Pulau Ketam - the scenes

Though it's a small island, it yields many pleasant surprises. Not having the kind of land we have on the mainland forces people to be creative. All the houses are built on stilts of course, and the roads inside the island do not allow passage of cars anything larger than a bike (though we did see some carts driven by diesel motors). Cycling is the most wheeled transport.

People painted their houses in various bright colours. We saw blue houses, orange houses, purple (or is it lavender) houses, and many other colours. Their taste in colour would certainly shock our staid housing developers!

The air is fresh and invigorating, a rarity in the smog and haze-filled air of the cities. Life forms that we were not familiar with thrived on this island. I mistook mudskippers for newts (thanks Kok Cheng). Wooden bridges, some still solid, some a little rickety, formed a significant part of the transportation "system". Gradually, they are being replaced by concrete pathways. (Which I regret somewhat, as it diminishes that old village charm).

There is also a shipyard where wooden ships are made by hand. Will this art form survive the ravages of modernisation? Will Pulau Ketam as a whole be able to withstand being buffetted by the winds of change?

See more of these photos on my Facebook albums at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113438&id=606887744&l=cf8c57057b 

http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/

Pulau Ketam - the people

Last Saturday (19/9/2009), I went with a group of photo enthusiasts to Pulau Ketam, off the coast of Klang to carry out a photo shoot. There were all in 27 of us, quite a big group and we were split up into three groups. This was my first time participating in a shoot like that.

My group started our photo-journey from the other end of the island , as opposed to the other two groups. Our end of the island was pretty quiet, and we walked for a little while before we could see anyone. Even then, we were hesitant to talk to them. Oh ya, we had a little “assignment”, that is, the theme of this photo-shoot was “People”.

My team-mates are more photographers than writers, so I guess they were a little shy when it came to talking to strangers spontaneously. But I’ve been doing that for some time now, so I had to do something before we “failed” this assignment.

I approached a man who was cleaning up the outside of his house, and just greeted him in Mandarin. I beckoned two of my team-mates over. Then we started talking to Mr. Pang, the owner of the place. We asked him pretty general questions about where he was from and all that. Soon, we warmed up to each other. He also didn’t mind us taking photos of him close up. After talking to him for a while, we thanked him for his kindness and moved on.

My team-mates soon got used to the idea of talking to random strangers. They had linguistic skills that I didn’t have which enabled us to carry out conversations that I couldn’t have done.

We talked to six or seven people along our journey, and they were all really friendly. One of them, Mrs. Lim, even invited us into her home and served us drinks. To us city people, that was really a big deal! She wanted to serves us some of her home-grown fruits, but they were not ripe yet. We were really grateful for her hospitality.

Over all, it was a wonderfully memorable experience. We were received warmly as we probably couldn’t have been in the city. There were no pretences, no hidden agendas, no end to serve. We were just having heart-to-heart dialogue.

The promise of a better life elsewhere has lured young people off the island. Some years back, the population of Pulau Ketam peaked at around 20,000 people. Today, only a third of that is left. Fishing, which is the main economic activity of this village, is becoming more difficult noawadays, what with pollution and environmental changes affecting the harvesting of fishes.

The people of Pulau Ketam consider their island backward, but I believe that material advancement is not the most important thing in life. It is that warm, honest heart-to-heart bonds among humans that matter the most. They may not have much, they can sleep easily at night (except when there are floods), and they don’t even close the doors when they sleep. That’s how much they trust each other.

I had an extremely fruitful trip that day; it left me with a deep impression.

Still more to come.

You can see my photo album, “Pulau Ketam – the people” at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112651&id=606887744&l=a158eb33f6

http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/

So Much Food, Yet So Many Hungry

There is something wrong in a world filled with unimaginable wealth, but yet so many still have to go hungry.

http://www.livescience.com/health/090916-hunger-defined.html

Leopard Leg

I posted a picture of this young leopard on one of my Facebooks albums recently. It was taken in October 2008. Due to the distance from which I took this picture, it appears as if this leopard was sleeping.

Some months before, my sisters visited the zoo with my young nephew. When they came to this cage, they saw this young leopard hobbling around, as if it had great difficulty moving. The zoo attendant in charge of this leopard's cage told us what happened.

When the forest rangers first found this young leopard, it had one of its legs trapped in a snare. In order to rescue this cub from the snare, they had to amputate the part of the leg that was trapped. I don't know how it was done; there was probably no anaesthetic in the middle of the jungle. If there wasn't, then this poor thing must have screamed in great pain. If we heard that probable scream, it would be something that could haunt us forever.

