Where has my semangat Raya gone to?!


Indahnya sungguh di hari raya
Ramainya orang bersuka ria
( 2 X )
Adikku manis cantik bergaya
Bolehkah abang ikut bersama
( 2 X )
Usahlah abang membuang waktu
Mari menuju ke rumah bonda
( 2 X )
Sanak saudara sedang menunggu
Di hari mulia bertemu mesra
( 2 X )

- Hail Amir & Uji Rashid's "Seloka Hari Raya" -


i ADORE Hari Raya...i'm one of those who can never get enough of the Raya songs, who will go out of her way to pin up all her Raya cards, who will *but not before complaining* fill up the gasoline for the tiny pelitas, who would badger my mom to bake cookies *at least 4 different macam* and who just loves the whole festival...

but all those said above has not repeated itself this year...its really sad..i still love Raya, but what's with tiny barriers here and there, i realised as i get older, Raya will never quite be the same..oh sure, the festive air, the lovely spread of customary lemang, rendang, ketupat, kuah kacang and tons of raya cookies, the going rounds to relatives houses, and the cheesy Raya shows on TV will prevail *hopefully* for a long time...

but the tiny things mentioned up there will be missing? why? well, firstly, i have not received a single Raya card this year..i'm not complaining tho, i am bad with my correspondences in the snail mail form...in school, i'd buy bundles of Raya cards and distribute it around to all my friends, and get them in return..but as i left school and the many friends i made, i find that the circle of new friends made that would make my raya card list, has become smaller..i do not know why...but it doesn't feel as meaningful enough to distribute Raya cards..furthermore, i think i'm plain lazy, which is no excuse, but yeah...however, i do have wonderful friends who keeps on sending me Raya cards even after i moved ,and when i'm abroad...*i should really make an effort, tsk*

The raya cookies and pelitas? well, remember my mom who's quite a formidable woman? well, if she says the house is not fit for Raya, makanye, tak beraya laa rumah nie..*sigh* and no amount of persuasion and " don't worry, i'll sponsor the tepung, gula and telur!" will make her take out the baking tray...*whispers, plus, i think she's discouraged with the almost-new oven which burnt her cookies 2 years back*..back in Subang, i'd line the pelitas on our fence, and it would look so dreamy after sahur...but what's with the lashings of rain we're experiencing lately, tercabut pulak pelita2 tu kang..we do have the modern bamboo ones, but i dunno how long that'll last..speaking of the rain, i have half a mind to wear bright yellow PCK boots for beraya-ing on Raya pertama in kampung...

altho i might not be celebrating Raya as how i use to, there are newer traditions to welcome..my dad, being the eldest among his siblings, with a renewed ambition, lotsa time on his hands and a kebun to match, have take it upon himself *and the family* to do the bakar lemang thing..apparently, it was quite a hit last year, that i heard we're bakar-ing about 20 batang buluh of lemang this year..yay!! taht should be fun! sape2 nak tolong bakar lemang, dijemput hadir...sape nak lemang, bawak buluh sendiri ok...and my nenek already put in the order of the rendang to go with it, so after the last sahur, we'll be sweating it out in our tiny kebun..should be interesting...

i may not be as excited as i was the previous years, but looking around in my office, with Raya cards dangling from the ceiling, and Siti's melodious voice in the background, singing all her Raya songs, various mono and polyphonic Raya tunes coming out of handphones around me, i couldn't help getting melancholic la pulak...

*content sigh*

oklaa...if i've nothing else to say in the next few days reaching Raya, i'ma just gonna post Raya lyrics to all my favourite Raya tunes, starting from the one at the top...

Have a good day folks :)