It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon so we decide to go window-shop and have dinner. I took the Honda and drove to one of our favorite mall, the GE Mall at Jalan Ampang. An upmarket mall which is not that crowded and there are many restaurants that we could indulge ourselves in foods of our choice. On arrival we found there is a Craft fair at the lobby. I love traditional handicraft and straight away went to browse the many stalls that was setup there. A friend of our youngest daughter was running the Indigenous folks stall. This stall sells genuine craft made by the various indigenous people that live in the jungle all over the country. Their craft especially those intricate mats and woodcarving are unique and I consider it to be the work of art. We end the visit with eventually buying a few pieces of those mat and a few pieces of the woodcraft. The image of one of the Mat I bought is as shown above. It is made by the Semelai an ethnic group of Kg. Bapak, Post Iskandar, Tasek Bera, Pahang. After making the buys we went to have our dinner at the Kopitiam on the third floor.
After dinner my spouse and our daughter decide to do some shopping and since I had other interest I went to visit the MPH Bookstore. While browsing there I found a book entitled 'A Fading Dream' The Story of
Roeslan Abdulgani and Indonesia' which was sold at a seventy percent discount. After having a glimpse of the content I decide to buy it, then went downstairs to have coffee at the O'Brien fast-food kiosk at the lobby level. With that steamy hot coffee by my side I read the book and found that it was sort of a historical book of one of the giant of Indonesia. This book was written by non other than his own daughter Retnowati Abdulgani-Knapp. Actually before reading this book I did not know there was such an important figure in the era of pre independence Indonesia since this man was never in politic in that sense of the word but more been the man of the day in the government. He often act as adviser to those political leaders from Sukarno up till the present Indonesian leaders until his death on June 29, 2005. From what I read this Roeslan Abdulgani is indeed an important man in the history of Indonesia. In a way he was like
Ghazali Shafie in the Malaysian political scene. This book gives the insight of the culture of the Indonesia people during the colonial era and the fight for independence of Indonesia. To me finding this book was like finding a new source of the history of Indonesia, a country of 250 millions people, the biggest democracy in this part of the world. I believe that Indonesia would be a country to watch in the coming years and would play a significant role in molding this part of Asia.
Have a nice day. [Please click image to enlarge]
12 comments:
Stumble upon your blog whilst browsing the blog od zorro unmasked. What a nice surprise Pak after exchanging a few remarks on fb
Noticed that you have made the best of short shopping sprees..
Acquiring a beautiful mat and a very good book..
Have a nice day
Pak Idrus,
Your paragraph on the beautiful tikar reminded me about our last trip to Kuala Terengganu two years ago. Way back in the 1970's and 1980's, I used to go to KT to buy lots of the beautiful tikar that the area used to produce. We still have them here in Ulu Michigan! But in KT two years ago, at the main market by the river where a lot of handicrafts are being sold, very few tikar mats were on sale! I'm hoping that that if we go to the coastal kampongs we can still buy them, but I'm wondering if tikar making is a dying art in the East Coast ...
Wht I miss in my part of the world is a choice of places where one can sit for a cup of something and a bite.
benadam, thanks for the visit and the good words on my kind of blogging. Well we have met in cyber-sphere but as yet in the real world. One of these days we should have coffee together.
Have a nice day.
Wan Sharif, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the subject of this posting.
Well to me every minutes count and I would try to make a good use of it anywhere possible. The GE Mall is a great place to lepak and I did enjoy that day with my spouse and daughter.
I love collecting handicraft from the native and always look for a good buy. Have a nice day.
Howard, thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the subject of this posting.
Well, it it really difficult to get good handicraft on the east coast now. I went looking high and low for a Tikar in Kuantan last month but came home emply. Now most of the Tikar came from Indonesia and one could get it cheap at the Pasar Minggu in Temerloh on Sunday. I did got a few on my last visit years ago.
BTW bila nak berhijrah ke Ulu Damansara.
Have a nice day.
Al-Manar, thanks for the good words on my lepaking.
Well that is the beauty of living in the Kelang valley. It is the first world now and one can go and lepak anywhere and enjoy the ambiance with a cup of good coffee. My spouse and I would go out to do just that from time to time and other than the KLCC, Pavilion the GE Mall is a great place to have coffee and careless of the world.
The next time you are in KL do call and we shall for lunch or coffee.
Have a nice day.
That's a lovely tikar and looks so well-made, Pak Idrus!
I learned from my late mother the difference between 'tikar mengkuang' and 'tikar pandan'. I'd guess that the mat that you have in your entry is tikar pandan. Mengkuang leaves apparently are bigger, longer, thicker and tougher. She would weave tikar mengkuang herself for our own use. But she would buy from other people the fine, soft and colorful tikar pandan and use them only when special guests came to visit us! Masa tu, tahun 50an di kampung, jarang orang pakai kerusi-meja.
That is indeed an exquisite mat, Pak Idrus! Gerai OA has very well made handicrafts. I recommended the little bookmarks and purses to friends as wedding door gifts. Hopefully it will bring the artisans good income and keep their traditions alive. Reita is an inspiration, and so is Lin!
~Covert_Operations'78~, Ee lynn thanks for the visit and sharing your thoughts on the subject of this posting. Well there was only two left when we went to the OA stall at the GE Mall that day. So we decided to buy both since I know for sure the handiwork of the AO are of good quality.
As for Reita I found her to be one of a kind, so special, giving her time and resource for the good of those OA without even wanting a commission for things that she sold. It was a volunteer works from the hearts. Agreed, a great inspiration indeed.
Have a nice day.
Temuk, thanks for the visit and sharing your valuable thought on the subject of this posting. Yes the Tikar are well made by the OA and I always buy a few whenever there are on sale. I found the OA mat are made from the heart, thus the outcome are truly a work of art; each one of a kind and to me are priceless.
Like you I learn about the Tikar at any early age since at that time we use Tikar for all purposes, whenever we sat down for dinner or lunch it is always on a Tikar made of Mengkuang or Pandan and I always relate these stories of my childhood to my grand kids of how we at that time have no dinning table or furniture to sit on. Sitting mean on the floor or on the mat. When guests come we would put a new Tikar if we have one; it soon became the pride of the home to have many Tikar of various shades and sizes.
The Tikar in this image is made of Pandan and as can be seen is very well design and the workmanship is good. That is one reason I bought it and I am glad that you too like it.
Have a nice day.
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