The Hari Raya story in Nagoya....

Salam,

Ahh at last home sweet home. I just arrived from Nagoya this evening after spending 5 days overthere. A brief Raya break.

Anyway it is my pleasure to record my highest gratitude and appreciation to all my buddies at Nagoya. Particularly to 3 handsome guys who provided me a great, comfortable accomodation and transportation as well..Hotel Kobayashi Biru and 3 collections of Stream..Abg Helmi, Abg Ogor and Abg Kutu..thanks a lot man!! Only god can pay your kindness..Then special Nasi Ayam cooked by Helmi..Umaiii!! Next time boleh masak lagi..Not to forget Abg Op with his expertise in cooking..I also had a chance to belasah his delicious Nasi Tomato, Lodeh, dessert, air jambu yg bergey suka tu and the last one is kerepek pedas..fuuhhh..Less than 5 minutes habis satu balang..muahaha..

On Sunday, i joined the biggest and joyious gathering among all the Malaysian students in Nagoya, families and Malaysian who are working at other places around Nagoya..i think some coming from Toyota and Gifu..All guys looked handsome with their Baju Melayu and all the women were so pretty and beautiful with thier colourful and glamorous dress. And i think children were the happiest during that day..Everybody wholeheartedly cooperated and contributed thier time, energy, and money in order to ensure the gathering is successful.

All i can say is congratulation to every one of you..all the nagoyans..Keep up the good works. Last but not least thanks a lot..KUDOS to you guys..

Thats all just for this time..i think i really need some rest after a long journey today..May i bother all of you again next time yaa..hehehe..Mata ojyamashimasssu..And should any of you had time, you are welcomed to my open house which will be from tomorrow until next year Hari Raya ok..

Once again kudos for the sweet memories...kudos for everything..There end one story of my life ..Celebrating Hari Raya 27~31 October 2006 in Nagoya.

Special thanks to:
1) Helmi @ Emet for the time, bedroom, computer, Stream, Nasi Ayam, Roti telur, air nescaffe, Futon & bantal yg empuk..eh ye ke..empuk, towel, chocalate Cadburry yg cair di mulut, lawak jenaka yg bermashaallah, blalalalalala....the list goes on

2) Ogor @ abg perkasa @ jantan rakus @ mat kentut for the time, Stream, Dumb bell biru, lawak jenaka yg mashaallah shiot ihihihihh, Sama2 layan citer Death Note, blalablaa...the list goes on

3) Kutu @ suami mithali..eh ye ke mithali..tapi tensai (tulis ronbun dlm Nihonggo siot) for the time, Stream, burger ( 1st day breakfast kat Hotel Kobayashi Biru), Pudding yg enak, lawak jenaka yg mashaalah ihihihihi jugek, blablabla..the list goes on...

4) Op @ Chief Chef Max Value Nagoya for the time, Kerepek pedas yg sedap giler ( Sorry sebab habis kena belasah), Nasi Tomato, Lodeh, Rendang, Dessert mix fruit yg power, Air Teh tarik satu cerek, Kuih Raya, Support makan kat Restaurant Korea ( Seedap siot..nanti boleh belanjer lagi),Kek batik, blablabalba..the list goes on

5) Tuan punyer ubat gigi Darlie ngan Body Soap Strawberry kat Hotel Kobayashi Biru (xtau sape owner so belasah pakai je)..

KUUUUDOOOOSS to you and May Allah bless all of you...

Aduuhh laloq tak ingat nye nih...ngantuk..lapar..chow..

以上です。

Today's locution 2...

Build yourself up by building others up
&
If you can't keep an open mind, keep your mouth shut too

Raya..raya..raya..a nostalgia

Hmmm 2,3 days more to go..Berlalulah sudah Ramadhan. Tibalah Syawal kita rayakan. I am sure kalau kat Malaysia sekarang nih...fullamak memang tak dapat nak bayangkan la kemeriahan suasana yg akan terasa menjelang hari bahagia.
Bagi yg bekerja dan tinggal berjauhan dah mula merancang trip balik kampung..mak ai highway sure cram beb..

