'Pentas Kota Raya' is more than just a Jakarta sketchbook<\/p>\n
Pentas Kota Raya (Big City Stage)
\n Fuad Hassan
\n Pustaka Jaya
\n 1996
\n Page 116<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Fuad Hassan's Pentas Kota Raya (Big City Stage)
\nis more than a sketchbook of Jakartans' daily, bittersweet life.
\nIt also shows how people seek happiness, and how universal these
\nissues are.<\/p>\n
The 22 essays are all based on Fuad's observations. Written in
\nsimple language and full of humanist views, the book only asks
\nfor sensitivity.<\/p>\n
\"This book does not contain anything extraordinary; on the
\ncontrary, the content is based on common experiences and
\nrealities; to find them, one does not need to be a careful
\nobserver; one just needs to be a caring one,\" Fuad writes in the
\nforeword.<\/p>\n
\"The overall philosophy is in the foreword,\" said Fuad, who
\nwas once the Minister of Culture and Education.<\/p>\n
But you will miss some good stories if you stop after the
\nforeword. Fuad is both a careful and a caring observer. Besides
\ndelivering touching images and stories, he also delivers subtle
\ncriticism on social issues.<\/p>\n
Berpeluh Tanpa Mengeluh (Sweating Without Complaining) is a
\npiece that conveys his attitude to the widening social gap.<\/p>\n
While sitting in the passenger seat of his black Volvo in a
\ntraffic jam, Fuad passed the flyover under construction from
\nSlipi to Tanah Abang. He saw construction workers sweating,
\nworking under the sun and in the pollution.<\/p>\n
The highlight of Berpeluh Tanpa Mengeluh is a poem, called Me,
\nthe Labourer, by a Samoan poet, Eti Saaga. Citing Saaga, Fuad
\nHassan expresses how unfair it is that once the road is finished,
\nits big opening is held, and many cars will pass by. However, the
\nworkers will only stand aside. Hardly anyone will remember their
\nhard work, let alone give them any recognition.<\/p>\n
Coming to Jakarta in 1950 for a college education at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, Fuad Hassan regards Jakarta his
\nhometown. It was in Jakarta that he established his career,
\nholding various important government as well as academic posts.
\nYet none of them seem to have destroyed his humanist philosophy.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that this book is written from a
\nhumanist's point of view. \"It does not matter what someone's
\nreligion, race or title is; all humans are the same by nature,\"
\nsaid Fuad Hassan, who is now a member of Supreme Advisory
\nCouncil.<\/p>\n
He caught many endearing glimpses of human interaction while
\nhe was stuck in traffic jams. He saw a newspaper boy who helped a
\nbeggar walk to the street side. He observed how someone pushed
\nhis cart patiently behind a big truck pumping out hot air from
\nhis hydraulic brakes while those in the air conditioned cars are
\nswearing at the traffic Antara Rem Angin dan Rem Napas or
\nBetween Hydraulic Brakes and Human Brakes.<\/p>\n
There are also scenes around his neighborhood. Pertemuan
\nMenjelang Asar (A Meeting Before afternoon prayers) is a story of
\na cobbler and a drinks vendor; it is so simple and so touching
\nthat it sounds like a fable or fairy tale.<\/p>\n
The cobbler comes across a drinks vendor. They chat a little,
\nand without saying much, the cobbler fixes the vendor's shoes
\nwhile he prepares him a drink. Fuad has watched all of this from
\nthe window of his house.<\/p>\n
This book can raise our admiration for the poor. Despite their
\nsuffering, they manage to find beauty in life.<\/p>\n
This book reflects an irony: The poor people seem to be happy
\nand satisfied (Rapsodi Tengah Hari or The Midday Rhapsody) while
\nthe rich seem to develop new syndromes (Fonofilia or
\nPhonophilia).<\/p>\n
In Fonofilia, Fuad points out how obsessed humans are with
\ndevices like mobile phones, which allow their users to look busy
\nand important.<\/p>\n
\"If the phonophilia epidemic spreads, even children will be
\nreceiving mobile phones as birthday gifts, even if they're toy
\nphones\" (p. 61)<\/p>\n
The sentence may have sounded like a joke in 1994, the year
\nthe story was written. Two years later, toy mobile-phones are
\ngift items for little children.<\/p>\n
This is the result of human progress. Progress is not always
\nbad, however. Progress is inevitable and makes humans different
\nto animals.<\/p>\n
Thus, to contrast humans with animals, Fuad also included
\nstories in which the main characters are animals, Suatu Pagi
\nMendung (An Overcast Morning) and Antara Kuda dan Keledai
\n(Between Horses and Donkeys).<\/p>\n
There, we can see how routine and monotonous the days in
\nanimals' lives are. They are like cycles. Human days, however are
\nbound to be different. \"Because for every person, every day is
\nthe continuance of yesterday and preparation for tomorrow\"
\n(p.15).<\/p>\n
Perhaps it is Fuad Hassan's academic background that makes him
\nbelieve that people can learn things in many ways. Criticizing
\nrecent efforts to change foreign words into Indonesian, Fuad
\nHassan writes that the village people can learn from those
\nbillboards the meanings of \"river,\" \"hill\" or \"valley.\"<\/p>\n
Although Fuad Hassan limits himself to Jakarta and
\nsurroundings, he does not limit himself to works and ideas from a
\nspecific geographical area.<\/p>\n
That seems fitting. After all, aren't the issues of human's
\nhappiness and satisfaction universal?<\/p>\n
-- Yenni Kwok<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pentas-kota-raya-is-more-than-just-a-jakarta-sketchbook-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }