Agri Carnival

When the Ministry of Agriculture held a three day two night fair at Atok and Nenek's housing area, Mama and the children took this opportunity to enjoy ourselves there. Bro H joined a colouring competition but he didn't win, of course. (He finished first and jumped down from the stage to join Mama and Sis A, leaving his painting behind. And Mama was busy running after this boy to bother with his 'masterpiece')
There were also some matches (sort of ) like 'tug of war', 'musical chair' and also cooking classes. Mama was more interested in the food that was offered at some stalls and also the novel way of decorating the stage. They used vegetables instead of flowers!!
But more importantly, for two nights in a row Mama managed to spend some time alone with Bro H. (Sis A was already asleep by 8.30pm on both nights). He seemed to enjoy himself spending time with Mama too. Usually Sis A would monopolise Mama's attention. So on both nights, we leisurely spent the time looking at the exhibitions, enjoying our candy floss and guava juice while watching the 'Dikir Barat' troupe performing on the stage. What is Dikir Barat?
From Wikipedia:

Dikir barat is typically performed by groups of ten to fifteen members,though there is no actual set size,even in competitive environments. A group usually sits cross-legged on a platform, sometimes surrounded by the audience. Where the dikir barat is performed competitively, the two competing groups will both be on the stage at the same time.
Originally, dikir barat was limited to competition between neighboring villages, [4] but in the 20th century, as its popularity began to spread (aided by the ability to record performances), it became a national phenomenon. Today, dikir barat competitions have become wildly popular across Malaysia, and each year there are national champions crowned, not only for the dikir barat groups as a whole, but there also are national champion in the categories of tukang karuts and tok juara. Top tukang karuts are famous and popular, much like rock stars in the West.

On both nights Bro H ate a lot. He was usually a picky eater, eating only fried noodles. Then when we went to the food stalls, Mama allowed him to choose his own food and drinks. Then Mama realised that the children should eat out more often, so that they will have more choices to choose from and not to eat the same boring food again and again. Note to self : Trying out new places will be a monthly agenda from now on.