Monday, October 02, 2006

Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

It just 5 minutes before the break, but my tummy has started singing keroncong and other unfamiliar song, staring at the colourful meal makes it even worst and not to mention the aroma of laksa that makes our heart race faster. When the time came it usually started of with kuih and then heavy meal until my tummy bloated like a melon.
By 8.15pm we are ready with telekung at the madrasah, most of the time the madrasah were occupied by elderly who have to climb up that steep staircase.And the men used an old curved concrete staircase.The small madrasah could only make up 4 saf for women, so most of the time I was pushed to the corner next to the window and could hear the 'tok tok' sound clearly when the call for Isyak prayer.
Most of these women will also bring their grandchildren and that was the time when we get to know each other.One thing that I like being in this madrasah is the smell of fresh flower normally bunga cempaka or what my grandma used to call - 'bunga chempa', they stuffed it inside their telekung maybe as a replacement for perfume and they also wear a fashionable 'bedak sejuk' on their face :-)
Everytime before we start out terawih prayer, Bilal will called out loud 'Safff..',a reminder to all to keep a close distance while praying rather than leaving a big gap, he will also asked the boys to proceed to the back but most of them will only play not pray.


..That was in the 80's, when most of the women that I met was about in their 50 or 60's and now living in Putrajaya, the scenario is different, no more sweet scent of 'bunga cempaka' and 'bedak sejuk'.We have a big mosque here with intricate design and motives on its dome and interior and the space is spacious where it could accomodate thousands of people. A grand interior and high decorative ceiling can't beat the warm and cosy even sentimental value of old madrasah.This mosque was design with many considerations in mind but it still failed to provide the comfort especially its ventilation, where central cooling system doesn't work well here, therefore many stand fan need to be provided and this lead to a big gap of Saf. People will comfortably find a space directly behind the fan, and when the prayer start they don't care to move forward, some will who understand will definitely change the position.


Things are different, this is not a small town where people know each other, no more hugs and kisses on cheek after the prayer, no sound of grandfather's clock in an old madrasah...But I will try to do the best since this is the first time Ramadhan and Terawih with a litle one inside kicking during the prayer.

16 comments:

Kak Teh said...

I remember those days of puasa as a child - the last hour seemed to be the slowest, especially when in front of us was the big jug of syrup with ice cubes. I remember queueing up to buy blocks of ice wrapped in sawdust and running home with it - hands numbed and frozen after the ordeal...It all seemed so exciting then.

Count Byron said...

I love your keroncong :) and the other unfamiliar songs!
The smell of bunga cempaka... mmm memories wafted through my wake.. my late grandmas would've loved to be in that madrasah, and as a boy ( before baligh hahaha ) I used to go into their corner and scare the women, touching them.. but they knew.. it was just gas! no impact hahaha
I love your chronicle of Ramadhan Sue.
Keep being healthy for the baby ok.
Salam Ramadhan to you and hubby.

sue said...

Kak Teh,
you are right, even 5 minutes feels like 5 hours. Remember how we need to crushed the ice block with lesung batu..:-)

Dear Count,
This Ramadhan is so meaningful, being a different person now doesn't make us forget what it used to be during our childhood.

You must be one of those naughty bunch who just love to scare the women :-)

simah said...

esp with the lil inside..bila terawikh lagi la berkat...insyaAllah he or she will be a good muslim :0)

salam ramdhan to u n family..

sue said...

simah,
harap-harap mcm tu la, byk sikit cabaran berpuasa kali ni

sorry, i still can't access yours, prob wit my pc

Anne said...

aka simah
i face that problem with mama sarah's blog heheh

cabaran memang cabaran but u know what? i think it will all be worth it..insyaAllah.. take care of urself.. nanti bila senang i tulis email..:0)

sue said...

anne aka simah,
i sempat baca pasal ur pilav, tapi tak sempat comment pc dah hang, will try again

u too take care and have a nice ramadhan in turkey

Nong said...

Betul kata Sue tentang perbezaan terawih dulu dan sekarang. Kalau dulu di madrasah (zaman 60'an untuk kak nong), kami mesra antara satu sama lain dan saling kenal berkenalan esp time moreh.

Sekarang ni, lepas solat terawih bersalam pun susah...

Take care of yourself and baby too.

sue said...

kak nong,
memang terasa lain sgt, kalau dulu boleh kenal hampir semua makcik2 atau nenek kat madrasah, tapi skrg semua org rushing, mungkin keadaan yg mendesak. Salam Ramadhan to you

ufukhati said...

sue,

This piece make me blue.

When I was a boy, I used to solat Tarawih in the "balai sah" (Kelantanese called it for madrasah). We the boys seldom finished the 20 rakaats of the Tarawih. During those times, after Tarawih we were served with "cendol" or "bubur kacang" plus syrup bandung. This is the best part of it. That is why we love Ramadhan.

I don't think those beautiful days will come again. Many of my close friends are not around any more. Some of them are moving to far away places and (sad to say) some has died. I missed them all. The shouting, the laughing, the crying all sum up to a conclusion : HAPPY OLDEN DAYS.

sue,
This one, drag me to a melancholic moments. I like to sharing these moments with you.

Sorry for using to many words.

maklang said...

Assalamualaikum sue,

LAma tak kemari. Hope u and baby ara fine. Take care!

thewailer said...

haha! yeah my stomach growls like keroncong also la sis sue, this entry brings back memory of tertidur masa tarawikh when I was in MTD, so imagine the repercussion! hehehe :)

sue said...

Pak Darma,
I could imagine those good old days, kids running around playing and shouting before rushing for the moreh.

MakLang,
jemput-jemput la selalu

sue said...

TW,
tertidur masa terawikh ?? i bet pastu u kena turun 20 or run around the block? hope u have a pleasant Ramadhan in Cali :-)

Anonymous said...

assalamualaikum sue !
maaf lama tak masuk blog awok
ramadhan dah nak habis
tahun ni kali pertama ramadhan jauh dari keluarga. rindu kat kg sgt.
masa kecik kecik dulu ... terawikh kat surau kg. tepi jln masuk ke kg. kalau terawikh .. buat 8 je .. lepas tu main kat luar ... dah dekat witir .. masuk balik surau .. pasal nak makan kuih ... kelako tol ... skg tak boleh nak buat lagi pasal dah beso !

satu lagi masa terawikh bawak lidi penyapu ... potong pendek pendek letak bawah sejadah ... utk kira rakaat ... kalo tak.. terlupa ..pasal tiba rakaat ke 8 nak main mercun kat luo ... imam teruskan sampai 22 ... hehehe

mobb.eire

Queen Of The House said...

Sue ... SELAMAT HARI RAYA. Balik A/Setar bila?