Once Upon A Time
(The Shoulders Feel Heavier To Bear)
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| Kampung Baru |
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| STAR 1963 |
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| Football Team |
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| Junction To Kg. Baru |
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| Kg. Baru From Rawang |
The weight of the school bag is once an
issue, but unfortunately it is nearly forgotten. Maybe the authorities are
still looking for a solution or may be that heavy school bag is not included in
the list of problems that require immediate action. Until then we often hear
the parents talking about the burden, but then it is just a kitchen talk. Not
much a problem and not really a priority. Anyway the weight of the bag is just
an expression of sympathy from the eyes. But the pupils who carry the burden do
not even complain at all. As the proverb says: "If the eyes feel heavy when
looking, then the shoulders feel heavier to bear".
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| Backyard |
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| In front Of Wooden Shop |
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| Wedding Ceremony |
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| Kg Baru House |
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| Side of Main Road |
Anyway, it is totally a different scenario. In 1957 when accepted as a pupil of
Sekolah Umum Sungai Choh, Atuk only enrolled by “sehelai sepinggang”. No bag
and no book whatever. Nearly a week Atuk only learned how to behave in the
class and how to mingle with friends. Not to forget, learning and memorising a
few sentences of great important, such as idiomatic politeness: "buang air
kecil" and "buang air besar".
Sometimes we felt bored under class regulation.
We had to maintain quietness all along. In fact, we were warned now and again
not to wander or talk unnecessarily. We even could not leave the bench without
any instructions. However it's sad to say that five pupils had to share the
bench and as well as the long desk.
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| Today's Parents |
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| I'm Grandpa |
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| We're Family |
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| Kampung Baru |
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| Haunted House |
Later on we were given a slate which we
called it “papan batu” and two “kalam batu” as our pensils. That was actually
our first book, with horizontal line for writing on one side, and the other
side for drawing. No eraser whatever,
only wet rag to clean the slate. However in emergency time we use our own
saliva. Yet today’s primary pupils have
to carry lot of books on their shoulders
or drag them along the way. Pity them, sometimes the load is heavier than their
weight. Of course it was not a burden at
all to Atuk back then. We just carried it under our arms or tied it to our
necks. By then we just danced on our way to school or back home.
