what if............

What If

What if I give you my smile?
Are you gonna stay for a while?
What if I put you in my dreams tonight?
Are you gonna stay until it's bright?

What if I give you my story?
Are you gonna listen to me?
What if I give you my heart?
Are we never gonna be apart?

Come on baby try harder
Come on baby light my fire
Come on baby be mine
'Cause you're the one I wanted to be

What if I do ignore you
Will you just walk away and cry?
What if I did disappoint you?
Are you gonna say goodbye?

Come on baby try harder
Come on baby light my fire
Come on baby be mine
'Cause you're the one I wanted to be

What if I try to catch flying snitch?
Are you gonna come with me?
What if I give you my song?
Are we gonna sing along?

Come on baby try harder
Come on baby light my fire
Come on baby be mine
'Cause you're the one I wanted to be

What if you leave me right here?
I'm right here and waiting for you

Haiku of the four seasons

photo by tauhhid
painting (in photo) by Chen Chi

SPRING

little silver fish pointing upstream

moving downstream in clear quick water

photo by tauhhid
painting (in photo) by Chen Chi

SUMMER
what a splendid day! no one in all
the village doing anything!

photo by tauhhid
painting (in photo) by Chen Chi

AUTUMN
nights are getting cold. not a single insect
now attacks the candle

photo by tauhhid
painting (in photo) by Chen Chi

WINTER
the snowy day that closed the schools
opened the doors to let children out


copyrights :
The Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York
for "Little Silver Fish" by Soseki, and for "Nights Are Getting Old" by Shiki
from The Four Seasons, Japanese Haiku written by Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki and many others,
translated by Peter Beilenson.
Copyright © 1958 by The Peter Pauper Press.

The Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York

for "What A Splendid Day!" by Shiki, 

from Haiku Harvest, Japanese Haiku Series IV

translated by Peter Beilenson and Harry Behn

Copyright © 1962 by The Peter Pauper Press.

Redmond, Marcus and Shure, Inc., New York
for the adaptation by Bill Martin Jr., as it appeared in The New York Times and other publications,
originally created by Redmond, Marcus and Shure, Inc.

THE SUN

this burst

of joy; 

this thrust 

from space 

into the eye

and heart.

this part

of life

so far away

that sweat 

and tears 

are never far apart.

this healing glow;

this gift 

to poor

and sick-

this quick

star-spanning

light

that rides

the day

and ends the night. 

a poem by Michael Geelan

photography by tauhhid

painting (in photo) by William Andrews

Copyright: 

Michael Geelan

from Passing Pageant, by Michael Geelan

Published by Pegasus House.

Copyright 1966

taken from Sound Of A Distant Drum by  Bill Martin Jr., California State Series, 

Copyright © 1967 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 

All Rights Reserved. 

SILVER

slowly, silently, now the moon
walks the night
       in her silver shoon;
this way, and that,
      she peers, and sees
silver fruit upon silver trees;
one by one the casements catch
her beams beneath
      the silvery thatch;
couched in his kennel, like a log,
with paws of silver sleeps the dog;
from their shadowy cote
      the white breasts peep
of doves in a silver feathered sleep;
a harvest mouse goes
      scampering by,
with silver claws, and silver eye;
and moveless fish
      in the water gleam,
by the silver reeds in a silver stream.

a poem by Walter de la Mare

photography by tauhhid
painting (in photo) by Albert John Pucci

Copyright:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
from Collected Poems, 1901 - 1918, by Walter de la Mare
Copyright 1920 by Henry Holt and Company
Copyright 1948 by Walter de la Mare

taken from Sound Of A Distant Drum by Bill Martin Jr., California State Series
Copyright © 1967 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

SEPTEMBER

the golden-rod is yellow,

the corn is turning brown;

the trees in apple orchards

with fruits are bending down. 

the gentian's bluest fringes

are curling in the sun;

in dusty pods the milkweed

its hidden silk has spun.

the sedges flaunt their harvest,

in every meadow-nook;

and asters by the brookside

make asters in the brook.

by all these lovely tokens

September days are here, 

with summer's best of wealth

and autumn's best of cheer. 

a poem by Helen Hunt Jackson

photography by tauhhid

painting (in photo) by Stanley Maltzman

Copyright: 

Golden Press, Inc.

