Mbak Rita

That silver haired gentleman is Yok Koeswoyo of Koes Plus Band, an Indonesian real “Beatles” for its eternally phenomenal songs. It was a little hard for me to recognize him when I tuned on Empat Mata TV show where he was invited to accept such “legend award” last week. Yok is known for his very rare public appearance and it helps me to keep him staying young in my mind, like any other childhood heroes.

Well, as a faithful squad from an “old school”, Koes Plus belongs to my heroes list… heh heh heh.

Somehow, the show brought back memories…

As a journalist I once happened to conduct an interview with the defunct Koes Plus band, about…errr…years ago. At that time I only met with lead singer Yon Koeswoyo, Yok’s brother, and his in law, Murry the drummer. Yok wasn’t available because he was officially left the band.

Yon and Murry gave the impression of being “not so old” at that time.  It was a casual meeting in a Bogor resort owned by their former music producer. To my surprise, the always- look- shy Murry turned out to be the most talkative and very funny. His endless jokes kept me and my dear pal and mentor, Tuti Gintini, then was editor for Suara Pembaruan Daily, who went with me for the interview, being fully entertained. 

There is something very personal with me with Koes Plus song, I have a strange routine when heading home from traveling anywhere, I will automatically hum a refrain from their song titled Kembali ke Jakarta. It was funny how I will always slowly hum, “Ke Jakarta aku kan kembali, walau pun apa yang kan terjadi” before stepping on the aeroplane to Jakarta. Silly eh? Heh heh heh…

I don’t mind people laugh at me, because Kembali ke Jakarta is a warm and sweet song.

Watching Yok on TV made me eager to call Tuti, it’s been a while I haven’t talk with her. And then I realized another setback. Tuti has gone last year after months of battle with cancer. I remembered hugging her daughter, Lala, who sang a very moving song in the funeral. I believe Tuti has her own beautiful home with Kolam Susu in the Kabut Biru now.

Many things linger with Koes Plus’ songs….

Her name is Eneng Wati, thirteen years old. I met her in the posh Riau Boulevard, Bandung, West Java, where the famous local boutiques like Cascade or Heritage and giant bookstore  Gramedia’re located.

She came from a village named Gantungan, Padalarang.  “We went to Bandung by train, all of us, about 15 kids to sell these cobek,” Eneng pointed the stoned plate for traditional cooking she tried to sell. “Would you buy,” she asked me, politely.” It is only 20,000 Rupiah, Bu?”

Eneng with other kids, the youngest is only 5 years old; go to Bandung’s busiest street every weekend. They always spend the night in Local Park,”Sleeping here is cheaper because, right now, it is getting harder to sell such cobek. Sometimes I can’t even sell a piece,” explained Eneng who had four heavy cobek stone to sell. I can see her friends selling the same plate near us.

What a heavy burden, and, oh, no,  I am not speaking about those cobek….!

Pretty in pink, this stall captured my attention on one busy morning in town.  In an instant it gave me a warm feeling, thinking about home and my days as kid where such snack and beverage were easily found. As you know, today it is much more easy to find Starbucks coffee here than our very own bajigur or kopi tubruk.  B471gur or bajigur is a traditional hot beverage and its best companions are “oldies” snacks shown in the glass tank; steamed cassava & banana, combro (”oncom” inside) and  nagasari cake. Ahhh…those old good days…!

I think of Bali today. It is Day of Silence, a very big holiday in Bali. Like a magic, the very busy resort could remote itself from all activities in an instant, nothing heard just a beautiful numb of our own conscious.

I gave it a try for only an hour this morning, and did stop it when my eyes got warm for no reason, I simply saw many sad things I did previously, kept coming back like a haunted horror movie. I took a deep breath and opened the window. Ouch!

Yeah, no wonder we made many mistakes, eh? It is indeed a hard thing to hear our own conscious…

Have a peaceful Day of Silence, Pals

Another human tragedy hit the headlines this week.  This very sad story came from Makassar, South Sulawesi. No, I didn’t mean the seasonal attack from those so-called-students who are now famous for being like a mob, crashing their own campus over any simple rift between them, not at all, I am talking about a pregnant women, mother of three, a wife of a pedicab driver named Daeng Basse. The 35 years old Basse suffered malnutrition and later a very bad diarrhea. Three days of starvation and without proper care, the neglected woman was found dead with her youngest kid, Bahir. This kid, Bahir, was only 5 years old, followed his mother miserable departure while his big brother and the oldest kid, a daughter, survived the terrible fate. Those two children now are, thanks to media spotlight upon them, treated with good handling in local hospital and showing a good sign of healing.

Please just don’t blame Basse’s neighbors for the very late help to her families. Those people are living in their own poor condition, the slum place where a cabin like Basse’s was available for rent at Rp 50.000/month, equivalent to just five bucks! And don’t start to mention rumors about her husband drinking problem. A man without skill and future, who has to live a hard life of such big families with a pregnant woman and three very young kids, is more than enough for me if sometimes, as scapegoat, he tried to escape the burden in such stupid ways like drinking. The real ghost in this tragedy is their poverty. Our very own poverty….