Joy is seeing a live chicken

Friday, September 10, 2010

Joy is seeing a live chicken

Assalamu ‘alaikum,

Joy is seeing a live chicken

I used to be assistant slaughterer when my second cousin Abang Holek slaughters the chicken in Tok’s Kampung Sira in days gone by. Now my kids are excited at the sight of live chicken; their only encounters with chicken being of the KFC kind and the drumsticks Mama fries for them. After the exciting chicken get-to-know-you at Opah Esah’s house in Lenggong they renewed their acquaintance at Tokcik Ye’ house in Kampung Sireh Kota Baru.
The joy of the kids’ glee of Raya in the kampungs pays off the long and arduous journey manifold. This year the Zahid family spends raya in the Kampung though how you can describe Kota Baru Kelantan as kampung stretches the imagination. We dread the infamous jams of the Gua Musang route so this year as many times before we did the KL-Perak-Kota Baru route again. Makcik Esah’s house in Lenggong again being our overnight stopover exactly midway in the journey.  Makcik Esah’s gulai lemak ikan baung is legendary to say the least; ikan kelah though is now just a memory as I am informed they are now rarely available.

We left on the Tuesday before Raya and continued the journey Wednesday afternoon after an enjoyable stopover in Lenggong, Papa’s kampong. Growing up here with Tok and Tok Aki, Papa has a very strong affiliation with the place. Shooting the wind with the kinfolks after Tarawih is always an immeasurable joy. The Perak route is roughly 80km longer than the ‘direct’ route of Gua Musang but the drive is straighter and easier with the scenic East West highway another highlight in the journey.  After Jeli you will come past many places with foreign sounding names, like Sungei Mekong and Lakota to name a few. Not the fastest of drivers on Malaysian roads we reached Tok Aboh’s house late in the night after a slow iftar break somewhere on the way. Tok Ma passed away many years ago so the iftar gathering of Mama’s brothers and sisters plus spouses the next day captured a little of the atmosphere when Tok Ma was alive. The kids though are in seven heavens renewing acquaintance with cousins with such din that transfixed a permanent smile on Tok Aboh’s face. Sibling banter was interspersed with Che’ Long’s joyful announcement of another baby on the way to add to Tok Aboh’s joy.

The Raya celebration today was dampened a little with news of a young nephew’s death. However it wasn’t entirely unexpected as he has been suffering from cancer for quite a while now.  In the evening we visited Mok Cik Ye my late mother in law’s elder sister. That’s when the kids started making friends with the chickens again. The kids ran riot under and around Tok Cik Ye’ kampung house while the parents catch up with their own cousins up in the kitchen.

Two more hari raya days to go before we make the turnaround trip to KL. Mok Cik Sah in Tumpat and the gathering with Kak Ha at Che’ Yu’s house will be the main events on the agenda plus one or two weddings on the cards. We intend to leave for home insyaAllah on Monday stopping over at a Resort at Banding on the way. Banding is a little island on the manmade lake on the East West Highway that came into being when they built the Chenderoh Dam. A boat trip round the lake is being mulled over as we are in no hurry to reach KL.

Till then Selamat hari raya maaf zahir batin from us to all.

Wassalam,

Zahid

Glossary
Abang = elder brother
Kampung = village or generally rural area 
Tok = Granny (can also refer to Grandpa)
Tok Aki = Grandpa 
Opah = Another version of Granny
Tokcik = Grand Aunt
Makcik = Auntie
Iftar = Break of fast
Tok Aboh = kids reference to Grandpa
Tok Ma = kids reference to Grandma
Gulai lemak = a traditional turmeric based curry
Ikan = fish
Ikan baung = A freshwater fish that makes a delightful gulai lemak
Tarawih = Ramadhan special night prayers 
Raya = Eid
Selamat hari raya = Malaysian Eid Greetings which literally means "Have a safe Eid"
Maaf zahir batin = traditional seeking of forgiveness attached to the Eid greetings