Kabira

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

 

(Avoid from listening music 30 minutes before daily salat services, thank you!)

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Rang Lāga

Assalamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

 

(Avoid from playing this video 30 minutes before the salat services!)

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Brick

Assalāmu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

 

Mitran nu apna bana ke wekh le
Dil nāl dil nu watta ke wekh le

Ni pakki hundi itta wargi
....

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!

Indian Sub-Continent in Our Memory

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Well, I speak in Chinese while I was in the USM. Many people thought that I am a Chinese myself especially when I speak in Northern Chinese accent the first time I met those Chinese national brothers. I did not speak in Chinese for nearly whenever it was while I became an interpreter for Chinese passengers in the airport only in working hours. I began to speak in the language again when I met brother Idris who happened to walk alone to the USM mosque during Ramadhan 2010. Just for brothers information especially those who had met me. My father family is of mixed ancestry from both Yemen and Indian sub-continent. We have special interest in Punjabi and Ordu poetry. Actually the Punjabi poetry is not like the Punjabi in the sense of the Punjabi-Punjabi. But it is a language known Saraiki something like that. I have got this information from elders with hardship until they threw out all the facts that they keep in themselves.

My late great grandmother on my father side was known as Zaynab. Her family were of Gujrat origin while the men of the clan who married among each other were of Yemenite Arab ancestry. This is how we were known as the Jawee Pekan and calling our fathers as pak in Classical Malay. Differently to nowadays identification of Jawee Peranakan with Southern Indians like those in Penang Island though it perhaps also refer to the Keralites. It is a common thing in Northern Malayan Peninsula or nowadays Malaysian Peninsula part that people in the city were of foreign ancestry but by time people began to adopt Malay language as their mother tongue. When people ask me with some racist questions about whether I am a Chinese or a Malay, I would have to deny both association because I prefer to be identified as an Arab as we still can trace our paternal clan which is an Arab clan. Zaynab is the name of one among the mother of believers which refers to lady Zaynab bt. Jahsh and also the name of the daughter of Ali r.a and Fatima r.a. Our people would mostly name their children with the name such as Ali, Hassan, Hussain, Zayn al'abiddin, Zaydi, Ja'afar, Hanbal, 'Adnan, Haydar and others because it reflects our religious and cultural identity. Only for myself, I have the name which is different to others but still with the initial Muhammad like other Muslim boys. And I use the identification Servant of the God when people trying to get to know me as I wanted to be known as anonymous.

The area Gujrat is not the Gujarat in India. But it was the Gujrat which was a city in Punjab province in nowadays Pakistan. Still, people there were in contact with those from Gujerat in the nowadays India because of the similarity in jurisprudence school, the school of Shafi'ie and they spread out from the area through the sea port in Gujarat. Back then, there were no Pakistan. So, we only identify the place with India. The first language that we were taught were Arabic and Indian Urdu, of course with some Dari (Hill Persian) words infiltering the vocabulary. And I could understand Urdu or Hindustani without even have to go and stay in Pakistan or India but I pretend like I did not understand it when the kids who introduced me to Tabligh Jama'at in the Bengal mosque simply because I am offering an honor for them to introduce me to their movement. I did not even follow the elder brother of my mother to his Tabligh Jama'at markaz because my father did not allow me to be there but I follow the kids because I see something in some of the kids. I mean I do not see something like paranormal but it is more to the premonitions. It is more to logic and scientific though I am not good in academics nor studying in science stream. I hate it when some other kids talking to me like I am some kind of an exorcist! That's hurt!   

Many people especially from the JT movement would be thinking that the respective Hanafi school of jurisprudence is associated with people in Pakistan today or India. Perhaps that is mostly true. Well, let me tell people something. Sindh which was opened again by the Umayyad caliphate troop is also an area populated by the adherents of Shafi'ie jurisprudence. When the Fatimid Da'ie al-Mutlaq took over the area in 9th century as the Fatimid were the Ismaili Shi'a government, they still adhere to the Shafi'ie jurisprudence while some were the adherents of Maliki and Hanbali jurisprudence. The school of jurisprudence is not something which people can be proud of. It is a branch of science itself where the scholars doing researches in order to help the public in performing their religious duties while living a life as a worshiper of the God the Highest. When we study something, we have to respect the science by finishing a "lesson" first before turning to other lessons.  

