A Day With An Artist..

I was woken up at around 6.04 a.m this morning to the sound of my phone ring. It was Rina calling to wish me good luck on the interview today. Not being able to fall back to sleep due to utter restlessness, I put The Shins - Phantom Limb on repeat on the iPod and decided to go for a walk around the hotel. On my walk, I thought about life, about how far I've come in life and about whether I've made the right decisions so far and if I've wasted too much time in my life. Instantly, Kahlil Gibran's verses from his book 'The Prophet' popped into my mind..

"And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if you think you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing"

.. One of my favourite verses in his book, and what I suppose he was trying to say is that we have to cherish whatever time we have, and regardless of the decisions made in the past, we are where we are now, and all we can do is embrace that and continue life making the right decisions starting from NOW.

After calming my nerves and having another melancholy breakfast of buffet baked beans and toast, I got ready and proceeded to make my way to Dato' Rahman's house, which was in an area just off the highway heading to Padang Matsirat. A quaint village by the name of Kampung Chandek Kura.

With a geographically savvy taxi driver and brilliant direction giving by Dato', I eventually arrived at his residence, ready to finally meet him and his lovely wife in person. Once inside the residence, I walked up onto the front porch and was greeted by the gentle couple seated on their front lawn with the warmest smiles and most gentle greeting.

After the salams' and warm embraces, Dato', his wife and I sat on his porch, in front of a beautiful Koi pond and started the interview. We reminisced on the last time he saw me, and whether I still remembered them visiting my Grandfather, and my Grandad telling Dato' that I was the only grandchild he let jump on his bed and climb all over him. Haha. The longer I spoke to him, the more comfortable I got. He reminded me so much of my Grandfather. His warmth, manerisms, and even the way he playfully teased his wife!

We then entered the topic of his life as an ambassador for our country. Dato' Rahman served 33 years as an international ambassador, working in various parts of the world, moving around with his family by his side, moving to different countries every 3 years. He has lived in Australia, Beijing, South Korea, Thailand and even Egypt (Twice!) and after his long run working for the Government, he had decided to retire after his posting in Egypt. By this time, his children were already adults and Dato' Rahman longed for the slow paced, relaxed lifestyle. And Langkawi was the first place he had in mind!

"There is a time in ones life, where priorities shift. At your age, it's all about making a name for yourself, making money and starting an independent life. But when you come to my age, you want to take life slower, and just relax a bit more"

Our conversation then shifted to his ever growing talent and love for art. He told me his interest in the paint brush developed in his school days, and from then on it just carried on. Dato' Rahman is one of the elite artists in Malaysia, in the same ranks as the talented Raja Idris and Latif Maulan. In the middle of Dato' telling me a story about his younger days, his wife, Datin Adora excitedly brought me into their living room, where the couple's captivating collection of art (both Dato's and other artist's) were displayed all over their walls. What instantly caught my eye was a beautiful canvas piece of Gunung Mat Chincang displayed on the right corner of his room. I could tell that the, modest artist was exceptionally proud of this piece, explaining that it wasn't actually finished yet, hence the lack of his stamp on the corner of the canvas. I insisted there was nothing more to finish as the piece was beautiful as it looked! (I ain't no Picasso but was pretty sure about this!) He then directed me to one of his Islamic pieces, the Ayat Al-Qursi, designed in a circular form, coated in beautiful green, yellow and royal blue navy acrylic paint. This too was an stamped unfinished piece, and again I insisted it was as good as completed.

After showing off her husband's artwork, Datin Adora had to be excused to open shop and was in a hurry.

When Dato' Rahman and his wife settled onto the island in 1997, they spent the next 12 years owning and running an antique shop at The Langkawi Fair Shopping Centre, selling a variety of items from scarfs to cannons (yes, Captain Hook-esque cannons!), and of course Dato' Rahman's artwork and prints.

Our focus moved on to the Langkawi lifestyle and how the couple had adapted from the constant fast paced city living, to a slow, more predictable island lifestyle. He explained that when he was posted to the different countries, his life was centred around the high society and a certain 'materialsitc' lifestyle. But once he moved to Langkawi, and after taking a long time to gain the trust of the locals, he was completely embraced by all walks of life in Langkawi. He explained that "once living here (Langkawi), we need to bring ourselves to a level where we can understand, and be understood by people in every level of hierarchy". He explained that he made it a point to respect the fisherman just as much as he would, the british millionaire who lives on his yacht. To him, because of his vast amount of experience of embracing different cultures and people, judging a book by it's cover should never be done.

Before we knew it, covering topics such as the low crime rate in Langkawi, and the influx of expatriate living in the community, it was already 1.12 p.m and we decided it was time for lunch! We headed to one of Dato's favourite spots to eat, a thai restaurant called The Wan Thai Restaurant. But before leaving, Dato' Rahman kindly allowed me to take a few more photos of his stunning art collection and DIY garden.

At the restaurant, Dato', being the expert on what was good at this joint, he picked out his top 4 most favourited dishes; Thai green curry, mango and cashewnut salad, vegetables cooked in oyster sauce and my personaly favourite, the seafood otak-otak (a steamed mixture of fish, coconut cream and spices). The entire meal was delicious and his stories of adventure, comedy and perseverance during his career completely wrapped the meal up to make it a fine dining experience!

After lunch, Dato' Rahman brought me to his shop, The Manora Gallery, at The Langkawi Fair Shopping Centre. His shop was large and a tad cluttered, but there was a difinite rusticity and calmness about it. Sitting at the cashier, reading her newspaper was Datin Adora, delighted that we were able to join her at the shop. It was very clear that the establishment was her pride and joy, and when asked whether she would miss the shop once she moves back to Kuala Lumpur, she told me she wouldn't have time to miss the shop as she would be too busy with her 8 grandchildren!

Not wanting to take up all of their Sunday, I took a few more photos, thanked them graciously, indulged in one last story from the constantly cheery couple and went on my way.

8.53 p.m -- 3 glasses of milk and an entire Arctic Monkeys album later, I've finally finished my first interview blog of the trip. Today was definitely one of the most memorable days on this trip yet! Everything about today was great. Not only the interview, but the food we ate, stories he told, the advice he gave me and the bond we had created were all highlights of the day. The respect and utter appreciation I have for this man is insurmountable. Maybe it was his warm and sincere energy that made me appreciate his company..

... and maybe it was also that for those couple of hours, I felt as thought I was back on my grandad's bed, jumping around and climbing all over him again. I felt connected to my Grandfather through him. Making me miss him a little less.

Till the next post.

Harith The Happy BeachBum

Kindly sponsored by Rahsia Estates Sdn. Bhd.