Fanfare for the common man: Jakarta's 'wong cilik'

Fanfare for the common man: Jakarta's 'wong cilik'

The outdoor atmosphere in Jakarta is created by characters found
at roadsides, not high-rise buildings or "dullsville" shopping
malls.

What impresses me is the tremendous number of wong cilik
(working-class people) who try to earn a living on the road.

Petty traders of all sorts -- street food vendors, beggars,
street singers or "umbrella boys" -- are so visible, some
providing much-needed services.

I have enjoyed talking to them and observing their earnest
attempts to survive, albeit somewhat dishonestly at times.

Life in the capital is supported by its citizens -- 10 million
ordinary people. If you look around anywhere it becomes very
obvious.

These ordinary people make the city tick; like clocks, they
are very useful, yet often unobstrusive.

-- Text and photos Tanizawa Soichiro

Caption A
Bimo, a painter on Jl. Pintu Selatan, enjoys working with 30
other painters in the hustle and bustle of downtown Kota.

Caption B
Hesami makes women's accessories in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

Caption C
Yanto is an itinerant tailor.

Caption D
A bus conductor "directs" the traffic to make way for his
speeding bus.

Caption E
Alim usually sells bottled water at Blok M bus station but
becomes an ojek payung (umbrella rental boy) when it rains.

Caption F
Wandering minstrels, Irfan and Samsoul.

Caption G
Ojek sepeda (bicycle taxi) drivers wait for customers in the heat
of the sun.