Indian sub-continent also left a print mark in our identity and history. One of the Hussain r.a grandson, Zayd bin Ali Zayn al-'Abiddin was born of an Indian mother. His mother was from Sindh. And he was killed by an Umayyad governor in a battle with Umayyad caliphate after a revolt. His skeleton was burn to ashes under the order of caliph Walid bin Yazid bin Abd al-Malik bin Marwan around 126 H (745 CE). Many of our people (Arabs) fled to India since 10th century while some were soldiers stationed in 17th century Mughal empire before being employed again by southern kingdoms which also includes the Muslim kingdoms in Malayan Peninsula. And that is how our ancestors arrived in Northern Malaysia today few hundred years mingling among the clans or marrying other North Indians with Arabian ancestry (Umayyad, Abbasid or Fatimid Arabs) before the British came. Only today, especially our women become very very modernized and they neglect the customs which opposes them to marry people out of our religious and cultural background. Some married the Malays, some married Indians (Southern Indians), some married Chinese men just like the men married women of other racial background in the previous years.

Back then there was no Pakistan nor India. There was no Bangladesh. We only got the news about British India before the partition of the sub-continent happened. I grow up in Chinese surrounding Kuala Lumpur, while at home I was exposed to 60s Hindustani movies as my father loves it so much... hehe..

I sometimes would listen to these oldies songs. They remind me to my bedridden father. He loves these Hindustani songs especially of the late Muhammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Sometimes when I feel bored and only smile at my father face because he cannot speak anymore. Other than that I just pray to the God the Highest may He helps and protects everyone....

Sealed with prayers for mercy peace and love, amin!

Twilight Saga II: Breaking Dawn

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

I just returned like 50 minutes ago from the theater watching the movie Breaking Dawn about the vampire thingy with a friend. Anyway he treats me with the ticket so first of all as a sign of gratitude, thank you. You shouldn't have it. I think I would love to be the first to treat people but when they treat me I feel just... Guilty and a little bit shy because it is not our right by rites or traditions...

The movie is still lingering about the characters such as the "vegetarian" Cullen family with the main hero, that British, Pattinson guy as Edward and Kirsten Stewart as Bella. In this second part of the saga, it shows briefly that Bella was transformed into a vampire by her husband, Edward. So, she could feel herself the obsession of being a white pale vampire. She also has daughter with her husband and giving birth to her when she was a human. Her name is Renesmee played by Mackenzie Foy. When Edward and Bella returned to their house, they founded that Jacob (Taylor Lautner) has an imprint on their daughter. I checked what does that mean. It means that the wolf gazed at the baby and had fallen in love with her. Then it is about the battle that nearly broken among the two sides of vampires and the werewolves because of misunderstanding. It also shows the battle scene but it is just a prophecy by Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) that Volturi or the Chief of Vampire Council would also be killed in the battle if he still insist to kill the half-vampire little girl who is Renesmee.

There are vampires of various nationalities involved in the scene where they allied to face Volturi. Two vampires from Romania had said that they waited for 1500 years to seek revenge on Volturi. But I am not sure what was their grudge with the chief. Maybe it is like a pact of Protestant vampires who protesting the centralized Catholic orders with the help of a Coptic vampire, lol. It was a peaceful ending anyway but the chief implies that there would be future battle where they would destroy the Cullen coven in Forks.

I did not really understand the movie when I watched it because I did not watched the first saga so kind of like puzzling what the hell is happening? I did not really watch the movies because it seems like too much of feminine fantasy. But I love the way they present the movie in the beginning. How I wish I know how to make my own videos with some computer knowledge and editing skill but too bad I am not so good in technical field and also bad with computer skills. It perhaps could serve to explain about my faith and belief. Also on cultures or environment surrounding me and what makes me a S.i.R since I do not like to be interviewed or discovered by people but love to cover my face when talking, using symbolization and appear like a hapless beggar or just among "people" in front others... lol... Thank you for stumbling by this humble site. Lord bless with much love...

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!   

An Arab Peranakan Schooling Memories

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

  

Alhamdulillah all praises due only to Allah. I just had my supper with some drinks. Just had a walk outside for fresh night air and drink some tea that I bought from Indian department store. I just had some splash of memories when sitting alone under the tree at the soccer field behind the department store. So, I am just writing it again as it also has connection to previous posts about our education system.

When I was a little child, I was put in the mosque supervised by the federal territory religious authority maybe when I was around five to six years old. Before that, I was also educated back at home and in our villages at times when we spend holiday by the elders during religious occasion which is also treated as family meeting. Basically we are familiar with the way of salat performance according to Shafi'ie school of jurisprudence and we were also taught with few orthodox practices in salat which could actually be omitted or practiced if we know the evidence according to sunnah chains or hadiths. We were taught with the life of prophet Muhammad s.a.w through occasions known as qaseedah. I don't know if qaseedah is haram according to people of other movements but they are not mentioned by elders as mandatory but being presented to people around as a way to teach everyone about the life of the noble prophet s.a.w. There are many ways to teach religion to people without being so puritan and stiff but still in accordance to the Quran and Sunnah such as nasheed, lectures, poetry, kitab recitations with everyone, explanations of tafseer and others.  

