Achdiat Karta Mihardja: 'Not of an age but for all time'

Achdiat Karta Mihardja: 'Not of an age but for all time'

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The lines of a poem Ayahku (my father) shows how deep admiration
blends so well with the bewilderment that Nuska sees in her
father. And yet it speaks volumes about her father, the literary
giant Achdiat Karta Mihardja.

Kukenang masa kecilku/ayah selalu membaca/kukenang masa laluku
ayah selalu berdebat/berperang dia dengan dirinya.

The line literally means "I remember my childhood, father
always read. I remember my past father always argued. warring
within himself.

In the following lines, Nuska writes Tak habis-habisnya aku
berpikir dunia apakah yang ayah cari or endlessly I think what
kind of world he's looking for.

Undoubtedly Nuska -- the youngest of four children -- knows
very well about her father as she is the one who now takes care
of Achdiat and her mother, Tati Suprapti Noor.

They have been married for 67 years and in their daughter's
words "It must be God's plan that they have stayed together for
so long, despite their differences, which are normal to every
aging couple. To me, they are both very lucky to be given a
chance to remain together."

Now residing in Canberra, Australia, Achdiat normally visits
this country every other year. His visit to his homeland recently
drew a lot of media attention -- from one discussion to another
discussion, from one interview to another interview.

Yet, his age is not readily apparent in the middle of these
discussions or interviews. Achdiat, who is 94, is a well-spoken
source as his words are still flowing and his memories of
yesteryear are still fresh.

Borrowing Ben Johnson's words in memory of Shakespeare: "He
was not of an age, but for all time!" Achdiat too is greater than
life and his works will surely live even longer than him.

"No worry. I'll get some rest later if I want to," said
Achdiat who prefers to be called Aki or grandfather in Sundanese
as he met The Jakarta Post at his Mediterranian-style residence
in Rempoa area, South Jakarta.

"Except for my new book, there is nothing new about me. I am
over 90."

He just launched a novel, Manifesto Khalifatullah (The
manifesto of God's Representatives). It is quite impressive for
man of his age to finish a 217-page book in less than a year.

His book written in 1949, Atheis, opened a new chapter in the
country's literary world. The novel focuses on the conlicts
between atheism and theism, Leninism and Marxism.

After Atheis, Achdiat also wrote the drama novelette Bentrokan
Dalam Asmara (Collision in Love), a play Pak Dullah in Extremis
(Pak Dullah in extreme side), travel story Kesan dan Kenangan
(Impression and Memory), along with several novels, Debu Cinta
Beterbaran (Scattered Dust of Love), Belitan Nasib (Mired by
fate), Pembunuh dan Anjing Hitam (Murderer and the black dog), Si
Kabayan Manusia Lucu (Kabayan a funny man) and Si Kabayan Nongol
di Jaman Jepang (Kabayan appears in Japan's occupation era).

At his home, he breaks a brief silence by raising some
questions, "Why do state officials now steal money from the state
coffers? How come that they let their people live in poverty? Why
is KKN (corruption, collusion and nepotism) so popular?"

"I don't understand. Really I can't. Can you explain why?

Though living far away from the country, Achdiat who helped
found the Indonesian Department at the Australia National
University, feels the need to update himself with news from
Indonesia -- most of which is "bad news that I hear recently."

"We have turned our backs on Pancasila (the state ideology)
long ago. It has great values, which reflect our identity, a
religious and a just nation. I know today's generation look at it
cynically with their negative mind-set."

He sometimes flips to memories of his past experiences with
great names like Sukarno, Basuki Abdullah, Pramoedya Ananta Toer,
Buyung Soleh, Chairil Anwar and the like.

His decision to leave the country to lecture in Canberra in
1961 was partly caused by his disappointment with Sukarno, who
declared his new ideology Nasakom or Nationalism, Religion and
Communism. "Personally, we were best friends, but not in terms of
ideology. It's just impossible to combine communism and religion
together. Communists are atheists. They don't recognize God. And
worse, out of the blue, he banned my party PSI (the Indonesian
Socialist Party)."

And before that, Aki was let down by the fact that the LEKRA
(People's Culture Association), which he founded with friends
like M.S. Azhar and Kelana Asmara was suddenly recognized as an
organization linked directly to the Indonesia Communist Party.

And Achdiat, who was then head of Jakarta's culture and
education agency, as well as a prominent author and lecturer,
decided to leave his cushy life at home.

"It's unclear. That happened behind my back. So if my friends,
on the same train, changed the direction to Moscow, I would jump
out of the train and stop at Gambir (Jakarta's railway station),"
he giggled.

Now in semi-retirement -- he still produces novels and essays
with the help of his typist -- Achdiat spends most of his time
meeting with people and talking with them about a variety of
subjects that are interesting to him.

"I have a plan that hope I can do if God still allows me. It's
nearly finished, maybe a month or two more. A collection of my
religious short stories, it will be entitled Separoh + Sebelah =
Insan Kamil (Half + part = Perfect human being)."

He said that the creative process of his book Manifesto took
on a whole life of its own and based on his knowledge of Islam,
which goes back to the when he was a young boy. Born in a strict,
pious Muslim village, Cibatu in Garut, West Java on March 6,
1911, young Achdiat was "forced to learn to read the Koran" from
the age of five.

"It was boring because as a young boy I could not figure out
why I had to do this and I didn't understand the meaning of the
words I was made to read. I ran away once," he reminisced.

"I did not do that to my children. I gave them the basic
principles about religious teachings and the rest they are free.
They are also human beings who can think and I believe, have a
natural desire to seek what they want to know," he said.

Except for Nuska, none of his children followed their father
as an author.

Achdiat enjoyed the fruits of the Dutch ethical policy that
gave native Indonesians education in return for what they had
taken away from the colonized land.

In 1932, he went to AMS (Oosters Letterkundige Afdelin), a
high school level institution, to learn Eastern literature in
Surakarta. He continued studying with Professor Dr. R.F.
Beerling's lectures at the Universiteit van Indonesia (now UI).

It appears as though the unending intellectual quest keeps him
strong and is his engine to keep moving forward.

Though his vision and hearing have been reduced with age,
Achdiat admits, "I like getting into good discussions as it's
good to hear people exchanging arguments in a healthy way."

During his book launch at Taman Ismail Marzuki last week,
Achdiat stayed for almost three hours through the evening.

"Rest is when we need one, if not why should we bother to take
some?"

And it is well explained in the last line of Nuska's poem
which reads Impian dan idamanmu mengalir terus seperti air sungai
yang tak pernah surut, your dream and ideals keep flowing like
the river which never dies.