The Old Home Town No More!The last time I was there in my old home-town was about a year back. It was 2005 and we were there on the occasion of All Souls’ Day.
We cleaned my grandfather and grandmother’s graves as well as that of Donny’s and Jeffrey’s little boy’s. We then sprayed water over their graves and said our prayers for the salvation of their souls. Completing our obligations, we then drove in the direction of our old home-town; a place which was familiar as I practically grew up there.
However, the town has changed. My mind could still make out what the original town was like. This town was not unlike other towns. Small population-almost everyone knew each other and their families. The shops served the needs of the town-folks and the population of the nearby villages and plantations.
It was a three-road town, with a main round-about marking the center of town. In the center of the round-about, was a signpost indicating the directions to adjacent towns and villages. The road on the left leads to another round-about which will then lead you to Malacca and Tangkak. While the road going south will lead you to Asahan and the fabled serene-looking
South of the main round-about is a concrete bridge. The town folks will sit on the bridge span in the evening to chat. Adjacent the bridge was the bus cum taxi station and just beyond the bridge is a zinc-roofed food-court. Behind the bus station were padi fields and the meandering muddy
The church still stood there. I took my wedding vows at this church. How time flew! Some nostalgia here. It needed a new coat of paint,though.
I remembered between the shop-blocks were hawkers plying their trade. Meon’s satay was heavenly. Tao Loh’s mee-soup and fried noodles were the best. The Kan Loh Mee was second to no-one. Bo Jeng’s curry in a dilapidated restaurant was just unforgettable! Gu Chap’s beef soup noodles is beyond comparison.
The roads are still there but the hawkers-they have all gone now. They can live only in my memory.
Today, a nondescript bazaar sits atop the old bus station site. The bus station has taken over the padi fields and the old food court is now supplanted by a row of modern double-storey shops and offices.
I felt like a stranger. I was a stranger. No one knew me. The place was no longer familiar. I did not belong anymore.
Except for the church, there was just no nostalgia or attachment left to feel emotional or sentimental about my old hometown. Time and development has changed my hometown. The new hometown was my hometown no more…
I brought my family to a chicken rice shop. They knew we were not from these parts. Quickly we had our lunch and left the place.
Quote of the Day:
“When you finally go back to your old hometown, you find it wasn't the old home you missed but your childhood” Sam Ewing
Heartsong
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