Monday, November 19, 2012

A White Treasure




Sometimes, beauty lies hiding in your backyard. It is just a matter of looking for it.

There she was waiting on the ground. My treasured white find which had me practically squealing with delight. Barringtonia Asiatica, the flower that is otherwise known as Sea Poison Tree and commonly referred to in Melay as “putat”.

It was lying there on the grounds out at FRIM  (Forest Research Institute malaysia), a place that I had once frequented for weekly walks.

Thing is,  when you’re out with frens  that time walks too earnestly and have a gazillion things to accomplish on a Sunday, there’s no time to stand and stare.

Totally different from when photographers venture out.

Which is why that Sunday morning, we took our own sweet time. The fitness freaks would have breezed through the main road in five minutes. We only took about two hours.

A friend gleefully tested out  her micro lens on mushrooms that tried to hide away between leaves. Tall trees with leaves that hardly touched loomed over us,  barks with interesting patterns stared at us and dragonflies that rested fleetingly teased us. That and much more had us snapping away.   

This particular forest still leaves me spellbound no matter how many times I visit. Which brings me back to my point about beauty being in our backyard.

Often, we don’t seem to look hard enough with what we have and what is so close by. There’s no need to seek beauty and joy afar; it’s most probably staring you right in the face. 

Ever met old-time birders who are still mesmerized by  common birds?

They painstakingly focus their binoculars on them, letting their beauty fill their lives with awe all over again. Perhaps we should be like them. Appreciate the beauty in all that surrounds us, no matter how many times we’ve seen it. 

 


A quick word about FRIM
FRIM is a green haven that locals flock to, to walk off food indulgences, soak in  green vibes, cycle on treks, picnic out to the sound of cascading water, and more. There are lots of trails, a canopy walk, a waterfall, etc. Try logging on to the official website  at www.frim.gov.my/, though it is a tad slow.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Translators. Totally Unappreciated.


Translators aren’t given the recognition they deserve. It’s a thought that strikes home repeatedly whilst I am glued to beautifully translated books. 

There are times that I read a book just to know what happens next. Ken Follet’s “Ten Pillars of the Earth” is one such book. Reminds me of when I used to watch Desperate Housewives. Yeah,  we all know there was no deep thought-provoking plot to that TV show.

Yet, each time the writers ended with a cliffhanger, I was hooked. That was it.  Not knowing what happened next was sheer torture, no matter how idiotic it eventually turned out to be.

Anyway, when it came to “The Garlic Ballads” and “My Name is Red” of which I’ve been reading on-and-off, I stay glue to them for different reasons.

That garlic book is pungent! (Sorry, couldn’t resist it.) Am not a great fan of anything that makes me tear up, but “The Garlic Ballad” is so beautifully written that it gives poetry to a simple farmer’s dreadful troubles. On the other hand, I wonder what someone who read Mo Yan’s book in Chinese would have to say about both versions. How much did Howard Goldblatt, the translator add to (or to be fair, subtract from) its beauty?

“My Name is Red” is another page-turner. The words are sheer magic, the narration superb. Yet, my restless mind darts around, wondering what the Turkish version is like. I doubt it’s possible to have an exact mirror image no matter how hard translator Erdaq M. Guknar would have tried.

I’m sure this is a topic that has been debated to death somewhere in the virtual world. Am not going to look it up just yet or else my mischievous mind will be focused on how it was done rather than enjoy the book itself. Future translated books would be just ruined for me.

Now, after having declared that I won’t pick up any more books till I’ve read all that’s scattered over my space, I’m pondering on which translated gem I should feast on next.