I Remember (Some of) My Teachers

It was Teacher's Day on the 16th May, so inevitably we recall the times we were being educated by our many teachers, some great and some not so. Mostly though, I cannot recall exact names but some incidences remain etched in my memory. I don't remember my kindergarten teachers in Alor Star at all but thank you anyway for starting me off on the long journey into the education system. I enjoyed kindy really, or so I gathered from my parents.

The start of primary school was interesting at the Sultanah Asma, Alor Star. There was Mr Rodishes Tan (should it have been Rodriguez? But he was definitely not Latin!) the art teacher who even came to our house to give us extra art tuition. Only my sister CY became the artist - of architectural drawings. Till today I appreciate art and still very, very occasionally dabble in paintings but never come up with any worthy of exhibit. Mr Lim Say Aun taught us Arithmetic and the reason I remember his full name is because I have this b&w photograph (below) that he gave us, duly signed at the back. I wonder if teachers still wear bow ties to class?

Mr Lim Say Aun, one of my primary school teachers

At the Tuanku Abdul Rahman School in Gemas there was Cikgu Md Zain who gave us tuition on almost every subject at his home. My sisters and I remember the many quizzes he gave us to beef up our general knowledge. We knew the capitals of countries, even their flags, among other facts. When his sister got married in Kuala Pilah we were invited to his kampung, for our first adat pepatih occasion. Then there was Miss Arumalar Kandiah who was my class teacher (I think). I still have a photo of her and I remember her most for the very neatly pressed clothes she wore.

My secondary school teachers were the most memorable. Among them Miss Sobita Sinha with her very expressive ways during English Literature classes. There was never a dull moment and till today I love books and literature. Puan Hasnah Ali taught us Biology but I remember that the subject of reproduction was dealt with in just a few sentences. We had to supplement our knowledge about the birds and the bees from other sources as well. When it came to dissecting a frog she never found out that I could not do it at all and left it entirely to my partner in class to do it. So that put paid to any hopes of  medical aspirations, not that I had any! There were the expatriate (Peace Corps, VSO) teachers Miss Black, Miss Vaughan, Miss Bergan and Miss Ellis. And their enthusiasms certainly made school very interesting. Also quite memorable was Mr Chee Peng Lim with his "master piece of distortion" remarks on our Economics essays.
(In progress)

Returning to Old Haunts

Penang Road (CNB 2013)

Over the recent Raya holidays we found ourselves going back to some old haunts in Pulau Pinang. For me, some of these haunts go back to my childhood days.

Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (CNB 2013)

"They often say you should never return to the places of fondest recall because they will never be quite the same. Oftimes, it is simply because they have changed over the years but on other occasions it's because they were never in the first place quite what your mind so clearly recalls today" (Roger St Pierre).

Jalan Penang was my older siblings' and my 'playground' after school. This Penang Road was where we sometimes had our lunch (usually laksa and ... laksa) and shopped before going home. Then when B and A were children, we used to park at the Magazine Circle car park to cross Penang Road to Komtar (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak) or Macalister Road & Dato Kramat Road to Gama. Of course Komtar was the 'happening' place then, and later became pretty rundown. We have realised that in Pulau Pinang, when a new shopping centre/mall is open, an older one is usually 'abandoned'. (Bukit Jambul Complex is another sad story, now mostly frequented by foreign workers.)

On the third day of Eid, we met up with an old friend FD at the Royal Hotel coffeehouse in Jalan Larut. This hotel was previously the Sheraton and earlier the Merlin. Here was where I saw my first Rafiee Ghani oil paintings and resolved to own at least one by the artist when I retired. Now I see that the two paintings there are not placed side by side anymore and (horrors!) one of them is slightly hidden by a lighted tree decoration.

Next door to this hotel on Macalister Road is the Penang Plaza, where at the Fima Cold Storage here, we used to do our weekly grocery shopping. We 'bumped' into our Bapa Malaysia and other Kedah royalty here sometimes. I guess they also needed to shop for groceries, eh? Anyway, today the facade and the inside of the building is so different from back then. More spruced up, maybe.

A spruced up Penang Plaza (CNB 2013)

Along Jalan Magazine, B and I went into the Butik 21 to tailor some clothes. She had previously had some clothes done here before and after some disappointments with the KL and Shah Alam tailors, its back to this PP tailor. Another case of 'pi mai pi mai tang tu juga'? With M we later had tea at the Trader's Hotel (formerly Shangri-La), another old haunt along the same road.