Hari ni ntah camna boleh terbangun awal la plak..layan tv jap..alaah bosanla plak..On computer, baca paper..laa tak update la plak lagi..aisehh..Turn on lagu2 raya..ahhh bestnye..Lagu Raya..you can just feel the chemistry of lagu raya only from dlm seminggu before Raya je..Pasang dalam bulan lain mmg tak kena aa..

Raya..yey raya..Di hari yg penuh suasana kecerian inilah anak beranak saudara mara altogether dgn hati yg ikhlas saling bermaafan dan penuh rasa gumbira berkumpul bersama2 meraikan Eidulfitri..Pelbagai juadah paling istimewa disediakan dan masing2 menggayakan pakaian dari koleksi yg terbaik...You can see very colourful and vibrant scenery during this joyful day..Aaahhh...Hari Raya ...mmg best..balik kampung, mak ayah lah insan yg paling gembira di dunia..you can see from their shining eyes and faces what..Whith those sweetest broad smiles..hug and kiss all their beloved children and grandchildren..aaahh what a wonderful day it is...

After Raya prayers and listen to khutbah, everybody asking forgiveness with each other..bersalam-salaman and greeting Selamat Hari Raya..Going back home, ayah ngan mama akan duduk atas sofa..haha just like the King and Queen..kiterang anak beranak akan gelarkan Yg dipertuan Agong and Permaisuri Agong..Then kiterang starting from our big brother a.k.a the Prime Minister mulalah memohon ampun minta maaf pada ayah bonda sambil mencium tangan dan berpelukan dgn ayah dan mama...hmmm soo touching

Biasanya my family hehe when it comes to Hari Raya..biasala ayah as director and mama as chief chef akan sibuk prepare their the best and delicious secret recipes ...Nasi Tomato dan Kari daging to be eaten with Ketupat..haha mmg every year takkan miss nye cakap lu..Tapi yg best tu masakla berapa periuk pon dijamin sebelum Raya 3 menjelang..mesti habis..but yg belasah habiskan tu bukan org lain..hahaha kiterangla anak2 ni..maklumlah Nasi Tomato mama ngan ayah 2 kali je setahun dek non oii..Eidulfitri n aidiladha only..mmg melahap tak ingatnye...

This year kena raya kat perantaun..not my first time though..dah banyak kali..so biasaje la..Cuma dulu time student happening gakla...member2 ramai ade..banyak juga open house..tapi this time..hehe very different mate..hapa pon takda..kerja ja just same like normal days..huhu..biasala beb baru la grunge..rock..raya sensorang kat overseas haha...org gi semayang raya aku gi kerja..yahhooo ureshiii...Haha to all my younger brother and sisters and nieces nephew..sorry aaa raya tahun nih tak dopek la nak bagi duit raya..Bila raya kat oversea my elder sister will never miss to post one two Raya Parcels..very kind of her indeed..I pray to the god to bless her and all her family with good health, prosperity and happiness..Inshaallah

Whatever malam raya by hook or crook kena telefon the King and Queen..a must..otherwise..heh i will be damned..Ok cut...nak layan lagu feeling sambil dgr lagu2 raya nih..hehe penuh Nostalgia dan memory..

以上です。

Business Trip to DKC Oita...Yokattawaa honma de..

Salam..folk

Geez..2,3 days more to go..there gone Ramadhan..there come Syawal..

