Kata Suara : Greetings of Peace / Salam Damai : Videos
5:05:00 PM
Salam
Seni. Salam Sejahtera. Salam Puisi.
So
I was invited to read, recite and sing a poem for “Kata Suara : Puisi, Suara suara Alternatif Dunia” on 16th
March 2014 in conjunction with World Poetry Day (Hari Puisi Sedunia). The World Poetry Day actually falls on 21st
March 2014. The event, Kata Suara was held at R A Fine Arts the Gallery, Publika
and I was invited alongside more than 40 other distinguished and very talented poets new and senior including two National Laureates (Sasterawan Negara). I felt humbled and
excited to share the same platform with them. Extremely honoured and lucky.
Enjoy!
I chose my dad’s poem
called Salam Damai (A Message of Peace). I first performed this poem together
with my best friends Ruzana Ibrahim and Siti Muyassarah Rusli in 2003 at Rumah
Yayasan Kesenian Perak for an event called “Anti-Perang” (Anti-War) where they launched a book, a collection of poems
by poets, writers and film-makers from all over Malaysia, including Baha Zain
(Sasterawan Negara), Muhammad Hj. Salleh (Sasterawan Negara), Siti Zainon,
U-Wei, A Samad Ismail, A Samad Said (Sasterawan Negara), Zakaria Ali, etc as well as sketches from
artists including Tan Sei Hon, the late Syed Ahmad Jamal, Mansor Ghazali and
others.
Below is the video of me singing the
poem recorded by my husband Abdullah Khubayb.
I
began my reading with,
“Assalamu’alaikum… Salam
Seni. Salam Puisi. Salam Sejahtera. Hari ini sempena Hari Puisi Sedunia saya akan
mendeklamasikan (stutter) atau melagukan sebuah puisi yang ditulis oleh ayah saya sendiri
Raja Ahmad Aminullah pada 4 April 2003.”
“Peace
be upon all of you… Today in conjunction with World Poetry Day I am going to
recite or sing a poem written by my dad on 4th April 2003.”
*Now,
how do I translate salam seni, salam puisi and salam sejahtera?* Wonder why my hands were at the back throughout the whole performance? I was so nervous and did not want to let my shaky & trembling hands show!
Anyway, below is the poem I sung which was written in Bahasa Malaysia and
translated into English.
Message of Peace
we come
with a whisper
delivering a greeting of concern
shaking and knocking
the door of your heart
we come
without the roar of a missile
the blast of a bomb
amidst
the screams of children and the grief of their parents
we come
without the ring of the bullets
without the spray of the agent orange chemicals
that rained down in Vietnam
all those years ago
we come
with the quiet voice of the artists
to wake you up
to your senses
we know
these words
will not change the world
like bullets, bombs, sermons and lectures
and your cruelty and violence
but we believe
these voices
will sip in
to transform the cultures of the world
but we also believe
ruthlessness
injustice
and cruelty
will be buried
in the dustbins of history
and carved
in the passage of memory
Salam damai
kami datang
dengan bisikan
lembut
membisikkan salam
prihatin
menerjah-ngetuk
pintu hati dan
batinmu
kami datang
tanpa ngauman
peluru berpandu
ledakan bom
yang disusuli
jeritan bayi dan
ratapan ayah ibunya <------- a="" me="" meaning="" new="" now="" o:p="" to="">
kami datang
tanpa dentuman
peluru
simbahan asid agent
orange
yang menghujani Vietnam
sekian tahun yang
lalu
kami datang
dengan suara lembut
seniman
untuk menggetar
rasa dan deriamu
kami tahu
kata-kata ini
tak akan mengubah
dunia
seperti peluru -
bom - khutbah - ceramah
serta kezaliman dan
keganasanmu
tapi kami yakin
suara-suara ini
akan menyelinap
masuk
merubah
mentransformasi citra budaya dunia
tapi kami yakin
kebiadaban
ketidakadilan
dan kezaliman ini
akan terbenam
dalam kantung
sampah
dan terpahat
dalam memori zaman
4 April 2023
The poem is available in Soulship / Menyarung Jiwa by Raja
Ahmad Aminullah and also in the book "Sajak-sajak 3 Seniman Kata Dan Rupa" (page 112) the
launching of which I attended at Sheraton Hotel. (Will blog about that too)
Both books are available in major bookstores. If you are in Publika you can
also get the books from R A Fine Arts, the Gallery Publika. (See my previous post on an event there, Game On for the address of the gallery)
Victor Pogadaev reading poetry in Malay Language and Russian language recorded by Abdullah Khubayb.
Glad I recorded the performance of a poem titled "Kita Semua Masih Disini" by Fazleena Hishamuddin expressing herself through poetry with beautiful background music.
I remember I bought her book of poetry titled Seksi Ovari some time during my confinement last year early 2013 and enjoyed reading her thoughts and poetry.
Glad I recorded the performance of a poem titled "Kita Semua Masih Disini" by Fazleena Hishamuddin expressing herself through poetry with beautiful background music.
"Engkaukah Itu" by Raja Ahmad Aminullah recorded by Abdullah Khubayb.
I wore top and belt from ARNADIA by @gayacollective. I'll blog about the complete outfit details soon ya!
"Life is Like A Straight Line" by Rayza Mukmin
Rayza Mukmin expressing himself through poetry using a string as props with some background music.
PEACE & LOVE!
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