‘Penanam padi’ translated to English is paddy planter. That
was who I was during most of my days in Bario, Sarawak.
Hard work describes the work best.
I would follow Tepuq Ribet to her ‘sawah’ to help her out
planting paddy. The morning starts with collecting shoots to be
transplanted into the field and gathering them by the side of the field. The
planning begins, I didn’t take much time to learn planting. I would insert the
root of a shoot into the soft muddy ground covered by half a feet of murky
water by pushing them in with my thumb and index finger about an inch into
ground. So much effort is taken just to plant one shoot. Shoot
by shoot is planted to fill up the paddy field. It was a very long process, my
mind would wander away often looking at the green shoots but sometimes dive
into deep thoughts of the preciousness of rice.
It was an experience that I would cherish especially for the
time I spent with my tepuq who took care of me as her own grandson and gave me a
traditional Kelabit name, Daring.
Daring the Thunder
Karthik Muniandy
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