And just yesterday i had to escort one of my superior to pay a courtesy visit to one of our big suppliers..Daihatsu Kyushu Corporation at Oita-ken..(Damn it is during fasting day man)..Set up in 2004, DKC is the newest among Daihatsu Manufacturing Plant and perhaps the most sophisticated and beautiful. Other plants in Japan are at Ikeda, Kyoto and Shiga.
DKC situated just beside the sea in Nakatsu-shi and one of the significant factors to propel and contribute toward the emergence of local economic prowess.
ダイハツ九州大分工場

Well..whatever it was i really enjoyed the trip. We depart from Shin Kobe station at 9:42 am with Shinkansen Superexpress Nozomi 50号 700-series and arrived at Kokura station in Kyushu at 11:39 am. It seems that taste of the air in Kyushu is slightly different with Kansai. I dont know how to describe it perhaps you could try it by yourself..douzo go yukkuri..
新幹線のぞみ７００系。最高時速２７５km/h。

The meeting which commenced at 1:00 pm and scheduled to be over at 3:00 pm eventually closed at 3:20 pm. Then we made a brief plant tour to get know 現場 operation. As the plant tour over, we rushed back to Nakatsu station, took Sonic Express to Kokura station and from there we boarded into Shinkansen Nozomi 500 series..Apparently Nozomi 500 series is the most attractive among all the shinkansen and it recorded to be the fastest shinkansen running on the railway so far with 300
km/h.
新幹線のぞみ５００系。最高時速300km/h。一番かっこう良いやで～

Arriving Shin Kobe station around 7:30, we shooted to Sannomiya. Sannomiya is really a happening town. Very oshare..moreover during night. Unluckily i didnt take any picture of it. We had our dinner at Sannomiya.

Hmm what is so good about this business trip..well the foremost is everything is sponsored..hehe that's the best part of it man..Besides mean of work you could have sightseeing and get to know other places as well. At least i got a chance to view and pass through Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, and at last i can stand with my feet on the Kyushu ground..go here and there..see other people ways of living..taste their local foods..got some changes of scenery view..and all this for free...Round trip ticket with overall tranportation fee would come to approximately 30000 yen..And of course the experience and knowledge i gain through all the trip is priceless..even you slip out your Master Card or VISA..Sorry Sir..hehehe..it is not something purchasable...

Hopefully there are more business trip coming after this and perhaps luckily could spend 1 or two night at hotel...Haiit matteru yoo..

以上です。

Pesan Rasulullah: Keras kepala, tak suka belanja harta untuk kebaikan, ahli neraka

RASULULLAH SAW bersabda bermaksud: “Bukankah aku sudah memberitahu kamu mengenai ahli-ahli neraka? Mereka itu ialah orang yang keras kepala, sombong, suka mengumpul harta tetapi tidak suka membelanjakannya untuk kebaikan.” (Hadis riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Keras kepala (degil) adalah sifat orang yang tidak mahu menerima sesuatu kebenaran. Begitu juga orang yang tamak pada harta benda dan tidak suka membelanjakan harta untuk kebaikan kerana sombong dan angkuh dengan kekayaan yang dimiliki, mereka ini tergolong sebagai ahli neraka.

Harta adalah amanah Allah kepada manusia. Oleh itu, ia hendaklah dibelanjakan untuk diri, keluarga dan orang di dalam tanggungan serta memberi bantuan kepada orang yang memerlukannya dengan cara yang diredai Allah.

Aduuhh..Insaf insaf...uhukuhuk..

以上です。

Best Wishes from me to all of you...

"Sir lamp mad hurry rare year ideal fit tree moo lee year,
Ma half say hair bar teen 2 loose dairy hearty young eek class,
Junk and low par duet rare year own took say year summer ok...."
Sorry I bar row ball leak dairy London

On your pc speaker and enjoy the song
Suasana Hari Raya by ME & ELLINA

Best Regards from,
A neck moo day d' rent town one...hehe





Those days while studying at Nagoya during Eid ulFitr 2004

以上です。

The insanity of Kim Jong Ill

Yesterday The Socialist Republic of North Korea had succesfully conducted their first time nuclear bomb test underground. Congratulation to their supreme dictator Kim Jong Ill for this achievement.

