Membetulkan kain batu nesan (Repositioning the cloth on tombstones)

Salah satu perkara yang saya selalu buat apabila berjalan jauh terutama di Perak, negeri kelahiran ayahanda adalah menziarahi makam-makam lama milik para wali dan kerabat diraja. Dalam perjalanan ke Perak pada Sabtu dan Ahad lalu, saya sempat menziarahi lagi makam Keramat Kuala Bidor dan Sultan Perak ke 22, Sultan Abdullah Muhammad I di Teluk Intan serta makam Raja Ahmad di Pulau Besar.
One of the things I usually do when travelling far especially in Perak, the state where my father was born in is to visit the old tombs of saints and members of the royalty. In the Perak trip made Saturday and Sunday, I had the opportunity to visit again the tombs of Keramat Kuala Bidor and the 22nd king of Perak, Sultan Abdullah Muhammad I at Teluk Intan along with the tomb of Raja Ahmad at Pulau Besar.
Makam Raja Ahmad sebenarnya adalah sebuah kawasan dengan batu peringatan yang menandakan tempat baginda hilang setelah jatuh ke Sungai Terus. Baginda adalah datuk kepada Sultan Abdullah Muhammad II yang dibuang ke Pulau Seychelles tahun 1877. Seorang lagi cucu baginda ialah Sultan Idris II yang membuka Bukit Chandan serta bandar diraja Kuala Kangsar.
The tomb of Raja Ahmad is actually an area marked by a stone to commemorate the place where he disappeared after falling down the river Terus. The man is the grandfather to Sultan Abdullah Muhammad II who was exiled to the Seychelles Island in 1877. His other grandchildren is Sultan Idris II who opened up Bukit Chandan and the royal town of Kuala Kangsar.
Apapun saya bercerita kali ini kerana tergerak apabila memerhatikan koleksi gambar yang diambil dalam perjalanan terbaru ke Perak ini. Gambar di atas diambil rakan saya Zaidi ketika saya sedang membetulkan kedudukan kain kuning yang diikat pada batu nesan ahli keluarga Sultan Abdullah Muhammad I, raja yang juga dikenali sebagai Marhum Durian Sebatang.
Anyway I'm telling you this because I was moved after going through the collection of pictures taken during the recent Perak trip. The picture above was taken by my friend Zaidi when I was repositioning the yellow clothing tied to the tombstones of family members of Sultan Abdullah Muhammad I, the deceased king also known as Marhum Durian Sebatang (he who died at Durian Sebatang, the name of the place where he spent his last days)
Untuk pengetahuan, kain kuning selalunya diikat pada batu nesan untuk menandakan pemiliknya adalah seorang berdarah raja. Saya terpanggil untuk membetulkan kedudukannya setelah mendapati kain-kain di makam itu diikat pada batu nesan di bahagian kaki sedangkan ia sepatutnya berada di bahagian kepala.
For information, yellow clothing are usually tied to tombstones to mark the grave of royalty. I was moved to correct the positioning after realising the clothes at the tombs were tied at the tombstones marking the foot while it should be at the head.
Di sini saya ingin mengambil peluang... Mana-mana kaum keluarga yang berkenaan, jika terlihat mana-mana kain kuning di kawasan makam diraja diikat pada batu nesan bahagian kaki sehingga lebih terserlah daripada bahagian kepala, silalah betulkan. Mungkin orang yang mengikatnya dahulu tidak sedar di manakah bahagian kepala kerana tidak mengambil kira arah kiblat terlebih dahulu.
Here I'm taking this opportunity... To whom it may concern especially family members, if you see any yellow clothing at royal tombs tied to the part marking the foot making it appear more prominent than the head, please correct it. Maybe the people who tied the clothers before were not aware which is the head as they forget to consider the direction for prayers (the kiblat referring to the Ka'abah in Mecca).
Adapun tidak elok bahagian kaki dibiarkan lebih terserlah daripada bahagian kepala, janggal saya melihatnya sehingga terasa wajib membetulkannya. Sebelum ini, saya juga pernah memperbetulkan kedudukan kain di makam-makam diraja lain. Mungkin betul kata Zaidi, saya "dipanggil" ke Teluk Intan untuk membetulkan ini sedangkan perjalanan ini asalnya mahu dibuat sampai ke Tanjung Malim sahaja tetapi kami kemudian berjalan sekitar lagi 100km lebih jauh lalu sampai ke sini!
It is not good to have the foot-part appearing more prominent than the head, it felt so strange to me that I feel I must correct it. Previously I have done the same thing at other royal tombs. Maybe Zaidi was right, I was "called" to Teluk Intan to remedy this as the trip was originally made to go up to Tanjung Malim only but we ended up travelling some 100km further and so here we are!