Qasida

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Liam Quinn, Qaṣīda al-Burda, Qasida

Qasida is a “poetic form developed in pre-Islamic Arabia and perpetuated throughout Islamic literary history into the present.”

Qasida Burda or Poem of the Mantle is a well-known qasida by Imam al-Busiri in praise of the prophet Muhammad who is “said to have cured his paralysis by appearing to him in a dream and wrapping him in a mantle or scarf. Wikipedia

I found a clip on youtube featuring Qasida Burdah with English subtitles. It implores God to send prayers and peace.

Qasida usually “describes battles, or are written in praise of kings, princes, the poet’s patron.” Over time it has been used for theological, philosophical and ethical  purposes.  Persian variations include descriptions of natural landscapes, seasons or a lady love that may or may not exist.

These are passages from three examples of classical qasida 

Links and Credits:

• ABC Wednesday
• Qasida Burda in English can be downloaded for free on this link
• Photo of the letter Q is from “Alphabet After Serlio,” provided free by Liam Quinn of Pictures from Old Books
• Voice of Passion – English Qasidas

Fairy bootie

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Fairy bootie

Fair bootie bubbly
frisky fascinating fae
fancy water walk

Pledged to believe, though
foreign among city frogs  
fish and lily pads 

It’s a lovely business morning in busy Bangkok and my longing-for-the-countryside imagination makes its way to the office through a garden with a pond that presents something surreal. It overlays activities of stilettos, remote controls and keyboards. Such a magical entertainment makes the day less drab. Thanks to the fairy who left her bootie.

Shared with Haiku Heights * Haiku my Heart * Sensational Haiku * Outdoor Wednesday ABC Wednesday  *  Our World Tuesday

Elephant trek

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Asian elephant

Elephant treks in Kanchanaburi are usually priced at more or less 20USD for 10-15 minutes. A simple ride, no jungle involved, costs less. A Khao San tour agency offered this surprise inclusion in their package – elephant trekking which was free, so why not?

Gently our planet’s largest land mammals see-sawed globe trotters on their back as they maneuvered rocks and growth. The water mark on the elephant’s body gives one an idea of the depth of the part of the river it waded through. If the beast suddenly sat and rolled on the water, all this would turn into a swimming party.

While snapping from behind I noticed another elephant ambling alongside us, without ‘passengers.’ Curious, I asked the mahout what’s the name of our chang (elephant). He smiled, “Siripon.” “And this little darling here?” “Baby, baby of Siripon.”  

The trek took us through cassava, tomato and eggplant fields. We passed by a tree where Siripon’s baby tarried at the leaves on the highest branches. The mahout sounded impatient and urgent as he dealt with it in a way I understood as ‘no, you can’t do that, come along now.’  Mother instinct kicking in, I said,  “it’s okay, let him play.”

Clock was ticking, and I remembered: tourists were on holiday; Siripon was at work. I felt sorry for her baby. But back at the ‘Elephant Terminal’ Siripon and her young were getting ready again for a new group of tourists. They looked fine so I stopped worrying.

 ABC Wednesday * Our World Tuesday

Bee in my bonnet

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Bee in my bonnet

The phrase is defined in varied ways. The meaning presented on The Dictionary of Idioms on YANGLISH.com is one that describes how I feel one bright November day –

If someone is very excited about something, they have a bee in their bonnet.

We were about to tour a beautiful field of big blooms. This was so far the most exciting moment I had with nature in fifteen years being an expat.

ABC Wednesday

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• Aprons, bonnets necessary gear for country ladies(amarillo.com)

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Vineyards of Thailand

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Thai vineyards

Thailand’s wine-making industry has come a long way…. Vineyards across three distinguished wine-making regions now produce quality wine. CNN GO

These vineyards are found in Khao Yai, the South of Bangkok, and Northeast Thailand. Wine tours are available. In Hua Hin Hills visitors can tour vineyards in a way you  normally can’t in Burgundy or Tuscany: riding on an elephant. 

En route to the sunflower fields in Saraburi, we passed by this vineyard and made a quick stop. We didn’t expect to see such a charming spot of the Thai countryside, but we’re glad we did.  I call this our tour serendipity.

ABC Wednesday

Ughten

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Angkor Wat, Stonehenge

Sunrise over Stonehenge on the summer solstice, 21 June 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Experienced an ughten recently?

Ughten, an obscure word, means morning twilight, according to The Phrontistery.

The last time (and first time in 19 years) I was awake in an ughten I was observing photographers mounting their high tech, high-powered cameras in front of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.  They were waiting to capture sunrise there. Here’s wondering if I could stand the cold in a Stonehenge ughten.

Lady Gaga’s Bad Bangkok Romance

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Lady Gaga

Photo Credit: omg! from YAHOO

January 1st 2011 (1.1.11) at The Hilton, I asked a friend over martini and repetitive ra-ra-roma-ma- ma-oh-la-la, ‘what’s that song and who sang it?’

Out of curiosity I would have watched Lady Gaga’s concert Friday night At Rajamangala Stadium if the bleachers had not run out. Thai Ticket Major Central Bangna branch offered me what’s left, and I get to choose which among the 7,000 baht-seats I would pay for to stand. That’s right: to stand. I went, “what? 7000 baht to stand while some pop artist  screams in my face?”