'September' by Helen Hunt Jackson from The Golden Treasury of Poetry, 

Copyright © 1959 by the Golden Press, Inc.

taken from Sound Of A Distant Drum by  Bill Martin Jr., California State Series, 

Copyright © 1967 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. 

All Rights Reserved. 

my personal pick - crosstown traffic

i still love this band. here's a live version of this song, originally by Jimi Hendrix.

colourful!

Visitors walk through artificial trees illuminated

Visitors walk through artificial trees illuminated by LED lights at I-City in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010.

 (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin)

First Person: A Proud Muslim and American

here's an article that i scooped, copied and pasted into my blog. my intention of copying this article from is to share with everyone on how a Muslim deals with the issues of 9/11. This article was by M.Mahmoud, and it was all in English. to make this easy, i translated the article into Bahasa Malaysia, for the ease of my fellow Malaysian readers. I have no ill-intention for copying the article, i just want to share. thanks.

In English

M. Mahmoud

It has been nine years since the Sept. 11 attacks on America, yet I remember them as if it were yesterday. I was a senior in high school. I remember my teacher immediately turned on the television. The first thing I saw was the media showing a group of Muslims celebrating the attacks. I got a sick feeling in my stomach and I began to cry.

I am an American Muslim. That day, I was praying that the terrorists did not invoke Islam in the attacks, but I was wrong. The terrorists who called themselves "Muslims" took responsibility for the attacks and because of that, my life has changed ever since.

Now, nine years after 9/11, I have learned to stay true to my religion while showing my patriotism. I have gone to rallies for peace, walking side-by-side with people from all races and religions. I hold the American flag in one hand while wearing my head scarf proudly. I only wish to be accepted as an American Muslim and live free in this country, as it is my right. I am proud to stand up and say I am a Muslim American.

I was born and raised in the small town of Kingston, Pa. There, little or nothing was known about Islam. My high-school principal did not know much about Islam -- only that he had three Muslim senior girls in the school who wore head scarves. Before 9/11, we were accepted by all in our school, even though we stood out because of our dress. Students were interested in learning about Islam and accepted our traditions and religion. However, with 9/11, I saw an extreme change.

It started with the day of the attacks. My principal gathered me and the other two Muslim girls and told us to go into the library for our own safety. I was very scared. I didn't do anything wrong and did not understand why I would be targeted. I am American, I thought, and I am affected by the attacks as well.

During my senior year, I was looked at much differently than I was in my junior year. Students whom I called my friends one year looked at me as a different person after 9/11. I remember one day in particular when a neighbor I went to kindergarten with yelled at me down the school's stairway. All I heard from him was "******* towel head." I was shocked. I never had a problem with him in the past. He laughed and walked away.

The verbal abuse continued after high school and in my career. During a phone interview for job, the person doing the hiring seemed interested. But when I went into the office for the actual interview, I was looked at like an alien. An example question during the interview: "If we ordered pizza and it had pork on it, would you be able to pick it up?" I nearly started laughing out loud, as I did not understand how picking up a pizza would qualify me for an office management job. It is amazing how over the years I still get treated differently because of my faith.

My mother is an American Christian, and she had every right to fear what people would do to her children. I used to have a bumper sticker on the back of my little white Honda Civic with the sign of Islam (a crescent and star) stating that "I Love Islam." When I got home from school on Sept. 11, my mom was waiting outside and told me to get rid of the sticker.

Since the attacks, I have experienced much harassment. While I walk down the street, I've heard people scream out their windows for me to go back to where I came from. On Memorial Day this year, I was walking my son when a man screamed those exact words from his car. I was extremely hurt and continued walking with tears in my eyes. I fear that my child will have to grow up with this prejudice simply because of one tragic day in America.

I am an American, a Muslim, a daughter, a mother and a sister. Islam teaches peace and respect for all religions. I am sick of apologizing for the people who took Islam and turned it into a hated religion. These people are not Muslim, in my eyes. They go against everything that Islam teaches. I hope that one day we are accepted once again and I no longer have to live in fear just because of the faith I practice. 

