The 7 Azaleas of Kampung Lebak
Apart of staying in the village area, I was sent to a private school since grade 1. These two factors explain why don’t I have good friends at home. My only tremendous memories with friends in my village are with my Kaklong and a few cousins and second cousins who lived nearby at that moment. Since Kak Nawwar is now one of the readers here, it calls me up to write something about my childhood.
There is only two girls in my family. Kaklong and I. But my dearest cousins, Hidayah and Linda, are staying with my Tok whose living just 200 meters away from my house. We were brought up together eversince we knew the word of ‘uwekkkkk’. Kaklong is two years older than me while Hidayah is two years younger than me and Linda came out a year later. Nearby our houses, there live our second cousins, Kak Ina, Kak Ida, Kak Anim and Wanie. And just next to the main masjid in our village, there lives Kak Nawwar and her family.
What makes the story is, Kaklong, Kak Nawwar, Kak Ida and Kak Anim are in the same group of age. They were once attended the same school (just next to my house) before Kaklong and Kak Nawwar moved to the private school in town. Kak Ida and Kak Anim left behind but they still met up almost every evening hanging out at the jetty facing the Sungai Pahang downhill my house compound. See. At least, Kaklong was still able to meet her friends because they still lived nearby plus one of them attended the same school as she did.
Where was I in the story? Well, I was not in the picture. The four of them always have something secretive which only they themselves could understand it. I always ended up hanging with my cousins, Hidayah and Linda, in front of my Tok’s house. We played everything even perhaps out of what can you all imagine. If the weather was good, we played ‘cari semut hitam dalam lubang’ using a kemuncup. Then, if we felt like going crazy a bit, we played ‘cari pucung’ under my Auntie’s house. I don’t know how to decribe what pucung is but it is an insect (if I could name it so) which resides in the dusty soil in the dark place. For example, under the village house (village houses are known to have high pillars, that is what my Auntie’s house looks like).
Only if Kaklong permitted me to follow her, I’d be a part of the ladies team at the jetty. And only then I could see how and what they actually did over there. Nothing much actually. They just chatted about school and daily updates that they wanted to share. When they were in secondary school, before Kaklong and Kak Nawwar moved to boarding schools, they still have this routine continued. They were anak dara pingitan by age. With good looks, good performances and records at schools, they were popular among the kampung boys.
And again, where was I in the story? Easy answer. At home. When I was 14 and 15, my two dearest cousins, Hidayah and Linda moved to Penang. So, there I spent my time alone without them. I have no friend to go to. Very seldom, I joined Kaklong’s group to meet up at the jetty. But this time around, I learned how to improve myself to cope up with them. From the style to the way I carried myself. I was an anak dara too back then. So, at least I must learn how to be more easy going. Hehe. We were closer. Eventhough I seldom joined them at the jetty (I just didn’t like spending time out of the house especially to be in the public), but we used to spend time in Temerloh’s library together. In fact, we went to the dental clinic together too! I still remember the way we walked like the Pendekar Bujang Lapuk on the way back from the dental clinic. We sang the Pok Pok Pok, Bujang Lapuk song together. So funny!
Why didn’t I hang out with my own clan? The answer is, I was too in mood to be a Puteri Lilin wannabe. Haha. Kidding. The reason was, I have no friend with the same age living nearby. Yes, I do have one. Up till now, that particular friend is still living there. But he is a he. I didn’t want to spend time with boys anymore. Enough that I have so many boys at home. Hahaha. Plus, he’s so anak emak type. He didn’t play ‘cari pucung’, ‘cari semut hitam dalam lubang’ and stuffs like that. He only enjoyed fishing. But when he was 13, I realized that he became more boyish. Only at the age of 13, I heard that he went to the swamp area (padahal paya tu belakang rumah dia je!)! But he was a good friend to me since then because we went to the same secondary school in town and he always backed me up when he knew some mafia students planed to block my way or something like that. When I moved to a boarding school, I no longer heard anything from him but after SPM, we spent time going for raya convoy to our lower form’s friends’ houses together with other friends. He is Amin. A friend of mine up till now. Other than Amin, I have no other friends who live nearby. And that explains why do I spend most of my time at home (with novels, TV and internet, ngeh ngeh ngeh).
