Sunday 23 March 2008

Snowflakes and P. Ramlee on Easter

It was snowing ever so slightly outside. The snowflakes drifted down gently and melted before touching the ground. Snowbell made a dash through the cat flap bringing in a gush of cold wind into the sitting room, momentarily taking our attention away from the idiot box.

This time it wasn’t American Idol or Master Chef that demanded our attention. It was just after dinner of chicken and cashew nut plus sambal tumis sea-bass and sayur su’un, that the children wanted to have dessert served by P. Ramlee.

They grew up over dosed with P Ramlee slapsticks in Aunty Samina’s front room, watching Pendekar Bujang Lapok, Doh-Ray-Me in between Sangam and Kabhi-Kabhi with Uncle. And lately, thanks to You Tube, they’ve been enjoying snippets from old P Ramlee movies and one that got them in stitches was Pendekar Bujang Lapok, the one where Aziz or was it Ajis corrected the Pak cik on his pronunciation of Bongo, “Bukan Bangau Pak Cik, Bonggo!!!” Taufiq has a knack of imitating that, sending Nona and Rehana (making the cashew nut chicken), in stitches. “Bongggo” he said drawing out the “ggo” deep from the throat and the kitchen was filled with laughter again. It had just started snowing outside.

After dinner, I found several P Ramlee classics but none with subtitles, but sharing a duvet, four of us huddled in front of the TV and watched Madu Tiga.

It has been a while since we last did this. When they were small, the king size duvet would swallow all of us, and there would be enough for everyone. There was a time when all of us were watching a film and at that time a triangle would appear warning us of an imminent ‘rude scene’ at which point my husband would say, “everyone under the duvet!!!” and we’d dive under the duvet giggling, and waited for the scene to be over. But once when all of us waited patiently under the duvet, we heard a voice saying “It’s over now!” Oh dear!

It was Hafiz. And how we miss him. He’d do a good imitation of Ajis and never failed to have us rolling on the floor with his jokes. But now he has his own pad, the other side of London. And even if he was around, there’d be no room anymore under the king size duvet. Still, I miss him. On a cold night like this, with the snow falling on the ground and the cats comfortably on the sofa, I want all my children around.

“What’s ‘Apa daaaa?’, why does he keep saying that?” would be the occasional interruption. “What’s ‘Tak sangka?’ In general they understood the language, except for the occasional P Ramlee lingo.

It is a long Easter weekend and we had spent the afternoon sorting out 20 years of old clothes to take to the recycling bin. There were many old kebayas, the ones that reminded me that I once had a waist, children’s clothes that they now cringe with realisation that they once wore those, sometimes under duress and one or two old jumpers and jeans that brought back memories of the Wan family, trooping up and down the streets of London, in what was then a big Renault estate meant for six. But they had to grow up and the MPV that we bought for seven eventually became too big and too lonely for just the two of us.

I felt quite sad leaving several big black plastic bags containing lots of memories by the bin outside Sainsbury. We have to move on. Children grew out of their clothes and inevitably grow out of the room they share with My Little Pony or Thomas the Tank Engine. They would want to move out. They want their own car and even the king size duvet is no longer big enough for all six of us.

Snowflakes and P Ramlee movies tend to make me feel like this.

28 comments:

Ms B said...

Kak Teh dear,

It is snowing heavily today. It started yesterday but not too long. Today seems full blast! We are hoping to make snow ball later.

I love all P Ramlee classic. *smiles*

As for the our lil ones, they will always be one in our eyes tho one day, we all must learn to let go. For now, I am spending as much time with my girl. I'm sure you miss your baby.

ps: McDevil hensem tak? hehhehe..

Kak Teh said...

Ms Istanbul. I know - tried to brave it outside and take photos but too too cold.
Aaah those were the days when we wld go out and throw snowballs at each other.

I cant see YOU letting go of your little one. I see you moving in with her and chaperoning her on her dates! hahaha!

McDevil? I've answered in your blog - and like I said - i'd rather spend the afternoon watching P ramlee.

silversarina said...

salam kak teh,

snowing in spring , tahun lepas rasa jugak macam tu di Amman , tahun ni spring dah macam summer di Kemaman ...hehehe.

Sekarang saya pun rasa macam kak teh rasa , hanya tinggal 2 anak saja di rumah , on gloomy days akan teringat pada yang lain-lain... tapi dah tiba masanya mereka hdup berdikari seperti kita juga dulu.

Kak Teh said...

salam silversarina, hahaha - i like that: summer in kerteh! the snow is still heavy but i doubt it will stay . in the north, perhaps. Dah tua-tua ni tak nak main snow dah. sakit tulang.

ya - it is sad when we have to let go, but to let go, we must.

wanshana said...

Kak Teh,

I have the same problem. Every time I want to sort out old clothings and toys to be given away, either to family members or charity, I end up keeping more than I give away!!!
Macam tak sampai hati nak berpisah...

My excuse would be, mana lah tau nanti ada rezqi dapat baby lagi sorang ke? He or she can use the baju-baju and toys, etc.

I guess after this, the excuse would be "when my kids are all grown up and have kids of their own, then my cucus will get to wear/play with them?!"

Aiyooo....How?

ZABS said...

Salam Kak Teh,
Remember the time when the five of us cuddled together under the duvet, watching the telly during winter, in Bangor, Wales, more than 10 years ago. It was such a pleasant memories. Now the three of them are all away from home, and one of them is getting married soon. How time passed so quickly.
Tapi sekarang masih ada seorang yang bungsu (perempuan,11+)tinggal dirumah, dan peminat setia P.Ramlee, jadi selalu juga teman kan dia menonton reruns of the P.Ramlee classics over Astro or any of the other tv's stations.

