Quirky Kampung Tales Of Ijan And His Early School Years , livre ebook

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd - Lizan Muhamed Saiful

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123 pages

English

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The book is generally written in a humorous tone but there are poignant moments in the book where the narration takes on a more serious or sad tone where they are needed. The book is about the growing up years of a boy called Ijan who grew up in a fast-developing Singapore in the 1970s and 1980s in two different villages or "kampung" as they are called in Singapore. Although the concept or notion of a "kampung" is now gone in the developed city of Singapore, the book invites the readers to take a journey back to a historical Singapore as a backdrop. Ingrained in the ways of the village, Ijan the "kampung" boy had also attended schools which were very structured and the schools were where his parents were teachers. As a "kampung" boy, Ijan was accustomed to his roaming ways and as a teacher's son, he was expected to behave. This was further compounded where it seemed Ijan's DNA had been "hardwired" with the characteristics of what was known in the village as a "pusar dua" anomaly. He was born with two hair whirls at the back of his head! This led to a somewhat disorderly hair disposition for Ijan but more significantly, the villagers believed this anomaly brought with it certain traits to the "afflicted" boy. It was believed that a "pusar dua" boy would be a maverick of sorts, hyperactive and stubborn to say the least. He was also believed to be blessed with a very endearing character, especially to animals. The interesting contrast in environment, character and expectations are the themes that carry the narration in this book with Ijan as the protagonist.

