Country Cottage Arts

Friday,  10 September 2010

I have finally seen all the albums of the wedding of Sharifah Farrah Soraya  and Raja Arfiz held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre  in August 2010 and for this I must really thank Tan Sri Syed Yusof and his lovely wife, Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina ,  for graciously allowing me to use them in my blog.   This cache of photographs were taken by professional photographers ( the Rizalman photographers are a different set altogether ).

For ease of readers, I have divided the photographs into 3 tranches .  This is the first tranche of the photos which feature the arrival of the DYMM Yang diPertuan Agung ( King) and DYMM Yang di Pertuan Permaisuri ( Queen )  together with the  Sultans and Menteri Besar ( Chief Ministers ) of the various states. ( I'm not very good at the titles' department so please forgive me and don't take any offence if I have omitted any honorifics, etc., etc....with the VVIPS and VIPS in the pictures)

The photographs have been  chosen randomly as I simply don't have the patience to upload all of them ( I'm busy too, you know !) As it is, I had to sort them out in sequence , next, beg my daughter to help scan them into the computer ( haven't learnt that as yet !) and then sit beside her  next to the scanner and hand the photos one by one while at the same time putting the scanned ones into the albums  quickly in case it is misplaced or lost .  Gosh! the things that I have to do for the convenience of others.................................................................!

It makes me wonder why I have to go to such lengths, really........................  but the fact of the matter is that it is not often that one comes to witness a grand  occassion such as the wedding of Sharifah Farrah Soraya. It was truly a most  beautiful affair,  painstakingly organised with such detail and love by the loving parents of the bride , Tan Sri Syed Yusof and Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina.  They gave their very best to their daughter and to their friends who had come to  witness and bless the young couple on the shared journey of their lives together.

The least I could do was to share this wonderful  journey with others who did not have the opportunity to attend the wedding. I'm sure you'll bless the young couple  too after you've seen them...........................................................



 

 That's the Raja Muda of Kelantan, receiving a token from Tan Sri Syed Yusof  upon arrival.









































That's the DYMM Yang di Pertuan Agung ( King) being  escorted  by Tan Sri Syed Yusof upon arrival



All the VVIPs arriving in style - The Sultan of Selangor in purple and the Sultan of Perak in red...



That DYMM Raja Permaisuri Agung being escorted by Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina










The bevy of bridesmaids making their entrance.  The young and handsome  tyke in the front is Farouq and the bridesmaid walking in front is Farina .  Behind Farouq is Azarina





This was the first time that I had seen the King and Queen, the Sultans  with their consorts, the Regents with their consorts, the Governers of Malacca and Negeri Sembilan with their wives,  the Chief Ministers and their wives, corporate flyers and other dignitaries  in entirety attending an occassion .  Don't even ask me the list of  Tan Sris/Puan Sris/ Dato/Datins, ministers............... in fact, every table was filled with the Who's Who of Malaysia. 

If you do spot anyone you know, please update their names in the comments/shout box section for the benefit of others.

That's all for now.  The next tranche of photographs will be the arrival of the beautiful bride and groom.  


Just to share in the Hari Raya celebrations, my daughter and I both went shopping for a  traditional Malay costume,  aka   'baju kurung' . I bought  one  with a floral background  and my daughter chose a simple turquoise coloured one.   We've been invited to, who else,   but  by Tan Sri Syed Yusof and Puan Sri Sabrina to their '  open house ' on the first day of Hari Raya.  I thought it appropriate to wear a traditional Malay costume  for the occassion. We are, after all, Malaysians first .  On the drive  back, we came across a makeshift stall selling 'lemang'  and  'rendang ayam' ( traditional glutinious rice cooked  in bamboo and a traditional chicken preparation  )  opposite the ITM University at Section 2, Shah Alam .  We bought some too..............................



Once again  wishing all my Muslim friends and readers " SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDIL FITRI.    Please do call me for your 'open house'  ya, so I can eat and blog more ......................!!!!!



Happy painting and reading


Lakshmi

Wednesday, 8  September 2010


Last Friday, I had taken some of my muslim and non-muslim friends for a ' buka puasa' dinner at the KG SAAS Golf Club at Section 13, Shah Alam.

We had a great time and although the food was not up to my mark, the company of my good friends of many years, made up for it.  In retrospect,  only our table reflected a multi-racial mix of Malaysians and  I'm glad to have their sincere and warm friendship for all these years.............................

