The flu season is back

Its spring in Europe and summer is just round the corner. We Malaysians are facing higgledy piggledy weather. That is one day it’s simmering hot and the other its rains till it can flood.

This weather is just a good concoction for health problems. We go out with t-shirt and shorts thinking its going to be smelting out there , and when we get to the place, the air-conditioning at full blast, but raining cats and dogs…. The body trying to adjust to the temperature change.

Children are the first to be affected by it. They go to school and the spread of ‘flu ‘like symptoms will be easy. Mothers can nag their heads off to get the children to wash their hands and not go near a friend with flu, will find herself talking alone. I happened to get first hand experience of the situation. Being an old mother, aka neurotic about health, makes me more neurotic when I hear him sneezing at home, even though it’s just due to dust.

Nevertheless, being precautious is better. I am now back to grinding betel leaves and bottling them for my son daily use. I will pour on him as last rinse after he bathe in the evening, after back from school. It is a good antiseptic. In the olden days, we will wash ourselves with the juice during our confinement. And the Indians would spit chewed betel leave juice to a wound.

The poor boy would be fed a spoon of limejuice mixed with honey daily and extra virgin coconut oil as natural antibiotic. I try to stay away from antibiotics or any types of steroids given by doctors. In turn I will look out for natural antibiotics, such as the mix of limejuice or garlic or Echinacea from overseas.

The beauty of natural medicine is there is no limit. Though we should not start taking it by gallons. Lime juice is even good for diarrhea, while it sound odd as lime can cause more purging, but it will kill any bacteria in the stomach and purge it out.

Last night, I spoke to my sister-in-law (aka the head nurse and attending doctor for our family) about my thyroid problems. It was because I had a wound on my toe and there’s been infection because I am feeling feverish. She adviced me to go see a doctor, and most probably be given antibiotics. Knowing that, I quickly took some Echinacea tincture, 2 garlic and turmeric pills, wash it with one panadol.

I always advice my friends to take lots of honey and limejuice, and Echinacea pills for topping if they have flue. Drinking tea with ginger will clear the block nose. Although you will notice it is slow in effectiveness but it kills the root of the problem. I also believe, children being children, flue is the most common ailment and nothing wrong in taking preventive measures and too much antibiotics will affect the child’s immune system.

So, beware of weather change, hence temperature changes. It maybe not be as drastic as the Europeans but it is still change.

Khat or Script Writing Or Calligraphy

I guess a lot of people find it daunting of the task to write the “Jawi.” A lot of our children, who goes to the Islamic schools are used to it, but what I want to discuss here, is writing it properly for Quranic purposes.

I for one, are not able to read properly the jawi writing. I was the 60's child, where reading the quran was done at home or taught by Uztazah. I was fortunate to have my mum to teach me the basics and when I moved to my kampung, my grandparents took over. It was fun days, where children from close by the house come nitely except Thursday nite to learn from my grandparents. As a reward, they, including me would gravitate to our television after finishing their reading. There were few televisions in the kampung then. And it was a treat for everyone.

To write khat is a skill I think every Muslim ladies (esp.) should learn and experience. It opens up to a lot of possibilities and interesting knowledge. As an example, the font is very proportional. That is the size of the nib of the pen determines the size of the letters, hence the size of the words and so on. There’s some minor calculations and preparations you start to write. For a khat writer, who would have numerous nib sizes, he would just choose one which is appropriate for the occasion or the page.

The font of these khat writings started with kufi/c long time ago. Texts were written on palm fronds, stones, or skins. The writings didn’t have the strokes for easy reading. However, in my opinion it is an ideal font for architectural purposes. Due to it being in block form, it can be even made into buildings, and can be read easily from an aerial point of view and it would be wonderful for some Islamic building, in keeping with its concept.

Islamic Calligraphy like any other calligraphy starts with the pen used. Each and every country has its own type of reed for writing. We were made to understand by a prominent Calligrapher that a Calligrapher value his/her reed for writing the Quran like gold. And if received a reed would cherish it more than anything else.

In Malaysia, we are blessed with a few options like the Ijok (black sugar-palm), bamboo and handam (Dicranopteris linearis [Family: Gleicheniaceae])( the stem from a fern like plant).

The Ijok comes from a palmate tree. It looks like a brush of the tree and if not careful,the fruit accidently broken can sting like acid. Due to its size, the writing is small and fine. Usually used to write the strokes for the writing.

Bamboo is another option for writing. It is selected carefully, as it must be small enough to write but a lot of times it is hard.

Handam is the most suitable as it comes in handy sizes for holding like a pen, and once cured, the ‘nib’ is flexible enough to feel like a pen. It can be found everywhere. It just needs proper curing and can be cut to a comfortable length.


Once it is cured, the handam is like a piece of bamboo. You need to slice it carefully to make it look like a nib and cut the nib to the angle of your two fingers (index finger and middle fingers). This is just a guide. You also need the finest sand paper to smoothen the nib and to get your angle for writing.


This is what make the reed personal, because once you have smootherned it, it is written best by only the owner.

The next thing you must have is an ink pot lined with some gauze. This is to ensure you can put enough ink with some water. The gauze ensures the nib does not pick too much ink.

‘The calamus with which the human hand writes is a direct symbol of that Divine Qalam and the calligraphy it traces on paper or parchment and image of that Divine Calligraphy which has written the very reality of all things upon the pages of the cosmic book, . . . ‘

The paper which a first timer should use must be a smooth paper or coated paper such as matt art paper. This is to ensure that the writer is able to keep the ink longer, and gaining encouragement to practice better. Unlike our normal ‘bought at the shop pen’, it needs repeated dipping into the ink pot. Dependent upon the roughness of the ‘nib’, the ink will be absorbed into the paper faster. It will be extra laborious to dip more often and sometime be discouraging for starters.

I would suggest using a double pencil(halved in the middle), tied by a rubber band for starters.
It will not be so daunting to write without having to worry about ink.

"Thro the qalam existence received God’s orders.
From Him the candle of the qalam receiveds its light.
The qalam is a cypress in the garden of knowledge.
The shadow of its order is spread over the dust."

quotes from Islamic Art and Spirituality by Seyyed Hossein Nasar

The only mosque

Revisiting old memories

This Chinese New Year week end ended with us going to Sungai Lembing. My husband has this curious itch to go’ to where no man has gone before ‘thing. Maybe he had gone to the place but it’s been a very long time that we travel due to his illness. And so we went pass by the turn off toll gate to Kuala Lumpur from Kuantan to Sungai Lembing….

It was an old mining town, tin mine actually with only the tell tale sign of a Museum and 3 wire blocked hole which leads to the mine below the earth.

The lovely museum

Otherwise, the town is a small town, idyllic in nature and stature. There was a one road which leads to the town which goes up to the hills and the old mine and another road back.

Thee one pump station

It has a one pump petrol station in the middle of the two roads. The government has restored an old house into a Museum but I think the place could have more. It has a river passing by the town, hence the name Sungai Lembing, which looks clean. We think if there’s a resort, it would be a good place because Pahang have the sea and the hills.

I remember following my father down the mines, he was taking pictures of the miners in action and there was even an explosion in one of the tunnels, a daily event for them but a scary event for a child of 10years old. I was dressed like a boy with school shoes and pants and t-shirt. We had to sign a consent letter to enter the premise.

If you see the place now, it is just a hole in the hills; many men had put the lives at stake here. The hills are cooling compared to my village by the beach.

It was revisiting old memory of my father and me.