Artist Titiek Puspa still shines at 58

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): The lavish celebrations for the country's golden anniversary are far from over. People throng to various corners of the city to enjoy the free entertainment of splendid fireworks and great music. Smiles are on their faces. Laughter fills the air.

However, the grand fiesta will never completely heal the wounds of war. The older generation still harbors bitter memories about the hard times they had during the colonialism and the revolution.

Titiek Puspa, one of Indonesia's most prominent entertainers, will never forget what a Japanese soldier did to her classmate when she was in preschool.

"We were singing Kimigayo, the Japanese national anthem, when a car passed by in front of the school. At that time cars were rare, so one of my classmates turned his head to see the car. And a Japanese soldier, who was always present every time we sang Kimigayo, suddenly grabbed his hair and threw him to the floor," Titiek told The Jakarta Post last weekend.

That was only one of the disturbing incidents she experienced during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia between 1942 to 1945.

She had seen earlier the brutality of Japanese troops in her own house in Semarang, Central Java.

"They beat my father in front of my mother, me and the other members of the family, and then took him away. When he returned 10 or 15 days later there were bruises all over his body," she said.

"My father was a nurse. I did not know why they took my father away but as far as I remember, they took all the adult men in our neighborhood," she reflected.

She was only eight years old when Indonesia announced its independence on Aug.17, 1945.

"I heard people on the street yelling: Merdeka! Merdeka! (Freedom), and they were waving red-and-white flags. I asked Mother what it meant and she told me, 'The Japanese are gone,'" she said.

Her mother's short explanation was more than enough to make Titiek joyful.

"But later, I was confused. I thought the Japanese were really gone. I thought everything would be fine, but I was wrong," she said.

On Oct. 15, 1945, a battle between Indonesian soldiers and the Japanese troops broke out in Semarang. There was fighting even after the Allied forces entered the city five days later. About 2,000 Indonesians and 100 Japanese died during the battle, according to an account found in the book 30 Tahun Indonesia Merdeka (30 Years of Indonesia's Independence).

The struggle to defend the country's independence, however, continued as the Allied forces tried to take over the power from the Japanese.

"When the war of independence broke out we fled the city. We went from one place to another. We went to Ambarawa, Purworejo, Temanggung, Kranggan. And my father always helped our wounded soldiers during the guerrilla war," she said.

"One of my younger brothers was born not long after we fled Semarang. He looks like a Japanese and he has a bad temper, maybe because my mother hated the Japanese so much when she was pregnant," Titiek recalled.

Titiek has 11 brothers and sisters. She is the fourth child in the family.

In the first years after independence was proclaimed, life was hard for Titiek and her family.

Her father worked in a clinic and her mother sold food.

"In the morning, I had to wash the clothes, and in the afternoon I sold tea at the train station in Purworejo," she said.

"I had a pot of tea and just one glass. People drank the tea from the same glass, which I did not wash until the pot was empty.

"When the tea was sold out, I would run home and shout 'Mom, it's sold out,'" she said.

At that time there was not enough food for the people. Rice was terribly expensive.

"I remember when, one day, I found the head of a salted fish on the floor. I thought it was brought to the house by a cat. I was very happy and gave it to mother, who later grilled it. We had a little party then," she said with a laugh.

There were also times when she and her elder sister sold rempeyek (large peanut-and-flour chips) at a military barracks.

"But they didn't buy my rempeyek and I was very hungry. I ate parts of the rempeyek. They were still round but of course they became smaller. When I returned home, mother asked what happened to the rempeyek, and she cried as I told her I was starving," she said.

Titiek's life has totally changed. A successful composer and singer, she now lives in a big, elegant house in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

"I am really thankful to our heroes and our leaders for what they have done for the country and the people.

"I am upset at people who always criticize the government, demanding this, demanding that. Life is beautiful now. It depends on how you manage it," she said.

But she realizes that there are some parts of the country which are still underdeveloped and she hopes the government will pay greater attention to them.

Career

Another issue which arouses her concern is the poor living conditions which teachers of state-run schools must endure.

"They have such small salaries and payment is often late. Sometimes they do not receive their salaries in full because they have been cut under various pretexts," she said.

As a matter of fact, Titiek was a preschool teacher.

"I wanted to become a preschool teacher after I saw how hard it was for my mother to take care all of her children and give her full attention to each child," she said.

So, after graduating from junior high school she went to a teachers' training school.

Her teaching career did not last long. She had taught for only a few months when she decided to quit.

"I could reach more people and earn more money by singing," she explained.

Even when she was in elementary school, Titiek showed her talent as an entertainer.

"At school parties, they always asked me to either sing or be a clown," Titiek, who spent her early childhood in Semarang, said.

Her mother supported her ambition to become a singer, but her father did not like her singing in public.

"When I joined a singing contest at school I used another name, Titiek Puspa. I won," she recalled.

Her name was changed not just once, but twice. Her first name was Soedarwati. Her parents changed it to Soemarti when she was a little girl because she often fell ill and her parents believed that by changing her name she would not be so sickly.

"My first name, Titiek, was derived from Soemarti, while Puspa came from my father's name, Tugeno Puspowidjojo," she said.

But Titiek realized that she could not keep the secret from her father forever. She asked her elder brother, who was on her side, to talk to their father, to try and make him understand.

"Father allowed me to sing after my brother said he would be responsible if anything unexpected happened to me," she said.

In 1954, at the age of 17, Titiek grabbed second place at a provincial radio singing contest. In 1955, along with several other singers, she recorded Dian Nan Tak Kunjung Padam (Immortal Light) and Papaya Cha Cha, which were composed by Adikarso.

