Mbah & Atok go to… Malang, Indonesia - Aidil Fitri / Lebaran 2024

Mbah & Atok go to… Malang, Indonesia

Wednesday 10 April 2024

This is Mbah’s and Atok’s temporary hijrah to Malang, Indonesia for one year, for Mbah to pursue her research at Universitas Brawijaya (UB). The original posting was published in Mbah’s Facebook on 10 April 2024 (with some editing and formatting modifications made to suit this blog’s style and format).


Aidil Fitri / Lebaran 2024

Allahuakbar Allahuakbar
gema takbir
kejayaan Ramadhan
Menyambut Syawal

Couldn’t really sleep even after midnight when the takdir subsided.

The tenth raya abroad and the feeling is the same. The thought of family is strong especially now that the family is bigger with kids and kids in law. From 4 to 7 with only one single son sun.

Tbc.
In search of CC coverage and coffee.

It happened. Believe it or not, it happened to me again. I lost my writing. I spent minutes, many, writing the first day of Aidil Fitri and I lost it when I uploaded the pictures. That was why it was still at TBC. Not one to surrender, I am writing it again. It might not be the same but here goes.

Lepat was done before Asar on the last day of Ramadhan. While waiting for it, I decided to make the base for sambal. Cut, boil, blend and tumis lada kering. Since my blender is a cutie, I had to do it three rounds. Menumis the sambal didn’t take that long. Done with the sambal base. 

Maghrib. Takbir signified that tomorrow is the first of Syawal. Since we did not have any TV, takbir from the mosques is the cue. Just like the olden days. Heart wrenching. reminded me so much of my so much younger day raya. Had to wait for the raya announcement before raya activities started - chicken chasing, cooking etc for resources were very limited. It’s normally a sleepless night for mak, a fun time for me clinging to her, for I am the youngest. 

For 2024 lebaran, AK and I decided to have nasi lemak and lepat. Simple and different. AK has been mentioning nasi lemak for quite sometimes for there is no nasi lemak here, one of his fav. me, agreed ja for it is simple and easy to cook. Woke up sahur time, 3 00 am to have enough time for cooking. Sambal udang, sambal telur puyuh, fried beef strips, peanuts, kangkung and cucumber - enough condiments for the nasi lemak. Had my sunat Aidil Fitri shower and then only AK realised that it was 5 15. Rather rushed for time as solat sunat is at 6 00 am. luckily UB is a mere 2 km away.

By the time we reached UB, the field was already half full. Yes, solat sunat Aidil Fitri at the field in front of the Rektorat Building. The preparation - a stage with a billboard and a small mimbar, carpets for the jumaah. there were nine rolls of carpets, each roll can accomodate three lines of jemaah. Therefore, there are 9 lines for male and 9 ladies. We had to bring our own sejadah. The imam and khatib were among UB top management. Meaningful. The solat itself is calming. The breeze and cool temperature. I spent a few more seconds in the final sujud for it hit me the most. Semuga kita semua diberkati Allah. Disertakan juga doa untuk diri sendiri, suami dan anak2. 

During solat, I sat next to two sisters (Sem 4 and 8 from Padang. “Tak balik lebaran?” and they said “Tidak Bu. 3 hari mudik dan 3 hari kembali. Tidak cukup hari dan mahal jugak Bu. Klu yg asal Pulau Jawa, ramai mudik tetapi Pulau lainnya, enggak Bu”. The sacrifice in gaining knowledge. Semuga success. 

Snap. Snap. Snap. Photos. Possible, interesting angles, from start till end. We photo bombed a group of international students and they welcomed us, making spaces. That’s the life of international students embracing all as families. 

Grr. grr. The music and its time for breakfast. Nasi lemak and lepat were packed as picnic is our choice. Sitting along the library’s corridor facing the field. We laid out the new tabletop (IDR30K = RM10) and the food. A short doa and thus, nyum, nyum. We also decided to share some with those students sitting near us. “Nasi lemak Malaysia. Enjoy”. A new experience to some while nothing new to others for they have been to Malaysia.

The place soon became empty for many have other destinations. We waited longer for we wanted the coverage to call loved ones. WA them “call us once you are home”. The first raya via WA video call while the kids were having their raya meal - nasi impit (communally cooked), kari ayam (K Long), sambal kacang (K Ngah) and rendang (Che Puan Leha). Afiq, even teh O is now for K Leha for he said “Sedap Ma, K Leha punya teh O”. Hai anak bungsu and kakak semua sayang le tu. Mengelat. Snap. snap. snap again and one of the pic is used as our Aidil Fitri card. “Function gak budak2 ni bila kita x de. Klu x asyik Ma, Ma, Ma. proud of them” AK (2024).





This lebaran - a different land, a different experience. The tenth raya experience of our lives.

Salam Aidil Fitri kids.
Salam Aidil Fitri all.

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