Shopping at The Little Penang Market, in conjunction of Penang UNESCO world Heritage Site.

The Little Penang Market

Planning for a great weekend getaway due to the all rehearsals, and freakin’ tiring reading week, I decided to head off to the last of the three day celebration at Upper Penang road where previously we had the French Music Festival like two years ago. So due to my "independence", I had to drag along some to keep me company since I had never took the bus alone before. Good thing there was Jie Ru to accompany me there.

Yesterday, I heard that she will be coming back to Penang to work so I dragged her down to the concert that night. I’ve told her about the morning celebrations and then she was interested to watch the Hokkien puppet theater somewhere. Half way through the performance she realized that she couldn’t understand much so she ended up at the t-shirt printing site also by the Anak-anak Kota and made herself a t-shirt with a red lantern with Chinese characters that wrote Penang. It was a good thing that she met a church friend Maria (which is currently working with Janet’s project on cultural mapping) and they managed to get to church before the performance that night. Well according to her, that if she didn’t make it on time she couldn’t make it to the market the next day. Thank god for that. I was desperate to go to the events since due to loads of time consumed on practices we couldn’t make even a single event before the show that night.

So about nine plus I crawled out from my tortoise shell and walked down my block to the Sungai Dua USM gate where I met Jie Ru. We asked the bus driver whether the bus would stop at Upper Penang Road but he said that it’s only a short distance walk from KOMTAR so we took the bus to KOMTAR then. There is where I saw the newly made t-shirt that she made yesterday. I wished that I could make the t-shirt too.*sigh*

So, since both our bearings are cannot be trusted so we kinda made a decision to go green and take a trishaw to Upper Penang Road. Bus fare from Sungai Dua RM1 per head. Trishaw fare: KOMTAR to Upper Penang Road RM10. So RM 5 each. Soooooo expensive!!! But we know that it was meant for tourist but we decided to give it a go anyway because it was Jie Ru’s first encounter on a trishaw. So off we went to the so what Nadia called “Pasar Kutu” or flea market there.

Trishaw experience... quite airy

The view from the trishaw

Upon arriving at The Little Penang Street market we heard music coming from the side of the road, the stalls were all put up and that few of the stalls were selling antiques. In the middle were foods. All the ang moh people bought ketupats which I do not wish to try now since it will be Ramadhan soon and there will be tons of ketupat being fed to me on eid day. So there were interestingly a lot of the Anak-anak Kota people, the dancers, Yoke Pin, I even saw Marie Helen our French teacher at the Alliance Française. Not so long there was Janet and Prof. Tan. We were talking about my project which was music and trance healing because there was a Kuda Kepang performance and they were in trance and the bomoh or shaman was trying to bring them out of the trances. It was interesting though, well, as Main Puteri also could be acted out, as so for this performance. It’s a matter of what you think, as I was telling Prof Tan.

Kuda Kepang Performance from Johor

Strolling along the stalls we manage to look at a lot of Nyonya crafts like bead work(Some could reach RM 400), kebayas, (RM600 per piece, I cannot afford to buy… huhu), preserved fruits or Nyonya acar limau and lots more. There was also a Nyonya heritage exhibition going on in one of the shops showing what its like to be a nyonya in Penang. (Actually, honestly, I thougt there were only Nyonya’s in Melacca. I didn’t know there’s a number of population in Penang as well) since I didn’t have the money, those gorgeous art work needed to take a rain check. I’ll surely come back once I’m rich.

Nyonya doing inventory of items....Making sure that there aren't been mysteriously disappearing

The acar limau or preserved lime fruits. It yellow, Ialways taste the red ones. Wonder what does it taste like

The beads for your shoes, you buy them, then you get your cobblar to fix it on for you. They are so lovely.

Nyonya beading at work, even the Nyonya themselves are very lovely.

The already fixed bead work

Nyonya greeting with a basket.

The sia, where you place your food

This is an Ang Ku mould. Looks like a tortoise shell

The lovely Nyonya's dancing

So besides antiques, Nyonya items, there were also charity items for sale like some weaving products by mentally challenged people, some quilt also for charity and many more. Both of us even got a chance to weave. That was fun. I almost had right and left wrong coordination, but good for a first timer though.

The teacher

Pupil one, did very well. Didn't have too much coordination problem.

Pupil two, can't remember which one's the right or left leg. Did pass though once you get the hang of it.

Ladies who did a good job making the quilt. So please, If you could donate ,help these people help others make a difference.

The others that were interesting were a retired teacher selling his wood work. Among what I admire is the durian opener. It’s made of good quality if not mistaken local Meranti wood. According to him, it’s the best selling item. I wanted to buy one but my parents rarely buy durian (actually they don’t. I will go buy eat alone and go back). So I said whenever I need one I know where to find one.

Others are books, paintings; there was a charity selling soap for women who are challenged and t-shirs which are one of a kind. That company was selling the UNESCO t-shirts for RM15 so I bought for me and my dad. It was like sketches of old Penang, and so after a tired long day, we went outside of the happening area and went to get cheaper near the mamak stall nearby. This is to prevent from over spending, which we didn’t do actually.

