What is Banana in Italian?

I've had just enought time to...   say "banana" in Italian.

Warm Italian on a cold autumn evening

It was 7.00 pm in Parma and we were cold and hungry. The last few days we had been having dinner at 6.00 pm in Denmark which was kind of early but in Italy, the restaurant only opens at 8.00 pm which was kind of late for us. While waiting for the recommended restaurant to open, we hanged around and ended in front of a small fruit stall. The owner came out and engaged us in a conversation where neither party understood a single word the other was saying.

It was kind of fun though. He pressed his thumbs against the first finger and thrust it in a forward  motion saying something we could not make head or tail of. This was repeated several times and we made our guesses about the significance of this gesture but not convinced we understood him. That was until he made the ringing sound before we realized he was kindly suggesting that we rang the doorbell of the restaurant which is just down the road. We laughed and told him we had done that but was not sure he understood us. Everyone was smiling and the autumn wind did not feel as cold.

With time to kill, we looked at his products and our puzzled look must have given away the fact we did not know what that ugly looking fruit with wrinkled skin was. He said something in Italian but that of course did not strike a bell. He then gently pushed against the skin revealing a deep wet purple meat beneath. Beetroot I guessed. I think. That opened the floodgate. We then pointed out the fruits and vegetables and he said it out lout in Italian. And we offered the English name. Who needs words for communication?

What is this fruit/vegetable/root? Anyone knows?

There was no way we could remember all those Italian words. So we decided to remember at least one word, an easy one. We looked at the fruits and pointed at a bunch of banana –

“How do you say that in Italian?”

He looked at us with a bemused look and say “Ba-na-nuh!”

And we all burst out laughing simultaneously. Okay, we will never forget that! We left happily for the restaurant waving goodbye to our new found friend. We will probably never meet again but every time I see banana, I will remember that happy Italian face saying “Ba-na-nuh!”.

Walking Alone On Lovers' Bridge

I've had just enough time to...   look at Lover's Bridge

Taken of the Lover's Bridge in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, Malaysia

I remember the rickety old “Lovers' Bridge”

Where the waves slapped against the slanted legs

Letting out mournful sighs that I thought, was sweet

I brushed down my hair ruffled by the unruly winds

And enjoyed their vehemence for I thought, that was sweet

I smiled at the gray clouds for blocking out the intense sun

And was thankful the approaching storm was still far away

In your eyes, I saw no doubt only affection

And was happy that day, on Lovers' Bridge

Today, I walk alone, on Lovers' Bridge

The waves are mournful

The wind cruel

I am only grateful to the clouds

Kind enough for holding back the rains

And add to my misery

The Imminent Destruction of the Creeping Forest.

I've had just enough time to...   shoot the Creeping Forest before its destruction

Shots of the Creeping Forest in the "Beautiful Island" 

That day was a Sunday. It was also the first day of the 2013 Chinese New Year and the start of the Year of the Water Snake. I woke up early and drove towards the factory where I worked on the island named “Beautiful Island”. I do not what they call it before they call it “Beautiful Island” for there is nothing very beautiful about it unless you love mud flats and mangrove swamps. But every day as I drove to and from work, I will look out to a stretch of land which I called the Creeping Forest.

Use your imaginations

It is one of the last few patches of wild land left on the island that is undergoing rapid expansion and I know its days are numbered when they began to widen the road near it. It may only be weeks or months before part or all of this stretch will be bulldozed over and I will only be left with the memories that amused me every day to work. I will not make the same mistake as when I procrastinated too long before taking shots of another idyllic part of the island. Now, it is just an ugly vacant lot for sales that has been left idle for the last two years.

To see the fantastical creatures

The traffic was very light on this very busy highway exactly as I planned. I will feel self-conscious if I were to stop my car on a normal day to take photos as many people who travel this road may recognize me. But on this day, if they are not celebrating the new year, they will be enjoying the holidays which last until Wednesday and all factories will be shut down during this period. There is no one to ask me questions that I do not want to answer. 

That dwell in this forest (I saw a Keelin here every time except today, sigh...)

About a few minutes before reaching the factory, I pulled over to the laterite shoulder of the highway, alighted from my car and took my shot. Unfortunately, the light this morning was too bright and not slanted enough for the shadows to bring out the best of the fantastical creatures. For the real beauty of the Creeping Forest is what you extract from it through your imaginations. And the weather (cloudy or bright), intensity of light, time of the day (especially in early morning or late evening), windy conditions all play a part but none as important as the imagination of the viewer. What each of us sees may be quite different from the other and on a special day of moving clouds, the transformation happened right before our very eyes.

Visible only to those with the "sights".

As I inched forward in my car to take shots from slightly different angles, a strange bird with a black band across its eyes like a robber flew to settle on a branch in the open not more than 10 yards away from me. I shot quickly afraid that it will fly away immediately but I should not have worried. It perched there comfortably and watched me for the whole duration. That is kind of a strange behavior for a bird so I chalked it as one getting unusual rewards for doing unusual things. 