Happy painting n reading and wishing all my Muslim friends a 'SELAMAT HARI RAYA ADIL FITRI '


Happy holidays

Lakshmi

Monday, 6 September 2010



I have very strong opinions on a lot of things( haven't we all ?) and educational policies is my biggest and strongest one. With the state of our education system being what it is today, it's a miracle if our 10 and 20'As students can even write a proper sentence nor speak a line without giving their stupidity away.   I'm not being harsh here.........  (let me  give you an example of my experiences as an English tutor  )  what do you  tell a student who, when asked what is the plural of zero  and she answers it by saying  Zorro ?   Or the student who,  when asked what she does in her free time, says ' I hard study and no play play " That's from a Form 5 student who is going to sit for her exam soon................  

Soon, the Standard 6 UPSR exams will start ( 21 - 25 September), followed by the PMR exams in October and the SPM  exams in November.  The common thread here would be what will the students/teachers be doing soon after the exam is over.  Do they have remedial classes for the weak ones or teach them some practical skills or would it be " hooray, it's start of the holiday " ?  Your guess is as good as mine.

A  very interesting article on a similar vein has been written by Dr Bakri Musa, and again, I have taken the liberty of posting it here from his blog at

http://www.bakrimusa.com/archives/improve-our-schools-not-tinker-with-examinations#comment-389184

Improve Our Schools, Not Tinker With Examinations

Improve Our Schools, Not Tinker With Examinations
M. Bakri Musa

In about two weeks nearly half a million Malaysian school children will be sitting for their UPSR, the national examination taken at the end of Year Six. Today there is raging debate on abolishing this as well as the PMR (taken at Year Nine) examination. A decision is expected within weeks. There is however, minimal discussion on the timing of these examinations, administered as they are so early in the school year.

This year UPSR will be on September 20th, with PMR two weeks later. From then till the year-end holidays in late November, there will be no effective teaching or learning at these schools. With the examinations out of the way, the entire school – students and staff – will already be in holiday mode. The staff will effectively be makan gaji buta (paid but not working).

Come January when these students begin their classes, they would have already suffered through considerable attrition in their learning skills as a result of the three-month hiatus. The first few weeks if not months would be diverted to re-learning lessons of the preceding grade.
The problem only gets worse when they sit for their SPM examination (at Year 11). Although that is held in mid November, the results would not be out till late March. Visit Malaysia at the end and at the first half of the year and you will see thousands of these young boys and girls loitering. Query them and the typical answer would be, “Waiting for exam results!”

The next public option for those wishing to continue their formal schooling would be either matrikulasi or Sixth Form. Both however would not start till June.
When they were sitting for their UPSR and PMR, these students wasted away only three months; with SPM they would be fritting away over half a year, a substantial period in a young student’s life.
This terrible wastage of time escapes the attention of policymakers. They should be addressing this more pertinent and pressing issue instead of the non-productive controversy over abolishing UPSR and PMR.
Better Timing of Examinations
I fail to see why UPSR and PMR have to be set so early in the third term. Delaying it to mid or even late November would greatly extend the students’ instructional time by at least a couple of months.

Similarly I cannot comprehend why the Examination Syndicate takes such an inordinately long time to process the SPM examination. The Syndicate should ban its staff from taking holidays from October till the results are out so it could devote fully to processing the examination. Additionally we could reduce the number of subjects tested to a few core ones like language, science and mathematics. As for the rest, rely on the teachers’ assessments.
Even with the core subjects, have the final examination contribute only about 60-70 percent to the total score, with the rest made up of the student’s year-round work. With modern statistical techniques we should be able to reduce inter-school variations in teachers’ assessments.
After Form Five I see no reason why students could not proceed directly to matrikulasi or Sixth Form come the following January. In the 1960s there was a special entrance examination whose only function was to select students into Sixth Form. Alternatively, use the SPM trial examination as the basis for selection. That would certainly give the examination some clout! An even better proposal would be to make Form Six an integral part of secondary schooling, with everyone expected to continue on.

Keeping these young folks with raging hormones (as those Fifth Formers are) not occupied for over six months only invites trouble. Idleness is the root of mischief; we ignore that at our peril. That is quite apart from the learning attrition that inevitably occurs during the long hiatus.
Rich parents of course have wider options for their children, like enrolling them in the many excellent private pre-university programs. Those are expensive, beyond the reach of the poor. In the context of race-conscious Malaysia, this means Malay and Indian children.
By June when Sixth Form and the other public pre-university programs begin, those children of the rich who are accepted there would have a head start since they had spent the past six months in private pre-university programs. That gives them a substantial advantage in what typically is a one-to-two-year program.

