KUALA LIPIS - HARI PONGAL

Having photography as my favourite pass time, I am always gamed for something exciting, new and interesting to shoot. And this includes capturing the beautiful essence [if I may be so bold to state that :) ] of Malaysia's multi racial communities.

And recently I unexpectedly got the opportunity. Recently as in last Sunday during Pongal day. As I stepped out of the hotel I was staying in at Kuala Lipis Pahang, I heard sounds of prayers and music from a nearby Hindu temple. I immediately got excited as I remembered that it was Pongal day. So I made my way there and terfikir masa tu kalau dpt shoot dari luar pun jadi le.

Tgh sibuk2 jengok dan ambik a couple of shots at the entrance, the temple keeper said, 'Abg, boleh masuk bang' while his hand beckoning to me inviting me to enter the temple premise.

I asked, 'Eh... betul ker? Saya tak nak la ganggu ceremony hari ni'.

'Tak pe bang, boleh masuk' sambil tersenyum.

'Boleh ke saya ambik gambar?'.

'Boleh, boleh'.

Wahh.... he didn't need to ask me twice :). But still in that state of excitedness, I knew I must be respectful and not be in any way distracting the devotees or disrupting the ceremony.

So I took off my sandals and proceeded to enter, all the while greeting the nearby devotees with smiles and 'Happy Pongal' wishes. This instantly put them at ease. I believe any one would feel a bit uncomfortable or curious seeing someone of different race and religion and especially with a camera enters one's religious sanctuary. I even waived at a few of them who were looking from afar. When I was greeted back with friendly smiles and waves, I immediately knew I am now ready to take some shots. I always think that in this situation, I must not just simply enter and start shooting without making some sort of connection with the people there.

Such beautiful people, such beautiful ceremony.

Berikut adalah senarai links untuk entries Kuala Lipis saya:
1) KUALA LIPIS - HARI PONGAL
2) MORNING WALK AT KUALA LIPIS - HISTORICAL BUILDINGS
3) MORNING WALK AT KUALA LIPIS

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KENDURI KAWIN DI KAMPUNG

It was a rare opportunity, at least for me, to have gotten the chance to take photos of a kampung style kenduri kahwin. It's such a rarity nowadays, right? I mean, most that I've attended were the so-called 'modern' weddings, like macam yang buat kat hotels and dewan where guests come and go with food served by caterers. Pengantin tiba, bersanding, makan and greet guests. Habis.

These are some of the shots I managed to captured. Needless to say I had the best time ever :)

Ada kumpulan kompang comprised of the old folks and the young ones siap ada disediakan tempat untuk mereka berkompang.

The food was so good. Paling saya tak tahan bila dapat makan gulai nangka dengan ikan masin, siap dengan ulam-ulaman. Wooiisshhh... Lazat.

Di kampung, bila ada kenduri kawin, jiran tetangga and sanak sedara came in droves to help out. Suasana sangat best, so lively and full with cheers and laughter. They all know each other.

Ada MC merangkap penyanyi yang nyanyi lagu-lagu tradisional, lagu-lagu klasik Jawa in this case. Karaoke style. Penyanyi pun macam veteran dah, like akak-akak gitu... hehe. But they sang very well. They joke and made the whole event very lively. Entertaining lah.

Then ada acara bersilat.

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RENGGAM, KLUANG JOHOR

Jalan-jalan pagi di bandar Renggam. It could not have been more interesting to me. That quaint little town is so peaceful and laid back. No one is in a hurry.

No photograph may be reproduced, downloaded, copied, stored, manipulated, or used whole or in part of a derivative work, without written permission from Syed Amran. All rights reserved.