Pre-School Education

I had problem then with Islamic nursery teachers because of difference in cultural traits. I am a peranakan Jawi and we're not purely thinking or behaving like Malays especially we're of northern Malaysian states and around early 1990s the situation is quite different as nowadays when media in our country widely exposing people around with northern Malayan cultural traits in movies and dramas. By the way Jawi here in northern Malayan Peninsula refers to people of Arabia especially Yemen and Northern Indian with Arab origin of the past from Gujarat which also includes those from Persian empire but speaking in fluent classical Malay language with lots of Arabic and Persian words. Now this term is also extended to include Indian Muslim from Southern India because they began to marry our women after independence from British. So, I refuse to identify myself as Jawi Peranakan anymore but using Peranakan Arab as a precise ethnicity identification. Jawi also refers to Arabic script used to write religious books in Malay language in South East Asia. It is almost the same thing as Hui is used to refer to Chinese speaking Muslims in China because they paternally were of Persian, Turkish or Arab origin of the past. I skipped the pre-school education for a year and I enjoyed watching TV at home, haha. 

Primary School

I was enrolled in national primary school when I was seven I guess around 1993. I didn't know how to read and write roman script but I can write and read Arabic script since my mother and grandma taught me at home using the script. My grandma till her deathbed could never read roman script. I began to be influenced by Chinese culture when I was around this age and it continues because the area I lived at that time was the area populated with Chinese community. The school that I went was known as Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu 3 1/2, Cheras in Kuala Lumpur. I can't even remember when I began to speak in Chinese language though I was not educated in Chinese national type primary school like three of my elder sisters, haha. I mingled with non-Muslim Chinese at the neighborhood and my mother also has Chinese relatives in Perlis. In the evening, we were sent to state religious authority supervised primary religious school. 

So basically we learned Islamic education twice a day. In secular school we learned Islamic Education and simple Fardh 'Ain lessons while in religious evening school we learned subjects such as: 

1. Tawheed which refers to Islamic monotheism

2. Akhlaq or noble morality and ihsan 

3. Fiqh which deals with Islamic jurisprudence for daily life disciplines from the school of Imam Shafi'ie

4. Tajweed and Qira'at for Quranic recitation in Arabic

5. Arabic language 

I had problem with lessons as the way they taught in the evening religious school is so different to what we're taught at home. We recognized the dots at the as nuqta and the baris atas, baris mati, depan bawah were confusing for me. I was taught by elders at the village and home with fatha, kasra and damma. The way they pronounce Arabic words seem so complicated while we don't have to pronounce them with difficulties because we integrate Arabic words in spoken Malay and we only alter the pronunciations when talking with Malays to make them feel comfortable. To tell brothers and sisters, I hate both religious school and secular schools equally. I had no problem in literacy as I am quite fast in term of recognizing letters and symbols. I studied in Kuala Lumpur for two and half years before shifting to Kedah Darul Aman. My parents always thinking to return to Kedah state as that is the only home for them and our grandparents live there our ancestors tomb and graves are there. We as children also viewed the state as our only home. My father was offered a position in Wisma Darul Aman to serve the state under the chief minister, Mr. Usman 'Arof.

In Kedah, I was registered in the school known as Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Ahmad Tajuddin in Jitra, the Kubang Pasu district town around the end of 1995. My first ancestors' mausoleum is in this town. I didn't have time to spend with friends or making good friends with school mates and in Kedah state I didn't have evening religious school like in Kuala Lumpur. We lived like refugees. I only made one good friend known as Saiful when I was in standard four. My father also tried to open up a business which is a photo shop in Jitra town just in front of Taman Indera. But we end up having problem to roll the capital. Our relatives who worked there had stolen the money for their own usage without being recorded in the account, the tax imposed on us by state tax office came in no time and we had no modern machine to print out pictures. We were the only "Muslim" photo shop at that time in the midst of non-Muslim photo shop dominated by Chinese community. In school I was viewed by my classmates as outsider though I spoke in fluent Kedah Malay. It was not easy back then to fit our selves. 

