And It Didn't Just Happen Magically...

We have quite a big family, us Azluls. There are 7 of us siblings, 4 are married and at the moment, the total grandchildren of the Zaghlol clan stands at 12. Add to that my dad's side - 11 siblings, 8 are married with 33 kids between them and 16 grandchildren. Last Saturday night , 43 were at Pondok Azlul, my parents' abode in Puchong.

The normal agenda was planned - jemaah Maghrib, jemaah Isya', a little talk, Yaasin, tahlil and then the big makan.


It may seem weird for some of you as it was a little weird for my husband when he first married me, as we have this type of things almost every month. But to me, it is already biasa. It is part of our own special tradition, how we grew up. :) Truthfully, it could get a little troublesome too, as we might already have other plans. I sometimes feel burdened by it. For my dad though, (who happens to be the eldest living sibling in his family) this type of gathering is a must and the show has got to go on. No matter, sapa yang boleh datang, sapa yang tak boleh datang, maybe next time then.

Personally, when I was younger, (wah, dah older ke?) I thought nothing much of it. It's just an avenue for good food and great company. Us cousins would be chit-chatting away - in between prayers and all. :) Aunties and uncles reconnect with their nephews and nieces. Exchanging stories , jokes, sad news and the like. I remember very well our late nenek saudara who loved telling stories to us kids. She was such a beautiful lady with a unique ability to mesmerize you with her stories.

Anyways, my point is, I didn't know it then, but my dad had carried on his father's legacy on having this type of gatherings to create a loving environment for us to grow in. A support system unlike no other - a close-knitted family bond. I do appreciate his persistance now. Now that I have kids of my own, I want them to be secured. I want them to know that these are the people that they could depend on. That everyone is there for them. :)

The other thing about it is that my dad does not get upset that the little ones won't get in line to sembahyang. He'd just let them roam when we were reciting the Yaasin. :) For him, it's just as important for the little ones to be around this type of gatherings, so that they would want to join in when they are older. So that they would know who their families are. So that they will not forget their religious duties as well as wanting to be succeessful in the studies and careers. These are hard lessons to teach my kids and I really don't want to shove them down their throat. My dad has taught through his actions that we need to balance the pursuit of akhirat and the current life we're living. That it is both equally important.

So, yeah. We try to make an effort to come to these gatherings. After all, who can resist the authentic home-cooked Temerloh mari patin tempoyak, eh? Yummy..

-dillz blogging out-

Durian Fest!

Had a marvellous durian fest at me parents last night. Dinner was ikan patin goreng, ikan patin masak tempoyak, lemak ikan patin, (yes, we are craaaazy patin fans!) fried chickies, fried veges, and some other stuff. The rest of the clan made their appearances bit by bit and dad, as usual, started the do off with the customary tahlil and doa selamat. Then, it was DOO-RI-YEN time... Yeeha!!!

My Aicu cheated and asked the good man selling them durians to make a few indentations at the bottom of each durian. The pros are two-fold. One: we were ensured of creamy duran goodness in every durian that we purchased. Two: it was much much easier to attack them durians once the fest started.

All of them were the D24 (never did understand what that really means) so, it was lovelies all the way!! Lemak, lembut, bordering to lembik, golden crusted lovelies.. Yummy.. My favourite ones are of the "kucing tidur" kind - when there is only one lovely durian in one lovely pangsa. Khadra ate only one - itupun saya yang suap. Khaleeq just ran away from it. The mommy? Well, it was too many to count. Since Azrul had to fast for his medical check up this morning, he had to pass. So, guess who ate his portion? hihihihihihi

After all the madness, I would always, always remember this olden tip to manage the body heat that comes with eating that much durian - Drink from its pangsa. (Air kosonglah, jangan bantai sirap pulak..) It works everytime.. ;)

-dillz blogging out-

Mari Cakap Bera

I love my Dad and his huge family. All my life, I have lived with their presence around me - Encik has 2 younger sisters, and 6 younger brothers. When he was young, much much younger, he lived in a flood resettlement program in Kampung Bohor Baru , daerah Bera, Pahang Darul Makmur. Just to put our kampung into perspective, if we were to go back to the kampung in this modern times, it would take about 45 minutes drive in the car along the one-lane biway from the town of Temerloh , Pahang. 

After successfully becoming an engineer in Lembaga Letrik Negara, at that time, and getting married to a hot-looking babe (my Ibu, that is) some of his siblings would come and live with him (and us) in Kuala Lumpur - not all at one time, lah! It was kind of a transit place for them before they moved on with their lives, getting a good job or getting married. On top of that, when we were younger, we used to make a trip back to our kampung nearly every week. 

In a way, we have been exposed to the dialect that Bera people would have from very early on. It's not a very pronounced dialect, in fact it is kinda low-key and not one that everybody is aware of. Unlike the famous Kelantanese, Johorian or even the 'Ganu kite dialect.   

