What is the writer's duty?

Manto (Hindi, 2018)

The versatile Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the lead.

Man is full of contradictions. He has laid rules that he proclaims to be of the divine decree, but nobody follows. They say one thing and do something else, knowing very well that their action is directly antagonistic to what they preach. But rules are for others.

They say all men are equal, but everybody knows that that only applies to a select group of people with political domination. Others do not really matter. Every community has its codes of decency, social mores and laws to put things straight but vice and crimes never cease. We know what is right and what is not, but we still turn a blind eye to atrocities that happen under our very noses.

What is really the duty of writers? Do they have any responsibility at all? Are they there just to preach a utopia that we can all transcend to? Is their job to highlight things as they are on the ground to create a certain awareness to change the status quo? To get people out of their comfort zones or indeed to create a platform for victims to be heard, writers may have a unique role. 

This biopic is the reply to Pakistan's 2015 multiple award-winning film of the same name. If the Pakistani version was longer and more in-depth, the Indian compensated through brilliant acting by the cast. It tells of the life and times of a Bombay author, Saadat Hassan Manto. A prolific writer before the Partition, he, due to the fear of religious double-crossing by his friends, he uprooted himself to Lahore. His intimate and graphic descriptions of true-to-life stories of the ordinary people, especially of women, did not go well with the conservative government of the day who considered his work as immoral. He spent most his short life fighting for his survival in the courts and being slaved to the bottle. Understandably, this film is banned in Pakistan. It portrays the Pakistani courts as a sham and the guardians of the legal profession as paternalistic dancing to the tune of the leaders. A good movie.

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Work in progress?

Letters to Home (2016)
Young Malaysians write back
Edited by Ooi Kok Hin, Aish Kumar, Nik Mohamed Rashid Nik Zurin

Just when you had heard enough of whining, ranting, hurling of brickbats at the pathetic state of affairs that the country and possible failed nation status that we may plunge, out comes a book which tries to paint a blue sky, a new dawn and words of hopefulness. At an instance, when most disillusioned Malaysians are leaving our shores to graze upon lush greens elsewhere and when overseas-trained graduates find their comfort zone their Newfoundland, this book gives a glimmer of hope. It tells us that life in this country in the future may not be all doom and gloom.

This 234-paged book is a collection of over 30 authors who contributed to this uplifting experience. The writers are mainly millennials who were privileged enough to spend some time overseas in their pursuit of academic excellence, some through state scholarships. Many of them are envious of the ongoing progress abroad and yearn to bring home their skills. They long to have their motherland the same scientific and technological innovations that they had seen there.

The topics covered here are quite varied, ranging from affirmative action and Malay supremacy all the way to environmental degradation. Many government-sponsored students do not return home to pay back their dues to the nation, but the powers that be are quite lackadaisical in doing their job to gain returns from their investment of human capital. Malaysians who experience life as a foreigner in another country generally can empathise with the plight of the many low-skilled foreign workers found here!

In any country, the younger generation is typically vocal about current social issues. History had shown that the youth were the first displeasure when so many young Americans returned in body bags from Vietnam and when injustice prevailed in many despotic regimes in many newly independent post-colonial Africa and Eastern European block countries. Here, however, the wings of the university students are mostly clipped with the University and its amendments!

They go on to talk about Malaysia's brain drain problem of 10% which exceeds the global average. One author who hails from East Malaysia narrates her awkward moments of being treated as a green-eyed monster in the Peninsular as a student! The rise of religious bigots who treat women as second class citizens gets an honourable mention. The topic of living as a handicapped, growing as an orphan and the lack of social safety nets and the acceptance of intermarriage with its complex issues are discussed.

The best part of the book, I feel, is the lengthy discussion on the evolution of university life. From a firebrand force in the 60's which gave the government a run for its money, university students have all evolved to become meek apathetic domesticated pussies.

There is definitely lots of work to be done to bring the back the nation to its once promising start!

Malaysian pulp fiction

DUKE

Inspector Mislan & the DUKExpressway Murders

By: Rozlan Mohd Noor

Met Rozlan at a book reading event and was convinced by him to give a go at his brand of Malaysian crime pulp fiction. After leaving the police force, one of his lifetime ambitions was to write ten books. Apparently, he has almost filled up with bucket list; two more to go! 

He mirrors his protagonist after Horatio of CSI Miami, the mysterious cop with many hidden things in his closet. He juggles life as a single parent of a preteen and his demanding job of busting crimes in the city of Kuala Lumpur. 

A car crashes onto a divider in the DUKE highway. Initial investigations soon reveal the victims to be business colleagues and lovers. What is initially reported as a suicide-murder becomes murky as the investigating officer, Inspector Mislan Latif, finds more and more loose ends that do not fit. The case becomes hotter as many people from the top, his superiors and politicians, hellbent on putting a closure to the case.

Working tirelessly over the long Hari Raya break, Mislan with his Sergeant and the skeletal police and forensic staff swiftly puts a closure to the deaths in their fast moving tale. If only in real life, the Royal Malaysian Police would rise to the occasion and serve justice with so much dedication and impartiality unswayed by external influences.

Rozlan has been going around the countryside having discussion sessions with students of higher institutions as well as promoting his book. One of the comical comment that he received from the audience is from a teaching staff. The member had admonished him for creating a character who is not the exemplary depiction of how a true Malay-Muslim should behave! In the story, Inspector Mislan is a chain-smoking police officer, a single parent and has an extramarital affair with a single Malay pathologist who has no qualms with their bed-sharing 'friends with benefits' type of friendship! The characters in his novel are no angels, either. For Christ sake, it is a crime drama. Crime brings out the worse and the best of human emotions and ethics.

A light leisurely read of a story hovering around the familiar landscapes of Kuala Lumpur.

Still haven’t found what I’m looking for!

I think, therefore I am
Lesley Levene (2010)

The title takes after Descartes' famous saying 'I think, therefore, I am'. A person is a person, is alive because he can realise his existence, he can think. The same idea was proposed by the great Islamic physician and philosopher extraordinaire, Avicenna @ Ibn Sina. He floated the idea of a blindfolded 'flying man' who is suspended in mid-air. Despite not being in contact with his senses, Man is still aware that he exists even though his senses are numbed. That, in essence, means we exist, that we have a mind of our own!

Ever since Man started looking at the sky on a starry night after a hard day's work without much entertainment to idle the night away, he must have noticed the 'star' that he was at the previous night had changed location. He must have called his friend. Slowly, with their newly well-myelinated brain, propelled by their new diet of fat rich food of fish, they must have started putting on their thinking caps. Slowly, the endeavour to explain things around us must have evolved to meaning and purpose of life.

Everyone who came afterwards gave their two-cents' worth of opinion. Time went on. Soon these talks of trying to explain our being turned to how we should be living. The Maker, some say need to be feted while others maintained that His master plan would continue no matter how much we cajole Him not to.

This book gives an introductory review of thinkers from the time of Thales of the Pre-Socratic era all through to the modern times.

Unfortunately, what started as giving the man the faculty to think has, over the years, have evolved into an indoctrination tool to control the masses through their herd mentality.

Even an assassin needs love too!

Snow Phoenix and Me
Author: Arthur Y. T. Foo

When I got this book from my friend, the author, Arthur Foo, I asked him jokingly, “So you are naming your books after your girlfriend now?” He hushed me and was quick to rebut, “Not so loud, not in front of my wife!” with a coy smile and a wink.

Just like his cheeky smile, this is a playful novella set at the tail end of the glorious Chinese dynasties. It is the turbulent of times, and political upheaval is the order of the day. Against this background starts the story of a mix breed Red Indian-Chinese hitman a.k.a Mr. Clean. During one of his hits, he becomes weak in the knees and falls hopelessly in love with a painter at the scene of an assassination!

The field is set for an adventure of cat and mouse chase as he goes into hiding when his sifu warns him of imminent danger. Mr. Clean goes into hiding but not without his new found love. The tale goes on to narrate their escapade as they hit the old country road from Shanghai all the way to Peking.

