Country Cottage Arts

You must hear this !

2012-02-07T21:39:00.000+08:00

Tuesday 7 February 2011

She's better than Susan Boyle ! Magnifique !

Such purity, clarity and emotion for a 12 year old.... simply amazing

Enjoy

Lakshmi

CNN - KOLAVERI D

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000+08:00

Monday, 30 January 2012

It's been on the air and you-tube for some time now and CNN news reported that there were 28million hits on this song and was the song of the year 2011

The original version is :.....

The little boy's cute version

Happy listening

Lakshmi

My Art Ladies

2012-01-24T20:48:00.000+08:00

Tuesday 24 January 2012

I just realised that the pictures I had posted in my previous article under " designs/thinking out of the box" does not appear for my readers. Don't know why but it does when I open my site! will do something ........

Anyway, I've started my community class at the 3C Complex at Subang Jaya for the year and below are some of the students who had painted their pieces all by themselves with nil or minimum assistance from me. My next class will be on 28 January 2012 at 9.00am

Marie Pusphpam with her garden pots

Muraliswari with her garden pots done on a biscuit tin....... unfinished as yet......

Another of my students' work

This young lady always follows her dear Grandma and both of them can be seen quietly painting away during class, even during the December holidays !

Oh dear ! they have just put away their work and getting ready to go home ....hmmm missed their painting when taking the pics.... well, next time I'll be more prepared.

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Design Ideas - Thinking out of the Box

2012-01-15T18:24:00.000+08:00

Sunday, 15 January 2012

Received this from my good friend Gouri and thought it worth sharing .....

Btw, my shoutbox widget is out and I can't seem to get my kids to do something about it, so please post on my comment box ( sigh! .... not that Malaysians are that pro-active ! )

People who think outside the box are special!

Happy reading

Lakshmi

Christmas Has Gone & New Year Is On & A Remedy for Dengue Fever

2012-01-11T23:29:00.000+08:00

Wednesday , 11 January 2012

I know, I know, I'm behind times but that's because I have had a very very long and tiring year end and 2012 didn't exactly start with a bang !

First, on my Christmas..................

Well, for starters, my first 'hands on ' Christmas 2011 was a tiring affair. I was not in the best of health and my son was down with fever for several days after which, on the 4th day, he was diagnosed with dengue positive upon having his blood test at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre ( SJMC). We had to trudge to SJMC every day to check his blood platelet count and although it was going down, we were advised to keep him at home. Numerous home remedies were given to us by family members, relatives and friends, one of which was to eat raw young papaya. Another remedy was to boil papaya leaves in water and drink it. Quite desperate by now and at wits end , for I didn't want to have my son admitted in SJMC, I gave him ( more like forced him ) both the young papaya to eat and also the boiled papaya leaf water, which was quite bitter, by the way - sort of a double dosage in the hope that it would speed up his blood count. Miracle of all miracles ! The next day, when he was told by the resident doctor at SJMC to be admitted after his fever showed no signs of lowering, we insisted for a blood test to be done and asked for a second opinion from one the the specialist doctors . Would you believe it ? His blood platelet count was slightly up and the specialist told us that it was not necessary for my son to be admitted. Holy Mother of God ! I hugged my son unashamedly and almost cried. And this happened on Boxing Day, one day after Christmas.   So, now you know when I said it was a real trying and tiring time.

Remember, if anyone of you or your family/friends have the dreaded dengue fever, make them eat raw papaya and drink the water of boiled papaya leaves pronto ... very effective and save expensive medical costs .

As for Christmas lunch itself, since we were bogged down by my son's health , I was not in my roaring self exactly but since it was already decided earlier that Christmas celebrations was to be in our home, we placed an order for the roast turkey with its trimmings from the Dorset Regency Hotel in Subang Jaya and also picked up the pre-ordered food from several well known restaurants and food outlets.    The turkey came with the trimmings but without the filling !    I had only time to make a Waldorf Salad and oven basted chicken wings. The extra fruit cake that I had baked for Deepavali and stashed away in the ice-box came in handy and became the Christmas cake ! Of course, one desert is not enough, so I also baked bread pudding and served it with ice-cream instead of the customary custard sauce.

Two days before my son fell sick ( which was 4 days before Christmas), I had told my children that each should bake whatever cookie/ biscuit they liked - me included . My gangly son made chocolate chip cookies ( which recipe he found in the net and which he made the size of saucers, my daughter made ground peanut cookies which only she liked and I baked my yearly gingerbread man cookies, complete with eyes, nose,mouth and sugar beads for buttons.

It was a real hodgy podgy Christmas and to cap it all, Christmas lunch was served on paper plates and wine in paper cups !

Urrggghhhh, the irony of it all !

Now for the New Year celebrations ......

New Year had and is always celebrated in my eldest sister-in-law's house. Since she ( Professor Dr Helen Nair ) had taken up the post as Dean of Biotechnology at the private Quest International University in Ipoh, Perak , we drove to Ipoh a day ahead, stayed at the Ipoh Royal Club and celebrated new year's eve at the Club's new year eve's party . The party was one of the most boring and dullest one ever organised , I think. Imagine having only 10 tables for a party bash and only 8 tables were taken up for a new year's eve party ! Imagine having to eat tuna with mayonnaise, followed by a tasteless chicken with boiled potatoes and half cooked cauliflower and ending with a half frozen shop bought fruitcake slice with a dripping of icing camouflaging as sauce ! It was simply terrible and awful and to think that this was our first ever family outing for a new year's party   ! The band performers looked half dead and their zombie like singing sent my son's temperature up the roof. My son looked at me and rolled his eyes, my daughter looked at me and rolled her eyes and I looked at my husband and well, rolled my eyes too ...................

So we officially started the year 2012 with all our eyes rolling round with each other ! Great start to 2012.... here we come !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

My First Ever Christmas Do !

2011-12-27T00:18:00.000+08:00

This update was to have been put up last week but didn't have time ....................

Tuesday, 20th December

I've been married to a Catholic for 23 year and all these years, Christmas celebrations were always held at my sisters-in-law homes . And I have five of them , my husband being the only son with his 5 sisters. Being the only   Hindu among my husband's family , it was customary for me to join them in their homes for the Christmas celebrations every year. Of course, my kids and I put up the Christmas tree in our home , visit all the shopping malls to admire the beautiful Christmas trees, play Jingle Bells until I can actually see Santa Claus dashing through my front door in his one horse open sleigh ( don't ask me how )    and have a fabulous time baking gingerbread men cookies for my kids ( I still do ) . In short, I always had a terrific time during Christmas, enjoying all the fun and festivities without any added responsibility of   actually cooking and organising a family Christmas lunch. You know how it is, when you don't have to do spring cleaning , cook all the stuff and set table for guests, etc., etc... you just arrive at their doorstep with a goodie bag of cakes and cookies, join the celebrations and don't have to do the washing and cleaning afterwards ?    Well, that's what I had been doing all these 22 years ( read my earlier Christmas blogpost ).

Until now

It just came out of the blue and even now I'm in a kind of daze. Imagine me, a Hindu organising a Christmas lunch in my home ? For all my Catholic sisters-in-law and their spouses and children ? Why ! I never thought that it would happen! It's such an important celebration for Catholics and Christians alike and I'm in charge of the Christmas Day celebrations for this year ? Holy Lembu !!

Well, after the initial stun-gun effect wore off, I sat down with my trusty lieutenants (my son and daughter la ) and told them ( no room for discussion here !) that we should make this Christmas celebrations the best ever that they've ( my in-laws ) had for a long time. Ya, ya , ya, the moaning and the groaning of extra cleaning chores , washing dishes, etc ., followed for sure. I would have been more surprised if there wasn't !

For starters, it so happened that we had to buy a new Christmas tree this year ( our old faithful tree had to be disposed off after years of service ) So now we have a brand new Christmas tree ( bought it from Bangsar Village II ) to show off. I've given my old collection of pine cones ( which I had painstakingly collected during my stay at Bukit Tinggi Resort a few yeas ago ) a good washing and gave them a new lease of life in a rattan basket .

My children's collection of the Snow White's 7 dwarfs have been arranged under the tree and the large flower pot which I use as a side table has been moved near the Christmas tree.

( its one of those pics which I can't seem to edit to make it upright, so readers will just have to strain your necks to the left ..... ooooopsssss

It was a nightmare cleaning the house and as the days got nearer the house got messier right up to the eve. In the midst of this mess, my daughter wanted us to go to Ikea/Curve for shopping. And so, we took an early morning drive, ( my typical son came under duress or no Christmas gifts under the tree for him ) walked and trudged and walked and lumbered through both outlets with our arms aching and feet limping from blisters . Suffice to say that I won't miss these outlets till probably next year.

One of the most irritating thingy was when I decided to purchase a glass cyclinder vase. There was no price tag on any of the cylinders which came in 3 sizes, large, medium and small. Looked under all the cylinders and couldn't find a single pricetag offer or signages. Went looking around for a sales rep in the awful congested place and of course, when you need them you can't find them or they don't want to be found.............. Then went searching for a pricetag meter and it so so happens that it would be tucked in the opposite far side from where you are., hang on, that wasn't the end. The meter was out of order.. Would you really believe it ? Holy Lembu !!   I must have looked like a red blimp about to explode because my daughter and son took one look at me and steered straight away to the paying counter.

Having to stick to my budget and not knowing whether I could afford the purchase of all 3 sizes ( together with the inevitable unplanned and extra purchases I had made ) I reluctantly chose the medium sized one to the counter, which queue was almost snaking till the candles isle, and waited in line , shifting the pressure on my legs every 5 minutes till it came to my turn. After tallying all my other purchases, the cashier finally keyed in the tag for the glass cylinder and told me coolly that the cylinders are sold in sets of 3 only and how much was the cost ?

RM69.90 .   Well, could she send the roller skater boys to bring the other 2 sizes as there was no such info when I saw them ? " Ehhh, no, it will take too much time "

Urrrrrggggg, how I wished I could have dumped the cylinder onto her head !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Ps: More pics to come later

Why Hindus Have Many 'Gods'

2011-12-14T21:50:00.000+08:00

Wednesday 14 December 2011

This blogpost is a continuation to my previous blog write-up - WISE MEN HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, FOOLS HAVE TO SAY THING! where I had written that I would explain why Hindus seem to have many ' Gods'.

