I visited the Mandai crematorium and columbarium
today with my parents on this all saints day to pay respect to my departed
paternal grandfather. I was not aware that there was this particular custom in
Christian tradition until today. Wikipedia has an informative description of
the custom, which is historically catholic, but has derived a protestant
significance of honoring the dead based on an understanding of saints as
referring to all Christians.
There are shelves of columbarium niches
where they are situated, and by going around and looking at individual niche,
you do encounter the columbarium of some famous people who occupied vocations
of great stature while they were living. One such person is the Honourable Justice
Lai Kew Chai, whose niche is situated just opposite to that of my grandfather,
Tee Chuan Hock. One similarity that Justice Lai shares with my grandfather is
that there originated in the same birthplace of Perak, Malaysia. I doubt they
knew each other during their childhood, and each took their respective paths in
life. My father joked that the two would have much to talk about given that
they are now in the same place.
My grandfather didn’t make a name for
himself during his earthly stint. He just led life in a rather unassuming
manner, without any yearning or strife for earthly glories whatsoever. From
what has been described to me by my father, my grandfather was someone who was
not too fond of working, and delegated much of the responsibility for earning
the household income to my grandmother. And in the jobs that he did, which were
pretty much manual menial labor like being a rubber tapper, or selling fruits
and juices on the streets, he had a poor stamina and took leave on many occasions.
If there was anything that he would have enjoyed working in though, it would
have been to be an entertainer. I heard from my Dad how my grandfather made his
way by himself to a distant location in Malaysia to film in a little cameo role
in the movie Anna and the King which starred Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat,
despite the meager stipend that the role brought. My grandfather was also the
avid karaoke aficionado, and enjoyed the occasional bout of Chinese/Hokkien
song session. Despite not having formal education past primary 3 due to family
financial difficulties, he had a large appetite for knowledge of current
affairs, and had the literacy that enabled him to read through the Chinese newspapers
which he dutifully did so every afternoon. He was also a naturally sociable
person, a contrast to my more introverted grandmother, and made friends easily
with peers around the neighborhood.
Of qualities, my grandfather has a
gentle, congenial disposition, and never once had I seen him kick up a fuss or
throw a tantrum. My Dad says that he spoke Hokkien in the manner of a consummate
gentlemen, that eschewed all the vulgarities and uncouthness that have come to
be associated with the language from the way it is spoken by the underclass Chinese
Singaporean population. He had a cool, easy charm to himself, and maintained a
clear head under tenuous circumstances. According to my Dad, while they were
still living in the village in Malaysia, there was an incident where two rival
bidders for a contract feuded with each other, one accusing the other of
cheating in the close-bid auction by bribing the auctioneer. My grandfather simply
mediated the matter by asking both parties to disclose their bid price, which
revealed that the contract went to the party that had bidded the higher sum.
Common sense prevailed, and the feud was dissolved.
Of vices he had, there were notably two–
gambling, and smoking. I think he manage to give gambling up, but he was a
compulsive smoker till the end, which is probably the cause of his stroke and
death at the age of 63 in 2001. He was scheduled for a heart-bypass surgery to
be made a few week from that date, but the fatal stroke hit him a little too
early. I suppose if there is any comfort, it is that he was baptized three days
earlier at church.
With that, I end my account of a
snapshot of the life of my grandfather. I wish all a meaningful all-saints day.
No comments:
Post a Comment