In the first of his fortnightly column, DESMOND HO reminds city folk that although we may have left rural life behind us, Mother Nature hasn’t left us behind.

Question: How do crazy people go through the forest?

Answer: They take the psycho path.

THIS joke came to mind as I sat behind the steering wheel of my car today, stuck in yet another traffic jam. And the reason for the congestion? Rain.

It seems no matter how sophisticated our lives have become, there’s no escaping Mother Nature.
But why even try to avoid her? I say, let’s embrace Mother Nature in all her glory. When was the last time we savoured the great outdoors?

The pleasures of outdoor living are what I’m hoping to share in this fortnightly column. And by the Great Outdoors, I don’t mean travelling hundreds of kilometres to find wilderness. It’s as simple as stepping out of your front door into your garden, backyard or balcony.

I recall my own carefree childhood in Malacca where there was no such thing as an enclosed garden. In the kampungs, everything outside the house is a garden.

When it rained, we’d be outside enjoying the shower. When the wind was strong, we’d be flying kites. If the air was still and hot, we’d go fishing, sitting under a shady tree.

But it wasn’t just us kids whose fun and games were governed by Mother Nature. Back then, most rural activities coincided with the natural weather cycle. Kampung folk only plough their fields during the rainy season, when the earth is soft and muddy.

And remember “winnowing”, a ritual poetic in its grace and beauty? Women folk gently rock a woven rattan tray, whistling to attract the wind.

The gentle breeze would whisk away the lighter husks, leaving the heavier grains to fall back into the tray. It’s a beautiful ritual and one made even more poignant now as one paddy field after another is left untilled.

My fellow urban dwellers often bemoan how detached our kids are from nature. We feel as if we’ve left nature behind when we left our kampungs. But Mother Nature hasn’t abandoned us. Just look up at the night sky; we see the same moon and stars as our rural kinfolk.

Through this column, I hope to share with you the ways in which we can reclaim what’s naturally ours; enjoying nature at its best through outdoor living. And outdoor living with a Malaysian flavour. I long to see the day when a Malaysian garden is as distinct and instantly identifiable as Japanese and Balinese gardens are now. I call it Neo Nusantara.

I remember reading an American journal in which someone wrote that outdoor worship is an American phenomenon that has its roots in the Southern porch. I’m not going to argue whether that is true or not but I know one thing for sure... people in temperate climes crave outdoor living.

Yet back home, where it’s almost perfect weather all year round, we’d rather spend the daylight hours indoors to get away from the heat. As the late and great Noel Coward once sang, the only ones out enjoying the midday sun, it seems, are mad dogs and Englishmen.

For more information, log on to www.terragarden.com.my or call 03-7725-8698.

Neo Nusantara

DESMOND Ho has a vision: to forge a truly distinctive and instantly recognisable Malaysian garden identity.

His company, Terra Garden Sdn Bhd, has transformed many generic gardens into a slice of Malaysian paradise. And he’s coined a term for these gardens: Neo Nusantara.

His quest to forge this Malaysian identity goes beyond borders. Terra Garden has taken its Neo Nusantara vision abroad; to Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland.