RIFLE RANGE BOY

Good evening. A warm welcome to everyone here. A special welcome to Raphael and Maggie. Selamat datang to the rest and Marc’s family and friends. I guess Marc’s family and friends are no longer Marc’s alone. They are ours, too. Accept our humble salutations.   In the Indian tradition, more often than not, they  want their firstborn to be a male. Back in the 90s, when Divya was born, friends would give unsolicited advice. “It’s ok. The next one will definitely be a boy.” - as if we asked for an opinion, as if they knew, as if we cared. Then Tania was born, and they again gave a sigh.  And again, as if we asked. Rinse and repeat. That is until Keshav and Danny rolled along. 30 years on, I can stand proud and say they have done well in their own right.  Many years ago, my friend was getting married. As the main event was over, he saw his father-in-law give a sigh of relief, caressing his chest. He was heard telling his friend, “Ahh, my big headache is over!” ...

The human race must be a resilient lot. Nothing will annihilate them except if they decide to self-destruct. We have been through tragedies in many forms, natural calamities to man-made ones, but we keep coming back strong, shaken but not stirred. All they need is time and space to prosper. This, I realised when I attended a wedding in Karak, a small town along the Titiwangsa Range which forms the spine of the peninsula, in the state of Pahang. Even though it is located only about an hour's drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, these two towns seem worlds apart. Away from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle, Karak is nicely tucked between hills covered with lush greenery of the tropical forest and its fresh air. The wedding reception held in the modest premises of a Chinese temple, it covered all the bare necessities. Forget the razzmatazz of the city lights and unnecessary blatant display of bling-bling, the function was never deficient in any other department...

Just the other day, my friend commented that during her midnight viewing of 'The Man of Steel', way too many toddlers were among the audience. Toddlers and midnight screening does not go hand in hand. Well, in Bolehland, everything goes 'hand in hand', 'hand in glove', 'ear to ear' and 'close one eye'! Isn't midnight way past their bedtime? Then you have a widescreen public announcement of putting the tone of the mobile phone in silent mode courtesy of Malaysia's favourite reason for obesity, KFC. Just five minutes into the movie, a joker would talking at the top of his voice about his whereabouts to his caller after an equally irritating ringtone of 'Gangnam Style'. A typical scene in a philharmonic orchestra  performance of international stature in the heart of KL... As the audience are cradled into bliss of cultural immersion, somewhere in the hall, an earth shattering techno music ring tone would shatter the serenity and ...