Deja vu - A Tale of Two Sleepy Hollows

It was a town founded on the legend of the Princess of Gunung Ledang. In the local language `gunung' means mountain. Rightly assumed, the small town is located at the foot of the mountain. 'Is' because it is still there. It was where I grew up. I did not know any world outside that small town during my growing years.

The town was very small and populated by folks working in the agricultural sector, that the government did not confer the status of town till early 80's.

It had only four main roads which met at the town's only police station. Each road was lined by pre-war shops which had some authentic feel to them. The buildings were tall, had heavy wooden doors and windows. Electrical wirings were exposed unlike modern buildings where everything is concealed. Pavements were made of rough cement, dotted by holes here and there - holes which spoke volume of the tragedies of second World War.

The people of the town shopped for fish and chicken at the only daily market that was located behind the row of shops. Greens were self grown at home. Life was very leisurely in the villages and estates that surrounded the town.

Children played outside homes, rode bicycles on the sparsely vehicled roads, played football at the only public field in the town. They climbed trees. Everyday life ended in the early hours of the evening where families gathered at the dining table for a home cooked meal. Televisions belonged to the rich, so did refrigerators. Most people commuted by bicycles. There were only a handful of schools, at the outskirts of the town.

Family and societal values were highly regarded. Neighbours knew each other. Children were often left in the care of neighbours when emergencies happened. Weddings were celebrated by communities and deaths which were mourned by family, friends and neighbours. Everyone knew each other.

There were one mosque, one Hindu temple, one Buddhist temple and a Church in my sleepy hollow.

But the attraction of the town where I grew up lay on the mysticism it was based on-The mystery of Princess of Gunung Ledang.

As the legend goes, a sultan from the neighbouring state, Malacca, was seeking the most beautiful woman to marry. He happened to hear about the Princess of Gunung Ledang and sent his top warrior to seek her hand in marriage. The warrior returned with a list of things that Princess demanded as dowry if the Sultan wanted to marry her, which included blood from his own son. The Sultan apparently acceded to her all her requests and sent his warrior back to the mountain to finalise the marriage but the latter never returned. According to the legend, the Princess was interested in the warrior more than his Boss that she did not let him return. The mystical Princess is said to be alive till today and mountain climbers reported to have sighted her either as a very beautiful woman singing at the mountain's famous waterfall or a very old woman wondering about in the jungles of the mountain. It is for that legend that visitors used to flock to this sleepy hollow that I grew up in.

So, what is the deja vu?

Fast forward 40 years, and at the age of fifty-six, I bought my retirement home, at another sleepy hollow. It is an irony, for the gated community that I live in is smack in the middle between the likes of Silicon Valley on one side and the sleepy hollow that I came from on the other. Our official address only carries the name of the sleepy hollow, though!

This town is so small that in this twenty-first century, it only has three main roads which converged as a T-junction outside the police station. Old buildings housed shops which lined these roads. Most look more than thirty years old, perhaps older. There are landed houses alongside and behind the shops. There is only one daily market behind the police station which served the town and all the surrounding villages.

Major economic activity is centred around agriculture that a drive through the roads of the town would bring about a burst of green on both sides. Children rode bicycles outside their homes in the evening, young men played football. No one remained indoors as the day draws to an end. Night falls early in these parts, probably due to its vicinity to the sea thirty minutes away - The Straits of Malacca.

Most people know one another. They knew where anything could be found - the tailor, the bicycle shop, the key maker, the shop that sold prayer items. Prices are cheap, at times fifty percent lesser that the silicon valley ten minutes away.

There is one mosque in the centre of the town and I am pretty sure temples of other faiths are tucked away somewhere. I have yet to find out.

Then comes the mystical part of this town. No one says it aloud but whispers can be heard that this sleepy hollow is the dumping ground for `mystical pets', which in this country consists of mostly ghosts, ghouls and the unseen. Some host the pets for the fun of it, some to steal while others to guard their properties. It is said that people keep these pets to safeguard their agricultural land especially those orchards which have begun yielding returns after years of planting and nurturing fruit trees.

I remember a story by a friend who shared his own experience. One day he stopped by an orchard next to the main road to pick a few fallen durians. The owner was nowhere to be seen, so he picked the fruits up and walked to his car when he heard a growl. He turned around, half expecting some wild animal behind him, but all he saw was a pair of bloody red eyes staring at him! Needless to say that was the last time he ever ventured near any orchard.

So, what's with this deja vu? Folks in this part of the world believe that when one approaches the last few tens on miles in life, one often seeks to spend those days in familiar places or some place which resemble a similarity to the past. Apparently, this the an inate nature in mankind which is said to be the homing factor that brings people back to the folds of their families despite going away for years. My family has left the sleepy hollow I grew up in so my homecoming is the new sleepy hollow which would probably be my final resting place too. It's a deja vu...