Monday, May 07, 2007

Raden Dalilah

I was curious to find out who this person was after she posted a comment in my blog. It was her name "Raden Galoh" that piqued my interest.
"Raden" is royalty among the Javanese, and being Javanese (on Bapak's side), I wanted to know more about her. I clicked on her nick.
What a surprise. Raden Galoh is a breast cancer survivor. Having lost two sisters to breast cancer, I found her blog, "onebreastbouncing", insightful. She tells us about how she is coping with life since discovering she had breast cancer and post-treatment.
Although she was already known to a lot of people, I did not know who she was.
About a month back, I thought she finally decided to "come clean" when I saw her real name on her profile.
The next day, it was gone. I thought I had dreamt it all.
Then, NST columnist Rehman Rashid made baseless disparaging remarks about women bloggers. I posted something in response and, in it, mentioned Raden Galoh among the many women bloggers who were nothing like what he had recklessly described.
Raden and I have "connected" since. E-mails, smses and phone calls. The wonderful thing about blogging is you get connected with people like Raden Galoh.
Another thing is that it proves what a wonderfully small world we live in.
I don't call her Raden anymore. I call her by her real name -- Dalilah Tamrin. She came clean about two weeks ago.
What made her finally decide to reveal her identity?
"I just felt that since I am writing about my life, then people should know who is the person writing," she told me.
And how did she think of the name Raden Galoh?
Raden Galoh Chandra Kirana, a Majapahit princess, was an ancestor, said Dalilah who is Javanese.
This was told to her by her grandmother.
It is a good nick, Dalilah.

7 comments:

Daphne Ling said...

Dear Pn Nuraina,

I have yet to meet Pn Dalilah, but I hope to one day (and you, too =))...Like you said, she is an amazing person, with lots of courage, spirit and faith...One reason why I wrote about her in the papers =)

You know what? To hell *please excuse the bahasa* with Rehman Rashid and Zam and all those people out to discredit bloggers. After all, blogging is about writing, and to write well, one must first see well and feel, right?

So, let's just all continue doing what we all love doing, which is to share our little stories, and in the process encourage one another, and share the hope and love.

If the powers-that-be can't live with us sharing with one another what is essentially our 'human essence', there really isn't anything we can do about it...

Their loss, huh?

Thank you for writing about Pn Dalilah on your blog. We have got lots to learn from the both of you.

Cheerio,
Daph

NURAINA A SAMAD said...

daphne,
oh dear. i forgot to say that you wrote about her in the Star.
Yes, she is an amazing lady. anyone who has gone through what she had gone and i undergoing through is strong and brave.
there are, of course, others. I now also go to "ofcatsandcancer" blog. Azmi (a 53 yr-old lady) just discovered she has breast cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. she relates with such courage her day-to-day experience, i am so stumped. in so doing, she provides invaluable tips for BC patients and their families.

and yes, daphne, i certainly would like to meet a young lady like you.

Pi Bani said...

Kak Ena (may I call you Kak Ena? Official sangatlah Pn Nuraina...),
Ever since I started blogging(which was just about 2 months ago), I made lots of new friends, including Raden... I mean Dalilah. Even though I have not met most of them, somehow I feel like I've known them for ages! And why is that? To me, it's because they write from their heart... and that's the good thing about blogging.

Have met Daphne twice, since we are both Ipoh-mali. Hope I will be able to meet other bloggers as well one day.

J.T. said...

I just started blogging (late March) and I used your blog as a stepping stone to hop around. That's how I found Raden Galoh (Dalilah)

Dalilah is definitely a brave soul. She writes from her heart. She expresses herself so well, that I can feel what she is going through. She brings us into her world selflessly.

Hi&Lo said...

DEDICATED TO RADEN DALILAH: You have so much to share despite your own pain

"To live well in the quiet routine of life,
to fill a little space because God wills it,
to go on cheerfully with a petty round of little duties, little avocations, and
to smile for the joy of others when the heart is aching-
who does this, his works will follow him.
He may not be a hero to the world,
but he is one of God's heroes." (Author unknown)

Anonymous said...

Dear Nuraina,

thanks a lot for ur post on Raden Galoh. It makes me proud to read of a courageous fellow sister.

It takes a special person to share so much despite having little.

Malaysian females are taking to blogs and writing eloquently. I am so happy to see this.

Unknown said...

kak Ena: didn't know what happen to my comment that I submitted yesterday...

Thank you sis for writing about me and to Daphne, Pi, JT, Hi&Lo and Galadriel, thanx a million...like wise dear driends...I feel I've known y'all too...