A New Place To Call Home

The KL Railway Station in December '65

The National Mosque was unveiled on August 27, 1965,
about four months before our arrival

In the pitch black night
The shapes of trees, bushes and railway quarters blurred

As the train whooshed by

Speeding through straight stretches

And slowing down at dangerous bends

Going over iron bridges

Crossing over streams and rivers

As it skipped obscure stations

And stopped briefly at smaller ones

The darkness gradually retreated

As day light spread

Silhouettes of domes and minarets appeared  

The locomotive reduced speed

And put on its brakes

To let us know that we've arrived at KL Station

A mosque like edifice with a cavern

Where the night train finally heaved, stopped and spit out

Its bedraggled passengers who had survived the 10 hour ride

We straightened ourselves

Hauled our bags

Trudged towards the exit

Held on to the hand rail

Gingerly stepped out

Of the carriage

And onto the concrete

A giant billboard with a sketch of a woman

In kebaya standing in front of a winding train

Smiled and welcomed us to this new location

Cries of porters eager to relieve travellers

Of their baggage, shattered our reverie

Ma found two that she fancied

We handed over our heavy cases

Which the men carried to the curb

Where they hailed a black and yellow cab

Mal sat next to the driver

As Ma, Yat and I plopped onto the back seat

Ma told the driver: 

“Can you take us to Lorong Keramat 2?”

“Sure, I can!”

He nodded, glanced and smiled at us  

Revved up the engine

And steered the old taxi towards the main road

Followed the round-a-bout onto the other side

Where there was another structure in the shape of a mosque

Grey and barefaced

Trust Ma to blurt out what was on our mind:

“The train station and this other building have domes and arches,

But the national mosque has opened and closed umbrellas!”    

As the cab rattled along the broad boulevard

We got to know the landmarks

Federal House – that tall building on the left

Held the offices and studios of Radio and Television Malaysia  

The Selangor Padang was where the Malaysian flag was raised

On the eve of Merdeka Day

Globe Silk Store and Chortimall on Batu Road

Odeon cinema on the corner of Campbell Road

Kampung Baru’s Sunday Market on Perkins Road

The Chief Minister’s house on Princess Road

Circular Road was the longest road

And Gurney Road which turned into Kampong Datok Keramat

If the national mosque had no domes and minarets

This village named after a grand saint

Had no markers

Unlike the tomb of Habib Noh

Up on the mound by East Coast Road

Or the grave of Raden Mas

On the edge of a hill

Looking out to a healing stream 

The cab driver signalled and crossed over

Pulled up by the side of a long wooden house

A thin lady looked out of the door and smiled

We got off and claimed our bags

As Ma paid our taxi fare

The landlady invited us in

There were soda biscuits and black coffee

Then she handed Ma the key to the rented unit

The last one on that row of units stuck to the main house

The pale blue door opened to a vinyl-carpeted living room

A single bedroom, a small kitchen and an indoor bathroom

The outdoor lavatory was a shack at the end of the lane

There was a large drain by the kitchen

Beyond that, tall grass grew wild by a shallow stream

Across the stream, a football field led to a school building

And across the road, the wet market which stank to high heavens