Thursday, March 19, 2009

Down Memory Lane - Paya Tok Gading

My first 'encounter' with Paya Tok Gading was when I was around 7 years old when we moved (or 'had to move?') from our house inside Sekolah Naim LilBanat to a house near Paya Tok Gading, which is not very far from Berek 12. It was a wooden house without electricity or water supplies, and we had to use pelita every night to study. The rental was RM10.00, if I'm not mistaken. The house was inside a small rubber plantation.

I still remember when we reached the 'new' house, the first thing I did was to play beside the paya together with my elder brothers and try catching various types of fishes there (and the first time that I saw 'ikan terubok' which would easily died, which puzzled me at that time). That was the start of my 'attachment' with Paya Tok Gading until I was around 14 years old, when I started my study at KIK.

Paya Tok Gading would be full with water during monsoon season. Playing at Paya Tok Gading exposed us to various dangers and we also got to know all of our village's nerds. When the monsoon rain started, we would keep watching its level, and when we thought the level was just adequate, the fun would start with all types of activities like rafting (made from banana trees or bamboo), fishing and of course swimming. We were never afraid of the danger by swimming inside the paya. The only danger we foresaw was when we reached home with our bodies covered with mud, and this would create trouble with Ma, who would of course made noise. Then we would get our 'reward' from Ma for the adventure. The mud was quite difficult to remove even after we had washed ourselves from our neighbours' wells. Or sometimes the 'spies' would keep Ma informed of our adventures in Paya Tok Gading, and we would never be left off the hook. And the 'spies' were none other than our own younger sisters who were still considered 'underaged' and not 'eligible' to join the ranks of the adventurers of Paya Tok Gading.

One thing I still remember is that our late father had never let us eat the fishes from the paya, saying that the paya is dirty and the fishes are not consummable. Usually he would buy 'ikan darat' from a source which he was very sure to be clean. He was very particular of what we take, either in term of 'kesucian' or halalness of the food. He used to say that 'kalau sumber tu haram, jangan bawa balik ke rumah bagi anak makan'.

When two of my sons were still small many years back, I passed by the paya together with my family, and I told my sons, almost proudly, of the place where I used to have fun as a boy. They were quite shocked and said 'ayah mandi kat tempat macam ni?', with disbelief looks on their faces. Well, I think Paya Tok Gading managed to shape us to become adventerous and full of ideas, just like one of your uncles and aunties who could be considered 'veterans' of Paya Tok Gading, who are now in the pinnacle of their careers.

Paya Tok Gading no more exists now and the area is full with houses and bushes, but the memory is still there.




7 comments:

Abdul Azim said...

Sekarang rumah tu dah takde ye ayah?
Kita pun ada pengalaman mandi paya..tapi mungkin ada yang umi ayah tak tahu..hehe..
bila dah belajar medic jadi takut pulak nak mandi paya sebab banyak parasite sebenarnya dalam paya..bahaya2..org kata ni medical student syndrome..jadi extreme hygiene..

kita ada exam rabu atau lusa ni ayah..Ayah doakan kita ye..

Anonymous said...

ayah akan sentiasa doakan azim. kena selalu solat hajat, semoga Allah permudahkan.

rumah tu dah tak ada sekarang. rumah kayu, tangga pun kayu. dah membangun kawasan tu sekarang.

Abdul Azim said...

insyaAllah ayah..terima kasih ayah..

Abdul Azim said...

Alhamdulillah ayah kita dapat jawab dengan baik tadi..terima kasih doakan kita..ayah kim salam kan dekat semua ye..

aridhlissukun said...

rumoh kat lorong tok gading ko ni? ambo dulu rumoh ssitu jugop.

Lbih kure tahun 1993 baru pindoh dekat nga Pasar Berek 12.

Sekapong la kiro nih.

Anak Timur Laut said...

aridhlissukun,

saya batch paya tok gading 70an. tahun 90an mungkin paya tu dah lebih separuh hilang.

la ni dah tak ada apa yang tinggal lagi.

aridhlissukun said...

oo..payo tu takdop dh lo ni. Cumo kalu musim banjir jah air naik betakung semula.

Pokcik ni satu batch nga abah sy la gamoknyo.

 

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