Story From The Curious Mind-Chapter 2

(Official blog post for My Selangor Story Blogging Contest)

Royal Selangor Visitor Center

The sun rose and so the second day of My Selangor Story ensued. From the Carlton Hotel, we set off to the Royal Selangor Visitor Center at Setapak Jaya. Our patient tour guide from Royal Selangor explained to us how Royal Selangor got the "Royal" title from the Sultan of Selangor. What attracted my eyes the most was not the gigantic mold replica at the entrance but this long wall of hand prints of Royal Selangor craftsmen of more than 5 years of experience (most of them have over 20 years of experience)

Wall of Fame for experienced Royal Selangor craftsmen.                          

These are the delicate fingers which brought us thousands of pewter pieces for the past few years. Decades of practice have bestowed their hands the magical power which virtually allows them to build everything from a mini Digi Yellow Man to the largest pewter tankard in the world.

Digi Yellow Man sculpture made from pewter.

Fellow My Selangor Storytellers with the largest pewter tankard. 

I could not help but to wonder how these pieces are made and there, our tour guide of the day brought us on for the Factory Tour. I was even more amazed with the patience of these loyal craftsmen after having a closer look at how these pewter pieces come by. These workers who have been with Royal Selangor for over 30 years seemingly treated their tedious routine like a holy ritual. An eye for details and a great deal of patience they have. Even in front of cameras, I could hardly see them leaving their works aside. I think they were well aware of how much every single detail matters. One small mistake is all it takes to wash their blood, sweat and tears down the drain.

Royal Selangor Craftsmen At Work.

Kak Zara trying out pewterware making.

The School of Hard Knocks at Royal Selangor Visitor Center.

As how other factory tours end with hands-on workshop, mine at Royal Selangor ended with the School of Hard Knocks, where I had mastered the Magic of Pewter Knocking 101. Our instructor of the day exuded an aura similar to that of the craftsmen we saw just now. 

The instructor of the School of Hard Knocks How about the 30 bloggers then?  We also exhibited the same magnitude of professionalism: cam-whoring all the way.

Yours Sincerely is now enrolled at the School of Hard Knocks.

Supplied with a piece of pewter sheet, a wooden hammer, type blocks and a mold, we were to build our own pewter bowl. A pewter bowl with our initials at the bottom. Very cool, indeed!

Type Blocks.

Hammer and mold.

At the count of our instructor, then the annoyingly messy music started. Random knocks came together into a mess. It was not until our instructor of the day came to everyone to show the correct rhythm, then only things were better. Knock! Knock! Knock! All bloggers knocked hard on their pewter sheets. At the moment, My Selangor Storytellers have turned the School of Hard Knocks into the School of Hard Rock. 

Fellow My Selangor Storytellers working on their first pewter bowls.

As time passed by, my pewter bowl had slowly taken its shape. At its completion, I felt something that I had not felt for a very long time: satisfaction at building something, at giving life to something. I bet that was exactly how those Royal Selangor craftsmen feel in making pewter ware. It is this feeling that keeps them in this field. There was one thing I saw which worried me, though. Not many young people work in Royal Selangor. If that really is the case, the future of this trade is really worrying me.

My name carved on the pewter sheet.

Enough about my worries. There is this very interesting story about the Royal Selangor pot that I want to share. It is a story shared by Datin Paduka Chen Mun Kuen, the captain spearheading the family business passed down by her grandfather. On the war ridden land of Malaya during the WWII, Ah Ham followed all the others into abandoned warehouse to scout for food. However, he came out with a melon shaped pot instead. When he was picking up this very pot from the ground, a piece of shrapnel just whizzed through where his head should be. It was just a whisker, indeed. Therefore, it is no surprise that Ah Ham values this pot as his lucky pot. So how did this pot end up in the Royal Selangor Museum? A guest recognized the Royal Selangor's mark at its bottom and brought it to the pewter maker. 

Datin Paduka Chen Mun Kuen sharing her story about the Melon Pot

So, it seems like Royal Selangor's pewter wares are auspicious. It should be a good idea for you to come down to Setapak Jaya and pay Royal Selangor Visitor Center a visit.

Where is the Royal Selangor Visitor Center?

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