Why Brazil ?

I was 10 years old....waking up in the middle of the night since world cup was held in Spain that year...it was 1982....and i was determined to watch the games with my Uncle (fathers younger brother) at his new house....there were some chinese friends of his joining in to watch the game together....and i have no idea why i bothered waking up to watch it except that the thought of waking up like 2 or 3 am to watch TV was appealing...thats all...and the only name that sounded familiar to me at the point of time was...BRAZIL !! it was my Uncles' and dad's fav team...so my brother and i were inclined to believe only BRAZIL deserves the World Cup...!

So...as i managed to drag myself out of bed...washed my face and went to the living room...sitting as closely as i could to my uncle as i was feeling pretty cold...considering how skinny i was then...not much fat to keep me warm...haha...and then the game begins...my uncle and friends open a few packs of snacks...the kacang putih of course....and is watching and commenting on the game while i sit there waiting for someone to score a goal...for the only thing i knew about football then was that you have to score goals....i had no idea about what ...a penalty...or free kick or off side...or any of such terms meant !...so as i sat there staring at the screen waiting for the goals....i coudnt help noticing some sound like very loud blowing of horn...and sat there wandering where the sound was coming from...tried to figure it out myself...but eventually decided to ask my uncle " Babu...( i call him Babu which means papa ) ..whats that sound like horn..?" and he tells me.. " Ohh theres a vast sea behind the stadium and there a lots of huge ships sailing around...thats the horn from the ships" and there i was picturing ships going around the stadium...and thought how cool that was....hahahaha....and yes believe it or not....i never knew he made up that story untill the next 2 world cups at least....how naive can i be huh...poor me !!

And even now...this world cup ...i cant stop thinking of that first world cup and how i was fooled by my uncle...hahaha...so thats how the Brazil craze started with me and then it got stuck with my cousins as well...so we started watching it together on every world cup....

in 1998...when the finals was between France and Brazil....i was in Penang furthering my studies then...and another cousin of mine was in KL...but we made sure we came back to Ipoh for the finals so we could cheer together....so about 6 of us including my father and uncle got together and watched it at my uncles place....and what a disappointment it was...Brazil lost 3-0 !!! how sad we were....putting up a long face....we just went to bed quietly ....hahaha

then it was 2006 ! by then...i married and lived in KL ....while one of my cousin gone to UK for studies....so it was harder to get together to watch it...but still we were all watching it from our respective places and called and smsed each other each time a goal was missed or scored....my cousin Nithya gets sooo nervous for every Brazil game that she sends messages like....my heart is aching....i cant breath ....and so on....hahaha...we are nuts...and that year...we were in love with Ronaldinho ! But then again they lost in the quarter finals ....

And now its 2010....and time to cheer for Brazil again....i am still in Kl....and some of my cousins in Ipoh, some in Kl and one in UK.....but we are all geared up to watch it tonight though its going to be a 2 am game...and there will be some sms going on there again....consoling and cheering ...

Brazil playing the first game in South Africa 2nite....against Korea....hoping to see some sizzling samba...up to the finals again...:)

So anyway...thats why ....it is Brazil for me !!!!!!! What is it for you ?! :)

HOLD the SMILE !!!

Tilt your head a little more to the right....look down.....stay calm......smile softly ...lift your chin up a little...yes !!! Hold the pose.!!!..now with the right tone of light shining on your face...you will be lucky to get a naturally pleasant picture of yourself.....this is how we are instructed to act when we take our romantic wedding studio pictures...not forgetting the hour long...make up session which transforms you into a new species...that you hardly recognize yourself in the picture....

But now...just look at the picture below....i snapped these pictures myself just randomly at a group of lovely Sambar and Spotted deers at the Perdana Lake Garden, Kuala Lumpur. And no instructions, make up , or lighting was needed to bring the most peaceful gestures out of these pure souls full of love....they dont have to put an effort coz...they are made of love only...no grudges...no greed...no evil lurking in their minds...so, naturally they radiate love for thats all they are made of...look at the pictures...and you will agree..

