Birthdays in Ramadhan.

Tues 27 April 2021 

We'd be having 6 birthdays this Ramadhan.  Grandsons no. 4 and  no 11 have already had theirs.  Jim-jim's(no.4) was on April 26, and Zayd's(no.11) on April 22. 

Granddaughter Wafa's is today. Because she's staying with us, we had a tiny  celebration of sorts, last night.  Squeezed with the iftar, a cake with 7 candles was produced, and a box of oil crayons with sketch-book and a large drawing board was presented. Wafa happily blew the candles and cut the cake, and smiling broadly accepted the art stuff. In fact she already knew about them.  She is keen on  drawing and pencil-colouring. I have a collection of her work already, and they show a sense of colour and perspective. Her grandmother also had a collection. But she'd removed them. From the walls of the house ! The crayons could open up her knowledge of various art material. The large board and the sketch-book would hopefully remain the target of her efforts, not the walls !

Wafa is 7. She weighs 22.1 kg, and is just shy of 4 feet tall. She was born premature, and weighed only 1.75 kg. Very tiny.  In 7 years, hers is now considered of normal weight and height. 

The other day the large man carrying the cooking gas came into the house.  He must have been 6' 4", a huge man by Malaysian standard. Out of the blue, on seeing Wafa, he asked her age, and  said she's going to be a tall girl. He must know what he was talking about, because he said he has children. And if they take after him, he should know about being tall. 

No. 3 Son will have his 39th birthday tomorrow. But I'd already wished him happy birthday. He said today's not his birthday. You don't have to wish happy birthday on the actual day, the smart-aleck.

Grandsons no 9 & 10, the twins, will have their birthdays on the 10th. of next month, 3 days before Eid.   I'll have to conjure up some sort of present for them, I suppose. Maybe I'll also get some crayons and sketch books to share their sister's drawing board. But unlike Wafa, so far they have shown no interest in drawing or colouring. Maybe the crayons might spur them.

The fasting month means no real birthday parties are possible. Otherwise we could have invited nearby cousins, like we normally do.

I had a look through some old photos, and there were some birthdays there. The cutting of the cake seems ingrained in our custom now, but it's not a bad idea. Over the years the cakes have gotten more expensive. Wafa's carrot cake, with the decorations and box and plastic knife, cost me RM 95. In the end 75% of it was carted to the surau by the grandmother. Otherwise it would remain uneaten. Dekna says for the twins maybe she'll just buy ice cream. No danger there anything would be left to take to the surau.

Zayd is in Cheras, and Jim-Jim in Subang Jaya. So a visit is out of the question, with PKP and whatever.  Hopefully the parents haven't forgotten about some kind of celebration. Zayd is 2. Jim-Jim 10.

Maybe Zayd could have shared his celebration with his dad, No.3 Son.  His is only 6 days later. They're in KL, so eating out is  out. Zayd is the 3rd of 3 boys in that house. Ali and Ucin are already in school.

Subang Jaya is also Red Zone, I think. Jim-Jim's dad, No. 2 Son, probably is thankful that eating out is out. He'll do anything to keep the wallet in.

Buka Puasa time is here. So I'm off.

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Ramadhan 1442 H, and surau Bukit Tomonsu.

5 Ramadhan 1442 (Sat 17 April 2021)

I'm writing this piece on the morning of the 5th. day of Ramadhan, 1442 Hijriah, Saturday  April 17, 2021. We are 2 months into year 2 of the Covid 19 Pandemic as it was declared and acted upon by the back-door government. It's now almost 11 a.m. For many years since my retirement I have made it my routine to attend the congregation for all daily and tarawih prayers in Ramadhan, except for Magrib, because of the breaking of fast. Praise the al Mighty, I've been able to keep this routine except for those times I'd been unwell. So this post would be subject to updates. I need a few hours of recollection, but at 12 noon I'll have to leave for the State Mosque for Zohor prayers. That's just about an hour away.

I remember my first fast. We were in Tg. Malim, and I was already in Std. 1 at the Sekolah Latihan Tanjong Malim. So I was maybe 6 plus. That makes this year's Ramadhan my 70th fasting month. Not Ramadhan. Fasting. The progression through those years have not been "by the book".

