• Minimum of bullet/splinter proof protection
• No attempt was made to provide living accommodation
• Some designs were enhanced to shell-proof standard
• Simple blast walls to protect open entrances
• External flat side walls with rectangular or polygonal shape

• Pillbox Study Group
• World War II Pillbox (Penang Travel Tips)
• Fortress Penang

WHITE Frangipanis, also known as Plumeria, were widely planted in Penang during the colonial days. Their presence, however, has since diminished. This may be due its association with funeral and death.

The flowers were widely used in wreaths, and the older trees are common in graveyards, hence the tree’s nickname “cemetery tree” (pokok kubur).

The Protestant Cemetery along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, where many famous British leaders including Penang founder Captain Francis Light are buried, is shaded with the trees.

One can still find them in the gardens of old colonial buildings, such as Clove Hall Penang, now a boutique hotel.

Apart from adorning gardens, they were used in traditional medicine and as a source of scented oils for perfumes. They have also been used in traditional games by schoolchildren.

Symbolically, the Frangipani represents perfection, peace, calm and a lot more. In Hindu culture, it is associated with loyalty. The Chinese use it to express love, while some Malays associate with evil spirits. The Frangipani is also the national flower of Nicaragua and Laos.

The tree’s five-petalled flower has a nice fragrance, especially during the evenings. Many people still plant the tree today, but prefer the smaller varieties with different colours (red, pink and yellow). They can be planted in a pot first, and transferred to land when they grow bigger.

All in all, it is not hard to imagine why people fell in love with this handsome shady tree with delicate fragrant blooms. Unfortunately, they do not appear to have much of a place in these modern times.  

References

• Penang blooms
• Hidden Penang: Christian cemetery
• The meaning of Frangipani flower

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A STROLL through the grounds of the Penang Buddhist Association will yield many rewarding sights. The interior is ornately decorated with polished floor tiles, multi-tiered chandeliers and mother-of-pearl inlaid furnishing. However, the most prevalent feature of note is – the lotus flower. Its motifs are ubiquitous throughout the institution and rightly so because of the flowers poignant and symbolic roots in Buddhism.

Since ancient times the lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) has been a divine symbol in many Asian cultures and traditions. In the classical written and oral literature of many Asian cultures the lotus is present in figurative form, representing elegance, beauty, perfection, purity and grace. It is also often used in poems and songs as an allegory for ideal feminine attributes. Of interest to note is that most Asian deities are often associated in some manner with the lotus.

However, in Buddhism as well as Hinduism, the lotus holds a very special and sacred place. The lotus is one of Buddhism's best recognised motifs that permeate Buddhist art and across all Buddhist cultures. Scrolling lotuses embellish Buddhist textiles, ceramics and architecture. In many Buddhist temples, lotus is burned in a powdered form as ceremonial incense. It is one of the eight symbols of good fortune that represent the offerings made by the gods to Shakyamuni Buddha immediately after he gained enlightenment. Significantly, the colour of the lotus too has an important bearing on the symbology associated with it.

The Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi once wrote, "I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained."

This quote best exemplifies the lotus’ representation in Buddhism, as  the lotus flower represent the "primordial purity" of body, speech, and mind, as while rooted in the mud, its flowers blossom on long stalks as if floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire into the beauty and clarity of enlightenment. It is also symbolic of detachment as drops of water easily slide off its petals. According to legend, Gautama Buddha was born with the ability to walk and everywhere he stepped, lotus flowers bloomed.

References

• Religion Facts – The Lotus Symbol in Buddhism
• Buddhist Studies – Symbol of the Lotus
• Buddhist Symbols

A VISIT to the Penang Botanical Gardens usually entails an itinerary that includes monkey viewing, strolling through the gardens and picnicking by a gentle stream. For some visitors, the main highlights for the day include an opportunity to see the cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) in its full glory – a definite eye catcher.

The tree got its name from the large fruit it bears, so large that they look like cannonballs, and after ripening make a similar cracking explosion when they hit the ground. Thus, it is best to avoid standing directly under them during the fruiting season.

This large evergreen tree is native to the southern Caribbean, the tropical northern parts of South America and, though much disputed among academic and scientific circles, India. The use of the tree is remarkably diverse. The bark, flower and fruit have been accorded with many medicinal properties including anti-microbial and anti-fungal activity and are ingested and used extensively by shamans and indigenous people. The wood can be used to make furniture, and the shell of the fruit containers and utensils.

The tree is something of an oddity because its large brown fruit seems to be growing en masse from the trunk of the tree, and its vividly coloured flowers possesses a wonderful scent – unlike the edible fruit which emits an unpleasant aroma when exposed to air.

Another odd feature, the flowers have no nectar and so depend on bees in search of pollen. Thus, the majority of these trees found outside their natural environment have been planted as nothing more than a botanical curiosity!

However, this tree also retains a religious significance in Asia. In India, it is revered as a sacred tree because the petals of the flower resemble the hood of the Naga, a sacred snake, protecting a Shiva Lingam, the stigma. Though it has been confused with another sacred tree, the sala, the cannonball tree is also often planted at Buddhist temples because according to Buddhist scriptures it was under such a tree which Buddha Vessabhu gained enlightenment.

References:

• The Encyclopedia of Earth
• Flowers of India
• Environmental Graffiti

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RUNNING between Burma Road and Macalister Road, Madras Lane does not generate much interest to the casual observer. However, it probably houses one of Penang’s best-kept secrets, and that lies within the Hu Yew Seah building in an inscription on the small marble plaque mounted on a wall of the hall in the main structure.

Dr Rabrindranath Tagore, Asia’s first Nobel laureate for Literature from Calcutta, Bengal, laid the first stone to the foundation of the building and officiated its opening in 1927.

The building was used by the Hu Yew Seah as a venue to promote and teach Chinese language. Because by the turn of the 20th century there were a number of English-educated Chinese, characteristically the Baba or Straits Chinese elite, who grew up not knowing their mother tongue.

The organisation was founded by Choong Thiam Poe in 1914 and specifically created to promote Chinese language education among the English-speaking Babas and Nyonyas in Penang. Ironically, Thiam Poe received an English education at Penang Free School. However, he had the privilege of learning Chinese and getting acquainted with Chinese literature through home tuition.

Thiam Poe’s involvement in the Tung Meng hui revolutionary movement propelled his desire to set up an organisation for his fellow Straits Chinese to have an opportunity to appreciate, learn and reconnect with their rich Chinese heritage and culture.

• Penang and the Indian Ocean (Think City)
• Hu Yew Seah, Penang (Penang-TravelTips)