In the mid of 1996, my father packed up his things when the chief minister position was held by Mr. Sanusi Junaid and not Mr. Usman anymore. I am not sure there was election or not at that time or just the end of term and why my father was so honest for not offering his self to the new chief minister. So, my father has to return to his old company in Jalan Riong as he was jobless being a reporter. We lived in Hulu Langat and I was schooled in Sekolah Kebangsaan Batu. 9. I was also forced by especially my mother to be registered in evening religious school and at that time I was in standard five. Again I had to face problem to fit in and schools were so tormenting for a half and one year. Early at that time, I hardly could mingle with other pupils around. Even in the evening religious school, I was insinuated by few Javanese kids (they're children of newly arrived immigrants from Indonesia in Selangor state) and I was like confused with the syllabus related to Arabic and Quranic recitation. Some of my classmates during standard six that I could still remember were Naim, Aladin, Felix, Shanmukam and Mastura. Perhaps they're married with children now, lol. In the evening religious school I could still remember Azli because this boy was quite nice to talk with and he sits beside me. There were also three boys in my class who were like a cocky trio and I hate them. Perhaps they thought that they were popular or girls were attracted to them as they were achievers in school, rich and looked nice. I was not good in school because I was interrupted with the shifting periods and I didn't know how to fit myself as a traveler beside no one guide me. I learned basically through experience and environment.   

Lower Secondary School

My mother was worried because once I finished the national primary school, my name was sent together with other students in the school to secondary school known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perimbon near Kajang. I didn't even get the chance to be a student there as my mother quickly urged my father to ask his elders where they could put me as she afraid I would also be a punk. She heard that the students in the school were notorious with bad students and there were teachers who told her about this. 

So, my father was advised by his elders to put me in the al-Alawiya madrasah in Arau, Perlis state. The school located close to Perlis Royal Palace, the Perlis Royal Family Tomb Complex, the Arau Masjid, the Arau Police station and behind was the rail way. Then off I was sent to further north of Malaysia. I began to hate my own family because we understood that those who were sent to madrasah were usually bad kids. I didn't understand what exactly was my fault? 

In Perlis also I began to be exposed to Buddhism of Theravada teachings when I did not return to my grandparents house but I went to the Thai Buddhist monasteries. I met a monk one day in a bus to Sungai Petani and he invited me to visit the monastery in Yan after I told him I didn't know where to go. I tried to go down to Sungai Petani because I didn't like to hear other maternal relatives who came by and cynically talking shits to me while they weren't even close to me or know how I feel to live like a refugee. From that incident I began to be exposed to Buddhism and its monastic teachings. When I told some Tabligh kids about this experience they asked me whether I was hypnotized by black magic? I just laugh to them. I was aware about environment around and I did not being a Buddhist in a blink of eyes. It happened stage by stage and I made notes for Buddhism studies. I had disposed those mantras and kathas before I went to pilgrimage in holy Mecca in 2005. 

In the madrasah, I made friend with a Chinese-Thai guy too in the madrasah known as Sufian. His mother was a Thai citizen but lived in Ipoh. Then he began to be cocky so I left him and changing dorm. I was there only for about a year and totally a loner in the school. I didn't join group of students. The madrasah was part of Insaniah corporation and was operated with students monthly fees. At that time, the madrasah was all-boys school. The religious subject teachers were educated from Umm al-Qura in Mecca, al-Azhar in Egypt and Jordan. The level when I was there is known as the I'dadi level. Religious science subjects were taught in Arabic and the level there was actually higher than the level of the second year in other states' religious schools. Before me, senior students studied even secular academic subjects in Arabic. At my time they just imposed Arabic as an obligatory language during certain selected days and only during school time. They frequently organizing night prayers known as Qiyaam al-Layl and I always skip them by hiding under the roof in the toilet, haha. 

Then my mother began to feel something wrong happened to me and came by to the madrasah after she heard that I was not at school waiting for my older cousin brother who worked in the canteen in the Arau UITM. She immediately shifted me to Selangor state religious secondary school known as Sekolah Menengah Agama Hulu Langat in Batu 10 and it was a painful application because I was from a private madrasah. I painfully trying to coup up with academic and religious science studies until 2000 and being divided with other students into streams. I had no close friends in school and I also had many kind of classmates in the school such as transvestite she-male students, demon worshiper students who were just a group of attention-seekers or wannabes acting like die-hard fans of black metal music band, pornographic videos seller students, politicians like students and others.

