Madani at Perlis

Last Friday, Madani went up north to Perlis. Departing from Pudu at Midnight, the journey to Kangar took almost 7 hours with stops at Alor Star & Changloon. We arrived at around 6.30am. After subuh prayer at the bus station, we head to a nearby mamak restaurant for breakfast. You, might be wondering what we are doing so far away from our normal 'territory' eh? Well, two colleges at IIUM is having a community program at Kampung Titi Tinggi, Padang Besar, Perlis and they invited us to perform for the Cultural Night which is part of the Baktisiswa Program.



Now, first thing first - how we do get there. The five of us are basically clueless about Perlis and my last visit here is almost 5 years ago. Luckily, my mother have a friend here - Hj. Riduan who worked at Kangar Hospital. So I gave him a call and told him that we need to go to Titi Tinggi. I need to pass the souvenirs my mother packed for him as well. Cutting the story short, he arranged for us taxis to get there. Pak Man drove the taxi leisurely at 70km/h to arrive at Titi Tinggi in 30 minutes. That allowed us to enjoy the scenery - and a change from our usually hectic pace to go to shows.

We put up at Mr. Hasbullah's house which is near the community hall of Kampung Titi Hilir. Titi Tinggi is comprised of two villages - Titi Tinggi Hilir & Ulu. Both of them are rather near to each other. After getting acquainted with our gracious host, we knocked ourself to sleep. Well, sleeping aboard the bus is not the same as sleeping at a house no matter how comfortable is. BTW, the Durian Burung double decker bus we took really are comfortable. We are left to make ourself at home while Mr. Hasbullah and his wife went out to buy fish to cook laksa.

I woke up first and get bathed. Only then I awaken the rest of the team. Meanwhile I took some pictures of the surrounding. By the time we get ready, the laksa is ready as well. Never resisting good food, we sit down and enjoy the laksa. Thanks a lot makcik! It's already noon, and she said lunch is still coming up after Friday prayer.

The mosque is situated at Titi Tinggi Hulu and our host is particularly concerned when we said we are going there on foot. We assured them not to worry and off we go along Federal Road No. 7.



Well, it seems that the villagers never walked to mosque especially not all the way for Hilir to Ulu. People gawked at us, pressed their horns. Heh, we must be really odd. For the villagers, the distance is rather far but for us who constantly walk about the city it's normal. IMHO, walking from one end of Mid Valley to the other is further still.

We must be high of Titi Tinggi Oddity Meter - we are the only one who are not 'dressed properly' for Friday prayer. Which means t-shirts and pants instead of baju melayu and sarongs. Heh, we travel light so ditto baju melayu.

As promised, there's a hearty lunch after Friday prayer. The menu is kari ayam kampung dengan pisang, ikan pekasam, ikan bakar and ulam. Yummy! We had lunch together with the participants of the foster family program which is Shidee, Musa and Jebat. At first, I had no idea who Jebat is when being told by our host - to my surprise it's actually Azizul, my classmate for Internet Application last semester.

After Asr, it's time for sound check at Titi Tinggi Hulu community hall. It's situated at the centre of a vast paddy field with a single narrow, windy road as the only access. The committee members and villagers are busy setting up the tents and preparing the place. The sound system arrived at 6.30pm, just before Adil arrived from Langkawi. We took time until dusk to set up the system. On our way back to our host house we crossed the paddy field instead of the long windy road. It saved substantial time to get to the van which picked us up. Unfortunately, I slipped into the mud a bit and forced me to walk barefooted halfway. That's certainly something to be remembered.

After Isya', it's time for the event. Villager thronged the 'island' in the paddy field. I'm amazed how they managed to park their vehicles in a limited area and still have space for the audience. The performance kicked off with Nasyid performance by Nur Ihsan from Kangar Hospital. They put up a good performance with songs from Raihan, Rabbani, and one original song. Our host told us that they are related to Ustaz Amaluddin. Next are a variety of performances from the school children and the villagers. When it's Madani's turn it's already past 11pm, which is surely are the bedtime of the people there. Some of the old folks are already half-asleep but nevertheless Madani still give out their best. The songs for that night is our own 'Janji Setia' and 'Keluarga Bahagia' and 'Hijrah' from Nowseeheart.



Despite that, some villagers are still up to do some more performances which dragged the event to midnight. Oh, my... Back at our host house we had our supper and then went to sleep. A good rest is vital as we are heading back to KL the next day.

Certainly, this event is rather exhausting but it bring it's own joy to us being somewhere different, a different set of audience, meeting up new people. And performing at an 'island' in the paddy field is an appeal on it's own as well.

Oh yeah, the members who went for this event are Adil, Zaki, Ashraf & Haziq as singers while Ashraf Jr. & I served as crew. Looking forward to return to Perlis someday! And our highest gratitude to our gracious host Mr. Hasbullah and his family for their hospitality.