Arent they lovely...? yeah, they are one of the reasons ...Nantha and i love to go walking at Lake gardens ...you can visit them daily for free till 6 pm...you can feed them bread which they sell at the deer park itself...its definitely calming to see such peaceful animals...and we've got lots to learn from them....so..next time you are wandering what to do on a weekend with no good movies playing in the cinemas...keep the deers in mind...they are ever ready to welcome you with love :)

Away from the dust :)

Last weekend ...i was in Cameron Highlands with my hubby and 2 other friends....and this time i am just going to let my pictures say it all...the above picture was taken at the Boh tea plantation...a place not to be missed....its at Sg Palas...and the road up to the plantation is pretty narrow....and has very sharp turns...you have to be extra careful and wait for cars to come down before you proceed at certain places....but believe me the view up there is worth the effort...its completely silent...cool and soothing...i could sit there all day...absolutely peaceful....

Some of the hundreds of colours and types of divine roses...at the Rose Valley at Brinchang....










Cant wait to go again :)

Vision Of forever

A glimpse of reality in its terrifying beauty....is the description stated in the programme of "Vision of Forever" a stage performance produced by the Sutra Foundation which was held last week for 4 days at Istana Budaya, KL.

To me...anyone who ends up at Sutra Dance Academy in anyway...as a dancer ..musician...teacher....artist....audience or even a servant, is not by chance....its their destiny to be part of Sutra in some way....for theres so much magic in it....anyone who had stepped into sutra will know why it is so....it might seem weird to others....but believe me...theres definitely a Tinkerbell hanging around sutra house ...touching the dancers and teachers. For their shows are not just "SHOWS" but a creation which comes to life with its characters ...it just takes place in front of you ...you will see the real thing happening right before your eyes...thats not a show...u dont see people on stage....you only see the goddesses they have turned into...you dont see a man...but Krishna himself dancing in joy ....you dont see actors...you see the angels and demons fighting the battle for peace....

Just like every show produced by Sutra...this one had a special touch in it too...a piece called Dasamahavidya....which projects the ten visions of Shakti the universal female energy, which is Kali, Tara, Bhubaneswari, Sodasi, Bagala, Matangi, Bhairavi, Kamala, Chinnamasta and Dhumavati. Each of these form has its characteristics of its own....and gosh...the dancers simply turned themselves into this forms...as they brought the unification of all this forms into one as dasamahavidya.....youve simply got to watch it and let the tintinnabulations of the ankle bells awaken the drowsy soul, get it dancing in trance with the ten goddesses while the spirits enters the realms of ecstatic peace !! :)

For those who had missed it in Kl...theres still chance to watch it in Seremban and Ipoh on the 19th June and 24th July.

You may contact

Sutra Dance Theatre
12 Persiaran Titiwangsa 3
53200 Kuala Lumpur
T 603-40211092, 40229669
E sutradancetheatre@yahoo.com
http://www.sutradancetheatre.com/

HALF is FULL ???

Last week i put up this quote on my status in Facebook

" To be yourself in a world thats constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest accomplishment" Ralph Waldo emerson

And heres the respond i had :)

Chocky : Because being oneself is hard to do, but being honest with oneself is even harder to achieve. I am with good old Ralphie :0)

ME : I know !! Always wandered whats left in a person if all expectations of the world is removed??

Chocky : A WHOLESOME one, unfortunately that would hardly happen, but i might be a bit optimistic and say a handful maybe la :)

ME : Maybe we can try "HALFSOME" first...hahahahaha :)

Chocky : yes i am always Optimistic and not calculative, Half is Full also .

Me : HALf is Full ??...hmm thats interesting , now i am tempted to work on it , thats encouraging.

chocky : Positive orientating, Half is FULL, One is Overwhelming, hahahaha...you can do it , i know you can :)

ME : Thats simply great, shall work on the half, or maybe 1/4 for a start :)

Hmm so thats how the discussion went, though we were just having fun talking bout this....it did make me think a lot....i mean all our lives we have been trying to keep up with the expectations of the world....like to do well in school, to graduate...to find a job....to settle down...have a family and we go on and on and on....