I am not an expert in Hinduism and I still have much to learn about my religion. Philosophers, saints and sages have spent lifetimes discussing and pondering on the many facets of Hinduism and as such, I can only explain with what limited knowledge I know.

Some of the basic tenets of Hinduism are :

Who founded Hinduism

Hinduism is not a religion per se and is actually a way of life. It has been in existence about 4000 years ago from the Indus civilisation in India, which is also the oldest civilization on earth. Unlike the People of the Book, Hinduism has no founder or author and it is so ancient that no one knows the source of Hinduism

The Holy Books in Hinduism

There are 4 primary and sacred scriptures called ' The Vedas'. Scholars have determined the Vedas were composed about 1500 BC namely the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda. " The Upanishads " are a continuation of the Vedic philosophy, and were written between 800 and 400 B.C. They elaborate on how the soul (Atman) can be united with the ultimate truth (Brahman) through contemplation and meditation, as well as the doctrine of Karma-- the cumulative effects of a persons' actions.

The Vedas and Upanishads are an extensive collection of scriptures and philosophical texts relating to hymns, incantations, rituals, spirituality and worship in ancient India . It details the divine duties of our earthly life and our soul's relationship to GOD. Hindus believe that at the highest level , GOD and Soul are one and inseparable whereas Western faiths maintain that Creator and creation are eternally distinct.

Incidently, there are also 2 great epics in Hinduism, the Mahabaratha and Ramayana

The longest story in the world is the Mahabaratha ( 100,000 verses) which tells the story of rivalry between the 5 Pandava brothers and the 100 Kauravas which ends with the war at Kurukshetra, India ( modern day Haryana)

The Sanskrit epic of Ramayana tells the story of Rama, whose wife, Sita, is abducted by the demon king of Lanka, Ravana . There are many versions of Ramayana- the Indonesion, Philippines, Laos, Thai, Burmese, Malay and others.

How Hindus view other religions

Hindus do not proselytise, meaning we do not convert members of other faiths. Proselytisation or conversion is based upon the belief that only one's religion is the only true religion and everyone else is secondary, so others should join it. In the present world environment, Christianity and Islam subscribe to this view.

Hindus hold the view that all faiths are beneficial and that it is not necessary nor possible for everyone to hold the same faith . An ancient Sanskrit verse summarizes the Hindu attitude:

As the different streams, having their sources in different places, all mingle their water in the sea, so O Lord, the different paths which men take through different faiths, various though they appear, all lead to Thee ".

Thus, Hindus honor and respect all religious traditions and the people within them. The Hindus' motto is simply " Live and Let Live "

Why do some Hindu Gods have animal features

In dreams and visions, the inner-plane beings have revealed themselves to mankind in many forms expressing many powers. Some appear human and others like Lord Ganesha, have elephant features.

Hinduism is not alone in having Divinities with animal attributes. This is a common link to all ancient faiths . The Greeks worshipped the God Pan , half goat half human and the Sea God Ichthyocentaurs ( human head and torso with horse legs and serpentine tails of fish ). The Egyptian God of the Underworld, Anubis ( falcon head ) the Sun God, Ra, Thoth, the God of Wisdom and Moon ( Ibis head) Bastet, his consort was in the form of cat or lioness. The Meso-american people worshiped Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent. The Assyrians , the powerful serpent Goddess Tiamat. In Japan where Buddhism and Shintoism are intertwined, they pray to Kitsune the fox and Tengu the bird man . Many shrines are guarded by a pair of magical lion-dogs - the Koma-inu or Shishi. Even Christians have half human half bird winged angels called Cherubims... and in early Christianity, there were gargoyle statues as part of the Church architecture

Over the centuries, with the coming of the monotheistic religions and their prominence, the old Gods have been put in exile. Only in Hinduism does such worship thrive in unbroken continuity . Food for thought - Aren't we humans too( scientifically ) supposed to have evolved from homo sapiens , an animal specie ?

Why do Hindus cremate the dead

Hindus traditionally cremate ( burn) the dead within 24 hours because a fiery dissolution of the body brings faster and more complete release of the soul than burial, which preserves the soul's psychic connection to its earthly life. After death, the departed soul hovers close to the earth plane and is emotionally attached to its physical body and surroundings and is still able to see the material world.    The funeral rites and burning the body signify its spiritual release and notifies the soul that death has come. Some of the mantras chanted directs the deceased soul to relinquish its attachments and continue its spiritual journey. The body is thus disposed of swiftly and cleanly as possible as fire is the purest way to return the physical body back to its element source

Hindus belief in reincarnation - that death is merely the soul's release from the current life to another.    That's why we say " passed away " . After it has taken its journey to the inner worlds, the soul will reincarnate into a new identity/birth in accordance to its karma .( Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss/ Children Who Remember Previous Lives by Dr Ian Stevenson , Old Souls, Scientific Evidence of Past Lives by Tom Shroder are some of the scientific and evidence based publications )

Why Hindus Have Many Gods

In the Hindu tradition and lore, the Trinities of Brahma ( the Creator) Vishnu ( the Preserver) and Shiva ( the Destroyer) are seen as different Gods. But in actuality, they are all the many manifestations of ONE SUPREME ABSOLUTE BRAHMAN . Hindus regard all things sacred and every aspect of divinity is worshiped. To a Hindu, everything in this world is a creation of GOD and they see everything as an aspect and manifestation of GOD - thus the many gods and goddess. Although this seems puzzling to someone looking from the outside, to a Hindu, this is a very simple concept.   A simple analogue to explain this clearly would be gold. If we wear gold on our finger, it is called a ring, when worn on the hand, it's called bangles or bracelet, if worn on the ear, it's called a earring , put on our necks, it's called a chain, etc., They are all from the same material but given different names when used differently. Thus the ONE SUPREME ABSOLUTE BRAHMAN manifests in myriad forms for the understanding of the common man. It's like the relationship between the Sun and its rays. We cannot experience the sun itself but we can experience its rays and the qualities, which those rays have. And, although the sun’s rays are many, ultimately, there is only one source, one sun.

So, though from the outside it looks like Hinduism has many Gods, the Hindus also understand their faith well and ultimately believe in the ONE SUPREME ABSOLUTE BRAHMAN which has many forms and names.

I have given a very simplified explaination on Hinduism without going into too much details and readers are free to raise questions or give their interpretations to the above.

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Some excerpts were taken from the following source

Hinduism Today
Hinduism - Belief & Practices Prof Jeaneane Fowler, University of Wales,Newport
The Many Facets of Hinduism (John Albers -eHow magazine )
Sacred - Text & Archives.com

Wise Men Have Something to Say, Fools Have To Say Something

2011-12-04T16:40:00.005+08:00

Sunday, 4 December 2011

In order to understand the reason for my write-up today, you have to do yourself a favour and click on the link given below ( an online new portal - Malaysian Insider ). Then read the article by Hafidz Baharom entitled " Is our faith so brittle " otherwise you'd be all blinky dinky and would have no inkling of what this is all about .

I had recently linked an article written by Hafidz Baharom

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/opinion/article/is-our-faith-so-brittle

Having read the article and finding Hafidz Baharom's view a refreshing piece of critical thinking , intellectually stimulating and news worthy, I then linked it to my facebook. . The following were the comments based on that article which I had posted on my wall and the reply/remarks by my good friend Datin Zaleha Shamsuddin

Lakshmi Ganesan Nair

I so hope more of Hafidz Baharom are out there and zilch of Ahmad Maslan . Dear GOD, make Malaysia safe again.

Zaleha Shamsuddin Which of your gods, knowing you have so many.

This is my reply to her

Dear Datin Zaleha Shamsuddin

We have been good friends for some years now and sharing the same age, month and year of birth had made our friendship more meaningful . Added to the fact that you were a devout Muslim and seeing you fulfilling your religious obligations conscientiously with great effort ( despite going through trying times with regards to your family matters and poor health ) I held you in high regard and had valued our friendship. There were many a time when your strong opinions on matters were very different from mine but I did not pursue them as I was and still am of the view that everyone of us has a right to express our views ( like I always say, " to each her/his own " ) so long as we don't hurt or offend others' sensitivities In that regard, our different faiths and religious idealogy had never given us any issues in the past and we had even on some occasions. discussed our different religious philosophy in a cordial manner .

So you will understand why I am now so shocked, appalled and deeply offended by your unwarranted, crude and coarse remarks you had written about ' my God/Gods ' .

I had much respect of you as a friend and more so when u were always quoting the verses from the Quran in all our conversations. I was thus under the impression that you were a very pious, devout, erudite and true Muslim who understood the real meaning of Islam - a religion of peace and knowledge as all religions of the world are in my view. Sadly, I realise now that it was just a facade and you are not what you portray yourself to be . A true Muslim or for that matter, a true follower of any faith would never stoop so low as to belittle another religion/faith for a true believer in GOD ( doesn't really matter which one )would ultimately realise that all paths lead to the same Source.. Only the roads taken to reach the Source are different .

Taken from your fb entry too were these words as written by you :

Selamat maal hijrah, may it be a more wiser, humbler and grateful year for all of us

I guess that you don't practice what you preach. Perhaps you should take time to sit down and think what ' wiser, humbler and grateful ' means. In my book, it means I am forever grateful and blessed for all that I have now, that there are far more enlightened people around us who do not flaunt their knowledge and ' ketuanan ' superiority and lastly ' wiser' means to know when to open my mouth and when to keep it closed .

Incidently , if you read your Maal Hijrah message carefully, you'd realise that ( 1st mistake )even your message is worded wrongly ( sigh) like everything else you write la ...... you are wishing for the year to be wiser, humbler and grateful ? looks like you don't want yourself nor your friends to be wiser , more humble,and grateful (2nd mistake - no such thing as humbler, sorry, but that's the language teacher in me talking). A year cannot be wiser, more humble or grateful dear.... Words like wiser, more humble and grateful are character traits and adjectives used to describe living things/people . Tsk....tsk ......tsk...

