On a beautiful morning in October 40 or so MCG members met at the Temple of Fine Arts/Lavanya (TFA) in Brickfields to be given a small insight into the Hindu religion and to celebrate one of the biggest festivals in the Hindu calendar, Deepavali. Deepavali or Diwali depending on where you are from in India falls on the day before the dark moon (ammaavaasai) in the months of October/November. Deepavali is also known as The Festival of Light and is a joyous family time celebrating the triumph of good over evil. There are a number of origins attributed to Deepavali; some honour the Divine Goddess Lakshmi who is associated with spiritual and material wealth. During the festival the family is reminded of the crucial role the mother plays in family life - she is the teacher, nurturer and giver of life and is to be loved and respected. It also commemorates the day Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. One thing remains the same, however, it is a time of great celebration and is spent forgetting past wrongs, sharing good times and delicious food with friends and family.

The Temple of Fine Arts was the brainchild of the much loved and respected Swami Shantanand Saraswathy, who sadly passed away earlier this year. He envisioned a place where dance and music, as a form of worship, could be taught to young people from every background. The first Temple of Fine Arts concert was staged in April of 1981 and since then it has gone from strength to strength with amazing classical Indian and cross-cultural performances.

Apart from theatre and stage productions, several other projects have been established under the auspices of the Temple of Fine Arts. Among them are the Annalakshmi restaurants, the culinary division of the TFA, where one can enjoy delicious traditional vegetarian Indian cuisine prepared just as mother and grandmother would. In Sanskrit the word "anna" means food referring to the nutritious grains that spring from the earth while "lakshmi" means the divine energy that nourishes and sustains. At Annalakshmi they run on a unique concept of "eat to your hearts content, give as you feel". The transaction is not of money but of "bhavana" feelings and attitudes towards things. Annalakshmi is at Midvalley Megamall and is a must do dining experience. You may even find yourself sitting next to a famous Indian artist or Malaysian dignitary.

Lavanya Arts is another of the TFA's sister organizations selling handicrafts, garments, jewellery and artifacts. The clothes, decorative items, paintings, bags, cushion covers, sarees, kurtas and shawls are mainly brought from Shakthi Creations - a wing of the Shivanjali in Coimbatore, India. Shakthi Creations is a manufacturing unit where less fortunate and single mothers are given a chance to earn a living and are trained in the art of embroidery and tailoring. Some of the jewellery is from Sri Lanka and the artifacts are from many parts of India - Orissa, Rajastan, Punjab and Pondicherry. Lavanya is run by a small army of very happy, chatty volunteers and their aim is to achieve the goals of promoting beauty through service.

After spending a short while browsing around Lavanya and making a few purchases we were introduced to our speaker Amita Shah who is originally from New Delhi but has lived in Malaysia since 1977 and has been an active member of the MCG for about 10 years. She is a science graduate and Hindu by birth. Amita had the daunting task of introducing us to this fascinating and complex religion. She began her talk with "Hinduism! From where do I begin? It is like trying to chart space BUT I will try". From there she went on to outline the origins of Hinduism and then to elaborate on terms associated with it and concepts linked to it. Hinduism apart from being philosophical has a strong scientific base, so, to understand it one must keep an open mind. I would not be doing Amitas talk justice by even attempting to summarise it here but I would urge anyone interested in Hinduism to attend any talks she may give in the future.

The morning did not end there, the Assistant Director of the Temple of Fine Arts, Shankar Kandasamy, treated us to a performance of Indian Dance. Shankar is no stranger to the MCG and on previous occasions has presented a talk in Hinduism and conducted a tour of Batu Caves. Shankar performed a piece produced by himself called "On Sri Rama" which was based on "Bhayain" a devotional hymn written in Hindi by Sant Tulsidas. The dance praised Lord Rama, describing his beauty comparing him to Cupid, the birth of Sita then the romance between Sita and Rama. The dance was made even more enjoyable because of Shankars earlier explanation of the exaggerated facial, hand and body movements used in the dance.

