Che Guevara, Malcolm X, Obama & Me

Some people said before that Barack Obama will look odd on the dollar bill. But the President-elect seems to be a popular icon nowadays after he won the election. I couldn't remember when was the last President of United States was considered an icon especially to the world. What kind of President he will be is yet to be seen. Accepting the task as a President to cleanup all the mess that George W. Bush had left behind is just too much for one man and by itself deserve a praise. He is the new hope for America and also to the world. Hope he will learn from history and be more empathetic towards his 'enemy'. The rest of the world may not think the way Americans do but do not demonized them. Different cultures with different ideals but with a common goal of freedom, peace and happiness.

Obama had inspired America. Uniting the Red and the Blue. Inspired the world and hopefully uniting people at war and promoting a lasting peace. The message looks so good on print. Great speech writers and great artists all worked together and created an icon. I love those red and blue posters. It has that radical look, strong and persistent. But will Obama iconic figure be legendary as Che Guevara or Malcolm X? That is yet to be seen. What I can see is in Photoshop. I spend the whole Saturday compositing those iconic figures together and included myself in just for the fun of it and having the chance to put on my beret again.

The base picture is of Che Guevara, the hair and the beret. Then I took a photo of myself with the same pose and layered it over. Converted both to grayscale image and then filtered it down to five shades of gray. The edges were cleaned up to achieve a more graphic look. Then I took the glass frame of Malcolm X and replaced mine. Then I separated the 5 shades of gray to different layers in Photoshop. Each layer was then converted to different colours of red and blues. I gave the highlights a yellowish retro look. But where is Obama? I just copied the word 'HOPE' from one of Shepard Fairey's poster on Obama and pasted it on my design. 'Hope' is what Obama is all about. People are hoping for a real change. The 'O' was changed to a crescent moon and star symbolizing a new hope to the Muslim world. Hoping Obama will improve the American foreign policies which is the real enemy for many decades. The peace in the Middle East will resonate a global peace. God bless America and hey why not the world too?. For God's bounty is unlimited which spans beyond the universe. He is Most Gracious and Most Merciful.

Update: 7th October 2012

After 4 years in office, President Obama hasn't done much for change or hope. That righteous image has turned into 'the lesser of the two evils'. But evil is still evil, lesser or greater. How could God bless America when Americans have lost their sense of righteousness. Money is the new god which favors the rich more than the poor. Yet the poor are fools that fell on false hope. For the fools, 'the lesser of two evils' look more sane than Mitt Romney, 'the greater of the two evils', aka Bush 2.0.
What America really needs is a totally new 'Operating System' and not the illusion of choice. The power needs to return back to the people. It should be 'By the people and for the people' and not the privileged few. Republican and Democrat belongs to the War Party. We need a peace maker. For making peace takes a lot of patience and intelligence. For many years the U.S. Presidents are lacking of it. Nothing more than a puppet on a string manipulated by corporations.

Swatari & Eid @Dewan Perdana FELDA

Last Sunday evening I was at Dewan Perdana FELDA attending a graduation ceremony of Swatari Dance School an annex of Pak Ngah Production owned by my celebrity friend Datuk Suhaimi Mohd Zain. Since it is still Shawal we also had an Eid dinner. In Malaysia Eid is celebrated for the whole month. Here are the family members of the students:

Food may not be the highlight of the evening but I would not miss out on traditional Malay food. There was no real rush because it is free-flow throughout the evening and everybody took their time and enjoying the show.

Though Eid is in its third week but it is nice to see the traditional ketupat, lemang and rendang being served. My tummy probably got tired of it but my eyes still like to have a feast. It is reassuring that I am in Malaysia and it is still Eid.

Though the dress code that evening was Malay traditional but there is always a guy who missed on crucial information. There he is my friend Syed Hassan in his maroon jacket and dark polo shirt together with his family and the famous Pak Ngah or officially called Datuk Suhaimi Mohd Zain.

Majority of the Swatari students are young children. They learn the many disciplines of Malay traditional dance and also get the chance to travel overseas for some cultural exchange. They may not be sharp with their moves but Swatari stresses much on discipline.

There is also a group of Japanese students who studied Malay traditional dance under Swatari. They stayed in Kuala Lumpur for two years. With their full Malay traditional dress I didn't realized that they were Japanese initially. Their movements were graceful and it is hard to believe that they spend two years just to learn Malay traditional dance.

The Swatari group visited Japan mid this year and they were well taken care off. The children enjoyed themselves and learned much from the trip.Here is the top Japanese official receiving a token from Pak Ngah for her dedication and the hospitalilty.

Here is the young teen group displaying their flare in Zapin style and a mix of Silat. It is quite breathtaking to see they flipped and turned in mid-air and yet moved gracefully to the Zapin music. Incidentally the music was remixed by me with new rhythm arrangemnent of Arabic Darbuka and Indian Tabla. The piece actually was part of the music lesson I conducted at Pak Ngah Production last year. Nobody told me that they were going to use it for the show. They also brought the music to Japan. The Japanese seemed to like it very much.

The Swatari students who have graduated could joined the Swatari professional group if they are good enough. The Swatari group won a Gold Award for the best performance at the Asian Youth Arts Festival this year in China. They really deserved it for their dedication and hard work. For this group of young students their future in Malay traditional dance is about to begin.

