Last month , Omar and I attended the Freedom Film Festival organised by KOMAS. There was an insightful movie called " Sepuluh Tahun Sebelum Merdeka " and I would encourage everyone to watch it with an alternative perspective on what Malaysia could have been and may still be able to be...
This song Burhanuddin Helmy by Black is exceptionally touching with its lyrics...
kuciptakan lagu untukmu kunyanyikan syair buatmu tentang perjuangan tentang pengorbanan
kau yang bertubuh kecil tetapi berjiwa besar tegas pendirian dan berhati mulia
dari utara hingga selatan lantang suaramu menentang penjajahan
melawan penindasan
demi untuk negara demi untuk merdeka kau sering terpenjara kebebasanmu dirampas tapi, jiwamu... tetap merdeka
di atas robohan kota melaka kita dirikan jiwa merdeka kata2 azimat darimu tak pernah kami lupa
walaupun kini jasadmu telah tiada namun semangatmu membakar jiwa rakyat malaysia yang tak pernah melupakan perngorbananmu
This could potentially be my last Easter break here (if all goes to plan).
There is still one part of the UK which I have not yet ventured which is the southwestern tip of UK in the county of Cornwall....
Cornwall is known to have one of the most beautiful beaches in the UK and is a popular spot for surfers. But I didn't really know much about the place apart from it's local dish which were Cornish pasties...
Eight of us- Edgware Road and d Bayswater crew with Zharin joining us from Liverpool decided to do a road trip to Cornwall for the first time. Ezro (chief organiser) booked us a nice house in the Cornish resort with the aim that we could use the facilities provided in the resort to relax.
While we were 'rockbanding' at no.53 we came up with a number of places worthwhile visiting using the tourguide leaflets Najlaa and Farhan provided for all of us.
And so we were ready to set off:
Day One:Tintagel-Padstow
Everyone surprisingly woke up on time (even Bobby!) and we managed to set off on our road trip on time. There wasn't much traffic (luckily) and we reached our first destination Tintagel Castle (supposedly the birthplace of King Arthur)
Being the jakun people that we were, all of us were asking "mana castle nye...?"-even when we were walking up the steep steps we were still wondering where was the castle..we soon realised that what was left of the castle were just ruins....but the views were breathtaking...
The photo session got underway and we were all clicking away -Bobby had his video cam recording our antics along the cliffs which will be turned into the Cornwall movie..Zharin had his ever loving camera 'glued' to his hand whilst Farhan was trailing behind us sketching in his sketch book to capture the wonderful scenery....
The rest of us were there to soak in the fresh air and sea breeze of the Atlantic Ocean....
We spent probably about 2 to 3 hours there but it didn't feel that long at all because of the sunny weather.
By the time we finished covering Tintagel, all of us were thinking about fooood.....and we walked around the Tintagel village to check out the local delicacies...we saw this cafe with a long queue which is always a good sign....
It was a cafe (probably an old house) with a garden at the back....it was surreal because we were having pasties and Cornish cream tea ( scones with clotted cream and jam with earl grey tea) at the back of a garden on a nice spring day playing with the local cat which looked like the bigger version of 'Millie d cat'...
Next on our itinerary for the day: Visit Padstow I heard from colleagues that Padstow was famous for its seafood restaurants e.g. Rick Stein's and Jamie Oliver's restaurant are a few chefs who have had an influence in the restaurants around Padstow. A few are highly rated and appear on the Michelin Guide to the best restaurants...
We only had time to have the Rick Stein's Fish and Chips-mine was ok but the guys had the Dory fish which was yummy...
In the evening, we headed to our accomodation which was a house in the Atlantic Reach resort. It was like driving through Pleasantville as all the houses were identical except for the variation in pastel colours found in each house.
It was a self catered accomodation so we headed out to the village to stock up on our groceries...Najlaa and I had our grocery list which will feed the troops for the next few days...It's one of the things I miss living in a house with lots of people. After cooking dinner for the troops , it was time for Ginrami Card session...it's been a while since we all played cards so everyone was a bit rusty. It didn't take long for everyone to bring out the competitive streak...and we ended playing until 2am in the morning -such an addictive game...
Day Two:Newquay We visited the Blue Reef Aquarium which had received top ratings in the reviews but we were disappointed in what we found. The entry tickets was nearly ten pounds but we didn't think it was value for money since there wasn't much collection to see and the place ain't that big. Nevertheless we made the best of the situation. Personally, Newquay was my least favourite town since it was too crowded and full of groups of people on hen-dos and stag-dos so a bit of a rowdy crowd. The rest of the day we went for a drive to find the nicest beaches around the area but we ended up driving more than we intended. By the time we reached back to our place it was getting late and Najlaa and Farhan became the chefs for the night with Farhan's speciality thai green curry and najlaas ikan goreng masak sambal cili-yummy!
