The passing away of one of my maternal cousins Sushila or Susi as we fondly know her on the 22nd of August 2011 has prompted me to write about my cousins who if you look back are indeed our first friends. Susi was a footballer and the former captain of the Malacca team. When I think of my numerous cousins I have on my mum's side 56 to make an estimate I can remember clearly the school holidays we use to have in Malacca where Susi and her siblings Kumar , Vasanthi , Balu , Padman and Sumathi lived with their parents GS Maniam and my maternal Aunty Chandra. My brothers and I fondly called them The Maniam Bunch as there were 3 boys and 3 girls just like the famous Brady Bunch.
Malacca holds many fond memories for me as I feel that much of my growing up was there. You see me being the only girl in the family my dad and mum 'over protected ' me and so when they both needed a holiday by themselves we would volunteer to go to Malacca where we had the most fun in our lives. My father will pack maybe the younger 4 of us in his yellow Toyota 700 which we would call a motorboat as it could go through the flood waters of where we lived in Jalan Ipoh. And we would very happily wave bye to them because as soon as they were out of our sight...it was...let the fun begin.
My poor Uncle and Aunty would put up with so much nonsense from us...from climbing up trees in their gardens...and then suddenly out of the house on bicycles...which sometimes were 'borrowed' from my uncle's friends who came to visit! Uncle Gupta to be one of them. And we would ride out into the then quaint Malacca town which had much much lesser traffic...scale St Paul's and St John's Hills....go to the seaside that was at the back of their home which sadly now is all reclaimed for housing...then ride into Portuguese Settlement to see the 'gragos' as they call them....where the men just lazed around and I think the women were out working...and my cousins used to tell me that this was a mini Hollywood as there were stories to say that they slept with each other's wives..what a tale..but our innocence made us believe them!
We even were brave enough to visit the cemetries of Bukit Serendit where my other maternal Aunty Indrani stayed with her in laws sometimes...and then we would come home and 'demand' for lunch. My poor Aunty would have cooked up a feast everyday as her 6 children had different tastes ....but we as were strictly brought up by my dad and would eat anything my aunty had cooked...and we were always praised for that by both my uncle and aunty...to the dislike of my 6 cousins...but all that was only at the dining table...after that we were friends again and out we went to do other naughty things around their house or maybe even just at the beach nearby.
I am also fond of my other cousins but it is these 6 Malacca cousins who taught us first about friendship and all that came with it...the tears and laughter...the falls and pains...the jealousy and praise and the list goes on.
Susie as we bid farewell to you today...I say thank you to you for all the good times in Malacca...for teaching me that it is alright for girls to wear shorts and t shirts.....its fine if we girls played football and other boy's games and be a tomboy...for teaching me that we have to honour our parents and look after them in their old age....and its okay if we do not work as our brothers should care for us....and lastly for being one of my sisters that I never had.
I also say thank you all my other cousins...life is so fragile so lets not just meet at weddings and funerals....but make efforts to meet on other occasions just to chat over a cup of coffee...as I always say...you my dear cousins are my first friends.
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| Susie standing on the far right with The Maniam Bunch |
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