NOVEL DI SEBALIK DINARA : Latar Masa, Latar Masyarakat

NOVEL DI SEBALIK DINARA : Latar Masa, Latar Masyarakat

Latar Masa

1.    Subuh- Selepas subuh pada hari Ahad, beberapa puluh orang pekerja Soft Lab berkumpul di Port Dickson untuk upacara itu.

2.    Pagi – Ketika jam sudah menunjukkan pukul 8.15 pagi, bayang Rosman masih belum kelihatan.

3.    Pagi – Farisha sempat menaiki kereta api yang tiba pada pukul 8.40 pagi dan sampai ke Stesen Bukit Nanas pukul 8.50 pagi.

4.     Hari  – “Mekanik kata petang Ahad atau malam Isnin boleh siap,” jawab Rosman.

5.    Malam – Atas desakan Rosman, Farisha menghantar satu e-mel kepada Aqram pada malam itu juga, selepas selesai sesi bengkel yang ketiga.

6.    Petang –“Pukul 4.30 petang mungkin boleh. Saya bercadang hendak melihat keadaan Farisha sekitar pukul 6.00 petang nanti,” Shida memberikan cadangan.

Latar Masyarakat

1.     Masyarakat yang mementingkan ilmu pendidikan tinggi dan penggunaan teknologi maklumat yang sangat meluas.

2.     Masyarakat bandar yang tinggal dan melibatkan satu kawasan yang luas dengan teknologi maklumat.

3.     Masyarakat yang maju dalam bidang teknologi maklumat dan robotik.

4.     Masyarakat yang berlumba-lumba untuk mengejar dan menjayakan visi masing-masing berkaitan dengan teknologi maya.

5.     Orang Inggeris yang berada dalam masyarakat Melayu dan cuba menggunakan orang-orang tempatan sebagai bahan uji kaji.

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NOVEL JENDELA MENGHADAP JALAN – Sinopsis Bab 13 → Bab 18

NOVEL JENDELA MENGHADAP JALAN – Sinopsis Bab 13 → Bab 18

Bab 13.

Menurut cerita nenek, kelima-lima orang yang datang itu adalah berasal dari Kuala Lumpur. Mereka datang hanya ingin memberitahu bahawa sakitnya lebih awal sembuh daripada menggunakan herba yang datuk berikan. Lili ke anjung bertemu dengan datuk. Datuk memberitahu Lili mulai sekarang datuk hanya akan menumpukan tugas-tugasnya berkebun dan berperahu, tidak boleh bergantung hidup dengan herba-herba lagi. Pada sebelah malamnya, datuk menyusun kayu-kayu api di bangsal belakang rumah untuk menenangkan fikirannya. Keesokan harinya datuk menyusun barang-barang lama yang bertaburan di lantai dan bekerja tanpa henti-henti. Pada sebelah petangnya Lili memohon kebenaran nenek untuk ke rumah Geetha, dengan ditemani Abang Rashid, tetapi memandangkan sudah senja, Lili membatalkan niatnya, tetapi terus bersama-sama Abang Rashid ke pekan. Semasa berjalan-jalan Lili sempat bertanyakan Abang Rashid tentang zaman bujangnya dan bilakah Abang Rashid akan berkahwin? Soalan itu tidak berjawab.

Bab 14.

Lili berjumpa dengan Geetha di rumahnya, dan Geetha menyatakan rasa bosannya kerana tiada kawan. Lili mempelawa Geetha untuk bermalam di rumah neneknya, Geetha setuju. Setelah mendapat kebenaran daripada ibu Geetha, mereka bertolak menuju ke perhentian bas. Lili berharap mereka akan sampai ke rumah neneknya sebelum waktu zohor, tetapi mereka merancang untuk pergi bersiar-siar di perkampungan pada sebelah petang. Mereka tertarik dengan keindahan kampung tersebut dengan mendaki bukit, tempat melihat matahari terbit dan terbenam, suatu keunikan. Geetha bercerita tentang budaya masyarakat India yang tinggal berjiran dengannya, terdapat pelbagai karenah dan ragam hidup.

Bab 15.

