PARAH one day, WESAK the next

Saw a photo of a friend standing beside Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Wan Azizah after watching the play PARAH, written by Alfian Sa'at and directed by Jo Kukathas. Anwar had nothing but praise for the play, which got me intrigued and I sought to find out more about the play, where it would be performed, and the price. After some researching (Google), I found that it is performed at a newly constructed area of Damansara, near Mont Kiara, at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC) at Empire Damasara, and for adults it costs RM58 and for students RM38 only.

From left: Branavan Aruljothi (Mahesh), Wan Azizah, Jo Kukathas (director), Anwar himself, Alfian Sa'at (playwright),
Gregory Sze (Kahoe), Farah Rani (Melur) & Iedil Putra (Hafiz)

Due to the obscure location, which meant that I couldn't go unless someone drove me, I told a great literature buddy of mine, Karl about the play and got him interested. He too went to do more research and found on twitter that Datuk Ambiga had attended the play twice! She also tweeted that PARAH is a brilliant play and that the director Jo Kukathas gave it her own golden touch, congratulating the team on a stunning performance. Well, that did it. Karl immediately purchased tickets for the both of us online and we set Thursday for our night out.

Karl's salmon, my chicken and our Swedish meatballs
#soulfood #IkeaSwedishMeatballs

I suggested that we have dinner at IKEA before heading to Empire Damansara as it was en route and Karl agreed. So we had an enjoyable dinner of salmon (for Karl), chicken (for myself), the famous Swedish meatballs (shared) and dessert. (I had chocolate almond cake. Not too sweet, chocolatey, moist ans simply Heavenly!) After a very satisfying dinner, we went to the get the car and got the shock of our lives when we couldn't find it. We walked through the whole parking lot again and again searching for the caruntil I remembered that we parked 1 floor lower. =.=

The audience

After that shocker, we parked near the lift when we were at Empire Damansara and collected our tickets, anticipation running high as the volume of the crowd increased as time passed until we were finally ushered into the theatre. The crowd was amazing. A single file of people trickled steadily into the theatre, seemingly never-ending. The audience were in a light mood, taking pictures using smartphones and checking in while light conversation hovered. Then it began.

It starts with three transparent boxes in the middle of the stage. The the light brightens to reveal what seems to be a living room with a sofa and shelves, and the 4 main characters bounded onto stage. For 1 hour and 45 minutes, they had us in laughter, tears, tension, sadness and frustration, engaging the audience so deeply as we are swept into the shoes of each character, moving us with its incredible depth as issues that are normally taboo in our society are brought out stark naked before us, allowing the audience to appreciate our own interpretations. One line by Mahesh made a lasting impression on me:

(courtesy of PARAH on facebook)

All in all it was a play not to be missed. All Malaysians should watch it before the curtain falls on the 26th of May 2013 at DPAC, Empire Damansara. Schedule is as below.

(courtesy of PARAH on facebook)

After the play, I reached my hostel late as the road was jammed full of people preparing for Wesak Day. After a bath, I decided to broach the subject of the issue of the word 'pariah' being used in Abdullah Hussain's Interlok with two of my closest housemates. We had a long and sometimes 'heated' discussion, but they had valid reasons for not wanting the word to be printed or used in any way as it was a grave insult to the Indian community linking to the ancient caste system which existed in India ages ago... I had my opinion, and they were open to it, but unsure as to its effectiveness, so in the end we agreed to disagree on this point and we all parted for bed without any further tension.

(pic courtesy of PARAH on facebook)

I woke at 6.30am and proceeded to quietly tiptoe out of the hostel to the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple just behind my hostel. Even at that hour in the morning, there were already lots of people going about, praying, making offerings, selling food and religious artifacts, taking photos, and I quickly whipped out my camera to do the same. 

Buddhist Maha Vihara temple at 6.30am

Flower offerings

A volunteer lighting the oil lamps

Decorations at the Buddhist Maha Vihara temple

In the afternoon, I, being a student, not having the financial capacity to offer flowers and incense to the Lord Buddha on this holy day, lighted a small lotus candle and promptly went on to donate blood at the temple. A beautiful scene touched me when I saw Indians and Chinese crowding the area to donate blood with friendly Malay hospital staff to assist in the donation. 

I walked back to the hostel with a goody bag including a packet of Milo and just as I stepped through the door, heavy rain ensued, only stopping after half an hour, seemingly setting an appropriately cooler atmosphere for the parade to be held tonight. The rain had washed away the terrible heat of the afternoon sun and the parade was held without any mishap. I went to the temple again once more with two friends to pray and seek blessings before returning home feeling spiritually at one with the world - at peace.

Buddhist Maha Vihara temple at night