I recently met a group of students enrolled in such a program, this one meant to prepare them for American universities. There was an incentive put into it whereby if the students were to perform well in the first six months, they would be sent abroad earlier.
Guess what? Of the students who excelled and thus sent abroad earlier, the vast majority were non-Malays. Those poor Malay students left behind were confounded. In the poisonous sociopolitical landscape where race considerations are never far from the surface, those poor Malay students not unnaturally felt their acute sense of deficiency, feeding the already ugly stereotype they have of themselves.
However, when I asked them what they were doing in the interim between sitting for their SPM and enrolling in the program, to a person they all replied that they did nothing! They idled the time away while waiting for their results. In contrast, those non-Malay students who did well were already ahead of them at the time of enrolment as they had been in private pre-university classes while waiting for their SPM results.

Interestingly, of the Malaysians who are privileged to attend elite American universities, few are from matrikulasi or Sixth Form. Instead they come from the many private pre-university programs in Malaysia. That is an indictment of our national education system, specifically post-Form Five.

Malay College IB Program

Malay College (MC) is embarking on its IB program next June, after about ten years in the planning. This is certainly long awaited and much needed. Up till now MC is nothing but a glorified middle school; its students have to go elsewhere to prepare for university.

The program will take in only MC students; presumably there will be enough to fill the class. Back in the 1950s and 60s MC had difficulty filling its Sixth Form, and the program was frequently threatened with closure if not for the many Malay students from other schools to fill the vacancies.
Those potential IB students will sit for their SPM this November and then return home to wait for the results. Come June next year, based on their SPM results, they will return to begin their IB class.

IB is radically different to what these students are used to. For one, it is English-medium while MC, like all national schools, is Malay-medium. Those students will thus encounter significant language and other adjustments.

As such I would have expected the policymakers to have planned a suitable “Pre-IB” program to prepare those students. What better time to do that than in the six-month hiatus while waiting for the SPM results! At the very least these students should have intensive English immersion classes.
Without such careful preparation, those first batch of IB students risk not being successful. Were that to happen, then those otherwise bright and promising students would forever suffer the blight of being tagged a failure, and perpetually carry the stigma of the presumed inadequacies of their race.

Public pressure would then arise and the authorities would be tempted to terminate the program. That would be a monumental tragedy not only for those students but also for MC and Malays. Thus far there is little concern among college and ministry officials in avoiding this possible disaster. Based on past experience, this lack of concern is unjustified.

Our education minister and policymakers should not distract themselves with such non-productive issues as scrapping the UPSR and PMR. They should instead focus on making 13 years of schooling as the new norm for our children, as they do in Germany. We should make Form Six an integral part of secondary education, available to everyone. Unlike the Germans however, we should stream our students into the academic, general and vocational streams (comparable to their Gymnasium, Realschule and Hauptschule) not at Year 5 but at the upper secondary (Year 10).
Such a move would better prepare our students for the increasingly competitive world and help advance our economy up the value scale. Tinkering with examinations does nothing; it is a “make busy” project for policymakers.

M  Bakri Musa




Happy reading


Lakshmi

Sunday, 5 September 2010

I bought this garden lamp a few years ago and had it fixed on the  gate pillar of  my driveway.  Over the years, it got battered in the sun and rain and later , the birds perched on the tip and discoloured it with their droppings.  Then it was the stray cats' turn to topple it and break the panes for the umpteenth time.  Finally, the neighbourhood kids uprooted the wirings from the pillar and shattered the glass panes again ( sigh ) with their football strikes......  

Since it was a waste of time re-fixing the glass panes and fixing it back countless times, I left it alone somewhere...............   Chancing upon it again and feeling ' oh so sayang ' to throw it way, I did the next best thing.... which is what you see now. 

Nothing fancy, just slip-slapped  the whole black iron lamp with a left over mix of all the white colours that I had.  Then I used my ' not so good ' brush   and  used up the left over  reds in my palette  for painting the  sketchy roses with ribbons in Blue Mist.  Used an old brush to slip slap some more Blue Mist  on the sides.  It was a completely ' slippy-slappy '  job and I finished it in  20 minutes flat. I quite like how it looks  now , completely shabby and worn.  I don't know about the chic part though.  Please do tell me......................... .................. Oh, I stuck a candle to the centre,  just in case the electricity goes off !

  It's place is now on the shoe rack and hopefully, it will remain there






Happy painting

Lakshmi

Thursday, 2 September 2010


Zuraini Osman is a Malaysian, residing in Doha, Qatar.   Through Liza of Affeen Craft, Zuraini came to know that I conduct classes on decorative painting at my home.

From Zuraini's email info, I understood that she is in Malaysia for the fasting month and Hari Raya celebrations only, after which she would be going back to Doha, Qatar. Despite the long distance from Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan  where she is staying currently and  rushing for time, Zuraini travelled all the way by KTM  commuter train from Port Dickson to Shah Alam and then took a taxi to my house to learn decorative painting. Gosh, that's something, isn't it ?