Translated into Bahasa Malaysia

Mahmoud M. 
Sudah sembilan tahun semenjak serangan 11 September di Amerika, namun saya masih mengingatinya. Pada masa itu saya merupakan seorang pelajar senior di sebuah sekolah. Saya ingat guru saya menghidupkan televisyen. Perkara pertama yang saya lihat adalah media memaparkan sekumpulan Muslim meraikan serangan tersebut. Saya merasa loya dan sebak, dan saya mula menangis.

Saya seorang Muslim yang menetap di Amerika. Pada hari itu, aku berdoa pengganas tidak menggunakan Islam sebagai alasan serangan, tapi aku salah. Para pengganas yang menyebut diri mereka itu sebagai  "Muslim" telah bertanggungjawab di atas serangan itu, dan, hidup saya sudah berubah sejak itu.

Sekarang, sembilan tahun setelah 9 / 11, saya telah belajar untuk tetap setia dengan agama saya sambil menunjukkan patriotisme saya. Saya telah pergi ke demonstrasi untuk keamanan, berjalan bersama orang-orang dari semua bangsa dan agama. Saya memegang bendera Amerika di satu tangan sambil memakai tudung dengan rasa bangga. Aku hanya ingin diterima sebagai seorang Muslim Amerika dan hidup bebas di negara ini, seperti yang lain. Saya bangga berdiri dan berkata “Saya seorang Muslim Amerika”.

Saya dilahir dan dibesarkan di bandar kecil Kingston, sebuah kawasan yang hanya sedikit atau tidak diketahui tentang Islam. Pengetua sekolah tinggi saya tidak tahu banyak tentang Islam – beliau hanya tahu bahawa terdapat tiga pelajar perempuan muslim bertudung di sekolah. Sebelum 9 / 11, kami diterima baik oleh semua di sekolah kami. Pelajar-pelajar lain tertarik untuk belajar tentang Islam dan menerima tradisi dan agama. Namun, selepas 9 / 11, saya melihat sebuah perubahan yang ekstrim.

Pada hari serangan tersebut, Pengetua sekolah telah menyuruh kami pelajar-pelajar Muslim untuk pergi ke perpustakaan untuk keselamatan. Saya menjadi sangat takut. Saya tidak melakukan sebarang kesalahan, dan tidak mengerti mengapa saya akan menjadi sasaran. Saya seorang warga Amerika, jadi saya fikir, saya juga telah ditindas oleh serangan pengganas-pengganas tersebut.

Sepanjang tahun senior, saya dapat melihat perbezaan yang ketara. Rakan-rakan lain mempunyai tanggapan yang lain terhadap diri saya. Saya dapat ingat, pada suatu ketika, jiran saya semenjak kecil, menengking saya semasa saya menuruni tangga sekolah. Saya terkejut kerana saya tidak pernah mempunyai sebarang masalah dengan dia di masa lalu. Dia tertawa dan berjalan pergi.

Gangguan secara lisan berlanjutan selepas sekolah tinggi dan dalam kerjaya saya. Dalam temuduga melalui telefon, penemuduga seakan tertarik.Tapi ketika saya pergi ke pejabat untuk temuduga yang sebenarnya, saya dilihat seperti makhluk asing. Contoh soalan penemuduga: "Jika kami menempah pizza daging babi, bolehkah anda mengambilnya?" Saya cuma ketawa, kerana saya tidak mengerti kaitan mengambil pizza daging babi akan memenuhi syarat saya untuk kerja pengurusan pejabat. Sungguh menakjubkan betapa selama bertahun-tahun saya masih diperlakukan secara berbeza hanya kerana agama saya berbeza.

Ibu saya adalah seorang Kristian Amerika, dan dia takut atas apa yang orang akan lakukan ke atas anak-anaknya. Saya pernah mempunyai stiker kereta dengan tanda Islam (bulan sabit dan bintang) "I Love Islam." Ketika saya pulang dari sekolah pada September 11, ibu sudah menunggu di luar dan menyuruh untuk saya menanggalkan stiker itu.

