Encik Rahimy taught my brother when he was in primary school
and later he taught me as well for two years. I was 10 and 12
when he taught me and I remember him to be a very inspiring teacher
in the sense that he nurtured my love for design, drawing,
colours and anything related to art. He encouraged us to participate
in colouring contests, he brought music to the class, he gave us
rolls of coloured paper and without a pair of scissors asked us to
create a backdrop, he yelled as us when we were rowdy and
disorderly, he brought us for adventures to explore, he gave
us prizes when we did well with his own money, he allowed us
to explore acting and so much more.
When I left primary school, it was difficult to say goodbye to
him and my other classmates as we were all going to
different schools and do we made promises and wrote
in our autograph books that we would be friends forever,
we were all still afraid of what our new adventure would
hold for us. Encik Rahimy however, was quick to tell us
that we would be okay and that we would all do well
and that we should not worry.
I didn't see Encik Rahimy for many years. I thought about
him every now and then when I heard a song or when I passed
by the old primary school I attended and then just recently
my friend Soorian who was coming back from LA said that
we should try tracking him down and so I did. It was fairly
easy and as luck would have had it, he was visiting Kuala
Lumpur as well. So long story short, I got to meet with him.
It was a surreal experience in some ways. Almost 18 years
had passed and here we were, teacher and student.
He remembered quite a number of things about me and in
particular he remembered how I loved to draw, to colour,
to create. He said he kept the cards I made him {and in
fact several people did mention this to me... about keeping the
handmade cards/bookmarks I made for them yonks ago.}
I was happy to hear this because somewhere
between then and several years ago, no one bothered
to encourage me much in developing that part of me.
It was always about studying, getting good grades, not
failing in my exam, vying for scholarships, part time work,
writing, more writing and then getting a good job, and then
performing in your job to get bonuses, increments and
promotions. Then there was the endless dramas of boys,
men, friendships, death, love and everything in between.
There was hardly time for creating and colouring.
And seeing him there, older, quieter, married with a
daughter of his own I realised that it was always in me
this desire to create, to colour, to draw but I had forgotten.
It was a good affirmation to meet him and have him
remind me of the girl that used to be, the girl that actually
still is *smiles smiles* I am so thankful that I got to meet
him with B and I like the pink soft toy snake that he got me.
I am going to be planning a reunion for me and my primary
school friends 'cos when they saw this photo of us on FB,
they too wanted to say 'hello' and to thank Encik Rahimy
for being such an awesome teacher. Some of them were as inspired
as me as well and I hope that Encik Rahimy knows how
many lives he has touched and how we all
remember him for his awesomeness.
And yes, I am going to keep on crafting and creating.
