Happy Deepavali greetings to all Hindus

Deepavali falls on Monday, October 27, 2008. It is national public holiday in Malaysia except for the state of Sabah and Sarawak. My family and I will be away on a ‘balik kampung’ outstation trip for three days (25th – 27th Oct)

I wish to take this opportunity to wish all my Hindu readers, friends, colleagues and neighbours a very Happy Deepavali.

Together, let’s celebrate the Festival of Lights - the light that removes darkness and the victory of good over the evil ones.

Enjoy a Happy Deepavali, may peace and joy of friendship light up your world always.

A Hari Raya Aidilfitri & Deepavali Celebration

Upon arrival, these two pretty ladies greet you with smiles.

"Hi, Selamat Datang to our open house"

Happy Deepavali to these gentlemen who are smartly dressed in their traditional attires.


A thorn among the roses.

The open house is not complete without delightful, sumptuous food and delicacies.

A big turnout at the event. A big success.

Guests can also sit on the floor which is covered with colourful tikar (rug).

Happy posing for the camera.

All smiles on their faces. Unity and goodwill over-ride everything else.

I attended a joint Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Deepavali celebration today Tuesday, October 21, 2008 and I must comment that it was a very impressive open house from the hosts. The multi-racial hosts who dressed in their traditional attires had a great time together with their guests of all races.

Guests were treated to a sumptuous Malaysian buffet dinner that offered delights like satay, fried kuay-teow, chicken curry and other delicacies.

Malaysians celebrate all festivals of all races in the country by hosting each other at Open House. This is the uniqueness of Malaysia. It sees Malaysians of all races and religions celebrating each other's religious and cultural festivals together and proves that racial tolerance, understanding, respect and unity are observed and treasured in this multi-racial country. Lets hope the spirit of holding multi-racial gatherings like this will continue in Malaysia. By doing this all Malaysian can be happy in peace for ever.

Thumps up to the guys and gals for making this event a great success!

Malayisa Boleh!

Deepavali Carnival at Little India in Brickfields

Shoppers thronged Little India in Brickfields, KL for their Deepavali shopping.


Shoppers walking along the sidewalks where makeshift stalls are set-up.


View of Little India along Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields, KL. The white-top makeshift stalls are set up along the sidewalks on both side of the street.


Shoppers checking out the clothings of various designs and colours at the makeshift stalls.
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Deepavali cookies packed in plastic containers for modern convenience.


Sweet delights – varieties of delicious and irresistible Indian sweetmeats and coconut candies on sale.


Shoppers are spoilt for choice with lots of colourful and pretty bangles to choose from.


Statues of Indian deities such as the elephant-faced-deity popularly known as Ganesha on sale at the stall.


Attractive potteries for those who look for intricate designs.


Sambrani incense used in spiritual ceremonies since ancient times. Its smoke creates a soothing atmosphere of calm serenity.


You can have your hands drawn with Henna body art design by this woman who said she was trained in "henna tattoos" in India.


Fresh colourful flower garlands hung on stall for sale.

Deepavali is just around the corner. Hindus across the country will be celebrating the festival of lights on Monday October 27, 2008 which is less than a week away. Deepavali is a national public holiday in Malaysia except in Sabah and Sarawak.

If you are at Little India in Brickfields at this time, you can feel the air of festivity all around you. Yes if you want to get into the Deepavali mood, this is the place and its great feelings here.

There are over 550 colourful makeshift stalls licensed by City Hall offering a variety of items setup along the sidewalks on both sides of Jalan Tun Sambanthan and surrounding areas. Shoppers checking out the stalls and shops along the narrow sidewalks to get good bargains.

I am not a Hindu but I made a trip down Little India in Brickfields today Sunday 19, 2008 to get a fascinating glimpse of the colours, pomps and lively carnival atmosphere of the festive bazaar.

So when I reached Little India about 2.00pm, there was no big crowd maybe because of the hot afternoon sun. The heat from the sun was killing! I watched Little India fascinated as I walked along the sidewalks with my camera clicking at the colourful sights, sounds and actions at the Deepavali carnival.


