Father of the bride's headache!

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!”  

My friend only understood what he meant 10 years after being married to his father-in-law’s headache. 

We would like to believe it’s our loss and Marc’s gain… of a headache. 

Marc and Divya, jokes aside, you are stepping into a new phase of life. We all just want to wish both of you clear skies and sunny days ahead. There will be rainy days ahead, but don’t fret about it; try singing and dancing in the rain instead. From what I see in Indian movies,
it must be fun. 

Good luck in your future endeavours. 

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We will survive!

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.
The hall set the mood for a colourful Indian wedding. Draped in contrasting bright red, black and white backdrop, the dais displayed a shining wrought-iron seat fit for the royalties which seated two, naturally for the King and Queen for the day.

Being Malaysians, furthermore from a laid-back Eastern coast town, people were just sauntering jauntily at their own pace, way past the time specified on the invitation card. But what the heck, it is a party, not a scheduled flight.

It is incredible how the people of a small town can sustain their day to day living and fulfil their social obligations even being away from the glaring lights of the city. Somehow, people manage to satisfy their need as they go on their lives. Like in that wedding, the local bakery provided a 3-tier wedding cake, and the town's electrician provided the 'state-of-the-art' sound system to set the pace for merrymaking. The neighbourhood shutterbug immortalised the memorable night digitally in pixels and cine forms. Gustatory needs were met by caterers form the town itself. They were quick to serve a mouth-watering spread that tickled all taste buds and satisfied all palatal cravings.

Give people peace and give them space to express. They will be self-sufficient and establish a prototype for future generations to follow. When their path meets a hurdle, they could initially falter but then quickly recoup, regain strength, and soon they would be sailing again in no time. That is the undying spirit of the human endeavour.

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

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Nothing sacred anymore?

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 the owner of the phone would rush out of the hall as if he is out to defuse a time bomb!

Kumar@Qumar

This similar scenario was seen in a charity dinner that I attended over the weekend. It was a modest Chinese 10 course dinner held in a modest hall with loads of history attached to the building. It was a precolonial building which had been refurbished recently and was a novel site to hold such an event. The catering was given to a small restaurant out-of-town in keeping with their cost cutting agenda and the idea to promote SMEs. Many of the performers were doing their bit of community service by performing pro bono.
The entertainment was wholesome -performances by inmates of the charity home, famous singers and 2 stand-up comedians.
This is where the ugly side of Malaysian manifest. Perhaps, ugly is too strong a word. Ignorance, aloofness, lack of foresight or lackadaisical would be more appropriate. At the outset, the organizers had promoted Kumar as the main attraction of the event. Kumar, a well known stand-up drag queen comedienne, is famous for her X-rated below the belt jokes, was belting away with her 18+ lewd jokes. And you were wondering about in the empty space in the front of podium? Toddlers! So much so that the performer in her own jovial way told the crowd to lock up the kids!