Zuraini attended  2 sessions per day and the pictures below show her work.  Since she could not come for continuous classes as she had time constraints and   apart from showing her how to do strokeworks and  flowers,  worksheets with explanations , colours used and and  step by step guidance in pictures were also given to her so that she could practise them when back in Doha.

My hats off to Zuraini for her zeal and  dedication.....................................

Happy painting


Lakshmi

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

I came across this article by Bakri Musa which I had taken the liberty of posting it here from the portal Malaysia Today
http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/guest-columnists/34197-beyond-the-rituals-of-ramadan


Although I try my very best not to get myself all tied up in Malaysian politics which really should be in the gutters by now,  I just cannot keep myself from commenting on the latest episode.  Okay, I won't comment because if I start, I cannot stop ...... and somebody might just sue me for libel.... and most probably it will be our '  glamorous 'Family Affairs Minister Sharizat. ( I'm sooooo 'itching 'to say my piece here but I better quit before it's too late !) But please allow me to  just  explain the situation for newcomers.  Here's what happened............................................


The Member of Parliament, Teo Nie Ching, who happens to be Chinese lady , visited a surau, ( a moslem prayer house akin to  a chapel ) in her constituency to present a donation to the Muslim congregation.  She wore a Malaysian kebaya  which covers her feet and of course, she wore no shoes too.. and she did not wear a scarf but otherwise, she was decently dressed, I'd say  ( go to Youtube and check it out for yourself.)  The congregation nor the imam at the surau had any  problem with that.  If they had, they would have surely conveyed it to the MP. Tell me, would any MP just pop into a house of prayer and give a speech without it being planned and agreed by all parties involved ?  More so in Malaysia, can a Non-Muslim lay person, or for that matter, even an elected non-muslim  MP walk freely into muslim prayer house and have his/her say?  Common  sense would tell you that it is highly impossible and disrespectful too.  Surely, proper communication and arrangements had been made by the mosque committee for such a meeting to take place in the first place, isn't it ?

My question here is,   what was the fuss made by the Islamic  authorities / the government authorities, the mainstream Malay dailies and the loud mouthed  politicians ?  Can't they let things be as it is and take it at its  face value ?  It's the constant needling and looking for faults in others that is bringing our peace and country down.......................   just  read the article written by Bakri Musa,   ( not me ) and tell me if the MP Teo Nie Ching was in the wrong. 

Sunday, 22 August 2010



This cake-stand was painted in Jo Sonja and Americana colours.  The basecoat was in Jo Sonja's Shamrock. 

For the yellow rose, I used a combination of Raw Sienna, Yellow Oxide, Naples Yellow Hue and  Cadmium Yellow Mid .  Gold Oxide for 1st shading and Burnt Sienna for 2nd shading.  The highlight colours were Warm White with  touches of Titanium White.  Diox Purple was used with glaze as a tint for the overall effect.

The red roses were painted with a combination of  Royal Fuschia, Brilliant Magenta, Cadmium Orange, Amethyst with touches of  Black Plum .  Warm White was used  for highlights. The 1st shading was in  Burgundy and the 2nd shading was in Burnt Carmine.



The edges of the cake stand was touched up in Rich Gold and Pale Gold

On another note,  I have not uploaded the wedding photos of Sharifah Farrah Soraya held at  KLCC simply because the ones that I personally took were too few  and too far !  I have been told that  even the   wedded couple nor the immediate families  have  seen the wedding albums because they ( the albums)  have not been delivered as yet!    Will do the necessary as soon as I get them.

( The ones which came out in the STAR daily did not do justice to the beautiful wedding reception which took place and that's my personal opinion, by the way !)

Happy painting


Lakshmi

Thursday, 19 August 2010


About 2 weeks ago, my children were at the LCCT airport  on the way to Langkawi with their cousins from Holland.  To their horror, when they were checking in their flight tickets, my silly kids realised that they had not taken their identity cards with them and were thus stranded at the airport.

I received their frantic call whilst buying fish at the market at 8.30am.  "Could Mummy please, please fax a copy of  our identity cards ASAP to the AirAsia counter, otherwise we can't board the plane, Mummy. Our flight is at 9.15am ".  My first thoughts were " stupid kids, they deserve it"  ( I had continuously reminded them all week to pack everything they needed  and make a checklist ) but of course, the bothersome  motherly instinct took over .  After giving them a piece of my mind, ( well, they did deserve that ) I quickly  left the market place and walked real fast to my house. ( I would have  normally takn the car but since I had no hurry to cook on that day with the children away, I had  taken  a leisurely walk to help reduce my  weight! )


Rummaging the drawers, I found the cards and hurriedly left the house and walked the short distance to the shops to look for a fax machine.  They didn't have one.  I then  crossed over the other side to Petronas station.  Horrors! they didn't use one either, so did the 7 Eleven outlet which was about 100 metres away..