I resisted calling a student whose company organizes concerts and has connections with tickets to every major concert in the kingdom. She did it successfully for me at the Eagles concert in 2011. Somehow with this Lady Gaga thing I decided it’s not worth making calls. And now I’m glad I’m finding affirmation for my reasons why I decided so.

Take a look at her tweet

“I just landed in Bangkok baby! Ready for 50,000 screaming Thai monsters. I wanna get lost in a lady market and buy fake Rolex.”

It is said that she is ‘stirring nationalist fervor in Thailand, where people tend to get upset when the country’s seedy underworld is highlighted by outsiders.’

Just like black people who may call each other nigga, that’s not a problem. But if you’re not nigga and you call someone black a nigga, that’s a different story.

News surrounding her Born This Way Ball are on her ‘provocative lyrics and costumes’ which have angered Christian groups in South Korea and the Philippines and Islamists in Indonesia.’

I personally do not have issues with the state of her lyrics and costumes, and any impact they could have done on me. Bangkok University has made sure her graduate students know how to analyze and evaluate social events. It’s good to watch from the sidelines and pick a favorite ‘monster’ reaction from a fan –

Welcome to the land of counterfeit products, love. I’m sure there are plenty of fake Gaga CDs, too.

The heck there are. But I’ll pass those up even if they are free. My money is getting spent, like it has been, on time-tested quality entertainment – ballet and opera.

Terminal 21

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Terminal 21

Terminal 21 is just another (nine-storey) shopping place in Bangkok. But you will be walking inside feeling like you are traveling. The mall is designed to look like an airport –It opened last year while the nation was dealing with the flood crisis.  Life does go on.  The world goes on. And it’s right under one roof for Bangkokians and visitors –

I was here for the first time yesterday, but only to have brunch in Mexico opposite the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, not far from the city’s municipal railway –

There are more spots to see. Or I could get lost in a maze of shops in Tokyo.

 ABC Wednesday

Songkran soaked

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Songkran 2011 - 2012

Songkran is the Thai new year characterized mainly by people celebrating it with water. According to Wikipedia, songkran is a term derived from Sanskrit, and may refer to new year celebrations in or parts of southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Lao, Thingyan in Myanmar, Yunnan in China and northern Vietnam.

Fifteen years in the kingdom and this recently concluded Songkran on April 13-15 was only my second time participating and really having fun – in Huahin, Thailand’s summer capital last year and in Silom, the country’s financial district this year.

This is the Songkran ‘make-up,’ or that’s how I call fragrant talcum powder mixed in water and rubbed gently on people’s cheeks –

Originally, water in bowls is poured on the wrists only. People exchange good wishes and go their way –

Nowadays a huge fire hose spews water on revelers. In some instances it’s not even water in the dippers, but whiskey.  Silom is closed to traffic. No one in this formidable crowd is dry. Not the cops, not the food or booze vendors, not even the journalists covering this event. In one corner people danced to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive –

Songkran ammo – the red and blue water gun behind the ever present somtam (papaya salad), fried chicken and sticky rice in every Thai celebration –  

The Thai government provides mats for people having their Songkran dinner in parks. A nephew and a niece who flew in from Cebu in time for the frolic would have made perfect mat models but discretion had better be the order of the day if their aunt do not want to get murdered this early in her blogging past time.

Our World  ABC Wednesday

River city shopping complex

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River City Shopping Complex, Si Phaya Pier

Quick info

Business hours: 10 AM to 8 PM, Sunday to Saturday
Majority of merchandise:  antiques, (specializing in Thai art and culture)
Feature: monthly auction (every first Saturday) in the 4th floor auditorium

Event going on: Nude & Erotic Painting Exhibition, 23 April – 31 May 2012 @ The Art Zone, 2nd floor

Location: 23 Si Phaya Pier, Soi Trok Rongnamkaeng, Yota Road, Sampantawong
Fastest way to get there: take the Silom Line BTS skytrain to Saphan Taksin Station. There’s a free shuttle boatto the River City Shopping Complex.

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Some fascination for antiques motivated this adventure.  With very limited Thai I took a shot of the address and asked a sky train station guard to write it in Thai. This is the Saphan Taksin pier where I waited for the boat to RCSC –

Capacity of this boat must be between forty or fifty passengers but there were only three of us on this trip: a European couple and myself

 Some of the sights during the boat ride are temple spires, facade of international hotels and high rise condominiums. Bougainvilleas did a pretty job on this building –

A boat carrying RCSC shoppers arrives at the Si Phaya pier

For some reason unknown to me the complex was virtually devoid of shoppers that day which was fine by me. Admiring these paintings was better in the quiet

The undisturbed shopping gave off a  ‘night in the museum’ effect

Some of the art pieces on display: staring at these antiques could transport one to the whimsical orient –

This is RCSC entrance opposite the banks of Chao Phraya river. I like how it looks so modern on the outside but a different world on the inside.

 Our World  *   ABC Wednesday