But Titiek is more successful as a stage singer than a recording artist. Even though she could not make her dream to be a radio star come true, her star as an entertainer continued to shine brightly.

She wrote her first song, Kisah Hidup (Story of Life), in 1963, saying that she just wanted to try and see if she could do it. The song, which she wrote with the help of her pianist husband Mus Mualim, was not popular, but her second song, Mama (Mamma), written in 1964 after her mother's death, was a success.

Her other songs include Mari Kemari (Come, Come), Kopral Djono (Corporal Djono), Minah Gadis Dusun (Minah the Village Girl), Mini si Mini, Kupu Kupu Malam (Night Butterfly). Titiek sang the songs herself, but many of her top hits were performed by other singers, like Lilies Soerjani (Gang Kelinci or Rabbit Alley), Acil Bimbo (Adinda or Baby) Eddy Silitonga (Rindu Setengah Mati or Crazy for You), Gito Rollies (Bimbi), Grace Simon (Bing) and Euis Darliah (Apanya Dong? or What Is It and Horas Kasih or Hello Love). Horas Kasih won bronze prize at the 1984 World Song Festival in Los Angeles.

She cannot not remember how many songs she has written. But a few years ago, her late husband Mus Mualim estimated that she had penned about 600 songs.

"I can't play any musical instrument. So I just sing the notes and write them down on a piece of paper," she said.

She composed her songs well and fast.

"It took me only 30 minutes to write both the lyrics and the melody for Bing," she recalled.

She wrote the song after noted composer Bing Slamet, from whom she learned a lot about how to become a good entertainer, died in 1974.

Pantang Mundur (Never Retreat) was written for soldiers who went to Irian Jaya in 1964 to fight the Dutch forces, who still occupied the area even though it had become the 26th province of Indonesia in 1963.

Her sympathy for a prostitute inspired her to write Kupu Kupu Malam, which means night butterfly, the Indonesian euphemism for prostitutes.

"One night, after my show was over, a night butterfly came to me," she said.

The prostitute, who was one of her fans, lamented about her hard life. Comparing her life with Titiek's, she said people gave Titiek money with respect and honor, but they gave her money with scorn. She also said they sometimes hurt her, according to Titiek.

"She asked if a person like her deserved love," she said.

"I asked her to be resolute in life and suggested that she leave her profession. And then we prayed," she said.

Apanya Dong?, a pop song, was written in 1973 because she could not stand the fact that almost all of the songs which swamped the market had melancholic tunes.

"Ninety-nine percents of them were sad songs. It's not that I looked down on them, but I just could not stand it. So I wrote Apanya Dong?," she said.

Sung by rocker Euis Darliah, Apanya Dong immediately stole people's hearts and became a top hit.

Long before that, in 1964, she wrote a dynamic song, Mari Kemari, which was very popular all over the country.

"Once, during a show which was attended by President Sukarno, I sang Mari Kemari upon the request of an admiral. While I was singing, I saw the president frowning and approaching me. So I stopped singing the song," she said.

Sukarno had banned some melancholic songs and Western- influenced Indonesian songs which were considered to have the potential to weaken people's nationalism.

Asked about the restriction, Titiek said: "We have to adapt ourselves to the situation. Be wise."

"We live in Indonesia. So we have to follow the rules. If you intentionally break the rule, you will be dead," she said.

Asked if her profession as an entertainer has brought her face to face with temptation, she said: "There are always temptations in any job. It depends on how you handle it."

At the peak of her success, in the 1960s, Titiek was said to be involved in a love affair with Jusuf Muda Dalam, director of Bank Sentral Indonesia, the central bank. A corrupted top government official, Jusuf was sent before the Extraordinary Military Tribune and convicted. Titiek was terrorized by angry fans, but was resolute. She managed to reassure the public that she was clean. She went on singing and her star kept shining.

She was also a film star. Among her movies were Inem Pelayan Sexy (Inem, the Sexy Housemaid, 1976), Rojali dan Juleha (Rojali and Juleha, 1980) and Koboi Sutra Ungu (Cowboy in Purple Silk, 1982).

Titiek is more than just an artist. She also produces operettas. She wrote the songs for them and performed in them. Titiek said she had the idea to produce operettas in the 1960s when she saw Hansah dan Greta, which was adopted from Hansel and Gretel.

"I wondered why we did not produce our own operettas," she said.

Operetta

Her first operetta, Si Melati, which was based on a local folk tale, Bawang Merah Bawang Putih, was produced in 1973. Since 1974, the state-owned television station, TVRI, has broadcasted her Idul Fitri operas at least 10 times.

Her late husband played a great role in the making of the operas, she said.

Titiek married Mus, a pianist, in 1970. Mus died in 1990. She does not have any child from her marriage with Mus. But she has two children from her previous marriage, and three step children. They have given her 13 grandchildren.

At the age of 58, Titiek, who looks much younger, is still going strong. Along with several other artists, she recently toured 17 towns across the country to entertain the public.

Titiek has just written a patriotic song, Aku Cucu Satria Indonesia (I am a Grandchild of Indonesian Hero), which will be presented tonight, at the Senayan Stadium, by those taking part in the national youth march, known as Kirab Remaja Nasional.

For Titiek, music is her life. Unlike many people who like listening to the music while they are going to bed, Titiek does not have the habit.

"I can't go to sleep if I listen to music. I stay awake, enjoying the beauty of the music and wondering how it was made," Titiek said.

But she admits that she is not as productive as before.

"It's been a long time since I wrote a (popular) song. Today, we have many good songs. I enjoy listening to them. The singers are also good," she said.

"I hope the artists will keep their low-profiles. I hope they won't get haughty if their first song is a hit in the market," she said.