B posing along Jalan Magazine (CNB 2013)

Traders Hotel (CNB 2013)

On one of the evenings in the island, we dined at The Ship, still serving 'the best steak in town'. I probably had steaks there before, but now I am content with fish. I wonder if they still allow people to go on deck like they used to and were the waiters really wearing 'sailor' uniforms then? And as is routine, a walk along the Batu Ferringhi night market after dinner. Only this time, my feet got the better of me and I could not venture as far as the other family members did.

The evening sun lights up The Ship (CNB 2013)

M and I went into the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) campus, for him to visit the School of Chemical Sciences where he had had a working stint before and for me to see the new extended library building. But it being a public holiday, there was not much life around so our visit was very brief.

M at the School of Chemical Sciences (CNB 2013)

Our accommodation in PP this time included the Equatorial Hotel in Bukit Jambul, where numerous USM functions were held (maybe still are). I recall the many Convocation (Chinese several course) dinners here and also the USM/Library conferences/seminars/workshops held here too. There seems to be new wings/blocks added to the hotel complex so the occupancy rate must be good.  And I'm glad they have retained/maintained their 'hanging gardens' of the Money plant.

By the 'hanging gardens' of the Equatorial (BB 2013)

If my memory serves me right, buildings in Georgetown used to look old. But now that it is a Unesco heritage site since 2008, many have been spruced up. But I am not so sure about all my memories of this enigmatic island, because quoting Roger St Pierre again, 'Probably the most compulsive liar you are ever going to meet is your own memory'.

I Remember My Father & Mother

I remember my father Ba often, more so on Father's Day. Even though he has left us nearly a decade ago, yet I remember instances with him like it happened yesterday. He was a very disciplined man who woke up very early every day of his life. When he was working with Keretapi Tanah Melayu, he never missed a day's work. I had always wished to emulate him during my working years and I hope I did.

During retirement, he kept busy, first driving around family members and running errands in Ayer Itam, then later working in his fruit orchard behind the family home in Teluk Kumbar. While my mother Mak was the busy housewife looking after eleven of us, Ba made sure we were not deprived of anything, even though his salary was not big. He saw to it that we wanted for nothing. He strongly believed in good education and ensured we all did okay in school and later could earn a decent living. He encouraged us to save from a very young age and I remember my siblings and I had Bank Simpanan Pejabat Pos (Post Office Savings Bank) accounts before the age of ten. Pity though we later learnt to withdraw and spend our money faster than we saved them! Blame the big, bad world ... for Ba's words about 'money making money' falling on deaf ears.

As far as food was concerned I remember Ba always bought the freshest of fresh from the wet market and was very selective about eating out. His favourite eateries in Tanjong (Georgetown) became our favourite too. He was also generous in sharing whatever rezeki (sustenance) was his. He provided for relatives who came to stay with us when they had a need to. During the durian seasons, he would always have a kenduri (feast) for the family, relatives and neighbours; Mak preparing the pulut santan to eat with the yummy durians from the orchard.

Ba and grandchildren A, B, Iman & Riduan.
Mak is in the background.

When I started secondary (boarding) school in Seremban, Ba still gave me pocket money although he knew that we boarders received adequate stipend (scholarship allowance). And I remember every new term before being sent off on the train to Seremban, my Mak would place the pocket money plus school fees into the pocket of the skirt I was wearing and sew it up securely. Then I would later unravel the sewing, pay the school fees and spend all my pocket money faster than you can say, 'How much?'

Ba was very subtle in advising his children. I remember during the days of the 'very mini' skirts, he did not forbid me wearing them because he knew that would encourage a teen to rebel more. He knew the 'fad' was only for a while and he was right. I went on to wearing catsuits very soon after! When I was taking my driving lessons after Form Six, he gave me many pointers about safe driving which till today I adhere to and am truly grateful for.

Ba never imposed on us what we wanted to do career-wise. He knew I loved books and reading and so did encourage me to go ahead and go to London to be a librarian. Ba and I had always read the newspapers together (Straits Times) and he would keep aside those I missed. He would regale friends and relatives with the fact that I love reading so much, I even read outdated newspapers! He was initially disappointed that I wanted to marry a foreigner because then I would be living overseas, but he consented anyway. Then as life would turn out, we later came back to live here.

