Many
of you who know me by my name Malee might have linked it to the famous
canned goods ( longans, lychees, the like... I hope this does ring a few
bells ) from Thailand. Maybe I should have copyrighted my name before
the goods were.imported around the world. Actually my name comes from the
small, white fragrant bloom that Orientals adorn their locks with, the
humble yet elegant Jasmine ( or the bunga melur ). In Thailand, this versatile
flower has been used to enhance the scent of food and syrups ( used as
often as the daun
pandan in Malaysia ). Its blooms have even been made into jasmine
tea, a refreshing tisane.
My youth was spent in the little town of Klongae, the tiny spot in the map near Hatyai. As I sit here in air-conditioned luxury, I can still remember the verdant fields of paddy where I used to catch dragonflies ( using some extremely sticky concoction made from rubber scrap and kerosene.This sticky substance is a fire-starter of sorts -used to start a fire in a stove.Rubber scrap is the remaining latex that dries up on a tree after the latex is collected We had an abundant supply of that from our estate. ), the spicy, delicious aroma of Tom Yam ( definitely YUM! ) wafting through my mother's kitchen, the luxuriant feel of my first Thai silk dress. Even the soap that we use nowadays brings back memories as I remember my granny sitting over a earthen trough stirring coconut goo and whatever else into a fresh smelling goo ( now I realize she was making soap! ) I suppose coconut oil was used cos there was no palm-oil then.
Ganja,
morphine and such are of course a no-no now ( as compared to the utterly
fabulous Flower Sixties ) in Malaysia. But of course, there were times
a long, long time ago when being drugged out and on 'high' was quite a
fad. I can remember my grandfather lazily lounging on the smoking settee,
pale tendrils of smoke forming rings around him, the room filled with the
sickly sweet, intoxicating scent of opium.
Whether born with a silver spoon in their mouths or with a sickle and hoe
in hand, many of the people in those decadent days became addicted to the
pasttime. Of course my grandfather got opium cheap ( as he owned the opium
den *grin* ). I can still smell that distinct aroma of opium even
as I write. As a curious youngster, my younger brothers and I used to creep
furtively into this opium den for a peek . As you step into this den of
depravity, you see two long rows of raised platform and men (no females,
thank heavens) lying stretched out as still as death, their pale faces
filled with a certain rapture unseen of on this earth.The only sign of
life is the swirling ribbons of smoke from the long-stemmed opium pipes.It
is no wonder that it is banned - this scourge of mankind.
As
you visit the latest cineplexes in town with the large, plush seats and
the booming state-of-the-art sound system, let me tell you the story of
the only local theatre ( though looking back, it probably looks more like
a little hut with a big white sheet screen ) in Khlongae. Picture
a place with state-of-the-art wooden benches ( with no backs, mind you
), refreshing hand-held paper fans and a 1 baht fee! The interesting thing
about it was even though Scarlett O'Hara, the quintessential Southern
Belle in Gone
With The Wind, was in town... somehow along the way, she would
have amazingly picked up a few words of Thai ( there was a couple of budding
thespians who would be backstage dubbing the foreign voices
into Thai, believe it or not and it's live! ) I figure Rahim Razali
(the incomparable live commentary expert for sports) must have seen these
masters at work.From the husky whisper of a juvenile sex-pot Lolita
to the serene chant of an aged Reverend
Mother, from the crazed ramblings of the Shakespearean
Lady Macbeth to the gentle pleas of Ivanhoe's
Jewess Rebecca , these two 'dubbists' ( male and female ) are
able to bring to life a myriad spectrum of personalities and characters.