Unsual rewards for doing unusual things or maybe this bird understands me

The creeping forest may just be wild trees with overgrown creepers to some but to me, it was something more, something much more. I know I am going to miss it when it is gone. So I made this post to remember it by. As I drove back to the house to begin the celebration of the New Year, I can’t help but wonder – am I the only driver who notices it and who feels this way?

I will miss it when it is gone...

I Will Give You Life

I've had just enough time to...   give life to...

Taken on the road north of Hanoi...

A block of marble

Cold and rigid

Shapeless, sterile

Elicit no emotion

Dead

Chiseled and hammered

Ground and polished

Brought to life

By imagination

And memory

If a block of stone

Can be given life

Imagine what…

_______

J.R. Richards – I Will Give You Life

And take all my love and hate

For I will give you life

The Silver Threads of Fate

I've had just enough time to...   feel the trembling of the string of fate

Taken in an industrial loom in Yangon, Myanmar

The silver threads of fate spins

In the loom of the blind sisters

Trembling under their fingers

And another hero falls

Blind eyes shed no tears

See no sorrow

Feel no fear

The quivering threads sing

Exciting the tender hearts

With its seductive rhyme

And another maiden falls

Blind eyes reveal no love

See no blushes

Feel no pain

The blind sisters chuckle

Picks another thread, breaks it

With a snap and attaches it again

But no silver thread

Can mend the

Severed string

Of a heart shattered

________

Darling, I am growing old,

Silver threads among the gold

Shine upon my brow today;

Life is fading fast away;

But, my darling, you will be, will be,

Always young and fair to me,

Yes, my darling, you will be,

Always young and fair to me.

Two Views of the Field of Gold

I've had just enough time to...   view the field of gold.

Taken in Sekinchan, Malaysia of the farmer surveying his field of gold

The farmer surveys his field of gold

That stretches to the blue sky above

And he sees a year’s toil

I stood there at the crack of dawn

To see the sun shedding its shine

And I see her hair of gold

The farmer smile

I too smile

At the prospect of a satisfying harvest

That the approaching night

Will soon cover that field of gold…

A Stranger Through The Eyes of A Child.

I've had just enough time to...   see myself in the eyes of a child.

Taken in Kunshan while wandering around

“He doesn’t like me”.

Maybe it was not because he does not like me. Maybe it was because I witnessed what he did. Or maybe it was because he was protective of his little sister. His sister, who was looking at me with questioning eyes.

“Who are you?”

“What do you want?”

“Why are you taking our picture?”

She could not figure me out yet. So she was hesitant with her response. Maybe she will smile if I say a kind word or two. Maybe she will run away. But I kept my distance. I have no right to intrude.

Her brother, he just glared at me. I am a stranger. I can be up to no good. I cannot do anything for them except getting them into trouble. So he challenged me with his look. If I put on a fierce expression. Maybe he will run away. Maybe he will call for his family. I am after all a stranger and an outsider. So I kept my distance. Smiled, and backed off. I am after all an intruder into their world and I have to respect that. (I was in Kunshan with a couple of hours to kill and I’m not going to do that watching TV in the hotel room. So I wandered out into the street where ordinary people lived.)

Earlier, I “caught” them playing with the stainless steel bolts and washers that they somehow dismantle from the railings of the steps and overhead bridge. I tried one with my bare fingers and found it to be fast secured. Maybe, they have found all the loose ones or maybe they did it with some tools though I did not see any. If they construct the railings so poorly that children can dismantle them, then it is not the children’s fault for you can expect a child to do exactly what they did. I did not want to encourage them though so I checked my smile and moved away wondering what did I learn from this encounter to have it so strongly registered in my memory.

Here Comes The "Kok Kok" Candy Man!

I've had just enough time to...   taste the Kok Kok Candy Man's sweet again.

Taken in Jonker Street in Malacca, Malaysia.

We heard him before we saw him. “Kok Kok! Kok Kok!” We rushed out of the house to the back lane to greet the arrival of the Candy Man.

Riding somewhat unsteadily in his old bicycle, the old man weaved his way to where his young customers were eagerly waiting. He usually arrived in late afternoon but the days when he arrived did not fit any regular pattern. Maybe it was because in those days, only the children of the rich has pocket money and if he came around too regularly, there will not be enough paying customers. He needed to space out his visits for them to save enough dimes to pay for his sweet.

When he got off his bicycle and parked it, the cover of a large round aluminium tray secured at the back was lifted displaying a single large piece of candy filling almost the whole tray except for those edges that had been chipped away. With two pieces of metal, he will strike the one shaped like a wedge with the other that looked like a hammer producing sharp metallic sound “kok kok! Kok kok!” Even those of us who could not afford to buy will crowd round him to watch. Sometimes, one of our richer friends may give us a small piece and make our day. But more often, we were taunted and had to swallow our saliva instead.

The candy man disappeared from the scene as the country modernised. We thought him extinct for a long while. But there is a revival of interests in traditional snacks and we found him again after all these years. And every time I hear that “kok kok” sound, it reminded me of my youth in a bitter sweet way.

First Taste Is Like First Love.

I've had just enough time...   to taste Taiping popiah again.

Taken in Taiping, of course!

 

First taste is like first love,

You can revisit it.

But it never taste quite the same.

Like if there is something missing.

Or is it you, your taste

Or the food has changed?