The SKOOKUM! Blog

This is the Official Blog of SKOOKUM! the online manga. In this blog you'll find news, blogs and all kinds of strange information relating to SKOOKUM! as well as of its creators.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Having a go at Islamic Culture



Ok, the truth is out, I am in the Islamic Culture studies class, partly for the university's requirement that I take a culture study of some sort. I was contemplating between Indian and Islamic studies, and finally went with the latter. There were several reasons in play here, but for now, let's just say that the conditions were perfect for me to take Islamic cultural studies.

To take Islamic studies is to put suddenly put in a awkward and terrible light. My own mother almost fainted when she heard about my decision - thinking I have suddenly decided to become a radical and start gunning people down. It is HARD not to associate Islam with terrorism, and that is what I am trying not to do. I want to believe that I still have a liberal mind to accept that everything, including Islam has two faces and two sides, that not all Muslims are terrorists.

As part of the Islamic class, we were all invited to have dinner at a renowned Arabic cafe, where Arabic music would be played live. Of course, we will have to write a paper on our thoughts about the food, music and so on, but I am always open to new expereinces, and this IS my first time entering an Arabic cafe.

We were ushered to the second level of the café, upon our arrival at the café by the waiters. What greeted us was a room soaked in hues of red, there were circular tables laid and there the perimeter of the room was filled with cushions. These are not the normal kinds of cushions for they come with backings and mobile armrests. Arabic music was playing continuously at the background, which, if anything really helped enhanced the mood of the room. The beauty of this room is that upon entry and settling upon on the many comfortable cushions, one feels transported, transported into a culture of the exotic.

It was not long when dinnertime was ready, and the spread was at once familiar and unfamiliar. For there was a particular dish that looked suspiciously like tuna, but turned out to taste otherwise. There were several other foods that looked familiar, but at the same time I had a hard time exactly making out what the foods were. The desert, which came in the form of a rectangular cake with a nut in the center, got to be my favorite for the night. Sure it was really sweet, but the sweetness does not cause upset to either the tongue or the stomach, in fact it was a kind of lingering sweetness that has a very slight hint of jasmine in it. No, I do not what it is called, but I do know I did have quite a number of that.

I always have had an impression that Arabic music is somewhat mystical, profound and, well, quiet and calming. This is the first time I have seen a live performance by a group of Arabic musicians, and they showed an extremely energetic and spirited side of Arabic music. I was surprised to see the violin and a synthesizer being used, and I think this is partly due to my own stereotype of what instruments Arabic music utilizes. In addition to the fast booming music, there were four male dancers who danced to the pounding rhythm of the music. I cannot tell the significance of the dance movements in relation to the music and the lyrics, and it would have been awesome if I did; for apparently there is something going on between the dancers, as if they are re-enacting a story or a festival.

There best was yet to come when we were treated to have a try at shisha, a traditional Middle-Eastern smoking contraption, also known as Hookahs in the United States. Unlike cigarettes, shishas have a pleasant fruity fragrance to it; that which I can never really make out the reasons why. I was never a smoker, but I was tempted to have a go at it. Being utterly inexperienced, my first draw of smoke ended in an embarrassing fit of cough. That, however, did not deter me from having further tries. The smoke made my throat feel coarse and dry after each draw, but I enjoy having the fruity aftertaste in my mouth. I agree with my friends that shisha smoking is great way to bond with people. Four or more people sharing a shisha pipe and challenging one another to exhale as much smoke as possible after each draw from the shisha pipe. This is definitely a great way to spend this evening, and any evening. The surprising thing is a wave of calm seems to sweep over me with the as I smoked. I was unsure if this is the effect of the shisha or is my brain just playing its usual mind games with me.

The evening had been truly and utterly awesome. I have learnt and seen so much in one single day. I have tasted Arabic food, seen and heard Arabic music and had a chance to inhale shisha. What can I say other than that it had been an intense ride for all of my senses.

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