In 2001, I was divided into Shari'a stream. At that time I knew that I was not good in secular academics but more inclined to religious sciences. It has no place in society and my class was the last class placed on the top of the roof and located beside stinky not well-managed toilet. Around 1960's or 1970's perhaps religious studies are not a big deal. They existed separately but in parallel with secular studies in Malayan Peninsula. The schools for religious studies were separate from secular schools where those who went to religious school were dropped from "national monitoring authority". They were operated under sufi order frameworks and initiated by religious teachers skilled in Islamic sciences. But in 1990s up to 2000, where the Vision 2020 being a hit topic popularized by our leader who was talking about the quest in order to build up a developed country and look East policy which emphasized on the Japanese technology and their culture. It means that we had to deny our inclinations and capacity to suit the pattern of society. Secular studies and science being greatly highlighted until it overshadow us in our own place.

Now those in Europe please give attention to this and you can see what happened to us. We are talking about our history track just like those in the European Middle Ages going through Renaissance age. Around this time I began to be greatly influenced by Buddhism teachings and I even contacted Chinese Buddhist monks of Mahayana traditions while being a Muslim teenage. I tied Buddhist strings at my wrist again around 2000. Those in Europe perhaps had little contact with civilizations but here we are in contact with various oriental civilizations, philosophies and religions.

Higher Secondary School

I was humiliated by other school mates along with our unfortunate classmates and I fought discipline teacher when I was in form four around the early of 2001 because he said harsh things to us. Shari'a stream class ranked the last ranking in all streams hierarchy. There were four classes for form four students at the school in that time. The first ranking is the science stream, the second is economy, the third was geography and the last was the shari'a stream. When we walked passed the first ranking class, the teacher inside the class would insinuate us and looking to us like bunch of dogs in the "religious" school. I studied Shari'a, Usuluddin, National Language, English, Higher Classical Arabic, Arabic for communicative purpose, History, Maths and Account in our class. There was the lack of teachers because nobody care about us while we had to face Fourth Thanawi exam and the next year O-Level (SPM). So, I made up my mind and applying to technical school in Kajang because my mother said that she did not want to see me in normal secular school. I actually suffered more in the technical school but I can't return to the old school. I just went on until 2003 and I got the result equal to third grade in the previous generation's O-Level (SPM). 

The exam means a lot for young students at that time because we think that the only way to survive in the future. To survive was only by confining our selves to the leader's notion of vision 2020 and studying something which has to be related to the vision. And I was also a stupid kid who still play honest in the midst of bad students because they also cheated in the O-Level exam while there were also monitors around. I thought of many ways to die after taking the result at school and I just kept my silence without talking to anyone at home or around. I almost killed myself by starving it for days in deep Buddhist-Hindu meditation just to clear up my mind. I thought and believed that if I died in meditation I would be incarnated in brahmalogam (higher soul world) and would never endure sufferings anymore. I made a note and wrote to my family for my empty body to be cremated if I died. If they are ashamed then they could just send it away to any monastery without witnessing anything. But while meditating my mother had broken the room door with an axe. She forced me to eat and put beside me a Muslim prayer book. After that I just lay idle without any emotion or feeling anymore. 

In the middle of 2004, there was a call for national service program. So I was sent to Terengganu and being viewed by people around as a problematic teenager because people understood kids being sent to places through the program were bad kids. In this time period I began to read again religious sciences book. I just read and practiced again from the very beginning, step by step. I also went to High School. Perhaps I had talked about my experience there.               

Close the Treatise

So, this was the story of a Muslim Arab Peranakan youngster in Malayan Peninsula. Facing identity crisis and problem in order to fit well in society around. I did not have any close friends around to tell my problem or feelings when I was young not even to my parents or sisters because men and women function differently though still the same human-being. Until now it is still the same and I am used to it by time. Nobody is sympathetic to us but Allah is the only One who gives His full attention to us. Just the environment and the world hinder us to "see" how caring He is to us. 

About how I feel when being sent to madrasah or pondok melele, I am sure many who experienced this in 1990s would feel the same and understood what I am talking here, hehe. One thing that made me feel weird was when I saw kids of bombastic courses in university for example petro-chemical, geophysics, and etc who joined Tabligh Jama'at or Wahhabi-Salafi movements regardless what is their political inclinations whether to the coalition or to the opposition sides in our country. Even if they were from "religious school" but their streams were totally different to the unpopular "Shari'a stream" where I was kicked into with other "academically" incapable students in "religious secondary schooling time". Shari'a students were seen as retards by teachers, political leaders because they could just play around with religious authority for their influence on public and those of the "higher caste" streams students also looked down on us because we only learned about "the hereafter" thus making us imbalanced in everything in this world. So, when they face sad or bad incidents in their life or growing older, they would return to religion or Islam? Then talking like they're with the authority to issue "rulings" while the Shari'a was not their line since their early time and being looked down upon. People actually spit on the face of Shari'a students even in countries where Muslims are predominantly living and the notion about balanced life of dunia and akhirat is not truly displayed by people because we were only functioning for influential people to get reference to implant their influence or maybe useful in certain occasions related to wedding or death. We feel that we had no self-esteem and shy when talking to people. So, we keep our silence when there are people boasting about but that does not mean that we don't know anything. This is how we feel and I am telling it to the world. Our elders feel the same too when they saw the same thing happening in 1960s and 1970s which developed to today's situation. 