During his last years, Ba never left the house in Teluk Kumber much. Even if he visited his children, it was only a day trip. He was driving his trusty Morris Minor until his eyes eventually made it preferable for him to stop. He never stopped working in the orchard everyday, making sure it was clear of undergrowth and properly enriched so the trees may be productive. He even ensured that the little river that runs through it was clean so his grandchildren may frolic in the waters. I think he was most happy to be close to nature and toiling the land.

Mak & I (BB 2005?)

When Ba passed away in 1994, Mak lived with her sons (my brothers); first with AJ in Sungai Merab, Bangi then with MM in Teluk Kumbar. Later she chose to live in the family home in Ayer Itam with my eldest sister SP, where on 17th March this year she left us forever.

Ya Allah, cucurilah rahmat ke atas kedua-dua ibubapa kami selalu. Ba (1915-1994) & Mak (1921-2013) Al-Fatihah.

(In progress)

My Story of Kermanshah

'Kermanchah (sic) - uniformly passive and plaintive as a forgotten cradle, Kermanchah sighs in the sun and gently rocks the gaze, with neither shock nor revolt' - Houshang Seyhoun, 1974. *

I once lived in Kermanshah, a city that is the capital of Kermanshah province in Iran. It is a city nestled near the Zagros Mountains and has a climate almost Mediterranean-like. It is one of the cradles of prehistoric cultures ...

'Steps up an alleyway lined with brick houses. The walls are pierced by square openings letting through the light and merchants' cries. On the bend the exquisite shape of a plain wooden door studded in copper'.

After the Iranian Revolution, Kermanshah became Bakhtaran (because the Mullahs did not like the 'shah' in the name). But then the people never took to the new name, so it reverted to the old. So Kermanshah it is. I lived there during the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, so life was pretty harrowing. There were the curfews, the queues for necessities, the bombardments ...

'A sloping street where the charm of crooked houses joins with that of the telegraph pole held in its precarious position by its untidy headdress'. 

But life had to be lived. M worked as a chemist in a paint factory when the local university closed indefinitely and I was busy bringing up baby B. Living in the upstairs apartment in an uptown house was interesting enough. Our landlord and his family lived downstairs and sometimes 'babysat' B. I would then step out the front door, hail a taxi and go to the shops or bazaar or roadside stalls to get whatever was necessary.

In Kermanshah, the Kurds/Kurdish people in the streets always fascinated me - in part because I thought they were carefree gypsies. Their clothes were distinctive - the men in their unique trousers and the women in their long and colourful skirts. Although I could not speak the Kurdish language, I had no problems 'communicating' with them in my 'bazaar Farsi' - buying fruits, vegetables, even silk scarves and shawls.

Aside from the historic (and prehistoric) sites, Kermanshah's valleys and mountains are a sight to behold. We had picnics with friends in spring and summer to enjoy the great outdoors as much as was possible.

Kermanshah valley and mountains (1981) 

*Drawings of Kermanshah by Houshang Seyhoun, architect extraordinaire of Iran, are from the book, 'Regards sur l'Iran; dessins de H. Seyhoun. 1974.
Ex Libris CNB 1325

Nostalgia: Alor Star Station & Railway Quarters

The Alor Star railway station on the morning of 28 Jan 2013
(CNB 2013)

Beginning tomorrow, the Alor Star* Railway Station will operate from a temporary (and later new) site. But we hope the beautiful old station building will be preserved and not demolished altogether. Its proximity to Alor Star's CBD makes the site very attractive and we know that history and heritage often times have to make way for 'development'. Hopefully its not the case with this colonial style building constructed between 1912-1915.

The AS station clock tower (CNB 2013)

This railway station building is particularly dear to me because it was my childhood playground in the 50s. My father Ba worked with Keretapi Tanah Melayu (now KTMB) and I was born at 20 Railway Quarters, just a stone's throw across from this station. I remember that sometimes my older siblings and I would have  roti bakar with kaya  and hot Ovaltine drinks at the canteen here with Ba and his friend Uncle Kam Kee and his children.

I made the split second decision of going back to Alor Star by train when I saw a news flash about the Alor Star railway station operating from a new site on the 29th January 2013. It was my last chance of arriving 'home' by train. Just like my father used to do before.