Day Three:Penzance-Landsend The itinerary for the day was busy since we wanted to cover as much area of Penzance and Landsend as we could...
First stop was St Michael's Mount which over the years had been a monastery to a family home under the National Trust in the present day. If you were lucky , you could spot dolphins swimming around the island at high tide... When we visited, it was low tide but the views were still amazing. There is a conspiracy theory that Cornish people are descendants from the pirate family but it has not been proven and not widely admitted. But you couldn't help wonder that Cornwall would have been the perfect spot to smuggle things since its strategic position in the mainland.
Second stop was the open air Minack theatre. We heard the views are amazing but we didn't realise that it would be extremely amazing. We saw there was a soft sand beach called Porthcurno Beach. This is one of THE most beautiful spots I have seen in my life. The weather was perfect and we hiked up along the cliffs to reach the beaches. By the time we got there the high tide had come in but we sat for hours enjoying the view. A moment I will remember for a long time...
We then headed to Landsend which is the most southern tip of the UK mainland. I didn't like the commercial aspect of the place as we entered the area. I don't think you need to have outlet shops and amusement area to attract people to Landsend...the natural beauty of the place should be enough to attract people to the area...
By this point, we were pretty tired but we wanted to make the most of the trip so headed to St Ives for dinner-there was a range of restaurants to eat but parking was a problem and the roads aren't the most user friendly roads for a MPV van...we ended up getting take-away: pasties..again!
Day Four: Eden Project-Bude-Sandymouth Beach-London
This would be our last day in Cornwall. Once we checked out-we headed to Eden project-which is a charity with a vision of educating people in ways in which we can look after our environment and ensuring we can have a sustainable future. It was interesting especially the tropical biomes and mediterranean biomes that have built up a typical environment which we can expect in a certain climate. In the malaysian section , they did a good job because it was very similar to us being back in a kampung except animals were missing like the rooster and monkeys.. Unfortunately the weather wasn't pleasant as we got caught in some heavy rain which cut short our trip around the area...
We headed for Bude since some of the guys wanted to buy some souvenirs in the form of scones and clotted cream.... we then headed for Sandymouth Beach which was the rockiest beach we found so far with its huge pebbles..it was high tide so we didn't see any sand. We saw some brave surfers who tried to hit the waves but the waves were too rough and cold for them-the mission was aborted... I respected them for even trying to hit the waters though because it was freezing!
It was then time to go home....the trip was extremely enjoyable : a combination of good company, good weather and breathtaking views.... The trip was complete with our theme song-Lenny Williams -'Cause I love you' which entertained us in the van with the extremely corny lyrics.
Recently, a few people have said some hurtful things to me and people that I care about but we do not want to make the situation worse so have kept ourselves quiet.
Some people have taken this reaction as us being 'scared' or 'guilty' which has upsetted me even more...
Maybe it was a 'sign' or mere coincidence but I was sent this hadith this week which sums up that if you haven't got anything better/productive to say or merely want to provoke a reaction from us then please don't bother to say anything at all.....and when we are 'silent' it doesn't mean we are 'scared' or 'guilty' but we do not want to make the situation worse by replying back in a hurtful manner...
Here is the hadith I was sent and would like to share it with you....
Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day either speak good or be silent. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his neighbour. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his guest." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
Background This hadith contains the rulings concerning the tongue and the behaviour of Muslims towards others. It also emphasises that we are responsible for what we say. Imam Haithami points out that this hadith is very similar in meaning to Hadith 13 that says: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." He says that everyone is a neighbour to someone else. Therefore if this hadith is properly practiced and applied, then there will be a strong bond and love within the society or community.
Lessons The responsibility of the Muslim regarding what he says is mentioned in the Qur'an: "Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him ready to record it" [Surah Qaf (50): ayat 18]. There are also other hadiths which state that the Muslim should be careful about what he says. His words can either, if they are pleasing to Allah, raise him to a higher level; or if his words displease Allah, they may cause him to be thrown into the Hellfire - as stated in a hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari. This shows that what we say can have a direct effect on whether it will benefit us or not. One hadith (which illustrates the example of a bad consequence resulting from what a person says) states that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said that a pious man from Bani Israel use to see his fellow man always committing sins. On day the pious man swore to the sinner: "By Allah, He will never forgive you." Allah was displeased with what the pious man said because only Allah knows what is our destiny, whether someone will end up in Paradise or Hell. Because of this, when the two men died, the pious man was punished and put into Hell and the sinner was forgiven by Allah. [Sunan Abu Daud] What we can learn here is that either we say something beneficial and good or else we should keep silent.