When reflecting about what happened in the past, in the society, in the global world, I just think that this world is nothing but just a test. Those notions of a "developed" country or being recognized by other "modern" countries are just stupid things being repeated throughout the history of man-kind. The world is closer to resurrection day by day for people who believe in Allah's promises.

What is the use to chase all of those things? To chase gold and money? For pride? To boast around to other human? To be rich? To be comfortable? How long are we going to live in this Earth? When the Earth dissolves as the the Day of Religion come, they are all of no use. Truly what ancient sages had taught man-kind about simple life and being moderate in everything. Allahu A'alam and Allah knows everything better than us who are just His servants.  

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace and love, amin!   

Hindi Movie : I Hate Luv Storys

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Perhaps when we look physically orthodox, people might judge us as a person who prays all the time and only visiting masjids. Yes, I visit masjids and religious teachers to get blessings but I am not an angel. I am just a human-being and I look at others as human-being too. That is why I always lament my sins. Angels have no sins. They have no choice but only to exercise Lord's commands. I watch movies too and I am not only watching movies from Eastern Asia but also from South Asia. 

I mingle also with ungodly people and also going in and out non-Muslim Chinese restaurants. I walked inside temples and churches talking with people there. I followed second sister to concerts before though I don't like her favorite singers, hehe. I listen to all sort of musics and also asked my ex-colleague about metal musics because I was ignorant about these kind of underground musics before. I also watch theaters and also brought my friends to cultural festivals when I was an undergraduate student. I just become like this because I am struggling to fit myself in the studies and the level which I found is not suitable for me. On the other hand, my paternal relatives mostly aren't observant Muslims as compared to my maternal relatives who are more traditional according to how close they are to their religious community. Some of them would come to the extend that they are Islamic than others due to that they actually take their culture as their religion in case of Malay descents relatives. This also happens everywhere around the world. Like yesterday, my senior Azren also talked to me that her mum didn't believe that the cuisine made by Chinese Muslim in China are halal though the person who prepare the cooking is a Muslim just because he looks Chinese and the cooking looks Chinese and in Malaysia most Chinese people are non-Muslim. I guess maybe Azren is referring to Rasa Halal Oriental program hosted by Farah. We always talk about this problem and stigma in our society. Ignorance about what is culture and what is religion is widespread. 

I don't really mingle with other orthodox (traditional?) Muslims because I am way more open than them and I am afraid they will be affected with heart-attack if they see how I mingle with ungodly people because these people usually are not scared of me nor looking at me like a freak. We are in the middle of these areas of East and West and we are people in diaspora. This movie I would like to recommend to others who does not like typical Hindu movie. How I was introduced to Hindi movies? Let me tell everyone about how I know Urdu-Hindi and its movies or songs. 

Introduction to Hindi Movies in Malayan Peninsula

During 1950's and 1960's, our state begin to have access with North Indian and Pakistani cinemas. Before that rich people (Arab descents) can watch Arabian movies (very rare) from Syria and from Egypt. Most of the time older people around this times listening to Arabian music. At this time Malaysia is still in the process. My state was included as apart of Malayan Peninsula and later Malaysia through a forced agreement with British in 1948. They forced our royalty and Sultan to sign the treaty with them through legal terms. My lecturer always say, Europeans using legal terms to trick others. I guess this is what they mean but this is our old stories.

This is from the biography of my dad. He was a writer and he wrote also for a Malay newspaper. His Malay language was quite poetic as compared to us who are his kids, hehehe. I am only good in our state language. Diaspora people have to survive in this way where we have to speak languages of people around. Just look at Indians or Bangladeshis in Mamak restaurants. How do they learn Malay language? It is not actually easy if we learn it through classes but these people could quickly speak in our national language and also understand slang and dialects without being provided with classes. I was introduced to Hindi-Urdu movies by my own dad. Though we are of Arab origin but our ancestors did not come directly from Arabia. They came from India and Pakistan before the lines were drawn to divide sub-Indian continent. The line was known as Durand Line and also Radcliffe Line. Radcliffe Line was drawn to separate India from Pakistan and Durand Line was drawn to separate Afghanistan from Pakistan. If we talk about India, we actually refer to pre-independent India and Indian states with sultans. Kedah Sultanate has relationship with Indian Sultanates and they exchanged artisans, architects and also receiving teachers from Indian Sultanates and states particularly from Gujarat since it was a post for Arab soldiers from Pakistan beside those from Arabia. We were also connected with Burma.   