Its a long ten hour train journey from KL Sentral, but the night train 'Senandung Langkawi' enabled us to sleep our way to Alor Star! Buying train tickets just a day before the journey meant that there were only berths on the upper bunk available. But lucky for me, on the train, a very nice UM student, offered me her berth on the lower bunk. Thanks to June of Sungai Petani, I had a good sleep before arriving 'home' (Alor Star) at 7.15 am on the 28th January.

B and I on arrival at Alor Star  railway station

Seeing the old house that used to be home invokes many beautiful memories of a railway childhood in Alor Star. But time has ravaged the  row of houses on Jalan Station (Station Road). They now look quite abandoned - so dilapidated and probably just awaiting the demolition squad. Jalan Station used to be quite a busy road but seems no longer so. I recall being knocked down by a bicycle while crossing this road to the station opposite, and the very apologetic young fellow perpetrator received an earful from Ba. The young fellow and I became friends, got married later and live happily ever after. No, I just made up this story about us being friends, etc. ... but, the being knocked down by his bicycle is true!

Railway Quarters, Jalan Station, Alor Star (CNB 2013)

Postbox with the address of my childhood home in the 50s
(CNB 2013)

The row of rain trees along this road must be nearly a century old because I remember they were very big even then in the 50s. Unfortunately there are fewer trees now so some must have been cut down. There seems to be so many changes in the station area, and to me, its mostly not for the better. OK, okay, everything changes and I was also very young once upon a time in Alor Star!

The century old rain trees along Jalan Station (CNB 2013)

 We spent the rest of the day visiting some Alor Star landmarks before 'Fireflying' back from the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Kepala Batas to Subang and home (Shah Alam) the same evening.

P.S. I'm glad Osman Ali featured the Alor Star Railway Station in his very successful box-office Malay film Ombak Rindu. I know that some people refer to this station as "Station Ombak Rindu". 

* I still prefer to use the old spelling of Alor Star because it is pronounced so. One does not actually say Alor Se-tar, but Alor Star! Or Aloq Staq in deep Kedah speak!

A Librarian in a Garden Campus

USM Library in the 80s (CNB)

In retrospect, everything that happened in our past always seem to have been good, sometimes even great. Maybe that is why many memoirs get written - we get very selective in recalling our past, our memories of life lived then. The passing years tamper our version of the 'truth', and our perspective would be quite different from someone else's anyway. But for me, as far as being a professional librarian for nearly three decades at the Universiti Sains Malaysia (Pulau Pinang), I can say with all honesty that ... mostly, I enjoyed it.

For one thing, the Universiti Sains Malaysia is set in a beautiful campus on Minden Hill and it is a garden setting, (later) complete with a lake. There are plants and flowers all over the place and come 'Spring time', the flowering trees burst into colour. Although in the beginning many trees had been sacrificed to make way for new buildings, later it became the policy to not cut down trees or to replant if need be.

Unfortunately the flowering tree behind me, in front of the
Library, was cut down to make way for a gazebo (1994)

The back gate into USM (CNB)

So every morning for me, it was a seven minute-drive to the garden campus, to the USM Library to work amongst books, students and lecturers. The USM experience spanned 25 years from 1982-2007 and another earlier one in 1976, immediately after library school. The Chief Librarian Mr Lim Huck Tee had no qualms about reemploying me again after nearly six years. In fact that very encouraging first year for this rookie librarian somehow ensured she stayed in the profession as long as she did.

Was it challenging to work in an academic library? You bet! First there were books and journals, then there were computers. And then IT (Information Technology) came into the library and a while after that it was ICT (Information & Communications Technology) and KM (Knowledge Management). Librarians had to keep up, and our card catalogues became obsolete and were replaced by online systems. From guiding students (and lecturers) how to search for information from printed sources in the beginning, to how to 'mine' authentic information from the Internet. Our information literacy skills workshops had to cater to every student and lecturer, at the appropriate levels. But I really did enjoy our teaching/guiding role.

Flame of the Forest trees near the Language Centre (CNB)

In the last couple of years before retirement though, I was involved mainly in human resource management. Simply put, I had to deal with the library staff and their myriad programmes and problems. Not so enjoyable, but lucky for me, I had a nice big office with large glass windows that overlooked a beautiful huge tree and greenery. All part of the garden campus.

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need - Cicero

Pulau Pinang: the Isle of Enigma (cont'd)

Other than Ayer Itam, another neighbourhood I lived in was Gelugor. When I started working again at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1982, it just made sense (to me anyway) to live next door to the work place. The traffic jam from Ayer Itam to the University was getting quite bad already. So we moved from the family house to a rented terrace - in the almost new residential area of Taman Pekaka.

