Here he comes again.
------------------------
The Old Man and the Sea.
Again at three o’clock the door bell rang loud and clear, once, twice. I rushed downstairs and through the window I saw him coming through the gate, a plastic-bagful of fish in one hand. This time I had the presence of mind to grab my camera which happened to be hanging with key rings on the wall beside the door.
“ Ada ikang sikit lagi Pakcik,” ( Some more fish, Pakcik) said the man from the sea. He was dressed in his same red and blue ‘fishing uniform’. On the chest of his top was some Chinese ( or was it Japanese ?) characters. For all you know, as ignorant as I am, he might think the writing was Bahasa Melayu saying ‘1 Malaysia’!
“Hold it there. I am taking your photograph,” I gave him the order.
I will not elaborate what he had to tell me. In a nut shell he earned about two hundred ringgits four days ago, the day he brought me some fish. And today he had a similar windfall. I was speechless.
I ended my last entry with the following:
“Semoga
Dari titisan peluh
Tuhan luaskan lagi
Rezekinya
Dalam hati aku berdoa”
One new visitor to Almanar, calling himself/herself ‘p3chandan’, kindly amen that by saying:
“ ….. mudah2 doa Pakcik kpd dia dimakbulkan Insyaallah..Amin.”
Dengan itu biarlah Pakcik akhiri cacatan kali ini dengan doa:
Semoga
Keikhlasan dan kejujuran
Membuka
Pintu rezeki dan rahmat berpanjangan
Dari hambamu
Ya Alrazzak, Alrahman
Berkhidmat kerana Tuhan untuk kemanusiaan
18 comments:
The silverish glint
In the gift from the sea
Echoes the spirit
Maha Pengasih, Maha Penyayang
It is difficult to remain humble, and yet everyday, we must strive to do so. And live with grace. As you do, Pakcik.
What comes around, goes around...
Assalamu'alaikum AL-MANAR
Subhanallah. Untungnya diri, berkesempatan memberi ruang untuk Pak Ngah mengumpul kebaikan, insya-Allah, sambil malahan berkesempatan menikmati hasil segar tangan pelaut pemurah yang amat melaut keluasan hati budinya.
In Dungun, some of us prefer buying ikangs by the beach. Fishmongers set up tents underneath the pokok nyor, and that's where we get our kembongs, selor, selayang, and the weird-looking ikang sebeloh.
Anyway, after reading your description about the man and that day's event, I think of many things. Hardly put them into words.
What if the man is my dad? Hmmm...
Dear Pakcik,
I envy you the fresh fish which you've adamantly refuse to share with this cat. I enyy you the generosity of the fisherman. I envy you the house by the sea. Ish....banyaknya envy. Wish I can be you. purrr....meow!
ninotaziz,
Being an estblished poet you have a way with words and expressions, loaded and exact.
I believe humility comes with upbringing. Trying to be so at a later stage in life is a tough order. On the other hand there should not be lack of trying, a sign of awareness, which in itself is commendable .
You are the second visitor to have used that 'what comes around, goes around'. Believe it or not i never knew this beautiful idiom until now, at this age - showing how learned ( or otherwise ) I am! I will now use this often to philosophise with my children.
I like your succinct writing very much.Thanks for dropping by my blog.
Temuk
WAKSalam sdr. Hari dah senja. Apa lagi kita hendak buat. Hendak main tennis tak tahan berlari cergas. Nak main golf nanti terseliuh pinggang. Duduk sajalah berbual bual mesra. Lainlah sdr pandai bercucuk tanam - anjurkan 'quiz' pun boleh.
Pakcik Hassan
Sir P D,
Over here the system of middle-man is still very thick. It is not unusual, all middlemen make money when those who sweat all day return home OWING the middlemen money for disel etc when the catch is poor.
Instead of answering your question I can say this for sure. I know his children are truly very lucky to have him as a father. One of his children is a lecturer at a training institute. But he is not one to retire on his children's earning.
C-i-S,
Dear 'girl'.I envy having nine lives especially when the only one is stretching itself thin. I envy being able to take off and be living where there is no monsoon and the summer is without the tropical heat. I envy living where I see none of the poor and needy .... and envy many more.
So don't try to rob me of the few fish I am given ... O K with bones and heads, and tails too on top of that.
Sintaicharles,
Let me practise what I have learnt from my visitors to say, what comes around, goes around. If you come to my house I am duty bound to be civil enough to go around to your home too.
You write very well, a very good English teacher indeed I must admit. One compliment deserves another in return, right?
Amin
Two hundred ringgit for a days catch is a lot of money for a fisherman.. Not that you have to catch a lot of fish in this windy season.. It is just that not many other fisherman are daring enough to risk their lives in the very rough sea condition.
Coming from a Pulau of thousand fishermen.. I believe the two hundred ringgit per day can only be earned during very rough sea condition.. or once in a blue moon.
My Ameen to all your do'a.
Aishah,
Thank you
Ayah Wan,
Yo are right about that kind of money. You can brsve the rough sea and, as they believe, bulan gelap, you may get that. But do not depend on it. Otherwise they are all rich people, more so if they operate without the middle men.
Hope you project is coming through.
Dear Pak Cik,
Having fresh fish personally delivered to your doorstep is something we in KL can only dream about. Salam!
Hsnk
Dear Pak Cik,
Thank you for sharing and giving us precious glimpses of your poetic self every now and then. I'm most happy with that, Sir!
Hank
The picture invokes my childhood memories.
My father was a fisherman in Kg Tanjung, Kuala Terengganu, in the 60s.
Still remember how i would wait for him by the shore and ran to him after his 'payang' touched the shore. I would glance in his basket to see if there's any lobster inside it. Usually there was always one.
Those were the memories. He left me to see his Creator in 1970, when i was six years old.
Nordinmusa,
I am glad there is somethin personal in this entry and the picture. Alfathihah to you father. A great man indeed he was for ll the labour of love he did and succeeded. I forget sometimes that my parents were better than me because they were able to make me what I am, with grace of Allah. Likewise your father was a great man.
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