An Evening Spent
With
"Old_Frees"
I was invited to a Black Tie function celebrating the 191st anniversary of the "Old_Frees (OFA) Association".
The "OFA" is the oldest English languge eduacation school (Penang Free School) in Asia.
Penang Free School boast among its many distinguished graduates
Tunku Abdul Rahman!
Malaysia's First Prime Minister:
Saturday's most notable guests were:
His and Her Majesty :
Tuanku (King) Syed Sirajuddin Ibni Al-Marhum and Tuanku Syed Putra (Queen) Jamalullail!
Here is another nice photo of...
His and Her Majesty.
Next is a group photo with the organizers of The Old Frees Association.
The evening had a nice mix of traditional...
and modern entertainment!
Now, I am certain that you are looking at the photo above and thinking...Modern!
That is the strangest guitar I have ever seen!
I believe it is called an "UDJO"
pronounced...Well "UDJO!"
It's made from bamboo and played by shaking it either in short or long burst.
Now, when you have a hall full of people shaking their Udjo at the same time let me tell you the sound is simply... Awful!
The beauty of the udjo symphony was that each table was given udjols that corresponded to a note or in our case a number on the musical scale.
That is when the fun started.
The M.C for this segment trained us by using her unique sign language to shake our instrument when she signed numbers from 1 through 8.
Note: If you've ever seen the Movie
"Close Encounters of The Third Kind";
our M.C used the same type of signing that the French scientist used to communicate with the Space visitors.
By the time we were through, she had us playing songs from The Beetles, Elvis Presley and even an old classic like Ole Lang Syne!
I must admit that after attending many dinners; the addition of this instrument made the evening a memorable one.
Next is my friend Dr. Mohd. Ghouse. CEO of http://www.farrali.com/
He introduced me to some really nice people:
I'm the one who is hair challenged!
A most appropriate conclusion to a day that started with:
1. Trying to locate a Tuxedo rental.
2. Waiting 3 hours before the owner of the Tux shop arrived (He and his wife were caught in traffic due to the political demonstration.
4. Waiting another half an hour while the Tux was being tailored (wonderfully) for me!
5. Running right into the middle of the demonstration after leaving with my Tux and...
6. Getting caught in a sudden thounderstorm!
It was truely a day to remember!
Salaam
Muneer A. Rasheed
www.asia-consulting-advice.com
PS. Before ending this entry; I would to direct your attention to a couple of articles I've written on Rapport Building Skills:
The Secret Art to Building Rapport!
Conversational Rapport!
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