PP ferries against the backdrop of
KOMTAR on the island (PC)

Pulau Pinang in the 1980s and 1990s went through quite a bit of transformation - it got more crowded, both with people and high-rise buildings. The Penang Bridge was ready and open to the public in September 1985, while the Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak or KOMTAR, the tallest building in Malaysia then, was completed fully in 1988. And who can forget the ferry terminal disaster of this same year when 32 were killed and more than 1500 injured.

The electronics industry which started in the 70s just took off with hundreds of companies placing themselves on this frog-shaped island. The factories employed many locals (mainly from the kampungs, which put paid to our ever having local maids anymore), and later even more foreign hands.

I found Gelugor being slowly crowded in by more and more housing estates and shops, and even a Tesco hypermart moved in. But some things remain the same, thank goodness! Like the good old unpretentious Minah Restaurant, where many delicious meals were shared with family, friends and work colleagues. (Our wedding kenduri in 1976 was catered by this very same restaurant, reputedly serving the best Malay food in Pulau Pinang). But another newer Julisan Restaurant nearby closed after a few years.

Chingay in Georgetown 1987

Many events and places draw people to Pulau Pinang. The annual Pesta Pulau Pinang found a permanent site in nearby Sungai Nibong, but for us, after some years of frequenting it each December, found that more and more it was turning into a huge pasar malam (night market). And there were enough neighbourhood pasar malams on the island!

But the Flower Festival in the Botanical Gardens is always worth visiting. Even sans festival, the more than 100 year-old Gardens have always been a natural attraction. Bukit Bendera/Penang Hill was our weekend sanctuary many times from the madness below. Both the hill railway and the hill underwent changes. In fact in 2010 the old funicular railway was replaced, so gone is the romantic experience of a slow train ride up a hill station. (I understand that you now zoom up the hill in no time at all). Not forgetting also that the new Bridge changed forever the traffic to and fro this island. The beautiful old fashioned way of crossing by ferry has become more of a tourist feature.

Gurney Drive 1983

But the old familiar haunts of Batu Ferringhi, Balik Pulau, Fort Cornwallis, Gurney Drive, and the Esplanade always beckon although competing more and more with resorts/hotels, malls, and more malls.

But the Persatuan Warisan Pulau Pinang/Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) formed in 1986 did well in their efforts to preserve the history and culture of PP, but ensuring the preservation and conservation of old buildings have not been easy. Although George Town, PP became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2008, 'unapproved renovation/demolition works are still rampant ...' (PHT).

Some beautifully 'conserved/preserved but living' colonial buildings include the very romantic E & O, the 1926 Heritage Hotel, and many more but only a handful of historical homes of Penang Malays are left standing. Two are the Syed Alatas Mansion on Armenian Street and the Segara Ninda.

After half a life time in PP, I left for a different pasture after retirement. But PP, although an enigma, and fast changing every so often, will always be my kampung halaman/hometown. So excuse me if I do more navel gazing here. After all, 'Pi mai pi mai tang tu jugak!

Pulau Pinang 1982-2007

Pulau Pinang: the Isle of Enigma

Pulau Pinang is my kampung halaman/hometown, yet after living there for 37 years, it still remains an enigma to me. There are so many places there I have no inkling about and so many incidents I have no idea of. In retrospect, maybe I have never really tried to understand, being busy running around living life then; working 'to put food on the table' and bringing up family.

Kg Masjid, Teluk Kumbar

In the beginning during my 50s childhood, it was brief school holidays spent at both maternal and paternal grandparents homes in Teluk Kumbar; in Kampung Matahari Naik and Kampung Masjid. Those were idyllic days spent wallowing in clean clear rivers, observing little tupai/kuas (squirrels) in the pretty flowerbeds of bunga raya (Hibiscus) and bunga pukul empat (Mirabilis jalapa) and walking between padi fields. Now these are all gone and the developers have brought in their mean machines ... now there is even a Bandar Baru Teluk Kumbar!

