Indonesian writers

INSPIRING
RAINBOW SQUAD

Book title : Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Squad)
Author : Andrea Hirata

This novel achieves a great commercial success in Indonesia. So does its movie by the same title. And the theme song does too. More than four millions of Indonesians watched the movies. The book has been sold for more than four hundred thousand copies. And the theme song became a hit in Indonesia and southeast Asian countries. Maybe because the story is very inspiring.
The story is about Ikal’s (the writer’s) childhood in the island of Belitong, just off the coast of Sumatra island. He studied in the poor Muhammadiyya elementary school, in the village of Gantong. The writer opened the story with a scene of his first day at school. That day was a decisive day for the school since the government had warned the principal that they had to get at least ten new students to continue their operation. Failure to comply to the requirement would mean the school had to stop its operation. Several hours had passed but only nine new students came. Muslimah and her uncle who was also the principal were very nervous. Several minutes before eleven suddenly a new student came to school. His name was Harun, a mentally retarded boy. Since there was no special school for him in Belitong his parents took him to Muhammadiyya elementary school. The principal had no choice but to accept him. Harun saved the school.
Ikal was very impressed by his teacher, Muslimah who was a good teacher. Muslimah was very patient and loving teacher. So did Mr Harfan, the principal who was Muslimah’s uncle. He repeatedly told his students to become someone who give as much as they can and not to take as much as they can. Muslimah tried hard to teach them well although she had to face difficult situation because there was not enough student and there was not enough fund. So Muslimah also worked as a tailor to earn money. She used to name Ikal and his friends as Laskar Pelangi (rainbow squad).
Ikal recalled when he had to buy chalk in a nearby village. He went there with one of his classmates by bike. There he met and fell in love with A Ling, the daughter of the shop owner. Because she wanted to meet her regularly he told his teacher that he was willing to buy chalk every time the school need it. Unfortunately A Ling moved to Jakarta. Before leaving A Ling gave Ikal a box with a picture of Eiffel tower in Paris. Lintang told him about Eiffel tower that makes him very impressed.
One day the principal decided that their school would take part in the commemoration of the independence day on August 17. He also decided that Mahar, Ikal’s classmate would be responsible to prepare for it because his scores was always the best on art. But he said that there was no fund. For days Mahar thought very seriously about the event. Finally he got an idea.
On the August 17, 1979 students had to take part on the independence parade. The elementary school of Timah was an elementary school of a tin factory in Belitong. Supported by a prosperous company the elementary school never had problems with fund. The students wore nice uniform when they played beautiful marching band. Meanwhile Ikal and his rainbow squad wore leaves to play as a tribe of native American. They danced so vigorously in the street that they finally won the prize as the best performer.
Ikal recalled that the best student in his class was Lintang. He was a son of a poor fisherman. He lived with his father and his sister while his mother had passed away. One day Ikal and Lintang had to take part in a quiz competition among schools. Lintang showed his intelligence in the competition and they won the first prize. As Lintang went home that day his sister told him that their father had not come home from sea. Their father passed away in the sea.
Since Lintang had no parents anymore he had to earn money for him and his sister. So he had to leave school. The most touching scene is when Lintang came to school to say goodbye to his teacher and friends.
Meanwhile Ikal continued his study to Jakarta and finally one day he got a scholarship to study at Sorbonne University in Paris. Years later when he came home to Belitong he met Lintang and thanked him for giving motivation.
Once a tv station in Jakarta reported their investigation in Belitong. They met and interviewed Ikal’s friends there and found out that the name Lintang never exist. So I came to a conclusion that this book is a novel, not a biography. It is inspired by true events but it is not a journal of true events. Lintang actually is the writer himself. The best student, I believe, is Andrea.
The plus points in this book is the inspiration it gives to its readers. The writer gives a perfect example about passion, courage, love. He never gives up to any difficulty so finally he won a scholarship to study at a prestigious university.

Pram's Portrayal of Women's Sorrow

2009-06-14T06:22:00.001-07:00

Pram’s portrayal of woman’s sorrow

Title : Midah, lovely lady with golden teeth.

Author : Pramoedya Ananta Toer

In this book Pramoedya described woman’ sorrow because of bad treatment of man. Midah was a lovely daughter of Haji Abdul, a wealthy entrepreneur from Cibatok village, who lived in Jakarta, Indonesia. Haji Abdul who was a fan of Umi Khalsoum, an Egyptian singer, treated Midah improperly. One day he was angry when he heard Midah listened kroncong music (Indonesian music) because he thought that kroncong was unlawful for moslem. So he beat Midah.