In any case, while the leopard cub was saved, it has lost a leg, and can never run or jump around like other animals of his kind. So, he just hobbles around in his cage, day after day, being depressed over his misfortune.

When my sister told this to my nephew who was not yet 2 years old, the little boy immediately felt great pity for the leopard. He would always ask my sisters about the "leopard leg" and talk about going to the zoo to see him, as if his presence would comfort the young leopard a little.

From time to time we would ask him about the leopard. A typical conversation might go like this:

"Roy, what do you want to see at the zoo?"
"Leopard leg."
"What happened to the leopard leg?"
"Uncle cut leopard leg."

"Uncle" here does not refer to anybody in particular; it's just his way of naming the person whom he imagined must have amputated the leg. He would sometimes end with "Cilalaka uncle" (his way of saying "celaka", or damned in Malay).

Even a young toddler like my nephew could understand what compassion is and show it to animals. He may not be able to define compassion, but he knows how to show it. I believe children instinctively know what being kind and compassionate means, and adults must provide the opportunities to them to nurture these humanistic qualities.

We adults would do well to learn more about compassion from young children.

http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/

Memories of Rain

I lie on the bed,
staring into the ceiling.
Then I closed my eyes
and you walked into my head.

I look outside
Storm clouds are brewing,
thunder hammering through the sky.
Even as the thunder wails
I hear your whispers entreating me.
The lightning flashes,
illuminating the firmaments.
Is that you I see in the darkening clouds?

I step outside into the storm,
volley after volley of clear beads
disintegrating against my body.
I smell not the falling rain,
once my favourite smell.
It is your scent
that conquers my senses instead.

My lips are wet
from your kisses
I taste blood running onto my tongue
No...
I have bitten my own lips instead.

The wind-rain lashes
against everything it touches
like a whip tearing fresh wounds on naked flesh.
So many things it carries away
leaves, branches, a child's toy,
things that we leave behind.
Purifying, cleansing the streets
of what we have discarded.

But it cannot wash away
painful memories
stuck like daggers
in the empty chambers
of my soul.

A Brave New Boy

Picked up this story from The Star today:

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/9/8/nation/4667793&sec=nation

A brave child of 12, Berine Sua Linggi, saved two younger girls from drowning on August 16. Even a young boy like him knows how precious a human life is, and did not hesitate to risk his own when he saw his fellow humans in danger. Reading this story made a lot of emotion well up inside me.

People like him, who selflessly risked his life, who did with without hidden agendas and vested interests are true Malaysians, the true national heroes. Question is, will he be given an award? Will his future be secure? People have been given awards for achieving much less. To paraphrase a former Prime Minister, if you throw a stone, you will hit two people with awards.

I hope that a trust fund can be set up in his name so that his education, and that of the children around him, will be well taken care of.


This was originally published in my blog, http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/.

A Poem in 3 Pictures

Pink: Why do bow, sullen and melancholy,

Your beautiful face, carrying a look so weary

Red: On my mind, there is much that lingers

Each hour, each day, I see a little less clearer.

Pink: Sing to me what is on your mind

Some of your troubles I may help unbind

Red: While we live amidst such luxurious greens,
The world around us is breaking into pieces
I cannot ignore what I have seen.
War denying a child her mother’s warm kisses

Ripped apart from the soil, the trees are wailing in pain.

Vultures circling a dying child’s bloated frame,

his eyes are glassy, hands clutching air in vain.

He dies, not because the rains came late,

but because his brother will not share his plate.

Pink: It is true, humans do things that are strange,

Laughing so merrily, while killing their brother.

From where we stand, they seem deranged

All that is beautiful, they are so eager to smother.

Red: Though we and them are not the same breed

saddened by their plight, I cannot but weep

Here we are, chained to our stems

not a thing can we at all do for them.

Pink: Each of us have our own unique mission

What you must do is bring yours to fruition

All you have to do smile and bloom

And soon you will brighten the gloom.

The burdens of the world,

alone, too heavy it is to shoulder.

If we join hands together,

no mountain we cannot scale

no river we cannot tame

no storm we cannot weather

nothing can stop

a youth’s endeavour.

Red: Yes, that is right, and I see what you say

there is no point bowing in dismay

Only with hope, only with courage

Can we usher in a new age

I am a flower, a flower of youth

My eyes are gleaming, sparkling with truth

Neither the burning sun, nor the thunderous rain

Shall dampen my spirit, or cause me pain.

Armed with the sword of Truth,

riding on a steed called Justice

waving the banner of Hope

blowing the horn of Victory.

If you saw this in Facebook, the original formatting may be lost. Go to http://cosmicdinesh.blogspot.com/ to see the original posting. Thanks.