Teochew Opera

Let the show begin!

The hungry ghost festival in is full swing and every night, there is a Chinese opera performance somewhere in the streets of George Town, Penang. The photographs in this post were taken at the Phor Tor (Hungry Ghost Festival) held in Jalan Gurdwara (formerly Brick Kiln Road).

During the festival, these Chinese street opera are performed as an entertainment offering to Phor Tor Kong or the King of Hades, and the wandering ghosts who are allowed to roam the human realm for a whole month. Indeed, during our photoshoot that night, there were only two of us and two other photographers there. Perhaps there are other invisible 'souls' around us at that time?

These festivals are set up by the business communities in their respective areas and features giant paper effigies of Phor Tor Kong with various offerings placed on extended altars in front. The highlight of each festival is on the last night when the giant effigy of Phor Tor Kong is lit up in a bonfire of paper offerings, sending the King off in a grand way.

Sadly, the popularity of these street performances amongst the people is dwindling fast in the past years. This is probably due to the lack of artistic appreciation amongst the younger generation.

Dusky Leaf Monkey

Dusky Leaf Monkeys

Last Sunday was a day of discovery for me. Behind my apartment, there is a unique tree which bears clusters of fruits from its branches and trunks occasionally. For the past few days, I have noticed that  there were more fruits than usual this time around, and they were all in various stages of ripening, from light green, to yellow, orange and red. Not knowing what tree it was, I planned to take a photograph of the tree and its fruits and ask my friend, who is a botany enthusiast, to identify the plant.

As I was walking towards the tree, with my camera in hand, I was greatly surprised to see our local gang of Dusky Leaf Monkeys perching and swinging on the tree, foraging through the fruits. It was a wonderful sight to behold - bespectacled langurs, as cute as can be, eating the ripe fruits, balancing on the branches with their overly long tails.

Trachypithecus obscurus halonifer

These monkeys are also known as Spectacled Langurs and the scientific name for it is Trachypithecus obscurus. This particular subspecies in the photograph is only found in Penang Island and is called Trachypithecus obscurus halonifer. It's features are described below:

"The subspecies of the dusky leaf monkey has a brownish body color with distinct formation of stripes on its dorsal side. The tail and limbs have a coloration that is similar to the body and the crown has a creamy white color. These subspecies are only found in Penang Island in Malaysia."

More information about the dusky leaf monkey at https://www.aboutanimals.com/mammal/dusky-leaf-monkey/

As it turns out, the fruiting tree is a cluster fig tree - also known as Indian fig tree or goolar (gular) fig. The scientific name for it is Ficus racemosa. More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_racemosa .

It was an auspicious day for me indeed as three different elements met together at that moment - the dusky leaf monkeys, the cluster fig tree and my beloved camera. 

Merdeka Morning

Merdeka Morning

The early morning thunderstorm brought heavy rain to the island, threatening to disrupt the Merdeka celebration parade at the Esplanade. But just like our country's current run of good fortune, the rain stopped suddenly, and glorious sunshine beamed down from the misty heavens.

This scene, captured at the Botanic Gardens after the rain, seems to emanate an atmosphere of rebirth, peace, tolerance and harmony - four words which are currently set in the hearts of all Malaysians. Let us all look forward towards a new beginning as we strive forward together as one.

Selangkah Maju

On the occasion of Malaysia's 61st National Day (31 August 2018), I would like to dedicate this poem entitled Selangkah Maju to all Malaysians, of all creed and colour. No matter which side of the fence we are on, let us give ourselves a pat on the back and celebrate the very essence of what being Malaysian is all about. The events of 9th May 2018 has shown us, and the world, that CHANGE does not have to be followed by CHAOS. Let's celebrate UNITY IN DIVERSITY just as we have done so throughout the ages.

Happy Merdeka Day Malaysia! And many, many more happy and prosperous years to come.

Selangkah Maju

Oleh See Teik Guan

Lahirnya negara di kala subuh
Berkobar semangat jiwa tubuh
Malangnya hasrat tidak dipatuh
Paginya maju, petangnya runtuh

Kain usang selendang mata
Kuburkan wawasan anak bangsa
Jejak mara dibendung gelora
Suara tentangan dipadam nyala

“Merdeka apa yang dilaung-laungkan?
Terlepas gengaman, masuk cengkaman”

Bahtera terpesong kian tersesat
Arah tujuan tiada bertambat
Angin tamak meniup kesat
Arus hina terus menyumbat

Sungai dibendung, tanah digersang
Ranting rintangan rimbun membengkang
Tahun melangkah bulan berkembang
Usaha keringat rakyat terjengkang

Tetapi;

Di bawah awan gelap kemundang
Semangat warga menyala kencang
Di saat tanahairku genting terpincang
Rakyat bersatu berikhtiar menentang

Gelombang kuning mencecah pinggiran
Batasan kota retak tepian
Riak gembira merata semboyan
Selangkah maju negara sayangan

Ufuk gemilang terbit kembali
Bahtera negara ditemukan kemudi
Merdeka disambut kalian ini
Merdeka di mata, merdeka di hati

SELAMAT SEJAHTERA MALAYSIA BARU

English Translation

A Step Forward
By See Teik Guan

At dawn, our nation was born

With great enthusiasm in both body and soul

But the will of the people was soon forgotten

And progress achieved in the morning, was ruined by evening

An old cloth veiled and blinded our sight

Burying the vision of the people

Each step forward, halted by crashing waves

Each voice of dissent, extinguished like a dying flame

“What is the meaning of Freedom (Merdeka) that (past) leaders are shouting about?

When in truth, it is akin to being released from a cage straight into a tiger’s mouth”

Our nation’s vessel has lost it’s direction

There is no set destination

The wind of greed blows coarsely through the land

The current of despise fills the void

River flows are blocked and our land is drained, arid

The branches of resistance are binding

Months and years pass by

The people’s hard efforts are stuck

But;

Underneath the lost and wandering dark clouds

The spirit of the nation is flamed once again

At the moment when our country perches precariously at the brim

The people unite and vow to march on

The yellow wave reaches the outskirts

The stronghold of the fort begins to crack

Ripples of joy spread throughout the nation

Our beloved country takes another step towards progress

The horizon of success rises again

The nation’s vessel has found its rudder again

This year’s Merdeka Day, celebrated by all

Is a Merdeka near in sight, and a Merdeka deep in our hearts