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well, it ain’t tuesday. should’ve trust my racing kuda calendar. taman tun’s relatively quieter now with people going home to their respective kampungs. my kampung has always been here. i never knew the joys of a kampung raya, but then again, you’ll never miss what you never had.
kampung raya or not, i daresay the hari raya spirit is still seen here. last night at OU, i find it amusing to be looking at the window display of a skateboard bearing a picture of a lad showing the bird whilst in the background was aman shah’s kepulangan yang dinanti. and of all places, you can buy freshly-made lemang at the SMTTDI teacher’s quarters. every 1st syawal, the masjid at-taqwa will still be filled to the brim for the solat sunat.
in my eyes, certain things have changed in the span of twenty years though. i remembered one raya when i was shocked to find that shops were opened. at first, it was the old McD’s at the fuad precinct, and later, OU. it is nothing strange now to see how consumerism is rearing its ugly head in these parts. shops still close on christmas day in britain, and it’s a country where christmas is cynically seen to some as a holiday when people buy each other expensive pressies. to see one aspect of the sanctity of raya not retained here is somewhat sad, really.
salam aidilfitri.