Monday 7 June 2010

..a taman..

..once upon a time, in the early seventies, to be exact, just next to Panggong Lido, Kota Bharu,  there was a garden..they named it Taman Serendah Sekebun Bunga..like the theatre, it sat perched on a rise by the bank of Kelantan River..there were always people there..families with children..youths with  friends..and stray cats taking shelter..it was a place of laughter and quiet reverie..you sat  on the concrete bench under a shade and watched the river..and the boats 'penambang' that plied the river - passenger-boats that connects Kota Bharu with Sungei Pinang on the  other side..

..they are both gone now..reduced to dust and relegated into the misty past..along with the laughters, tears and broken promises..maybe the voices are still there..wafting through the air..echoing in the still of the night..whispering along with the wind that passes over the  river..

..I just have to close my eyes...



..I did not know at which point her feelings for me changed from indifference to caring..perhaps it was when I waylaid her three-wheeled trishaw with my Vespa when she was on her way to school..and I knew that her trusted trishaw man would have hit my skull with a small axe if she were to but give a command..for a minute there we paused..teacher and ridiculous suitor..but her smiled saved the day, and I sped off  sheepishly..

..but from then on, it was do wah diddy time..except, of course, for her mother...

6 comments:

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Abe Mat,
Is the garden the one mentioned in Daud Kilau's song Cek Mek Molek? purrr....meow!

Pat said...

... and so the tale continues....

Nice. Keep it coming :)

It's not so much the story that unfolds that brings me back - after all, we all know the ending - but it's the way you're taking us there! Lovely!

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Pakmat, it’s always the chase/journey, the harder it is to get, the more persistence one becomes. The trouble with this is that u lose interest just as quick too once u got it :(((

Hey Manfred Mann, remember this;

Pretty Flamingo

On our block, all of the guys call her flamingo
Cause her hair glows like the sun
And her eyes can light the skies
When she walks, she moves so fine, like a flamingo
Crimson dress that clings so tight
She's out of reach and out of sight
When she walks by, she brightens up the neighbourhood
Oh every guy, would make her his, if he just could
If she just would.

I bet there was a niteclub in KB (or across the border) back in the 70's named Flamingo too, correct or not?

Cheers,
Tommy

Wan Sharif said...

Salam Abe Mat,
You brought back the memories.. being a lil bit younger, in late 60's I used to stay a night in KB ,once a year, went to taman serendah sekebun bunga for dinner and took a boat/ferry to Wakaf Bharu to take the train to travel to Tanjung Malim, the next day.
Ingat ingat lupa dah, tapi that sekebun bunga is a nice place for family (and a country bumpkin your truly..he,he) to have a quiet dinner.
I recalled there were some boathouses back then.. how quaint ..their lifestyles appeared to me (orang pulau Duyong) back then.
I am not putting any comments on the way the hero waylaid heroine transport.. jolting her out of her wits.. ha, ha..
The do wah diddy was enough to tell me the hero was happy with the outcome..

Unknown said...

..you r very knowledgeable for a cat..:) and your own wiki..?..it is a garden from my past..my retreat when Im down..I loved watching the river flowing past..and the boats..and the damsels with their ware for sale in the old marketplace..cheers..

hi, pat...welcome..see that y r back blogging..nice..envy yr chuan..he got his fish of his dreams..and now getting fishes from the muara..:)regards to him..cheers..

Unknown said...

..hi, tommy..no,..her eyes did not light up the skies..it shone into a lil corner of my youthful heart..and there was no flamingo niteclub in kb..they r not imaginative..just plain prince, suria, or something like that..cannot comment about across the border..have checked the scene there and found it not to my liking..to much accent on sex..and too many drunken brawls..

..salam wan..of course there were rumah rakits..the nearest to the garden was a Police Rakit..fav spot for anglers fishing for prawns as big as your arm..cheers..