My Roots
I was born in Kuala Lumpur a few years after Merdeka, and we lived with our Great-Grandparents in Kampung Attap, which was a short Par 4 from the Chinese Assembly Hall. Later we moved to the government quarters at Lorong Selatan, near Pasar Road. Growing up there was delightful, and I had the opportunity to play with children from many different races and embrace a variety of cultures and religions. Some of my close friends were Malays, and I sometimes fast with them during Ramadhan. My close Indian friends had to do an hour of Carnatic music practice every evening before football, I would sit through the session with them under the watchful eye of their grandfather. My dear mother was a Mahayana Buddhist, I accompanied her to the Chinese temple near Central Market every week. On one auspicious occasion, I was blown away by a Chinese Opera performance. The music, drums, costumes, and singing overwhelmed all my senses, and I immediately fell in love with Chinese Opera, at the age of nine. Many of my afternoons were spent wandering in the secondary forest along Circular Road, observing birds and insects. It was a wonderful childhood, and I could never have asked for a richer combination of diversity, culture, and nature.
Peranakan
Three generations of Sumatran Peranakan Nonya ( my Great-Great-Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and Grandmother ) from Medan crossed the Straits of Melaka to settle in Malaya’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. My paternal Great-Grandfather and Grandfather were from Guangzhou, the largest city in Guangdong province. They arrived in Malaya during the height of the tin and rubber boom, when the trunk roads from Sungei Besi to Perak were lined with tin mines, operated by pumps and dredging ships. Growing up with my Grandmother, my siblings and first cousins learned to be meticulous and industrious in household chores, with each of us assigned specific duties in preparation for festive periods. We were essentially child labour, assisting in the making of Nonya biscuits for sale to friends and relatives. We soon became experts at making Kueh Kapit, Kueh Lapis, Dodol Kelapa, and Kueh Bangkit.
On some afternoons, our Grandmother would effortlessly whip up Bubur Chacha or Goreng Pisang for tea. For the latter, she would use nothing less than the ever-delicious and fragrant Pisang Rajah.