And now, Hidayah and Linda are in UiTM Shah Alam furthering studies in Electrical Engineering and Physics. Kaklong graduated from UKM in Chemistry and now continuing her study in Maktab Perguruan Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuala Lipis. She’s so in love in teaching line and insya Allah she’ll be graduating by December. Kak Nawwar is now working (I’m not so sure where) but surely she has completed her study. Kak Ida graduted from UPSI and now teaching in a secondary school (which I forgot where is it located). Kak Anim graduated 3 years ago in accountancy and now is working, too, in Bera and she’s the only one who has got married among the 7 of us. But in 2-3 years to come, surely there will be more nasi minyak feasts that we can attend insya Allah.
This is the story of the 7 azaleas of Kampung Lebak. We may look naughty but Alhamdulillah we all succed in studies and really bring up the names of our families. We are now humans and not a nonsense kids anymore. Perhaps, this is the benefit of eating fresh ikan patin and tilapia =)
Note 1: Actually, we were 12 azaleas all together. Kaklong, me, Dayah, Linda, Kak Ina, Kak Ida, Kak Anim, Wanie, Kak Dayah, Naim, Kak Nawwar and Thirah. We’re cousins (1st and 2nd). When holidays came, the number was floaded up to 20 something. It only happened when Nisa and siblings, Yana, Fatin and a few more were back in Lebak. Our port of meeting surely was the jetty. It’s kind of proud to show them our jetty which has a sceneric view and the river bank is like a dam wall. But I haven’t been there for 6 years already. The port is now conquered by men, smoking and lepak-ing (euuuw). Therefore, I have no idea how does it look like now and that becomes the reason why do I not know much about people in my village. Moreover, there are only young men left there. The ladies? Well, out in universities or working outside. Irony? A long yeaaaaahhhh~
Note 2: Ha! Only now I realized how can I mingle around with my current housemates who are all 2 years younger than me. I’ve been practicing the skills to mix with budak-budak kecik since I was a little kid. Huhu. Jangan marah naaa Wanie, Pena, Fatt, Diba and Emy (^^,)v
aha~ kiddo’s stories…
so sweet~ i’ve some too in my memories.. being in the village-where-everybody-around-me-is my-family, i’ve become a very ‘kampung’ish kid.. just tell me all the kampungish type of mainan- tarik upih,baling selipar,masak-masak,aci ligan,mancing tepi parit ban,cop tiang,nenek kebayan,polis sentri,zero point,seremban,pondok atas pokok( even climbing thecoconut tree!)n ect.ect… -i’ve played all of that.. in my village,most of the kid is my cousin..around 10 of them, so every evening the village is our territory.. haha~
miss those time.. wink*
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Ainul:
the same goes to me. most of the kids living in the range of 500m away are my relatives. cousins and 2nd cousins. all those games u mentioned up there, i played them too! for me, plus 1 more game. melastik! believe me! i went out melastik ikut adik ks si nan tu dgn kawan2 dia (jiran2 amin tu). tp bila balik dr melastik, ks sorg je yg selamat. budak2 lelaki yg masuk semak nak melastik burung ni sudahnya kena tungau! muahaha. selamat la ks perempuan =p ini membuktikan, permainan melastik ni sebenarnya lebih selamat utk dimainkan oleh budak perempuan. muahaha. n ks pun gi memancing jgk. sonok amat weh =D
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ye..ye.. sangat setuju..!
budak pompuan time main sakan, balik umah sopan balik… mana nyer tak selamat ks.. hahaha… ks lastik burung ek? kitaorg kengkadang je lastik merpati.. kadang2 selalu lastik cicak je.. bising! hehe.. tapi lagi best bila main lastik orang atau kata lainnya 'terbit'–> guna getah kuning biasa n lipat kertas kecik2 tebal2.. huhu.. sangatlah siksa kalau kena… ada sorang budak lelaki pernah jadi mangsa.. adeh, sangat malu kalo jumpa dia sbb dia tu mangsa salah target. T_T tapi dia tak pernah tahu orang yg buat sebab pas buat terus jadi ayu sopan santun balik, getah sorok belakang, buat muka seposen… dah la time kelas fardhu ain.. aish, kesian dia cam nak nangis kena..
