art museum

i got the chance to go to national Islamic Arts Museum recently. they are having special exhibition on jewelled arts of India in the Moghuls Dynasty. i guess we all know that India is famous with the production colourful accessories with colourful stones, gems and beads embeded on gold or silver, and they wear them too. but, the knowledge is not the same until you see the original piece with your own eyeballs. the masterpieces dated back in 16th & 17th century and surprisingly, they look so new that i have to ask someone else in the gallery if those are original or just miniatures. and once i found out that they are the original pieces, i started playing with my imagination. like the pendants and the rings are once worn by the emperors. and how the dagger was used to stabbed someone, and they used to have blood on it, but they cleaned it up and polished the stones until they are shiny. they are just too many jewelleries with so so so many beautiful design and colours on display. they even have gems like diamonds and jades embebeded on swords and shields, and they go killing people with it. it looks heavy though. i bet one small ring must value like 100million Ringgit Malaysia today, or more. but its funny that those jewelleries are mainly worn by men according to the paintings that somehow described the items. towards the end of the exhibition, there are these small stones with inscription on them. there is one which is very tiny, less than 3cmx3cm, and it has 12 inscriptions on it, in arabic calligraphy! my favourite was the red stone, if i'm not mistaken its a ruby, sized more or less 2x2cm and it has the Ayatul Kursi on it. imagined fitting the whole ayat on a stone that small. and the stones with inscriptions are all handcraft. that just blew me away!!

and then i moved on to the main gallery which is also the permanent gallery of the museum. this gallery allows you to take photos of the items but without flash. but i knew that fact too late so i missed the first half part of the gallery. but i did shot some photos on my favourites findings. so here goes:

 this is the Qur'an, originated from China, written in chinese calligraphy.

 

also from China, dated back in 12th-14th century. and for these original piece which dated back in the year 8 Hijrah, thinking that our prophet Rasulullah SAW was still alive then, really means something.

 5 juzuk of the Qur'an, also from China. my Chinese friend said, the cover reads 'The Faith Book'.

also from China, the juzuk of the Qur'an.

 these really caught me in awe. the cover is actually made from leather.

 the clothing during the Ottoman age.

 i instantly love this chest once i laid my eyes on it. its like a musical box with side's opening with many drawers, dont you think?

another many-drawer-chest.

 

and another one..

and this is one of the many domes in the museum. magnificent architecture! you must be standing under the dome to know the feeling it gives you.

 after this one i decided to have my own dome in my house. hehehe

i missed the Qur'an Manuscript and Architecture galleries though because we were rushing to go home :( maybe i'll visit it again one day. you people who wants to experience the glorious feeling of looking at the artifacts of the Islamic world, please do come to the museum too. and you people who want to see the Qur'an from other parts of the world, please do come too. they also have the Qur'an which is found in the Tanah Melayu, but i didnt get the chance to take the photo of it. just make sure you have one whole day dedicated to explore the galleries, and you wont regret it :)

medley

i have few things on my mind. so i'm gonna say few things.

1. i have this phobia of receiving texts or calls like really late at night (when i say late at night, i mean past 12am), and like really early in the morning. especially when i dont expect them. especially if it is from the people who are very close to me. this morning, i received a text from Bapak at 7.59am. he said one of his friend just died in KL earlier in the dawn. his wife was trying to wake him up for sahur, and he didnt respond. thats his story. when a part of me was still in shock upon hearing such news, when i struggled to hold up my tears when i break the news to Abang, there is somehow a serenity emotion giant sweep over my heart and head thinking how peaceful his soul is to experience death in his sleep in Ramadhan. i feel sad for his family still. one of his two children is still schooling, like in form 1 or 2. though we were not that close, but i know he is one of Bapak's very good friend. everytime Bapak come over to KL, he would trouble himself to go see Bapak wherever Bapak is. he also did bring his whole family to Muar to attend Abang's engagement and wedding ceremony. i knew him since i was a kid, like when he used to live in Kuching with his family, our family would always meet up for gatherings. and now, everytime i meet his children, they are like so approachable and nice that they didnt turn into snobs although they did experienced the life of the rich and famous. so maybe that is why i feel his lost too. the last time we saw him, which is in April this year, he looked so healthy and still kicking, joking around like usual. he was  younger than Bapak. and i can imagine how Bapak is shocked when he heard about this. but Allah SWT has a better plan for all of us. may Allah rests Uncle Usup's soul in peace. may Allah forgives all his sins. may Allah grants him Paradise. may Allah protects his family. Amin. Amin. Amin. Amin. Al-Fatihah.

