10 October 2010

Teng Teng Teng - Mission accomplished

It is ten, ten, ten ( 10/10/10) with a ‘g

When the bell tolls, time is up and we have to drop our pens. We did what we could and now we wait to know what there is in store for us.

--------------------------

On hearing the death of her father I drove to their house barely five kilometers away to join the ‘sembahyang mayat’, the last thing I could possibly do for someone I had known for several years. His eldest child, Syuhada and a younger brother are ex-Almanar pupils.

I arrived somewhat early. As I was waiting for the rest to come I sat quietly looking at the plants in the grounds of the house. A clump of banana trees caught my sight. Some ten years earlier the man of the house gave us a young plant from that clump. I had it planted near our house and that had grown, multiplied many times over, giving us beautiful Pisang Abu, especially good for frying and making‘pengat’. I remembered admiring this clump of banana plants the first time I was in this house. Today the same spot still had banana plants. The old ones had long gone replaced by younger ones. Funny, I thought, how banana plants kept generating themselves. But the one I brought home had not produced healthy young ones like the ones I was looking at now. Perhaps the man of the house knew how to do it and I did not. But today he had gone. I wondered who would now take over to look after the many plants around the well fenced grounds of this house....

Suddenly I was awakened from my reverie. It was time to say our prayers for the deceased man of the house, the owner of those flourishing banana plants.. Yes, there he was lying motionless and all of us stood in rows to say our prayers, knowing it too well that each and everyone of us would have to go through this moment, no matter what we were, rich or poor, among the proud or trodden low, the lot of us without exception.

I will now continue to have him in my memory with Alfatihah in my heart and a lump in my throat.

------------------

Only four days earlier Syuhada dropped in at Nuri to tell Pakcik and Makcik that she had been called to report for duty on the following Monday. Din of my earlier post was to report for duty as well on the same day and at the same university hospital. Like Din, Syuhada had successfully passed the final exam at the University hospital, a coveted place to work, and she was now a qualified a nurse and din in radiography. More than three years had passed and it seemed not very long ago I sat with her, guiding her how to go about the interview, which she ultimately went through successfully.
We were happy for her and for her family that come Monday she would start working - never for a moment it ever crossed our minds that it would be a fateful Monday.

The Monday came and I told myself that it was truly a memorable day for two of ex-Almanar pupils, reporting for duty on the same day at the same place. There could not be many teachers who could boast of having two ex-pupils achieving this. And this was not all. There were two other ex-Almanar girls who reported for duty here two years ealier, making a total of four ex-Almanar pupils working here. If that is not enough, the fifth one has just been accepted to do a course there (a likely subject of my future posting.)

It was late in the evening of that Monday when I was shocked to receive a short sms from Syuhada – her father had just passed away of a heart attack. Subhanallah. How HE had planned to take away a man at the end of the very day he was happy to know for sure that his beloved daughter had safely reported for duty - satisfied his mission accomplished.

Such is life.
-----------

Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan.

p/s: Unlike Din of my ‘End of the tunnel (pt 9)’ series, Syuhada, for reasons of her family background, does not quite qualify to appear in that series. She belongs to a home in which children have what it needs to develop themselves without handicap.

44 comments:

Anonymous said...

Salam Pakcik

Alfatihah. Inna Lillah wa inna alaihi raajiun.

amimy01@littlereddot

abdulhalimshah said...

Pak Cik,
Al-Fatihah to the one who passed away and may his soul be placed amongst the pious.

yongzu @ 9W2YZU said...

Al-Fatihah. Salam takziah buat Syuhada dan keluarganya. Semoga roh ayahanda beliau ditempatkan di kalangan mereka yang soleh.

Reading stories.. especially real stories like this always end with tears in my eyes... It reminds me when I went back to the school where I was first posted.

Now all the kids are "adults" and somehow I can't help thinking about the present lives...

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Dear Pakcik,
Poor Syuhada....I hope she won't be disheartened by the untimely death of her father. If she needs a shoulder to cry on, I'm offering mine. purrr....meow!

Al-Manar said...

Amimy01

Terima kasih.
Salaam from us at Nuri

Al-Manar said...

Yongzu

Why don't you try to contact them and compile little true life stories to share with us.
I still wonder what brings you to all over the place. You are forever on the move. Is it the job or your special hobby?

Al-Manar said...

Dear AHS,

I wonder why you have not been writing much of late. I pray all is well with you and family.

Pakcik Hassan

Al-Manar said...

C-i-S

I would imagine tragedy in one's young life such as this will toughen oneself to face the unknown future.
Thank you for the offer of a shoulder to cry on ... it is not a cold one I hope.

