Breakfast & Readings

This past Saturday was no ordinary one. No, sir. It was a Super-sized Saturday. Well, for me at least. Let’s have a peek at my itinerary that day:

• 8:30a.m. - 10:30a.m. BodyBalance class with Klevin. Tai-chi, pilates & yoga. He showed me some graceful new moves that will appear during my instructor training in March. Beautiful, but not easy!
• 11:00a.m. - 12:45p.m. The inaugural MPH Breakfast Club for Litbloggers at Bangsar Village II.
• 1:00p.m. - 3:00p.m. Chinese New Year luncheon at New Paris restaurant, SS2. A small get-together of us ex-Siemens folk: Former engineers are fun! (Really!)
• 3:30p.m. - 6:00p.m. Readings at Seksan’s.
• 7:00p.m. - 1:30a.m. Muhibbah mixer at Navin and Poorna’s. Potluck and perversions galore. In which I drink tapai, play Taboo and gather around me a harem.

Was it any wonder I spent most of Sunday wishing I was in bed? (Alas, I had errands to run and people to meet still.) But for those of you who missed the lit-gatherings, here’s a quick recap:

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1. In which we discover bloggers are real people too
Litbloggers are easy to spot. They would be the motley crew standing in the middle of a bookstore, happily discussing the latest book trends and gossip, quite unaware of the traffic around them. And, when you step forward to introduce yourself, they will exclaim loudly, “Oh! So you are Kenny!” and proceed to snap a picture of you.

Having my soul thus captured, there was not much left to do but to join the cult, er, crowd. I recognised Sharon Bakar and Eric Forbes immediately (one being our local lit-blogging celebrity; the other, well, I know him); they were at hand to facilitate and introduce the authors-of-the-day, Yang-May Ooi and Sharanya Manivannan.

Sharon Bakar & Eric Forbes

And how exciting to meet other bloggers in real life: Chet, kG, Ted Mahsun (and his girlfriend), Tan Twan Eng (whose upcoming novel, The Gift of Rain, is reviewed by Sharon here), Xeus, Dina Zaman, Eyeris, and others who looked like they were bloggers too or perhaps casual shoppers stumbled onto us by mistake. (Unfortunately, as I rushed to my next function with hasty goodbyes-but-see-you-later, I was unable to confirm which they were.)

Yang-May kicked things off to a good start with a serious and substantial discussion on the process of writing and getting published, sharing a myriad of personal experiences along the way. My favourite anecdote of hers was her first reaction upon finally having her book published and out in bookstores - she rushed out immediately to the nearest one and scouted for her books on the shelves. She even offered to sign what copies they had, much to the store manager’s consternation.

It might be slightly embarrassing in retrospect, Yang-May, but I assure you that there are seas of unpublished writers more than willing to do the same. O! to see our words out there, the things we would do!

Yang-May Ooi & Sharanya Manivannan

Next, Sharanya read excerpts from her novel-in-progress, Constellation of Scars. (Everyone agreed unanimously that this was a brilliant title; I wished I had thought of it first, dash it!) This was followed by a couple of poems, of which the second, titled “You bring out the Sri Lankan in me” was so arousing that, even though I didn’t understand half of the words (Tamil, yes?), I felt like I needed a cold shower when she finished.

O Sharanya, you bring out the lover of erotic Sri Lankan poems in me…

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2. In which the ears of the pigs listen in
The architect Seksan’s office is anything but a dreary corporate burrow. Instead the venue for this month’s Readings is a bohemian-style hideaway with large pieces of artwork against unfinished concrete walls, rattan sculptures drifting down from the ceilings and nature threatening to engulf us happily enough, the green, the rain, the smells of the soil.

Much of the morning party had transported themselves here when I returned; there were fresh faces aplenty. I heard someone called out “Bastard #2!” and found myself in the presence of ole Logan-san, my university debating colleague whom I’ve not met in many a year. A joyful reunion but alas, a brief one, as he will leave for Korea this week to teach debating at a university there for two years. Those Koreans, they’ll never know what hit them.

Yang-May Ooi & Dato’ Shan

Soon enough, Sharon got us gathered around and the Readings commenced good and proper. First up was Yang-May, who read an exerpt from her third novel, Tianmeng Traviata, a work-in-progress, in two versions - standard Queen’s English and Malaysian English. The first rendition (in third person) was more than fine, but when she got into the role of Auntie Evie, the dancing matriach with her sore feet and her anguished love for her daughter, the character came to life, leaping off the stapled pages. I doubt I need to mention which one the crowd voted for.

The second reader was Dato’ Dr M. Shanmughalingam, a very friendly man and an even funnier writer. He read a short story (whose title escapes me, sorry) about a Punjab lady expatriate teaching at a local college who is pestered constantly by Siva, another guest at an outdoor party, to repeat her home address, if only for the musical sound of her voice. Or is there another motive? Dato’ Shan excels at reading in different voices and accents, engaging the audience in uproarious laughter.

Zhang Su Li & Pat Low

Third comes Zhang Su Li, who recently published a book about her travels experiences with a difference, A Backpack and a Bit of Luck. She read several excerpts but the one that stuck most in my mind was the one she read last, which she said she really should have read first. A dark, lonely night along the highway, exchanging a couple of Dunhills with a biker. Not many words, just silence and companionship. It reminded me of my own days and nights of backpacking, alone but surrounded by the unbelievable kindness of strangers.

We then took a break for refreshments, some snacks and plenty of chat. The second half began with a monologue by Pat Low, a director/playwright and member of The Oral Stage. Her piece was called “The World’s Smelliest Durian” and over the course of fifteen minutes and in three different guises (a news broadcaster, a politician and Encik Man), delivered the funniest stab ever at our nation’s irrational fixation with breaking ridiculous records, inane local policy-making-and-breaking, and the fall of man (Encik Man, in this case), I swear.

Haris Zalkapli & Eileen Lui

A change of pace with Haris Zalkapli next, whose work in political journalism is often intermingled with his fervour for pop culture. Such is evident in the two articles he read from, contrasting and comparing the machinations of governments with the dilution of rock ‘n’ roll ideals. The first item dealt with Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair and The Beatles, the second considered the problem of China and foreign musical/political influences. I wasn’t shocked that they banned the local edition of Rolling Stones magazine at one point; more surprised really, that they even approved it in the first place.

Last call for the night was Eileen Lui, whose short story Chewing Gum Boy was published in Collateral Damage and selected as one of Silverfish Book’s best 25 short stories. She gave a courageous and personal reading that evening, turning back the years leading up to an almost-lover’s sudden passing and all the things that could have been, all the words that were not said. A nice place to end the day; it’s a place we’ve all been before, surely.

What a perfect day this was!

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Photo Credits:
#1, 3, 4 & 5: The immensely talented Irman Noor, who has more at his gallery here. Photos used with his kind permission.
#2: From Sharanya’s blog. This one I just nicked.

P.S. Did I say quick recap? I lied.
P.P.S. For more, Xeus has detailed further ‘words of wisdom’ gleaned from the discussion at her blog. Meanwhile, Sharon Bakar writes about the Litbloggers Breakie and Yang-May for Breakfast as well as Celebrating Voices. kG opines that it was a refreshing Saturday.