* Al-Fatihah too, to my late Nek Di, Uncle Y and Syafiq. they will always have a special place in my heart. may Allah SWT place them with the believers in one of His Paradises. Amin

2. you dont really know what you did, until someone ask what you've done. then only you'll start to trace back your steps and realised what you did.

3. we always get what we want when we are sleeping. in our dream. we always get what we want. like in your dream, you already bought that dress you wanted for so long, and you're truly happy bout it you go gaga in your dream. but then, a single screeching sound in the real world snatches the dress away from you. you meet this really cool new friend in your dream, whom you never see before in real life. a friend actually introduced you guys. new friend is cool, new friend take your hand  and lets you stay for dinner, eventhough new friend just knew you not even for half a day. you wish all new friend is that nice in real world. when someone in my dream to bad things to me, a knight in shining armour comes in my defense even if it means Mr. Knight would have suffer some injuries in the process. and when i woke up from the sound of my alarm clock, i smile to myself thinking bout my real world knight in not so shining armour. but its fine, i would have run anyways if i see a man holding a shiny thing they call an armour. scary, dont you think? this is not zaman gladiator. just bring your brain where ever you go will do.

4. i come to the realisation that i admit i'm a realist. if its red, you stop. but sometimes, i still like to be a dreamer.

5. i cant post photos on FB. i dont know why. something to do with the firewall maybe. or the connection. but if its the firewall or the connection, how come i did upload photos on FB before, using the same laptop, same browser, same connection provider? maybe its the place. i dont even know if that has something to do with it. so i've been putting off a number of cupcakes photos on hold. and i feel its not right. not fair to those who bought my cupcakes but didnt get to see their orders in my album. cause i would post the photos of my cupcakes right after i'm done with every batch, sometimes i post it before i could deliver to the person whom ordered it! so, i'll just post them here instead. so these are two batches of cupcakes which i did before i left for Raffles. the ones with the Roses is my standard size cupcakes. while the bunch of pinks and purples and whites are the small size of cupcakes. they are cute in size. and when i start putting colours on them, i think they dont deserve to be in the stomach. they should be in a display rack with glass panels all around. i'm not gloating on my designs, ok. what i mean is, they just turn super cuter when they are in small scales.

thanks Zaty for the order! :D

thanks Syasya for the order of these tiny cupcakes! :D

6. my new favourite phrases:

    1 - 'you know what i mean?' (top!!)

    2 - 'i mean like..'

    3 - 'blablabla...like...blablabla' oh and this one has the BM version also : 'blablabla...macam...blablabla' direct translation kah apa??

bless you

despite of Mak just flew back to Kuching yesterday, i still miss her, and Bapak too. i guess when we are too dependable on someone, we become weak and helpless when we are left alone. at least thats how i am. mok balit rumah aih :'[

happy Ramadhan brothers and sisters in Islam. the month full of barakah. spend it wisely :)

gleeful thursday

you know how i use to whine bout not going to Cuci the Musical last year? this year, i'm going ya'll!! :D

in fact, in three hours, i'll be laughing my head off to Afdlin Shauki, Awie(!!!) and Hans Isaac.

and and and. NO AC Mizal! his character is played by Nabil this time around. how fun is that??

i better get ready. toodles!

miss you love

i'm sick, currently. i've been sick for almost three weeks now i guess. i just hope it wont get the best out of me. i may weep a little or so, at times, some nights, but i can do this, i hope. and i really need to be able to do this since Ramadhan is only five days away, and i'm sure it will be tougher then. but dont worry, i dont think its infectious.
 

i'm just homesick :'')