An educated, intelligent and titled person like you should have known better than to write highly offensive and tasteless remarks on other faiths/religions of which you have no in depth knowledge nor understanding at all. But then again, as my good friend, Tengku Norashikin said when I had discussed this with her, " not all educated people are intelligent and not all intelligent people are educated ! " I guess I can see now in which category you have placed yourself

If you are mature enough and put on your thinking cap, you would understand that if GOD ( it doesn't matter yours or mine ) had wanted to have only 1 faith in the world , He wouldn't have created all the other faiths just for fun now, would He ?

Coming back to your remark : Which one of your Gods ( to safe Malaysia) since I have so many '

Really, Zaleha , You want to know which God I'm referring to ? And if you do know which God I'm referring to, would you want to make an appointment and demand an answer from " my God/Gods ' as to why our beautiful country is not safe anymore but going through endless mega scandals of sleaze , corruption and blatant misuse of taxpayers money running into billions while the ordinary Joe/Jane Public is struggling to put food on the table for their kids ? . Or maybe you would like to ask ' my God/Gods, why our politicians are using religion to divide the nation along ethnic and religious lines and perpetuating the ' Muslims/ Non-Muslims segregation in all aspects of our lives ? Why not just treat all of us as Malaysians. Full Stop. ? Seriously , Zaleha, would you be asking these questions or ask for a List of my Gods and what are their job descriptions?

On a lighter vein, looking at the horrendous list of problems Malaysia is going through, even my many 'Gods' won't be enough in numbers to help solve the problems we are facing !!

We all have strong beliefs in our own faith and beautiful Malaysia is home to all the major religions of the world. Even then, our education system has from childhood ingrained in us the wrong methodology of the word 'tolerance for all other religions ' which really does not say much for the Ministry's education standards . Either that or they were severely handicapped in the language department, for the proper word to have been instilled, would have been ' respect for all religions '. As such, religion and politics are the two things which we can never comment upon publicly as we please in a religiously and politically polarised society as ours.

If you still want to comment , which I personally think is your right , then you must be prepared - have a thorough and in-depth knowledge of the subject matter you want to discuss , your character and knowledge being able to stand up to scrutiny, being open to counter criticism and being able to cogently reason it out intelligently in a rational and calm manner without shooting your mouth off like a monkey and thumping your chest like a gorilla . These guidelines apply to anyone irrespective of any particular faith.

Problem arises when one party/segment of society feels that he/she /they have the right to criticise the other but cannot accept the same criticism put back to him/her/them. The standard reply I have seen and read is the ' others ' ( Non-Muslims) cannot question Islam because i ) it is seditious ii) Non-Muslims have no locus standi iii) even Muslims cannot and don't question their faith/tenets/hadiths, so who are we/others ?. Then, it's not a level playing field and bias and bigotry takes over ( I remember the Malaysian Bar Council's Interfaith dialogue which was vehemently and violently opposed with racial slurs and condemnation and even the Police Force did not do anything to stop them)

Hafidz Baharom's article was well thought out and written and his reasonings were logical by any standards . I found his explanation plausible, stimulating and it made sense. The article was based on his thoughts and opinion , however. If you read the last line of the article, it clearly says :

The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

I simply recommended his article for reading in my fb . At no time did I question his faith or make any downgrading remarks about his religion. He does however, asks some pertinent and common sense based questions for his leaders, and readers alike to think and remark upon. My remarks of there being more of H Baharom like public citizen in no way touched his religious upbringing or faith.

I say again, I simply recommended his article for reading and made a simple statement of ' Dear GOD make Malaysia safe again ' to be like the old times when there was no racial distrust, no such thing as constantly being identified as Muslims and Non-Muslims in all spheres of our lives , when we could greet and wish each other without fear of bigotry, when we as true Malaysians could visit and partake of our other friends' hospitality during festivals and celebrations freely , when there was no rampant corruption and sleaze on a global scale........ I still remember a few years ago, the Perak Chief Hadi issued an edict or something wherein Muslims cannot even wish or give greetings to their Non Muslims friends celebrating Deepavali/ Christmas..etc . Then there was the Yoga controversy - Muslims cannot do Yoga exercises... it will weaken their Islamic faith.. seriously ( lol)! There are 5 branches of Yoga and Hatha Yoga or the physical Yoga has nothing to do with one's faith. It is purely physical in nature consisting of stretching exercises/poses meant to tone and make the body/joints flexible and at the same time stimulating/massaging the 7 internal endocrine glands in our body, which if becomes sluggish, will cause major and severe health problems. Go read up on general science.... . The idiom " A little knowledge is very dangerous " is so so 100 % true for people like... well... you know.............................

If at all you were as intelligent as I thought you were, you could have given your counter reasons for H Baharom's article and put forth your replies for his many pertinent questions ( not mine, comprende ? ) like below

How about lobbying for religious institutions in every state to ensure that hospitals have an imam on duty to counsel the sick and the dying? How about speaking to malls to disallow the distribution of any fliers of ANY RELIGION in a mall, since it is a form of disturbance that makes people uncomfortable?

How about lobbying for adult courses in religious studies for those who apparently didn’t get enough of it after 12 years in both primary and secondary schools?

You already have people going around parks at night to so-call ‘cegah maksiat’ and even nailing warnings to every gazebo in Taman Tasik Shah Alam. Why not use the same resources to educate the ummah and even raise the welfare of the ummah instead of spending more cash on a new building?

So please, dear Datin Zaleha Shamsuddin, be more circumspect of what you think and write in public media . I do really wish you had not written what you wrote and I also understand that one of my fb friends did reply you ....... .. I presume there were some heated exchange of words on my fb wall but by the time I had steadied my nerves from your indecent attack on my faith, ( I was too stunned and shocked by your words to resume my fb for a few days ) and opened my fb, both your remarks were withdrawn from my wall. I only knew about the exchange from my very good friend, Tengku Norashikin , who being a true friend, did not take sides and gave me an impartial reasoning which allowed us an intellectual discussion on the matter.

I hope you won't take up arms and go on a warpath again if I say " Dear GOD, let there be more of Tengku Norashikins in Malaysia !

I end my piece by quoting a very very wise saying which I always quote to my 16 yr old son, Arvind, whenever I feel he talks too much " WISE MEN HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, FOOLS HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING . I hope Zaleha takes note of this too.

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Ps: My next article will answer Zaleha's question - Why I have so many Gods

A Perfect Substitute for a Husband

2011-11-22T16:06:00.001+08:00

Tuesday 22 November 2011

The holidays have begun and I'm having a hard time trying to keep myself sane with the full time presence of my 16 year old son. He's at that terrible stage and age when

i ) he ( all boys ?) thinks he knows everything about anything but who doesn't know how to put his wet towel in the towel rack... he drops it on the bed

ii) who thinks that when Dad is not around the house, the TV remote is his for day and his sister has to plead with him

iii) who reasons to me that exams are over and its legally right for him to watch TV endlessly and keep up with his Facebook/Internet games..or play basketball under the harsh Malaysian sun every evening, rain or shine....

iv) whose idea of cleaning/tidying which is part of their weekly house-cleaning duty is to chuck everything he sees into the wardrobe and jam the door or if there are too many clothes littered in his room, to dump them conveniently into the laundy basket, both used and unused .....

v) who sweeps the room without a dustpan and walks up and down the stairs umpteen times absentmindedly to get it and then finally pushes all the rubbish under the bed and sweeps all the dust under the carpet ! Really !

The list doesn't end here but you get the picture. I wonder if this is the norm with all boys or am I the only mum who is facing such a smucsch. Of course, being the 'smart and modern mum' that I am, I consciously consciously make it a point to sit down with him every other day to explain to him the triple load that I have to do to rectify these stupidities of his ( have even given him the ' Mummy is SO tired but I've no choice but to do your chores too' routine; the " Mummy can't bend down, my knees are paining but since you can't do, Mummy has to do chores for you ' guilt act routine and other methods I can think of but nothing seems to work after the first week....

On the other hand, I am a hindsight expert and so I can't really blame him if he's a chip of the old (Dad ) block.. can I ?

And so, I would like to share with my readers this perfect substitute

Ps: It's a pity I got to know of this substitute 20 years after my wedding ... (sigh ! )

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

A Perfect Substitute to Husbandly Problems

If you want someone who will eat whatever you put in front of him and never say it's not quite as good as his mother's

then adopt a dog.

If you want someone always willing to go out, at any hour,
for as long and wherever you want ... adopt a dog

If you want someone who will never touch the remote, doesn't care
about football, and can sit next to you as you watch romantic movies

then adopt a dog.

If you want someone who is content to get on your bed just to
warm your feet and whom you can push off if he snores

arm your feet and whom you can push off if he snores

...then adopt a dog !

If you want someone who never criticizes what you do, doesn't care if you are pretty or ugly, fat or thin, young or old, who acts as if every word you say is especially worthy of listening to, and loves you unconditionally, perpetually .

..then adopt a dog.

BUT, on the other hand, if you want someone who will never come when you call, ignores you totally when you come home, leaves hair all over the place, walks all over you, runs around all night and only comes home to eat and sleep, and acts as if your entire existence is solely to ensure his happiness ....

.
..
.

..then adopt a cat!

You thought I was gonna say...marry a man, didn't you?

Send this to all the women you know to brighten their day.
Send this to all the men just to annoy them!

This Is What I Call Education

2011-11-15T23:26:00.000+08:00

Tuesday 15 November 2011

With all the nonsense in our education system where getting grade A is a dime a dozen and not worthy of the ~~certificate~~ paper it is printed on, we should all ( especially our mumbled and jumbled Minister/Ministry of Education et al ) take a leaf from this great man and ask Bunker Roy to come to Malaysia on the first plane available and help set up a college. Seriously.

Listen readers and I mean really   really listen to what Bunker Roy has to say . It makes perfect sense to me and if our Minister of Education implements such a policy, I will personally queue in line to shake his hands !