There are many Islamic guidelines which help us to say good things and to refrain from saying bad things, or things which displeases Allah subhana wa ta'ala. When we talk to others, whether it is relatives, friends, neighbours, etc., we should select the best terms/words and say them in a nice way. We should ensure that what we say is clear and easily understood. If we are not careful and we do not choose the right words, what we say may be misinterpreted and may lead to conflicts. As a listener, we have to listen positively and interpret what we hear in a good way. We should not 'over interpret' what we hear; we should not try to 'read between the lines'. Thus, as a speaker we say things in a positive manner and as a listener we interpret things in a positive manner. By doing so Islam encourages us to minimise disputes and conflicts.
If we find ourselves in the middle of a dispute between two people, e.g. between relatives, we should not take sides. We should try to help and reconcile the differences; try to resolve the problems and end the dispute.
If we are being consulted by someone and asked for our advice, we should try our best to give good advice. What we say should help the person and not add to his confusion or doubt. If we do not have enough knowledge and we cannot provide proper advice, then we should keep silent.. Even if we have information which, as a result, may add to the person's confusion, we should keep it to ourselves.
We should keep away as best as we can from unnecessary or non-beneficial talk. People can talk or chat for hours but a lot of what is said is unimportant or trivial and does not benefit anyone. It wastes our time and this continuous talking may even lead us into areas where we might say something which displeases Allah subhana wa ta'ala.
When it comes to saying good things, there are many examples available: dzikrullah (remembrance of Allah), reciting the Qur'an, du'a, giving advice, etc. These are all things which are pleasing to Allah.
When we meet people who are sick, sad, feeling down, in a low frame of mind, etc., we should say things that will make these people feel better, have patience in facing their calamity, be positive, be strong, etc. This is known as al-muasah - to say good things of encouragement to help those facing problems; to not make them panic. The scholars have defined sabr (patience) as 'to refrain from panicking' - to refrain from being out of control - and to refrain the tongue from complaining. Complaining, e.g. simply saying that the weather is hot, will lead us to impatience; it can affect our attitude and hence our work. If we want to lament we should lament only with Allah. If we do it with Allah it is munajah - it will turn into ibadah. If we do it with others it will be complaining (tashakki) - we will be violating the ibadah itself, which is sabr. So we should learn to minimise and ultimately eliminate the act of complaining.
We should refrain from saying bad things or things which may be untrue. When we hear some news, we shouldn't simply repeat it or spread it without first verifying if the news is true. This could lead to us spreading lies or rumours. We must refrain from: spreading rumours, especially those that will cause harm to the community. slandering, back-biting, etc. sarcasm and making fun of others - this is one of the most common social ills today. It is a sin to make fun of others.
Sometimes we may encounter a situation which involves fitnah or al-fitan. We have to be careful of what we say. There are people who will take advantage of the situation and they may say things which may worsen the situation. When there is fitnah, people are in a panic and might believe anything. That's why we have to be careful of what we say because it may add to the people's fears and problems. What we should do is to help by saying positive things that will give the people hope; to uplift them and motivate them to face the problems; and not to make it worse.
1. Honesty: It is the key to any relationship...-if you don't have honesty , there is no trust and if there is no trust then..you're heading for an uphill struggle....
2. Communication: Talking is key-not everyone is a psychic -if something is bothering you then you can't bottle it all inside. Frictions occur when people stop talking ..
3. Strong Values: Whether you're religious or not, you need to have values on what is right and what is wrong...therefore if u ever stray the path there is always a way back...
4. Success: It does not necessarily come in the form of money or power...-it may be one of the signs of success but is not the ultimate success...material things can come and go. One day u may be the envy of the world and the next it could all be taken away from u in a flash
5.Happiness: even if you have all the money and success in the world-if u can't share it with the ones u love then it is not worth having. Be happy and content with what you have...
6.Family : the bond between a family can never be broken-families may fight at times but the saying 'blood is thicker than water' is true...we have to be united. Friends may come and go but its the family who are usually there when the going gets tough....and the tough gets going...
I have been living in the UK for nearly 17 years but I am planning to go back home soon.Currently working on my exit strategy and will soon be a reality insya-Allah. This blog is a place for me to write down my random thoughts as I go through this journey called life.
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