Saturday July 7, 2007
Celebrating 7
By REVATHI MURUGAPPAN & JOLEEN LUNJEW
Yes, another day that appears only once in a lifetime is here. Whether you’re buying a can of 7 UP from the 7-Eleven store or naming the seven colours of the rainbow, the number seven appears repeatedly in everything from refreshments to religion.
As William Shakespeare said in As You Like It, a man’s life consists of seven ages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, middle age, old age and dotage. So, at some point in life, you’re bound to encounter the number seven.
The late Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman was the seventh child in the family. His house in Penang is no. 16 (which when added together equals seven). George Washington was born exactly on the 77th Longitude. Number seven proved a blessing for them, as they both rose to become the first prime minister and president of their respective countries.
In nearly all cultures, the number seven is regarded as lucky, magical or mystical. The calendar itself attests to the importance of the number. Since the dawn of civilisation, the days have been marked off in weekly blocks of seven.
We take a look at how significant the number is for some people and how widely it has been used.
Birthdays
Not all of us have lucky numbers but for V. Vjayakumaree, the number seven crops up in her life all the time.
Besides being born on 07-07-1957 at 7.45pm on the seventh day of the week (Sunday), this 50-year-old is the seventh in a family of 10 children. She also married a man seven years older than her and has a son born on March 16.
“It just happened,” says the businesswoman.
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Lucky number 7: Mussadique was born on 7/7/77 |
When Vjayakumaree boards a plane, she gets a boarding pass for seat number seven most of the time. Or, when she walks into an empty restaurant or hall, the place will fill up with at least seven other people in a few minutes!
Vjayakumaree believes the number seven gives her psychic abilities. She has premonitions and can sense when good or bad will happen. When the phone rings, she knows who the caller is. She also believes people born under number seven have the ability to bless others.
“You may not believe it but if I say you’re going to have good luck, you will. If I say you shouldn’t buy a car, something will happen to hinder you from making that purchase. Many people have told me whatever I say comes true,” she discloses.
Vjayakumaree hasn’t decided how she wants to commemorate her five decades of being alive, but she will most likely be out celebrating with seven of her closest chums. Every Merdeka (Aug 31), she is filled with great pride and is thrilled at being able to age gracefully with the nation.
Unlike Vjayakumaree, Mussadique Suleiman doesn’t consider seven to be his lucky number, although it pops up everywhere in his life. He was born on 07-07-1977 and will celebrate his 30th birthday today.
“To be exact, I was supposed to come out on the 6th but after 24 hours of labour, my mother delivered me at 7.02pm on the seventh, and she’s holding me hostage till today! I think, though, the nurse’s watch was off by two minutes so I must have come out at 7pm,” he says laughing.
The businessman’s home is at number seven and his phone numbers contain many sevens. Even his office intercom has a seven in it. Jokingly Mussadique says that though there are many sevens in his life, he will be content with just one wife.
“I see my friends having trouble with one, so one wife is enough for me!”
Mussadique will be going to Bukit Tinggi, Pahang with his family and close friends for a barbecue tonight. And believe it or not, the gang will most likely comprise a multiple of sevens!
Weddings
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Aris and Masita are to wed on 7/7/7. |
On the home front, mass weddings are being planned everywhere and venues have been booked since last year. Among those pledging eternal love to each other are Maxis customer service consultant Aris Abdul Rahman and Astro customer relations officer Masita Abu Kassim.
“During my schooldays, Eric Cantona from Manchester United was my favourite player and he wore jersey number seven. I aspired to be like him and realised that every time I wore a jersey number seven, I would score goals . . . even today! The number has always proved lucky for me even though my birth date is not seven,” says Aris, 26, who incidentally is in his seventh job.
So auspicious is the number for him that he set 07-07-07 as his wedding date even before he met his bride!
“Yes, this time last year I was still single and wondering when my match would arrive as I had determined my wedding date a few years ago and it was getting closer and closer,” chuckles Aris.
When he first laid eyes on Masita, 23, romance did not blossom immediately. They met when she applied for a job as a financial consultant at Aris’ old company last year. He interviewed her. Masita got the job but quit a month later. They kept in touch however.
“It was May 2006, and the World Cup was on. We’re both great football fans so together with some friends we headed to the mamak stalls to watch the games. I didn’t know she was single and available,” he says.
Then, Aris, who hails from Terengganu, met with a motorbike accident and suffered some broken ribs. Before he fell unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, he dialled the “last caller” on his mobile who happened to be Masita.
“I knew my parents would panic, so I didn’t tell them about the accident. Masita took care of me for a month. That’s when I found out she was available and we declared ourselves a couple on 07-07-06!”
The pair will tie the knot today at Masita’s hometown in Muar.
“I wanted to have the akad nikah at 7:07am but my parents wouldn’t hear of it. Besides, the imam is in his 80s and would probably still be sleeping at that hour!” jokes Aris. Unbeknownst to Masita, Aris wants to have seven kids!
Cars
Business executive, Shazan Zainuddin, 27, has six family cars bearing the single digit seven.
“Seven has always been a lucky number for our family as good things always happen to us in the month of July. I remember back in July 1997, my dad was discussing an important business venture that he was supposed to invest in but the deal didn’t go through. It was a huge blessing in disguise as the market crashed after that. My dad said that if he had invested, we would have faced a terrible financial situation,” he says.
Their first house in Damansara Jaya had the number seven.
“We wanted the number seven for our current house in Bangsar but it wasn’t suitable so we settled for having the number seven in our carplate numbers instead.
“Our first number seven car was an old Jaguar which my dad bought in the early 90s. Since then, it has always been number seven for all our cars. We usually have a standing order for the number seven Selangor plates. If we can’t get the single digit, we will take a number with seven in it,” says Shazan, whose car licence plate is 17.
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All the car number plates in the families of Sharifah Lubna and Shazan Zainuddin bear the number seven. |
Shazan’s girlfriend, marketing executive Sharifah Lubna, 26, also drives a car with the number seven.
“I didn’t choose her because she drove a number seven car, it was just pure coincidence!” jokes Shazan.
Lubna has four family cars in Ampang bearing the single digit seven.
“Seven has also been a part of my family’s lives as my birthday is on the 17th and my sister, Sharifah Ervina, 23, celebrates her birthday this month. It’s my dad’s lucky number and we also have seven members in the family. Our telephone numbers all have sevens in them too.
“It has some sort of magic. I met Shazan seven years ago when we were studying together in Perth. I was just amazed that the number seven was so much a part of his life as well,” Lubna reveals.
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Holy 7
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Music & film with 7
Idioms
Special no.7
Today in history
Famous people born July 7
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