Midah was forced to marry Haji Terbus. He was wealthy and good - looking. When she was pregnant she realized that Haji terbus had many wives. Downhearted Midah left her husband. She did not dare to see her parents so she met Riah, her former maid. Then Riah told her parents about the news but Haji Abdul was angry. Midah had to leave. She met and then joined a group of street musician. Midah was called si manis (the lovely one).

Midah gave birth to a baby boy without husband so she was treated badly. When she wanted to leave the hospital they did not give the baby any proper clothing. When she got back to the street musicians they reluctantly received her.

One day when she fed her son Riah saw her. Riah asked her to come home but Midah refused. Riah saw her singing in the streets and in restaurants. To win rivalry with other singer Midah had her teeth covered with gold. Consequently conflict escalated so she had to leave the group.

The news about Midah finally reached Haji Abdul whose business declined. He was shocked. He searched for her eveywhere but his efforts was in vain. He was so depressed that he was sick.

Midah sang in Jatinegara when she met Ahmad, a young policeman. He could sing so he trained her to sing. Soon Midah fell in love with him and they went too far.

Later on Midah managed to sing in radio. When her parent realized the news they searched her again. They found her house but they only met Rodjali, her son. So her mother took Rodjali.

One day Midah told Ahmad that she was pregnant but Ahmad refused to take responsibility because he thought that Midah had many boy friends. She had to come home to her parent and admit the situation.

After several days in her parent’s home she dicided to leave again. She left Rodjali. Her beauty and her voice were her commodity. She broke all the rules her parent had told her. She became a singer, a movie star and more.

Midah was a victim of men. His father’s attitude was too hard to her. Her husband never really took care of her. Ahmad just wanted comfort from her. The others just wanted her beauty.

Islamic love story

2009-06-14T02:38:00.000-07:00

ISLAMIC LOVE STORY

Book title : Ayat ayat Cinta (Verses of love).

Author : Habiburahman el Shirazy.

Fahri, the main character, is an Indonesian student who studies Islam in Cairo, Egypt. At the time he almost finished his studies. He prepares his master’s thesis. Once a week he takes a lesson on Koran reading from a famous scholar Syaikh Utsman who lives in a different part of the city. Fahri always takes a train to go there. One day in the train he met and talked to an Egyptian girl named Maria who is also his neighbor. It is in the same train that he met Aisha, a Turkish- German girl. Aisha gave a seat to an American woman. Her action made a man got mad because he hates American. Fahri calmed him down and argue that it is obligatory for moslem to protect visitors and treat them well. Since that day his relationship to Maria and her family got closer.

He was so delighted when his academic advisor accepted his thesis proposal that he wanted to celebrate it. He bought Egyptian fried chicken and ate it with his friends on top of his apartment building. Suddenly he heard someone crying. Soon he found out that Noura, his neighbor was crying outside because her father beat her. Fahri contacted Maria to calm her. Maria went downstairs and that night Noura slept at Maria’s room.

The next morning Mr Boutros, Maria’s father talked to Fahri about Noura. He asked Fahri to find a place for Noura. Then Fahri asked his friend Nurul, an Indonesian girl who studies in Egypt to help Noura. Nurul was ready to help, then Noura went to Nasr city early in the morning.

Meanwhile Aisha accompanied Alicia, an American woman, to meet Fahri at a metro station. Alicia asked him many questions about women in Islam. Fahri explained about the concept of women in Islam.

Syaikh Ahmad is Fahri’s teacher. He is a wellknown ulama or moslem scholar. When Fahri told him about Noura he was so touched to hear Noura’s suffering that he decided to help her. He asked Noura to live in his parents’ house in a village far from Cairo. Noura then lived there.

One day Fahri received a long letter from Noura. She wrote about her sorrow and her feeling of love to Fahri. Fahri was so touched to read her letter that expressed her suffering. He never thought that Noura lived an unhappy life. He decided to tell Syaikh Ahmad, his teacher, about it. Upon reading it Syaikh Ahmad was also touched and shed tears. Then Fahri let Syaikh Ahmad to keep the letter.

When he went home he fell unconcious in front of his house. Due to the extreme heat Fahri suffered from heat stroke so he had to lay in bed for several days. One morning when she woke up he realized that Maria was at his bedside. As a moslem he was very surprised and felt guilty since being together with a woman in a room is forbidden in Islamic law.