Fasting was hard. I struggled through the day, and the last hour was always more painful. I would come early to the table. I would pile my plate with all the cakes and sweets, and have my cup filled to the brim, some times 2 cups - hot & cold, counting the minutes for azan on the radio marking the break of fast. Since there were already many of us, you can imagine the havoc around the table. Those days the breaking of fast was always with sweets and dates (of these later) and sweet drinks and cakes. Rice came after the Magrib prayers, with dad leading. By which time we were sated, and didn't do justice to mom's main course. In fact I only changed the menu after I got married. My in-laws, like many Malays in the kampongs, broke their fast with solid food - rice and the "lauks". Which in fact it should be. Now it's rice with us in this house, followed by the sweets etc.

The fasting history and surau Bukit Tomonsu carry fond (now sad) memories for me.

Those days the surau, whose replacement still stand today, was white-painted, wooden and stilted. And I think larger. Granny's large house where we lived  is just across the road, which is still the main KP - Tampin road. I always looked forward to the "sembahyang terawih" at the surau. I hadn't started school, nor fasting. This was before we went to Tg. Malim. 

The old folks, because most of the people who came to the surau were old, would bring all kinds of wonderful Malay food. There was gulai udang galah, sambal petai, gulau rebong, gulai telor itek and more. Then the kuehs - kelopong, ubi rebus, penganan talam, karipap, sagu and many more. Kelopong was my favourite. So much so, because I seldom miss these surau nights, mom called me "Lobai kelopong" - I came to the surau because of the kelopong. 

They would come after breaking their fasts at home. They came for the Isya' and then the terawih prayers. Isya' was delayed, not according to the official time, because the people took time to come after heavy meals at home. And the terawih followed. And terawih was not what we see now. There are many versions now. Some do 20 rakaats, some 10, and some 8. Surau Bukit Tomonso was always 20. But unlike now also, where everyone is in a hurry, the old folks of surau Bukit Tomonsu took their time in their terawih. There were plenty of time breaks in between the takbirs. Old bones needed them, I suppose. So by the time we finish, it would be like 11 at night. And they said it was just nice to get home and take their "makan niari" ("dini hari") or their sahur when the reach home maybe around midnight.

The recitations during the terawih was the most memorable part. I learned these to heart and still remember them. There are many versions now, everywhere. But the first ones stick to mind. We didn't understand them, but sang them out loud, as was the fashion in Bukit Tomonsu then, and many other suraus I've visited later when grown up.

There's a style of recitation where the words were voiced out loud. The line went "Laillah ha illullahu wahdahu la syarikala lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa hua ala kulli syai'in kadir" "Kadir" went loudest, but the few young kids present would really shout it at the top of their voices !

Now there was a carpenter  in Bukit Tomonsu called Teo Kadir. His wife was called Hapsah - Posah in dialect. His eldest son was called Ja'is, like the singer, but the singer came much later. Our Ja'is, if alive, would be as old as  Mahathir now. I don't know where or what happened to him.  Now to go back to the terawih and the recitation. The naughty older boys of Bukit Tomonsu would mimic those Arabic verses, but added on their own versions, thusly: 

          Kadir !

          Posah mangge ! ( calling )

          Ja'ih nangih ! (Ja'is crying ).

We would laugh out loud. But not in the surau.

As I said, I don't have a clean record on my fasting. Mostly I fasted then. I was young, you know.  These days the fast is seriously adhered to. I even do the "sunnat" ones. Wow !

I mentioned  "dates". These were available during puasa times in the Chinese and Indian provision shops around Kuala Pilah. But they didn't come in the fancy wrappings you see today. They came in gunny sacks, complete with loose leaves and grit.   The shopkeeper had to chisel out the stone-hard dates, mostly cemented together in big chunks. You had to pick out the unwanted accompaniments before putting them in your mouth, or you could chew on a small stone ! But breaking your fast with dates wasn't fashion. It was a must.

I've completed my 4th. day of fast, today being the 5th. On the 2nd day, at about 6 p.m. I nearly had to "batal puasa". I had a sudden dizzy spell, and felt sick and wanted to throw up. But I held up, until breaking fast time, had a bit of rice and some tea, and promptly went to bed with 2 panadols and wetted my face with "minyak cap kapak". I only got up at 12 midnight, and went to the kitchen to eat some cold  noodles. I didn't miss my 3rd day of fast. Dr. Miswa said it was "hypo". I had kept my daily doses of diabetes drugs. I needed to half the gliclacide for the "sahur" dose, from 2 to 1 pill, because the fasting means less food in my stomach, and the gliclacide brought my sugar too low.  The last 2 days have been ok.

Anyway, Ramadhan seems more normal this time. Last year all terawih and even Hari Raya prayers were at home. Now we're back at the mosque, but the SOP is strictly enforced.

I miss the old Ramadhan, and the following takbir Raya.

And I miss surau Bukit Tomonsu.

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