What
has former classmates in Johor Baru’s St Joseph’s School and the Johor
Elections have to do with My Johor Stories? Very little or a great deal??
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| With Sharaad Kuttan at Sedap Corner, Johor Baru |
To
do this, Sharaad reached out to his former classmate* in St Joseph’s School who
connected him to Edey Suresh, the right person to speak to in his capacity as
Johor State Director of the UN Global Compact Network for Malaysia and Brunei.
 |
| Recording the interview with Edey Suresh |
When
Edey understood what Sharaad planned to do in Johor as host of two popular
English talk shows, Consider This and Let’s Talk with Sharaad Kuttan,
he put on his thinking cap to consider who else should be featured in these
shows.
I
was deeply humbled when Edey told me (later!) that the first person he thought
of was me, the Johor Storyteller and Bestselling Author of My Johor Stories.
On
his way to Johor Baru, Sharaad and his crew made various stops to meet with
politicians who were campaigning in their constituencies in Johor while Edey
helped to arrange for us to meet with Sharaad for a preliminary chat that
evening.
 |
| Recording the interview with Manohar Johnson |
It
was wise to have a meet-up prior to recording the interviews the next morning
because an informal chat would break the proverbial ice between the host and
his interviewees like me – who is no fan of going in front of the camera.
That
evening, Edey, who probably sensed that I might suffer a bout of cold feet (not
because it was raining cats and dogs!) sent a reminder in a brief WhatsApp
message, “See you at 8.30pm.”
 |
| I was getting wired up with the microphone |
Just
five minutes ahead of the appointed time, I met Edey at the entrance of Sedap
Corner, the flagship store located at Jalan Abdul Samad, where we had arranged
the meeting with Sharaad.
Edey
happened to arrive at the same time and as we spotted the distinctive profile
of Sharaad seated at a table, Edey mentioned that it was his first time meeting
him too.
 |
| Thanks Sharaad, for making the recording session go so smoothly |
As
he introduced himself, I started to get a picture of him as a schoolboy who
went to St Joseph’s School, the all-boys school that my brother and cousins also
attended, located walking distance from our grandfather’s house at No. 154 Jalan Ngee Heng.
He
told us about his mother, who was a teacher and after her retirement, she wrote
her memoirs set to a backdrop of Johor Baru in a bygone era.
This
struck a familiar chord because it was reminiscent of the writing style of Han
SuYin, the medical doctor and author, whom I featured in my story under
Memories in my 2017 Bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People,
Rich Heritage.
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| It was fun to share My Johor Stories... |
It
was ages ago but it set Sharaad thinking about his cousin who is now based in
the UK, and our mutual friend who used to live nearby at Jalan Abdul Samad. While
we were separated by distance, I assured him that we were still in touch by
WhatsApp chat. And this was how we discovered a common connection from way back
when…
With
the ice clearly broken between us, the focus turned to the two gentlemen, Edey
and Manohar Johnson, better known as Mano.
Over
a bite to eat, Sharaad listened with interest as we discussed social and
development issues in Johor.
He
then concluded that these two would be interviewed separately in two segments
for the Consider This show while, My Johor Stories and me would
be featured in the Let’s Talk show.
Meanwhile,
the good people at Suasana Suites Johor Baru had graciously agreed to host
Astro Awani for the recording of interviews in the comfort of a suite on Level
33.
The
next morning, when I met Sharaad in the suite, I filled him in on the history
about the site where Suasana Suites – linked to Zenith Lifestyle Centre and the
Amari Hotel Johor Baru – were located at Jalan Trus.
When
I told him that we were standing on the former site of two landmark movie
theatres, the Rex and Lido, that used to provide movie entertainment to Johor
Baru folks, it triggered off his own memories of the heydays of cinema here.
In
fact, the spot we were at on Jalan Trus was part of Johor Baru’s Street of Harmony
that spanned from Jalan Gertak Merah and Jalan Gereja, where two churches were
located close to St Joseph’s School, through Jalan Trus where the Sikh
Guduwara, Hindu and Chinese temples were located, all the way to the Mosque at
Jalan Duke.
These
precious heritage stories are documented as, Escape to the Movies, and Johor
Baru’s Street of Harmony in My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People,
Rich Heritage.
 |
| It was my pleasure to present an autographed copy of my 2017 Bestseller to Sharaad |
As
discussed, Sharaad would start with recording his interview with Edey and this
would be followed by his interview with Mano.
Just
like a true professional, Sharaad made us – interviewees – feel at ease as the
recording got underway.
While
the recording of the interviews with Edey and Mano was happening in the sitting
room, I stayed silently inside the bedroom with the door wide open so that I
could listen to what was going on outside.
With
the floor to ceiling curtains open, I enjoyed a panoramic view of the city
skyline and made good use of the time to collect my thoughts and readied myself
to speak in a spontaneous yet coherent way. No, Sharaad did not provide a list
of questions or a checklist but only gave a guide, with three main points that
I should cover.
As
soon as his interview recording was done, Mano left to attend a meeting while
Edey stayed to watch the recording of Sharaad’s interview with me, and I deeply
appreciate his moral support and help to capture some photo mementoes of this
exciting experience.
For
the recording of my interview, the crew and Sharaad agreed to change the camera
angle and added the coffee-table with the carpet below so that my books could
be neatly displayed.
 |
| What I shared in the interview recording triggered off fond memories for Sharaad too |
Edey
and I were amused by how we were so used to holding our pen and notebook
because we were the ones who often interviewed others and took notes, but this
time, it was the other way around – we were being interviewed, instead.
Guided
by his questions, I responded and all too soon, the interview recording was
done in just one take. And it was a wrap!
While
Edey and Mano’s interviews were featured in Consider This, a show aired
on Astro Awani on Wednesday, March 9, Sharaad will let me know as soon as he
knows when our interview will be scheduled to air.
The
Let’s Talk with Sharaad Kuttan show usually airs on Saturday nights but as
next Saturday, March 12, was polling day in Johor, his talk show would be
deferred because Astro Awani would be bringing live reports from the polls.
 |
| One for the album: Mano, Edey and I with Sharaad Kuttan at our recording session |
*Later
Edey and Sharaad told me about how they got connected through Sharaad’s former
classmate in St Joseph’s School.
I
thought it was rather uncanny because I (too!) met him several years ago when I
covered their school reunion event – one that Sharaad did not attend – and published
this piece in a cover and centerspread story in Johor Streets, a pull-out
section of The New Straits Times.
Note: My
Johor Stories series of books are available from MPH bookstores nationwide
and online from mphonline.
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