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First Encounter - Ramli Ibrahim

Ramli Ibrahim
his advice that still caught my heart
'do what knocks on your heart'

Ramli is the foremost exponent of Indian classical dance, bharata natyam and Odissi in Malaysia. For more than 35 years, he has indulged in the arts, though controversial to his faith, Islam. Muslims think the dances of hinduistic elements are in contradiction to the tenets of Islam. However to Ramli, who has an engineering degree from Australia thinks the art is close to his heart and that he cannot live without choosing it as a profession.

Ramli was named the recipient of the 2004 Boh Cameronian Lifetime Achievement Award, the most prestigious arts award to those promoting the theatre and arts in Malaysia.

The first time I met Ramli was in Kuala Lumpur some 25 years ago. He was then a young man still in a dilemma as to whether to be a dancer or an engineer. He somewhat sensed I should be doing something what I really wanted too and gave me a similar advice.

Ramli this May and June organised the first Odissi dance festival in Kuala Lumpur featuring a series of interesting workshops, exhibitions, and performances of Odissi dancers from around the world.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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The Indian Dances

The Indian culture is most diverse,
So are the Indian dances to traverse;
There are many Indian Classical dances,
And so are the many regional Folk dances.

A physical and visual form is dance,
It appropriates the spectator to a trance;
The colourful attire enchants the audience,
And the different ornaments amuse their sense.

The Natya Sastra by Sage Bharata was propounded,
And the Indian Classical dance on a grammar founded;
Indian culture with four Vedas itself prides,
And with Natya Sastra known as the fifth Veda, it strides.

Dances were originally performed in a temple,
Mainly to entertain Gods and Godesses and people;
Accompanying were the drums, flute and other instruments,
To synchronize with the music and the dancers ‘ movements.

The Classical dances are spiritual in content,
The Folk dances are of joy and celebration intent;
Elements of Indian dances are Mudra and Abhinaya—
The dancer's interpretation of words set to music and laya.

Many dance forms depict the moods -Navarasas,
Which are the various emotions or nine rasas;
They are Hasya, Krodha, Bhibasta, Bhaya, Santha,
And Veeram, Karuna, Adbhuta and Shoka:

Which are Happiness, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Serenity,
And Courage, Compassion, Wonder, and Sorrow respectively.
Many are the reputed Indian dance styles,
So are the many dance forms of details.

The Indian dance forms, that are popular—
Bharathanatyam of Tamil Nadu: Manipuri of Manipur:
Garba of Gujarat: Kuchupudi of Andhra Pradesh:
Bhangra of Punjab: Kathak of Uttar Pradesh:

Gaudiya Nritya of West Bengal: Lavani of Maharashtra:
Kathakali and Mohini Attam of Kerala: Oddissi of Oddisha:
Indian dances play their parts in many realms of arts—
In Poetry, Architecture, Literature and Sculpture of sorts.

Dancers with their beautiful art give us a profound feeling,
Making them appealing and our hearts stealing!

poem by Chandra Thiagarajan
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Corn

Nibbling
Your kernels
Layer to layer
How sweet
How supple
Unlike your husk
You are palatable

(Written on October 06 2011 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia)

poem by Chester Maynes
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Pantun - Arus deras sungei Klang setelah hujan lebat (translated to English)

arus deras setelah hujan lebat
cepat ubah wajahnya sungei klang
bagai kuala lumpur di susuli ekonomi pesat
dulu pekerja ladang skrang towkay kilang

the water is treacherous after the rain
the klang river is fast to change her image
like kuala lumpur after the fast economic progress
those farmers some are now factory owners

arus deras sungei klang setelah hujan lebat
bagai kuala lumpur di susuli ekonomi hebat
bangunan tingi lambang pembagunan pesat
ibu kota yang mulai dari lumpur ke suatu pusat

river klang is choppy after a bout of rain
like kuala lumpur after its economic growth
high buildings are signs of development
the city that grows from a mud estuary to an important centre

