"This song sounds like it came from the P-Ramlee era," I said not long after stepping into the cab.
"Oh this one is an old classic." beamed the cab driver, delighted with my show of interest.
On the trip home, we reminisced, he and I, two strangers inside a cab drifting nonchalantly along the busy highway.
Back then, pontianaks have legs and weren't quite as scary.
We talked about Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah, an old Malay classic. A young girl's mother died. His father remarried. For reasons I have never quite understood, the dead mother became a fish. The evil stepmother caught the fish, fried it and served it to the young girl. She ate the fish and broke down in tears when she found out that the fish was her mother. She buried the fish bone in the ground and a tree grew out of it. She sat on a swing attached to the tree and sang sad songs. I remembered no more.
Si Bongkok was a story about a hunchback who found a statue by a pond. He carried the statue home. The statue heard his sad lamentations and transformed itself into a beautiful woman. (Some sort of fairy/goddess.) From thereon, Si Bongkok prospered. He lost his hunchback and was transformed into a good looking young man. The years went by. I'm not sure if a second woman entered the scene but Si Bongkok began to ill-treat his wife. Deep in despair, the weeping wife uttered some magical words and was transformed back into the statue. Thunder and lightning was all over this last scene for the dramatic effect. Si Bongkok lost his good looks and his fortune and once again became the poor hunchback, despised by the people around him.
Batu Belah, Batu Bertangkup was a story about a cave which swallowed a widow. This cave is said to be located in Klang. It was blasted away by the developers who cleared the area.
Between the cab-driver and me, we couldn't recall the name of this next movie. It told the story of a poor young fisherman who went out to sea one morning and never returned to his poor mother. The young fisherman was lost at sea when a thick fog appeared out of nowhere. When the fog cleared, he found himself near an island. From within the island, a young lady sang. The fisherman followed this sound and came upon a princess. They fell in love, married and lived happily ever after. Several years later, they went on a boat trip. The boat was shrouded in a fog and when it cleared, the couple found themselves back on the island where the fisherman once lived. His mother, now old and gnarled called out to him. When his beautiful wife asked him who the old woman was, he said he did not know her. In despair, the old woman turned to the heavens and cried. Heaven in his mercy transformed the fisherman into a block of stone.
Some memories they were ...
"What happened to P Ramlee's wife?"
"Oh, she's no longer around, a lot of them are gone by now," answered the cabdriver.
And we shook our heads mesmerised by the passage of time.
"Oh this one is an old classic." beamed the cab driver, delighted with my show of interest.
On the trip home, we reminisced, he and I, two strangers inside a cab drifting nonchalantly along the busy highway.
Back then, pontianaks have legs and weren't quite as scary.
We talked about Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah, an old Malay classic. A young girl's mother died. His father remarried. For reasons I have never quite understood, the dead mother became a fish. The evil stepmother caught the fish, fried it and served it to the young girl. She ate the fish and broke down in tears when she found out that the fish was her mother. She buried the fish bone in the ground and a tree grew out of it. She sat on a swing attached to the tree and sang sad songs. I remembered no more.
Si Bongkok was a story about a hunchback who found a statue by a pond. He carried the statue home. The statue heard his sad lamentations and transformed itself into a beautiful woman. (Some sort of fairy/goddess.) From thereon, Si Bongkok prospered. He lost his hunchback and was transformed into a good looking young man. The years went by. I'm not sure if a second woman entered the scene but Si Bongkok began to ill-treat his wife. Deep in despair, the weeping wife uttered some magical words and was transformed back into the statue. Thunder and lightning was all over this last scene for the dramatic effect. Si Bongkok lost his good looks and his fortune and once again became the poor hunchback, despised by the people around him.
Batu Belah, Batu Bertangkup was a story about a cave which swallowed a widow. This cave is said to be located in Klang. It was blasted away by the developers who cleared the area.
Between the cab-driver and me, we couldn't recall the name of this next movie. It told the story of a poor young fisherman who went out to sea one morning and never returned to his poor mother. The young fisherman was lost at sea when a thick fog appeared out of nowhere. When the fog cleared, he found himself near an island. From within the island, a young lady sang. The fisherman followed this sound and came upon a princess. They fell in love, married and lived happily ever after. Several years later, they went on a boat trip. The boat was shrouded in a fog and when it cleared, the couple found themselves back on the island where the fisherman once lived. His mother, now old and gnarled called out to him. When his beautiful wife asked him who the old woman was, he said he did not know her. In despair, the old woman turned to the heavens and cried. Heaven in his mercy transformed the fisherman into a block of stone.
Some memories they were ...
"What happened to P Ramlee's wife?"
"Oh, she's no longer around, a lot of them are gone by now," answered the cabdriver.
And we shook our heads mesmerised by the passage of time.
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