The book is a short light read which tries to create the aura and splendour of ancient China with its scenic outdoors infused with contemporary ideas and speak. For instance, I am pretty sure that the middle finger sign is definitely a mid-1960 invention! That is why I said it is a tongue in the cheek kind of feel good lovey-dovey ala-Mills and Boons kind of entertaining novella. It is a good diversion from the stresses of life.

Dialogue the way forward?

Malaiur Manikam (Malay; 2015)
Author: Uthaya Sankar SB


From the time of Thales, the first European philosopher, the first from the European perspective, the Easterners claim to have known this earlier, the quest to know the secrets of the universe kept on growing. The Greek philosophers thought that the structure of universe could be explained via trigonometry and mathematics. They were excited when they correctly predicted a solar eclipse in 585BCE.
From then on, via critical debates and intelligent deductions, many theories were created.

At the heights of the Golden Era of the Islamic Civilisation and the courtyards of Agra of the Mogul Empire, majlis and interfaith dialogues were familiar scenes. Each scholar would go as far as learning each other culture’s language so as to understand the crux of knowledge that each had to offer. They understood that what they knew was the only fistful; when what they need to know was ocean deep! Akbar went as far as creating Dīn-i Ilāhī, an amalgam of the best of Hindu, Islam, Jain, Christian and Zoroastrianism.

The author incisively criticises leaders who seem go around the country with blinkers and a self-installed halo refusing to accept alternative opinions and think that they know everything. Period.

Uthaya Sankar tries to put many things in perspective. He attempts to educate the masses about certain concepts in Hinduism, the sacred place of cows in society and the meanings of certain celebrations. He went on to ruffle many feathers by reminding us of our early history of Nusantara and the genesis of the diaspora called Malays. Even though our education system boasts of trying to unite the citizens of the country, many are still in the dark about their brethren’s practices and cultures. This book introduces us to the core of Sikhism and Buddhism. The plight of the LGBT community is also highlighted for us to digest. The most interesting part of the book was the section on Tamil literature, about the great poems and their relevance to the time.

This book is a light read to refresh our rich heritage. We should all respect each other’s cultures as what may seem like absurd or comical to one may be dear to another. After all, we are all human, only separated by our minds.

N.B. The title could be a cheeky way of telling that he is not a foreigner but a jewel from a country called Malaya (Malaiur = old name for the Peninsular of Malaya, a hilly country; Manikam= jewel)

Sneak peek!

© Oh, no! Here he is again. Three times this week, Pa had appeared at my school. It is the same old story - that my mother is very sick and I have to go back to take care of her!

If only I could tell my school teacher, "Teacher, don't trust him!" I had the urge to scream. If only I could tell her the real story.

"No, my mother is heartily healthy!" My mouth yearned to verbalise. "She is alive and kicking. She would give me a nice whacking if only she knew what I am doing daily."

I try not to look at Pa's direction. I was hoping that he would change his mind and go away. But alas, no! I can see from the angle of my eye that he is almost at the classroom door.

"Excuse me, teacher", he said apologetically. I have to give it to him. Despite his relatively low educational achievements, he had the gift of the gab and flair for languages. Perhaps his privileged upbringing gave him the confidence to boss everybody around. Early exposure to the upper crust of society and all the lavish parties in his childhood are testimonies of his conquest of the language.

What is the point now? All those wealthy and bourgeois life is just but a distant memory. Pa, spared the rod and given leeway by the doting servants who replaced the role that they were hired for but donned patriarchal role in the household, found the easiest way of parenting - to give in at the slight hint of the start of a wail.

"Shortcut parenting," they say, "cuts short intelligence."

Wealth within the family, which, by Confucius' calculations would stay within the family for 3 generations before it goes missing into the abyss of time. Unfortunately, shortcuts by parents cut short the generational wealth within the family to dissipate within a single generation! Now the heir of one of Penang's richest family, the owner of the tallest high rise building in town has to be contented chauffeuring others around.

A cat which has been to taste the richness of milk will do anything to get a go at it, even by forbidden means. Similarly, Pa still lives the old ways. Pockets may be empty, but the appearance has to be spick and span. The family may be wailing for food or be seen in parched outfit,  it is all the same for him.