By the way, ever wonder why Malaysia doesn't seem to have and attract people like Bunker Roy in our society or for that matter any true blue hero / thinkers like him who strive to make a difference and do something for the benefit of others ?   Incidently,he was selected as one of Time 100, the 100 most influential personalities in the world by TIME Magazine in 2010.^[2]

The Barefoot College that Sanjit Bunker Roy started in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India was also one of the 9 recipients   of the prestigious Aga Khan Award and he returned the Award on a matter of principle . It was also the first time in the history of the Aga Khan Foundation that anyone had returned the award. That speaks volumes on Bunker Roy's character, doesn't it ?

And here, we have ministers and VIPs robbing the hard pressed Malaysian public in broad daylight ! Gosh, I get so angry when I think and read about the injustice of the system, the stupidity of the people and the shenanigans of the political elite in a country as blessed as Malaysia.

The God Almighty had indeed blessed this country and its people greatly like no other country in the world and yet we have blundered big time ....................................and it looks like we are still in a stupor .

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Elton John Is Coming To Town ?

2011-11-03T18:23:00.005+08:00

3 November 2011

The news of Elton John's upcoming show in November 22 at the Gentings Resort, has, as usual, brought out the voice and thoughts of the Conservative Malaysian Islamic Party ( PAS ) represented by their Youth leader, whose stance and views have since gone viral all over the world, except maybe Zimbabwe and Tonga, I guess. And what was the reason of their objection ? " The gay singer promotes hedonism and so the concert would corrupt young Muslims because of his homosexuality ". Really ? My, my ! What a great and erudite man, this PAS Youth Leader, Shahril Azman is . Hello Mr Shahril Azman Abdul Halim Al-Hafiz, I've got an urgent message for you , the Talibhans are actively looking for such great thinkers like you in their midst. Would you like to go over and join them pronto?

Now, I'm trying to be sober and reasonable here instead of shrieking and shooting my mouth off......... Is this the best argument he and the party he represents can put forth to object to a concert ?

And in case my Muslim friends think that as a non-Muslim, I have no jurisdiction to question him, let me gently remind that I'm not questioning his faith, I'm questioning his arrogance for speaking for all Malaysians of all faith in Malaysia.    Just as he has the right to speak out for what he thinks, so have I and the rest of right thinking sane Malaysians who can differentiate the wood for the trees.

My argument is simple - I want to be able to attend the Elton John or any Tom, Dick and Harry concert, if I so wish, for its entertainment value, for the singer's voice and his/her songs . It doesn't matter really, it could be a myriad variety of reasons for which I may or may not want to attend the concert . The point is this - who is Sharil to speak on my behalf and take objection ? If he's only informing his party members ( preferably through sms ! ), he should only tell them inside the four walls of his party's office and not seek cheap publicity and open his mouth to all and sundry and in the process usurp my right to watch the Elton John/ Tom, Dick and Harry Show or whatever . It says so in the Malaysian Constitution, Mister, and I suggest that you read all of it before you open your mouth and remove all doubt of your lack of grey matter ! Oh and by the way, if   you do so strongly believe that just by attending Elton's concert, everyone will become like Elton, then you should seriously put your money where your mouth is and buy me and all Eltons' fans, two way flight tickets to US , including the concert tickets, of course.

In a country as diversified as ours, there are bound to be different views, perceptions and values acccording to their beliefs and faith. The maxim " one man's meat is another man's poison" hold so true and I'm surprised that a Youth President of a political party is so shallow in thinking and is not aware of it. It's really mind boggling the kind of people elected to party/political posts in this country. Are the citizens so bereft of good and right thinking leaders to elect or are the members of political parties such nitwits and simpletons from the boondocks that they vote for the first one who makes the most noise, like in empty cans?    This is directed to not only PAS but to all the 'itsty bitsy', " kuching kurap" and major parties in Malaysia, the Government of the day included .

We have Prime Ministers who blatantly buy voters in elections, Deputy Ministers who flaunt their race first rather than be Malaysian first, a string of imbeciles appointed as Education Ministers who have messed up the education system of this country big time and still doing it with great gusto, the Sports Ministry which bought 23 horses for RM5.66million without approval and the Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek has the cheek to say that he goofed when he explained " we are not a horse-breeding nation and don't have the expertise. We followed the recommendation of foreign breeders enthusiastically " .

That's not all. We have the Ministry of Tourism which paid millions for a facebook feature ( even my good friend ,Tengku Norashikin , a relative newcomer to emails, is facebook savvy in a matter of days ! ) ministries which exceeded their budget by RM3.73 billion ( did you know that our national debt has exceeded 50% (53.1% ) of our GDP at RM 407 billion ), the Ministry of Agriculture disbursed RM8O million to one single feedlot company ( linked to the Minister of Women & Welfare ) which was to produce 60,000 heads of cattle annually for local consumption but which only produced 3,289 heads - meaning the company spent an average of RM25,000 for each cattle which also means about RM 170.00 for a kilo of meat ! ( Now I cannot stop myself )

The list doesn't stop here, of course ,and all these and more were in the Auditor General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang's 2010 report . Go read it, people and decide for your self what our beloved country has come to - the laughing stock of the world and it happens every year ( Now I'm really angry ) The downright stupidest ( if I can call it that ) one of all was the error in placing a decimal point which resulted in a pensioner receiving RM21433.00 a month instead of RM214.33 ( the Sun Nov 1, 2011 )

Also extracted from the Sun,( dated 2 Nov 2011) is a letter written by one Mohd Yusoff which I have copied here

Matter of faithPosted on 2 November 2011 - 05:04am
IT appears that this is a hostile world for Muslims. Every individual, group or organisation appears to be conspiring to erode the faith of Muslims in their religion. Hence about four to five thousand Muslims (out of the expected one million) were crying out to the government for help to protect their faith at the Shah Alam stadium.I find this episode to be sad and pathetic. I would have thought that one’s religious faith, or the onus of guarding one’s faith is on the individual. It is incredulous that a Muslim requires government intervention to help protect his faith. It’s the height of naivety. Muslims everywhere, do grow up.Mohd YusoffShah Alam

Write on, Mr Yusoff, write on for the likes of Sharil and his types

Finally, I received this email going viral and thought that I'd share with my readers. Came at the most opportune moment, it did !

NO WONDER WE ARE MESSED....5 DECADES ON....

I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve Perkatak related stress. Do you discriminate against people who practice Yoga?

Just thinking deeply about the next sponsor for my wife’s handbags and her shopcoholic daughter.

Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem……my monorail.

I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the EPG and envisioning a new paradigm for CHOGM….minus the irritating irritaTUN!

Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the sleepy heads!

This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the BTN boot camp.

I love sleep. My life has a tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?

"I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake."

People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one.

Pardon me, while I take my power nap. My wives just completed their COW (club of obedient wives) modules last night.

A power nap is when you sleep on someone who's weaker than you.

"Sleep is the most moronic fraternity in the world, with the heaviest dues and the crudest rituals.

"Some people talk in their sleep. Speakers talk while other people sleep.

I'm actually doing a Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan (SLEEP).

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

A Lazy Daisy Deepavali

2011-10-31T20:56:00.001+08:00

Monday, 31 October 2011

For the first time in as many years as I can remember, I spent the first part of the day watching TV and I couldn't believe it myself !! It was a special Deepavali programme on ASTRO -an hour long Oddisi performance by the famous Ramli Ibrahim and his troupe of dancers. That was at about 7.30am in the morning when I should have been having my traditional oil bath and preparing to go to the temple ! Mesmerising and utterly utterly captivating..... I was so in awe of his fluidity of movement, his nuances, his precise and exacting step work, his grace and stamina, his perfect timing .... .... Gosh, I'm still not over him yet ! (Sigh ) If only I could dance like him and dance with him !! I couldn't take my eyes off and was transfixed with my eyes bulging out of my sockets..... ... By Jove! it was that beautiful an experience for me, to put it mildly.

I was feeling guilty of " wasting time " as there were so many things to do but yet couldn't resist the lure of Ramli Ibrahim's masterpieces of dance ( there I go again !) And so, against my better judgment and with 2 manipulative kids who i ) 'advised' me to enjoy myself for once without prancing around the house bugging them and ii ) told me that this was a one off ASTRO special and no repeats , I sat through the 1 hour show and was thoroughly and truly in a world of my own.

Now, that was a smashing great start for me on Deepavali

Later after fetching my youngest sister, Poonam, from the train station, we all went to offer our prayers at the temple and had a leisurely breakfast/brunch/lunch all rolled together, sort of a "three-in-one" kinda of thing. My sister had us in stitches with her tales of office happenings and I was glad of her presence. That was a 'first' too. Normally it would have been friends pouring in from the word GO at 9am and me bustling frantically making thosai after thosai after thosai and hollering at my kids to refill the chutney, the chicken curry, the cakes, cookies, traditional sweetmeats etc., etc. No wonder my kids were smiling all day . I didn't realise I had made them all stressed out all these years until my daughter told me what a difference it was this year. " For once we enjoyed ourselves" they said ! Didn't know that I was such a dragon ... dear me !

The torrential rain made its appearance in the afternoon and gave us all a respite . Watching the rain pouring down as I sat down in the cosy wing chair with my feet on the footstool and a cup of ginger tea clasped in my hands, a feeling of gratefulness of the blessings I have enveloped me - a roof over my head, food on the table, 2 lovely children and a husband who loves and provides for us. A contented and warm feeling came over me. My thoughts then strayed to the families in the low cost apartments/houses I had visited with my kids - those who were struggling to make a living, whose houses leaked and were often flooded by the same torrential rain that I was enjoying watching ; the countless children of struggling single parents who had nothing to celebrate about; the children stranded by bickering and abusive parents; the abandoned families which I have seen on the streets.............. and the corners of my eyes became blurred and a small lump starting rising in my throat. " Is this what we call 'karma ' or is this because of man's greed ? I couldn't figure it out. I finished my tea silently and offered a prayer of gratitude to GOD for what I have and a prayer for the those who didn't.

