Madras:The missing entry

Dr Amani and I went to Madras/Chennai in Feb 2019 (she said frm Feb 15-19). I'm surprised that the writeups and photos I thought I did were never published here.

We had a great time inspiring young South Indian Muslim girls as we made our rounds as keynote speakers. I was the Humanities lady. Amani the NASA scientist. Luckily Amani still keeps the photos. 

Indeed 2019 was my busy year. I was travelling overseas non stop. Then I got sick. Then covid. Wow. 

My fb entry 30/8/24

The year was 2019. The month was Feb. I had more photos but they were not documented in my blogspot entries as always. I hv to thank Dr Amani for these photos. We were invited as keynote speakers in a place not far from Madras. We met young Muslims at uni and school level.Amani took care of those in Stem, me in Humanities. Mcm celebrities bersalam dgn begitu ramai young fans. Haha. The men treated us with much respect.. Took us to their leather stores.. Pilih apa kita nak, kata owner tu. Kasut? Handbag? How many can we wear.. Amani and I bkn suka melaram mcm tu but we took wht we liked. Rezeki jgn ditolak, babe.

But what I enjoyed most was the trip to the orphanage. Prince Charles and Prime Minister Najib had visited this plc too. So kemas so clean so organised. We spoke thr too. Storage brg2 bdk2 dia mcm IKEA. Tht is how organised they are.

Our Indian friends dropped us at this sari shop. Punya byk we bought for friends and families that the owner kasi Amani and I bags free. . Sari murah banget tapi cantik ok?

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June Place girls' reunion

 We were neighbours at June Place in Hamilton, New Zealand - Anidah, Zurina, Kamsuri and me. Saniah was at another apartment not too far from us.

They had planned to visit me because I had been so unwell the last 7 months but could only make it after my surgery in June so August 25 it was. Anidah said we (she and Tall) would cook Maqlubah and a mutton dish. I prepared the dessert the night before. Had to do 2 takes. Custardnya berketul-ketul. Trifle akhirnya success, alhamdulillah.

Only Yon could not make it. Yogi is in town but in Penang. We gave gifts to each other, Anne gave us handmade purse (tempah from her other friend's daughter), I gave them batik coaster, Suri bawak sebakul durian from her orchard, Saniah bawak rempah O from Kedah. Ziad's samosas arrived late cos' he informed the sisters lewat. Tak sesedap biasa and masin but Zu loved them.

We celebrated an early merdeka day. It was fun, fun, fun. Saniah was the last to leave so was watching Netflix with her. The ending The Gentlemen is so, so disappointing

My return to creative writing

 It has been a while since Wanita Rawa Terakhir. Or writing short stories in Malay.

This is my latest https://www.utusan.com.my/gaya/sastera/2024/04/ria-raya/

It is about our lack of preparation in addressing an aged population. Old people live alone, die alone. Don't leave it to NGOs to clean up the dirt. The government should be championing the cause, have clear policies, great infrastructure, go high tech in old age security - both financially, physically, medically.

I wrote another one here on maids and maid agents

https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/sastera/2024/06/1254691/cerpen-bh-ahad-ejen-dagang

On my road to recovery

 It has been over 4 months saya diuji dgn masalah kesihatan. Berkat doa everyone, the progress is good. I started going out again whn Z and R came to visit last Dec and left soon after my birthday. From thereon, I would make it a point to keluar at least once a week.

Yesterday it was with my NZ alums. Only 9 turned up becos the rest were either overseas, gone on umrah or too far to come. Zac said dia jaga mak dia. 

Met Salome in years. She pun struggling to get a good maid. Haha. All the best. Menteri Wanita sepatutnya proaktif dalam menangani keperluaan homecare ni. Not only for working women but also for an aging population. We do not want a tired, stressed out, angry nation because thr isnt enough support for work-life balance.