Informations

Publié par	Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
Date de parution	30 novembre 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781398454552
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0175€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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The Quirky Kampung Tales Of Ijan And His Early School Years
Saiful Lizan Muhamed
Austin Macauley Publishers
2022-11-30
The Quirky Kampung Tales Of Ijan And His Early School Years About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © About the Book Acknowlegement 1. Preface 2. Kampung Siglap 3. Kampung Melayu 4. Numbed by Number 10 5. The Lockdown Letdown 6. The ‘Kerengga’ Case 7. The ‘Bucket System’ 8. The Night Urge 9. The ‘German’ Lorry 10. Tribute to the Heroes 11. First Day Blues 12. Tumbling Tots 13. The Open Season 14. Let the Games Begin 15. Football 16. In Memory of the Forgotten Fallen 17. We Are the Champions! 18. The Puddle ‘Surfer’ 19. Rounders 20. The Man and the Gentlemen 21. The Fart Tag Game 22. The Kitchen ‘Help!’ 23. The Raya Gala 24. The Lottery Strike 25. Return of the German 26. Private Time 27. The ‘Kelambu’ Caper 28. PSLE 29. Farewell Stoffen’s 30. The ‘Kampung’ Life Ends 31. The Goodbye 32. Thank You
About the Author
The author is a man in his 50s and is currently residing in Malaysia. His growing up years up to the age of 22 years old were spent in Singapore. Although settled down in Malaysia for some time already, he still has fond memories of growing up in his village or in Malay ‘ Kampung ’ and his early schoolyears in Singapore. Therefore, in this book he shares his experiences with the readers. It is no coincidence that Ijan is the nickname of the author accorded to him in his village-roaming days and for all intents and purposes, Ijan was the author in his younger ‘ Kampung ’ days and early schoolyears.
Ijan was also often times called ‘ pusar dua ’, which means ‘two hair whirls’ in Malay by his uncles due to the physical attributes attached to his hair. Simply explained, where most people would have one hair whirl towards the back of the head leading to an orderly hair disposition, Ijan was born with two hair whirls next to each other. This contributed to a somewhat disorderly hair disposition for Ijan but this never bothered him.
In the village, there were certain personal characteristic attributes which were believed to be attached to a person with ‘ pusar dua ’, some of which was that the ‘ pusar dua ’ kid would be a bit (An understatement for Ijan) hyperactive and stubborn but will have a good bond with animals.
Also, the author’s late parents, in Malay called ‘ Mak ’ (Mother) and ‘ Abah ’ (Father) were teachers at the schools where Ijan attended. ‘ Mak ’ taught the Malay language at Stoffen’s Primary School (Fictitious school name) and ‘ Abah ’ also taught Malay language and Art at Potts Secondary School (Another fictitious school name). Although the names are fictitious in this book to protect the school’s confidentiality, the stories narrated are based on true events.
So, yes, Ijan was not only a teacher’s son but two teachers’ son and born out of two ‘ Kampungs ’! While it is often said in these parts that it would take a whole village to raise a child, in Ijan’s case, it took two. Also, as a generally accepted norm, a teacher’s son is usually perceived to be very studious and very well behaved, especially at the schools where the parents were teaching. However, with Ijan and his ‘ pusar dua ’ traits hardwired in his DNA with his maverick tendencies, this norm would be challenged and sometimes to the limits.
The author hopes that the readers enjoy every narration in this book as much as he has had tremendous pleasure telling them, touching on the numerous light-hearted, humorous and sombre moments he had growing up in his ‘ Kampung ’ and attending school in Singapore in its early years.
As the author attempts a true-life depiction in the narration of the events in his life in the ‘ Kampung ’ with his late grannies, late parents, uncles, aunties, cousins, and friends, he would like to extend his sincere apologies if in the course of any recollection of the events, any characters had been inadvertently slighted or excluded. The narration in this book is done with the best intention and to the best of the author’s recollection.
The author would also like to take this opportunity to record his many thanks to his immediate family; his wife Zubaidah and his children Renee, Suhail and Syuaib who have all been inspirational to the author throughout. Special thanks also to the author’s extended family members who have been very supportive of the author in one way or another through the years. The author would also like to record a special tribute to the memory of his late grandparents, late parents, together with late uncles and aunties who have since passed on.
All these memories and experiences have been inspirational to the author in the writing of this book while also making the author’s days in his ‘ Kampung ’ and early school years very exciting contributing immeasurably to the author’s often varied and colourful life.
Dedication
The author would like to dedicate this book to the memory of his duly departed loved ones, not the least of whom his dear mother who had been his North Star, shining bright in his constellation while the author’s father was a firm guiding hand for him.
This book is also dedicated to the author’s lovely family – his wife and three kids for their undying support and inspiration, not forgetting, also his extended family members for the cherished memories.
A special dedication also to the author’s teachers who had been instrumental in moulding him into the man he is today – for how can the author forget a certain Mr Haroldson depicted in his book and his own mother who was also his teacher at school.
To the author’s friends at school and at his villages, this book is dedicated to the many memories they had shared together – the joys, the laughters and the sorrows!
Invariably, this book is also dedicated to the undaunting spirit of all mavericks out there in the same mould as Ijan the protagonist in this book through whose eyes the world may seem a little different but a whole lot more challenging!
Last and certainly not the least, this book is also dedicated to you, my dear valued readers, for willing yourselves to share this journey with the author as he takes a trip back to his ‘kampung’ days and early schoolyears
Copyright Information ©
Saiful Lizan Muhamed 2022
The rights of Saiful Lizan Muhamed to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781398454545 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781398454552 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published 2022
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd ®
1 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5AA
Acknowledgement
The author would like to acknowledge the kind support and encouragement of his family and friends in the course of his writing of this book.
Their many words of wisdom and comfort had proved immeasurably invaluable to the author to draw inspiration from, which made it possible for the author to complete this book.
It would be an honour to the author and also his fervent hope that this book will then go on to inspire his readers in some manners of their daily undertakings.
For believing in his work, the author would most certainly acknowledge and remain grateful to his publisher, Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd, for the kind and industrious guidance shown towards him in the publishing of this book – for it is only through this belief that the author finds the opportunity to share experiences of his life at his “kampung” and at school with his readers in this book.
Ultimately, the author acknowledges that it is God Almighty who plans his affairs. The author’s part is to strive and share!
About the Book
This book is about the true-life events experienced by a boy, Ijan, growing up in the 1970s up to the early 1980s in two Singapore villages. A village would be commonly called ‘ kampung ’ in Singapore, a word adopted from the Malay language. The book is as much about the personal experiences of Ijan as it is a recollection of a part of Singapore’s modern history and some current issues.
The story of Ijan in his early growing up years in Singapore is told in this book by way of a flashback dialogue and conversation between Ijan, now a man in his 50s and his youngest son Syuaib, a boy of ten years old. It is also written in a light-hearted and humorous manner but there are poignant moments in the book where the author has taken time and pains to record the memory of the ‘Forgotten fallen’ from World War II in Ijan’s ‘ kampung ’. The book also pays tribute to a special group of ‘Unsung heroes’ of a bygone era in Singapore and also all the heroes braving the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apart from the historical backdrop, the book is set in two environments, that is, in ‘ kampung ’ setting and in early school surroundings. For the first five years of his upbringing, Ijan stayed at his father’s village called ‘Kampung Siglap’. Thereafter until the age of 16 years, he stayed at his mother’s ‘ kampung ’ known as ‘Kampung Melayu’. Ijan’s family houses in each of these villages consisted of extended families of a few family households and a few single uncles all staying under one roof; an experience rarely seen in modern-day Singapore. The narration in Ijan’s ‘ kampung ’ setting starts from his early wondering days from one village to another up to the time he had to move out from the ‘ kampung ’ which had to make way for a residential development.
As Ijan was at the same time as of school-going age, this book also talks abo