My sisters-in-law, spouses and their family members came for dinner at our home. Since I'm the only Hindu in the family and they are all Catholics, I make it a point to invite them for Deepavali dinner every year. It was a warm and happy occasion with lots of food, jokes and laughter and family/holiday discussions. For aperitifs, I served Bailey's Irish Cream for my sisters-in-law and the men, Scotch . As was usual, I served hot thosai and iddly with chicken masala, mango chutney, coriander salsa, fried chicken, my " once in a year mutton varruval " ( dry and spicy mutton ) which I really cook only once in a year ( it's too time-consuming and tedious ) and cucumber and pineapple yohurt raita to balance the spiciness.

Desert was traditional cookies like murruku, achi murruku, pineapple tarts, a sugee cake and a traditional a rich " whiskeyed " fruit cake ( there was no brandy so I sploshed my husband's whiskey in the fruit mix when he was not around ). Hmm, I'm just realising that I didn't make the frienzed variety of cookies, cakes and pies that I usually do when I'm on the baking spree........ Geez, ! Now I understand ... this was part of the stress build up with my kids !

( Just to digress and elaborate a little, the hallmark of a good fruit cake is to have the chopped fruit mix - raisins, sultanas, cherries, apricots, dried figs, nuts,) soaked/macerated in a cup or so of brandy for a minimum of 2 weeks and up to a month before it is added to the cake mixture. The aroma of the fruit mix will fill the whole house and everyone will know that the festive season has started . The slowly baked cake is then covered in greaseproof paper and foil and kept in an airtight container to mature for a minimum of a month and up to 3 or 4 months. This brings out the taste and rich flavour of the cake and you only need a small slice of it to enjoy with a good cup of coffee/tea . This is how a traditional fruit cake is done.

Those who are prohibited from using alcohol can substitute with fresh orange juice but it cannot keep well and has to be consumed within a week. )

Everything went well, I guess because they left only at about midnight with containers of my special mutton dish. ( They had already informed me a week earlier to cook extra and 'ta pau ' { pack } for them ) After clearing all the dishes, wine glasses, plates, cutlery and what not and putting away the leftovers in tupperwares for consumption the next day (!) , I slumped into bed around 1 am.

Not dead tired as I was used to but pleasantly tired this time. I think I'll do the same next year !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

The Festival of Lights - DEEPAVALI is here again

2011-10-25T01:44:00.001+08:00

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

My blog was temporarily removed due to someone trying to hack into my blog and my email...... God knows what was so important or top secrets were hidden in my articles ! Google had to do what was necessary and so readers might have had some problem having access to my blog lately. Oh well, it's back to normal now and so I can ramble on............

It is already Deepavali eve and I have taken a laid back attitude in my celebrations this year. For the first time, I'm celebrating Deepavali with only my family members. It's a new kind of feeling when I don't have to slave over the stove making ' thosai ' and chicken curry, etc .... for my never ending guests streaming in all day..... This year I'm visiting my sister so I can put up my legs a wee bit.

In the morning, after offering my prayers at the temple, I'm going to visit some of the children in the low cost flats located in Shah Alam and give them goodie bags . My kids and I went there last week and gave away soft toys, mugs, cookies , etc to the small kids playing in the car park . One twiggy like child of 5 wore an adult size flip flop and climbed down 8 flights of stairs ....... One single parent of a child asked me why I was doing it . I was quite taken aback and I really didn't know how or what to answer her . Another mum asked if I was from some welfare dept and had to register her name with me. Most of them were curious and I guess a wee bit suspicious of my motive ! Well, the secret is out ! I did it because I wanted to . That's it. The cookies, I had baked myself... the soft toys of Winne the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, tigers, teddy bears, etc ., belonged to my kids during their childhood days which I had lovingly packed them away to keep as keepsakes and for memories ( they had quite a large collection ) and the mugs, plates, and souvenirs were collected from travels and family members ) .

In retrospect, I think I wanted to see for myself the surprise and happy feeling on their faces, hear them hollering out their friends name with their squeals of laughter and see them prancing around with delight with their new found toys/gifts. I am quite tired of just giving money to homeless organisations and welfare homes. I have found it more meaningful to go down to meet them face to face and do/give whatever I can . Not everyone is registered with welfare homes or NGOs... most of the lower income families just go about their lives doing their work and try to cope with the pressure of work to make ends meet. They would hardly have time to play with their children and it is these category of people/ their small ones who need a bit of cheer.

If truth be told, it was the children who made me happy that day with their toothy grins and shrieks of laughter and delight . And I'm grateful they gave me an opportunity to experience it.

On another note, I was browsing through the SeniorsAlound.blogspot.com and viewed this touching video. It's a short film of 12 mins which I have uploaded here after watching it. You'll understand it when I say you don't need subtitles .........

Wishing all Hindus ' A VERY HAPPY DEEPAVALI ' and GOD BLESS

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

An Interview with GOD

2011-10-10T20:59:00.000+08:00

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

You simply have to watch this movie. I did it a few times and it humbled and touched me profoundly... and then I smiled knowingly as I read the ending.

http://www.theinterviewwithgod.com/popup-frame.html

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Paintings, Paintings, Paintings ! 2

2011-10-08T16:27:00.001+08:00

Saturday 8 October 2011

The nine days of ' Navarathri ' ( Sanskrit for 9 days and nights ) prayers observed by Hindus all over the world are now over and I have found time to upload the other paintings of Tengku Norashikin.

These 3 cooking utensils were done quite some time ago but they still look good for hanging on the kitchen wall.

A lovely basket of roses filled with cookies

Ooooo! so so cute and cudly - perfect for the nursery room

A beautiful ' kampung' scene complete with chickens.....

Although work still has to be completed, I clicked away anyway !

The 4 paintings shown was done on the 4 sides of the caddy. Great work and creativity

Hmmmm so appetising.....................................

Mama mia, the tin of biscuits look scrumptious enough to eat

If I were in Hogwarts School of Magic , I'd wave my wand and make the mouth-watering cake appear before me this instant.

' Langadium Laviosa ' ......... hmmmm my magic wand is not working and my stomach is growling. Must try again !

Texture paste work done on two different bread boxes with subtle variations ..... both look absolutely delicious

Well, what are you waiting for ? Pick up that brush and get a move on, people, start painting now !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

What All Malaysians Know N Should Know !

2011-10-05T18:04:00.000+08:00

Thursday 5 October 2011

Something we should all ponder about . The quoted words are very familiar to all Malaysians that they roll off our tongues so easily and have become, sort of standard operating answers .     Although it is written in a satirical tongue-in-cheek way, we Malaysians are really " guilty as charged ", aren't we ?

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR HAIR LOSS:
Ajinomoto

NATIONAL INSTANT FOOD :
Maggi Mee

NATIONAL BREAKFAST :
Nasi Lemak

NATIONAL LUNCH :
Nasi Ayam

NATIONAL SUPPER :
Roti Canai & Teh Tarik

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE:
Traffic Jam

NATIONAL FRUIT FOR INDUCING MENSTRUATION :
Pineapple

NATIONAL APHRODISIAC DRINK:
Stout. Many Malaysian men swear by it. But then after a few pints they start swearing at everything.. .

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (MEN):
Food Poisoning

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (WOMEN):
Menstrual Pain

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIARRHOEA :
Cap Kaki Tiga.

NATIONAL CURE FOR HEADACHES:
Panadol.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIZZINESS:
Minyak Angin Cap Kapak.

NATIONAL CAUSE OF DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
Happy Hours.

NATIONAL INSTANT CURE FOR DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES):
The sight of a police road block.

NATIONAL RICE COOKER :
NATIONAL Rice Cooker

NATIONAL RUBBISH DUMP:
Anywhere, as long as it is not your house.

NATIONAL MOST MIS-PRONOUNCED NAME:
Carrefour.

NATIONAL ANSWER FOR 'WHERE ARE YOU?'
on the way.

NATIONAL OFFICIAL TIME FOR BEING LATE
-10 minutes

NATIONAL REASON FOR PRICE INCREASE
Petrol naik

NATIONAL REASON FOR PETROL INCREASE
Still cheaper than other country

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR CAUSING TRAFFIC JAM:
There was accident on the other side of the road

NATIONAL REASON WHEN REJECTING INVITATION :
'I got some work to do..u all go first'

NATIONAL REASON FOR COLLAPSED BUILDINGS & LEAKY PARLIAMENT ROOFS:
An act of God.

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR IRRESPONSIBLE POLITICAL STATEMENTS:
None. We were misquoted.

NATIONAL MINISTERIAL REASON FOR INCREASING TOLL RATES:
Lu ingat ini jalan saya punya bapak punya kah?
(you think this is my father's road ah ?)

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR JUMPING QUEUE:
everybody jumping what!

NATIONAL EXCUSE NOT PAYING SAMAN ACCORDING TO DUE DATE:
government will give discount one of these days

NATIONAL EXCUSE TO BRIBE:
minum kopi

( Thanks, Gouri , for sharing this with me )

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Paintings, Paintings, Paintings !

2011-09-30T22:27:00.000+08:00

Friday 30 September 2011

I attended a 'Hari Raya ' lunch do ' at Tengku Norashikin's house recently and came away rejuvenated and inspired by her decorative art paintings. That lady sure finds time to paint away despite her many family obligations. Of course, I couldn't stop myself from click clicking away like a mad woman when I saw her whole kitchen/studio filled with her works. ( Urgghhh ! I felt so guilty for not painting any new pieces myself after feasting my eyes on hers and have resolved to buck up.................... soon !. )

The pictures below are some of her paintings; I'll be uploading the rest at regular intervals, so have patience ya !

A beautiful piece of Hindeloopen ( Dutch) strokework on a stool. The basecoat was Jo Sonja's Red Earth. Don't forget to note the little bird amongst the floral motives. . An inspiring piece, I should say.

A door stand with fluffy pale red roses

A door stand with berries and daisies

A door stand resembling a wooden barrel filled with bunches of hydrangeas with bows..........

lovely bunch of pansies on a barrel themed base with olive green bows

A welcome sign with poppies, poppies, poppies

A lovely bouquet of roses in a basket weave design and red ribbons to match .......... simply gorgeouso !

This is Zuliana's piece. Couldn't stop clicking even though she was still painting....

Hmmmm..., wish I had this hanging in my house........