In his unconsciousness Fahri suddenly saw someone came to him. He was thin and his face was shining. He introduced himself as Abdullah bin Mas’ud. Fahri was very surprised because Abdullah bin Mas’ud was a close associate of prophet Muhammad whose skill of Koranic reading was so well that the prophet himself love to hear him reading. Fahri kissed his hand and he was smiling and hug him. Then he whispered prayer to Fahri. At that time Fahri could stand. Then Abdullah bin Mas’Ud asked Fahri to read the Koranic verse of Al Baqarah (The Cow), the second verse of Koran. When Fahri read it Abdullah corrected him several times. Abdullah also said that there will always be people who want to destroy and obstruct Al Qur’an (the Holy Koran) but they will surely fail because Allah himself guard the Koran.

When Fahri awoke he saw his friends and Nurul. Then his teacher Syaikh Utsman also came to see him. He gave Fahri water of zamzam (from Al Haram mosque in Mecca). The next morning Fahri will be operated to remove frozen blood in his brain but CT Scan showed that the blood has gone. The surgery was cancelled and Fahri soon got better. There was a surprise as someone had paid his hospital expenses.

Syaikh Utsman asked Fahri if he wants to marry in the near future. He told Fahri that someone was looking for a right candidate to be the husband of his niece. Further he said that the girls is really a devout muslim. Fahri was surprised because he lived a simple life and he was not financially ready to marry. Syaikh Utsman told him that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) married when he was poor and so did Ali bin Abu Thalib. He added that the girl was looking for a devout husband, not a rich one. He also gave Fahri her picture but Fahri did not dare to take a look.

One day Fahri called his mother to ask her permission to marry and she agreed. After that Syaikh Utsman arranged a meeting with his would be wife. When the mystery guest came Fahri realized that they are the family of Erbakan and Aisha. In the meeting both sides agreed that the couple would soon marry in an Islamic way. The wedding ceremony was held at Abu Bakr Ash Shiddiq mosque.

Several days later Eqbal Erbakan, Aisha’s uncle brought the happy couple to the family residence in a luxurious apartment building. Aisha turned out to be a rich girl. She comes from a rich family. Her father was a German businessman and her mother was a Palestinian woman. Her mother passed away some years earlier. Aisha received a lot of money from her father. So Fahri and Aisha enjoyed their happy life in Aisha’s apartment.

Unfortunately their happiness did not last long. One day suddenly police came to their apartment to arrest Fahri. They charged him to have raped Nura. Fahri denied all the accusations but he was jailed. Then the trial followed. At first the accusations remain. Noura insist that she was raped by Fahri his house. Meanwhile Fahri wanted to find Maria because she was a key witness. Then one day madame Nahed, Maria’s mother came to see him. She told him that Maria was seriously ill and that she always called his name. Maria loves him very much. Yousef, Maria’s brother, told him that it was Maria who paid all the hospital expenses when Fahri was hospitalized. Madame Nahed asked Fahri to help Maria. She wanted Fahri to give words of comforts to Maria. Fahri was confused.

On the next session of the trial Mr Boutros, Maria’s father, gave his testimony. He denied that Noura slept at Fahri’s room that night because Noura slept at Maria’s room. Meanwhile Fahri received a letter from Al Azhar stating that he was expelled from al Azhar University for indecent behavior.

When madame Nahed once again asked Fahri to help Maria, Fahri agreed. With her family he came to see Maria. It was a heart-touching scene. He was surprised when he saw Maria. She was thin and lose her cheerfulness. A doctor told him that she can be cured with love only. Her family also showed him her diary in which she expressed her love to Fahri. At first Fahri could not say a word. He had married to Aisha so it was impossible for him to say words of love to Maria. Her family kept on begging Fahri to help.

Then Madame Nahed talked to Aisha. Finally Aisha was touched and agreed that Fahri had to marry Maria to save her. She even gave her ring to Maria. So Fahri married Maria. After a brief religious wedding ceremony Maria woke up. Fahri had two wives by then.

In the next session of the trial Maria gave her testimony. She said that Noura was in her room since midnight to dawn. Gamal, another eyewitness also denied accusations to Fahri. Finally Noura who was cornered also withdraw her charges to Fahri. She said that she really loved Fahri and wanted to marry to him. She also said that she was rapd by her step father that night. At last Fahri was released from jail. All accusations were dropped.

