Endorsement of Living Pathways by D. Paul Schafer, Director, World Culture Project: “A remarkable, beautiful, and very valuable book” May 26, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

Living pathways: Meditations on sustainable cultures and cosmologies in Asia is a remarkable, beautiful, and very valuable book. As the author Manickam (Nat) Nadarajah points out, it can be enjoyed in many ways – visually, verbally, emotionally, and spiritually. All of these ways engage the reader and heighten his or her awareness of the importance, timeliness, and relevance of the book. Acting on the author’s advice, I leafed through the pages of the book in…

Book Review: M. Nadarajah: Living Pathways – Posted in: Reviews

BOOK REVIEW M. Nadarajah: Living Pathways: Meditations on Sustainable Cultures and Cosmologies in Asia. Penang: Areca Books, 2013, xxi+153pp., ISBN978-967-5719-09-7 The first thing that struck me about this book, when it came to me for a review, is its visual appeal. It is layered with photographs and graphics which have, not so obvious, resonance with the themes and textual content of the book. It is pleasure to leaf through a book which has an excellent…

“A new thing said in a new way”: Some comments on M. Nadarajah’s Living Pathways by Gaston Roberge – Posted in: Reviews

A new thing said in a new way Living Pathways, by Dr. Nadarajah Comments by Gaston Roberge, 12 April 2014 Living Pathways, the new (2013) book of our friend Dr. Nat, is new in at least four important ways: 1. The way it was created patiently involving hundreds of people. 2. The way it appears with images on nearly as many pages as the text. 3. The fact that images constitute a heart moving text…

Reviews for Tulila: Muzik Bujukan Mandailing April 30, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

Tulila: Muzik Bujukan Mandailing. Edi Nasution. Penang, Malaysia: Areca Books, 2007. xx + 180 pp., photographs, maps, figures, musical ex., bibliography, index. ISBN: 978-983-42834-4-5, RM35.00. Tulila: Muzik Bujukan Mandailing (Tulila: Mandailing seduction music) is Edi Nasution’s Indonesian-language study of markusip, a disappearing, late-night, rural courtship tradition among West Sumatra’s Mandailing. In markusip, a love-struck pemuda (young man) braves nocturnal risks of the jungle to sneak up to a young woman’s dormitory (bagas podoman), where he leans his shoulder against its…

The kampung house revisited April 7, 2014 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Farah Fazanna Zulzaha Guests to the Rumah: An Ode to Malay House book launch took the time to enjoy the illustrations by London-based illustrator Ahmad Harun. A BOOK of poems dedicated to traditional Malay houses has been launched. Penned by the cultural icon Tenas Effendy, Rumah: An Ode to the Malay Housepresents Tenas’ classic tribute to the Malay house alongside a lively English translation by Raimy Ché-Ross, making the work accessible to…

Book brings memories of living in a kampung – Posted in: In The News

Letter by S. Sundareson, Petaling Jaya I REFER to the article “The kampong house revisited” (The Star, March 25). The launch of the book “Rumah – An Ode to the Malay house” brings back fond memories during my childhood days. The book, which has poems written by Tenas Effendy, with English translation by Raimy Che’ Ross, is probably the first of its kind. A forward with an illustration by Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, popularly…

A Magnificently Rich Tome on Early Penang March 28, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

Review by Ooi Kee Beng of Penang – The Fourth Presidency of India 1805-1830, Volume One: Ships, Men and Mansions There are several questions about the history of Penang that have bothered me for quite a while, satisfactory responses to which cannot be found in any Malaysian schoolbook. This is not strange, given how the significance of Penang has been played down since independence for nationalistic reasons; and how national history has successively been caricatured to…

Book by cultural icon pays tribute to the traditional Malay dwelling – Posted in: In The News

Article by Farah Fazanna Zulzaha Lat (left) and Areca Books founding partner Abdur- Razzaq Lubis sharing a moment to read Tenas Effendy’s newly launched book of poems. A BOOK of poems dedicated to traditional Malay houses has recently been launched. Penned by the cultural icon Tenas Effendy, Rumah: An Ode to the Malay House presents Tenas’ classic tribute to the Malay house alongside a lively English translation by Raimy Ché-Ross, making the work accessible to new…

Missionary couple’s contributions are well-recorded in Penang February 24, 2014 – Posted in: In The News

Article by Wong Chun Wai The newly refurbished church in Farquhar Street is one of the country’s 50 national treasures. IT IS easily the most beautiful church in Penang but more than that, St George’s Church, which was built in 1816, is the oldest Anglican church in South-East Asia. Not surprisingly, the church, located on Farquhar Street, has been declared one of the 50 national treasures of Malaysia by the Government. The landmark church was…

Reviews for M. Nadarajah’s ‘Living Pathways’ February 12, 2014 – Posted in: Reviews

“There is no better time for this book.” After reading Living Pathways, my first response was “This book should be placed in the hands of every head of state around the world.” Clearly, deeply and beautifully, M. Nadarajah brings us face-to-face with of the most pressing global issue of our time: the urgent need to take responsibility for the precious resource belonging to all of us, our Mother Earth. I love how Nat takes us…