This is really a change from the florals..... way to go Shikin ( and thanks for letting me loose in your beautiful house ! )

Oh, by the way , Shikin, I thoroughly enjoyed myself with your delicious feast of ' ketupat and satay ' , my absolute Malaysian favourite. Next time I come, please make my other Malaysian favourite ' nasi lemak ' ya !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

LIFE

2011-09-22T18:45:00.000+08:00

Thursday 22 September 2011

I simply have to upload this one for all my friendly readers .......... they are too beautiful not to be shared with everyone . The person who created this really has a beautiful heart . I hope these words move your heart as it did mine.

Thanks, Gouri, for sharing this with me.

We never get what we want,
We never want what we get,
We never have what we like,
We never like what we have.
And still we live & love.
That's life...

The best kind of friends,
Is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with,
Never say a word,

And then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

It's true that we don't know

What we've got until it's gone,
But it's also true that we don't know
What we've been missing until it arrives..

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back!

Don't expect love in return;
Just wait for it to grow in their heart,
But if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone,

An hour to like someone,
And a day to love someone,
But it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile,
Because it takes only a smile to
Make a dark day seems bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile!

May you have

Enough happiness to make you sweet,
Enough trials to make you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
And enough hope to make you happy.

Always put yourself in others' shoes.

If you feel that it hurts you,

It probably hurts the other person, too.

The happiest of people
Don't necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
Happiness lies for
Those who cry,
Those who hurt,
Those who have searched,
And those who have tried,
For only they can appreciate the importance of people
Who have touched their lives.

When you were born, you were crying
And everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so that when you die,
You're the one who is smiling
And everyone around you is crying.

Please send this message
To those people who mean something to you,
To those who have touched your life in one way or another,
To those who make you smile when you really need it,
To those that make you see the brighter side of things When you are really down,
To those who you want to know
That you appreciate their friendship.

And if you don't, don't worry,
Nothing bad will happen to you,
You will just miss out on the opportunity
to brighten someone's life with this message...

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Ps: Went to Tengku Norashikin's house for lunch yesterday. have lots of painting to upload.... be patient ya !!

" To Each Her Own " I say

2011-09-17T17:40:00.000+08:00

Saturday 17 September 2011

My decorative painting classes are slowly regaining momentum as the fasting is over and the reason I have not posted any painted pieces is simply because most of the paintings are the same . As painting is but a hobby, most of my ' student ladies ' are often bogged down with office work and/or housework and thus often times are unable to continue on a regular basis. I think this is a common phenomenon in most, if not all hobby/craft circles.

Also heard that students have become teachers in a short span of time and that further complicates the situation , I suppose. In light of the many comments and opinions that I have been privy to and also having browsed through countless number of blogs, I have made the following observations. Note please, that these are my personal observations and thoughts only as I do not like to pass judgment . Neither can anyone else !

I would thus now separate the decorative painting enthusiasts in 3 categories.

The First group being those who became teachers after years of painting because of their commitment, dedication and passion for Folk & Decorative Painting .

The Second group being those artists who paint for the love of painting and their paintings are an extension and expression of their feelings . They don't mind painting and working on a single piece of work for a considerable length of time and would not want to part with some of their work. They don't want to be tied down teaching the craft but do take on commissions when requested and time permits.

The Third group who take up painting because they like it but within a short span of time render themselves as Decorative Art teachers . Their lack of experience and confidence is often obvious to both their students and other artists soon after and that's when comparisons start to be made. Their limited exposure and skills, despite their basic understanding of decorative painting, are often comically ( albeit disastrously) portrayed as a collective benchmark for all decorative art teachers. They are in a hurry to recover their ' investments' and see painting as a form of money-making venture . Enough said.

We are free to make our own choices.. that's all I can say.

On a lighter note, the article below is an interesting one which I received via email. Thought I would share it with my readers....

The Green Thing

In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.

When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.

We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.

We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.

Please do !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Raya Celebrations

2011-09-08T22:01:00.000+08:00

Thursday, 8 September 2011

The children are away attending their classes and I can now have a breather to sit down and organise my thoughts.......

Well, the Raya festivities are over, at least the official 2 days of celebrations , that is, and I was also informed by my Muslim friends that the festivities do last for a month. If that is the case, the Raya celebrations in Malaysia must be the longest in the world. Ha ha, now I've got another excuse to go all out to visit my Muslim friends for their sumptious spread.

Of course, my family was invited to Puan Sri Sabrina's house without fail. And as was expected, there were about 125 varieties of cookies and about 30 variety of cakes, chocolate fountains and about 10 stalls of food variety- the tosai/chappati/puri stall, the briyani stall, the lamb rack, the satay stall, the cold drinks/"ice kachang" stall, the western food stall, the barbeque stall.....the 'can't remember anymore stall ' ( too many lah !)

As readers would know by now, my way of having a good time at these functions is to first avail myself of the mouth-watering deserts and then go for the main meals and I did just that. Came away almost walking like a penguin .

I did attend other 'open house' functions and did have a great time but I think I can safely say that no one else ( and I mean even hotels ) have put in so much effort and time to make the mind boggling variety of cookies and cakes as Puan Sri Sabrina does, year after year . Hmmm, perhaps the Malaysian Book of Records should be notified, ?

The next thing that I was busy doing was going for several cake baking/decorating courses. This, of course, was nothing new to me but then again, you know me, I like to keep on learning and updating as I go on in life. ( personally, I think everyone of us should go for some or any kind of class updates periodically or go for further studies whatever the age ) .

Anyway, I found myself in a Wilton Cake Decorating and Designing course, 1, 2 & 3 and also signed up for the Wilton Cake Decorators Instructors' Course and the Advanced Squires Kitchen (UK) Cake Decorating Course. Yup. I don't know how it happened and why it happened but it just happened. It only dawned on me when I was back home that I had to figure out some kind of time schedule for my Decorative Painting classes which I am very much into also.

Todate, I finished Course 1 and am into Course 2. The pictures below show some of my new found cake decorating friends with our handiwork.

One of the Wilton cake projects that I had to do on my own. Gave it away to the primary school students of SRJK Ladang Midlands.

Didn't know what to do with this cake either. Took my kids on a drive with the cake and spotted one of those low cost apartments in Section 7 Shah Alam which was formerly called Midland Estate. The palm oil estate had been cleared off and low cost apartments have been built for the former estate workers. We waited at the car park and spotted an elderly lady sitting alone. Upon asking if she had any kids, the lady replied that she was unmarried and alone. ( No point giving a sugary sweet iced cake to her at her age ) We spotted a very elderly looking man standing a few metres away and I walked up to him and asked if he had any grandchildren I could give the cake to. He just shook his head and mumbled something which I could not understand. We ( my son and I ) waited for some more and finally saw these 2 children running around with their grandmother, I think, Quickly hollered out to them and gave the cake.

I'm sure they would have had a jolly good time - told them to share it with their friends too

This is a Wilton rose which I piped and had the whole gang ogling at mine because I did it first !
And if you notice, I'm wearing my painted rose T shirt blouse. ( another oogling and 'ahhing' session ) Aiyaiyo ! It was a totally boastful day for me, allright !!!(lol)

One of my cupcake designs

a chocolate cupcake design which I did

That's ll for now,

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

2011-08-31T22:39:00.000+08:00

Wednesday 31 August 2011

It's that time of year again when our Muslim friends and readers celebrate the culmination of 1 month of fasting and praying which ends in the Hari Raya celebration.

Although the official celebrations lasts 2 days , 30 and 31 August, a number of my Muslim friends have told me that the celebration will last 1 month , equaling the 1 month of prior fasting. I'm not quite sure if this is the norm or an established practice or if this is really true l but I do find it a trite unreal . I think this would definitely defeat the whole purpose of fasting.

Could anyone of my Muslim readers enlighten me on this ?

I'm still making my rounds of the Malaysian 'open house ' season and will come back with some pictures soon.

Till then, wishing all my Muslim friends, readers and browsers " SELAMAT HARI RAYA IDIL FITRI ' and Eid Ul Mubarak

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Our National Anthem from ' Mamula Moon '

2011-08-26T22:23:00.000+08:00

Friday 26th August 2011

In view of our impending Independance Day ( Merdeka ) on 31 August 2011, and feeling very very Malaysian indeed , I decided to read up on the origins and history of ' Negaraku ' , our national anthem . Would you believe it if I told you that I actually sang along when it was playing ? Well, I couldn't believe it myself either ( and hearing my voice cracking and croaking on the notes made me realise that I'm not that young chick I used to be anymore, ouch !) Its one of those songs which you sing instinctively with reverence and pride and it's at these moments that I feel so proud and 'banga betul ' to be Malaysian, my ' tanah tumpah darah ku ' ( hey, I'm a very patriotic Malaysian first, then only Indian , unlike our esteemed Deputy Prime Minister's statement of he's Malay first and then Malaysian . So, you agree with me that I'm better qualified to be the Deputy Prime Minister, right ? ! .

I remember the days when as a primary school kid, it was sung during all the school assemblies and the flag would be hoisted up and the song sung with such gusto, vigour and feelings. Of course, I didn't understand the true meaning of the words then , my early primary years , I mean ( the teachers didn't explain and as was usual, we just learned it by rote and sang because everyone did ) But, there was that special atmosphere of importance and reverence whenever the song was sung - teachers and students alike would stop everything and stand as stiff as a ramrod and no one dared to even turn their heads .

This reminds me of an episode in school. During my primary school days, we did not have these backpacks and canvas bags that students so casually sling over their shoulder. We had these strong and sturdy rattan baskets with a semi-circular handle in which we had to carry all our books and fountain pens complete with black and blue ink bottles, blotters and handkerchief . It really did weigh a ton and how did I know that ? Because when I was in Primary 2 , I had come late to school ( at that age of 8, it was not my fault but by parents, okay ) the assembly had started and I had to hold my big and sturdy rattan basket with its contents in my hands and stand still under the blazing hot sun until the anthem had been sung. I was too afraid to even move an inch and put my bag down ! Hmmm..... those were the days, my friend, we thought it would never end...................

