A sobering Malaysian saga

188, Hugh Low Street.
The Stories of the Scissors Sharpener's Daughter. Written by Ipohgal. 2013.

This is not a story of conquerors or industrialists who shattered the course of a civilisation or something like that but rather of the stuff that Malaysia is made of -  of small people who had a big strong heart to work hard to bring a better future for the family and the country.
Ipohgal, an avid blogger, has earned another feather to her cap. Now, she is an author and this is her maiden publication.

It traced to a time when it was peaceful and safe where children could play in the streets without a care. They did not need expensive gadgets to pass their time but rather they used their ingenuity to improvise. To give a nostalgic twang to her book, Ipohgal managed to capture a few pictures of the inside and outside the building that she knew as home. Coincidentally, the Indian eatery that she refers to 'Kedai Nasi Ganja' is the same one whose owner's son (deceased) was my brother-in-law's best friend.

The book starts by tracing the birthplace of her parents and the circumstances that brought them to Malaya. Her paternal grandfather, fleeing from the Qing Dynasty, landed in Batu Gajah with his young village headmaster's daughter wife. He built a reputation as an excellent bean curd maker. In those days, if you wanted a helping hand in your business, you just contacted your people in China and they would send you, not maids but rather maidens to be your wife. Like that, her Grandpa got himself a third wife after the second one got raped en route to Malaya and fell into depression. There is a funny part where the first wife avenges the husband through the grandchildren by cajoling them to get their grandfather broke by asking for this and that!

After panning through some harrowing moments during WW2, her father moved out of Batu Gajah to 188, Hugh Low Street, Ipoh to start a coffee shop. This shop was witness to many eventful events in the writer's life. Her parents were married and all her childhood memories were in that simple shop.

Kedai nasi kandar 'ganja', aptly named for 

the addictive quality of the food. Customers 

do not mind queueing long to be served!

The book goes on to innumerate many significant events that happened in her life - her memory of playing near the drain of her home, of a time she fell into the drain, her first exposure to the work peeping tom, her exposure to movies, the interesting places of leisure in Ipoh at that time, of the various tenants and characters who rented rooms in the building. A great proportion of the book is spent on the most important moment of anyone's life, the schooling years. 

Thanks to her stubborn mother, the father relented and Ipohgal received English education, unlike her elder siblings. Bad times befell on the family in the early 70s when like an avalanche, barrage of misfortunes fell on them. The family savings were exhausted when two close relatives where inflicted with aggressive terminal cancers. To add salt on wound, the shop licence was suspended. Her father had to give up the shop and had to use his resources to support the family. That is when he learnt the art of scissors and knife sharpening and he carved a name for himself as Ipoh's famous scissors sharpener.

She further narrates the many fond and sometimes unpleasant moments of her schooling life, especially in primary school. She soon discovered about discrimination and class segregation.

All good things must end. The last few chapters were melancholic as it describes the passing of her parents in such descriptive and touching manner. Their home is now in unkempt and is in a deplitatory condition, occupied by foreigners. Another topic that keeps popping up every now and then is the ability of the author and some of her relatives who had an eye to be able to see visions of the dead!

A light enjoyable read that reminds all its readers of where we came from. Like what the old adage states, 'One who does not know where he came from, will not reach where he is going to', I think it is important for all to be reminded of the past so that success does not go into our heads. It helps to maintain sobriety!