His brown leather shoes must be spanking shiny. The creases of his starched attire must stay fresh. Hair must be groomed and daily shaving at the barber essential. He lives to eat. His palate craves for the cuisines he enjoyed in his childhood. Economics and saving for a rainy day does not fall into the equation. His philosophy, albeit weird, seems to have worked well for him all these while - enjoy today what you may not live to enjoy tomorrow.

What about responsibilities in life, you may ask? Is a father not duty bound to provide for his offsprings, akin to a mother running into a burning building to save her child? Or a mother jumping into the river to save her drowning when she, herself, was like a cat in water, a non-swimmer? No, his philosophy of life was warped, you may say.

"The fauna and flora grows, why can't you? Somebody plants the seed and there will be someone to come along to water it!" he would say. "You, don't worry."©

***

Hungry like a wolf! (for stories)

Nari! Nari!
(Untuk Bacaan Rakyat Malaysia)
Uthaya Sankar SB

The moment the author started narrating part of his story at a book reading event recently, I was transported back to the late 1960s. My sister and I, both toddlers, enjoying the spring of lives, without a care or worry in our lists, were living in bliss in Brown Gardens. This is one of my earliest memory of my childhood that I can remember. Puthu Atteh (new aunt), the newly married lady (then) with an infectious toothy smile, was renting a room in my parent's abode. Every living day was a day filled with adventure, exploring new nature's gift to game play. With our neighbour's battalion of kids of two families, we played 'masak-masak' - 'cooking' up a dishes with leaves, drain water and twigs! and 'robbers and thieves' - hiding behind trees and in culverts!

Night-time was out of bounce for games and we were homebound. To let our imagination go wild, there were Puthu Atteh's children stories.

Till this day, I remember many of her stories. I was pleasantly surprised when one of her stories was narrated in this book. It is the story of two bosom buddies, a monkey and a crocodile. This unlikely friendship helped each other discover the other's world of living. They were so close that the crocodile's wife was jealous of their friendship that she faked a disease which could only be cured by ingestion of monkey liver! And guess who had the unenviable task of garnering the monkey liver, Mr. Crocodile! The climax of the story is how Mr. Monkey outwits Mr. Crocodile. I remember how the ending created a lot of debate with Puthu Atteh, on the authenticity and credibly of the story.  We were told just to accept the tale. It was, after all, just a story!

Anyway, this small well-illustrated book is a perfect book for young readers to stimulate their imagination and creativity. 'Nari Nari' means 'Wolf Wolf' in Tamil. It is a compilation of many short folklores. No, there is no 'Cry Wolf' story! 

Folklores used to be an old age tool to keep children entertained and to keep them pre-occupied, out of the way, whilst the adults kept the tribe going. It is interesting that even though civilisations sprung independent of each other, devoid of contact with the another, they still have many common elements. The wolf is always portrayed as the devious, conniving, cunning and sometimes brutal animal who uses his wit rather than his might to get things his way or to escape precarious situations! In Oriental, Indo-European, Persian, Finnish, North American, African and Old European cultures, the image is the same. Maybe, these traits must have been unveiled by Man during their cavemen days when the interaction with the elements of Nature was much closer. The pack of wolves were fighting for the same place under the Sun with a family of hominids!

** Wolves and their not-so-distant cousins, the Foxes share many traits. The Wolves, however, carry a much darker images of greed, evil and destruction. Even the Abrahamic scriptures have not spared these creations of God.

Should I stay or should I go?

Migrating to Australia, good meh?
Authors: Ken And Michael Soong.

In the typical conceited Malaysian fashion complacent with his comfort zone and would not lift his finger to help his helpless neighbour, most of my friends who saw the title of the book were quick and forthcoming with their unsolicited advice, went on a with unpunctuated liberal last words. "You don't need read a book to know that, come here, I'll tell you!" they said.

Sure, it is easy to go on a rant on the merits and demerits of migration, the push and pull factors, of political and economic refuge. Sure, our forefathers took the bold step of giving up they had, which is what they never had, as times were bad then. It was a question of whether staying for a saviour to turn up to save the day, to become a statistic or plunge into the pit of uncertainty. Those were different times with different needs. We have come a long way from living to survive to living to prosper.

