Wednesday 5 November 2008

Ode to Pak Malim: An Epilogue













My favourite autumn picture


Pantuns, syaers and seloka, never failed to provoke the sense of playfulness that exists even in the most serious amongst us. The teasing, the challenge and counter challenge and its very allusive nature make the pantun an all time favourite. It is certainly my all time favourite, especially in moments of despair, in times when the world gets too serious, and the politics threaten to get too ridiculous.

My Choc-a-bloc blog is just what its name suggests – choc-a-bloc with all sorts of rants and jottings of just about anything from my cats and sayang mamas to things trivial that occupy my waking hours and sometimes my restless nights. So, when I feel the need to de-stress, my mind goes into a pantun mode. And as you can see I had even devoted syaers to blogspot and spammers. Oh, Kak Teh, do get a life!

As the 99th commenter, Edelweiss noted, this certainly reminds us of the time when Abang Malaya bursts into my blog with such beautiful thought provoking lyrics that not only reflect on our time at Jalan Riong but also the occasionally rant and frustrations about the current political situation. And Abang Malaya, like Pak Malim caught the popular imagination and elicit the playfulness in us that resulted in long, and contagious balas membalas – from so many people. And Abang Malaya, like Pak Malim was anonymous and this provokes our curiousity even more in our quest to find out their identity – the people whose pens and cursors dance effortlessly to beautifully crafted words.

Syaers and pantuns feature quite seriously in my life, especially after doing my MA in Traditional Malay Literature and verses from Syaer Bidasari and Syaer Dang Sarat, which I am still studying, come dancing in my mind to distract me from the mundane things that I do.

So, thank you to all – especially to Pak Malim, Kucing Ray yang Alim and Abang Malaya, whoever and whereever he is and to those who sportingly responded in such hilarious manner and rhymes, keeping me awake and alert and certainly laughing to myself a lot during these gloomy, wet and dreary days of autumn. Thank you. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and I hope Pak Malim will still visit me.

Pantun memantun is not unknown when I get together with my siblings. Let me leave you with a taste of our brand of pantuns. After overdosing ourselves with food that Mak cooked and more from the stalls in and around Alor Setar, we’d sit lazily around the big family table, eyeing the piles of plates in the sink. Then someone would break the silence:

Baju lama baju lusuh,
Hai, pinggan banyak sapa nak basuh?


About Syaer Dang Sarat
Dang Sarat's Debut in Liverpool
A Tragic End to Dang Sarat

31 comments:

Queen Of The House said...

No wonder! Now we know where it starts.

Kak Teh said...

amboi Queen, kak teh baru tekan publish Queen dah sampai! ya...am afraid pantun memantun is in my blood.

Anonymous said...

Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim.

Kak Teh,

Setelah sekian lama menulis dlm bahasa Melayu, kata Pak Malim yg ayu, saya nak cuba berucap dlm bahasa omputeh, kata Pak Malim sambil mengunyah bawang putih. Burrrrp. Aaaaah. Pak Malim sendawa sambil tertawa. Tetapi sebab saya tak pandai berbahasa England, kata Pak Malim sambil memeluk beruang Poland, saya telah meminta bantuan kawan saya si Goblok, kerana si Goblok pernah bersekolah pondok.

Are U ready? Kata Pak Malim sambil memegang bateri Ever Ready.

Deer Kak Teh,

Thank U (kata ikan puyu) for allowing me to remain in animosity.

Psssst! Pak Malim! kata kawannya si Goblok, sambil memegang golok.

It's ANONYMITY! ANONYMITY! Kata si Goblok sambil naik pedati.

Oh ye ke? kata Pak Malim sambil menutup muka.

Sori, kita mula sekali lagi, kata Pak Malim sambil memberus gigi.

Kak Teh,

Thank U for allowing me to remain in anonymity. U R a very kind person, (kata Pak Malim sambil masuk prison).

Errr, maaf kena berhenti di sini. Pak Malim dah masuk prison, so alat tulis dia dah kena rampas, kata kawannya si Goblok sambil mengunyah hampas.

Bai Bai, kata Pak Lebai. Jumpa lagi di hari lain, kata Pak Malim sambil memakai kain.

[danial][ma] said...

hej! kak teh...really enjoying yours and friends pantun session...;-) you just bring a lot of smiles to the gloomy days of autumn/winter...;-) and nice pic of autumn too...

Hi&Lo said...

Kak Teh,

Bring 'em on. I sorely miss Abang Malaya too. Tho am not as refined, I still able to enjoy the pantun memantun.

Pi Bani said...

Makan bertih tengok kartun
Patutla Kak Teh suka berpantun!

And to Pak Malim:
For whatever reason Pak Malim masuk prison? tanya Pi Bani sambil pakai baju dah season.

Kak Teh said...

