Adapt! Adapt!
The wheel turns and turns and turns,
it never stops and stands still.
~Mr. Panwallah

Who's Mr. Panwallah? Hehe. Those who've read The Village by the Sea by Anita Desai would probably remember him (this book is compulsory reading for English subject in KPM Matriculation 2000/20001) . He's the watch mender who teach Hari (the main character in this book) watchmending skill and lessons of life when he leaves his poor family in the village to find work in the Bombay city. He makes Hari realize that in life changes will come sooner or later and it is up to us to find our way around the changes, to learn and go on with life. You see, Hari ran away from his village as he's frustated with his irresponsible drunken father and the poor state of his family. His mother was very ill and it is up to him and his elder sister Lila to take care of their little sisters. The only way Hari earn money is by selling coconuts if there's any and few vegetables he grows in their tiny piece of land. New factories are being built in their village which will take up most of the villager's farming land, new jobs are said for engineers and mechanics only and fishing no longer provides as it used to before. So the small village are very afraid of the changes to come.

In Bombay Hari is quite settled with a job in a cheap restaurant and as an apprentice in the next door watch repair shop. The old man's willing to teach him so that when Hari go back to his village, he can set up as the village watchmender. But Hari just laughed and thought that the villagers told the time by looking at the sun. What good would a watchmender be there. But Mr Panwallah said that one day Hari must go home, that he should never have left his mother and sisters. Hari protested saying there was nothing left for him to do there. But Mr Panwallah makes Hari sees changes in positive view. He said that Hari can find work anywhere as long as he use his hands. Because when the factory is ready, houses will be built for the people who work there. Workers will be needed during the building stage and later the engineers and mechanics who's coming to stay there will need food. Hari can sell more vegetables and coconuts. Or he could buy chickens with the money he made in Bombay and set up a poultry. And of course they will have watches and clocks and one day Hari could be the first to open a watch repair shop in the village. Hari was very happy to hear that. It never occured to him.

~this is turning more and more like a book review..hehe

So actually I found this book while burrowing through my old books and I remember this piece of thoughtfull advise that I want to share here. Adapt. Nothing will remain the same. So you have to adapt. It's what I told myself as my circle of friends change when I go from matriculation to university to the working life now. It's what I remind myself when I got my first posting at a hospital in Pahang and I was so reluctant because Pahang is such a foreign state to me. Of course at first we'll be scared because we're already comfortable with the life we had. We have to learn how to adjust our life around, make changes and make ourself comfortable again. That is until the next transition or changes in our life. But that is life my friend. It goes on and on=) oops..Kind of in a hurry now. I don't think I'm done yet. Will update later. Ngee~


:: Picture of the Eye of Malaysia, taken last year. Great ride!=)