My dad loves many evergreen Hindi movies. He was largely influenced by Indians and his eating style is also like Indian. He takes curry and he loves Mamak restaurant stuffs. As compared to me, I and some of my sisters were largely influenced by Chinese community around us. When he always listen to Hindi songs and movies it also indirectly influence us although we do not actually know about all of these stuffs. Later, when we always listen and watch them through media, we grabbed the language. Dad even sings Hindi songs at our ears when we are going to sleep. If he do it now perhaps I will offend him by asking him why not reciting Quranic verses at my ears? LOL. 

Many actors in Hindi movies and Pakistani movies are also of Arabian descent such as Amir Khan. I could recite all of their names without stop and I know Urdu poems and songs. When Tabligh kids bring me to their lectures, I actually can understand what has been said by the preachers in Urdu without any translation but I just don't tell them I know what has been said. I just can't speak it because I never speak in the language. However, I am familiar with the sounds.  Urm I can speak it if I am forced too and might not be as fluent as when I was a little child.

The difference between peranakan people with native people, we are largely open to foreign atmosphere because of our foreign origin. We don't have to translate everything like in Thailand, Cambodia or Indonesia and that is why we see Malaysia is like today because it is also populated by peranakan people beside 19th century immigrants of British colonial times. British empire favors laissez-faire multiculturalism. People like us live in cities and urban areas disconnected from relatives. Some might move to villages if they encounter problem in cities but after that they will die early because they will experience pressure in the villages, hehehe. When I make friend with Aftab which was my neighbor and also Abdul Baqi from Pakistan, they actually speak to me in Urdu but my dad don't like me to mingle with Abdul Baqi because he does not like the Pashtuns. Only Abdul Baqi is good in Malay and speaks to me in Malay but I also didn't really mingle with that guy. I only played badminton with him. He thinks that he is good-looking and charming to the girls, hahaha. I just went to Friday prayers with them. I don't know why he does not like Pashtuns but its like their habit that Pashtuns being hated by other ethnics of sub-Indian continent. I look everyone as human-being. And yeah I am familiar with Hindu caste system because though we are Muslims we are also included into Hindu caste system as barbarians.

Synopsis

Now enough with the introduction. This movie is mainly about two characters just like other typical Hindi movies. One is Jay Dhingra played by Imran Khan. This guy is actually the nephew of Amir Khan. Another one is Simran played by Sonam Kapoor. Jay works in a Film company as an assistant director. He does not like his job because the producer or perhaps the director of the film love to produce romance movies like always in India. He feels the movies are typical and boring.

Jay met a girl at a cinema when he was ordered by his boss to watch some movies to get ideas on new romance films. He just forced to go there and he does not interested in all of those romance movies. The girl happened to be Simran who will be his future senior in the office. Both of this characters contrast each other. Jay hates love story and he believes not in love. He is also a playboy. In the beginning he talks with Simran, he thinks that Simran is not so interesting as she is obsessed with romance and love. Simran also thinks that Jay is too loud and bolt. Soon, they become best friends despite of differences.

Simran close bond with Jay brings problems in her love live with her dream fiance, Raj. She later feels that Raj is too perfect. He silently falls in love with Jay as his characteristic is quite cheerful and crazy. She tries to confess her feeling to Jay but after doing so, Jay explains that he never thought of Simran in that way. They are just friends. Simran was so heartbroken and she feels embarrassed of herself. She moves from Mumbai to New Zealand for further shooting of a film and its premiere. She does not tell Jay about her shifting. 

Sooner or later, Jay finds that Simran's absence in his life upsets him. He realizes that he has also fallen in love with Simran. The the song bin tere (without you) being played, hahaha. He goes to New Zealand and plans a romantic dinner asking Simran to meet him. He admits that he loves her but this time, he was rejected by Simran, hahahahaha. I laughed at this scene with my little sister when we watched this in Astro Hindi channel. Simran says that she does not want to hurt her fiance feeling after giving him another chance. Jay was brokenhearted and disappointed. He had lost Simran to Raj who he always think as pathetic, hehehe.