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opss, forget something!
all your comrades is adult now but mine mostly is still not graduated yet (the oldest just 2 years older than me).. But, there is one of them (my cousin) who get married after spm n she is pregnant now, and due date in this january.. believe it or not, she is one year younger than me.. wah, can’t believe i’ll got the title ‘makcik’ eh, no, no.. ‘achik’ this soon.. seems the second generation of us is coming soon.. ^_^
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its been a long time since i last visited the jetty!! pantang balik kampung, sure mintak izin abah nak gi jeti dgn korang, hehe, tah apa yg best sgt tah =)
masa raya haritu, Sya perasan ada pic kita cucu-cucu tok tgh posing depan laman after main lempar selipar. tok letak dekat almari depan bilik Hidayah… ya Allah, how i miss our childhood days so much!!
gelak2 kami tgk pic tu, masa tu paling tinggi were Kaklong and Ngah, tapi sekarang, both of u yg kecik, hehe… growth spurt korang cepat =)
take care, Nana
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susah bergaul dengan budak kecil kalau tidak comel.. kamu fikirlah sendiri..
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Hi Sarah,
Terlalu manis kenangan saya semasa kanak2 tapi semuanya hanya sebuah ingatan tidak dapat di susun dgn kata2. Sarah lain, setiap ayat disusun rapi sehingga terasa diri berada di situ melihat gelagat dara kampung lebak. 🙂
Teruskan nukilan sebegini, seronok.
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Ainul:
spesifiknya, kitorang lastik sarang burung tempua. byk bergayut kt pokok kelapa tpi rumah. hehe. wkt lg kecik, kitorg main senapang kayu tembak2 guna buang terung pipit yg kecik2 tu. manyak sakit oo kalau kena org. yg ni lg la segala semak kitorg redah nak gi amik terung pipit kecik2 tu. erk.. kamu tau tak tungau tu apa? klu budak laki baca ni, haha, misti ada yg rasa fobia =p sepupu ks yg dh kawin semuanya di sebelah penang. di belah pahang, kaklong la org tertua. ye. kaklong adlh org tua. hahaha.
Nisa Dearie:
kan kan kan. ke jeti tu dh jadi macam rutin korang bila balik lebak. awk tak kesian kt ngah ke. ngah selalu takde geng. kaklong keluar dgn geng2 dia, tinggal la ngah duk berborak dgn tok n mak tam kt buai. sadis je. hehe. sya, gambar kita time umur drjd 2 kan gmbr tu kan? sbb klu x silap, ngah ada tgk gmbr tu. kitorg kecik2 dlu tinggi sbb kitorg byk minum air nyor muda. boleh pakai tak teori ni? hehe. dulu ngah ada cite kt sini psl main tuju selipar tu dh jd rutin tahunan bila semua balik lebak. ada kat entri ni:
Zaman Dulu Kala
take care Nini!
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CT:
oh. pulang paku buah keras ke sy ye. sy pun buat2 tak fahamlah kalau gitu. hohho.
Bro Fadli:
mungkin sbb sy takde kawan utk sy ceritakan benda2 kenangan ni, jd sy tulislah di dunia sy ni. paling kurang, sy ada ramai kawan kt sini =)
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ks:
kejap.. rasanya tungau itu macam satu hukuman khusus utk budak lelaki tapi bila pikir2 balik, tak taula pulak apa maksudnyer.. hehehe.. apa maknanya ks?