Kak Teh said...

wanshana, i keep all my old kebayas that hold memories - such as the kebaya i got married in, the kebaya i wore for my graduation, and many others. My girls have been wearing them but i think the journey of my kebayas will come to an end soon as they cant fit into them anymore. will write abt this soon.

zab, aww,so similar!!! yes, how long more do we have those moments but now we have them kept safely in our minds.

wonda said...

You still get snow there at this time of the year? We used to have snow in March but that was more than 15 years ago.

Kak Teh said...

wonda, we havehad snow in april before - so this wasnt such a surprise. it had been so cold.

[danial][ma] said...

hej! kak teh...yeah, snow in spring and kebayas reminded me of my late mom with her nyonya kebayas...beautiful intricately red and green kebayas...and now those kebayas in the good hands of my sister...

melayudilondon said...

Lah Kak Teh, you nak tengok cerita P Ramlee? Meh I pos dari sini. Tengah lapar ni pekena mee hailam you pun sedap lah.

MrsNordin said...

Lovely posting! Snowflakes and P.Ramlee movies... hmmm... awesome!

Anonymous said...

i yang dok kat kl ni pun dah lama tak tengok citer p.ramlee.
watched too much of 'em growing up. Now I'm distancing myself so that the next time i see pendekar bujang lapok again, it will be a blast

Pi Bani said...

We were cleaning up my late grandma's house yesterday and I found lots of old stuff. Woah... my own certs entah mana-mana I letak yet yesterday I found my grandma's sijil "Kelas Dewasa" awarded to her in 1969.

Also found my aunt's baju pengantin... still in good condition but aiyoh... rampingnya pinggang!!! I doubt even any of my nieces would fit into that now!

ms hart said...

Kak Teh, it's no wonder, Kak Teh. That's one thing about P Ramlee..like he's never gone...like he's been there all the while! Used to watch him with nenek and mak, now watching him with the kids and answering all their queries!! They love him, Kak Teh, just like they love all their Disney channel characters and their Aznil Nawawi!! And oh, how can we forget all his funny lines? They have been imitated on and on through generations kan? Superb!

Anonymous said...

My favorite part is when they went to the school...to learn how to read.

Before they even learn, my hubby and I will start laughing...

The kids once asked us - What's so funny about that ibu?

They'll soon know...

Kak Teh said...

danial ma, yes. I bet your mum has lots. I have only one that i had made twenty odd years ago for my graduation, my daughters wore them during hari raya and now it has become too small for them.
oh yesterday - was really cold and i bet where you are , the snow must be quite thick.

melayu di london yang sekarang di singapura, semalam kak teh buat mee bandung laaaa. sedap yang amat sangat (kata kak teh sambil masuk bakul dan angkat sendiri) I do have lots of P Ramlee movies - tapi semuanya bercampur dengan hafiz punya DVD

mrs nordin, thank you. the cold tends to get to the brain and does things to it. Summer shd be better.

Kak Teh said...

pi bani, that is why clearing up takes so long. we tend to find interesting things. yesterday we found a very mall kain pelikat belonging to one of the boys. and guess what, i kept it. I make a point of keeping some baju kebaya walaupun pinggang tu sesuatu dalam kenangan saja.

ms harts, P Ramlee bridges all generation and even races. The children are having a peek of life in yesteryears.

monstermom, oooh i do remember that part - hehe - hilarious. must watch that again too.

Tunku Halim said...

Kak Teh - I hope the weather hasn't been too cold and windy over the Easter break. It's on the news here.

We too give a lot of stuff away. Especially clothes and toys. It's amazing the amount of stuff we humans collect. It's always a wonderful feeling when we let go our material things.

Kak Teh said...

Tunku, it was still snowing this morning. so, what else is there to do on easter monday but to make mee hailam and spring rolls to be enjoyed in front of TV!

abt spring cleaning, i think we have a few more bags to give away.

Anonymous said...

Haven't watched a P.Ramlee film in ages... your post has certainly made me nostalgic for it... He is kinda like The Beatles, no? Beloved by every generation... the sort of cultural bridge we need more of these days. :)

Kak Teh said...

kenny dear, my sentiments exactly. I have met many non malays who do appreciate his humour. and dont we need someone like him now. Take care.

MA said...

H*A*P*P*Y ... B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y ... T*O ... Y*O*U !


A belated wish, nonetheless - I hope your birthday (yesterday - 24th March) was great one !

Kak Teh said...

aaaaah, MA, you know it was one wonderful evening! Alhamdulillah.

Theta said...

Firstly, Happy Belated Birthday to you and to celebrate it on a long Easter weekend is such a nice, warm feeling, I bet.

Secondly, this is classic Kak Teh! I simply love this entry.

It's hard letting go, I concur. After seeing them growing up in front of our eyes, the inevitable rites of passage that follow - moving out, marriage, etc - would always leave us in tears.

Take care.

ikanbilis said...

watching P Ramlee movie never bores me, especially the funny ones!

Mama Rock said...

oh kak teh, now you make me wish the days will go slower...can't imagine the day when they announce moving out :(

ps - under the duvet watching p.ramlee movie, please add keropok goreng and kopi o panas on the side :) surely divine!

Kak Teh said...

theta, thank you. I had a lovely evening with family and friends.
and at the end of the evening, hard to see/accept that my eldest was going opposite direction and not coming back with us. Yes, it is hard to let go.

ikan bilis, see, and you are from a very, very young generation and you still enjoy P ramlee.

mama rock, hehe, yes, most days there are pisang goreng too. but you tend to get crumbs alll over the place! what with the cats wanting to join in!