Monday, March 28, 2005

An email from a wise man

I wrote to him recently.

salam pak muhammad,

sudah lama saya tidak menghubungi bapak. asyik-asyik terlupa sahaja walaupun berjam-jam menghadap komputer. apa khabar? Saya alhamdulillah. masih bertugas di Kuala Lumpur. 2 hari lepas genap setahun sudah bekerja di sana. dengar khabar gaji naik sedikit. baru-baru ini ada membeli antologi aksara usia (hidup?) karya bapak. terjumpa di pasar chowrasta penang.

saya insya allah kalau duit cukup nanti akan ke USA pada bulan Ogos 2005. sambung belajar kembali. tak lama. 2 minggu sahaja. belajar ' advanced theatrical clowning (Eccentric Performing) dengan Avner Eisenberg di Celebration Barn Theatre, Maine, USA.

sudah merancang utk singgah di Boston dan New York. mahu berjalan-jalan di Central Park dan tafakur di Ground Zero dan mengekori badut badut hospital (clown doctors) di Boston Children's Hospital.

salam,

iskandar


He replied:

sdr iskandar,

salam dari pulau pinang. menarik - lorong hidup yang sdr pilih, yang jarang dipilih oleh orang muda kita., pelajar saya menunggu kerja kerajaan saja. berbulan dan bertahun.

selamat jalan ke new york - kota yang sangat gila tapi sangat menarik.

sesiapa saja yang menjejak kaki di sana cepat mesra dan menjadi warganya.

kalau ada waktu kirimkan berita dari nyc.


muhammad

I first met him back in 2003 when I was travelling down to Bangkok from Vientiane to get my air ticket to USA. We stumbled upon each other at the Nara Skyway Station. He was with another writer, Khadijah Hashim, attending the SEA Writers Award ceremony in Bangkok that day. We corresponded with each other for a while. Then I returned to Malaysia and started working. Recently when I was in Penang, I got hold of his anthology " Aksara Usia" and luckily I still remember his email. So I wrote.

He is a seasoned traveller. I admire the way he observes things and places he has visited and express it in his beautiful poems.

Yes, I am going to write to him from NYC.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck, all the best in NYC :)

p.s. May I link your blog to mine? Thanks!

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

ck,

no problemo. nice blog you got!

Anonymous said...

Thank you :)

Kak Teh said...

is, when are you going? also pls go to my blog and click LadyJade ...nice mention of you and what you do..
cewah! So, tak mau komen on my blog ke? hehe, I know...tak pa, jangan jeles, nanti kak teh risik!

Unknown said...

Wow... exchanging emails with Sasterawan Negara!!
I envy you Is.

Indeed his poems are great both in Bahasa and English.

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

kakteh,

left my comments on her blog just now.heh tak perasan pun her name in yr link before.

jiwarasa,

true.i like his foreword in aksara usia, membayangkan rasa hati seorang pengembara.

his email is short but full with meanings and deep thoughts.

Hajar said...

dear dr, keep up the good work! thanks for checking out my blog.

kak teh, jade mention sikit jer lah. more merepek on myself. hehe..

Anonymous said...

Seronok baca your blog. Accidentally jumpa.
All the best in NY!
-zazz

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

zazz,

thanks for visiting mine. eh mana blog u?

Atok said...

Is,
Takde nak singgah sini ke? Boleh lah ber-badut sikit with us all.

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

cn: err... lagi best kalau dapat beremail dgn siti....KAKTEH!! where are you?

atok: nanti kalau ilmu cukup bolehlah pi sana buat workshop.

Anonymous said...

Apa khabar Is, harap sihat dan berjaya...

Sekadar berkongsi pengalaman manis.
Saya pernah bertandang sekali ke rumah SN ini, membawa pelajar2 bengkel untuk slot bersama SN. Teringin hendak duduk berbual2 tapi kerana mesti beri keutamaan pada pelajar, kami terpaksa menyisih ke belakang. Mungkin sebab saya kurang berulit dgn puisi, jadi terasa banyak yg tertinggal mengenai SN hebat ini.

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

salina,

teringat pertemuan saya dengan beliau di Bangkok dahulu.

saya menegurnya, " eh ini pak muhammad ya?". maklum sahajalah ditengah tengah kota bangkok yang rata-rata berwajah siam, muka orang melayu ini senang dicam.

saya waktu itu belum pun pernah membaca karya beliau hanya kenal muka melalui media. biasalah orang melayu yang merantau ini, pantang nampak sedara mara , mesti bertegur sapa.

puisi beliau yang saya sempat baca memang mendalam maknanya.kata kawan saya, dr alzamani,puisi dan sajak yang bagus boleh buat kita 'termuntah' -terkeluar isi jantung.

Lala-land said...

I admire what you are doing! Thank god there are people like you in this world! Drop me a line if you are in LA.

Iskandar Syah Ismail aka DR Bubbles said...

missYY,

thanks. just pursuing my passion.

By the way TKCian ka dulu? you all sombonglah dulu-dulu..hehehe...