It has been reported that the power of the nuclear bomb which under gone the test is equals to 550 tone of Trinitrotoulene..a kind of powerful explosive material or generally well known as TNT. However this figure is far too small compared to the atomic bomb released by the US on the Hiroshima ground which the explosion force generated equals to 15000 tone of TNT and the one that destructed Nagasaki flatly equals to 21000 tone. Very powerful indeed !! 21000 tone = 21 000 000 kg of TNT.

North Korea has became the 9th country in this world that currently owns and having capability of producing Nuclear Bomb. The others are USA, Britain, France, Russia, China, which the only 5 countries that elegible of having permanent seats around the United Nations Security Council table and holding the VETO power card while the rest are India, Pakistan and Israel.

Some may wonder what is the perks of having nuclear bomb. Well..it is understood that one country which has nuclear bomb would never attack the other one who also happens to has the nuclear bomb as well. At least so far..this statement is prevail and can be trusted. So when North Korea claimed itself to has Nuclear Bomb..at least it gives US and his allies (Japan of course and South Korea are having relation problem with North Korea) some hints..

However untill now there is not a single action taken by the world superpower especially USA against North Korea. This is apparently ironic compared to what they are doing on Iran..even Iran is developing their nuclear technology for the means of generating energy. Huhuhu well the whole world know that US always practise double-standard in his action to some particular country. Why ? Because there is something..Iran, Iraq, Syria if combine altogether are the world largest bank for the black gold namely it OIL. On the other hand, what North Korea can offers..nothing precious...nothing. So there is not a good investment for US to interfere with North Korea..It might just wasting their time and US people's monies. Even North Korean people are living life poorly.

Hehe that's the advantage of being a superpower country. You can do whatever you want. US is a uniterally world superpower now. Nobody can deny that.

To the people of North Korea..i pity all of you for having a leader like Kim Jong Ill....Certainly Japan cannot sits quietly..Anyway we just leave that to the wisdom of Japanese leaders on how to tackle the situation. The Nuclear test carried out by North Korea really gives a headache to Shinzo Abe, newly elected Japanese Prime Minister and the test news has been covered up broadly by Japanese medias.

以上です。

Today's locution...

You do not have to be a handsome guy to get a beautiful hot chick...but you need to be a beautiful chick to get a hot handsome guy.

Muhaha.. am i right??

New Dreams, New Wealth, New Ambitions, New Priorities

Hey mate..bonjour..gutten stug..みんな元気でやるかい。。

It is off-day today as it is public holiday in Japan for commemorating Sports Day. No need to wake up early in the morning as it used to be for the first day in the week..yeeyy.

Every man with his noble sanity would has his own dreams in life. However our dreams, aspirations and priorities would change accordingly to our living standard, age, maturity,level of wisdom, events, experiences, environment and achievements.

This phenemanon really applies in my case. When i was a kid, i used to dream to be an accountant or banker..with the image such as cool executive wearing suit and neckties working at the bank. Driving glamorous high prestigous BMW 5 series or other luxury models.Well..the bank is under your feet man..the fresh smells of money is always there..That was my first early dream.

Then for sometimes..it came to my mind..Wow how cool and great it might be if i were a pilot..it doesn't matter whether a jet fighter pilot or commercial flight pilot..As a jet fighter pilot..uwaaa kakkoii ya..and you are only amongts the very small group of Malaysia citizen who has the chance of get that multi-hundredmillion taxpayers money born ultimate flying machine up into high sky..As just what Tom Cruise did as Maverick in Top Gun. Well as MAS's pilot..heheh you got a very golden chance than others rarely had..a vast access to all those beautiful sweety stewardess..Ahhh so sweet...and certainly high paid too..But apparently it was very hard for me as i might not qualified as a pilot..To be a pilot one must possesses eagle's eyes and i am not.

When i was in secondary school, i changed my dream of ambition. How nice it would be if i were a doctor..Yes..an MDc..It's not McDonald..but Medicine Doctor..or perhaps cardiovascular specialist..Doctor is one kind of profession that widely regarded as a very noble job with good perception among people. But..no..i could not be a doctor for several reasons even my parents strongly encouraged and hope me to pursue my carrier in this field. One of the reasons is i am afraid off looking at a lot amount of blood..pheww it really makes me dizzy and want to pengsannn!!

