In search of the "bedok"

Ramadan is now here with us. My friends who have never experience the splendours of Ramadan can never fathom the fact that we Muslims will wake up at around 4 am in the wee hours of the morning , have a splendid supper and then go back to bed .....beat that for a unique unforgettable experience!!

Fortnight ago i had a chance of bringing out some of the pensioners from my kampong for a seafood lunch...honestly i enjoyed the banters being exchanged over lunch, as an uncle teased another of his pensioner friends over trivial things but wow they do lead a great life. They even told me that sometimes on Fridays they would go on long journeys to have their Friday prayers. They relate some of their interesting journeys like one to Sebuyau(possibly around 4 hours drive from Kuching), bringing along their packed lunch and the highlight of the day being joining the Friday prayers congregation in Sebuyau itself.

However another story that really fascinated me was their "project' of acquiring a "bedok" for our Kampong's surau(..mosque). Awesome man how these motley crew of old pensioners with time on their hands going afar as Sibu to look for the right 'wood" material for their bedok.

A "bedok" is actually a some sort of drum that during the old days that every surau or mosque must have. The beating of the Bedok(or gong or drum) would normally be done prior to any start of prayers.

I remembered vividly my childhood when we as young boys though would scramble to be the young boy to beat that bedok to signify the break of fast during every Ramadan month. After hitting the Bedok to inform all the neighbours on the breaking of fast, i would scramble back Ala a Usain Bolt dash to the house to "lavish' on my ais kacang!!!

As we savoured the fish over that lunch and the pensioners chattering away , i cant help remembering that Bedok at my Surau kampong where i had great pleasure in sounding it during the Ramadan month.

how simple endeavours as beating a Bedok can bring joy to a young boy in an age where the simplicity and decency of a Kampong life is enacted in a ritual of just hitting a bedok!