Sunday 12 June 2005

Malaysia in Bracknell

Posted by Hello
A Malaysian festival is something I can never resist. Bracknell is a good one hour away towards Virginia Waters, Reading and Sunningdale and many other small towns that I have not heard of before. This is if you’re going from Waterloo. I am still nursing my bad back and what I suspect is a torn ligament in my left leg, but against hubby’s advise, I used emotional blackmail to get my Batman Taufiq to accompany me.



So, I ouched away, holding on to Taufiq’s arms like an old mama (which is what I am) and we reached Bracknell, at 2 just in time to hear Art Fazil’s rendition of Nur – Light. The mall near the shopping centre was already packed, the sun was out and the smell of grilled satay was in the air.

Mayor Bracknell with the staff of Mawar Restaurant stall
I have this thing about Malaysian cultural performances. I think it is to do with being away for too long. I want to capture every dance, every performance so that I can come back, sit in front of the TV and watch it again and again and feel that I am almost at home. The Malaysian Festival in Bracknell was jointly organised by Malaysian Tourism and Bracknell Council and a good day was had by all. I certainly enjoyed myself and am always looking forward to Art Fazil’s songs – especially his latest – Aku Melayu di Kota Inggeris. You must get it when he releases it.

The Bhangra was really …what's the word..infectious. The Bhangra by Angel Dancers had us tapping our feet. I had to remind myself to tap wth my right leg. The left really hurts. It didn't take much to persuade the Mayor of Bracknell to join in. And you can see that she has had much practise before this, or she must have been watching lots of Bollywood movies.
Posted by Hello
The Lion Dance had some children running for cover. I would too, but had to be brave.
After all, I had my Batman with me.

Posted by Hello
All the food at the stalls, which occupied two streets, from Mawar Restaurant, Holiday Villa and Nia Marie’s – went well before the end of the festival. I had a bite of satay and a little Kuayteow goreng. I was more engrossed with the dances.

Today, I am resting my legs.

16 comments:

Nazrah Leopolis said...

wahh best nya. meriah sungguh ya? kakteh emcee for all those shows?

bibliobibuli said...

Lovely to see this! Thanks so much for posting the pics.

Anonymous said...

kak teh...

Sampaikan salam saya pada Art Fadzil.

Nak Pi Bracknell jugakkk...!

Anonymous said...

gamelan? traditional dance? lion dance? bhagra some more??! fuyyooo.. lovely! bet u enojoyed yrself immensely ay..

kat blog kak tenah nampak gamelan some more. i miss this sort of performances. if only there's a nearby performance to look fwd to. but hey, there's the Rainforest World Music in July. *cheers*

Anonymous said...

ader malaysian fest ker kak teh?

shidah said...

camana u nak miss home...home goes to you.....

Ely said...

love those pictures kak teh! good to see that art fazil is still active in music. pergilah ke doktor kak teh. kan dah sakit2 tuh.

atenah said...

KT, u are so full of life that u r infectious. Jeles oooo tengok fest2 ni. Kat tempat jin bertendang ni apa yang ada, waaa cepat2 mau balik la

Lollies said...

Masa kat overseas pun suka fest-fest ni. You tend to appreciate your culture when you away. At least I lah

atiza said...

kak teh, normally when people are away from home, they would missed all those foods, musics and dances..once they got home, jangan kata gamelan, lion dance pun tak pergi tengok..

OOD said...

wanted to comment on your chocolate new tag. YOU are betul2 internet savvy lah. I dah penat consistently 'jaga sediap' 'keka nann pusingg! to tabik hormat at you.

So i am writing now to mohon 'senang dirip'

Unknown said...

kakteh,
sound like you had a wonderful time @Malaysian Festival. How is your leg? No hop scoth for a while okay?

AuntyN said...

Kak Teh, bab tarian tradisional ni for me another thing yang boleh leleh ayaq liuq ni. I like traditional dances very much. Pernah masa kat ITM tu pi tgk show dgn "boyfriend" punya lah concentrate sampai tak ingat dia kat tepi tu.
btw, batman Taufiq tu dah cukup umoq ka? hehehe

Kak Teh said...

thank you all. i enjoyed the day - as longa s ada anything remotely Malaysian and I cant get enough of it. Art Fazil is organising another restval soon, and we will also have a malaysian carnival family day in september!
memenag suka pergi, dan enjoy habiss!!!

Atok said...

KT,
I pun nak letak few pics from the fest la jugak, tak sempat2 nak transfer to puter lagi ni. btw, thanks for coming along to our place + apologies for kekurangan (in terms of makan).

Lady Gargle said...

Ooooh I love the pictures...hmmmm. More pics please.... :) Takde rezeki pergi sana, tengok gambar pun jadilah