Episode 6: Puisi dalam Terjemahan

Kawan-kawan, mari berjalan ke arah Ithaca bersama saya dengan puisi C.P. Cavafy dan A. Samad Said.

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Rumah Kosong

A. Samad Said

 

 

Satu malam, gelisah, ibu

Bertanya: bila nak kau

Beli rumah? Pilu, tapi dengan

Senyum, kujanji, dekat masanya –

Setahun dua selewatnya. Tapi

Sebulan kemudian ibu pergi,

Terkilan melihat rumah

Anaknya – aman mukanya, sedang

Matanya seperti tetap rahsia.

 

Itu saja kesalanku,

Yang lain tiada; itulah sengsaraku

Hingga bila-bila
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Empty House

A. Samad Said

translation: Bin Gregory Productions

 

One night mother, restless

asked: when will you

buy a house? Pained, but with

a smile, I promised, it won’t be long –

a year or two at the most. But

a month later she was gone,

pining to see the house

of her son – her face at peace, while

her eyes as though they held a secret.

 

That is my only regret,

and nothing else; that is my torment

for evermore.
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Anda rasa ada karya-karya lain yang patut dikenali luar malaysia? Sila tinggal cadangan di bawah.

Hari Raya 2017

After several years of balik kampung, we’re celebrating Hari Raya in Kuching.  Opah spent Ramadan with us. Hopefully it will be our last Raya before the house is torn down and rebuilt.  Same building, exciting new structural integrity.  Amin ya rabb.


Exit West by Mohsin Hamid: Review

A meditation on migration of every sort. As a muslim migrant who has chosen life outside The West I feel like Hamid is chronicling the particular world I inhabit more than any other writer I can name. The major story arc is a refugee couple from a country that could be anywhere succumbing to war, interspersed with vignettes of migrant workers, immigrants, displaced people, wanderers and various other peoples on the move. I liked it best when Hamid was working in the aloof anonymous anywhere-land that Get Filthy Rich inhabits.  When the refugees land in real places with real names the book feels outdone by the equally fantastical events that are transpiring around us in real life, while the magic isn’t compelling enough to envelop in an alternate timeline.  The magic black doors allowed for quick scene changes, letting the book move at Hamid’s usual brisk pace, but were just too obvious as metaphors to be interesting.  Although I didn’t care for the foray into magical realism, the characters, the human insight, the wild careening prose that goes from distant sardonic humor to intimate, even painful observations in a sentence are as wonderful as in his last book.

we murder from our lives those we leave behind
Exit West on GoodReads

My general rule in reading is to alternate fiction and non-fiction. After Exit West it made the most sense to me to tackle Graves of Tarim next.

Shah Alam Botanical Garden

Not ten minutes drive from downtown Shah Alam is the Shah Alam Botanical Garden. An enormous green space gazetted on Bukit Cerakah, the gardens range from open lawns to jungle trails, from ornamental plant collections to a mini zoo. For Malaysians looking for something truly exotic, there is even a four-seasons exhibit. I had to pass on that one.

Instead we made our way through the lovely entry buildings that look out onto paddy fields.

Ornate Javanese Chair
Ornate Javanese Chair

We hiked up the hill towards the ornamental landscape installations. The slope is pretty gentle really but if you get tired I’d recommend bringing a sister along to ride when you’re flagging.

Sistermobile aka Becak Kakak
Sistermobile aka Becak Kakak

We made it to the whimsical landscapery, with topiary and hedge mazes and a massive folly of a tree-house. Built around some impressive specimens, the ferro-cement castle rises several stories till you’re given a commanding view of the gardens. A perfect tower for all my princesses.

Tree House Shah Alam
Tree House Shah Alam

My father, wife and I waxed nostalgic when we realized we had been here nearly 20 years ago. After my marriage in the US, we honeymooned in Malaysia and brought my father along (how’s that for filial piety!).

Taman Botani Shah Alam 1997
Taman Botani Shah Alam 1997

Although it had changed some, I’m pretty sure this section of garden is exactly where we had come.

Taman Botani Shah Alam 1997
The padi fields back in 1997

Our day at Bukit Cerakah was cut short by some rapidly approaching rain clouds, but luckily the park has it’s own bus/trolley thingamajig that picked us up and ferried us back for free. There is a whole lot there left to see but it will have to wait till next time which is hopefully not another 20 years hence.

Vista with rainclouds
Vista with rainclouds

 

 

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Shah Alam Botanical Park is open 7.30AM to 5PM every day except Mondays. RM3 for adults, slightly more for non-Malaysians.

Thinking about a visit? Come stay at our place.

Just outside of downtown Shah Alam
Just outside of downtown Shah Alam