What if these expectations were not there...? what would you have done....? Where is the true self ? WHo are we ? I guess we are simply a bundle of expectations stuffed in forcefully. But realising this...maybe we can work at least half our lives for ourselves...and another half for the world....so its WHOLESOME , so half is full :)

The simple RAIN :)

So...have you experienced rain ?

Yeah...i hear you laughing...especially those of us living in tropical weather all our lives...its impossible not to have experienced rain....but then again i am still wandering....have you really experienced the rain...? Yes maybe you have....while sitting in your room...looking out at the window...while the rain falls roughly on the awnings and roofs...so loud that you cant even hear your own voice ....or while in the car....you see the rain drops all around you....falling on the steel and mirrors ....or maybe you are actually walking in the rain with an umbrella and hear the rain fall on the umbrella and dripping down all around...while you are walking on roads...with the rain water flowing through your sandals...yes you just might have experienced any of these....or you might even have got excited and decide to play in the rain at home ...in the garden...where the rain falls directly on you ...

Yes...i too have experienced all that i had mentioned above....and thats what i thought rain is about...till 2 weeks back..when the SIMPLE RAIN....sounded and felt completely different from anytime before....it wasnt falling clumsily and loudly on the roofs....but on the contrary it was gracefully finding its fav leaves...and gliding smoothly through the branches...and flowing silently through the emerged roots of trees...creating a series of cascade falls on the muddy natural stairways of the hill...the sound of the HEAVY downpour was indeed whispering through the jungle ....so softly...so soothing....yes where else can this be....in the woods of course....on that day my hubby and i took a walk at Bukit Gasing , a little secondary jungle ...and as we were halfway through the 45 mins hike and walk....it started raining so heavily....that within minutes there was a stream formed on the pathways...and we were drenched...but people continued walking and completing their rounds...without complaints...no one held an umbrella....so we walked too...we didnt rush or run out...we didnt have the heart to do that....so we took a slow walk...touching every tree on our way....enjoying every drop of the rain....feeling cleansed from within....what a feeling it was...though it was the simple rain ...it was all too different in there...trust me...you would love it....

So that was the Real Rain......thats how it was suppose to be......soft ...gentle...and soothing...i had a great time....and wish i would experience it again soon...too bad i din have my camera to snap a picture...so used some pictures from the web to share the experience....hope you had a chilling walk with me :)

Meet the King Of the Jungle !

3 years ago ..i had the privilege to meet the King of the Jungle, who was standing with his arms wide open to welcome anyone with love... how majestic....how strong the spirit...you could feel it the moment you set your eyes on him....so full of love...just respect him and sit on his laps...and he will show what life truly is....the fact that....how a tiny pea could make an impression SO HUGE...and everything it needed to grow that big was provided by mother earth herself....so if a tiny pea had learnt how to extract so much energy from this very same earth that you and i walk on everyday....isnt it embarrassing that we have not tapped into it at all... ? yeah thats what i heard as i sat on its gigantic roots.... speechless .....amazed at its growth.....it just told me...Hey, you have every access to this source of energy that i have discovered....now go find it...and come back to me....when you have grown your roots a little more ....and somehow...from the time...i went into this beautiful Pandora of our land , The Taman Negara....and looking at how huge life is around me...made me realise that i shoudnt be stuck between bricks anymore....

So ever since i met the King....i have been trying to stay connected to the real life out there....and it has been making all the difference in my life...though i have a lot more growing to do....before i could look at the King in his eyes and say....hey ...look...i have outgrown you !! :)

So...thats my experience meeting the Tualang Tree at Taman Negara ( National Park ) Its scientific name is Koompassia Excelsa . And yes, sadly they are being cut down for timber though its protected under Sarawak's Wildlife Protection Bill of 1990 .And the interesting fact about it is...this is the favourite tree for honey bees coz their tremendous heights provides them the safety from any danger , unfortunately both the tree and the bees are not safe from human ...as always :(

Well...i am at least glad that i had met the King....and looking foward to see him again :) If any of you happen to see him...do convey my love and respects to this beautiful creation !