zoom) and the macro mode (makes the tiniest flowers on the ground look oh so pretty)...also VERY grateful that the camera bag was shock and water resistant. took a total of 306 pics. the scenery from the summit was blocked by the rain and fog (hujan & bidai/kabus). one of the youth, described it aptly, "kak, ni macam scene dari mimpi-mimpi." (trans. kak, this looks like a scene from dreams)

close to nature, away from the busy-ness of town,it was a good time to reflect and ponder. the greatness of Allah who has created all.

and yes, i still love rain.

below, a picture of leaves on ledang grounds. a brief reflection.

For, with Him are the keys to the things that are beyond the reach of a created being's perception: none knows them but He. And He knows all that is on land and in the sea; and not a leaf falls but He knows it; and neither is there a grain in the earth's deep darkness, nor anything: living or dead,
but is recorded in [His] clear decree.

surah al-an'am 6:59

.: malay :.

me: hakim, kenapa hakim suka hari raya?

hakim: sebab hakim boleh pakai "baru kasut"!!! *smiles gleefully*

"baru kasut" - a literal translation of new shoes. Those who do know malay would immediately find fault in the phrase' structure. shouldve been "kasut baru" instead. Recently, hazim said "sekolah beg"(school bag) instead of beg sekolah. to my mum's horror, 6 year old hakim doesnt know how to count, citing the number eleven or sebelas in malay, as "satu belas" (this problem was rectified in one night - my mum had what- i- would- call the "numbers-drill" with him before he went to sleep)

it is of course not the children's fault. Growing up in a house (we live next door to each other so more like 2=1 house) where parents, aunties and uncles speak english constantly with the exception of their grandparents (we insist they speak more malay with their atuk & nenek), english-speaking friends and english-language TV programmes, it is no wonder that they would turn out the way they are.

not that we dont place importance on the malay language - yes, we get worried when their malay exams are round the corner. we, of course, do not hide our expectations that they should score As especially in their mother tongue. "jangan malukan bangsa ok. ur abah, emak, cik sainy, cik nana and mak busu(myself) used to get A*s, A1s and awards for malay tau." (now to think of it, kesian jugak budak-budak ni)

ooops, now that i mentioned it, teringat pulak, yes, i used to ace my malay, getting awards for the language year after year (some of my peers actually thought that i would become a malay teacher). oh well, until the asean scholars came while i was in secondary three and i had to concede defeat. bahasa melayu dieorang POWER! But now that i dont speak much malay, my malay has gone "karat". the last time i gave a talk in malay to an audience of 200 odd people, the makcik thought i was malaysian.

POKOKNYA (one of my fav words- translated to mean " the point being") i still do believe that malay as a language and as a culture is still important & relevant. the language is wonderful, kind and subtle, delicate even - nature as a common reference in its idioms. the culture (the good ones) which includes cooperation, communality, respect and reverence to the elders and putting others before self are some things that would do good if instilled in the young today. malay is also a language that has reference to arabic and islam.

bahasa menunjukkan bangsa dan budaya. bahasa melayu melambangkan budaya, dan budaya kita seharusnya budaya islam.

semoga adat, bahasa dan budaya tak lekang dek zaman, tak luput dek hujan. terus segar membina jati diri seorang melayu muslim.