This book, in my view, gives a balanced view of what a potential migrant should consider before deciding to bade adieu to to this tropical shores.
The Soongs urge their readers to consider a few pitfalls and potential headache areas. Are you willing to able to accept your offspring embracing the Western culture, giving up your ancestral tongue and cultures? Are you willing to be treated like how Malaysians look at their foreign workers? No matter how much can be said, racism is still part and parcel of humankind. When a citizen who is cushy with laid back lifestyle suddenly sees how the competitive immigrants grab all available opportunities, tempers are bound to be stirred. The 'rustbelt' schools with uninitiated students, facilities and fatigued teachers cannot be the reason for Malaysian to forgo everything they have here to experience the piece of the Australian pie. One has to be in the right neighbourhood to enjoy good schools, neighbours and piece of mind. Schoolyard bullying is a rampant problem down under. They go on giving survival tips to potential migrants to blend in to this welfare state system and even succeed in life. Many examples of successful migration stories are laid out.

At the end of the day, we should ask ourselves why do we want to give up everything that we have here and start all anew. If it is for the betterment of our young one, how can they be at peace and pave themselves along the right path when they see their elders go through hell on our daily basis to bring food on the table? Success and good life can be achieved anywhere if we put our mind and soul into it.

Should I stay or should I go - The Clash

Still judging by the outer cover

The distributor told me that whatever is said, people still judge the book by its cover, hence emphasising the need for a captivating eye-catching cover. Once the book cover caught the eyes, only then would the potential buyer make an attempt to browse through between its covers! Like the Malay proverb says, 'from the eyes to the heart' and 'what you do not know, you do not fall for' - 'dari mata terus ke hati', 'tak kenal maka tak cinta'.

In real life too, things are not much different. Sometimes, we are fooled by external appearances. A person can dressed in the nines in tandem with the latest in haute culture cities of world equally spankingly manicured, pedicured and groomed smelling like a rose garden. The enchantment stops short once the person open the gab, enough to give anybody  a heart attack! No, not because of their putrefying halitosis but the illiteracy and nincompoopery that they exude. Well, on the other hand, the most brilliant of mankind may be simply dressed. One who has the gift of the gab may have more things to hide than his mental inefficiencies just like a hottie who revealed too much has more than her flesh to cover!

It is all too easy to profess that beauty is in the inside and external captivation is skin deep, but how many of us are not guilty of stereotyping, profiling and judging the book by its cover?

Crisp from the printers

Out now... Crisp from the printers...

Inside the twisted mind of Rifle Range Boy
ISBN: 978-967-13153-0-9
to order...http://asok22.wix.com/rifle-range-boy

Leaving a legacy?

Bumped into an old acquaintance recently. As there was too much time to kill, rather than looking at each other, we decided to talk about stuff. One thing led to another till finally he spoke about a book that he was writing. Having too much time in his hands with tip-top condition of his mental capabilities as evidenced by his previous gargantuan presence in the university and the number of journal research papers to support, just rotting away into retirement just because the state uses other people's yardstick to assess seem just too wasteful. Rather than let the Devil set up workshop in his mind, he had embarked on a journey to honour the person he held close to his dear heart - his dear mother.
His mother's single-handed attempt to uplift her family from clutches of poverty, she, with her wisdom, albeit her handicap in the education department but not the desire to learn, managed to struggle through the tumultous times of pre-independent Malaya to provide for her offspring. This, she did even after she was widowed when the author was 17.
A heart stopping event happened during the World War 2. Her house was ambushed by Japanese soldiers. With so much of carnage around, she stood shielding her kids like a mother hen would. She thought all her migration to the new found motherland called Malaya had all come to zilch. She thought all the escapism from the poverty of Mother India was to meet its end. Just when she thought all hope was gone, one of the Japanese soldiers spotted the vermilion spot on her forehead! He started asking her questions in a incomprehensible language.  He started muttering, "Gandhi? Gandhi?" pointing at the dot on her forehead. Then it suddenly made sense. The Japanese had just made a peace pact with India. So, they all escaped the tyranny of the Japanese soldiers!
The book would eventually be out somewhere middle of the year after getting the nod from the rest of relatives who are inevitably mentioned in the progression of their life.
Just this year alone, I have seen two other friends who have had the opportunity to jot down the struggles of their parents who migrated to then Malaya. One of their parents migrated from Jaffna, worked in various estates in young Malaya, experienced the good times and the bad to bring up their children to be people of stature in society. He presented the struggles of his parents in a booklet during her eulogy after living close to 9 decades.
Another published a pictorial coffee table book displaying her collection of her mother's memorabilia and snap shots over the years, predating post World War 2.
I am sure many citizens of this country has their own family stories of their struggles and sacrifices. We should start inking them down so as to make the rest of country be aware that this country was developed not by politicians but by ordinary folks who toiled the sun, the rain, the disease and the hardship to propel this once back-water native land to its current near developed nation! Let the truth be known, lest not the sanitised hidden agenda ridden his-"STORY". 

