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Showing posts from October, 2008

ALIF'S RITES OF PASSAGE...

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My youngest son, Alif, is a very worried almost-eight-year-old . The final term school break is a fortnight away and he realizes that his days as a little boy are numbered. I could read the anxiety written all over his face. I could sense that he is not really looking forward to the year-end school holidays because that is when he would go through the Muslim rites of passage, a child becoming a young man, with religious and social responsibilities and obligations. InsyaAllah, Alif is to be circumcised this coming school holidays. Berkhatan, bersunat or “potong ko**” as his uncles and elder brother Patpat would crudely put it. Some pillars of strength these men folks are to Alif. A fine band of macho men Alif could turn to for inspiration, encouragement and motivation…….. The stories they told Alif about circumcision and the manner the ritual is performed could scare the living daylights out of the bravest of men, even. Of course, they were merely teasing him, just like how their elders

MAK TURNS 81

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Happy Birthday To You Happy Birthday To You Happy Birthday Dearest Mak Happy Birthday To You …… Mak turned 81 years old yesterday. I had brought her from Alor Setar last weekend to my younger brother’s house in Shah Alam. Yesterday, my brother had an Eidul Fitr open house. Mak didn’t know that her children , grandchildren and great grandchildren had converged there not just for makan-makan but also to throw her a surprise birthday bash…. Except for my eldest sister in Alor Setar and elder brother who is sailing, all her children were there. Sadly not all her grandchildren were with her last night...some were working, some were attending to more urgent matters and one was busy finding his purpose in life. He has been noticeably absent from a few family events for quite a while now. If only that one grandchild realises he is the apple of his grandma's eyes..... Mak may be old, her movements are slower and hard on hearing now, but her "leter" masih laser sharp wo! Bu