Goodness, I've gone off tangent again.......... anyway, my very best friend, Ms Gouri , had emailed me this video of the origin of our national anthem which I thought should be shared with all the readers.

And just to share with my readers, here's some background info about how a melody of a French song, "Mamula Moon" became ' Negaraku ' our national anthem..............

Both the excerpts below were taken from public archives made available online.

It is believed that the melody of the song was composed by a French musician named Pierre Jean de Beranger who was born in France in 1780 and died in 1857. His composition of ' Mamula Moon ' was introduced by an opera group from Indonesia during a show in Singapore. Over a short span of time the song became very popular in Singapore and was given the name Terang Bulan. Even after the song had become the tune for the Perak State anthem under Sultan Idris it was still played at social functions. It remained as such until it became the tune for the Malaysian National anthem named Negaraku.

Another excerpt from the Malaysian archives also gives this information :

Another story about the origin of Negaraku was related by Raja Kamarulzaman, son of Raja Mansur who used to serve as aide-de-camp to Sultan Idris. According to him, Terang Bulan was first used as the tune for the Perak State anthem when Sultan Idris visited London in 1888, one year after he was installed as Sultan. His visit to London was in conjunction with the Coronation of Queen Victoria in 1888. Upon the arrival of the royal entourage in London, a representative of Queen Victoria asked Raja Mansur, the aide-de- camp of Sultan Idris, for the note of the Perak State anthem. Protocol required that the Perak State anthem be played as the Sultan walked into the coronation hall. To avoid embarrassment, the quick-witted Raja Mansur told the representative of the Queen that the music sheets for the State anthem had been left behind. However, if the officer could get a musician, Raja Mansur said he could whistle the tune for the musician to write the notes. When a musician was brought forth, Raja Mansur whistled the song that was very popular among the Perak people at that time. So the Perak State anthem was officially played for the first time during the coronation of Queen Victoria in London. And it was actually the tune of Terang Bulan. "

With such interesting historical details, I wonder why History in school is taught in such a dull and drab manner................ no, I don't want to go into that now !

Happy reading and listening and let's celebrate our Merdeka

Lakshmi

It comes in three's

2011-08-25T14:47:00.001+08:00

Thursday 25th August 2011

I've been having a stroke of mild lack of luck for the past few weeks- thus my disruption in writing and updating my board....

I lost my handphone two weeks ago and together with it was all my contact numbers that I had so diligently saved in my SIM card and that was about 70 or more numbers ......( the last time my phone was disrupted and went 'dead', I had lost all my numbers too and so my daughter told me to save all my numbers in the SIM card so that it could be retrieved ) As most of us know, it's not so much the loss of phone but the loss of contact numbers which gets us so worked up . It's so akin to something like when we lose our handbags, we're not so much worried about the money or make-up but our identity documents, driving licence, ATM Cards which hits us quite badly ......and the hassle to get them again...

What made me really mad was how it was stolen, yeah, really stolen from a restaurant with no other customers present except yours truly . I had inadvertently left the phone on the counter when paying the bill and I was the only customer at that time .( I had just had my lunch\dinner at about 5 o'clock in the evening after a late meeting and that was why there were no other customers ) I only realised I had left it there when I returned back home. I quickly rang my number and heard the ringing tone and then just as quickly rang up the cashier ( got the telephone contact from the bill) and explained to him, gave my number and asked him to locate my phone and could he please keep it for me while I'm on my way ? Imagine my chagrin when he told me that he cannot help, his manager was not in and that he'd tell his manager when he comes to the restaurant at 7 o'clock and in the meanwhile to keep on ringing my phone so that someone will hear it ! Hello, you idiot of a cashier, no one except you and the staff/waiters would have had access to it at that time and it must be either you or equally guilty waiters ( I saw 5 there with not one customer about except me at that odd restaurant hour) who could have taken it . Common sense would dictate that the moron would at least ring my number and locate it or else quickly ask the waiters - phones just don't disappear in an empty restaurant , you know , and we are not living in the world of Harry Potter. What more proof do I need to show that one of them nicked my phone in broad daylight ? (literally )

Gosh, I could go on ranting but I knew it was like flogging a dead horse . Anyway, I got tired of talking to those imbeciles, which included the manager as well, and went and got myself another handphone the next day, definitely less expensive one, this time, and hope that history doesn't repeats itself....

That was just the first one and just when I was recovering from that stupidity ( I mean my stupidity for it was my fault after all for not checking ) my warranty for my internet server/streamyx /modem/ whatever went kaput,( it was exactly 1 year from the date of warranty , how come ? ) there was no connection whatsoever and despite repeated calling to the servers/TMNET providers and countless connection instructions, it didn't wake up from its death sleep. My kids cashed in on this opportunity and ' advised' me to change the internet server ( pay more, of course !) and tired of being harangued by them daily on the advantages of a higher broadband service, I caved in ( under distress ) and it was just fixed, ( as at now, 11.30am) thus my ranting...................

And to top it all, someone, probably a bigger idiot , had knocked into my car from the back and dented the side of my car boot while it was parked at the 3C complex ( in a parking space no less ) and had driven off without me being aware of it until my son pointed it out to me upon my return.

Last but not least - my car alarm went bust too,at about the same time. I won't continue anymore for I fear that I'd become a lunatic myself at the rate I'm raving ........................................ I think I need a nice cup of hot tea and a slice of my leftover chocolate cake to calm myself down

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

Laugh Out Loud, Ladies

2011-08-07T20:52:00.000+08:00

Sunday 6 August 2011

      A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife      stayed home.  He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed:

      "Dear Lord:

       I go to work every day and put in 8-hours while my wife merely stays at
       home.  I want her to know what I go through, so please allow her body
       to switch with mine for a day".~Amen~
       God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish.

      The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.  He arose,
      cooked breakfast for his mate,awakened the kids, set out their school clothes,
       fed them breakfast, packed their lunches, drove them to
       school, came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners
       and stopped at the bank to make a deposit, went grocery shopping, then
       drove home to put away the groceries, paid the bills and
       balanced the checkbook. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.

       Then it was already 1:00 PM and he hurried to make the beds, do the
       laundry,vacuum, dust, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
       Ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them
       on the way home.  Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized
       to do their homework, then set up the ironing board and watched TV while
       he did the ironing. At 4:30 he began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables
       for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper.
       After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher,folded laundry,
       bathed the kids, and put them to bed.

       At 9:00 PM, he was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished,
       he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to
       get through without complaint.

       The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt down beside the bed
       and said:

       "Lord, I don't know what I was thinking ... I was so wrong To envy
       my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please ...
       Oh please, let us trade back !!!"
       The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied:

" "My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were but you'll just have to wait nine months, though. You got pregnant last night." "

A great ' pick me up ' tonic for the day, isn't it ?!

Happy reading

Lakshmi

Crafty ideas and Paintings

2011-07-26T13:46:00.002+08:00

Tuesday, 26 July 2011

I've been going here and there and everywhere and have had no time to take 5 and write properly........ and before I lapse again, I thought I would sit tight and update before I run off again ............

I attended a two day workshop organised by the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement and SABM ( Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia) which is located at Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. I had heard about the NGO before but was curious as to what they actually do. So, my daughter and I attended the workshop and came away uplifted and feeling " so so MALAYSIAN " . There were a good mix of all races, Malays, Indians and Chinese and we all spoke openly about our Malaysian identity and shared heritage and how divided the people are presently. We were recommended to see a documovie called " 10 Years Before Merdeka " by Fahmi Reza ( can be uploaded from Youtube) but we decided we would all watch it together at SABM House soon and also have the Producer Fahmi Reza in attendance too ( to talk about the 'behind the scenes ' and give his take on his movie ).

My class at 3C is going on fine and I am rather getting fond of the special students as they are with me. Maria Soo always gives me the ' High 5' special hand shake with a friendship tag with the thumbs and forefinger , Arshad will greet me loudly and repeatedly the instant I walk into the class no matter where he is, Ashraf will smile shyly and say ' Hi teacher Lakshmi ', Lai Meng would sit quietly and wait for me and Zanina will smile from ear to ear, waiting eagerly for my class to start............. and when some of the other students bake cookies, I'll be offered cookies packed in platic bags from all of them. ( lol ) even their parents goodnaturedly complain that I'm being offered more than them !! ha ha ha

Maria Soo painting the paper plates......

Zanini on the extreme left and Rafika next to her being helped by her maid

The craft project involved using paper plates and acrylic paints. The end results were watermelon shaped ' handbags' for the girls -( had bows on them )and watermelon shaped mail holders for the boys ( had no idea what to tell the boys to do with it and had to think of something quick to tell them , thus the idea of a mail holder !)

I think they're quite happy with it ... the shy smiling handsome guy ( 3rd from left ) is Ashraf

My painting students/ladies at 3C Community class is going great too. There are more ladies attending the class and I have the pleasure of the 3 grannies who always come together and support each other during class. We have a good time together, laughing and joking at mistakes and hits and misses made during class time. Each want to impress their grandchildren and boy!, they are so happy to do and learn something.....now that time is on their hands ...Sorry, I was so busy teaching that I didn't have time to take pics....

Anyway, the pic below shows Amutha and Pushpam with their artwork ..

The picture below is one of my students at home, Shalina with the door stopper

Tea box with pansies by Kak Nor

Have to rush off for my English class at the SRJK Ebor Tamil School.......

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

How To Make Playdough

2011-07-16T00:45:00.000+08:00

Saturday 16 July 2011

My last activity with the the special children/students class was quite interesting and creative.   I took with me the ingredients from home and taught the students how to make playdough - the kind that anyone can do and use it as a modelling clay for creative craft making.

The recipe is quite simple and fun to do and for those who want to try, you need the following kitchen ingredients :

   3 cups plain flour

                               1   cup fine salt
                                1 cup    warm water ( a little extra may be necessary )
                                 acrylic colours of your choice

Sift flour into a bowl ( this is to avoid any hard lumps )
Dissolve the salt in the warm water and pour into the flour.
Knead the dough for about 10-15 mins until it is soft and pliable
Divide the dough into required portions and mix in your acrylic colours
( I used a disposable glove when mixing the colours )

The longer you knead the coloured dough, the softer the texture.
Roll the dough and use cookie cutters to cut out the desired shapes - stars, crescent, rounds, etc... Use a skewer to make holes. Dry them for 2 or 3 days or you can bake these in the oven 100 C until it is completely dry ( about 3 or 4 hours ) and varnish them.