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
Al Fatihah! The heart bleeds when it is so near and yet so far.A father’s doa spelt success but Syuhadah’s late father was not there to share it.

Work towards more success Syuhadah, it would be ample reward to the one who had showered his love and affections and whose mission is accomplished.

Anonymous said...

I sat silently beside the lifeless body of Tok this afternoon. He passed away peacefully only minutes before that. So serene was he, I thought he was asleep. As tears accompanied the soft recital of Ya-sin, that familiar humbling thought crossed my mind. Our time will come, neither a minute too soon nor a minute too late.

Untimely, we may say, but perfect are HIS plans. Indeed, on reflection "Teng Teng Teng-Mission Accomplished" is a beautiful ending to one chapter of Syuhada's life. "..after hardship comes ease, verily ater hardship comes ease" HE promised.

Pakcik's No.2

Rahmah said...

al fatihah...

Al-Manar said...

Kaykuala,

Dear Hank, it does look 'so near and yet so far, doesn't? But we are looking from one viewpoint. If we can accept this kind of 'tragic' episode as one small part of His grand plan,we then say it must have its 'hikmah'. I am hoping that Syuhada herself will be able to see how this helps to put her in a better stead to face her future. Allahu Akbar.

Salaam from Pakcik

Al-Manar said...

My No2,

Tok Uda passed away ( In my heart I pray for the soul of this very loving person) and I was not by his side.I can imagine him lying helpless as I read Yasin and prayed for him a week ago.

You heard him say to mami "I want to see Hassan". For that I hurried to be by his side and he recognised that. The thought of this pleases me.

Today 'Tok Uda dalam kenagan'. You may not notice a very special gift he left for his immediate family. He sacrified to the end. When I was writing 'Teng Teng Teng ....' I was imagining Tok Uda and today I can say how Uda too left with a mission accomplished. I hope members of his immediate family would one day see this and love him more with prayers for the dear soul.

Let us continue to recollect all the good he has done and give him a little of what we can - Alfatihah.

Al-Manar said...

Rahmah,

Thank you.

Incidentally I was looking for a posting in your blog (about the new literature component). It is not there and I wonder whether my memory has failed me.
Pakcik

Anonymous said...

Alfatihah and condolences I convey to the deceased and his family.May he rest in peace.

AZMIERA

ninotaziz said...

Alfatihah.

Al-Manar said...

Azmiera
We all do
Pakcik

Al-Manar said...

Nonotazia

Salaam to you and family
from Pakcik

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
Your 10-10-10 inspired me.I thought I should not allow the day to pass without comments ( afterall it was once in a 100 yrs )
I hurriedly created a poem ( a shorter one) and had just posted it in my blog. I just couldn't wait for 10 days.

Al-Manar said...

Kaykuala,

How pleasant it is to see you with a sudden inspiration. A few days ago in one of our dailies I saw a picture of a lady in her 60's getting her PhD. That is a personal achievement, something to inspire her children and grandchildren, or pehaps simply to create a record of sort.

To my mind, turning a poet at our age, churning out poems of quality to express thoughts and feelings,and getting them appreciated is a greater achievement. Push on my friend. Somehow it would be of benefit to have someone to critise your work. I wonder if you have any connection with one of our universities where there are bound to be people who can help out.

Then you may even get a PhD for that too.

Anonymous said...

With all the hard work will Hairie lose a few kg in Moscow?
His friend Faizal is training to be a nurse. I wonder whether the term nurse applies to a female as well as male.

Salina

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
Oh My Gosh, Pakcik , not that. It is stretching it a bit too far. I didn't think about it that way.It is just for fun’s sake. Stretching my imagination, that’s all. But I appreciate your taking the time to pen very encouraging remarks with long comments. Thanks a lot.

Say, just maybe. I’m bent on writing at least 2 stanzas everytime to accompany my postings from now on. At least it’ll give me good practice. It will make me think hard to have poems everytime. I can do with some pointers. All I do now is to make the end of alternative lines rhyme. Other than that I don’t have a clue if I’m doing it proper. There ought to be some principles in writing poems. For all you know I’m breaking every rules there are because I just go headlong , gila-gila.
I wonder if Ms ninotaziz might just be able to provide a helping hand. If I can correct them now at least forthwith I can plod along but with confidence I’m on the right track. You can whisper a few words on my behalf if you may? You think she’ll mind? Thanks!

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
correction : ' alternate lines..'

Al-Manar said...

Kaykuala,

With perseverance we can do wonders, insya Allah
Wish you success

Anonymous said...

Nurislam Nurislam Amanie wrote

"The rustling leaves
And gentle murmuring winds

Whispers your name to me
Thinking of you with love"

Anonymous said...

