Wedding Month...Selamat Pengantin Baru

The posting was written in December and since our weekends were so occupied we did not have the chance to post this article. In fact, there were so many postings written but left unpublished. Now only we could sit down and start releasing the posting one by one. So, here goes our December stories.

Year end is here and the school session for 2011 has ended. That means school holidays and school holidays means time for people to wed. This year our weekends are fully booked with wedding invitations! It started even before the school closed on 11 November 2011. Everyone wanted to get married on 11.11.11 eventhough it is on a weekday, friday.

My cousin, Irwena did not miss the chance to join the crowd and was married to Pudin on 11.11.11 and had their weddings ceremony on 26 November 2011. we did not attend the "akad nikah" ceremony since it was on friday and we both couldn't take leave. We attended the "bersanding" ceremony on 26 November 2011 which was held at Dewan Serbaguna Kompleks Pejabat Daerah/Tanah, Klang. The hall was decorated so beautifully with pink and white as the theme colour. The Parit Buntar clans were there to celebrate the joyous occassion with Pudin and Wena. To both of you, may Allah swt bless you.





That same night we attended another wedding, this time is Abah's side, his cousin's son, Gafil. This time it is more formal since it is held in the Ballroom of Hilton KL Sentral. What can I say, the "pelamin" is just awesome, all white with a touch of blue. We were entertained by a band from Tentera Darat. That reminds me of Norshila Amin from OTD famous with her famous song "Kad Ucapan" and "Rambu Ramba". The selection of songs and their voices made the whole occassion just perfect. At the end, they sang from the advert "Adabi" and we truly enjoyed that. If you don't recall the lyrics, it's "Adabi, melazatkan, Adabi menyelerakan..." The wedding went on so smoothly except that the wedding planner tried to share the limelight with the couple. Tok Abah and Tok Mama was one of the VIP couple to be given the opportunity to "Merenjis" and dined together with the Pengantin. I dare not think about the cost spent to hold a wedding ceremony in this type of place. If you can afford it why not. We are just honoured to be invited. To Gafil and Aalia, may Allah bless your marriage and guide you both in the right path.

Next is another cousin's wedding and this time it is outside KL and in Parit Buntar. The second week of the school holidays on 2 and 3 December 2011. We arrived in Parit Buntar on the 3rd and missed the akad nikah. We were told that the ceremony was filled with laughter since Barry, the groom recited his akad in malay and was practising hard since he is a Scottish. We checked in at Melor Inn to refresh and proceeded to Pak Su's house to meet with the groom's entourage. Barry's parents, brother, uncle and friends came to accompany him and we entertained them and served them with our traditional delicacies. Later, when we received the signal that the bride is ready, we left the house accompanied by more than 10 old scooters. When we reached there, a group of boys from the St John alumni were ready to play the bagpipe and ushered us to the house. The whole set up was just lovely. The "pelamin" was gorgeous and was transported all the way from KL. Barry's entourage was so impressed with the whole ceremony and enjoyed every bit from the "merenjis" ceremony, "makan beradab" and the cake cutting. They even dance the Scottish traditional song played by the bagpipe. The whole ceremony went as planned and of course Abah did not waste the opportunity to sing and entertain the guests. To both Wanie and Barry, "Selamat Pengantin Baru. Semoga kekal ke anak cucu".

The next week, on 10 December 2011, again we traveled up north. This time to Bukit Mertajam for Abah's cousin engagement. We stayed overnight at Ayah Su's house with Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Pak Su and Pak Ngah's family. The next morning, we helped Mak Su preparing for the ceremony. Ibu was asked to do the "Sireh Junjung" for both sides and was not prepared. Luckily Mak Ngah was there to help and we managed to get all the "hantaran" ready. Abah was tasked to be the mediator for the ceremony and he was well prepared for that. He goggled on how to conduct the engagement ceremony according to Islam and not so much of Adat. Engagement ceremony these days have changed so much that you won't be able to differentiate between the bride getting married and getting engaged. Anyway, congratulation to both Wani and Hafiz. InsyaAllah, we will be back to Bukit Mertajam come June next year for your wedding.