Geetha dan Lili menolong nenek masak di dapur sambil bersembang kosong. Geetha memberitahu nenek bahawa tekanan darah dan kandungan gula dalam badan ibunya stabil kerana memakan herba dan rebusan akar-akar kayu. Nenek gembira dengan khabar tersebut. Datuk masih lagi belum pulang ke rumah menyebabkan nenek berasa risau. Abang Rashid telah pergi mencari datuk dengan menolak basikalnya dalam kegelapan malam. Keesokan paginya datuk pulang ke rumah dengan dileteri nenek, dan di tepi dinding terdapat dua buah bakul berisi akar-akar kayu dan daun-daun hutan.

Bab 16.

Datuk bercerita dengan nenek pengalamannya mencari bahan-bahan untuk dijadikan herba di hutan tanpa kepenatan dan keletihan. Tiba-tiba sahaja Danel muncul dengan membawa buah-buahan dan makanan lalu diberikan kepada nenek. Datuk menyambut kedatangan Danel seperti biasa seolah-olah tiada apa-apa yang berlaku sebelum ini. Manakala, Geetha dan Lili menyiapkan minuman kepada tetamu yang datang. Mereka bercerita tentang Danel yang kali pertama bertemu di dalam bas yang sama dinaiki oleh Lili dan Geetha sewaktu pulang ke kampung. Geetha memohon untuk balik kerana telah berjanji kepada ibunya bahawa dia hanya dibenarkan bermalam semalam sahaja di rumah nenek Lili. Sebelum Geetha dihantar pulang, nenek berpesan kepada Lili supaya pergi ke kedai Ah Kwan untuk membeli barang-barang keperluan dapur. Dalam perjalanan pulang, Lili terserempak dengan adegan kejar-mengejar beberapa orang pemuda yang bersenjatakan parang. Lili mungkin kenal pemuda-pemuda tersebut dan mereka pernah datang ke rumah nenek dulu. Sebaik sahaja tiba di rumah, Lili terkejut apabila melihat Danel dalam keadaan meniarap sedang diurut oleh Datuk. Sebenarnya menurut kata nenek, semenjak kebelakangan ini hubungan datuk dengan Danel begitu baik. Danel kini lebih gemar menulis artikel berkaitan buah-buahan terutamanya pisang.

Bab 17.

Dalam artikel Danel yang berjudul Segala Tentang Pisang telah menghuraikan secara panjang lebar berkaitan produk pisang di Tenom, Sabah. Penanaman pisang secara besar-besaran di Sabah telah berjaya di eksport keluar negeri. Pendapatan lumayan ini juga dibantu dengan tanaman sampingan lain seperti buah-buahan, getah dan kelapa sawit. Hasil pertanian ini telah berjaya memberi pulangan tinggi kepada peladang dan hidup mewah. Mengikut kajian perubatan, pisang bukan sahaja dapat mendatangkan pulangan yang tinggi, malah boleh menghasilkan tenaga segera kepada tubuh badan di samping boleh menyembuhkan pelbagai penyakit jika pengambilannya seimbang. Kulit pisang pula boleh menyembuhkan bintat dan rasa gatal akibat gigitan nyamuk.

Bab 18.

Isu kubah surau telah dicetuskan oleh Pak Sahak, ketua kampung, Imam Sanusi dan seorang pemuda. Mereka ke rumah datuk untuk berbincang supaya masalah yang buntu ini dapat diselesaikan, jika tidak campur tangan Yang Berhormat diperlukan. Tiba-tiba, Lili yang ternampak julur ranting di jendela mendapati Danel memberi isyarat mengajak Lili menemaninya ke pekan untuk membeli minyak gamat, setelah mendapat kebenaran nenek. Mereka ke pekan menaiki bas kerana kereta Danel digunakan oleh abangnya. Semasa di dalam bas, Danel memberi alasan kenapa dia menulis artikel mengenai pisang.

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My Favourite Teacher

Watching Mr Lim get into his car is educational; and watching him get out of it is even more so. Mr Lim, the teacher of Secondary 1, weighs more than a 100 kg and his car is an old mini.

At first sight one would think that it would be impossible for him to get in; but he does so with amazing agility and grace. No sooner does he get out of the car when we see a flock of school children running to greet him as if he were a film star. He will then make his entry into his classroom like a VIP on a visit.

As he walks he answers the various questions thrown at him from his young companions. Most of them are students from his present class, but some are his old students. They just happened to be around when Mr Lim arrived and they could not resist running to him.