Well as years passing by..as i grown up..still my dreams, my ambition and priorities differ and change regularly..There were also times i wanted to be an engineer..a businessman..a corporate mogul..and list might keeping to be more. Why is this happened? In my thinking it might be because of those reasons i have listed above before.

So what is my dream now..what i am targetting to..Which path i choose to pursue my way of life from now on..Hehe it is really going to be a long story should i elaborated here. It perhaps sufficiently should i say that at least at the age of 35 (of course earlier is preferable and the best)i am free..free in many ways...financially free..emotionally free and i am free to determine what i want to do. I want to travel around the world..seeing other people lives..experiencing new things..helping those who are inneed..those very poor people..small children with no proper nutricious foods to eat and education..Yess this is my ultimate dream..i want to contribute something good for nations and mankind..certainly for the unlucky people in my motherland and around the globe as well..not necessarily it must to be extravaganza kind of contribution yet even it is small but very meaningful upon the people who receive it..something that could at least change their lives not necessarily in the big way but also even it is in small way.

Yes this is my ultimate dream..However to attain this goal, i have to come out with a good strategically planning..If the government has its own short-term and long-term plans in order to developed the country and keep the light of nation survival, i also have mine. Of course should the economically and socially stabilized factors is significant to the growth of country. Financially freedom and social life stabilization is a prerequisite to achieve my dreams. I have not to worry about getting up every morning..thinking of how to get more money as at those days my money is generated automatically..as what Robert T Kiyosaki-millionaire trainer says..you are not working for money..but your money is working for you..even when you sleep..you eat..you go travel overseas for the leisure tour or whatsoever.

Therefore all the time consumed to earn money could be applied to give back something meaningful to other. It is kind of philantropist work. I know a lot of world-level multi millionaires and top billionaires are giving away their money to others. They were once a top executives at the big and multinational companies..they have everything in their lives..no worries for monies or expenses..but there is something in their heart that keep always urging to do something as what they are busy doing now..helping others who are lacking in every ways(Click the above title to know more who is among the they). Of course in Malaysia also, there exist this beautiful heart philantropist such as Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary..one of Malaysia business tycoon and the only Muslim in the chart of Top 10 wealthiest person in Malaysia.

So folk..I have make up my mind that this is going to be my new dreams..which i must explore the effort to establish my new wealth..which accordingly could contribute to the success and achievement of my new ambitions and subsequently resulted my new priorities. This is my 10 years plans. Nevertheless..this dream might change substitutely as what i explained previously..there are many factors relevent. And not to forget all of our efforts come to realization with subject to the god approveness...Inshaallah.

By the way..what is your dream..what is your plan for let say 5, 10 years from now..Plan your life and live your plan. Planning is very important elements to ensure the success of life. You don't believe me?..Well you could ask any successful person..the way they answers might slightly be different but the element of 'planning' factor must be there in the recipes...Or perhaps you could ask some engineers?..architects?..businessmen?..doctors?..prime ministers?..presidents?...generals?..or even a dictator. Or you might query it to your former kind teachers at high schools or kindergarten perhaps?

Ok guys..that's all for today..Happy good day..
P/s: Last night i watched a Monomane battle...haha so exciting. Monomane..hmmm perhaps it is a japanese culture. They monomane of everything..even it was a saying before that Japanese make thier cars by copying the west..Hmm whatever it is..currently Japanese automotive is highly recognized for thier reliable and high quality, standards and performance.

以上です。

He`s the man.

He`s brilliant and intelligent...he`s not only rich but must be very very rich...He has the look...He has the style...Yet he is very humble, amicable and approachable. When he talks to his people, he uses " saya", "awak" and "saudara" kind of language. Not imperially but ordinary. Who is he? To me, he`is the man of our pride. But not an ordinary man yet he is a KING. Raja Dr Nazrin Shah is the HE.

