My Wesak Day Part 2

(this is a continuation from the last post)

I slept very soundly through the night, waking up around 8.30 to see the day's light and my room mate back at his bed.

So, after Teng Bi An we went to Brickfields. We knew it would be very congested around that area, so both cars parked next to KL Sentral. From there, it was a 5-10 minute walk. I only found out yesterday that BMV is so close to KL Sentral. Even then, David was grumbling a little as he had to walk so far while carrying his heavy bag. And believe me, it IS heavy.

When we reached the counter it was swarmed with people - both devotees and helpers. Because of that, fresh air could not flow in at all, creating a very stuffy atmosphere. However, I did not want to stand outside in the open air, as the sun is at its hottest right now. Even one helper told me she felt like being stung all over from the heat.

The free food supply finished shortly after I arrived, and the packed the leftovers into the styrofoam boxes to be reserved for all helpers. I took one later in the day, and was a little irritated at the fact that each box has a little curry. Although it was delicious, but it wasn't something I wanted to have at this time of the day.

During those rare occasions that the cloud shadowed the sun, I would quickly walk to the main temple grounds to see what I could see. During those rare times I:
- went to the toilet where the tap water was yellow
- was sprinkled with holy water & got the yellow string to wear
- let my head be touched by Rev. Dhammananda in his office
- met two people that really defined my whole day

No, those two people were not politicians. Let me start with the first - a monk and his young friend.

By 6pm the crowd was really swelling up and it was a great time to take photos of the festivities. There were a few monks walking about as well, and I usually smiled and bowed my head slightly as a sign of respect. I did this to one such monk I've never seen before, and he came up to me and struck up a conversation. He then asked if I could take some photos of him and his friend, a young girl about 7 or 8 around the temple and next to the procession floats. It was hard for me to decline so I reluctantly said OK and began posing them around a bit. We went out and took some photos next to the floats. It was then that the second person came up to me.

I had just taken a particular photo of the monk and a float when this old lady carrying a large bag (they all do) came up to me. She wasn't particularly old, just middle-aged. She was very assertive and she asked me whether I could take a photo of her. Of course, it wasn't that straight forward. She spoke in Cantonese, whereas my command of that dialect is very limited. All the Cantonese I know of came from watching Hong Kong TVB series'. Anyway, she rambled in a long, long monologue of how these floats cost thousands to make, how she dropped and/or forgot her camera, how it would be nice if I could take a photo of her and then send her a copy, bla bla bla.

In my mind, I thought, "Oh, shit."

Of course, you may not feel the same as I do right now, but keep in mind that I have heavily condensed her words for brevity. She threw in lots of 'sympathy stories' in between (my kids ran away, how it'll be a waste not to take a photo, etc). Coupled with the fact that a monk was waiting for me, and she spoke quickly in Cantonese, do try and have sympathy for me.

I was in a trap, there was nothing I could do. With her state of mind I do not think that she would let me go off that easily. So I relented and asked her to stand beside the float. She asked me to hold on as she put on a pair of sunglasses to hide her tired eyes ('I didn't sleep well last night', she said). I shifted to take a good picture of her but she kept commanding me to stand directly in front of her. It was a bad position as the float behind would not be seen, but she kept insisting it her way everytime I moved a little to the left, so I just took it as she wanted. I was feeling pretty shocked by now at having met this person. But it was about to get worse (Don't they always do?).

She came up to me again, and asked me to record down her phone number. She wanted me to call her up and meet her whenever I have the photo. It was something I would definitely not do, but I recorded her phone number anyway. And thankfully I did, as she quizzed me later on to check whether I had her correct number. She didn't ask me to show her the photo I have taken, which means she doesn't know that I was using a digital camera. This increases her 'crazy/weird' factor. More so when she offered to pay me. She asked me how much would it cost for me to develop the photo and I just replied with RM2, trying to get the hell out of the place as soon as I can. Then she exhibited a rare moment of knowledge and asked me the size of the photo I would be developing. I said 4R. She said that 4R is too small and asked me to do it in 5R, and she would pay me more. I just said that it will cost RM3, but I know that it would cost more. I realized by then that she was serious with paying me, and I didn't want to cheat an old lady's money or anything.

She took out, from her large bag, a big black paper holder that she used to clip on to some cash. She gave me a RM10 note and asked me to return her RM7. Well, I did and she gave me back RM1 as a token sum for my phone charges when calling her. So in total I was given RM4. She eventually let me go after asking me to take more photos. And warning me not to cheat her. I asked her for her address so I could mail her the photos but she could only remember a bit. She asked me to call her at 3pm tomorrow (Monday) so she can tell me. I'm not sure she would be able to, but I'll call her later in the afternoon anyway.

By then, I was both repulsed and also sympathetic. Repulsed, because, well, she's mentally 'off'! But sympathetic because of her mental state too. I suppose that what she said was probably true (regarding the left alone thing), and I am aware that solitary confinement is not a healthy way to live. She probably needs someone to talk to, and all that pent up emotions have probably imploded. I feel sorry for her as it was probably her karma that brought her to this point. And I know that some karma is involved when we meet other people. After all, there were so many photographers there, why did she choose me? On reflection, though, she probably asked a lot of other people.

So.... I will call her this afternoon from a public telephone. I'm not that stupid to use my cell phone - I don't need an 'aunty' for a stalker! I will also fulfill my promise to the monk, Rev. Nande by sending him the photo CD and probably some developed ones as well. All this will cost me more than RM10, but I think that it is more important to keep my promises and spend off that karma, whether it was good or bad, rather than breaking my promise and incur more bad karma.

By the time I managed to free myself from her clutches I quickly looked for Rev Nande again. I managed to take a couple of shots of him before he had to rush inside. He didn't say a proper goodbye or thank you but I had to take my leave. It was almost impossible to walk around by then as it was so packed - worse than sardines! It took me quite a while to return to the counter where I prepared my things to take back. I called Oscar, a society member who wanted to follow me as well. I sent off the procession troupe, took some final videos, helped to pack the leftover books, and finally went back.

Both of us walked to KL Sentral and took a train back to college. I'm not particularly close to Oscar, a past president of Buddhist Society, but I managed to make some small talk while walking and waiting for the train. He told me that he was almost pick-pocketed by an old man, after warning his friend to be wary of pick-pockets! He turned around and saw the man's hand in his pocket, with his handphone almost out. He shouted at him, and the old man pretended not to know anything. That was a really close call. He didn't feel anything at all, and that shows how good those thieves are. Then I entertained him in return with my anecdote about the old lady.

Usually on weekends, the train is very crowded but it wasn't too bad last night. We managed to get seats, although separate. I took that opportunity to rest a little, but some noisy kids nearby ensured that I didn't have much sleep. By the end of the 1 hour journey, I felt better. We both took the public bus back, and during that time we discussed a little society polictics, especially with the AGM coming up soon. I asserted my stand once again that I would not be running for a second term. Luckily he didn't try to persuade me otherwise as I was in no mood for a debate.

I got back, and realized that my ass is sore. All that walking around has chaffed my butt cheeks around the perineum, so every step I took last night hurt. I put some Tea Tree Oil on it, hoping it will ease the pain but was quickly reminded that Tea Tree Oil is an antiseptic and has alcohol! Luckily, the burning feeling didn't last long. After a good night's rest though, it has subsided.

So that concludes a very eventful Wesak weekend. I spent a total of RM43, mostly on donations for books, food, and CD.

Here's looking forward to next year's Wesak, where I hope to be doing something different.