PREETHI TURNS TWO

Judging from the amount of preparation the parents made, Preethi must be a very special girl, much loved by the parents and the grandparents. Thilaga and Suresh, the parents, paid several visits to the farm to make sure that all arrangements were well understood and prepared, the last one with the grandparents on tow, perhaps for the official blessing. So when the great day came all 60 of them trooped in, and amazingly almost all on time. Such a pleasant surprise. Who says Malaysians cannot keep time. This group did it. Only wish the rest of us could, though.

Anyway, they brought with them good luck. Weather was great. The rain came the day before and it was dry throughout the occasion. Cannot say the same for the mosquitoes, though. Unfortunately these wet and dry spells are heavenly for them. The only consolation is rural/bush mosquitoes are not as deadly as urban ones who are the carriers of dengue and the other nasty diseases. This has often puzzled me, but my theory is, its not the mosquitoes which are the problem, but the people packing the urban areas. Any disease is easily transmitted from from one person to another, when they they live so close together. And given the life span of mosquitoes they would die off before they complete the 30 odd km journey to Hulu Langat. And why bother to migrate to Hulu Langat where the pickings are slim. Lots more juicy bodies in town. Anyway this is just a muzing of an ignorant farmer, perhaps trying to justify his existence in these hills.

But I should not feel so bad. We recently made good friends with Terry and Yati who lives further up the hills in a place called "Far Far Away" and they are thinking of finding another place to be named "Further and Further Away". We kid you not. Our boys call them Uncle Shrek and Aunti Fiona and they have a helper called Donkey. Well, what can you say, we have all heard of the crazy Mat Salleh and this one fits the bill to the 'T'. But "Far Far Away" is another tale for another day.

Hear I go wandering again. Did I say that I just turned 57. Is that when senility smilingly announce its presence.

Anyway, back to Preethi, Thilaga and Suresh. So they all came, had a good time and left. (my, that was brief). Okay, they had the mandatory pony rides. They even sent in the clowns. The ice-cream man came. The children scared the deers out of their horns, the goats had to do their usual coy "come and get me" routine, and the chickens had to put up their weekly flustered show, and the dogs were frustratingly gnashing their teeth in their cages  "All that fun and we are left out. All those clueless people who would drop you a morsel or two if you shamelessly give that unfed look". That is precisely why you are confined to barracks when the guests come. In short the entire cast played their part well.

 

Well thank you Preethi, Thilga, Suresh and everyone for gracing Uluhati. Don't forget Uluhati when you are planning Preethi's wedding. Salam Pak Din and Safiya