Raja Nazrin Shah Ibni Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah is a prince charming of state of Perak Darul Ridzuan. It is well versed that he who turns 50 on Nov 27 and is still holding a card as an eligible bachelor in the country somehow different from other typical princes as what i could see.

Raja Dr Nazrin Shah shows his interest in sports as well play hockey, golf, badminton, tennis and chess. It is learnt that he also holds a couple of high post in sport associations such as Malaysia Hockey Federation (MHF),Perak HA and Perak FA president.

He has a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford and a doctorate in political economy and government from Harvard. This makes him a royal high-flier as he is the first prince to obtain a doctoral degree from the ivy league Harvard University.

For the record, between 1979 and 1982, he held his first post as a management executive in Petronas' corporate management department in Kuala Lumpur. The following year, he became the management and works officer at the chairman and chief executive's office.

Hereby i depicted from another sources some of Raja Dr Nazrin Shah sayings.

"Everybody makes mistakes, as long as you are human, you make mistakes. As long as it is constructive criticism, particularly if they are recommendations on how to improve things. That is fine."

"I would like to think we should take criticism in a proper perspective, that is to improve things. But of course there is criticism that is very personal and vindictive – that I have no time for."

Besides this, i attached hereunder an article which i depicted from courtesy of Berita Harian dated 8th October 2006. This article is the cause that steer me to know Raja Nazrin more and write something about him in the first place.








Raja Dr Nazrin minat kasut buatan Pak Rashid
Oleh Rasheffa Abdul Rashid

KUALA KANGSAR: “Kasut yang awak pakai itu buat sendiri ye? Cantik dan cukup menarik...boleh buatkan saya sepasang?”, begitulah permintaan Raja Muda Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah yang berkenan menerima menghadap Salleh Talib – bekas banduan yang menjalani hukuman penjara paling lama di negara ini.

Raja Dr Nazrin menerima menghadap Salleh yang berbaju Melayu merah berserta samping, berkopiah putih dan memakai sepasang kasut yang dibuatnya khusus untuk majlis itu kira-kira jam 5.10 petang di Istana Iskandariah di sini, semalam.

Baginda meluangkan lebih 10 minit berbual mesra dan bertanyakan rancangan masa depan bekas banduan itu yang dibebaskan selepas 30 tahun menjalani hukuman penjara sepanjang hayat di Penjara Taiping, Selasa lalu, sebelum menjemputnya berbuka puasa bersama di Dewan Santapan di istana berkenaan.

Salleh dibebaskan selepas mendapat pengampunan Sultan Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah turut diberi penganugerahan dan sumbangan peribadi bagi membolehkannya memulakannya hidup baru.

Ketika berbual dengannya, baginda mencadangkan Salleh mula berniaga secara kecil-kecilan dan berjumpa persatuan belia negeri mendapatkan garis panduan memulakan perniagaan.

Baginda mencadangkan perkara itu apabila tertarik dengan kasut yang dipakai Salleh yang dibuat sendiri hasil latihan di penjara dan berhasrat membuka perniagaan membuat kasut kulit.

Salleh memberitahu baginda, kasut hitamnya itu dibuat khusus untuk menghadap baginda dan mengambil masa empat jam menyiapkannya.

"Mungkin awak boleh bermula dengan membuat kasut untuk pembesar-pembesar di Perak dan selepas itu sudah boleh menempa nama," titah baginda yang bercakap menggunakan loghat Perak.

Baginda juga memintanya bekerjasama dengan Majlis Agama Islam negeri dan menganjurkan program motivasi berkongsi pengalamannya selama 30 tahun di penjara dan bagaimana beliau mencapai keinsafannya khususnya untuk pengajaran generasi muda.

"Semua pengalaman awak harus menjadi pengajaran kepada orang lain dan awak boleh mengadakan aktiviti memberi motivasi bagi menjauhi jenayah kepada masyarakat hari ini," katanya.