It was 9.00am.  I had 15 more minutes  One passer-by told me to go to Section 3 where there were more shops ( I stay in Section 6) Fighting against time, I literally raced back to my house and then stopped dead at the door. I had no key! I had locked myself out . God, what an awful situation !  Luckily I came to my senses and quickly called my husband. It was just pure luck that I had the handphone with me. I called my husband and  explained the need for him to come home and give the keys  Boy, oh boy ! My better   worse half started questioning my sanity and how inconvenient it would be to come home , blah... blah.. blah... ... ( Am  I alone or most wives have to go through these periodic    drama episodes ? )Talk about asking for help from your  nearest and dearest at moments like this !

All said and done, I got the keys and drove to Section 3.  Guest what ?  None of them had a fax.  After going round and round for the 3rd time and getting myself tizzy , I tried one more time and knocked on the door of a half opened office.  The nice Malay gentleman told me to ask the Clerk .  I explained to her  the situation and asked if she could help me. "  I'll pay for the service, of course" I said.  I must have sounded really desperate, for she  readily obliged. My relief came to a halt when she explained that  the office copier was down ! So I zapped in my Kancil again  and drove  around the block to make copies and zipped back to her office. 

It finally went through. 

A lady with a somewhat bulging  brief case, walked in .  From her attire, I realised that this was a law firm and the lady with the black long skirt and white blouse, was obviously the lawyer.  She was neatly dressed and looked sort of  'officious' .  It dawned on me  then to look at myself.   Good God !  I was in a  faded pair of bermuda shorts with a somewhat crinkled and faded blouse. My sort of casual market clothes..... I was using flip flops on my feet and my frizzy hair,  well, it looked really frizzy with a capital letters !  Not to forget, the harried look on my face with all the zipping and zapping in my small car ...........I must have looked like a bigger version of Rumpelstiltskin !  It couldn't get any worse than that now, could it ? 

Her quizzical look at me confirmed my worst nightmare!  She probably thought ' this typical housewifey from the boondocks ' looking person had come to plead a case !!  Aiyoh!, so so mortifyingly embarrassing it was........  Pulling myself to my full height of 5' 2'' and gathering my wits about to make up for the 'look',  I explained to her the purpose of my 'unofficial' visit . And just so to make up for my ' look' ( in case she thought I was penniless too !),  I offered to pay for the service . She  refused to accept any payment. I thought that it was very  kind and gracious of her.  So I decided to give this small token as my appreciation for her gesture ( and to the equally kind Clerk ) 

 I glimpsed her name on her office door as I left the  office.
















The  cream crackers tin which was repainted as a give-away  for the kind  Clerk.











At times like these, I'm so glad that I learned how to paint.  One of the many benefits of decorative painting................... to be able to create a piece of art anytime. ...................................what else can I say?



Happy painting

Lakshmi

Monday, 16 August 2010


It's that time of year when festive celebrations are going to be in full swing.  The fasting month has already started and I've been gorging on the wide variety of food sold at the Ramadhan stalls near my home. 

I managed to paint these for my customers in between the gorgings...........

Happy painting


Lakshmi

Saturday 7 August 2010

I have just returned home from the dinner reception given by YM Raja Taharudin bin Raja Dato Nong Chik and Puan Faridah bt  Abdul Rahman, which was held at the  Grand Dorset Subang Hotel.  The dinner reception was in honour of their youngest son, Raja Arfiz Shah Putera Raja Taharudin's marriage to Sharifah Farrah Soraya, the eldest daughter of Tan Sri Syed Yusof and Puan Sri Sabrina.  

My daughter and I arrived at the reception at a quarter to 8.00pm.  Puan Faridah, together with her husband YM Raja Taharudin and their entourage were already assembled there to receive the guests.  Dressed in a deep rich lilac kebaya, as were all  her family members, they greeted us warmly. Soon after, I spotted Tan Sri Syed Yusof and his beautiful wife, Puan Sri Sabrina,( who incidently was dressed in a shimmering red designer labelled  long ensemble and looking fabulous as usual ) doing their rounds with the guests who had arrived. 