Coming soon...

Entering a new phase of his life, RRB found himself in the company of solitary confinement dearth of intelligent life form. Solitude trickled his grey cells to trigger some questions about life and its intricacies. Hence began the outpouring of his thoughts into cyberspace for nobody to hear. This is a compilation of some of his thought provoking posts from his blog, Rifle Range Boy (asokan63.blogspot.com). His tangential flight of ideas may not be politically correct or be universally acceptable but what the heck, it is his party and he could cry if he wants to!

FG

Coming out soon!

Horror

Horror Stories (2014)
Tunku Halim

Malaysians have a soft spot for things involving the other world, the unknown one lurking on the other side. Again and again this is evident form their penchant in seeking entertainment involving the supernatural, invoking them to help out out in helping out in their worldly duties and even turning up in droves to view exhibits allegedly used by practitioners of black magic.
The reception was too hot and intimidating that the powers that be had to close the exhibition in the National Gallery prematurely a few years ago.

The publishers of the book, unashamedly, admit that they print books to make money, not for literary excellence. What better way to strike the pot of gold than to write about ghosts and its avatars.
The easy to read book is a collection of 20 horrors stories which characters of which many Malaysians are familiar with - toyol, pontianak, cemetery, bomoh, etceteras.

• A love struck lowly clerk desperately tries to woo a sophisticated secretary but in vain. In desperation, he employs the help of a shaman. The consultation proved successful as this beau comes running to his apartment. The only problem is that she had been dead two days previously!
• A group of friends go on a pontianak hunt just to discover one of the friend is one.
• A young clerk experiences disturbances in her new apartment where a previous occupant had committed suicide. She survived the ordeal as her departed father stood beside her as her guardian angel.
• Two friends; one, a Hitler kind in his household whilst the other, a pacifist kind go on a short weekend holiday (just like the good old days). The holiday actually was a non event. As they were returning home, they decide to play a prank on the pacifist's domineering wife. The pacifist thought by showing a closed jar that he found at a rest station, he could take dominance in the house. She was morbidly scared of the underworld, hence he thought of telling her that it contain djinn. Little did he know that the jar did indeed held host to a trapped djinn. During the excitement, the jar fell to the floor and the devil was unleashed. The wife had a shock of her life and succumbed to a massive heart attack on the spot, leaving him to fend for his two kids and live in guilt for the rest of his life.
• Martha is a timid lady who just wastes her life being a wife to a man who raped her in her youth. Her husband has no qualms of exhibiting his extra marital tryst. She cares him through his drunkenness, his fight through cancer and endures the loneliness after his death in their matrimonial home. Even in death, the husband (in spirit) haunts her and rapes Martha's young maid!
• A legendary folk lore tale of orang minyak in which one impregnates its victim and the offspring creates a small ruckus in KL city centre.
• A high maintenance model girlfriend gets Eric to supplement his income through gambling. He is introduced to a medium in a cemetery. The only problem is that he has to produce a fresh human heart on a monthly basis! That means murder.
• A high flying traveller discovers the hard bruising way not to take medicines from strangers. 
• A senior citizen still reeling over the death of wife get a strange premonition from her to meet him at a cemetery. Unknown to him, a vengeful vampire is out for his blood as he is the only living descendant of the murderer who bludgeoned her to death. 
• An old chap goes back to his alma mater after 60 years to see the place where he transformed from a boy to a man. He remembers the time when a recurrent image of an old man used to scare the living daylight out of him. Little does he realize that the elusive old man is he himself peeking into his past as he plunged to death after a heart attack at 80.