Our old house after being transported
to Teluk Kumbar

Then in 1963 my Father moved the family permanently to the Malay enclave in Ayer Itam, PP. The Ayer Itam Dam built in 1962 ensured we had cool clear water you could even drink straight from the tap. The house we lived in was the typical kampung house on stilts. It was old and you looked up to the zinc roofs and wooden beams when you are in bed. In the daytime, rays of sunlight come through tiny holes in the zinc. At night its a different story altogether. Luckily I was then unafraid of pontianaks (aka pretty Malay lady vampires) who might just be resting themselves on these beams. So I never saw any! A very human person I remember then was the 'night soil' carrier who came around the neighbourhood, balancing two pails on a pole, to collect what he had to collect in the outhouse. (I heard many of these unfortunate beings contracted tuberculosis due to the work hazard).

Sometime in 1968 our old house was dismantled and moved to Teluk Kumbar, while we rented a place nearby (next to the white Mausoleum of Sheikh Omar Basheer), to await the completion of the new. With the new, the outhouse (pail closet) was replaced by indoor flush toilets. Thank goodness! Now 'going' in the night need not be such a great adventure. Though the poor NSC still had to come by our neighbours for a while after we had gone 'flush'.

A wedding entourage in Zoo Road
in 1976

I learnt that the nearby Zoo Road was once the site of the Penang Zoological Gardens but closed down in the 50s due to very high maintenance costs. The human residents there now live in terraced houses although there are some older big bungalows as well. The old Masjid Al-Gadrie there is small and cosy, but a tight fit to house the congregation during Hari Raya prayers. So there is the Masjid Negeri on Jalan Ayer Itam and now there is also the new Masjid Baru Ayer Itam (2009) in Jalan Thean Teik.

The Pagoda 1962

When you live in Ayer Itam, Bukit Bendera or Penang Hill beckons. So there were a few times that we went up the hill on the funicular railway. The Pagoda was another attraction but the steps were too much to negotiate. Although there was the Ayer Itam market, my father preferred to go into Tanjung, as Georgetown is affectionately called by the locals, to the Chowrasta Market. Sometimes I would go with him and inevitably we would be making a few rounds in the market before he finally bought the freshest produce. But the best thing about these outings? Eating nasi kandar served by very old mamak men at this very old shop off Transfer Road. I don't remember the name of the shop, if it had any, but I think it has been long gone. (But in PP, it seems that when one eatery dies, another two will sprout and hopefully at least one will be good.)

Water colour painting of trishaws in
George Town

As for public transport, in the 60s and early 70s it was adequate enough. There were regular enough buses, the taxis were not yet fleecing passengers, and even the trishaws were simple and adequate (compared to the garishly decorated 'tourist draw' now). I did enjoy the short trishaw rides in town when trishaws were 'kings of the road'!

Pre 1969, many came to PP for shopping due to its free port status, but when that was revoked I think many still came over, but more for the food. After all PP is the home of the original nasi kandar! And there is also the famous asam laksa, mee mamak, etc., etc.

Penang Road & Chowrasta Market
in the early 70s  (CNB)

My siblings and I would go to Tanjung to do our shopping for cloths, clothes and shoes (Zlin Store), mainly in Carnavorn Street and Penang Road. Then it was on to nasi kandar lunches at the Hameediyah or Meerah Restaurants and cendul & ais kacang dessert in Lebuh Keng Kwee. Talking about food, two Padangs (Commons) in PP were fun places to go for good hawker style. There's Padang Brown (where once we gorged on delicious satay, and then my Father realised he'd been pick pocketed!) and Padang Kota, for the best bihun/mee hailam and 'hottest' mamak mee mamak in town.

But I cringe when I remember the public toilets during that period, especially the one at the Prangin Road bus station. They were hell-holes you wanted to avoid at all cost!  Alas! The beginning of the never ending contributions to PP being called Darul Sampah.

For books, Campbell Street was the place to go, but for second hand books you went to the roadside stalls along MacAlister Road, but then they were later moved to Chowrasta Market into cubby holes on the first floor. Still a treasure trove of books but crammed and very badly ventilated.

From the kampung (village) to the bandar (town), the inevitable changes were ongoing ... (To be continued.)

Pulau Pinang 50s-early 70s

Family Ties: My Grandparents

Genealogy is the study of families and tracing of their lineages and history - a difficult feat indeed for anyone to undertake, unless one has descended from kings/queens or great heroes. I can only go back to my grandparents, just two generations earlier. Both sets of grandparents lived in Pulau Pinang.