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uwekkkk
‘cari semut hitam dalam lubang’ using a kemuncup
ladies team
anak dara pingitan
Puteri Lilin wannabe
mafia students
nasi minyak feasts
We may look naughty ??? – memang pon
fresh ikan patin and tilapia
skills to mix with budak-budak kecik
Well done Azaleas
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anim dah besalin… dapat baby boy. dah sebulan lebey pon.. ida plak ngaja kat SMK Mengkarak. siap jadik warden lagi. nawar plak praktikal daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….. and last but not least, it is no longer Maktab Perguruan Tengku Ampuan Afzan anymore but it is Institut Perguruan Tengku Ampuan Afzan… but we still love to call maktab… dak2 maktab la katakan…
hoh final exam, BTN and induksi..
wish me luck!!
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bestnya baca cerita Sarah yg nie. Senyum je dr mula hingga akhir..hehehe. Saat yg hanya boleh dikenang je tapi tak mungkin kita tengok pd masa sekarang. Dah takdenya budak² sekarang main² apa yg kita main dulu. Mungkin dah tak tau nak main pun… mmm ..rugi..rugi..:)
**Terasa rugi gak nie..cari semut hitam & cari pucung tu..macam tak pernah main je..macam mana ek…ke akak punya versi lain..:p
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hidayah and linda are currently in Uitm(hidayah in elec. engine’s fac.) hah??? my fac. is currently sharing with fac. engine…wah bleh kenallah nie…. ks, bagi no. diorang, saya cari..hhehehehe…faculty physic tu bekas faculty saya yang lame gak n almost tiap2 minggu saya lepak kat kawasan tu a.k.a menara, mkn roti canai…blehlah kenal ngan sedare ks…the 2 out of 7 azaleas where one of them i already know(k.s lah hehehe)… hmmmmm…..
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ermm nasib tak lastik burung kasawari.. he he
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salam… kenangan2 hehehehe.. kadang2 tersenyum ja… hehehee 😉
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Ainul:
hehe. ks nak tunggu mak ks tolong balaskan komen ni. tunggu yek 😉
Izu:
alaa.. awk pun naughty jugak apa =p lalalala~
Kaklong:
haaa! SMK Mengkarak! tu dia! hari tu dah tau dh tp org terlupa la. ops. institut perguruan. sudah tukar ka.. hehe. long, gi BTN nanti hati2 ye kalau kena randuk paya lg. ngah ni menunggu je apa la cite awk pasal pacat lintah lg. kelakar gila teringat awk cite awk pakai stokin luar dr kaki seluar sbb taknak pacat masuk. haha. selamat la ye long. btw, bak hantar gmbr raya cepat. berzaman toghi dh org nunggu ni.
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Akak:
nanti akak dh ada anak, akak ajr la diorg menda2 ni. rugi la kalau diorg tak tau. hehe. sy rasakan, mungkin akak main jgk apa yg sy main yg nama pelik2 tu tp mungkin namanya lain skit. caranya mungkin sama kot. akak, ketawa tututp mulut. jgn gelak besar2. huhu =p
Saufee:
laa.. kamu kat sana ke skrg. ks ingt UIA. harap kamu jd top scorer kat sana. kamu kan terer 😉 hidayah dh thn 3. tak taula kamu kenal ke tak. budak tu aktif karate n kadet klu tak silap. nur hidayah muhammad hanif. tua setahun kot dr kamu umur dia. sbb dia sebaya housemates ks yg lain. ha! sebaya wanie. silala mencari sampai jumpa. hihi =) smoga kamu dh sihat ye saufee.
Kasawari:
sy lastik burung enggang papan aje =D
Farid:
hehe. kenangan wkt budak2 la benda yg paling best utk diingat sampai bila2 =D
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mak ks mahu balas? aha~ ni mesti rahsia besar.. hikhik.. sila2.. sudah balas nanti, buzz saya yer.. 😛
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till date i still couldn’t define the naughty bit u claimed from me..
isk isk isk
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salam sarah 🙂
saya tau “tungau”
heheheh 😛
sbb adik saya pnh kena..hahahahah 😀 marah dia klu kami adikberadik ungkit hal ni. heheheh 😛 masa tu balik kg, dia sronok main ape ntah..tgkap ayam kut. tu sbb blh kena 😀 masa tu mlm2 dia x blh tdo sbb dok menggaru. hehehe 😛
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