Ade Purnama a natural-born history lover

Ade Purnama a natural-born history lover

Susanna Tjokro, Contributor, Jakarta

Many historic buildings in the capital have fallen victim to the
wrecker's ball. Even though some older citizens with bitter
memories are glad to see their demise, Ade Purnama argues that
the remaining ones are "living museums" that should be preserved.

For many people, history is a subject that sends them to sleep.
Ade Purnama, better known as Adep, the founder of Sahabat Museum
(Friends of Museums), thinks otherwise.

As a historian, Adep has set out to share his knowledge about
the past by conducting historical tours in a fun but enlightening
way. He describes the "edutainment" tours as, suitably,
"entertaining, energetic, funky and fun", doing away with all the
stereotypes of anything old as old-fashioned or the four "s":
staid, stuffy, stodgy and soporific.

Sahabat Museum takes tour participants to often
unexplored or bypassed historical sites, like the abandoned
Lawang Sewu building in Semarang.

He has apparently succeeded in his goal.

One participant claimed that she never knew history could be
such fun; another said the way the guides told the history was
"so funky".

"In the beginning, I helped Museum Sejarah Jakarta (the
Jakarta History Museum) organize its Wisata Kampung Tua (Tour of
the Old Villages). After taking part seven times, I asked my
like-minded college friends to set up Sahabat Museum on Aug. 31,
2002," said the 28-year-old graduate in Dutch literature from the
University of Indonesia.

"Usually, the word 'museum' is closely associated with
boredom, a spooky atmosphere and so on. By being friends of
museums, hopefully people's negative opinion toward museums would
gradually change."

The youngest of four children, Adep said his family strongly
supports activities. His sister, Deedee, is the moderator of
sahabatmuseum@yahoogroups.com.

He said a love of history came naturally to him. It all
started when he was young as his family enjoyed traveling,
visiting many old, historical places in the country, like in
Jakarta, Padang and Bukittinggi in West Sumatra, Bandung,
Semarang and many other areas.

"Besides, reading as my hobby helps increase my interest in
history. I also thank God that I'm blessed with a good brain to
absorb, learn, digest and remember lots of interesting things
about history, and to be able to share my knowledge with other
history lovers," said Adep.

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be an engineer or an architect,
but as time went by, my love of history got deeper and deeper,
and today my goal and obsession is making Jakarta an
internationally known historic city destination."

Adep, who also took photography classes at Darwis Triadi
School of Photography, studied graphic design at Digital Studio
Workshop and writes for Area magazine in his spare time, hopes
Sahabat Museum will raise public awareness that museums reflect
the wealth of our cultural heritage.

He said that many people did not even know the fascinating
history of a particular area, let alone knowing that it has great
potential as a historical tour destination.

He also wants to promote a sense of belonging within society
by conducting historical tours at an affordable rate.
Participants come from all walks of life, Indonesians as well as
expatriates and tourists. Everyone is welcome.

Adep always tries to engage the participants' imagination,
transporting them back to the past. His mission is to give them a
glimpse of what the site used to be.

He even writes the promotional text for Sahabat Museum's tours
in old style Indonesian, using Djakarta instead of Jakarta, for
instance.

His inspiration comes from many things.

"I have been inspired by Pramoedya Ananta Toer's books as well
as those by Seno Gumira Ajidarma and historical ones on Jakarta
written by A.J. Heuken. Articles from various newspapers and
magazines, like Intisari and Tempo, movies set in a bygone era,
where we can see how our city looked, are also my inspiration."

The guides -- all of them volunteers and trained by Adep
himself -- also play an important role in making the participants
believe that history is not boring through their own demonstrated
passion for the subject.

"The volunteers can come and go whenever they like -- they can
resign anytime; whenever they're busy or tired they can come to
the events as ordinary participants. I teach them to love history
by enjoying it. I take them to the real location, putting them
into a sort of 'time tunnel' so they can actually feel what it
was like to live during those years."

Dutch colonization of Indonesia ended in 1942 after 350 years,
but their legacy can be found in the countless historical
buildings throughout the country.

Memories of the colonial era are bitter and painful for those
who lived through them, which presents a challenge for
preservationists.

Adep hopes the public will see the old buildings as "living
museums" that should be preserved due to their historical
importance rather than viewing them as disturbing reminders of a
bygone era.

"The past is painful, but it should be faced. We should see
those buildings from their historical value rather than bitter
memories of the colonization. We should learn to make peace with
the past, however painful the experience was and step forward to
a peaceful future," he said.

"Heritage development can provide real economic benefits
through tourism. Each building, bridge and other historical
monuments has its own interesting stories to tell. In addition,
those historical buildings add charm and variety to our city."

He has been encouraged by the positive response of the public
to the tours, and believes the preservation should be conducted
in the realization that by destroying historic monuments, both
the present and future generations suffer tremendous loss.

"Burying the painful pieces of our past is not a denial of the
past, but rather a positive step toward a peaceful, better
future."