Eid Fitri 1429

Ramadhan 1429 though over but it is still close in my heart. It was like a friend who came for a visit and kept me company through the days and nights. Though alone in a big city but I have never felt lonely. It was sad to see it left but it was time to go. After nearly a month of fasting I felt weak. The train terminal is just next door and so I pampered myself and bought a first class ticket home to JB. Through the window I could see the bright city lights finally faded behind and the country sides passed by like postcards with kerosene lamps around the houses ushering the coming of Eid. What a wonderful sight to see while having sahur.

The long awaited day finally came. Eid Fitri greeted me in the morning. Here I was again in Masjid Jamek Bandar Baru UDA in JB. I always miss this place. It gave a special meaning to be home. Though many things have changed but this place remain the same. Shukur alhamdulillah. More than glad to hear the takbir again.

I felt that there was a fewer crowd this year. Lesser traffic and less colourful. Perhaps it was the gloomy economy but Eid is not about economy. We should always be grateful for what we have or even for what we don't. There is always a wisdom to every circumstances. It is the fitrah that Allah gave for without it life will be without balance. Let celebrate the fitrah.

Eid came with a special prize. My niece Sofia is one year old this Eid. Sometime I wonder where was she all this time. She really changed my life. Now my shirt is always creased and sometime wet. Lost the freedom. Lost much sleep. Lost the 'eligiblity' though still eligible. But it worth the sacrifice. Nothing else can compare. It is just sheer bliss. May your Eid be blissful too.

Iftar @Masjid Wilayah

Last Tuesday I decided to visit masjid Wilayah for iftar. The weather was fair and I think I could get good shots of the masjid. The sun was about to set and it was a perfect moment. The first time when I visited masjid Wilayah I was awed by its design. I couldn't believe that I was in Malaysia. It is so majestic and yet it is quite obscure.

After climbing two flights of staircase I reached the second level. This is where the main hall is with a large courtyard and a fountain in the middle. It is quite breathtaking to see it for the first time. The above shot was taken after iftar and Magrib while waiting for Isha and tarawih.

Masjid Wilayah is also a favourite place for celebrities to have their 'akad nikah ceremony. Its size and beauty give an illusion of being in a large palace. A kind of place that just married couples will feel like in a fairy tale and hoping to be happy ever after.

Behind the man congregation is the women section. I am not sure of other times but during tarawih that was the arrangement. It was without a divider and just a space in between just like during Rasulullah time. I managed to get a quick shot before the rest came.

More info: Masjid Wilayah

Iftar @al-Bukhary

Masjid al-Bukhary is situated at Jalan Hang Tuah in Kuala Lumpur. Tightly located beside the main road and the Monorail track. I was always curious about its beauty everytime I passed by from monorail. So last week I decided to drop by for iftar.

It is fairly new masjid completed sometime last year. It is a modestly build without much expensive materials. Mostly emulsion paint and moulded plaster. It is not air-conditioned and fairly opened so the public could take a peek from the main road and the monorail. Yet with all the thriftiness it still look elegant. Climbing from the side stairway I could see the beauty of the interior shining trough.

I stayed from Maghrib till Isha'. Teraweh was a bit tough in this masjid because there is no air-conditioning and the small fans are too remote. Here is the shot of the jemaah preparing for salah.

The dome also looks impressive even without the usual chandelier.

One thing great about iftar at al-Bukhary is the bubur lambok. It sure gets my vote. The spices help to rejuvenate the long day fasting taste buds. Al-Bukhary will definitely be my frequent place for iftar this Ramadhan.

Iftar @Asy-Shakirin

Last Friday I decided to go to Masjid Asy-Syakirin near KLCC for iftar. It is also known as Masjid KLCC. It is a moderate sized masjid and a hidden beauty. Tourists who visited KLCC rarely knew of its existence. A walk in the park probably will get them there. I met a couple of tourist who wanted to see the masjid but it was late. People at the masjid were preparing for iftar. They were busy setting up tables and chairs because it was a special iftar that evening. It was sponsored by Khazanah Nasional a government related company. Here is the pix taken before iftar:

But I am not there for that free food. An ordinary bubur lambok is fine for me. I am more interested to see the beauty of Asy-Syakirin. It is not a pretentious masjid because from the exterior it kind of look ordinary. But the interior is well crafted. It has an interesting dome where at a certain angle you can see the KLCC towers through its glass panes.

I felt comfortable at Asy-Syakirin. It is a city masjid for a city guy like me. So I stayed over from Maghrib till teraweh. It was a modest crowd packing up around three quarter of the main hall. There is also a lower hall which is used during Juma'at. During iftar women hanged around that area. The women prayer area is upstairs at the balcony, the first class seats :). Here is the ordinary class area for men :) :

Iftar @Masjid Jamek

Ramadhan 1429 is finally here. Last Monday was the first day of Ramadhan in Malaysia. I spend the first two days with family back in JB. It was a public holiday. There were no fireworks or concerts to usher the holy month, just a moment of peace.

On Wednesday I finally went back to KL to start work. I felt a change in the air. Ramadhan bazaars are everywhere and the masjids were busy preparing for Iftar. This Ramadhan I intend to visit various masjid in KL for Iftar and start a photo journal of Ramadhan. The first stop is Masjid Jamek. It is an old masjid in the city surrounded by palm trees. For a moment I felt I was somewhere else. It has a certain Moorish feel to it and a memory of an old friend from Memphis.

After collecting the Lambok poridge, drink, fruit and dates the crowd sat around in the extended wing talking to each other or just keeping to themselves. The women has their own private area. There are many foreigners that came. Some were tourists or just expatriates like me. Though diversed in nature but we gathered as one in the special month of Ramadhan.

More info: Masjid Jamek