The guest of honour, the Sultan of Selangor, arrived around 8.30pm, followed by the newlywed couple.  After the official photography session was over, the bride and groom walked down the red carpet, holding hands and looking  very much in love.  What a lovely couple they made.

Farrah looked elegant and chaste ,  dressed in an off shoulder white gown with a fitted bodice and a long train while Arfiz was dashing in a black  suit and tie. With a pearl encrusted necklace on her slim neck with matching drop earnings, Farrah looked  the perfect bride , all elegance and grace.  There was so much love, exuberance,y outh and  and eagerness on the faces of the young couple as they walked the red carpet to the dais that you couldn't feel anything but happiness for them on their journey together.

Dinner was served shortly after that and the groom's parents were seen  engaging  with the dinner guests at the  tables who were busy tucking in briyani rice, chicken korma,  pineapple in spicy gravy, sweet sour fish fillet and beef rendang.  Dessert was creme brulee with  local cakes,which was  followed by coffee/tea.  A video presentation of the couple during the 'akad nikah' ceremony  was shown for the benefit of guests who did not get to attend the ceremony.



It was almost  11.00pm when everything came to a close.  As I said goodbye to the couple and wished them all the happiness in the world, Farrah told me that she read my bloggings  of her wedding !  Ha.. ha  now that's what you called an ' informed and up-todate bride ' !  



All guests took home a beautiful    jewellery container  with Farrah's and Arfiz's names engraved on the lid . The gold/silver gilt container was filled with heart shaped chocolates , as was the extra box of chocolates given by the Grand Dorset Hotel. Each guests also received a miniature dome shaped iced cake as part of the wedding/guests goodie bag giveaways.

Below are some of the pictures taken at the dinner............................

That's the mother of the groom, Puan Faridah, her guest and I


















That's Puan Sri Sabrina and I..... thankfully I needn't have to wear a Merlin's costume this time !











The tasselled uniquely designed wedding cake






Farrah and Arfiz entering the dinner reception hall

















The  beautiful train and the slim silhouette of the bride

















Oh, how sweet and young they look ! The start of a wonderful journey with their best foot forward.............
















The perfect looking bride and groom...... (sigh) their youthful looks reminds me of  erhmmm.. my  days gone by................ Gosh , how long long ago was that ?

















My very good friends, Datin Zaleha Shamsuddin and Maggie Ehsan at the dinner












That's my daughter and I















The goodie bags galore.................
















A close-up of the beautiful jewellery container filled with chocolates.........









That's all for now folks, for I'm deadbeat writing this piece, past 3am.......time to knock off............

Happy reading and painting


Lakshmi

Friday, 6 August 2010


After the hectic wedding rounds recently,  it's back to my painting stories and students................. 

As can be seen below, Ms Intan, my very diligent art  student, has just finished this wooden rice bin project.  The geraniums were done in Deep Fuschia   with touches of Napthol Crimson and Titanium White.  The leaves were done in  Moss Green and  Avacado  with touches of  Yellow Green, Blue Mist and Warm White for highlights. 

Looks very good to me.  An 'A' perhaps ?

Intan has started on a bear painting project next ......................



Happy painting


Lakshmi




PS:


I have had no time to sort out and download the wedding celebration pictures  of Sharifah Farrah Soraya as yet as  I could not  click my camera as much as I liked to at the reception.  The security and protocol was real heavy with practically all the Sultans in attendance, together with the King and Queen and the Chief Ministers of the states too.  Phew !  it was simply too much  pressure for me and with about 3000 guests in tow, it was really difficult with security and paparazzi all over the place.  However, Puan Sri Sabrina has kindly agreed to let me have a few pictures from her albums and will upload it as soon as I get my hands on them............... 


By the way,  did anyone notice the picture in the Thumbnail section, STAR  daily dated 5 August 2010...?  The bridal car was the stretch limousine Hummer as was pictured in the Thumbnail section .  I don't think anyone  had ever seen  that   long a Hummer  in Malaysia  ever! 

Monday, 1 August 2010


Farrah's ' berinai' ceremony was held at the Concorde Hotel's Ballroom in Kuala Lumpur on the same evening of her 'akad nikah'  ceremony.  The dress code stated 'Arab' and the function started at 8.00pm.   Since I had no Arab like anything, my good friend, Roslinda Ismail, kindly offered me a few ' jubah' to choose from.  I tried on a few, but as you might have guessed, the nice ones didn't fit me, it was either too long, too short or too big and swallowed me in complete.  Finally, I chose one , a leopard print like design with a hood at the back.  Don't laugh when you see the picture okay..... my daughter told me I looked like Merlin's mum and my son said I was a cross between Yoda ( Star Wars)  and Gaius!   All I could do was give them a killer stare and huffed off to Concorde!


