Admittedly, the friendly neighbourhood Roti Uncle will always have a place in our childhood memories because we, somehow, bond with them whenever we buy our favourite snacks and assorted breads from them. In fact, some Roti Uncles will go to the extent of remembering the regular snacks that we always get.
While most of us honour our Roti Uncle in our memory, this one guy went above and beyond to pay his respects to his Roti Uncle by dedicating a mural to him.
Malay Mail wrote that a bread seller, Muniandi, was honoured with a mural by an accomplished street artist who had fond memories of him for over 30 years in Penang.
Acit Raman Abdullah shared on his Facebook page that he reached out to Muniandi and his fellow artist, Andhar A Samah, to fulfill his vision of drawing a mural of Muniandi for the Balik Pulau Festival.
Source: facebook
Acit said that Muniandi surprisingly still remembers him and he can still recall how Acit loved doodling on the ground. Acit wrote on his Facebook page,
“I went to his home to approach him about doing the mural. Before I could even introduce myself, he said (that) he knew where my house was, back in the day.”
“I never expected him to remember me. I felt so touched. He even remembers my mum and how she always used to exchange coins with him in the past.”
Acit elaborated that Muniandi is a “legend” back in Balik Pulau because people of all races know him. Muniandi has been selling roti kaya there for so many decades that he has even seen his young customers grow up and start a family of their own. Wow, truly amazing!
Source: facebook
What’s even greater is that Muniandi has managed to provide for his family and raised successful children thanks to his hard work and honesty.
Acit further wrote,
“I’m most impressed by the sacrifices made by this uncle for the sake of his family. His kids have successfully become doctors, lawyers and if I’m not mistaken, his other kid is studying to be a chemical engineer.”
“Hats off to him. He can be an icon for Merdeka or Malaysia Day this year (2019).”
This humble man is indeed a hard worker because his daughter shared on her FB that her father used to work multiple jobs just to keep food on the table and shelter above their heads. In her post, Muniandi’s daughter shared,
“He gets up at 8.30am, he goes for his first trip to sell bread and comes back at around 12pm. Then, he changes his clothes and rides to his cow farm. There, he bathes them (the cows), chops grass for them, feeds them, builds extra shelters for the cows and (he does this) all by himself.”
Source: facebook
She continued,
“After that, he comes back home at around 4pm. He takes a 30-minute nap and then, he heads back out for his 2nd trip of bread selling. He sells the bread until they have finished. After a busy day, he returns home late at night.”
Following that, the daughter said that her father never complained about his hectic working hours and she even jokingly called him a human-robot who doesn’t need charging.
She also goes on to share that her father is a very honest man as he has the habit of not lying and further in the post, she thanked her father for all the sacrifices he had made thus far.
Aww, we hope that his children will take good care of their father. <3
Source: facebook
On that note, if you would like to lay eyes on the mural of Muniandi, you can find it at postcode 11000 in Balik Pulau, Penang. The mural perfectly captures Muniandi with his noble steed (his motorcycle) that he uses to sell his bread.
All in all, we thank Acit for such a thoughtful mural because, in that beautiful piece, we see a hero whose superpowers are humility, diligence and a big heart.
Also read: Fireman Pays Tribute to Fallen Comrade Adib by Painting Mural to Remember His Sacrifice