Clay or dough art

These are really cute

And these too. Mini wooden clogs

This is a form of printing though I do not know much about it.

Grasshoppers, which don't hop, they are moved by a stick

Around 2.50, we went to the Chong Fatt-Tze Mansion, it was a long but not so interesting tour. We didn’t get to see most of the house but according to my dearie roommate that there is a film by a Singaporean production called the Funeral Party and my roommate knows the people in the production. So I intend to explore more of the house soon. I hope, and meet the cast of course!!

We went for a final round at the market and decided to head home. By the way, at the middle of the market was an open air space where there are dances like the last night Dondang Sayang ladies, Kuda Kepang, Nyonya fan and handkerchief dance and also Indian Karnatak dances were performed during the whole thingy. We asked Maria who was “working” there on how to get back to USM.

The Fan Dance

The Karnatik Dancers. I admire their precise rhythm that they have because, if they make a mistake, their anklet bells would sound awful. They did a very good job.

We wanted to head back to KOMTAR so I could take the bus straight to my residential complex so we waited for the bus along the road. After few attempts, we decided to walk to and see whether we could take the bus some where else. In the mean time, its the time so see the old penang sites.

So we walked, and walked, and walked, enjoying the nice beautiful Penang city and before we knew it we reached KOMTAR. It was like a 20 minute walk and the whether was not so bad so you couldn’t feel the heat. When we reached the bus station we realized that we should have walked to upper Penang Road instead of taking the trishaw. Felt like we got cheated but it was the first time so no biggie. We then took separate busses back and headed home. It was a nice time to just enjoy the show for once the occasion was going on we couldn’t make to any of it but I hope occasions like this come around in the future so more and more of us will understand the importance of our heritage and take a step forward in preserving them for our future generation.

Goodbye Susy

T’was the first time we met,
we had been great friends,
shared a lot of laughter,
exchange experiences,
as well as culture change.

We share certain similarities,
the passion for great music so it could be shared with others,
trying very hard to become more independent,
absorb as much as possible on what a country could offer us
and asked nothing in return.

So to my dear friend,
I wish you all the best in what you do
When times get rough and hard for you
There are always friends that you can turn to
Hope to see and hear from you soon!!

p/s: The Gamelan CD I gave to you is a court music which was used for palace functions as entertainment in the old days. It was brought from Java through royal marriage and cannot be used by the public in those days. The music has evolved after the Japanese occupation though most of the repertoire was lost but it has been revived and used for public functions such as graduations, wedding ceremony, and many more. Hope you could appreciate the music. Yi lu ping an!!

Our LCP is very rajin doing chores at McD.....hehe

The official launching of Georgetown UNESCO world heritage site……..in two weeks!!!

Well this epic of extreme work and rehearsals came about mid July where we were recruited to be apart of the performance. This group from USM consists of 2nd, 3rd, me and masters students to be apart of the performance of “Kisah Pulau Pinang”. The performance consists of USM students, children from Arts-Ed team called “Anak-anak Kota” and the Ombak-ombak productions dancers. Some children were not young children anymore though. So in general the group was big with high-school students, USM students, and Adult dancers. It was a bunch of hard work, rehearsing but lots of fun. So, this is the whole process before the show.

We got the notice about a week before the actual rehearsal. As Prof Tan being the music director and Janet taking care of the Drama part, we were in doubly good hands…..If you know what I mean. So the plan was to ensure the music coming out perfectly and at the same time, ensuring that the audience could see the characters coming out of the performers so we were taught to act with exaggerated gestures so that it would come more convincing.

The first meet was with our students where we got most of the briefing and practice times are been told at that point. We were taught to sing the chorus parts and the rest are responses to the narrators. Prof Tan wanted the music students to make sure they are in pitch so that the other chorus singers have like a reference to sing to. This time I played the gamelan, the Pekin to be exact. The rest of the chorus was taught to sing the second voice so that there is harmony in the chorus. Due to the lack of coordination, we couldn’t sing and play at the same time so we just mostly played the instrument and pretend to smile and sing so we won’t hit the wrong plate. Hehe.

Me on pekin, Annie and Huey Lin on saron, Yuen Mun on bonang. Amira is missing today.

Ee Kim finds her comfort in her kempul and agong corner

Second practice day. Yay!! It’s a chance to meet Natasha and Yu Jean again Selven and Teng Shin. I haven’t seen them since the Storm in a Box performance. Natasha is currently studying in KDU Penang and Yu Jean is in UKM. The two boys are still in school. I thought they were all still in high-school….ahh, they grow up so fast. Anyway, the rest of the cast were there as well. I really enjoyed working with them because of the high energy that they have which I don’t. They are a bunch of fun and can work with at the same time.

I wonder what is Lyana gosipping with Teng Shin

The purple Natasya and Yu Jean

The next practice the adult dancers are with us. This is where the action scenes come in to place. Yeah, they can jump, flip here and, there row boats and fight. Sounds like a Jet Li movie, hehe, and they can do it on stage. Their role is during the ship scene and the riot scene. Not much but it does make a difference to jazz up the performance. They are also fun to play around with.

