Love Is In The Air...

When I was young, I used to listen to Engelbert Humperdinck's song, "Love is in the air" over the radio (if I'm not mistaken, it was him... or was it Tom Jones? Well, after all, it has been so long!) . What I'm going to write today is not about that song but on Malay (and Indonesian) love novels written lately.

Well, I guess, after the runaway success of THE novel written by Habiburrahman El Shirazy, titled "Ayat-ayat Cinta", all the other writers followed suit. Now, if you are in Dungun and you pay a visit to one of my favorite bookstores, Pustaka Seri Intan for example, there are an influx of "Cinta" books!

Now you have, among others, Muhammad Muhyidin's "Kasidah-qasidah Cinta"; Taufiqurrahman al Azizy's "Shahadat Cinta"; Anam Khoirul Anam's " Zikir-zikir Cinta"; Ramlee Awang Murshid's trilogy, "Bagaikan Puteri", "Cinta Sang Ratu" and "Hijab Sang Pencinta"; and also not to forget Ilham Hamdani's "Hidayah Cinta". If Habiburrahman El Shirazy wrote his novel revolving around Egypt and Indonesia, then Ilham Hamdani cleverly used Japan/Australia and Malaysia! By the way, it so happened that Habiburrahman was educated in Egypt while Ilham studied in (above all places) Japan!

Hmmm... That gave me an idea to write MY love story based on my student life in the USA... heh heh heh... When I mentioned this to my friend Zuraini Mat Issa, she gleefully said she will write her love novel based in the UK! So, after this, we can sort of expect an influx of love novels based in Monggolia, Africa, Europe or some other exotic places on earth ... hik hik hik...

One thing I am happy about these novels is that they all share one common thing: labelled as "novel pembangun jiwa", these novels are novels which I am not ashamed of and which I'd gladly buy for my children to read. Some how, honestly speaking, I think these writers have one common hidden purpose: to guide youngsters and the readers in general on how to love and to live their lives according to the sunnah of Ar Rasul saw (without appearing to preach too much...and that reminds me of errrr...heh heh heh...Madonna's song: "Papa don't preach"). If one reads these novels carefully, I think, one will come to the conclusion that come what may, the head that bows (or the one who kneels) to Allah, can stand up to anything! In Ramlee Awang Murshid's trilogy, the hero, Saifuddin Jalis is certainly every woman's dream. In fact, after reading "Ayat-ayat Cinta", if you are a mother like me, you'd wish to make the author your very own son-in-law! (Oooppps! By the way, it's only wishful thinking... just in case Habiburrahman's wife is saddened by my statement, my two daughters are not even 'baligh' (reached puberty) yet!).

Last week (when it comes to buying books, then I am the Sultan Of Brunei!!! I seldom hesitate to part with my money whenever I get hold of any interesting books) I bought another one more of Habiburrahman El Shirazy's string of novels titled "Dalam Mihrab Cinta". A recommended book indeed. I can only pray that Allah will some day bless me with some of Habiburrahman's creative writing ability, then surely I'll be among the happiest person on earth! One thing for sure, to be able to write like Habiburrahman, Ilham Hamdani or Ramlee Awang Murshid, one definitely has to read a lot first!

This Girl Has Turned Into A Woman

"Pa, can Ma wear a saree at home?", was the question I posted to my husband not so long ago. My husband's jaw dropped... He didn't expect that sort of question to come out from my mouth, I guess... hik hik hik... I couldn't help but laughed when I saw him too speechless to answer my question. Any how, I was just testing his response. I'm too short and too clumsy to wear a saree any way!

Well... Aishwarya Rai looked so beautiful in India's traditional costumes in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Hema Malini looked so graceful in a saree when she bathed her on-screen child in the film of yesteryears, Andaz (the one with the "Zindagi ek safar ek sahana" song in it). I doubt somebody clumsy like me can do something like that without getting 'my saree' all wet.

I can still recall when I was a newlywed, the first time my husband saw me demonstrating my cooking skills in the kitchen (I was a lousy cook then and I'm still a lousy cook now... my ex-Homescience teachers in Sekolah Menengah Dato Hj Hussein, Miss Batmavathy and Mrs Ambrose must be very dissapointed to hear this), he must have had the shock of his life. I'm a shopkeeper's daughter whose sundry shop is just asross the road to that one and only one mamak restaurant in my small town called Sungai Bayor. I spent my childhood watching all the friendly mamaks cooking my favorite pasembur and fried mee mamak, with their kain pelikat raised and tied at their waist in a certain way, where you can see their hairy legs while they were cooking your orders.

So, before I started to cook, I casually raised my kain batik just like those mamaks did, like I usually do as always without realizing that it posed as a shocker to my newlywed husband. He must have thought : "Alamak... what kind of Malay wife had I got married to?" Heh heh heh... Ours was a marriage arranged by friends and we didn't know each other that much, sort of Vanraj getting to know Nandini after marriage in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, with all sorts of shocking discoveries to be made after we got married heh heh heh hik hik hik...

Growing up with five elder brothers, I wasn't that lady-like at all. I didn't walk. I practically marched, immitating Mr Eoh Hook Kim's walk, my Standard Six very disciplined school teacher whom I looked up to a lot. I was always scolded by my fierce elder sister for playing with my brothers in the hot sun. I played games my brothers played. Rounders, badminton, hide and seek were among our favorite games. When they go swimming in the river or fishing, I tagged along and to my sister's dismay, I secretly took my sister's kain batik to 'sauk ikan'. Catching what we called 'ikan karim' (beautiful fighting fish found in padi fields), ikan haruan and ikan puyu were our favorite past times during my childhood. The only thing that I couldn't do was to climb coconut trees because I was afraid of heights! My sister nicknamed me "Tina Hangit" (my skin color was dark at that time due to prolonged exposure to the sun).

There was one incident I can fondly recall. After the wedding feast was over and all the guests had gone back, when I was left alone for the first time with my husband, we were starting to get to know each other better and some how the topic of our strengths and weaknesses cropped up. When it was my turn to talk about one of my strengths, I raised my sleeve, bent my right arm like Malek Noor usually posed for in his Mr Universe competitions and I proudly showed him my bulging biceps! My husband slapped his forehead, shook his head and gave a no no sound. That was only the tip of the iceberg, one of the many unexpected and unthinkable incidences he was to encounter after he became my husband. I guess there are not that many species like me he had met before heh heh heh... After all, he has seven siblings, all males!

Over the years, with my husband's patient guidance, and growing up watching lots of Hindi movies, I guess this girl has finally turned into a woman after all. Nowadays, blessed with also five sons, it's my turn to keep reminding my two daughters to behave like girls...

Damsels In Distress

When I was a little girl, I always make sure that I didn't wear anything red whenever I wanted to go to my uncles' houses in Kampong Garok, Sungai Bayor, Selama, Perak. There were many cows during my childhood days in Kampung Garok, and I was scared by their mere presence.

These Puteris in the picture above experienced an unexpected chase (what the late P. Ramlee must have called "cubaan!!").

A Star Is Born

I can't help but smile when I first watched this video clip. A Clark Gable in the making I supposed. Heh heh heh hehehe.... This baby is trained to be an actor indeed.

Masjid Kristal

This mosque was officiated by the DYMM Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin sometime in February 2008. I haven't had the opportunity to visit it yet but insya Allah I will one of these days.

Allah's Name Written In India's Sky

Someone was at the right place at the right time with a camera in hand to capture this simply amazing photo.... Allah's name written in the clouds in India's clear blue sky! Subhanallah. Masya Allah. Laa haulawala quwwata illa billahil 'aliyyil 'azeem!!!