The Hall Was Silent...

It's now a week and a half through your holidays. I'm sure you must be enjoying every minute of it since you're only getting 5 weeks break this time. Anyway, 5 weeks is better than none...

Yesterday evening saw a rare occurence in Penang. Mother Nature conducted the Rain Concerto in All Keys. The special co-performers were Thunder, Lightning and Wind. It was held in the Sky at about 6 pm. It was something we had not heard for quite some time...

Mother Nature took her position at the platform. She glanced at the eager faces of her orchestra members. They were ready. Meanwhile, the audience became unsettled and nervous, biting their nails. Their hearts were thumping, anxious to hear the performance. Then, Mother Nature grabbed her baton and tapped the music stand... tap, tap. The hall was silent as she slowly raised her magnificent hand...

Her hand came down. Thunder came in right on cue... rumble... rumble. The audience went wild. Some screamed, some cried, some took the opportunity to take a nap... Thunder, hearing the screams of his fans, rumbled and clapped a few more times. Mother Nature smiled as she swayed the baton, keeping the tempo in a slow march. She then nodded to Lightning and again, as her hand came down, Lightning began playing with Thunder in a question and answer-like manner... zing... rumble... zing... rumble... She was electrifying, striking and stunning the audience with her crisp and clear flashes of sheer power. Wind started blowing and the audience swayed to his tune... truly magical.

Suddenly, Mother Nature switched the tempo to a quick polka. Then, our soloist - Rain, made her entry. The audience fell silent. She began with a soft drizzle. The audience tapped their feet, keeping time with Mother Nature. Then, Rain crescendo-ed to a stirring storm. Together with Thunder, they performed the heart-stopping Thunder Storm. Everyone went crazy, cheering and clapping their hands.

Rain did not take pity on the circus which was coming to the Pesta site. The containers housing the performers and staff were surrounded by water. She also teased the airplanes that were taking off and landing at the airport, splashing them with water. She giggled gayly...

Off and on, Wind would carry Rain in his arms, taking her to the other end of the stage. Of course Thunder complained. However, Lightning would gently console him, reminding him that she will always be there for him should he feel lonely. Mother Nature just smiled and hoped that they would concentrate on their performance. They still have the cadenza and coda to play.

For the cadenza (that's where Rain played solo all the way), Rain went back to a drizzle and later resumed her normal speed, showing off her water pouring skills. Thunder, Lightning and Wind were silent... listening, spellbounded by Rain's superb technique.

When the coda (the end) finally came, the guest performers - Frogs and Crickets took center stage. Wuong... wuong... gedek-gedek-gedek... kreet... kreet... wuong... gedek-gedek-gedek... they went about their comical performance, painting a serene picture to end the whole concerto. It was already midnight when the whole performance ended. The audience, soaked by that time, gave Mother Nature and her performers a standing ovation... a marvellous 6 hour concerto, perfectly executed.

Some members of the audience wanted to asked the performers for their autographs but they were nowhere to be found. Thunder was chasing Rain, trying to win her heart while Lightning and Wind followed from behind, not knowing what to do...

Yours pouringly,
Bart