Sunday, December 09, 2012

Looking back looking forward

In a day what is the event that touches your heart and emotion the most? Ask that everynight, so thought Nakamora; and he did so that night. It was an exceptional day. It wasn't hard to come up with a list. It was a day of happenings. There are plenty of things to be joyous about. Winning at exhibition, making good progress on outstanding works, just returning from an interesting holiday, solving financial woes, getting that new thing that you have been wanting for some time, etc. But for him it was a simple visit to his mother. He visited her quite often, but today it struck him how she has grown old. She was young, no doubt, full of energy and investing it all in raising her kids. He just thought whether he is returning that investment adequately. We are so busy growing up that we overlook that our parents are growing old. The lyrics of "Number One For Me" by Maher Zain played in his mind...

Thursday, October 25, 2012

A Tale of Two Turtles...

It was about three weekends ago that Nakamora released two turtles into a lake. They have been staying in an aquarium of sort in his house under the care of his wife. Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri, the name given to the two turtles, must have been very happy to be in the open waters, many thousands times the size of their home in Nakamora's house; the place they stayed for over a year. They don't know that they are known as Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri, of course, unlike other pets such as cats. The lake, Tasik Komanwel, is just nearby the sports stadium at Bukit Jalil. There are many turtles in the lake; must have been put there by others like him, Nakamora thought.

Kuru-kuru, or was it Kuri-kuri, crossing Lake Komanwel
As he drove away, after spending some time beside the lake to ensure that both Kuru-kuru and Kuri-kuri are safe, images of Kuru-kuru, or was it Kuri-kuri, swimming away to the other side of the lake, the manner in which they climbed out the bucket as he lowered it into the water played in his head. He wondered how natural it was for the turtle to swim away, to be at home in the lake, even though they have not been swimming before since their home in Nakamora's house is so small. It is an intrinsic, in-built ability, he thought. He felt happy, and satisfied. Satisfied in the thought that his wife, and even more so himself, agreed to release them. Happy in the thought that the turtles will have many more varieties of food, much wider space to play around, plenty of nice spots to sleep and rest or sunbathe. They will in time meet others; and probably share their experiences too..

Turtles can outlive him, he thought. Turtles can live for a hundred years or more. Perhaps 100 years from today the lake will be full of turtles. It may come to be an attraction - a zoo of turtle, a turtle territory, a sanctuary. And Nakamora smiled to himself, contented with the thought that he contributed to that future, and two of them have spent one percent of their lives in his home...

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Consolidation...

Many years ago I thought that it is better to separate different topics in several blogs, hence I have more than one blog. But with the labeling facility coming into being that would not be necessary anymore. Postings can be labeled accordingly, and as result passive blogs can be avoided. Hence postings at my other blog "Don't Throw Them Away" which was started in November 2007, will be gradually migrated to this blog. The blog is about traditions, knowledge, experience, culture, and heritage and how we can benefit from them...

Old things tend to find uses later, they tend to be recycled and become useful again. This is not just for material things, but also for concept, philosophy, and fashion....

Keris Making (Wavy Blade Daggers) -- A Dying Art / 12 Nov 2007

Keris making at a cottage industry in Terengganu
Making keris (wavy blade daggers) in Terengganu, Malaysia... looks simple, but there are a lot of scientific principles underlying the age old traditional method for making keris... forging, tempering, etching... the tools look equally simple, but they are able to be perform the task of producing a beautiful keris used to make the keris... it is a dying art, no one to pass on the knowledge to; youngsters no longer find such a 'career' or vocation attractive...

The games of life...

A bowling alley
Nakamora was at a bowling alley recently, passing time away while waiting for something more useful. It turned out that it was a worthwhile time 'wasted' anyway. He played around a few mind games in his head.
As he watched the bowling pins fall, some fall only a few while the more seasoned player fell all pins in one hit, a question struck his mind - what use could the skill in targeting the balls in real, everyday life outside the alley be? And he couldn't answer that question. But as usual he try searching for answer by formulating alternative questions or posing the same question to other games.
Swimming, archery, shooting, horse riding are sports the skills of which can be used in some situations in life, in a dire situation the skill developed for swimming can be used to save life, for rescue operation, etc. He searched his mind and still fail to see the use of bowling. In fact more games in similar class make way to his head including soccer, tennis and the like. Could he be wrong?

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Hello again...

At times, knowing the presence of a follower, the least expected that is, can be a motivator to continue what you have been abandoning, due to the lack of internal drive. Such is the case with this blog, and hence this posting after a very long lull period.
A lot happened last weekend. Meeting friends and relatives can be a morale booster. Your presence is acknowledged and the fact that others can still recognize you and remember your name after a long absence is refreshing. In the midst of doing your own things, you tend to forget others. Gatherings such as the one last weekend can put you back on track.
MATTA Fair 2012 is yet a gathering, but of different sort. Tens of thousands potential travelers and tourists were there, including Nakamora and spouse. How else can we see our brethren in other parts of the world go about their lives and to see the wonders of creation and to be humbled by it. Sampling of culture in the form of stage performances, to whet the 'lets travel' instinct, were also at hand at the Fair.

An Iranian perfromance at MATTA Fair 2012, 9/9/2012, PWTC


Sunday, January 01, 2012

The first sunset of 2012


Almost  sunset, captured at Pantai Gelora,  Kuantan.

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