While vacationing in Perhentian/Kota Bahru last month, we were fortunate to meet with Pak Yusof, the Tok Dalang.He's a traditional Storyteller of a dying art, the 'wayang kulit' or 'shadow puppets'. Not only has he been performing over 40 years, but he also makes his own shadow puppets from cow or goat hide.
On July 8th & 9th, he was in KL to help perform in Istana Budaya's courtside theater. Off course, I was only too glad to be invited to watch.
The storyteller this time was another man, but he was truly awesome, just the same. It started at around 9am, although the brochure said 8.30pm. That’s just our way of telling time!
What really stunned me was how beautiful the puppets were, all crafted by Pak Yusof himself. The colours were dazzling under the light, on the white canvas screen. And the story told to the audience was exhilarating funny! I first thought it was going to be a real classic story… classic, as in classical literature. This was, after all, a tale as old as the Ramayana.
Instead, there was A LOT of modern jokes inserted in between. My favourite line has to be, “you bloody fool”… “apa blady fool, swimming pool ni?”
Hahaaah… you’ve got to be present there to really immerse in the story, jokes, and music.
This was actually my second wayang kulit show. I saw my first about a year back, during the ASWARA’s (National Performing Arts Academy) graduating class’ performance assessment.
Unfortunately, in both times I’ve experienced this rich culture being performed… I never got to watch the ending.
No joke; these performances are so long, they have to end it at 11pm. Just like that. The story gets cut. Like some movie you’re watching over the telly, and suddenly it’s time for the midnight news… and you’re too sleepy to catch the ending after the half-hour news.
So, I caught up with Pak Yusof and asked him to finish telling me the story. I mean, I love classics! I only wished that the rest of my friends who were with me during vacation… I wished they were there with me. But no…! Keeping promises was wayyy beyond them.
Oh well… sometimes I wonder who’s really the lucky ones! ^'o'^ ~Me~ ^'o'^