Info:

1. Deepavali is colorful festival that is celebrated by all Hindus worldwide is Deepavali, which is also known as the festival of lights. This festival usually falls around late October and November. One important practice that the Hindus follow during the festival is to light oil lamps in their homes on Deepavali morning. By lighting the oil lamps, the Hindus are thanking the gods for the happiness, knowledge, peace and wealth that they have received. The Hindus consider Deepavali as one of the most important festivals to celebrate.

2. The Legend - The story goes that Narakasura, a demon, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. Under his rule, the villagers suffered a lot of hardship as the demon tortured the people and kidnapped the women to be imprisoned in his palace. Seeing his wickedness, Lord Khrishna set out to destroy the demon and the day Narakasura died was celebrated as Deepavali, the triumph of good over evil!

Restoran Yusoff Hari Raya Open House

Restoran Yusoff in SEA Park, Petaling Jaya hosted a Hari Raya Open House on Oct 18, 2008.

Guests were received at the shop entrance by restaurant owner Kak Edah and her children. 

There was a continuous stream of guests who came to wish their host Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and enjoyed the buffet food which included satay, assam laksa, curry noodle, curry chicken and many others.

Guests helping themselves from a variety of food.


Guests in jovial mood. 

The crowd enjoying the food.


Guests enjoying the food.

Hari Raya 2008 open house for bankers

The place was the spacious and cosy dining hall at the top floor of an office tower building of an established institution in KL city.

The date and time : October 16, 2008 @ 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm

The occasion was the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house co-hosted by a few divisions of the financialinstitution.

The multi-racial guests were staff from other departments and invited ones who came to join in the festive mood, to exchange Hari Raya greetings, to interact and of course to feast on the dishes which include tomato rice, satay, meehoon soup, roti jala, cake and other desserts. Senior Management staff were also present.

The host staff sportingly dressed up in traditional outfits and were standing in line to receive their guests. The ladies dressed attractively in baju kurung, cheongsam or sari whilst the guys dressed smartly in their kurta or baju Melayu complete with sampin and songkok.

The response was good as it was full house with all the seats taken. Everyone present was in cheerful mood and had the opportunity to meet up with all their colleagues and friends in one place.

There were good interactions which help to strengthen staff relations and inter-racial ties. This is true Malaysian team spirit in the work. For many who were present, it was certainly a lesson learnt on harmony and race relation others should emulate. 'Tis the harmonious society of Malaysia. 'Tis Malaysia Boleh!

Pretty maidens all in a row.

All the men dressed smartly in traditional baju Melayu.

Everyone in cheerful mood.

All smiles for the camera.

There is plenty of food to go around.

Satay is a hot favourite.

Guests dining in comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.

From the window of the dining hall, I took this picture of the beautiful city skyline with the Petronas Twin Towers standing majestically in the background.

One for the album for sweet remembrance.

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Fond remembrance for this group too.

Silat Gayung show at Anwar's Hari Raya 2008 open house

I have not seen a silat demonstration for a long time. Silat is a Malay martial art of self defense.

So when I saw these silat practitioners performing live at Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house last Sunday, October 12, 2008, I was really thrilled and enchanted by their graceful movements. It was entertaining all the same.

To the accompaniment of traditionally silat music, they shrugged their shoulders (as if to say that there was nothing) as they moved their steps hesitantly with their fists ready to strike. Then suddenly their slow movements change into explosive and lightning fast strikes to their opponents.

The large number of people that had gathered to watch were excited and thrilled to see demonstration on use of defensive or offensive techniques such as using bare hand as weapon and use of several martial arts weapons such as keris (Malay dagger), parang (chopping knife), long sticks and steel chain.

Silat martial art covers hand and leg techniques.

The core of the art focuses on body mobility and coordination.


Practitioners learn to use their bare hands as their weapon.


Silat Gayung also teaches the "ground fighting form". Falling to the ground does not mean the fight is over.


Young practitioners show their skill in the combative arts of fighting and survival.