Raja Dr Nazrin juga sempat bergurau senda bertanyakan rancangan Salleh untuk mendirikan rumah tangga serta memintanya menziarahi kawasan persekitarannya yang sudah banyak membangun dan maju dalam tempoh beliau dipenjarakan.

"Alhamdulillah awak dapat pengampunan Sultan Kedah dan keluar (dari penjara) dan saya gembira awak keluar sebelum Aidilfitri dan juga sempat berpuasa dulu bersama keluarga," katanya.

Sementara itu, Tajol Rosli berkata, pihaknya akan berusaha membantu Salleh supaya dapat membuka perniagaan membuat kasut.




Ijyoudesu.

What a Few days !!

Hello there,

At last after a few days off i am back again. I had a very bad time with my computer for the past 3~4 days. One partition of my com had been attacked by this bloddy virus..darn!!Since then, everyday never be good for me. I felt so terrible and my mood was bad as well.

So i tried a number of time to get rid off the bloody virus from my com. First trial..failed..2nd trial..also failed..3rd trail failed again..4th trial...oooh it wa still there...Then i took a deep breath..shiitt mannn..what i suppose to do with this fuckup com..everything was going wrong. Huh this kind of thing really gave my patience an endurance test. After all it was a fasting day...what a perfect timing for such test. Then again i took a really deep breath and sighed heavily. What i suppose to do..THINK!!..Hah..i have no choice. Back to the basic is my final decision. I have formatted and set up back again the C drive partition. Luckily i divided my com to 2 partitions hence all my significant files could be saved.

After few hours later..arghhhhhh yatto sukkiri ni natta yooo...Yesterdayyyy..all the troubles seem so far awayyy...(as what Beatles said)..and today there are gone..yeyy. Loga den!

So tomorrow is a new day and it would bring along a new fresh feeling and different tones. Hopefully...

Tomorrow be back again i will..

Ijyoudesu.

Out of the Cage: The other side of Tamerlane

On rainy sunday morning, i have came across with this article written by Khairy Jamuluddin in the New Sunday Times dated 1/10/2006. I personally regard the article to be very interesting and it provided me with something new that never came to my acknowledgement previously. It tells the historically event and life pertaining one of the greatest muslim conqueror, king and army commander - TAMERLANE. I think there is no harm to share this article with you out there. Well it is quit lengthy though yet it is worth to be read. Now enjoy your reading as it should be...