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Jean Todt

another kind
old gweilo
Jean Todt

thank god
he doesn't talk fast
as the Grand Prix cars

I met him and the Malaysian Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen
at a dinner the Royale Chulan Hotel in Kuala Lumpur in June when Todt was chosen as a tourism ambassador of Malaysia to help promote the country particularly in France and Europe. Todt came across as a very friendly man. He was very obliging in his conversation
answering one reporter at a time. He told us that he loves Mechelle Yeoh and Malaysia. Todt is the founder of Peugeot Talbot Sport; Team Principal for Scuderia Ferrari,1993-2007 and was the CEO of Ferrari from 2008-2009.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Mustafa Noor (Malaysia)

mustafa noor
he carries the theatre
with him

mustafa noor
i heard the london
that applauds

mustafa noor
the air charged with
his art and friendliness

mustafa noor
a voice made for
theatre arts

mustafa noor
his eyes roll with
his london experience

mustafa noor
i join the excitement
of his london experience

met in the early 1980s. He was just back from London and had strong ambitions to activate the theatre world in the city that is Kuala Lumpur.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Najib Tun Razak

Najib Tun Razak
such big fat
palm

I stayed in Brickfields and never had I thought I would be at the same Indian restaurant with Najib the second day he was sworn in as Prime Minister. He had made it a priority to visit the Chinese and Indian sections of Kuala Lumpur to show his appreciation to the two communities. Everybody stood up when he entered the Kortumalai Indian Restaurant. When he shook hand with me, I suddenly realised that najib has such big fat palm. It is sign of prosperity for Chinese. Let's wish he could bring Malaysia to an era of prosperity.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Siti Nurhaliza

Siti Nurhaliza
a simplicity with touching
sophistication

Siti Nurhaliza
a balance of village and
urban sophistication

Siti Nurhaliza
her eyes cut through one
like her songs

Siti Nurhaliza is the queen of pops in Malaysia. She has been the reigning songtress in the country for years as well as in neighbournig Indonesia. She is married and lives in Kuala Lumpur.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Latches

Where there are complicated relationships
We are the latches
When there are bolted doors
We are the latches
Chances are mending

There are dying dreams
There are falling angels
We do not trail transgressed roads
Everything for us is a good expectation
We do not quail, we do not lose hearts

(written on August 4,2011 Kuala Lumpur City Malaysia)

poem by Chester Maynes
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First Encounter - Leslie Cheung

when first meeting
is last meeting
Cheung leaps to fame and suicide

Young hopeful leslie cheung
he leaps to fame
and a suicide

The late Leslie Cheung was named Asian Biggest Superstar by China Central Television, and voted as The Most Favorite Actor in 100 Years of Chinese Cinema in 2005. When he came to Kuala Lumpur in the mid 80s, he was like any other young Cantopop singer, excited about fame. I however was not taken in by his talent and even wondered how he was going to make it in the tough and tumble world of showbiz. He did not seem to have an edge over other singers such as Alam Tam who was also a rising star then. But perhaps lady luck was with him.

It was a brief meet and one impression stuck - his legs seemed to be all on the move. What kept memory so fresh was that he even looked back as he walked away from us at one of the leading hotels in Kuala Lumpur. It was our only meet.

He walked away to a great acting and music career and surprisingly, a suicide at the height of his fame on April 1,2003. Cheung leapt from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, in the Central district of Hong Kong. He left a suicide note saying that he had been suffering from depression. He was 46 years old

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - RabindranathTagore's paintings

Tagore's Last Harvest
a child putting wings
to his imagination

Tagore's Last Harvest
behind the colours and lines
a child

Tagore's Last Harvest
the nobel laureate dances
with ink and pen

Tagore's Last Harvest
the colourful images
of a colourful life

Last Harvest an exhibition of 49 of Tagore's paintings
are exhibited in Kuala Lumpur Visual Arts Museum for three months
April to July.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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I saw a tree a-falling...

I saw a tree a-falling
a-falling down on me
I had no way to turn
it was close on me

I thought it was a plot
to force me out
I knew I could not
even hold it or shout

It was a tree I sheltered
on many a longing day
And now it was so altered
coming to make me pay

I asked it why it longed
to touch its upmost brim
When all around no foe
turned the sun down dim

I touched its bark to hear
I thought I heard a cry
Two leaves it shed on me
and brushed its bark up high

I asked it why it stood
alone and left to brood
It shook its sticks in emphasis
as if to say it was good

(©: T. Wignesan - Kuala Lumpur,1957, from Tracks of a Tramp. Kuala Lumpur-Singapore: Rayirath Publications,1961.)

poem by T. Wignesan
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The Storm

