Are You Still Playing Your Flute.... - as explained by the poet Zurinah

MASIHKAH KAU BERMAIN SERULING/Are you still playing your flute

Sajak ini menggunakan gaya percakapan penyair dengan seseorang. Orang yang dimaksudkan di sini ialah seorang yang pandai bermain seruling. Sekali pandang ia seperti sajak percintaan kerana banyak menggunakan perkataan yang lembut dan romantis.
Are you still playing your flute
Are you still playing your flute
when there is no time for our love
I am feeling guilty
to be longing for your song


Tetapi percakapan yang lembut dan romantis dengan pemain seruling itu hanyalah satu cara atau gaya penyair meluahkan segala yang mengganggu fikirannya. Sajak ini bertemakan kemasyarakatan . Keseluruhannya merupakan luahan rasa penyair tentang keadaan masyarakat di negaranya dan antara bangsa yang penuh kemelut dan kacau bilau.
Penyair mengenang sang pemain seruling. Sebenarnya yang dikenang oleh penyair ialah kampong yang sedang tenat.
Are you still playing your flute
in the village so quiet and deserted
amidst the sick rice field

Dia menceritakan tentang keadaan dirinya yang berada di kota…kota yang sakit sedangkan kampong sudah sunyi kerana ditinggalkan oleh anak-anak muda. Apakah pemain seruling itu masih ada di kampong bermain serulingnya? . Ini juga bermaksud adakah sang pemain seruling masih mempertahankan seni dan tradisinya.

Alat musik seruling dipilih kerana inilah alat muzik yang paling dekat dengan alam. Cuma sebatang buluh dan tidak memerlukan teknologi canggih untuk menciptanya. Jadi semuanya balik kpd alam. Balik kepada keaslian.
the melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
uncovered by the breath of an artist
composed by his lips
arranged by his fingers
blown by the wind
to the depth of my heart

Penyair merasa bersalah untuk melayan rasa rindu kepada pemain seruling itu. Begitulah rasa bersalahnya dia memikirkan sesuatu yang indah seperti seni . Di kota dia sepatutnya sibuk kerana di situ kehidupan berlalu dengan pantas.
while here it has become a luxury
to spend time watching the rain
gazing at the evening rays
collecting dew drops
or sniffing scented flowers.

Seolah-olah dia memberikan masanya kepada perkara-perkara yang remeh sedangkan kehidupan sedang dilanda oleh masalah yang sangat besar. Masalah-masalah ini dipaparkan dalam bait seterusnya. Pada masa itu ramai yang menganggur. Orang-orang kita berpecah belah kerana politik . Dan di merata dunia spt Bosnia dan Palestin, orang Islam sedang diburu oleh bom-bom ganas.

in the hazard of this city
my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
my people thorn by politic
my Muslim friends slaughtered mercilessly
this world is old and badly injured.

Is this the end of our love?
time is forcing us as artists
not to be ourselves.
Ini bukan masa untuk memberi perhatian kepada seni. Ini adalah masa untuk bekerja keras. Apabila seniman tidak dapat melayani kecintaannya kepada seni maka itu seperti mereka dituntut untuk tidak menjadi seniman lagi
Posted by Zurinah Hassan at zurinahhassan.blogspot.com

Practice 1 In The Midst of Hardship

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP BY LATIFF MOHIDIN
Practice 1
Read the stanza below and answer the questions that follow,
In the Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin
Stanza 1
At dawn they returned home
their soaky clothes torn
and approached the stove
their limbs marked by scratches
their legs full of wounds
but on their brows
there was not a sign of despair

(a) Which phrase in stanza 1 shows that the people are injured? (1 mark)

(b) Give the meaning of the following words:

(i) ‘soaky’ (1 mark)
(ii) ‘limbs’ (1 mark)
(c) Do you admire the actions of the people? Give a reason for your answer. (2 marks)

IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP

In the Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair


The whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found


They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their cigarette leaves


Paraphrase:



The villagers returned home early in the morning. Their clothes were torn and wet as they walked into their kitchen. Their arms and legs had cuts all over but they were not depressed.

They had spent one whole day and night searching for their son's albino buffalo, wading through the floodwaters, surrounded by broken twigs, pieces of tree barks and animal carcasses. However, they did not find the buffalo.

The villagers had been born into a life of hardships but they never grumbled. Even after all they had been through, they could still crack jokes and relax in the kitchen.