The ballroom was themed in an Arabian Night style with rich colours of crimson red and gold.  The VIP guests for the occasion were the Sultan of Selangor and the Ambassador of one of the Eastern Europe countries, which I can't get the name right now, but it did end with a 'tan' like in Krygstan, perhaps.?

The glowing bride was dressed regally in a lush  green and gold Egyptian styled  long gown with a beautiful and intricately designed train.  Oh, was she stunnning or what!   Her fair skin against the rich brocade of Irish green and gold was a real stunner.  She looked sooooooo beautiful when she made the entrance from the back, where I was temporarily seated, that I forgot to take out my camera! Holy Cow! what a waste....... sigh...........

The groom was dressed in an Arabic headgear  and looked quite lost  beside the glowing bride in her regal gown..---- oops!  did I say that?!    Well, you can't blame me,  for all eyes were totally fixed on the bride!  My, my, Arfiz is one lucky lucky guy, that's about how I can sum it up. 

Farrah walked down the isle  with Arfiz , holding hands together and took their place on the dais on the stage.  The resplendent couple then went through the ' merinjis air mawar' ceremony.   The Sultan of Selangor was the first to start of, followed by the other VIPs and dignitaries present.  The Ambassador presented Farrah and Arfiz with an ethnic costume in rich gold and  he draped it over her shoulder.  Farrah  looked like the Queen of Sheba herself !  Unfortunately, I could not get the picture as the paparazzi were all over them.  Hopefully, I'd be able to  click a copy of the  photograph of the couple with the costume when  I go over to lunch with Puan Sri Sabrina tomorrow.


After the speeches were over,( thankfully not that many)  the Arabic songs were on and professional belly dances were dancing to the rhythm of the beat. .......... it was a mesmerising and hypnotic dance, for sure.  I honestly wished I could dance like that but with my Yoda cum Gaius costume, I didn't think I would have had any admirers, so I silently sat through the whole belly dancing routine although my hands were tapping the table.  One of the dancers danced behind a transparent screen and her dance kept the entire guests glued to their seats.   Totally, totally awesome!


Hmm.... the food, glorious food was, of course  authentic Arabic style -   flat bread with  hummus and mint/tomato dip, 2 different types of  fragrant long grained   briyani rice with  roast lamb and another with tender chicken.  There were also  ' bamia  '  which was okra in a spice based preparation, another  dish of grilled lamb and chicken,  a fish based dish which I left out as I don't take fish and the best spicy prawns ever,  which i totally 'whalloped'. And guess what ? the 3 Aussie guys sharing our table were stuffing their faces silly with the hot stuff too.  (heard from  the grapevine later that all the dishes were prepared in one of the best Arabic restaurants  in KL as Concorde did not have an Arabic chef )  Everything was done in the best possible way with no stones unturned.  Dessert was a mix of local cakes and an Arabian dessert - hallabah ( or something like that ) which was an overly sweet sweet mix of honey and ground nuts and spices.  Otherwise, everything was perfecto !  Even the waiters were in Arabian garb............. the whole works !  I must say that Tan Sri Syed Yusof and Puan Sri Sabrina gave the best of the best to their daughter's wedding. 

It was time to call it a night at about 11.00pm when coffee was served in small cups and sweet cardarmom tea was served in gilt demitasse cups.  The music was still on and the some of the guests were warmed up enough  after the dinner to go the the floor and dance their calories off.

Too bad I couldn't join in but on second thoughts, with my Merlin outfit, it was best that I left quickly..............................................!!


I happily share with my readers, some of the pictures taken

That's me with the Merlin/Yoda/Gaius costume!

Roslinda Ismail, my dear good friend, without whom I would have had difficulty in arriving at Concorde.  She kindly took me in her car.























Ha, that's Puan Sri Sabrina in a gorgeous deep fushia red Arabian kaftan and me ?  Haiyo ! in my Merlin/Gaius costume, I don't dare describe myself !   Only consolation is my wide wide grin and happy face - readers  are severely warned not to  comment either !!





                                      See what I meant when I said Farrah was a real stunner ? 






 I told ya !  Arfiz is one extremely lucky lucky guy, no ?

Note the beautiful long train of brocade on the floor.  Simply gorgeous!












 The Sultan of Selangor is seated on the left of  Puan Sri Sabrina. ( probably shying away at the paparazzi's camera lights )










 Thats' all folks that I have for the 'berinai ' ceremony.    Next will be the wedding dinner proper at the cavernous hall at KLCC.  Now, that was  THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR....... if you know what I mean.