The morning was then brought to a conclusion by enjoying a delicious Indian vegetarian meal prepared by the volunteers in the TFA's cafeteria.

Many of the ladies attending had entered into the spirit of the festival and had dressed in bright colorful saris and salwar khameez - all looked beautiful. Special thanks must be given to Amita for her fascinating talk, to Shankar for his dance and to everyone at the TFA who gave us such a wonderful, warm welcome.
- Barbara Dexter

On Monday, 10^th October, eleven members and one guest gathered at the home of Malaysian artist, Yeoh Jin Leng, to learn about his life and his art, as well as tour his home. Tucked away in a corner of Hillview Estate off Jalan Ulu Klang, his house with its lush and spacious garden is truly inspirational.  

Jin Leng gave us a brief history of his origins, which are most fascinating, since they reveal how truly a Malaysian he is, having both Chinese and Peranakan/Malay ancestry. He is able to trace his roots back many generations which makes for fascinating story-telling.  Jin Leng seems to have inherited his adventurous spirit from his father who, as well as working in various jobs using his English and Malay skills, was an amateur boxer, traveling around the region as a flyweight champion for 30 years.  

Ultimately, Jin Leng was brought up in a Malay kampong near Ipoh in simple circumstances in the 30’s. However, his mother made sure he had a good beginning education in English. Later he joined the Anderson School in Ipoh until the Japanese Occupation, when his education was severely disrupted for 5 years. Later, upon completing his Cambridge examination, his HM told him he was to be a teacher and promptly put him in the classroom. This led to a scholarship overseas for Teacher Training at Kirkby in Liverpool, England in 1952. He pursued a general teacher education course with an art option. Upon his return he was posted to teach in Terengganu for 5 years; here he was very much influenced by the crafts and culture of the East Coast, incorporating them into his teaching. 

Following a comedy of errors in applying for a scholarship to a college for art education, Jin Leng was finally placed in the Chelsea School of Art in 1957 where his art studies began in earnest.  This formal art training centered on British and European Art, from Classical to Impressionist, with an emphasis on realism and no hint of the expressionism which he has later developed.

Returning to Malaysia, Jin Leng was initially reposted to Terengganu where, during after-school hours, he began painting extensively and, in appreciation of his surroundings, producing landscapes of a ‘reduced’ or ‘simplified’ nature.  One year later, he took up a post at STTI (Specialist Teachers’ Training Institute) where over the next 20 years he served in roles varying from instructor to administrator, and was very involved in the evolution of the teaching of art in Malaysian Schools. In addition Jin Leng began serious work of his own, in an ever-evolving style which centered on various themes over time. He taught himself pottery, built his own kilns and began producing sculptures and ceramics as well as paintings.  Jin Leng showed us some of his works demonstrating this evolution; Many of these phases resulted in solo or group exhibitions. Among those shown were Rock Forms, the Ovum series, the Ecology series, Bottle icons, early stone ware, raku pottery, Earthscapes, the Trapped Series, and Dance of Apsaras.  

After Jin Leng retired from STTI in 1984, he became Dean of the Malaysian Institute of Art for another ten years. Although he did not mention them, we know he has received many awards over the years for his monumental contributions to the art world. While he had traveled extensively prior to retirement, Jin Leng has been traveling even more in these later years. These travels always produce further inspiration and have led to a much deeper spiritual look into Asian cultural traditions.  This journey has resulted in an even greater interest in iconography which seemingly pervades his work more and more.

Jin Leng is surely a “Renaissance Man” with such versatility and wide ranging interests; not only is he an artist, but also an educator, environmentalist, thinker and scholar. His latest exhibitions have been at Sutra House with drawings based on the dancers in motion at the dance school. He says another exhibition is in the works.  We had a wonderful morning basking in the beauty of Jin Leng’s home and the warm hospitality of both him and his wife Diana. 
- Joanne Mahendran

As Ramadan begins, what better time to learn more about Islamic arts. Have you visited the beautiful Islamic Arts Museum? If not, here is an opportunity to take a guided tour of this oasis in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. The Museum is a masterpiece of artisans from Iran, Uzbekistan and others. Learn about the significance of the architecture, visit the Ottoman Room, study the intricate calligraphy and wonder at the beauty of replicas of various mosques from around the world. These are just a few of the highlights that you will see, so do join us. It is a limited number of participants, so do sign up early if you want to attend!
**As this is during Ramadan, no refreshments will be served.