The heart –touching scene is the last part. Maria was unconscious since she gave her testimony in the trial. One day when she was lying in bed she recited some verses from the Holy Koran while she was a Coptic Christian. When she awoke she told her husband that she was very sad because she was not allowed to get into paradise. In her unconsciousness she went to a very beautiful place. She saw a shining greenish palace. It was very large. Its grandeur is beyond imagination. She saw many people wearing beautiful dress entered its beautiful door. Then she wanted to get in. But at the door someone repelled her. He said that the door is Babush shalat or a door for those who do prayer in their life time and Maria is not one of them. The she walked to another door. Once again she was repelled. The door is Babur Raiyyan or the door for those who used to fast in their life time and Maria is not one of them. Then she walked to another door. But again and again she was repelled because the door is Babuz Zakat or the door for those who used to pay due to the poor and Maria was not one of them. After that she went to another door. It was Babut Taubah or the door for those who repent in their lifetime and she was not one of them. When she went back to the previous doors all were closed. Then she stood in front of Babur Rahmah (door of mercy). But it was closed. She cried and she recited Koranic verses that she knew. It was verses about Mary, the mother of Isa or Jesus. Suddenly Babur Rahmah was slowly opened. A graceful lady came out and asked her. She also told her that Maria could enter Paradise if she had the key. They key is the teaching of Prophet Muhammad. Mary also ordered her to have ablution and find they key immediately. And she promised she would bring Maria to paradise when she had the key.

So Maria went and she woke up feeling very sad. She asked Fahri to help her. Fahri was touched. He immediately help her to have ablution and pray. After praying Maria passed away in peace.

But ah, thou soul at peace !

Return unto thy Lord, content in His good pleasure!

Enter thou among My bondmen !

Enter thou My Garden!

Al Fajar / The Dawn 27-30.

This novel is best seller in Indonesia today. It has been filmed and achieved the same success. So did the theme song of the film. I am sure that it is worth translating into English and maybe Arabic.

Habiburahman El Shirazy was born in Semarang, Central Java in 1976. After finishing his basic and secondary education in Indonesia he went to Egypt to continue his sudy at Al Azhar University in Cairo. He started his writing carrer since he was a student in the 1990’s. He wrote poems, articles and play. Today he is a rising star in Indonesian literature. His second novel Ketika Cinta Bertasbih will be filmed soon

Story of a Bodyguard in Java war

2009-06-14T02:37:00.000-07:00

Book Title : Glonggong.

Author : Junaedi Setiyono

The setting of the novel is Java in the 19th century. At the time Java was a Dutch colony. The main character lived in Tegalrejo, a small village in the outskirt of Yogyakarta. He was a son of a nobleman named Suwanda. Later he knew that Suwanda was his step father. Although he was born as a step son of a nobleman, he grew up in a village. He barely could read and write. He learned Javanese and Arabic characters from his neighbor Kyai Ngali, an Islamic clergyman. As a village boy he used to play with other village boys. He would play fighting games with his friends using papaya leaves as sword. In Javanese language it is called Glonggong. He was really good at fighting with it that he was addressed as Glonggong. One day when he fought with his friend in a village road, someone watched him attentively. He was Antawirya a.ka. Diponegoro, a prince from Yogyakarta palace who would lead Java war.

Glonggong realized that his mother was ill. She never got out of her house. She always stayed inside her room. She would sing Javanese songs all day long. She was never cheerful and she looked depressed.

When his servants told him that he and his mother should move to another house he realized that his mother was divorced. This time he lived in a smaller house in the same village. He would bring his mother everyday to a river to take a bath. Then Glongggong knew that Suwanda, his step father, had a new wife. When he passed by Suwanda's house he saw a nice girl named Endang. Surya, his childhood friend had a crush on her but Endang would soon marry to Prayitna. Prayitna was very jealous to Glonggong and Surya. When an opportunity came Prayitna fought Glonggong. It was a fierce fight but Prayitna lose.

After the fight Kyai Ngali, his teacher, warned Glonggong that what he did was wrong. He also warned him that a great war would soon break and that Glonggong should choose a good side. He meant prince Diponogoro's side.

Since he won the fight with Prayitna, Glonggong got a reputation as as a good fighter, although he made a living by selling chicken to local market. Meanwhile Endang often met his mother in the river. This action made Prayitna even more jealous. Then second fight broke. Prayitna attacked him when brought his mother back from the river. His attack also injured Glonggong's mother. Glonggong was really mad and he fought back. This time Prayitna was badly injured. Not long after that Glonggong's house was on fire and he could not save his mother.

At the age of seventeen he lose his beloved mother. Desperate Glonggong was known as a good fighter by the time. Then Surya offered him a job at a noble house. St first he worked as a servant but later he realized that his real job was as a bodyguard. There he met Danar, another maid, who helped him learn Latin character. He also learned that his real father was Ki Sena.

Then he would work as a bodyguard for court officials who traveled far. He often guard them to Magelang, a small town about 40 km to the north of Yogyakarta, to play gambling and to go to brothel.