You wanna fight?!!!.....Come and get me!!

So, much of the earlier part was done in the gamelan room, sitting down and lil bit of action. When the dancers come in, we all move to the open aired stage which is the “Kata Sila” in our new complex. The stage crew was around by this time measuring and making sure we were using the exact space and trying around the sitting positions. Queen to, our caretaker in Storm in a Box was also in charge of us making sure all the musicians are not missing in action and basically making sure the smoothness of the rehearsals. Yoke Pin was in charge of our attire and thus we were most of the time been monitored during the rehearsals and everything. It’s very interesting to see the organization work this way. It’s not easy but they enjoy being apart of the production which got me thinking that they are people who put their heart and soul their work and I respect them for that.

Sessions by Natasya:.....breathe in.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Aiks?!! No sound ah?........

I made a hole in the ground....we all did ruin the Kata sila. It's now with holes everywhere. Oops!

So the next day we had sessions with Janet. The soloist had sessions previously but as a whole, this was our first encounter. It was crucial for us to keep our back bones straight and do not slouch during the performance. It was hard to keep focused on that because it was natural to keep the body relaxed but as a performer you always need to keep in character and show the audience that you are really doing a good performance. Who says performing and acting is easy is going to get a huge lecture from me always. It was a very, very long day but it had to be done since the time to rehearse was limited and the next practices will be on the full rehearsal day itself.

Oiii! Pitching......Don't simply sing....you must listen to the bonang
This girl can even dose off during practices....hehe, gotcha!

Say hi to the camera, smile, and kill Yuen Mun.

Something is very wrong with this picture.....very unconvincing.

The next practice I forgot the time for rehearsal and by the time I reached there it was done, but they said that they didn’t do much and they arranged transport to go to Padang Kota to the site on Friday. I was to follow Thing Thing’s car other of the 2nd year students.

So on Friday, we gathered at the Eureka building and went to the site. That same night AIESEC was having the 2nd meet with the potential members. Sorry guys that I have to miss that. Anyway, we got a space at the town hall there and started rehearsing. It was windy and all. The back drop almost fell. So went back to town and waited till the cue to go out again. The stage setup was a bit un-audience friendly. The VIP stays in the tent in front of the stage and the audience staying the left and right of the stage. So, the audience are actually are standing very far from the stage. It feels very unfair to the audience because the performance is for the people and not many people are able to get to see the performance and that my dad too had to watch from an agonizing angle. I hope the next time there will be more improvement in the management and be considerate towards the majority of the people to watch the performance.

The stage at Padang Kota

The Kandang Kambing.........I mean VIP

The View of the rest of the padang.....It was windy and towards 7pm there was a slight drizzle

So on the day of the performance we were asked to be there by 3pm so we were there early to get ready and rehearse to touch up last minute stuff. The rappers and the adult dancers were there since 1pm and I bet they had used all their energy till night performance. Well, after Queen had snatched all our important stuff, we got lost track of time because can’t have watches and had no money to buy like drinks and so. It was bout six that they let us go to have dinner and a quick note from Michelle not over eat so that we won’t collapse on stage. We went for prayer before dinner and then it was almost time to get dressed

After we got dressed and stuff, we had last minute rehearsal with Janet on the boat scene and the riot scene. Then it was almost call time to show time. I think Queen said we were lining up at 8.45pm. We were in time to watch the fireworks. For the first time I was afraid of the fireworks. I felt like it was so near. Well, about 9.20 so we were started to go on stage.

The crowed was huge and we were the first to perform that night. Thanks to Janet’s rain spell, there was no rain that evening so we performed with all our heart and soul. It was very interesting till I didn’t realize that there was a slide show playing during the performance.

After the performance we headed back to town hall. So then I went for prayer and then most of us got hungry and ate some light refreshments that they had with them. So after that, some studied, play games and talked till the curtain call. Next door The Penang State Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (PESSOC) and Penang Chinese Girls School was rehearsing so we got to speak with the soloist, Shafinaz. She is a well known singer and music lecturer at UiTM. So after taking shots we talked about our studies in USM. We found out that our Dr. Razak was her lecturer when she was studying…wow, Dr. Razak taught Shafinaz and teaching us Choir, esthetics, and theory. So our lecturers are actually not bad huh??

The ladies of Dondang Sayang

At the time of our curtain call we went so sing “Tanah Pusaka” and waved good bye to the TYT of Penang. We went back to change and said our good byes to all the Anak-anak Kota and the Ombak-ombak dancers. We shall meet again soon. I’m going to miss them dearly. So, we got a chance to take a picture with the peranakan dondang sayang singers which according to Prof. Tan are the last of the dondang sayang singers. Then we did manage to take with the MC and Vanida Imran. We then got back in the car and drove back to my humble room up in Saujana. All of us were tired and so the issue of getting supper was out of the question. To all Anak-anak kota, Ombak-Ombak arts studio the whole crew and those I missed out thanks for being a great sport and hope to see you soon.