Tuesday, April 3, 2007

EL Maktaba el Khadhraa and the Russian Cartoons

When my niece watches cartoons, she would answer whoever talks to her absentmindedly with her eyes glued to the screen.. sometimes I would stay and watch what she s watching.. new cartoons are now on .. new characters, new heroes, Timmy Turner , el Jasoosat, the Bratz, (there r new heroines now too) !!.. apart from the violent type which I can never watch.. it always make me feel like I come from a different age, or a different planet that is..
Nothing like our days.. I specifically liked the Russian cartoons , beautiful stories about good values .. I can still hear the man 's voice translating the story for us in sweet Egyptian dialect in simple words, taking us into another magic world filled with astonishingly beautiful events and characters,, my favorites were El Bint wel Feel, where the little girl gets sick in bed and only the elephant (el feel) would bring back her smile , (yes indeed her father brings the circus into their house so she can get better!) Mashka, the little ballerina whose broche (not sure its the right word in english) is stolen by a crow, only a short while before her big day, the beautiful princess who cuts off her beautiful looong (thofayer) to disguise as a man in order to save her husband captured by the enemies , I remember the name Zababa Pootateshna, was it her name?? or a russian word? Don’t know really.. the little Indian girl who does the tiger a favor and he pays her back by locking her in the cage .. she would say in her sweet sad voice : howwa fee adl fee donya walla mafeesh..?? .. there s also One cartoon which was I thought v sad .. A Penguin mother who leaves her egg with a neighbor, the egg falls off the icy hill , so the neighbor replaces it with a rock in the shape of an egg (v complicated I know) .. the mother comes back and keeps waiting for the baby penguin to come out .. but the egg-rock never cracks, then the penguin herd starts to move as the snow starts to melt .. the mother penguin stays , waiting , they all leave but her .. the cartoon ends with her drowning in the melting snow as she clings to the egg – rock.. how sad .. in fact v heart breaking .. but its so live in my mind..
Cartoons were full of beautiful meanings. , values, romance ..just like the stories of (El Maktaba el Khadhraa) .. Anyone remembers that?? All the good stories of Christian Hanz Anderson .. the Wild Swans .. The Nightingale.. The Little Mermaid, The Little Match Seller .. and others.. Such great imagination.. wonderful stories..
My mother would always bring us stories of el maktaba el khadhra to read in our first years in school..
I wonder if those stories still exist nowadays .. or have they just disappeared.. like all the beautiful things we once had and grew up with ..
To those who recognize some of the above mentioned stories - memories , u can visit :

http://www.fairytalescollection.com/Hans_Christian_Anderson/Index.htm

Enjoy ..

10 comments:

Little Penguin said...

"howwa fee adl fee donya walla mafeesh..??" Ma feesh

I dont like any of the cartoons my little brothers are growing up with.. Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Yugi Oh, etc.. they don't learn anything benefitial.. nothing humane.. all they learn is how to win more points and destroy monsters and what-not..

I grew up in the final phase of 'back in the days'.. in the early 90s.. I grew up with Sayyeda Mil3aqa, Captain Majid, Grendizer, Georgie, and my absolute favourite, Adnan Wa Lina.. these are cartoons that taught us how to make friends and how to keep them.. how important family was.. they weren't all dancing and smiling, they had tragic moments too.. like when the super-hot guy (not my words! lol) in Robinhood died.. it was so sad..

anyways.. I loved the link you sent.. I'll read a story or two today..

Thanks.. :)

Regards,

A&Eiraqi said...

Yasmin
What type of a person you're .

In the middle of all this horror , pain and terrifying life , I see someone who chose to talk about peaceful lovely things which don't make us think about anything put peace .

I haven't watched thsese cartoons , but I'm ready to do so, still I watch cartoons sometimes, my faviourite ones were Grandizer, Khumasi, Mazinger, Sali, and Captin Magid .

I really miss these things.

Welcome in the blog count.

All the best

3eeraqimedic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Yasmin (Blanche) said...

dear Little Penguin,
Tabaan, Mafeesh.. no doubt.. but that was the indian girl in the jungle wondering not me.. maybe if the same cartoon made , it would b a little iraqi girl wondering in the mid of all the destruction and misery : howwa fee adl fee donya walla mafeesh..
im glad u liked the link.. its my resort in the sad days.. to live in a world full of peace and innocence..

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

dear a&e iraqi,

Im just another quite ordinary iraqi .. full of nostalgia to the old peaceful days, thats why i escape to my treasure of chersihed memories to help go on..
i love to watch cartoons till now.. it brings me happiness and a kind of inner peace..
but as non of my favorite russian cartoons i can find.. i settle for loony toons.. i love the duffy duck and bunny rabbit..
dont laugh.. maybe u think im still a child..but i blv that inside all of us there is a child in constant need for peace and innocence .. in this crazy ugly world..
regards..

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

dear 3eeraqi Medic..

ana ha awarreek was one of my favoorites..but how did i forget the melting snow man??? its another heartbreaking story.. indeed it was a V sad cartoon..u touched some spot in my heart.. and true, it brings an urge to cry.. i still remember the face of the pretty little girl and her russian design Esharp (scarf)..
how sad..
but im sorry its so sentimental a memory it would bring tears to yr eyes..i only meant to bring happy memories of the good old days.. full of innocence and sheer purity..
reagrds..

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

3eeraqi medic,
i was thinking.. was it that the little girl didnt have freinds and had the snow man for a freind ? Or was it 2 wonderful cute old man and wife who didnt have children , and so they made a little girl out of snow, ( i even remeber the whole cartoon in v pale blue color like snow).. to b their child.. and they were so happy w her, then one day playing with the fire lit and she had to jump across the flames, and she just melted.. and her parents- the old couple watched her disappearing up in the sky..
is that right? or im just getting mixed w another cartoon??
pls correct me if im wrong.. but i was thinking about it all day.. this story is even more heart breaking than the one u mentioned..
regards..

3eeraqimedic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
كريم المدون said...

صباح الخير ياسمين/ بلانش

متكوليلي منين تجيبين هاي السوالف الحلوة .... عفيه ذاكرة

الكارتون الروسي / السوفييتي لا يعادله كارتون

اني اول شيء اجه على بالي هو "انا حاوررريك يا ارنب" ... يموت من الضحك
رغم انني اموت على الكارتون باللغة الروسية ...بس صوت الحاكي المصري في الكارتون الروسي ...دفء غير عادي ... اعتقد ان دفء وبراءة الكارتون الروسي / السوفيتي هو ما يجبر الحاكي المصري على هذة التونه الخرافية

Yasmin (Blanche) said...

hello Kareem..
el swalef el helwa comes from not wanting to forget, from holding on to our treasure of memories, so we can have some kind of shelter to turn to on days of great hopelessness and despair.. i just read yr (v good-v sad)article.. and it made feel how hard it is to look back.. though thats what i always do, i look back.. some say its v wrong.. cause if u keep doing that u will not b able to keep yr eyes on whats ahead..maybe they r right.. but i cant help it..
welcome back.. and pls keep chai abo el hel al nar.. we ve missed it ..and yr darbouna warmth..
regards..