We did not have time to bake the playdough as we were busy having fun and playing around with it.

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

A Beautiful Garden Wedding

2011-07-01T21:37:00.003+08:00

Friday, 1 July 2011

It was a clear and beautiful sunny day when my daughter and I donned our Malay costume in honor of the wedding of Khairun Nisa Mohd Zabidi and Maximilian Tariq Conrad. Khairun was the daughter of my friend, Puan Juairiah. It was a beautiful garden wedding and the organisers truly did a great job.

The bride was dressed in a beautiful ivory silk creation which was specially tailor made after her many trials with various off the rack bridal gowns. It was a last minute decision but I should say that Khairun made the right choice.

The wedding was classy yet informal and breezy yet chic at the same time. A wide array of food was served buffet style together with the the perennial Malaysian favourite ' Cendol ' , a Malaysian ice concoction . There were local fruits galore, arranged beautifully at the patio in quaint wooden wheelbarrows - mangosteens, passion fruits, rambutans, etc which really was a terrific idea. Local cakes and bakes were also displayed elegantly for the guests.

Almost everyone was clicking away their cameras at the garden concept theme and I'm quite sure that Khairun Nisa's wedding theme will be the new craze in town as you can see from the pictures below.

Before we left, I took a photgraph of my daughter and I in the Malay traditional costume. The costume was a tad too big for me, I think. ( Me thinks it's due to my daily yoga practice.!)

A beautiful view of the garden deco. According to Puan Juairiah , on the eve of the wedding, they had a barbeque party with the same surrounding deco. Gosh, so so fairy tale like

A closer view

A framed scrapbook style family pictures. Cds are so passe...

Fruit baskets placed strategically for guests

My personal favourite, the desert table...... note the family pictures hanging on the branches at the foreground

Buttons and bows, lanterns and baubles hanging all over the branches to give the breezy and outdoor garden ambience

The band was in full swing, loved the song ' Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps ' which I always hear at most Malay wedding and functions. Not a bad rendition by the band singer

Mmmm, another angle of the desert table

The 'kompang girls' who make up part of the traditional wedding ritual of greeting the groom's entourage

Beautifully arranged wedding ' hantaran' gifts

The dais or ' pelamin ' . The bride and groom will be showered with flowers and rose water, etc, given blessings by the relatives and well wishes. This is part of the Hindu wedding ceremony too

don't have to explain here, self explanatory ... love the butterflies

Ahh, finally the bride herself, couldn't let go of the opportunity

A very beautiful and confident bride

Well, that was all the pictures I could take. Guests were arriving by the dozens and table space was getting scarce. Puan Juairiah later told me that although she had invited about 600 guests, close to a 1000 or so turned up !!. I guest everyone wanted to be part of a right royal garden party wedding. The groom had still to arrive when I left reluctantly to give way for other guests. Thus, I missed a belly dancing performance and other customary games between the bride and groom !

All in all, however, I came away very happy with the breezy ambience and Hershey chocolate give- aways beautifully wrapped in a ceramic holder.

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

I Learnt Mehendi/Henna Hand Painting

2011-06-19T17:05:00.000+08:00

Sunday, 19 June 2011

One of my teacher friends asked me if I knew mehendi hand painting or ' inai ' as it is called in Bahasa Malaysia and could I do it for her daughter who was getting married............

Well... now, that was something I had not learned as yet but you know me, I'm always on the lookout for a learning adventure.................and so I asked several mehendi hand painters if they could teach me this skill. Funny thing is , all of those whom I asked , were not willing to pass their knowledge despite me telling them that I'd pay whatever fee requested.

Left with no choice but to learn it myself, I bought several books on henna painting, bought the necessary supplies and started my practise on A4 sized tracing/greaseproof papers. Practise, practise and more practise - that's what I did daily and while researching on henna painting, I also discovered that it was also one of the oldest form of body painting/ tattooing .

Henna painting is done on the hands and feet of the bride as part of her wedding preparation and this tradition has not been broken since the Bronze Age in the predominantly Indo-Arabic world. Henna designs/patterns mirrors the art of the period of each community/country and also their cultural and foreign influence - eg Indo European designs of florals and paisley or Indo Arabic designs reflecting geometric patterns and symbols of luck . They can be as complicated as roadmaps or simple as right angled squares. It depends on the henna artist and her expertise and creativity.

To those who want to know or try how to make a henna mix , the ingredients are relatively simple and easy to find in your kitchen. A packet of raw henna powder is mixed with enough fresh lemon juice ( strained), a few tablespoons of liquid black coffee ( this is optional). Add a few drops of essential oil - lavender or tea tree makes the paste easy to flow. Mix all the ingredients in a ceramic bowl thoroughly without any lumps and leave it overnight to develop the colour. Use greaseproof paper cones or small plastic icing bags to fill the henna paste . That's it, it's that simple and easy to prepare.

The actual work starts with the practise and boy, if you do want to make a go of it, make sure you have plenty of filled henna cones and even more practise papers ! The finer and more detailed patterns take time to master but are very beautiful to look. You can also do henna painting on your forearm or on your back shoulder - sort of like tattoo designs . It makes interesting conversation piece and also shows off your creativity .

Incidently, you can use the same henna mix for your hair too but you have to leave it on your hair for a good 5 hours for it to have any effect. Your hair will have a beautiful and lustrous sheen and be healthy and soft. The only precaution you must take is that you cannot use it on hair which has been chemically coloured. Wait till the chemical colour has worn off and then apply the henna paste. Shampoo off after 4 - 5 hours and apply your usual conditioner ( if you want to ) as henna is a natural colourant and conditioner by itself. I've practised this myself ( in my ahem... younger days ......) and can vouch for this. The reason why I have not been a regular practitioner is that I can't find time to sit around for 5 hours with a headful of henna paste covered with a bathing cap!

If you don't mind the messing of your hands with henna stains, it is worth the effort to learn this art. It's like painting too, immensely satisfying when you look at your finished handiwork!

My handiwork on a bride to be......

Ooops! I couldn't get the picture in the right position even though I tried umpteen times........

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

June Ramblings with Nora from Kota Kinabalu , Sabah

2011-06-16T00:37:00.000+08:00

Thursday, 16 June 2011

Lovely Nora, a confident young lady of Kadazan ethnicity from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah , attended my class a few weeks ago. This was the first time I had met a true Sabahan and I'm so glad that it turned out to be Nora. When she finally arrived at my doorstep with her husband on a fine Sunday morning, I was surprised to see her so young and lively and couldn't believe her when she told me that she had a daughter. Nora is a very active young mother too - managing her own company in Sabah and is also one of the Youth Council/ Leaders from Kota Kinabalu who had participated in the Malaysian Youth Carnival held at Putrajaya , Kuala Lumpur, recently .

Nora's class was thus arranged to coincide with her trip to Kuala Lumpur.

It was a whole day affair and below are some pics of Nora during her lessons .....

Nora's finished piece of work

Hmmmmm practising the roses ..................................

My class at 3C Complex at Subang Jaya. Was unable to take the rest of the students as I only remembered to take pics at ending of class

I received this Teachers' Day card from the primary students of SRJK Ladang Ebor where I conduct voluntary weekly classes . The biggest greeting card I've received so far.

I met my grand aunt after a lapse of 25 years at the wedding reception of one of my cousins and took this picture as a momento/rememberance.........

And finally, I celebrated my 52nd birthday last Saturday. It was a small family affair . My daughter gave me a most beautiful breakfast - A bowl of fresh raspberries, strawberries and peaches accompanied by whipped cream and a cup of good coffee in my favourite fine bone china cup - all this was served on a Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit's Tray with a matching mug which she had bought specially for this occasion. ( Ha ha ! I still believe in fairy tales and Brer Rabbit la )

Since my birthday fell during the school holidays I insisted that my son and daughter bake me a cake instead of buying me one. Boy ! what a ruckus they made. It took me a little time to explain to them that that would really be the best present they could give me .. and although there were incomprehensible noises coming out of their mouths, I pretended not to hear them ... Somehow they managed to do something of a cake and although the appearance of the cake would not have won them a blue ribbon, it definitely won my heart.

The pic above shows my son in ' action ' at what he does best !

I couldn't have got a more meaningful birthday gift than this - a birthday cake made by a 21 year old daughter and a 16 year old teen who are always at each others throats most of the time . It's a miracle they actually did something together !

Happy reading and painting

Lakshmi

The Obdedient Wives' Club - Putting It Into Practice !

2011-06-08T14:39:00.001+08:00

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

I found the perfect way to put the Obedient Wives' Club policy into practice ....... what say you now Dr Rohaya ? Obedient or Not ?

A Punjabi lawyer working in UK wrote to his wife in India.

Dear Sunita Darling,

I can't send you my salary this month because the global market crisis has affected my Company's performance, so I am sending 100 kisses.

You are my sweetheart, please understand and adjust with this situation.

Your loving husband,

Tuna Singh

His wife replied...

Dear Loving Husband

Thanks for the 100 kisses.

Below is the list of expenses I paid with the Kisses...

1. The Milk man agreed on 2 kisses for one month's milk.

2. The electricity man, Kooldip Singh, agreed not to disconnect only after 7 kisses

3. Your landlord Kapal Singh comes every day to take 2 or 3 kisses instead of the monthly rent.

4. Supermarket owner Jaswant Singh did not accept kisses only, so I gave him other items, I hope you understand.

5. Miscellaneous expenses 40 kisses.

Please don't worry about me, I still have a balance of 35 kisses and I hope I can survive this month using the balance

Shall I plan the same for the next month?

Your Sweet Heart,

Sunita

The moral of this story......

NEVER MESS WITH WOMEN !

Happy reading and painting ( and laughing !!)

Lakshmi

(joke courtesy of Ms PG Gouri )