However, Jay's friends and his mum persuade him not to give up on Simran. Jay tries to make Simran jealous by paying Giselle (Bruna Abdullah) to act as his girlfriend. Then, he realizes that manipulating Simran feeling is only hurting her even more. In the same time, Raj proposes Simran and she accepts it. Later, she realizes that she does not love Raj. He tells him the truth. She goes to movie premiere hoping to see Jay there but Jay already trying to leave to United States as he has given up all hopes on Simran.

Raj was scolded by his mum at the airport. His mum says: "I gave birth to a son, not a girl to cry over girl like this! Go and get her if you are a man!!!" So, mum actually encourages him to return back to the cinema at the premiere. He meets Simran there. They both express their true feeling to each other. It is a happy ending unlike in Tamil (South Indian) movies, haha.    

About the Movie

I think it is only for me to relax. Some of the dialogue are actually quite dirty and talking about sex. I don't really feel or think anything misleading because I also talked about this with friends during undergraduate. My colleague and hostel mate also talk about masturbating when they take shower. Sorry girls, if you feel shy please dont read this part but it's already written, hahaha. This is just a fact. I also know what girls in girls hostel doing because they also talked to me. People would never ever expect that kids from Northern part of Kedah state are quite vulgar. I was born in Central Kedah and we usually speaking high-level and polite speech as compared to villagers who speak in vulgar languages. I love the part when they say: "Idhar udhar ki baate wagera wagera..." (walking here and there talking whatever... whatever) and also the song which sounds like koi humme pyaare karo koi jaane saare baate... ahaakkk... basically it means for the one that we love, we'll say/do anything to make him/her turn to you, lolllll.....

My colleague during undergraduate time also forced me to watch blue-porn videos a day before Ramadan. I guess when I was in my first year. I don't like it but they already locked the door and many people outside there after we chat among each other. I just stayed there praying in my heart for colleagues. After that I returned to my room and just praying repentance prayer service and not sleeping the whole night flipping myself with my belt. I also prayed for colleague. I didn't offend them because they are already grown up men around 20-21 years old. They also didn't fast. These are the people that I mingled with. I didn't mingle with Tabligh kids or Pusat Islam (Muslim brotherhood) students. These 'religious' kids also categorizing me as ungodly people and I am praying for these ungodly people and also for myself because nobody would ever try to approach them and I just accept them with open hands when they come to me because I know the feeling of being an outcast : ) 

What my little sister thinks? She only looks at the guy's face and dreaming, hahahahaha..... Girls.... I think people may watch this movie them selves. Just relax and find one with English translation. If no English translation, don't worry cause they also use a huge amount of English words, haha. This is one way on peranakan people entertaining themselves and the type of movies that they watch. Malay people also watch these because they mingle with us and marrying our people besides other North Indian ethnics of non-Arab origin also watch these. It's their culture, haha.  

Sealed  with prayers of mercy, peace and love, amin!

但願人長久

Assalaamu'alaikum wa rahmatullah

Video courtesy of musicboxforever

A bit secular post, hahaha. Never learn Chinese formally at school but I understood this poem, haha. I think modern Chinese sometimes is blurry in my head because we developed our version of Chinese here despite of other Chinese communities surrounding us who also have their own kind of Chinese. Sometimes I just use Chinese in writing but speaking in other language like Japanese do, haha. Even in certain extent, I didn't speak Chinese to avoid dialectical problem while other counter-speaker is still speaking in Chinese. My ex-colleague, Amir doesn't like Chinese too. He thinks that Chinese speakers only mingles around them and not so smart (look pathetic). However, this pathetic guy was also his classmate and his homie (I am also his fellow Kedah compatriot who speaks in Kedah Malay). Sometimes I just speak Chinese to make sure fellow Chinese friends feel comfortable with themselves and respecting them.

 明月幾時有 把酒問青天
不知天上宮闕 今夕是何年

我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影 何似在人間

轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟

我欲乘風歸去 唯恐瓊樓玉宇
高處不勝寒 起舞弄清影
何似在人間

轉朱閣低綺戶照無眠
不應有恨何事長向別時圓
人有悲歡離合 月有陰晴圓缺
此事古難全 但願人長久
千里共嬋娟

-  蘇軾

Hurmm, listening to the poem actually made me think that when we meet people around, we will also have to say farewell. I actually hate the fact that we just know everyone for a while and later go on separate ways after we introduce ourselves to each other, that's why I feel difficult to make friend with others if the time is so short because I am not an easy friend nor easily making friend with people around. Perhaps this poet also feels the same :'( However life is short. It's a test for everyone. Ya Allah, wa malas nak pi kelas isokk (I am lazy to go for class tomorrow, dear Lord)!

Sealed with prayers for mercy, peace, and love, amin!