Gosh, I was sooooo carried away with the wedding that I haven't had time to slot in my painting pictures.......................  what the heck! it was for a happy and joyous occassion anyway, so me think it's okay, what say  you ?


Happy reading and painting



Lakshmi



PS:  Wait until you see the KLCC dinner pics, you'll fall of your seat .... ( but that's for another write up so have patience, ya !)

Sunday 1 August 2010


Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the 'akad nikah' ceremony of Sharifah Farrah Soraya, the eldest daughter of  Tan Sri Syed Yusof Tun Syed Nasir and Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina Syed Agil with Raja Arfiz Shah Putera Raja Taharudin,  whose parents are YM Raja Taharudin bin Raja Dato Nong Chik and Puan Faridah bt Abdul Rahman.

The ceremony was held at the bride's residence in Shah Alam on the morning of Saturday, 31 July 2010. 

Having known Farrah from her primary school days - I was her English Tutor - I can truly say that she has grown into a simply charming and beautiful young lady, full of poise and confidence but yet with a hint of childish exuberance.  A most polite young lady with no airs, with a soft spoken voice and  graceful demeanor. Hmmm, sounds like one of those fairy tale princesses, doesn't it ?  Well, if you see her pictures below, you'll certainly agree.


The 'akad nikah' ceremony was held in Farrah's house, which her Dad built just next to his house!  Just shows how much they love their daughter huh. Actually, the house stands in the same family compound, only that since the daughters are all grown up - that's Farrah and her younger sister, Farhana, a separate house was built within the family compound  to provide for their privacy.

It was a lovely morning and the air was filled with the sweet smell of roses and daisies in an  all white theme.  The wedding planner was Rizalman  and the house was decorated in a white theme.  The all white roses and daises swag over the spiral staircase and the the front entrances, together with the huge posies of roses  everywhere gave an air of simplicity and purity which, against the grandeur of the the ceremony and house, bestowed  an aura of taste and decorum.

The groom's party delivered 9 trays as gifts or 'hantaran' in  silver containers and the bride's family presented 11 trays in gold themed containers ( see pictures)  I think I spotted the latest craze - Apple's i phone 4, in one of the gifts.... not quite sure, but I did see one which looked like it...The 'mas kahwin' or dowry was RM1000.00

The house was full of VIP ladies all  in their finery ....... my, I haven't seen so many variations of the headscarf ........................  Most of the ' Mat Sallehs' , mostly Australians, since Farrah went to Perth to continue her studies , were in full force and since her grandma ( on her mother's side) is also an Australian, they filled the foyer and everywhere.......... there was no place to move and I had to squeeze to get through.

Puan Sri Sabrina, as usual, was appropriately dressed in a ' baju kebaya' of  soft white with purplish pink floral knots.  Slim and beautiful in her own right, she was her usual graceful hostess, making sure all the guests were comfortable and well taken care of.  She's one of the few people whom I 'm glad to acknowledge  as a   friend, for despite her beauty,  status and  wealth , ( and that a very lethal combination !) she remains a very down-to-earth person . Farrah has definitely inherited all all of that and more ................................................  

The professional photographers from Rizalman and local dailies were strategically and stupidly  positioned at every corner of the best spaces available, so I had to literally jostle my way, sometimes bending on all fours, to get decent shots , some of which are shown below.

As a picture says a thousand words and I'm already going to exceed the limit , I'll let the picture do the rest.......

The huge rose posies.............





The front entrance to Farrah's residence








Farrah sitting demurely on the dais after
the 'akad nikah' ceremony




The 11 gift trays from the bride's side



Another pic of the beautiful  bride........ the cameramen were all over the place and we ladies had to jostle with them to even get a decent picture!  so kiasu they were !









the gifts from the groom's side - 9 trays... including a diamond bracelet, ring and chain



This picture was taken after the entire ceremony was over, the newlyweds with their well wishers......










This was taken just after the solemnization rites were done.  So sweet............ but I did wish it was the groom who was  kissing the hand of the bride, in the traditional romantic fairy tales way!

The young lady in red is Farrah's sister, Farhana


The proud parents of the bride, Tan Sri Syed Yusof and Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina


Note the cameraman  again ?



The groom's mum, Faridah and I..... our friendship goes a long long  way back













Puan Sri Sharifah Sabrina and I ...... we've known each other since Farrah was 10 years or so












This was my first attendance at an 'akad nikah' ceremony and how glad I am that it was the joyous occassion of my student to start with.  

The next posting will be the 'berinai' celebrations which was held at the  Ballroom of Concorde Hotel, KL later in the evening.  The dress code was ' Arab'.........

Till then, ciao and happy painting


Lakshmi