Menjelang SPM...

Cerita Kelantan kami masih belum selesai, sejak balik raya puasa kami sudah empat kali balik kampung. Ini semua gara2 Kakak yang akan menduduki SPM akhir tahun ini. Trip kami yang pertama adalah untuk mengambil keputusan SPM Percubaan sambil menziarah Tok Mama yang sakit, trip kedua pula kami balik sebelum Kakak menduduki peperiksaan SPM pada 14 November 2011. Kami balik seminggu sebelum SPM untuk korban dan menyambut hari raya haji. Kami tidak dapat balik pada minggu SPM kerana Ibu ke London atas urusan kerja. Trip ketiga adalah selepas Ibu kembali dari London sebelum Kakak menduduki peperiksaan Matematik Tambahan dan Fizik pada 23 dan 24 November 2011.

Trip kami yang kedua adalah annual trip kerana kami beraya di Kelantan hampir setiap tahun kerana mengerjakan ibadah korban. Kebiasaannya kami akan bergilir2 membuat korban. Tahun ini kami memberi peluang kepada Kakak untuk membuat satu bahagian korban bersama ahli2 keluarga yang lain. Seperti biasa, kami akan menyembelih lembu di kampung di Labok kerana rumah bersebelahan dengan sungai. Jadi senanglah nak membasuh perut lembu dan perkakas2 lain.

Setelah lembu disembelih, Tok Abah, Abah, Pak Ngah, Pak Teh dan anak2 Tok Mae serta Ayah Su sibuk melapah lembu. Tak ketinggalan Abang dan Adik turut serta dan sudah agak mahir membantu bapa2 saudara melapah lembu. Pak Lang tidak turut serta kali ini kerana korban di Pasir Mas dan kami diberitahu lembu di Pasir Mas terlepas dan keadaan menjadi agak kelam kabut. Korban hanya dapat dijalankan disebelah petang setelah lembu tersebut dapat ditangkap semula dan dibawa ke Pasir Mas dengan lori. Lembu kami pula siap diproses dalam pukul 2 petang.

Kami memang sudah sedia maklum akan tugas2 yang perlu dibuat kerana aktiviti korban ini adalah acara tahunan. Setelah daging lembu siap dilapah, kami mula membahagikan kepada tujuh bahagian. Ibu dan Mak Ngah bertugas memotong daging2 tersebut kepada bahagian kecil dan membahagikan daging2 untuk diagih2kan kepada penduduk kampung dan mereka yang berhak. Tok Mama dan Mak Su pula sibuk di dapur memasak. Antara menu tetap adalah daging goreng kunyit, Akok tulang rusuk, Sup Gear Box, Air Asam Perut Muda dan Limpa. Agak malang tahun ini kerana perut muda tidak dapat diselamatkan dan Air Asam kami cuma menggunakan perut biasa dan limpa tetapi masih enak dan menyelerakan. Sambil sibuk membuat kerja masing2, sempat juga kami menikmati air kelapa muda yang diambil terus dari pokok. Memang first class.

Keesokkan harinya, kami kembali ke Kuala Lumpur setelah mengucapkan selamat berjaya kepada Kakak. Kami sentiasa berdoa agar Kakak tenang menjalani peperiksaan dan dibukakan hati dan minda untuk menjawab soalan dengan sempurna. Kami yakin Kakak telah membuat segala persiapan setakat terdaya, jadi bertawakkallah padaNya. Ingat akan Firman Allah swt: "Apabila hati kamu telah berazam, maka bertawakallah kepada Allah sesungguhnya Allah menyukai orang yang bertawakal"(Ali-Imran: 159)."Jika Allah menolong kamu, tidak ada orang yang dapat mengalahkan kamu dan jika Tuhan membiarkan kamu, siapakah yang dapat menolong kamu selain Allah? Hanya kepada Allah hendaklah orang yang beriman itu bertawakal.” (Surah Ali-Imran, ayat 160). Kami berharap agar Kakak bertawakal sepenuh hati kepada Allah supaya Kakak akan merasa tenang jiwa dan tidak tertekan perasaan semasa menghadapi peperiksaan, insyaAllah.