Of my paternal grandparents, I never knew my grandfather Mohd Noor bin Sulayman, who passed away before I was born. There are no photographs of him, so I do not even know what he looked like. But it seems that he had roots in Pagaruyong, seat of the Minangkabau kings.

My Grandmother Maimunah (1950s)

My grandmother Maimunah, whom we called Tok Munah, I remember very well. She was a very fair and pretty woman, very kind and  soft spoken as well. When we visited her in Pulau Pinang in the 1950's (from Alor Star), I recall that I was most fascinated with a white teapot that she served us tea with. It was very small, but it seemed to fill so many cups! I have inherited that teapot which I treasure a lot, but have never used it because I prefer that the 'magic' it did then remain with me forever.

Tok Munah's magic teapot (CNB 2012)

Mohd Noor and Maimunah had only two children - my father Bahari and his younger brother S. S died while still a teenager in an unfortunate accident while helping out during a wedding kenduri.

My maternal grandparents Arshad bin Hj. Mohd Alam and Milah binti Dali (d. 2003 aged 93) had five children; my mother Puteh, Ashaari, Sopiah, Ismail and Yaakub. My grandfather whom we called Tok Wan Tok Chad, was a very tall man, over 6 ft. He was of fair complexion and his roots seem to be in Siam (Thailand), but my grandmother Milah was sawo matang (brown complexion) with roots in Java.

Milah and Arshad; rephoto-ed  from my uncle's collection
Now I know where I got my elfin ears!

I remember my Tok Chad had been a fierce School Head Teacher, and a very strict Guru Mengaji (Quran Teacher) as well. He was semi-paralysed in his last years, and my Tok Milah had a difficult time looking after his needs. But Tok Milah lived a long life till her 97th year.

A platter I inherited from Tok Milah (CNB 2012)

I have to record that my mother had foster parents as well - her uncle-in-law (?) we knew as Tok Wan Tok Jaya and her aunty Hudoh (though she was most beautiful but her parents named her 'Ugly' to ward off the evil eye!) My mother was given to her to care for the first few years. I never knew Tok Hudoh, but Tok Jaya was a very kind man who roamed Georgetown to pray in its mosques. Sometimes my siblings and I go to town after school to eat or shop, and we would often times meet Tok Jaya there. I remember we had to cease eating our favourite asam laksa at a certain shop in Penang Road when he forbade us because he knew something that we were not aware of.

(In progress)

My Iran in pictures (1980-82)

Living in Iran in 1980-82, has enabled an appreciation of the country as a whole. Although there was no opportunity to explore the whole country, living in Mashhad and Kermanshah offered the experience of visiting their sights and landmarks and also their vicinities. Tehran, the capital was an oft-visited city.

Torqabeh, 22 km from Mashhad, is famous for canework handicrafts. teahouse restaurants and ice cream sundaes.

At Torqabeh with HA, wife & second son (MB 1980)

M at Torqabeh (CNB 1980)

Mashhad's most famous landmark is no doubt the Haram-e Razavi or Imam Reza Shrine Complex (IRSC). This complex contains the shrine of Imam Reza, a mosque, a museum, a library, 4 seminaries, a cemetry, the University of Islamic Sciences, a dining hall for pilgrims, prayer halls and 7 courtyards.

At the Haram-e Razavi (IRSC) with QJ, little B and Behzad (MB 1981)

An army of sweepers at the IRSC (CNB 1981)

With family at the IRSC (MB 1981)

Detail, Imam Reza Shrine complex/IRSC (CNB 1981)

Kermanshah (considered one of the cradles of prehistoric cultures) is located in Kermanshah Province, in the western part of Iran, some 500 km from Tehran. The majority of inhabitants here are Kurds.

At the Niloofar Sarab (Wetland), Kermanshah (1981)

Little B at Tagh-e Bostan, Kermanshah (CNB 1981)

Some boys sharing a swing with B, Tagh-e Bostan (CNB 1981)

Little B dancing, Kermanshah (1981)

 Little B and friends (CNB 1981)

The Valley, Kermanshah (1981)

Poppy flowers, Kermanshah province (1981)

Tehran, the capital city of Iran is the gateway to fly in and out of the country then. When we were in Tehran, we stay at friends' homes - it is the Iranian custom. Friends take offence if you choose to stay elsewhere other than their homes!

At Mehdi's house, Tehran. Mehdi is a good friend of M (MB 1982)

At Mehdi's house, Tehran (CNB 1982)

1980-1982