Dedication
I am a storyteller with stories aplenty, good friends, and blessed to have my family with me too:
Nora, my floating keyboard of all keyboards. Thank you for taking care of my mother, and me.
Nik Nur Eeman, Nik Ehsan, Nik Hanna Elbam and Nik Ekhlas — Nani lived in our home and cooked for us not because she had to, but because she wanted to. I wish we had her longer in our Esente home. She would have been so proud of how you have grown. Eeman, you could have driven her to the market and back home. Your graduation speech and notes would have put her on the moon. Ehsan, you memorised the Quran and got into your dream university. She would have gone to send you right up to your dorm. Elbam, you not only have her small voice but also her hands to knit. Please continue knitting and keep her knitting tools close. Ekhlas, you have my hair and I got mine from her. And that is why I keep running my hands through them.
I am truly glad you all came home from camp before she left us.
From Nik M. Fahmee
Options: Congratulations on In Her Garden — Art and Penang Stories, your fourth book. And with a Penang twist this time. Tell us about its creation.
Nik Fahmee: This endeavour is dedicated to my late mother. She was everything Penang, and Penang was everything for her too. I decided to compile stories about the island and growing up there, with a focus on her this time. This new book includes selected stories from my previous three titles — Ginger Biscuits (2022), Butterflies in my Stomach (2023) and Walking Back Home (May 2025) — and some new and unpublished ones too. I have chosen to focus on Penang stories because, like my mother, I am always happy to talk about my life there, particularly my childhood days. I am also truly honoured to be invited to participate in this year’s George Town Literary Festival (GTLF), which ended on Dec 1. I don’t think I would be doing this book if GTLF was not in the picture.
Posted in Options, The Edge on 6 December 2024
About the Author
Born in Penang in 1972, the Nik M. Fahmee grew up on the island in a close-knit family shaped by a hardworking father who ran a clinic and a devoted mother who taught in several schools. His childhood in Penang, especially his deep bond with his mother, remains a central source of inspiration in his life and writing.
He studied computer science at university and began his career in an IT firm before realising his true passion lay in helping others. This led him to work with non-profit organisations, consulting groups, and eventually to start a social enterprise. He then got married to his now-wife, Nora, in 1998 and went on to have four children together. Along the way, he discovered a love for art – drawn not to objects of beauty alone, but to works that carried stories and emotional resonance.
He began collecting art actively in the mid-2000s, and during the 2020 lockdown found himself writing for the first time, documenting the memories and meanings behind the pieces on his walls. These reflections evolved into his books Ginger Biscuits (2022), Butterflies in My Stomach (2023), and Walking Back Home (2024). His latest book – In Her Garden (2024) – is rooted in Penang and dedicated to the memory of his mother, whose love for the island lives on in him.
