Aidilfitri tiba lagi........

     I live in Kg Kemensah, a tiny kampung nestled in the foothills of Banjaran Titiwangsa. Sounds idyllic eh....We have no buses servicing our little hamlet here. There's the village shop and several makeshift shops selling the basics. Don't even think of asking for Gardenia bread okay! Like any other kampung, we too have our kedai kopi - which doubles as the community hangout place. Strategically located at the simpang empat, both the kedai kopi are always filled with folks sipping teh setahun (restaurant owners will be familiar with this term. Order air satu, duduk berjam2 tak reti order lagi!)
     Folks in my kampung are all from various parts of Peninsula Malaysia. Many traced their roots to Indonesia. They've lived here since the early 60s, having relocated from various parts of the country. For some reason, many of their children don't leave the kampung. And many marry their kampung mates.
     So we don't see many balik kampung scenarios - be it coming or going. Neither do we see parents getting excited to welcome their children/grandchildren for aidilfitri. Our children and grandchildren live with us or just a stone's throw away. We get to see them all the time. Sampai naik semput......
     Jadi aidilfitri lain sikit kat sini. We have an exodus of those yang tak ada kampung or tak balik raya or tak sambut raya sebab bukan Islam at this time. In my family's case, we get an assortment of non-Malay guests mostly. And how they love aidilfitri! Ada yang siap pakai baju Melayu bersampin bagai! And they come bearing gifts.
     We have received flowers, cakes, silver cutlery, chandeliers, clothes, premium teas and coffees, ornaments.....entah apa2 lagi!
     This is the time when our narrow streets get jampacked with all manner of vehicles - double/triple parked. Yang kadangkala membuat segelintir hamba Allah naik berang - bersalam-salaman dan bermaaf-maafan fogotten. Nak aje jentik telinga laga kepala!
     This year aidilfitri tak sama......mak takde, ada ahli keluarga yang mengada2....tapi tetap disambut all the same. Walaupun hati ini berat, badan ini lemah.......
     Salam aidilfitri untuk semua. Maaf dipinta, maaf diberi. Have a great one!