The Green Umbrella

Do you remember the green paper umbrellas that we used back in the 60s? It has bamboo handle and bright green on the outside and brown on the inside. It had a terrible smell of cockroaches too. I remember when I was growing up in Plywood Road, in the monsoon months of December with extended bleakness, the sea roared constantly. Most days were too wet for venturing out, or dreary in the in-between periods when the sky held back the seasonal downpour. As our house was at the river bank near the river mouth, the high tide and the rain made my nenek jitters about being swept away into the sea.

During that December monsoon, and when the tide was high, the tanah tambak that prevent the river from flooding the kampung, was beneath the water. The only way to travel was by sampan or kolek. Rain of many types fell on Plywood Road, some drizzly wizzly, some poured down right in the middle of a sunny day, which we called hujan panas. They said that when hujan panas turun, it is a sign of someone just passed away. Occasionally, there will be a sudden pour that sent the elderly folks scrambling, only to pull back instantly as they came. This will leave the elderly wheezing and panting with all the keropok or ikan kering that they salvaged from getting wet from the rain.

The monsoons brought serious rain, not the ones that sent the old folk a-scatter. It rained and rained for days on end and the sky will be dirty grey. When that happens, like few weeks ago, where I had all my laundry hanging all over the apartment… it makes me want to just pull the blanket over my head and sleep all day.

Jazz Forever