Learning how to apply defensive or offensive techniques using the keris - a Malay dagger.


Disabling an opponent armed with a parang - a chopping knife.

Silat employs the usage of several martial arts weapons such as long sticks.

A long chain can be used as an offensive weapon.

Anwar's Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2008 open house

More than 20,000 people attended YB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house from 2pm to 5pm today Sunday, October 12, 2008.

The sprawling ground of the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru, KL city provided an ideal setting for the people, young and old, of different races and religions who thronged the place to extend greetings to Anwar, who is member of parliament of Permatang Puah, his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, daughter Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah and other PKR leaders.

Hindraf members and RPK supporters were also present but in smaller numbers as compared to their big present at PM Hari Raya Open House held at PWTC last October 1, 2008. When they arrived I was watching the silat gayong demonstration at the other end of the field. Later I learnt that the Hindraf members had presented a teddy bear and Hari Raya card to Anwar.

There were many stalls offering a variety of delicious and mouth-watering Malaysian favourites such as Satay, Yong Tow Foo, Mee Rebus, Fried Penang Char Kuay Teow, Ais Kacang, Rori Canai and Penang Asam Laksa. Long queues can be seen at all these stalls. I must say that the food served at the PM Hari Raya Open House at PWTC was nothing as compared here! Here the guests get to taste all their favourite dishes and ate all they can!

The crowd were also entertained to songs by popular artistes on stage. A Silat Gayung (Malay martial art of self defence) demonstration thrilled the enthusiastic crowd who cheered and clapped hands.

The sky above was getting dark and a storm was brewing in the distance. I felt some small light drops of water on me from the threatening sky above. I thought there will be a heavy downpour soon, just like it rained heavily yesterday afternoon, but somehow for some unexplained reason, the little light drops of water stopped shortly, the sky got a little brighter and there was no rain. Yes there was no rain at the Sultan Sulaiman Club in Kampung Baru.

On my way back home when I passed by the Central Market area to exit to Federal Highway, I was surprised that it was raining quite heavy here and raining it was all the way.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim chat with children during his walkabout at the open house accompanied by two bodyguards (in red batik shirts) standing on his left and right.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim clap his hands in cheerful mood.

Dr Syed Husin Ali, who is the Deputy President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail standing in line to receive continuous stream of visitors.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's wife Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah greet visitors at the open house.

Thousands make a beeline to attend Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's open house.

Visitors and well-wishers from all walks of life are welcomed to the open house.

A child gets a greeting kiss on the forehead from Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.


This man extends Hari Raya greeting to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim while Selangor State Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim (facing camera in background) looks in their directions.

A woman extends her Hari Raya greeting to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.


Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim garlanded with scented flowers by this well-wisher.

The bodyguard, with earloop wire security kit on his right ear, keeping an eyeful watch over his boss, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is only too happy to oblige this young man for a photo snap while on her left, looking on is ADUN Sri Andalas Dr. A. Xavier Jayakumar who is the Supreme Council Member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and Selangor State EXCO for Health, Plantation Wokers & Poverty and Caring Government.

PKR information chief Tian Chua wearing the baju melayu and songkok welcomed visitors.

Hindraf supporters were welcomed at the open house.


PKR supporters too were welcomed at the open house.


Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with a Hindraf supporter wearing the trademark orange color t-shirt.

The big crowd at the Sultan Sulaiman Club field with the Petronas Twin Towers standing majestically in the background.

A section of the crowd inside the big tent set up in the middle of the Sultan Sulaiman Club field.


Visitors enjoyed a variety of delicious and mouth-watering Malaysian favourite food.


There are chicken satay for everyone.


The Penang Assam Laksa is a hot favourite.


The thirst quenching ais kacang (ABC) is in great demand on a hot afternoon.


Popular singers belting out the crowd's favourite songs.

A demonstration of Silat Gayong, a Malay martial art, thrilled the enthusiastic crowd.


A stall selling t-shirts imprinted with messages in support of Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK) who was detained under the Internal Security Act.


The front of the Sulan Sulaiman Club building.