Pak Malim,

Sukanya kak teh tengok Pak Malim bawa kawan, ke blog kak teh yang tak ketahuan, kata kak teh memegang cawan.

Baik sungguh Si Goblok ajar Pak Malim cakap omputih, teman Pak Malim ke blog Kak teh,

Kak teh hormat anonymity, sebab kak teh tak suka animosity,
tegas kak teh yang memang berhati-hati esp semasa jalan di atas titi.

Kak Teh mengaku nak upah elisataufik,
nak sogok dia untuk berbisik,
tapi mulut dia masih terkunci, disumbat pula dengan kueh koci,
walaupun kak teh kata ini tak aci,
disokong kawan kak teh yang nama Meenaci.

Tapi, kak teh ni dah boleh agak,
walapun bukan karam singh, pak malim berpantun handal jugak.

Ditakdirkan kita berselisih di tepi jalan, semasa kak teh balik ke kampong halaman,
apa yang kak teh harapkan,
Pak Malim tegurlah kak teh dengan senyuman,
dan sengan sebaris dua pantun yang spontan.
Sekian.

Kak Teh said...

danial ma,
that picture was taken when i came back from work and it was already dark. But the light shining behind gave the leaves a certain glow, dont you think?

I love alllllll your pictures. the ones in dubai especially.

Hi & Lo, yes, I miss his presence too and his wit. alas he is too busy, i suppose to be reading my blog.

Kak Teh said...

Pi Bani,

Kan Pak Malim dah kata dia masuk prison, mungkin sebab peluk bohsia itulah reason,
tapi dia tu decent person,
kita hantar lawyer Karpal singh, kata kak teh yang kepala pusing.

elisataufik said...

aik.. ingatkan dah habis, rupanya tak habis lagi, kata elisa memberus gigi.
Sorry to dissapoint you kakTeh, elisa cuba speaking omputeh.
Identiti pak malim macam rahsia negara gitu, kata elisa mengunyah putu.
Kalau elisa sampai ke london, mungkin boleh berbaju sedondon,
dan mungkin kak teh boleh belanja, mee goreng mamak yang buat elisa teruja?
(excited, but not persuaded, kata elisa berbaju faded)

wehh susahnya nak break out of this habit of komen berpantun.. very contagious lah!!

Argus Lou said...

It's great that you keep pantun alive, kata Argus yang kasi high-five.
Your studying Malay poetry is praiseworthy, a heritage that's true beauty.

(Help! I cannot stop this typing curse, says Argus who's murdering verse.)

Kak Teh said...

Elisataufik nak datang ke London, terkejut kak teh membaca siri tamaddun,
kak teh belanja mee goreng mamak, boleh kita makan dengan nasi lemak,
tapi jangan tamak.

Kak Teh kagum elisa tak buka rahsia,
mengenai makhluk yang peluk bosia,
di Indonesia,
Itulah sifat kawan sejati,
puji kak teh sambil mencungkil gigi.

Kak Teh said...

Argus, i keep my pantun you do your cooking, says kak teh who doesnt like baking.
I love your muruku and the pictures too, but tell me how did you do?

You are very clever, I tell you!

Anonymous said...

Lagi Komen Pak Malim kucing ray yg alim.

Kak Teh,

Rasa gembira bukan kepalang
Kata Pak Malim di tengah lalang
Kerana Kak Teh melayan mesra
Walaupun saya masuk penjara.

Belum pernah saya berjumpa
Kata Pak Malim yg sangat pelupa
Seorang insan yg sungguh murni
Menjadi kawan di saat ini.

Jika Kak Teh ke kampung halaman
Carilah saya sebagai teman
Semoga kita dapat bersua
Bukan setakat di alam maya.

mamasita said...

Kak Teh?Staying in the UK for so long has made you so very special.Tak lupa langsung how to berpantun.In fact lagi menyerlah and menghiburkan.You've got style sis!

[danial][ma] said...

hej! kak teh...yeah, your pic really interesting with glowing leaves...awesome...;-)

Mat Cendana said...

Kak Teh,
Fortunately, you had mentioned "Alor Star" in the post, so I guess I won't be too off-topic with this one:-)

I got carried away with my reply to your comment at my site. Here is part of it, and the link:

@kak teh
Your time at SAHC was 1974/75, right? (since in `76 you were already at ITM). I've just remembered something - were you in the same batch with any of these siblings from Hutan Kampung whose father was an ACA officer (Anti Corruption Agency - BPR/BSN-then): Baharudin Ambak, Nurul Aini and Azmi? I'm 99% sure you must have known at least one of them

More in The dark side of the moon

Kak Teh said...

Pak Malim,
seronok kak teh dengar kita boleh berjumpa,
bertemu muka bertegur sapa,
kata kak teh sambil minum air kelapa.

