Ista, Author at Eksentrika

Teacher gets 45 non-English speaking students to stage a play in English!

Posted by Ista | Aug 24, 2018 | Think |

Over the past few months, a group of secondary school students have been toiling together to put up a play. The performance is set to be in English; a language that is not native to most if not all the participants. Yet, these teenagers, from five “high need schools” in Kedah, have decided to embrace the challenge to raise awareness against the destructive behaviour of bullying. For this reason, “Singing for the Lions” is not your ordinary theatre piece. The ensemble cast and crew consist of 45 students from SMK Lubok Buntar, SMK Serdang, SMK Serdang Baru, SMK Sultan Ahmad...

Rozella on making music and what it means to be truly beautiful

Posted by Ista | Nov 30, 2017 | Hear, Think |

The Dark Side is not bad if Rozella’s there. Image credit: Joshua Chay In Malaysia, there are many singer-songwriters and voice over artists. But there are very few who have the vocal and literary flair of Rozella Marie. The United Kingdom born and Kota Kinabalu bred musician is also one of the go to people behind True Complexion, a digital project on transforming people’s perception on the word “beautiful”. What inspired her project was her birthmark on her face which caused her much ridicule and scorn from people. You can read more about it here! (Fun fact: Rozella is...

What does it take to be Art Battle Malaysia’s champion?

Posted by Ista | Oct 27, 2017 | See, Think |

First timer Eidlan Lakhawlez is Art Battle Malaysia #3 winner! All images credit Raj Photography The winner for Art Battle Malaysia #3 is Eidlan Lakhawlez, a first time participant who took on the big guns and won! He faced stiff competition from fellow artists such as Arif Rafhan Othman, Ellie Yong, FayFay XIao Ting, Jerome Liew Chai, Karthine Maniam, Komeil Zarin, Mariyam Shany, Riharu Harun, Shaq Koyok, Elly Nor Suria and Gerald Ong. What was his secret? Is it beginners luck or full on strategy savvy to win the recently held Art Battle Malaysia? Afterall, Eidlan’s win marks the second time a first timer has championed Art Battle Malaysia, since...

5 reasons to go for Art Battle Malaysia #3

Posted by Ista | Oct 11, 2017 | See |

It looks like a full on art-attack this month as Art Battle Malaysia #3 rolls around the corner this October 14, coinciding with the glorious month of Inktober. The daily drawing challenge started by American illustrator, Jake Parker is now a global exercise in inspiration and if you can handle a wee bit more than that, you should check out Art Battle Malaysia, started by our very own Malaysian artist, Ruby Subramaniam. Before bringing this fun-tastic speed drawing competition to home soil, Ruby was herself a participant in Art Battle Brazil back in 2016. She was a solo-travelling wanderer...

Book Review | Sekolah Bernama Kehidupan by Asmar Shah

Posted by Ista | Oct 6, 2017 | Speak, Think |

This review comes very late; almost a year since I first got hold of the book by courtesy of Rumah Lipur Lara. The delay however, is through no fault of the book, only this reviewer, who lives a nomadic life and has the unfortunate bad habit of leaving things in the multiple abodes she flits to and from and sometimes forgets where some valuables have been stores. Luckily, I recently was able to uncover this precious title “Sekolah Bernama Kehidupan” (School named Life) by Asmar Shah, and upon finished reading, became resolved to write-up this owed review. It’s easy...