Take a taxi, an artist with a camera and give them 1,600 kilometres to travel. A combination that is certainly going to produce interesting results. Most especially when the artist is the inimitable Yeoh Jin Leng, who has studied at the Chelsea School of Art, London and has lectured at the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art. Jin Leng has a fascination with Indian cultural traditions and has returned to explore them numerous times for inspiration for his artwork.

Join us for the morning to hear Jin Leng's experiences and view the wide range of photographs he took of the landscape, temples, palaces and the people that he encountered travelling through the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in a sturdy Hindustani taxi.

On  Tuesday October 25 we gathered at the National Art gallery for a morning with artist Nizam Ambia.

I opened the morning by introducing Mrs. Nishriwani Yahaya, Executive Director of the Malay World Foundation. She is also the manager of Nizam Ambia at the moment as the Malay World Foundation saw the blossoming talent in this man and took him under their wings.

Mrs. Nishri Yahaya gave us a short introduction on the Malay World Foundation. The foundation was initially established by Dr. Tun Mahathir to promote the arts, culture and identity of the Malay World.  Early in 2005 it’s mission was broadened to promote the Malay World in other countries and create a dialogue with other cultures. MWF sees as its task to document and disseminate information and educational material about the Malay world through research and publications.

Some of the current projects of the MWF are:

• Promoting Nizam Ambia as a global fashion brand.

• Bringing to the attention of the public the music of Yazid and the Tamin Sari Music Group as part of the “world music” movement. Promoting the establishment of a Glorious Malay World Classical Orchestra and other performing arts talents such as DiDance Academy.

• Supporting also a group of independent filmmakers working on a production project called the “Malay Trilogy Film Project”. A series of documentaries are being planned on Mosques of the Malay World and on Cultural Artifacts of Islamic Civilization.  The Foundation is also supporting a project called the “Glorious Malay World Opera” based on the Malay Annals (Sejarah Melayu). 

A short film was shown which presented the artworks, paintings and batik fabrics of Nizam Ambia. Then a short film of the Fashion show which was held at the Hilton hotel on August 29,  that showed us the beautiful fabrics and designs of Nizam worn by elegant Malaysian models was shown.

After that we finally met the man himself. He talked us through his artworks in a multimedia show. We saw his radiant paintings, magnificent metal sculptures, his kolam or rangoli which he eternalized on a canvas and his landscape design.

But we were fascinated most by the batik fabrics. As Nizam brought samples of his batik fabrics they were handed out and all members and guests were equally impressed by what he showed us. Nizam gave us the chance to satisfy our curiosity through answering our questions, for example, on the techniques he used to make the beautiful fabrics and artworks and how he intended to further produce his fashion line and market it.

We found out that Nizam really did not make a problem of anything in his life and work or see any bumps on his road. He advised us to just let everything flow freely and feel no inhibitions, only then he stated, creativity is able to come out. It was clear to us that his inspiration is not something he has to dig for, it is always present. We learnt to know the artist Nizam as a very humble, pleasant and talented personality. There is clearly a connection between his art, paintings, batik fabrics and his fashion creations. They all radiate their creators’ passion and spiritual connection.

When I saw his fashion show at the Hilton I thought he had an innovative courage expressed through his batik patterns and his sometimes unworldly designs. It was clear to me that he is communicating his message to the world. I saw a public that morning on October 25^th that clearly received this message and appreciated it. Thank you all for your presence and finding ways to give the artist Nizam Ambia the appreciation he deserves!

 - Ardy Timmer