Once Upon A Time...

Raya in 2104? AHNAF, 16, imagines a teenager's musings on that important day...


Dear diary, yet another hectic day, I had three exams: civics, economics, and history. Bungled economics, that's for sure. Well, at least I'm exempted from my normal eight0hour tuition schedule!

Unfortunately, the exams by themselves aren't enough. We received a history assignment today - something about a ... what was it? "Hari Raya". Puan Leong said that today was actually Hari Raya and provided us with some source material.

According to the books, Hari Raya was an important festival, much like Deepavali and Chinese New Year. What on earth those terms mean I have no idea; I assume they're other festive occasions. These celebrations must have been held a long time ago, before another hole ruptured the ozone layer and the soil was irradiated by pre-emptive nuclear strikes, forcing our people to evacuate. See, I told you I'd been studying my history!

On Hari Raya, people would pray together in the morning, and then families would gather to eat until they were sick. They'd often invite friends, too. After that, everyone would be relaxing while the children played together.

Preposterous! Frankly, I was perplexed; didn't the adults have jobs? Weren't the children busy studying? I asked Puan Leong about this and she replied no, because it was a holiday. I asked her what a holiday meant; it was difficult for me to understand, but essentially it's a time when people don't have to do their work. Can you believe it?!

I told her not to speak of such things. Only troublemakers and lunatics say that work doesn't need to be done. Why would anyone neglect the opportunity to earn more money? Our Beloved Leader has declared that we must earn as much as possible and we must always obey Our Beloved Leader.

We were shown photographs and I was struck by the vivid colours and beauty of the clothes. I cross-referenced some terms, like Baju Melayu. Apparently it was a traditional outfit. The skills to craft it died out years ago because no one foresaw significant profts.

Most interestingly, the source material also highlighted a few remnants from Hari Raya. Now, at least, some of the things that I noticed today make more sense. The morning prayer congregation, for example, and the ketupat-flavoured food pellets issued.

I know some people maintain that the whole "Raya" business is an anachronism, but I can't help but feel that it's good to preserve some traditions. Then I'll be certain that if someone from, say, a century ago were to appear now, they'd be proud of what we've become.

Ahnaf, a self-confessed bookacholic and geek, won second prize at this year's (2004) MPH Young Writers Competition