• An art dealer goes in search of his drinking buddy, a gravedigger, who seem to be under the weather of late. Despite of the nature of his occupation, he seem to be morbidly horrified to the appearance of an apparition of a body of a drowned young girl that he had buried. It turned out to be the prank of some young girls. However, the story takes a twist when they accuse the gravedigger of killing the girl. It turns out the gravedigger is actually a vampire! He turns the scene into a blood bath. 
• A librarian, by chance, bumps into an antique shop during his lunch break. He succumbs to the shop owner's cajoling to enter the shop 'Malay Magick'. What he discovered was a devilish hermaphroditic creature who gave him a time of sexual ecstasy. The experience become his downfall. He later blew his savings and lost his job due to his addiction for a time at this joint. The librarian became a vagabond scavenging on leftovers and rummaging dustbins. 
• An aging journalist is assigned to cover an exposé on a rich businessman. When he reaches the premises, he finds that a greater task lay ahead. The businessman's wife confides that her husband was trying to kill her! With not much fanfare, the wife is killed by a stray cobra in her bathroom. 
• An ambitious insurance salesman thought he had his entrance to the Million Dollar Club when he courted a rich brother and sister couple. He was dreaming of his pot of gold when the sister falls for him. They marry. Little does he know of her devious plan to kill him off during the honeymoon for his insurance money instead!
• A company manager had a nasty vision of himself killing a lady in a washroom. Meanwhile, a young girl, who has her heart broken by her boyfriend has a terrible nightmare. Both passed it off as the games that mind plays.
  Soon the girl starts working in the man's office and pretty soon, they become a couple. They marry, have a child and things become sour. The husband kills the wife, all orchestrated by the girl's dolls!
• A devoted family man believes that his Indonesian maid is using witch craft to lure him to her bed. He does not resist the temptation and kind of enjoys it. He pays a big price for his indulges. He dies soon after he loses his whole family to poisoning.
• A kind heart girl helps another girl who was born with a weird birth defect. She was born with a big ugly tail and dysmorphic facial features that would even scare the living daylights of a witch's black cat. She builds a friendship bond. With the help a Chinese sinseh, the medically untreatable condition ameliorated. Her tail fell off and her facial features improved with plastic surgery. What do you know! The newly made beau ran off with her boyfriend. After some years, she was all ugly again with her tail growing again. She was a wreck, living all alone in a cheap hotel in town with no friends. The kind girl hearted was no longer kind. When she was contacted for help, instead of helping, she was coerced her to commit suicide. Pretty soon the once kind girl started growing horns. 
• The protagonist, through his cousin, came to discover that a toyol, trapped in a doll was stealing all the loose change around the house. He managed to catch and set it free. He cannot fathom why people in the world are so greedy and full of evil. Little does he realise that years later, he himself was sucked into this system of materialism and greed. As a man of power, he solicits the services of the toyol for his personal gains. And he feels justified, looking at the mounting commitments!
• A sister who loses her boyfriend to her vivacious sister attempts to poison her by feeding her her favorite ice cream tainted with poison. Unfortunately, the conniving sister made the most elementary mistake when she ate from the wrong cup. Gasping her last breath, the other sister realized that she had been poisoned. She avenges by not calling for EMS. The dying sister vowed to take revenge. Her ghost returns many years later when her living sister, now with big children, indulges in an extramarital affair. The ghost kills the boyfriend and the sister becomes catatonic. 
• An elderly man who came out of the closet at a late stage of his life, is jilted by his boyfriend. He is depressed when he is also inflicted with liver cancer. His only last wish was to see the dawn of the new millennium which was a month away. He survives through 31st of December 1999 only to shoot himself past stroke of midnight.

A light entertaining read to take the wearies of everyday living. These types of book - you read, you close the book, don't think much about it and carry on with life... That's all.