Memories of RRF – neighbours

23.3.2010

Memories of RRF – neighbours

E15-11 was situated behind the lift near the electrical meter board. The frontage was not overlooking into the open space like other units but was kind of dark and was a place where children would gather and play their games like “S”, photos, cops and robbers, chiabak etc. etc. All of us have bitter and sweet memories with the lift. At one time or another, we all had the bad experience of being trapped in the lift, no big deal actually, only if you are in a hurry. Actually the lifts were used and abused again by its occupants. In the later years, I even took my mini bicycle up the lift for safety reasons. If only it was not German made, it would have given up long ago. The day to day running of the lift was done by Council appointed handicapped individuals who were supposed to be manning the lift by being inside the lift but they seemed to find joy by playing the fool among each other, talking like they know everything and basically doing nothing! Beh Beh was the longest serving attendant there. He had difficulty articulating due to some spasticity with his neck muscle and tongue. Hamzah was another character but he did not look so handicapped. Desmond joined later; he had a small underdeveloped contracted left upper limb.

Sometimes all the lifts would go on strike or there could be a power failure, we would have to climb down all 15 flights of stairs on foot and many a time I had to bring my bicycle down in this manner. Talking about the lifts, my sisters and I will never forget the old Chinese with a walking stick and gross tremors on her hands who would reprimand children who are rough with the buttons on the lift. She would say in her characteristic voice shaking all over, “SSSudahlah… satu kali cukuplah, banyak kali rosaklahhh…”

E15-11A was occupied by a single mother who worked as a seamstress to support her two young children – Ah Leng and Ah Keow. My sister, Lats, and all of us learned most of our conversational Hockkein from them. Ah Leng used to worship Lats and followed her all around. Lats would bully her and made her do all her dirty job. Quite often, both Ah Leng and Ah Keow would be in for a beating when their mother was in a bad mood.

Amma was also a keen tailor herself by dire necessity to make ends meet. She learned the finer points of sewing from Tamil Bell Club and also from a Chinese lady in Block C Ground floor. Both Sheila and Lats have had their Deepavali dresses done by Amma much to their disappointment. I had one set of pajamas sewn by her which I wore for a long time until everybody got turned off by it. When Mama come to RRF and wanted to take a family photograph with his spanking new camera, he chased me away to slip into something more appealing than the trishaw man’s attire as he addressed the pajamas!

Just the other day, Sheila just reminded me of all the long hours that she had to endure with mother’s sewing contracts and all the abuses that were hailed at her in spite of her keen workmanship in midst of her studies. I was sometimes roped in to stitch the buttons on shirts and blouses. We all spent many hours doing these before every Deepavali and Thaipusam. Of course it was not all gloom and dull, we had our own set of jokes, like the bosomy lady with bust size 42 and the blouse with putrefying smell of body odour which was with us for a long time and remained unclaimed!

E15-15 was occupied by a Chinese family who was running an illegal 4D syndicate. I remember putting some bets for Appa, usually for $1 or $2 for numbers like 8886, 1511, 7122, 2874 and others. The head of the family used to hide his counterfoils on top of the electrical meter board. In fact, I remember a time when his house was raided. He stopped his business temporarily, but it was business, as usual, a couple of months later. Things have not changed much since those days with illegal activities and Ah Longs.

E15-17 reminds me of the old Cantonese lady screaming her lungs off to her granddaughter, “Ah Lengggg……..sek fun!!! Tah leya!”

E15-9 was occupied by a group of weirdoes, Mr N (who thinks that it is his God-sent right to have a mistress, so says the wife), his forever crying wife with an equally pathetic crying face (a full bloom flower will wither instantaneously on sight!), his domineering mother (with evil written all over her face – like in Cliff Richards song, Devil Woman), his retarded brother E and his 2 kids. They did not talk to us for a very time until one fine day the wife was in for a major bashing. The feud was stopped by all neighbours of the 15^th floor. It was Ah Hock’s father (of E15-8) who called my parents to intervene as we were fellow Indians.

Over the years, Mrs N continued to talk to Amma over the kitchen window much to her chagrin. She will come all bruised, and she kept staying with the family hoping that one day the husband will repent. I wonder how she is now.

E15-8 always brings a tear or two to my eyes! It was occupied by Ah Hock and his parents. At the height of family financial crisis when the funds were way low, we actually had to sell our National table fan to our Ah Hock’s father for $15 to buy rice and tin of sardines to cook a meal! It sounds far fetch like a scene from a depressing Tamil movie like “Tholabaram” but it is true as much as the sun sets in the west! Talking about “Tholabaram”, I remember watching it in the theatre with the family (minus Appa) – when financial situation improved, of course, with Raja Ammah @ Rukumani). The theme of the tear jerker was close to all our hearts. It depicted how a wealthy girl married a poor worker due to her adverse family situation and how her life spiraled down the slimy ladder of poverty and she finally unsuccessfully poisoned the whole family (herself and her kids; she became a widow). Her best friend from college was her defence attorney. The song “Kattrunile” by KJ Yesudass carries a deep meaning and always brings back fond and not so pleasant memories of RRF, Ah Hock and the fall from grace.