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."