Friday, August 20, 2010

Tgk kuih pun buleh nostalgic~

Yesterday me and Arep did our usual 'penjelajahan bazaar Ramadhan'. This time we went to the one in Nibong Tebal. Truthfully, I never knew there was one in Nibong Tebal. It was in front of Yawata and was really small, about 20 stalls only.. no, scratch that, tak sampai 20 pun rasenye..

..and they have this really nice roti kirai with yummy curry. Definitely nak pegi lagi ☺

Anyway, at one of the stalls, I saw this..

Kuih sagu. Yeah, I know, ape la yg unique sgt ngan kuih sagu tu kan.. but it kinda reminded me of someone we lost 7 Syawals ago.

When I was doing my industrial training (LI), I stayed with my late grandfather since the company I was attached to was doing a bridge across the Sg Perak and right in Kuala Kangsar. He was already quite elderly then, around 80 I think.. ke lebih lagi ye?

My daily routine was to wake up for Subuh and get ready. Then I'd go to the kitchen to make Tok's kopi kampung (what us kids called the strong coffee that is NOT instant like Nescafe), a whole flask of it. I'd take it with a fresh cup and some breakfast to his room before going for my LI. Then wehn I came back in the afternnon, I'd usually buy some kuih or banana fritters for our tea I'll then rest before getting ready for Maghrib and dinner. Sometimes Tok would come down but most of the time he'd stay in his room since he wasn't really that strong anymore. After dinner I'd talk with him a bit before he reitred and I'd watch tv till I was sleepy.

On weekends was a different matter. I'd have some time on my hands and would do most of the cooking (mcm la terre kan, bodo² je buleh la..)

One day, I came with this idea to make some kuih sagu. I liked that kuih when I was smaller and since the theory of making it seemed so simple, I decided to make some. My cousin watched me do it (budak laki kan) and we were excited of the outcome since I never really made any traditional kuih before..

When it was ready, I cut it up and rolled it into some coconut and immediately served it to Tok.. and I didn't even taste it since I was still full from lunch. Tok finished it and asked for more while telling me it was, "Sedap!"

I was really happy and gave him more. It was only late in the afternoon when I finally tasted it and OMG! Was I soooooo embarassed!

You see, my family doesn't really take much sugar even when we were smaller (thus the reason my housemate called me 'kedekut gula') so when making it, I thought I had used A LOT of sugar. I repeat, A LOT! But it turned out, my kuih sagu was tasteless.. didn't have even a hint of sweetness!

Malunye Tuhan je yg tau and when Tok asked for more that night, I cringed when I asked him, "Tawar ek sy buat, Tok?"

He smiled at me and told me he never tasted anything more delicious than mine and proceeded to finish it all up..

Demi cucu dia yg tak pandai masak itu..

Alamak.. tetibe rase nak nangis. I miss him soooo much. When we came back from UK, he used to talk to us in English, maybe he was afraid we'd forgotten how to talk in Malay la kot.. and he still cut my chicken/meat/fish into small pieces and arranged them around my plate when I was already in primary school. He was always interested in what I WANTED to do insteadof asking me to do what he wants me to do and he always asked my opinion on the suppliments he took, even though he knew I was studying engineering NOT medicine.

He was so proud of me when I graduated and when I showed him the pictures of my convo, he asked a lot of questions. When I stayed with him, he used to ask about what I did and never judged me on my answers. When I didn't have any money during my stay there, he gave me some and made sure I had enough everyday, even gave me more for 'just in case'

I remember when me and my cousin, abg Sher were scolded by him haha.. Served us right as we were in our late teens already by then and still dok main tak senonoh. Know what we did? I'd go take my wudhu and my cousin would touch me just to batalkan. Then I'd do it to him too and we'd end up laughing so much until we heard a voice say, "Kome dah beso!" Opsss.. terdiam trus kitorg and tak berani dah main² camtu depan dia.

What I regret the most was the last time I went back before he moved on, I didn't salam him. This was because I had planned to go back to early but since all my aunties were home, I didn't realize we were talking way up to 11pm. Then kelam kabut la I wanted to go home and I didn't salam him since I thought he was already asleep and also because I know he would be worried about me if he knew I was doing an hour-and-half trip alone at night. The next news I got was from Mama who told me Tok was being strange a few day later. He was asking for Chendol kat Lembah and he finished it and asked for more, when before this, he couldn't even finish a pack.

He left us as I was on the way rushing back to Kuala Kangsar and I didn't get to say goodbye :(

I stayed beside him through the night reciting the Quran and the next day, ALL OF HIS GRANDSONs (except one!) bathed him. It was a beautiful sight and even the men from the masjid wept. They didn't have to do a thing except guide my brothers and male cousins on the proper way to bathea and kafan him. I'm sure Tok was happy too..

I really miss him a lot, especially now in Ramadhan. I hope that he is surrounded by Allah blessing always.. Al Fatihah!

5 comments:

Drama Mama said...

that's such sweet memory with ur tok la ayu!

http://twinkywinkystars.blogspot.com

Lee Zha said...

sedih la kak... :'(

Ayu Ikhwani said...

Bai: Tu la.. tu yg tetibe nak write the entry my eyes bleh blur jap with tears

Za: Sedih jgk sbb akak tak sempat salam dia utk last

Di said...

i wish.. i could be someone like him..

Ayu Ikhwani said...

Thats a compliment for my arwah tok.. thanx Nadia =)