Insyaallah kalau dipanjangkan umur dimurahkan rezki,
kata kak teh sambil pakai yankee,
kak teh akan pulang tahun depan, tak mampu MAS kak teh naik sampan,
mungkin sampai abad depan.

Sekian

Kak Teh said...

mamasita, semakin lama dan semakin jauh semakin sayang akan budaya dan seni kita - jadi tak mungkin akan lupa....ish, rhyme lagi!

danial, must learn more from you abt the technique. what programme do you use?

Kak Teh said...

Mat cendana, kak teh rasa azm ambak tu pernah dengar laa - mungkin my batch - tapi kelas lain, Nanti nak tanya my ex class mates.
Oooh I do remember those young junior boys staring at us,. Ada yang nak teman balik, ada yang bawa hadiah, ada yang nak jadi adik angkat...macam2!

Unknown said...

Hi K Teh,

Gosh! Pak Malim's comment here left me in stitches..ha ha.

Pak Malim confused me, as anyone by the name of Goblok, would not have the ability to know the difference between 'anomisity' & 'anonimity'. Those are quite big words...ho ho ho!

I pun confused like Pi Bani, why masuk prison?

Ahh..it is nice not to be too serious at times.

p/s K Teh, I believe I owe you an email. Sooooon my dear....

melayudilondon said...

Isshhh...Nasib baik tak adik angkat
komen shikin memakai tongkat

Kot terangkat naik pelamin
kata shikin, anak pak amin

Kalau kak teh dah gi kat lain
tanya shikin membasuh kain

dgn sapa pak goneng nak bermanja
tanya shikin menabur baja.

tireless mom said...

Dear Kak Teh

Such an honorable background, MA in Traditional Malay Literatute. Tak hilang melayu di dunia. Wow! Mesti suara seperti Datuk CT as can bersyaer too. Kak Teh yang bukan Omputeh, Tentunya kuat berceloteh, Penglipur lara di kala letih, Terima kasih saya merintih.

Kak Teh said...

Ruby, there's a touch of malapropism in Pak Malim's omputih, dont you think? That merits further study.

Ya - you owe me emails, sms'es etc - you've been busy?

kak teh termenung, apa yang terangkat semasa naik pelamin, tanya kak teh pada anak pak amin. Tolong jelaskan lagi, pujuk kak teh sambil turun ke dalam perigi untuk gosok gigi.

Kak Teh said...

Oh tireless mom pun boleh tahan, kata kak teh dok cari bahan,
suara macam Cik CT? terkejut kak teh sampai jatuh titi.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

kak teh - kama dah kehausan modal, takleh berpantun seloka dah..tapi akan tetap merayap kat 'rumah' kak teh cari punya gelak.. this pak malim sesungguhnya satu fenomena..

jabishah said...

Minum selaseh terkena benguk,
Ubat berkesan si ulam raja,
Blog kak teh lama tak jenguk,
Posting ode to pak malim sungguh teruja.

Rasa haus setengah mati,
Minum air dalam takar,
Akan ku cari jalan ke sini,
Sebab kak teh dan rakan2 memang kelakar!

kay_leeda said...

Sepuluh jari disusun rapi
Kerana beberapa hari tidak kemari
Kerja di office berkati-kati
Sakit hati rasa nak lari

Nasib baik Kak Teh berpantun lagi
Buat Pak Malim yang dah jadi celebrity
Bloggers lain turut ikut sekali
Pening hilang senyum meleret happy

Have a beautiful Friday, Kak Teh yang tak tau letih, who's definitely not leaving anyone in a fray.

Nazrah Leopolis said...

tumpang lalu pak malim budiman,kata nazrah sambil menyapu halaman. asyik sungguh sang kucing bercerita, tak pasal-pasal masuk penjara.pak malim ada di mana-mana, kucng bijak berlawak jenaka. makcik melopong, pipi tersorong-sorong, cari pak malim pakai teropong.

Kak Teh said...

Puteri, jangan keluh dan gelisah kerana kehausan modal, kata kak teh sambil sambil makan pedal (ada ka?)
orang yang dijangkiri susunitis memang tak boleh concentrate satu tempat/tema, setuju kak teh dalam dilema.

Kembali Jabishah sekali lagi,
menyusun pantun berselang seli,
kak teh suka tiada terperi,
seni budaya melayu hidup kembali!

Kak Teh said...

Kay leeda jangan gundah jangan gelisah,
kak teh faham sangat segala kisah,
kak teh pun sibuk nak blog pun susah,
kerja bertimbun hatipun resah.

mak cik melopong datang berkunjung,
menyapa Pak Malim yang duduk di anjung,
Pak Malim dipuji, pak malim disanjung,
baik-bak makan ikan, jangan terkecik terkejung...
(kak teh in desperate search for a ryhming word)