HE was the last of the great conquerors of the world. He walked in the lineage of those with names that echo throughout history — Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan.Arguably he achieved much more than them in terms of geopolitical reach, military prowess and personal strength. But his life remains in the shadows of history.Even his name as recorded in the annals of Western literature is unglamorous — Tamerlane, derived from the Persian moniker Timur-e- Lang which means Timur the Lame. Lame because an injury to his right leg early in his life made it shorter than the left, leaving him with a pronounced limp. But lame he wasn’t on the battlefield.His military campaigns and conquests between 1370 and 1405 stretched from east of the Karakorum range (the present day border between China and Pakistan), across the Indus river to Delhi, to the Bosphorus covering all of the Ottoman lands and everything in between.He was a Muslim and didn’t hesitate to use the banner of Islam when it suited him. He conquered lands in the name of Islam riding under the standard of a crescent moon.Yet, he also rooted himself in customary laws of Genghis Khan, staking his claim as a spiritual if not biological heir of the great Mongol.Timur was responsible for some of the most wicked atrocities in history, leaving behind his trademark towers of human skulls amid the ash and debris of once-great cities plundered and crushed by his hordes. He did this to strike fear in the hearts of those who might dare to oppose him and to send a message to those that may try to resist his advance that it was far better to surrender than to face the his wrath in conquest.His military genius and traits of terror aside, Timur was a thoughtful intellectual who delighted in the company of scholars.He may have ruled with an iron fist but he respected and rewarded men of letters, something that has eluded many tyrants throughout history who think their ideas to be the best. His capital in Samarkhand was a centre of culture and learning with Timur as a despotic yet benevolent patron.No less an intellectual than Ibn Khaludn came away from his meeting with Timur with a profound respect for "one of the greatest and mightiest of kings".The success that met Timur in almost every battle he waged is testament to his brilliance as a leader of men.He knew that it would not be easy to retain the loyalty of nomadic tribes under his command. Only by keeping his men busy with raids and by equitably dividing the spoils of war could he continue to motivate those beneath him.Although generous as a leader, he did not tolerate corruption among those who served him, brutally punishing them as an example to others. For all his historical significance, Timur scarcely features in Western (even Islamic) history.In fact, his bloody massacres of fellow Muslims in repeated conquests has resulted in extremely unflattering accounts throughout Islamic historical records. In one of the best biographies I have ever read, Justin Marozzi brings Timur back to life in Tamerlane — Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World. Not only has Marozzi provided us with a recent summary of historical accounts recording Timur’s life, he has also traced the steps of the great conqueror conjuring a magnificent travelogue of Timur’s empire as it is today. The lack of Western perspectives on Timur has motivated this textured and contextual recreation of his life which challenges caricatures based on Orientalist studies.In particular, Marozzi cites the "popular image of a … God-defying Oriental despot, fearless in conquest, unforgiving in triumph," as depicted in Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great but dismisses that image by saying that "it is one of history’s small ironies that a man who took such care to ensure his place in posterity by having his civil and military record meticulously chronicled should find his posthumous reputation in the hands of an Elizabethan playwright with a taste for the sensational".What emerges from this book is the story of a man of his time. He was no more nor less brutal and oppressive than other leaders of his age.His religious and ethical compass that oscillated freely between the obligations of Islam and the tribal customs of Mongols is typical of leaders who appropriate symbols for their own ambitions. Marozzi says that "(Timur) was interested in either code insofar as it supported his designs of conquest".Ironically, more than 600 years after his death Islam Karimov, another Uzbek leader with similar ambitions but different capabilities, can be seen appropriating Timur’s image to give historical credibility to his presidency. But after having conquered all that he set his eyes on, Timur’s greatest failure was his system of government. Although unparalleled as a strategist employing divide and rule tactics, forging alliances with enemies and motivated by a sense of his own place in history, Timur never left behind any meaningful political apparatus in places he conquered.It was almost as if what happened post-conquest was not important. What emerged as important in Timur’s life itself was the conquest. Because he didn’t leave behind any organised political occupation that would cement his grip on these lands, Timur often found himself going back to conquer again the same territories that had once fallen to his army.As Marozzi puts it, "the structure of (Timur’s) government was less important than the fact that power was exercised personally, rather than through institutions. (Timur’s) life was spent in the saddle campaigning. His energies were not given over to formalising the mechanics of government."His lack of interest in creating a political legacy would also ensure the inevitable fratricide after his death. Without institutions that could codify and exert power on his behalf, what became important in the wake of his demise was personal strength. But leaders like Timur do not come every generation and it was not until his great-great-great grandson Babur that the Timurid dynasty saw continuum into the Mughal dynasty.Marozzi’s book ends with Timur’s last campaign. After conquering the Ottoman lands and Syria, he was already at the gates of Europe. Had he decided to cross the Bosphorus, there is no doubt that the ensuing conquest would have led to a completely different Western civilisation today. But for Timur, just as it is for us today, he was called by the destiny of conquering the Middle Kingdom. It was for him the ultimate service to his religion to claim China. But the ageing conqueror succumbed to the cold near his beloved Samarkand.Marozzi’s book is a delicious portrait of a man so misunderstood in history — vilified, cursed and feared — that seeks to put into context his motivations, ambitions and fears. It is not just a readable biography of one of the greatest conquerors in history but also a study of political strategy and warfare that continues to echo throughout history.

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