Trip kami yang terkini adalah pada 21 November 2011 sekembalinya Ibu dari London. Pada mulanya kami berjanji untuk balik bertemu dengan Kakak pada akhir bulan November. Tetapi pada waktu itu cuma tinggal dua kertas SPM, Bahasa Arab Tinggi dan Pendidikan Sunnah dan Al Quran. Oleh kerana Abah terpaksa ke Kelantan dan Pahang untuk menghadiri mesyuarat, kami terus menukar rancangan dan Ibu terus menyambung cuti selama tiga hari. Kali ini kami tidak memaklumkan terlebih awal pada Kakak. Saja nak buat kejutan! Kami tiba di Kuala Krai hampir pukul 8pm kerana tidak mahu ketinggalan menyaksikan Harimau Muda menentang Garuda dalam perlawanan akhir Sukan Sea yang berpihak kepada Malaysia. Nyaris roboh lantai rumah Tok Abah setiap kali HM menyaringkan gol. Tahniah HM!

Pada sebelah malam, hujan mulai turun tanpa henti sehingga ke pagi hujan turun semakin lebat. Oleh kerana hujan yang lebat, Tok Abah terpaksa membawa Ibu dan Adik ke MTS kerana Abah bekerja. Sepatutnya Ibu ke MTS ditemani Adik. Kami tiba di MTS dalam pukul 9.30am. Kakak langsung tidak menyangka kedatangan kami dan amat terharu apabila melihat kelibat Ibu dan Adik. Kejutan kami berjaya membuat Kakak mengalirkan airmata. Sorry yer Kak, kami saja nak buat surprise. Tak mau ganggu konsentrasi dan fokus Kakak membuat persediaan dua kertas yang paling mencabar buat Kakak. Seperti biasa, bekalan makanan mesti dibawa bersama. sekali ni nasi kerabu.

Malang sekali hujan terus turun dengan lebat dan seperti biasa, MTS mula digenangi air dan kami terpaksa mengharung air dari satu tempat ke tempat yang lain. Kami hanya lepak di dewan makan sambil menemani Kakak membuat latihan Add Maths. Bila keaadaan menjadi semakin sejuk, kami mengharung air untuk ke bilik Kakak sambil menunggu kedatangan Abah. Abah pula masih sibuk dengan urusan kerja, jadi kami mengambil keputusan untuk balik. Setelah selesai makan tengahari dan solat, kami kembali ke MTS untuk memberi peluang Abah bertemu dengan Kakak sebelum kami meneruskan perjalan ke Kuantan. Kami harap perjumpaan yang singkat dalam memberi semangat pada Kakak untuk menghadapi cabaran bagi enam lagi peperiksaan.

Special message to you, Kakak from Ibu and Abah.

Kakak, you have done brilliantly in your trials, just amazing results. Congratulations. We know your ability and we know how far you can stretch yourself. We just hope and pray that you will be able to complete this one last hurdle in your schooling years to the best of your ability before proceeding to the next phase which will be more tough and challenging.

You have done all you can, so just take things easy. Do what you can and don’t push yourself too hard especially on those subjects that are not your strength. At the same time, pray to ALLAH swt for His Guidance and Love and to keep us in the right path. Doa that He will grant you success in this life and in the Hereafter.

Always remember that the road to success is not straight. There is a curve called "failure". A loop called "confusion", speed bumps called "bad friends", red lights called "enemies", caution lights called "family". You will have flat tyre called "lazy". But if you have a spare wheel called "determination", an engine called "perseverance", a good friend called "faith", a driver called ALLAH, you will make it to a place called "SUCCESS"!!!

Be prepared mentally, physically & spiritually
Do the best
Pray
Pray
& pray
Let ALLAH do the rest
HE knows what's best for us

All the best to you too Kakak. You are constantly in our prayers and we pray that you will pass with flying colours so you could continue to pursue your dreams in medicine. We love you so much and we are so proud of what you have achieved thusfar.
Thank you Kakak and All the Best.. ..Bittaufiq wannajah fil imtihan..