Surya told him that Ki Sena was in prison because he rebelled the Dutch colonial government but he failed. Surya also told him that Danar could lead to him. But Danar just gave him little information that Ki Sena was in Wirogunan jail.

When he guarded his boss Pringga to prince Diponegoro's residence in Tegalrejo, he saw mob. There were many soldiers and workers working on a project. They were building a road trespassing prince Diponegoro's land. Three days later the road project was ruined by the prince's followers. Soon hostility escalated. Several fights followed.

One afternoon he went to pick up his master at prince Diponegoro's residence. As he approached Tegalrejo he the mob again. Suddenly sounds of cannon were heard. It was the day when the Dutch army attacked prince Diponegoro's residence. People ran in panic. The situation was chaotic. From a distant he saw black smoke. He was sure that prince Diponegoro's residence was burned. He ran everywhere to find his master. Finally he found his master who escaped with the prince. He saw the prince wearing white cloth and talked to his followers. He gave oration to raise their fighting spirit. It was July 20, 1825, the day when Java war broke.

One day Glonggong and Danar guarded someone to Semarang. Glonggong was curious because his father, who had been released from jail, lived there. At night he went out to find out about Danti, his sister, and Ki Sena, his father. When he asked a man about Danti his reaction was discouraging. The man recommended him to go to a brothel. Danti his sister was a prostitute. So he went to to find Danti. He did not find her but a prostitute told her that Danti was smart and lucky.

One night suddenly Glonggong was arrested by Danar and his boss and then he was jailed in the middle of a forest for he was suspected to have contact with a spy from the Yogyakarta palace. But then one day he was released and soon asked to join Jayengan unit. This was an army unit under Diponegoro who rebelled the Dutch colonial ruler. later he was told that his boss Pringga had betrayed the prince and joined the Yogyakarta palace. He also realized that his father Ki Sena once was a follower of prince Diponegoro and that his duty was to guard the logistics of the Diponegoro army. Then the unit commander assigned him the same duty. It was a hard and dangerous job because the army was always on the move since they used guerilla tactics and became enemy's target. Surya, his childhood friend, did the job before him but he failed. He reported that his stuff was robbed twice. So he lost the job. Then Suta, also his childhood friend, failed to do the job. He was badly wounded in a battle.

Since that time on Glonggong did his new job dutifully. He roamed from one area to another, supplying the Diponegoro army with arms and food secretly. One day he had to guard some stuff to Ungaran, a dangerous place whre his father and Surya were killed. The danger proved to be true when he got to a forest just outside of Ungaran. Some people stood on his way. They immediately attacked him. Since he was a good fighter he could beat them easily. Then someone came. It was Danar, his friend. Danar was not a great problem for him. Glonggong could finish him easily. As he would continue his trip suddenly he heard a loud bang and he felt severe pain in his back and soon he lost consciousness.

When he recovered, he was in a small village. He lost contact with his army unit. Then he tried to see Danti but when they met Danti did not trust him. After that he got back to his village. He got in touch with his former servants in the Suwanda's house again. Not long after that he got a clue that Suwanda, his former step father, hid a secret. He found a wheel of the coach that he guarded to Ungaran on his last duty. He was suspicious to Suwanda so he decided to spy on him. later he found out that it was Suwanda who shot him at the back and robbed him. He found the jewelry that he lost in the attack. Then he managed to seize the jewelry and ran with it. He decided to give it back to prince Diponegoro.

Unfortunately he did not have opportunity to see Diponegoro. He heard that the prince would go to Magelang to negotiate with the Dutch so he went there. But it was too late. As he got to the negotiating venue in Magelang the guard did not allowed him to see the prince. Then Diponegoro was arrested during the negotiation and then he was exiled.

Up to now the story of Java war is still very popular among the Javanese especially those who live in central Java and Yogyakarta. I come from Magelang. In my family the story was handed down from genration to generation. The story is told proudly in my family because my great great grandfather was a unit commander in the Diponegoro army. When the prince was arrested in Magelang, he was forced to run, changed his identity and settled in a vilage outside Magelang. He did not dare to come home to Yogyakarta because he was a fugitive. Following the arrest the remaining army of Diponegoro was hunted by the Dutch army and there were mass murder. The Javanese people were beheaded then their heads were attached on bamboo sticks along the roads. Perhaps it is a way of terrorizing the Javanese people and to give them lesson not to rebel the colonial ruler again. The village is now called Sindas, which mean head in Javanese language. Outside of Magelang there was a village named Geger, which means torso. It was told in my family that the village used to be a mass grave for Javanese people who were beheaded by the Dutch army. It was a bitter memory in my family but we are proud of it.