Tengku Khushairi said,
"pak cik, before it is too late, i would like to express my thank you for teaching me till i become what i am today...
u guide me how to become human and now i still need ur advice to step forward..."

Al-Manar said...

Amanie
and
Khusairi,

Look ahead with confidence. You will make it , insya Allah

Pakcik

yongzu @ 9W2YZU said...

You were saying:

(Why don't you try to contact them and compile little true life stories to share with us.)

Thanks to FB, I've found a few of them:) I was able to meet two of them last month. While chit-chatting of current activities, we were reminiscing about the old days :) One is following her father's footstep. (He was one of my colleagues)

When hearing of this visit, another girl invited me for a "photoshoot" since she knows I'm keen in taking pictures and now she's the "teacher"... and I'm the student ;)

(I still wonder what brings you to all over the place. You are forever on the move. Is it the job or your special hobby?)

Both Pakcik :) Alhamdulillah.. and I think it's in my blood too... he he he... I heard that both of my grandmothers also love travelling...

Al-Manar said...

Yongzu,

Well, you can sit down and start writing about the children. Then, occupied, you will need not travel so much.
Pakcik

Anonymous said...

"I miss you like a cloud with no sun in the sky
It has nothing to look up to and so it cries

Crying raindrops fall onto the ground
To just fade to nothing, nowhere to be found,

miss u pakcik,really miss u
lot of love..akma"

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
Oh my gosh, Ms ninotaziz approved of my first efforts in comments at my blog today. And she advised from now on I must read aloud to get the right impact. I'm so elated. Now I'm 'walking on air', teng,teng,teng.

P/S I seem to notice lately we are seeing a no. of other comments in verse form. It's so enlightening.
Salam

ninotaziz said...

Dear Pakcik,
Kaykuala's venture into poetry has encouraged me. I have now moved from babysteps to creating a new blog purely for my french poetry. I don't expect many visitors, this is to satisfy myself and help me in that lovely language of love!

If there are any french speakers out there, feel free to drop by www.lapoesieparninotaziz.blogspot.com and comment to help me improve.

Merci!

Al-Manar said...

Akma,

You have now turned poetic, too!

Godd wishes from Pakcik

Al-Manar said...

Kaykuala
&
Ninotaziz

This poetic mood seems contagious. I wonder who started all this .

Anonymous said...

Pakcik..

Teng..Teng..Teng. At last, my mission has been accomplished!

Hazri Hazmi

ninotaziz said...

By the way, Akma, that was really really lovely.

Pakcik, you are truly blessed to have such beautiful poetry dedicated to you.

Clouds missing the sun so much, it cries and falls to nothingness

Tres triste!

kaykuala said...

Dear Pakcik,
1.We're lucky u are there at the centre of it 2. We're lucky Ms Ninotaziz is there with expert advice. The only way to go is up. Thanks a lot. It's just great!

Al-Manar said...

Hazri,

To mark the accomplishment thus far I am posting your photo with Zuriana. Hape you will hve a fruitful and happy life together, not forgeting your folks back home.
Pakcik

Al-Manar said...

Ninotaziz,

Akma is a special girl. She is a potential candidate for my End of the tunnel series; Having learnt how hard and cruel life can be, she does not forget that easily.

Al-Manar said...

Kaykuala,

Dicelah jari terletak
Penamu bertinta hitam
Kau cari serentak
Mutu dan ilham

Dalam dirimu terjumpa
Bakat terpendam
Jangan berlumba
Bayangan silam

Bakat mu ...

Anonymous said...

salam,pak cik.
I thought I had a strong heart to continue this life,but when I saw the pictures of him, I was suddenly full tears. I still can't face this situation. I miss him very much.than I read your blog, once again the tears would drop.But I keep reminding myself to be strong. I hope my my family can be strong too.To pak cik and to all the bloggers thanks for the comments.-syuhada-

Publish

Al-Manar said...

My dear Ayuhada,

Time will cure it all. Do not worry. Every one of us goes through this kind of tragedies one way or another. Have faith in HIM.

Love, Pakcik

Anonymous said...

Salam pak cik....
How are you?..i hope you are in the pink of health with mak cik...sorry for not seeing you for this period of time..i'm still afraid to see you bcause i know i will be crying in front of you.yes ,it's true.i was crying during read this post.i would like to thank you for coming,even though it was a bit late.

Love,syuhada

Al-Manar said...

Shuhada,

You have chosen to drop in here, two years after I wrote this sad note about your dad. I rememnber him and I remember you more because you were a special girl at Almanar, crying for fear of PMR exam. Until today I still quote you as an example of a pupil who started off so not glamorous, without even an A but did it all.

I do not forgive you for not calling on us. Even a phone call means a lot. Email Pakcik to tell how things have been with you.