Mr Lim is the oldest teacher in the school and has been teaching there since its founding in 1955. He has been teaching Secondary 1 for all these years and has taught thousands of students. Among the students he has taught are several top civil servants, two army generals, two cabinet ministers and our school principal. In spite of all his achievements, what makes Mr Lim my favourite teacher, and the favourite teacher to many others too, is the fact that he really cares. He cares about all of us equally. He does more than just teach us.

He knows all his students and ex-students by name and delves into all our personal lives. He can tell with a look that we are unhappy about something. He will then take us aside and talk. He will get to the root of the problem, even seeing the principal or our parents if need be. He will not stop until the problem, whatever it is, is solved and he does it in all sincerity — without expecting anything in return. Is there any wonder then that we all love him?

Honesty

According to the Cambridge dictionary, honesty is the quality of being truthful or being able to be trusted or the quality of not being able to steal, cheat or lie.

So, you can see what a good quality it is and how important it is for one to posses this quality.

Honesty requires one to be truthful. So it is a good quality for friends to have. Friends must be truthful to one another so that there is mutual trust. Friends must not cheat or betray one another. So-called friends who cheat or betray us are not really friends but are actually enemies in disguise.

Honesty must also be present in a marriage or the relationship will not last. Marriage partners must not cheat and have affairs with others. They must remain faithful to the one they have vowed to love in health or in sickness and during good times or bad. An honest couple have to stick through thick or thin, through heaven or through hell.

A child must also have honesty. He must be honest to his parents so that his parents will have complete trust in him. He must not do undesirable things that hurt his parents. He must act in ways that make them happy such as concentrating on his study and avoiding bad company.

        Honesty is also important in an employee. An employee must carry out his work honestly so that both his employer and he, himself, will prosper. Dishonesty at work such as not doing one's share of work properly or stealing employers' goods will harm both the firm he is working for and he, himself. Eventually the firm will have to close down and the employee lose his job.

Honesty is also important in a politician although many people think that politicians are never honest. Voters can see through a politician's falsehood and not vote for him. An honest politician stands out as a shining beacon towards whom the voters are attracted. Although many people believe that no politicians are honest, there are honest ones. And these are the ones that are elected. An honest politician is important because when he is elected and governs the country, he will not mislead, cheat or betray the people who have elected him. He will not act in his own interest but will act in the interest of the whole nation. Dishonest politicians are the cause of most of the world's troubles today.

From the foregoing, we can see how important honesty is in our lives, 

whatever we may be.

My Most Unforgettable Character

According to the doctors, my grandfather had only one or two years of life left in him but he fought back against one of the world's worst diseases. Eventually, after seven years, he did succumb to cancer.

I was only ten when he passed away but even now, I admire my grandfather for his courage and his will to survive. I knew his determination to succeed started when he himself was ten years old. It was then that his father who had emigrated to Malaysia many years before died, leaving behind his wife and many small children.

As the eldest child of the family, my grandfather assumed the role of head of the household. He worked very hard in an estate many miles from home to support the family. Since he could not afford any form of transport, my grandfather was forced to walk all the way there each day. By the time he reached home, his feet were full of blisters but he never complained.

Instead he reared cows at home to supplement the meagre income he got from tapping rubber. He knew success came from hard work and he was a conscientious worker, eager to make the best of the situation.

My grandfather married at an early age and had six children. He used to cycle ten miles to the estate where he toiled diligently. As the years passed by, he saved up enough money and made many intelligent investments. He soon became the owner of several estates.

Once he found me crying. I had done badly in a test and thought myself a failure but he advised me to persevere and told me a story that changed my life.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese had confiscated his only means of transport, his trusty bicycle. My grandfather was e without his bicycle, he would not be able to go to his s easily. However, he still continued the long journey on foot.

This story still sticks in my mind. Every time I want to give up, I think of the odds against him as he was growing up, and then I decide to persevere instead and make sure that I finally succeed.

Although my grandfather was not highly educated, he knew the importance of education, so he insisted on sending his children for higher education. Many people thought him mad when he insisted that his daughters too should be educated. At that time, it was unusual for Punjabi girls to get a university degree, but my grandfather ignored all the usual trends. He made sure that my mother and her sisters had the privilege of tertiary education.

My grandfather wanted his eldest son to be the first doctor from Kuala Krian and sure enough, my uncle was. Needless to say, his siblings, including his sister, my mother, have all succeeded in life too.