Rambling on about my trip to Terengganu.

Walked through the Muzium Tuanku Fauziah at USM after what seems quite sometime not being here and the collections of antiquities hanging on the walls still calls to me to remind me of my own rich culture as a Malay, a Malaysian. I am moved to feel proud of my heritage as manifested here around me in the forms of the Shadow Puppets or Wayang Kulit and the Javanese face masks, the Hand Puppets from India and the stick puppets from Bali; these are some of the forms that has been handed down from my past. In the silence of the large rooms filled with traditional works of art and creativity I bowed before what is the Lord of Creation. I felt the awesomeness of the Malay weapons such as the Kris and the badik and the parangs and tombaks, it must have been tremendously hard to create these instruments in the old days working with simple tools of the time.
The Gendangs and Rebanas, the Mak Yong costumes and Gamilan Instruments brought back a piece of my past and as now they lay on the padestal locked in time and history, I could only imagine the beauty of their sounds and the joys they brought when I was a child growing up along the East Coast of Terenggnu. Among the few annual celebrations that was held by the folks living along the East Coast was what was known as 'Puja Pantai' or 'Main Pantai', a sort of harvesting festival after the harvest of rice. It was most probably the most joyous moments of the lives of the Malays young and old during those years as almost everyone leaves their homes as far as the interior and migrate to the beaches along the South China Sea to enjoy a National beach party! But the Religious Department puts a stop to this. It is against the Islamic Ways for the people to migrate to the sea to making offerings for prosperity and peace, for thanks giving and a joyful get together of the whole community of villages once every year, to just in short have fun. This is a major loss in the name of our cultural history, in the name of religion we have buried our way of life which had its positive impact much more than the negative.
For three days and nights during the 'Main pantai' or Beach Play like having fun in the sun on the sand and in the sea, the villagers would bring with them building materials to construct huts and lean tos, shacks and so fort in the form of bamboos and ratans and coconut leaves and pandan mats and the y will camp out on the beach. Cultural performances such as the Wyang Kulit or shadow plays and Mak yongsd the Kelantaneses form of opera and the dikir barat or the traditional choir of men shouting out songs whils in high spirits, will be performed while the audience will sit around on the sandy ground eating and drinking and simply enjoy the show till morning comes. Watching the Ramayana in it entirety for five nights in a row lasting five to six hours a night can be a challenge to one's span of attention and the Daland or Puppeteer's dexterity and high standard of performance. As it was performed out in the open, only rain could stop this show, otherwise you soon become a part of this epic journey of saving the queen Sita accompanying the Kinf Rama and his younger brother Lakhshaman and you are part of the troops of monkeys led by Hanuman. The rage of wars will keep you awake through the night as the two armies of Rama and Ravana met and here in lies the genius of the the puppet master.. the Dalang.
Today we could off course watch the whole real life performance of the Ramayana in different versions by three or four different production companies on You Tube, but it is never the same as when you sit underneath the start and all round you are folks with their babies asleep on mats and the parents absorbed in the show munching keropoks and rojak kateh and drinkinf Kopi O or teh O. Those were the originals and as original as it could get when enjoying the Shadow Play For this I bowed in gratefulnes before I left the exhibition rooms at MGTF. I walked by the exhibits saying hi to every object hanging along the walls with sad melancholy feeling as I know these arts will become extinct along with the rest of our cultural heritage that is disappearing all around us due to change. There is not much that can be done except to preserve what is left and make it available to the general public especially to school children in the form of extra curriculum..
Taking Georgetown as an example as a City being awarded the World Cultural Heritage Site, it is evident how the past still dominates the present in how it sees itself. Georgetown celebrates its colonial days and ways in the form of its major landmark structures that were left behind by the British. Today millions of dollars has been spent in renovation and preservation of these colonial era building all over the City. Although the former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir urged us to look East, Georgetown if not Penang will always look to the West.
My trip to the East Coast with Timo driving in my Kancil was invigorating to say the least as the challege is always there that the Kancil might break down anytime anywhere along the highway in the middle of the night, but still inside there is a trust in the will of my Maker to see me through with a safe passage.For over eight hours we drove through the night crossing the mountains of Banjaran Titiwangsa or the Titiwangsa Range, the spine of the Malay Peninsular, to get tot he East Coast and along the way we spotted three elephants along the side of the highway, two adults an a juvenile, they were all white in color from having wallowed in the mud earlier most probably. I enjoy driving along the this part of the east West Highway especially when I am doing it alone. Timo stayed awake to keep me company most of the way and most probably a little bit perturbed at my ability to court danger.
I enjoy night driving as the cool weather is not too hard on the car and there allot less traffic and there is no need to use the airconditioning which saves on gas and gives more power to the engine. I realize fully the dangers of night driving and am very sensitive to every shift of light in front of me as an indicator of on coming traffic.I also hold to be true that if you intend to overtake a vehicle in the dark be courteous to the vehicle ahead by observing all good practices such as when to use high or low lights and to be sure to use the indicators such that the driver ahead is fully aware of what you intend to do and make way for you; respect and proper etiquette is recognized even in darkness, Bismillah!