Sejak serangan, saya telah mengalami banyak gangguan. Pernah suatu ketika, Semasa saya berjalan-jalan, saya mendengar orang berteriak dari tetingkap menyuruh saya untuk kembali ke tempat asal saya. Pada Memorial Day tahun ini, semasa saya berjalan dengan anak lelaki saya, seorang lelaki tiba-tiba berteriak dari keretanya. Saya sangat terluka dan terus berjalan sambil menangis. Saya takut anak saya akan membesar dengan prasangka ini, hanya kerana satu hari yang tragis di Amerika.

Saya seorang Amerika, seorang Muslim, seorang anak perempuan, seorang ibu dan saudara perempuan. Islam mengajarkan perdamaian dan menghormati semua agama. Saya sudah bosan meminta maaf untuk orang-orang yang menyalahgunakan Islam dan menjadikan Islam sebuah agama yang dibenci. Pengganas-pengganas ini bukanlah Muslim sejati, di mata saya. Mereka menentang semua ajaran-ajaran murni dalam Islam. Saya berharap bahawa suatu hari kami (Muslim) akan diterima sekali lagi dan saya tidak lagi harus hidup dalam ketakutan hanya kerana agama Islam yang saya anuti. 

peace, unity.

in memory of the victims of 9/11.

jala or karas

i found my fav kuih in carrefour, bkt. Rimau..
in swak, it's called kuih jala n here, it's called kuih karas!
caption courtesy of B Harjit Kaur Khaira

salah satu kuih tradisional kegemaran, my personal favourite. 


i remember i used to eat this kuih (cake?biscuit?snack?) when i was still a kid which was wayyyyyy back 78 years ago. 


my late grandma would prepare this two months ahead before eid, and she would prepare 3 large tins of this kuih for her grandchildren. a total of almost twenty(or maybe more) would come to her house and every single one of her grandchildren (including moi) would certainly be snacking on this kuih. the best part was, before everyone left, she would pack some of this kuih for us.

so sad, eid just wasn't the same without her. 
i miss her so much. 

thanks to the photographer : 
B Harjit Kaur Khaira (via facebook)

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI

untuk semua pembaca yang berada di Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapura, Brunei Darusalam;
and readers around the world, have a blessed Eid el Fitr, selamat menyambut Aidilfitri buat semua.
GLOBAL PEACE AND UNITY, AMEN.

Ramadhan photos

here's something to feast your eyes upon. i scooped some of these pictures from various sources just to share  with you how Muslims from different parts of the world celebrate Ramadhan. but then, you might wonder, why would i want to share this now? ramadhan is ending soon, and Eid el Fitr' is just around the corner, so why now? well, my dear readers, i just want to share with you how others celebrate Ramadhan. of course, in a few days time, i'll share with you how Muslims around the world celebrate Eid. nothing wrong with that i suppose....hehehe.

A boy tries a new scullcap in Ulu Langat, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 21 September 2007. Islam's holy month of Ramadan, which is calculated on the sighting of the new moon, began 13 September in Malaysia. Muslims are observing the fasting month of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, during which observant believers fast from dawn to dusk.

Photography by : Shamshahrin Shamsudin

Source : flickr

Copyright: Shamshahrin Shamsudin

A Palestinian Muslim girl prays in the men’s mosque before the evening prayer called “tarawih”, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

In a pre-Ramadan tradition, Bosnian Muslim girls wash their face with water from cave as local tradition claims that the water and prayers inside the cave will bring personal beauty and success for the year, near the Bosnian town of Kladanj, 50 kms north of Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008. More than 30.000 people gathered to pray inside and outside the cave this year. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

Workers sew prayer caps in a factory in old Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 18, 2008. Prayer caps have huge demand during the holy month of Ramadan. (REUTERS/Andrew Biraj)

A child prepares food for Iftar (evening meal) before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan at Memon Mosque in Karachi, Pakistan on September 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Athar Hussain)

Muslim women attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia on August 31, 2008. (REUTERS/Sigit Pamungkas)

Thai Muslim children pray at a mosque during Ramadan in Narathiwat province in Thailand on September 9, 2008. 

(MADAREE TOHLALA/AFP/Getty Images)

Muslims walk out of the Id Kah Mosque after afternoon prayers during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kashgar, Xinjiang. (Hu Yinan)