Ibu Bersayap Cinta

In 1964 when I was 6 years old, my father built a house in Kerdau, Temerloh. It was a typical wooden kampung house but it was huge. We used to go there during school break. There was no electricity or tap water. The neighbouring houses were of our relatives. One of the fun of going to Kerdau was playing pondok-pondok(playing hut)

This was our house in Kerdau ....the house that carried so many beautiful childhood memories...before it was torn down...

Inilah rumah kami di kampung Kerdau...rumah yg membawa seribu kenangan manis zaman kanak2 kami...sebelum ia dirobohkan...

Kerdau's little engineers at work....

In the hot sunny morning my cousin E, me and my sisters Nun and Zam and I went around the bushes looking for sticks and branches to build a pondok. Building a pondok was a compulsory agenda when we were in Kerdau. The favourite spot for the pondok was at the back of our house under the thin belimbing tree. We pierced four sticks into the ground as pillars. Then we laid some old rags and pieces of rusty zinc on top as the roof. We hung some old batik sarong as walls. Then we spread out an old frayed mat for sitting. That was it! The 4 feet by 4 feet pondok was ready to fill our holiday mood with fun and adventure.

Jurutera cilik Kerdau tekun membina....

Dalam kepanasan cuaca pagi, sepupu saya E, saya, Nun kakak saya dan Zam adik saya merayau2 dalam semak mencari kayu dan ranting utk membina pondok kami. Membina pondok adalah sesuatu agenda yg wajib bila kami berada di Kerdau.. Tapak pembinaan projek pondok kami adalah di belakang rumah di bawah pohon belimbing. Kami pacakkan 4 batang kayu sebagai tiang. Kemudian kami bentang kain2 buruk serta kepingan zink buruk sebagai atap. Dindingnya adalah kain batik buruk. Utk tempat duduk kami kebas tikar buruk Kak Bada emak E.Tu dia! Sudah siap pondok kami utk mengisi mood percutian kami dgn keseronokkan dan pengembaraan.

Iron chefs...

One day we decided to cook our lunch in our pondok. We took some rice, onions, oil, kangkung. E took same ikan perkasam(fermented fish) from her house. We started the fire by using twigs and small branches. We were already glowing with pride. Imagine, these girls cooking for themselves for the very first time. It took us an hour to start the fire. The rice was already puffy, soaked in the water for too long. Everyone is blowing all their might to get the fire started. Smoke started to fill the pondok. Then the fire died out. More twigs were gathered. We attempted to start the fire again and again.

After four torturous hours, lunch was served. We had fried ikan perkasam, peda/budu(fermented anchovies), blanched pucuk ubi and a bowl of hot steaming rice. What a delicious lunch. The food was actually imported from my cousin E's house. It was her mum's cooking. Our cooking project for that day was a grand failure. None of us were eligible for the iron chef title.

Chefs 'besi'..hehe

Satu hari, kononnya kami nak memasak lunch kami di pondok kami. Kami ambil beras, bawang, minyak dan sedikit kangkung dr rumah kami. E pulak bawak ikan perkasam dari rumahnya. Kami hidupkan api dgn mengguna ranting2 kayu. Masing2 tu dah perasan sgt lah iron chefs konon.. Kembang kuncup hidung...kebanggaan. Maklumlah pertama kali dlm sejarah hidup nk masak utk diri sendiri.. Nak hidupkan api aje dekat sejam. beras yg dah dibasuh td dah mulai mengembang terendam terlalu lama dalam air. Semua kami meniup sepenuh tenaga nak menghidupkan api dapur kami. Tambah lagi ranting!...Asap menebal dah mulai memenuhi pondok kecil kami . Api yg ala2 nak hidup td terus mampus.... Tapi kami tak putus asa...cari lagi ranting...cuba dan cuba lagi...

Setelah 4 jam yg amat menyiksakan berlalu, lunch pun dihidangkan. Kami mengadap ikan perkasam goreng, semangkuk budu, pucuk ubi rebus dan semangkuk nasik panas. Alangkah enaknya lunch kami. Tapi malangnya bukan kami yg masak. Semua makanan itu dieksport dr rumah E...mak dia yg masak. Projek memasak kami pd hari itu adalah satu kegagalan yg agung. Tak seorang pun dari kami yg layak mendapat gelaran chef 'besi' pd hari itu.

Wedding crash

Once we had a bersanding ceremony in our pondok. The bride was my sister Zam and the bridegroom was Din our cousin. We dressed Zam and Din up in layers of colourful funny clothing. They were such a beautiful couple. We sat them on a dais made from an old kerosene tin covered with a piece of batik sarong.

Two of Haji Ali’s children were standing beside the couple and fanning them with 2 old exercise books. Their heads drooped to one side because the pondok was too low for their heights. There were about 7 to 8 kids crammed in the teeny-weeny pondok. We were squeezing like canned sardines and it was boiling hot. It seemed one person was asked to leave the pondok due to the unlimited space. It was Mat, Din's brother. Somebody asked him to stand outside the pondok.. and he was very angry!

While everyone was enjoying the bersanding ceremony, the pondok suddenly shook and swayed vigorously. Within seconds..keboom! Down it went collapsing to the ground together with the beautiful wedding couple in it! Mat was already nowhere to be seen…It was indeed the most memorable wedding of the year in Kerdau!

Pelaminku runtuh...

Sekali tu kami buat acara bersanding dalam pondok. Pengantin perempuannya adalah Zam adik saya dan pengantin lelakinya dalah Din adik E. Kami pakaikan mereka baca warna warna yg melucukan. Pengantin menahan aje...maklumlah nak lawa. Kami dudukkan mereka atas tin minyak tanah yg ditutupi kain batik buruk.

Dua orang anak Hj Ali jiran kami jadi pengapit. mereka mengipas pengantin menggunakan buku exercise lama. Pengapit terpaksa menyengetkan kepala masing sebab atap pondok tu rendah sangat. Ada 7 hingga 8 orang bebudak berhimpit2 dalam pondok yg kecik cenonit tu..macam ikan sardin dalam tin yang panas mengelegak. Malangnya Mat adik E terpaksa dikeluarkn dr pondok tu sebab terlampau sempit. Mat keluar dalam keadaan sangat marah!

Sedang kami seronok melihat acara persandingan, tiba2 pondok kami bergoyang dan berbuai2 macam dipukul ribut. Dalam beberapa saat aje...Kedeboom!!. Pondok kami runtuh rebah ke tanah bersama2 pengantin yg sedang bersanding. Mat dah lesap entah kemana. Itulah persandingan tahunan yg paling bersejarah di kampung Kerdau kami...

@ Enjoy your childhood days...for they come only once in your lifetime....