Friday, April 27, 2012

Teaching "ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? "


Here's the easiest and fastest way to teach your students this poem.. Make sure they understand these points..

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE?
By Zurinah Hassan
Are you still playing your flute?
When there is hardly time for our love
I am feeling guilty
To be longing for your song
The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo
Uncovered by the breath of an artist
Composed by his fingers
Blown by the wind
To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing the flute?
In the village so quiet and deserted
Amidst the sick rice field

While here it has become a luxury
To spend time watching the rain
Gazing at the evening rays
Collecting dew drops
Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?
The more it disturbs my conscience
to be thinking of you
in the hazard of you
my younger brothers unemployed and desperate
my people disunited by politics
my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding

Masihkah kau bermain seruling
walau waktu telah terlewat untuk kita bercinta
aku semakin terasa bersalah
melayani godaan irama
lagu yang tersimpan pada lorong halus buluh
dikeluarkan oleh nafas seniman
diukir oleh bibir
diatur oleh jari
dilayangkan oleh alun angin
menolak ke dasar rasa.

Masihkah kau bermain seruling
ketika kampung semakin sunyi
sawah telah uzur
waktu jadi terlalu mahal
untuk memerhatikan hujan turun
merenung jalur senja
mengutip manik embun
menghidu harum bunga.

Masihkah kau bermain seruling
ketika aku terasa mata bersalah
untuk melayani rasa rindu padamu
di kota yang semakin kusut dan tenat
adik-adikku menganggur dan sakit jiwa
bangsaku dipecahkan oleh politik
saudara diserang bom-bom ganas
dunia sudah terlalu tua dan parah.

Di sinilah berakhirnya percintaan kita
kerana zaman sedang menuntut para seniman
hidup di luar dirinya.
~ Zurinah Hassan


Questions :
1.       What is the persona feeling guilty of?
2.       Where does the persona live? What about the flutist/ her boyfriend?
3.       What is considered a luxury by the persona ?
4.       Why is the village so quiet and deserted?
5.       Why is the rice field sick?
6.       What are the problems/hardships mentioned ?

       The village is quiet and deserted. The paddy fields looked barren. 

       The ‘luxuries’ here refer to " watching the rain, gazing at the evening rays, collecting dew drops and enjoying the fragrance of the flower"   and all these luxuries can be enjoyed in the rural areas and not in the city where everything is so busy, everybody leading a hectic and busy life. 

      The persona and her boyfriend, the flutist live in two different "worlds" .. The persona's lifestyle and way of thinking is now different from her boy friend's. 
    
      She feels guilty -       when she misses / or longs for the beautiful melody of the bamboo flute played by her beloved long ago
      because her conscience tells her that it is not a right thing to do/feel.

      She cannot  accept the fact that while  the village is  under populated and the paddy field in a deplorable state, her lover can still play the fluteand not thinking of the situation, or at least feeling bad about not being able to do anything about it..
 
s    She also feels guilty to be thinking of their love at their difficult times. The hardships portrayed here are unemployed young men, people disunited by politics and a ‘dying’ world.


 Edited by MDMNOR
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      Themes/ Moral values
T    Themes

·         Adapting to changes. This is inevitable. We need to adapt to all kinds of social, economic and political changes. In this poem, the flutist is aloof to changes happening around him.  
·         Love and appreciate the arts.
·  

Moral Values
·         Aware of your family commitment.
Everyone needs to take responsibility to the changes that take place in life and act accordingly. The flutist does not succumb to the changes around him. He clings on to his roots. He is not aware of his family commitments. The persona, his former lover has progressed in life while he still leads his conventional lifestyle.  

·         Get your priorities right.
Eg: Village nowadays is left quiet and deserted. Rice fields are left barren, but the flutist continues to play his flute. He needs to realize there is time to play and time to work. Hence, one must get his priorities right.

    Source : 
C   Curriculum Development Division.


just read this comment somewhere...
http://zahuren.wordpress.com/poems/are-you-still-playing-flute/#comment-1778
I am the poet mentioned here. Sorry to say that there has been a misprint. Look at the last paragraph. In the hazard of you should be in “the hazard of this city”.
What can I do about this mistake? I was not called to proof read.
 





 







4 comments:

  1. thanx 4 helping...
    cuma... klw boleh tambahkan point untk student lbh fhm...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Anonymous,
    thanks for reading. Actually above are the notes for my students, should you read carefully, I think you should be able to understand the poem...

    ReplyDelete
  3. What should we do about Zurinah Hassan's (the poet herself!!) comment that there had been a misprint? "in the hazard of you" should be "in the hazard of this city".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i've check the website concerning the comment left by pn zurinah and here are some interesting comments....
      zurinah hassan Said:
      on October 22, 2010 at 3:15 pm

      I am the poet mentioned here. Sorry to say that there has been a misprint. Look at the last paragraph. In the hazard of you should be in “the hazard of this city”.

      What can I do about this mistake? I was not called to proof read.

      Reply

      zahuren Said:
      on November 4, 2010 at 1:04 pm

      Salam Pn Zurinah. It’s very sad to know that the version received at schools is not the correct one. But, what can we do? I like this particular poem of yours. It is very meaningful.

      Reply

      Koh Suat Chin Said:
      on November 6, 2010 at 8:08 am

      Dear Pn Zurinah,
      What can you do? Well, if I were you, I would contact the people at the CDC and request/demand that they send a letter to the Jabatan Pendidikan of each state, informing them of the mistake, and providing the schools with the correct copy. And, for reprints of the book (which they will have EVERY year for the next 7 or 8 years), demand that the corrct version be printed. Surely we cannot allow all these young people to be studying such a mutilated version of your most meaningful poem.
      Warm regards and once again, thank you for the beautiful poem.

      Reply

      Rohaida Ngah Said:
      on November 28, 2010 at 3:03 pm

      salam Puan Zurinah..it’s quite unfortunate that there’s as misprint in the text. i think it’s not too late to correct it..your poem will be used by Form 5 students starting january 2011. the officers in charge at Curricullum Development Department can be notified and they can send the errata to all schools – via road shows, maybe or simply by sending the corrected version to all schools. it’s so very important that teachers teach the corrected version because we do look at poems line by line..and only then we look at it as a whole, and we also test our students this poem..
      by the way, i’m an english teacher teaching in a Terengganu school and a great fan of yours…
      one officer that you can talk to is Puan Diana Fatimah, i’m pretty sure you’ve come across her during meetings..

      Reply

      Lim Yoke Kiaw Said:
      on July 8, 2011 at 10:31 am

      Hi Madam Zurinah,

      Thanks for pointing that out. In fact, I think the translation does not do justice to your original. To be honest, it’s shoddy!

      http://meexam.blogspot.com

      Reply

      nusyi Said:
      on August 2, 2011 at 2:28 am

      Which one should i refer??
      Either http://zurinahhassan.blogspot.com/2010/05/masihkah-kau-bermain-serulingare-you.html or reference books?

      Reply

      outlawchaser Said:
      on January 26, 2012 at 1:40 pm

      dear pn zurinah;
      it is shameful to learn that your beautiful poem was misinterpreted…You should have been called to proof read the poem so the translation won’t divert from the original version. I wonder whether the translator is qualified enough to do the translation or the poem was translated based on his/her own interpretation.

      Reply

      nab Said:
      on April 27, 2012 at 3:57 pm

      Dear Pn Zurinah,
      thank you for the info.. I have had difficulties explaining ” in the hazard of you” to my students… now it’s clearer… I definitely agree with the opinion that it should be pointed out to other teachers as a misinterpretation of the original poem…

      Delete