Stormy weather
this time of year
in Kuala Lumpur
it always comes
in the late afternoon

it sounds like gods
are moving houses
the heart thumping thunder

several years ago
the rain even pulled
down a high rise building
on the hillslope

this time it sounds like
the gods are nailing down
some deviant angels
and they try real hard
to get them down

the heart thumping thunder

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Jericho Rosales

jericho rosales
a young man who thinks
he has the world in his hands

jericho rosales
another young man who needs
the money to keep going

(Jericho is famous Filipino actor and singer)

met in the mid 2000. he was having a concert in Kuala Lumpur.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Jackie Chan

wow, he thinks
everybody is hard out
to be a star

For whatever reason Jackie did not come across as a friendly person. I met him twice and he somehow gave me the feeling that he thought everybody wants to be a star and so treated everybody in such cold manner. Two years back, I asked to take his picture at the Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur after he opened his own gym here but good lord, after the picture, he just walked away without even saying a word.
There were not even any fans around in the private function. The first time was way back in the 90s when he gave me a cold handshake. He made me feel he had the habit of snubbing people.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Faridah Merican

faridah merican
her home is where
the theatre is

never liking what some
politicians do to
nation and her brood (people of Malaysia)

premier love
the english language
then theatre that lets it sparkle

every cell comes alive
in the world of dance
and performances

does not want malaysians
to be shortchanged
by crafty politicians

first met at her new theatre in Sentul in mid 2000.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Skeeter Davis

Skeeter Davis
She tries to sound
the sweet girl of old

She must be in her 60s when Skeeter Davis came to Kuala Lumpur for a concert some years back. She looked like a granny but tried hard to speak in the sweet girl voice that topped the country charts in the 50s and 60s. Of course the voice like a knife poked at her heart by breaking between the notes. Skeeter or Mary Frances Penick from
Kentucky died in 2004. The album Great American Country released this year, featured her songs.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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First Encounter - Dr Maya Soetoro Ng

an indonesian grace
with an American mindset
Maya Soetoro Ng

met at Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
during the launch of Ann Dunham Batik Collection Exhibtion
June 8 2012

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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Rhythm Divene

From the coast of Ipanema
To the island of Capri
All the way to Kuala Lumpur
I will follow you wherever you may be
From the moment I first saw you
Knew my heart could not be free
Have to hold you in my arms now
There can never be another for me
CHORUS:
All I need is the rhythm divine
Lost in the music, your heart will be mine
All I need is to look in your eyes
Viva la musica, say you'll be mine
Can you feel the heat of passion?
Can you taste our love's sweet wine?
Join the dance and let it happen
Put tomorrow's cares right out of your mind
As the music draws you closer
And you fall under my spell
I will catch you in my arms now
Where the night take us no one can tell
CHORUS
Gotta have this feeling forever
Gotta live this moment together
Nothing else matters just you and the night
Follow on the wings of desire
Now the rhythm's taking you higher
No one can stop us from havin' it all
You are my heart, you are my soul
CHORUS (repeat to fade)

song performed by by Enrique Iglesias
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Dance

See the picture in the hall
Framed in magic on the wall
Aint it funny how it glows
Whats on the inside
No one knows
What makes this picture
So inviting
To those who stand outside it
Maybe its the dancers
Or maybe its the dance
The dancer dances
Thousands fill the gallery
They pay their price to see a dream
They can make believe for free
Two hours worth of fantasy
Maybe they pretend
The pictures them
Or maybe they just love
To sit and blend
Tonight the picture has no frame
Colours unleash and float away
To each and everyone of you
Tonight the spirit brings the news
You become a part of it all
Thousands turn to one in the hall
You become the dancer
And we become the dance
The dancer dances
The dancer dances
The dancer dances
And we become the dancer
And you become the dance

song performed by by Uriah Heep
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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US peace advocate Rev Jesse Jackson Sr in Malaysia Poem

clogged drains
that have been
stinking for years

rotten rotten
rats, rotten fish,
rotten hold backs
refuse rotten corpses
that send offensives
stomach up
stucked, stubbon
nauseating
spirit draining

where is the
country that should
flourish like a patch
of grass sprinkled
with spring water
growing profusely
with a uniformity of colours?

fengshui flowers
ideas go to the sky
to come down to
fertilise lands and mind

US peace advocate
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr
uncorks a bottle of
vintage angsts to
dissolve them in
his cold fluid advice
smooth to the ears
rekindling that sigh
of long cherished goal
diverse races to
find a common
catalyst to grow
and mature

through the glass
a shimmering amber
of the years ahead

light the eyes, heart
and mind find a perfect step
to a gratifying, unifying song

Note: Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr was in Kuala Lumpur to promote peace since Monday i.e. April 20,2009. He was a keynote speaker
at the Bridges - Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace conference
organised by the International Peace Foundation and Sime Darby Berhad.

poem by John Tiong Chunghoo
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