My prowess on the Bera dialect, unfortunately, is very limited. Infact, we often use the phrases that we one time and time again, even when it has no relevance what so ever to the scenario. Some of the words that I know include;

Koi = I

Bed Plestitt = Plastic Bag

Popalleh! = Expression of Awe. (like Amboi! or Wow!)

Menteq = really fast / quick

Awok te = You ni... 

Anyways, I have a senior dorm-mate back in Sekolah Tun Fatimah who actually lived around 20 minutes from our kampung (she lives in Triang). She has written a post (2 posts , actually) on the Bera dialect which has left me in stiches. 

Please refer here for your first Lesson from the Master and here for the Second installment. 

This post is specially dedicated to my hubby and ma bitches - learn a thing or two, sisters... ;)

-dillz blogging out-  

Kubang Kerian United

*from my other blog at Dilla Speaks Out

We took the AirAsia flight to KB at a bargain price of RM260 for our family of four. This was done months ago, before the arrival of Bibik Parmi. At that time, we didn’t even know whether it will be a Parmi, Fuaton or Wati. (Just some random names of Indonesian maid that I know of :)) So, prior to the trip, we had to make a decision on whether to bring Parmi along or endure 5 days without help with the kids. An additional RM200 PLUS an extra pair of hands to handle the awesome two vs. No added cost BUT having to take care of the kids on our own. Having just been back from the Pangkor trip with the kids without assistance, we decided that the RM200 would be money well spent. So, Parmi had to come with and with that I have bought myself a couple of extra minutes of sleep in the morning.

You know, this trip really highlighted one trait of my son, Khaleeq. That boy is so darn shy! Look! He was covering his face the whole journey from Pengkalan Chepa airport to Mek’s house in Kubang Kerian (KK). For those of you not very familiar with the region I have grown very fond of, that’s approximately a 20-minute drive. The Naza Ria that picked us up was only filled with 2 of his cousins and his aunty who was driving the car. As soon as he got to Mek’s place, however, he was a little better. Maybe coz he really knows his granny. I think he’s only terribly shy of unfamiliar faces. So unlike me.. heh heh heh

One of the things I loved about KB is the Gok Kapur market. Look at all the fresh seafood. We bought squids, tenggiri slices and prawns. This will constitute the bulk of our meals at Mek’s place. Other times, we buy! There’s so much to choose from. For breakfast, hubby will buy Nasi Berlauk, Nasi Dagang or Nasi Kerabu from the stall by the roadside. (I don’t know where exactly because I’ve never been — still catching up on my beauty sleep when this event takes place) . For the heavy meals; we have Zakinie Nasi Kukus, Nasi Air Mak Su Nab , Yati Ayam Percik or the array of food stalls near the Pasar Siti Khadijah. During this trip, we were lucky to experience the first day of Ramadhan in KB. So, off to the Stadium we go for the Ramadhan Bazaar. The were 4 rows of canopy on one side of the stadium and another 5 rows on the other. Food, food, glorious food.. (Actually, we planned the trip to coincide with the first of Ramadhan in KB –heh heh ) On top of that , KB also has a selection of venues for night caps. We went to MacB opposite Hospital USM for a little minum-minum with hubby’s ex-primary schoolmates one night. The other place worth mentioning is White House, a kopitiam place that I heard rave reviews about but never ever set my foot on. Maybe next time.

The trip was also fun for the kids as they met up with their cousins. Khadra and Khaleeq especially enjoyed the bicycle ride at Ayah Aa’s place. Jakun, kot - seeing that we don’t have additional space for such activity at home. Khaleeq also loved running around and playing ’sandcastle’ at Mek’s yard.

Too much fun in the sun however had its consequences. Khadra started throwing up and charting high temperature on the third day in. Then, Khaleeq followed suit. At one point he was at 39.7 degrees C. That was a little worrying as high fever can cause serious complications to toddlers. However, we are very thankful for Abang Azhar who went out of his way to provide for the medications for them. So, the final days in Kelantan were more of nursing the kids back to their health - sponging them to keep the temperature down, engaging in little battles when it is time for medicine, cleaning after them after their vomit… It’s just soo heartbreaking seeing them so weak when you know they are so darn active if they were well…

All in all, the trip was a good one. Just look at my baby’s face as he rides the LCCT trolley. In truth, I always look forward to my trips to KB coz it feels like I am going back to my own kampung. Though KB is NOT AT ALL a kampung; I mean with Billion Supermarket, 4-star hotels, SSF, Bilal, Pizza Hut, KFC and KB Mall … That’s soooo NOT kampung.. You know what I mean… Till we meet again KK — we’ll be back!

-dillz blogging out-