Giving sound to that which has long been unheard

Giving sound to that which has long been unheard

By Yogita Tahil Ramani

JAKARTA (JP): Reform embeds itself and elicits a voice from
the most unlikely of places. Expressions of hatred, tragedy,
regret and, most of all, rejoicing, graced three nights at Taman
Ismail Marzuki, a primary venue for artistic and cultural
performances located in Central Jakarta.

Bongkar (Unravel), which ended yesterday, featured legends
Iwan Fals, Franky Sahilatua, metal group Slank, the Kantata Takwa
band and current best-selling artists, Reza and Nugie.

Evergreen poets WS Rendra, Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, Leon
Augusta, Danarto and the year's recent addition Butet
Kertaredjasa were among the professionals and amateurs who gave
heart-rending poetry recitals.

Gito Rollies, Oppie Andaresta, Indra Lesmana, Wong Aksan Cok
Rampal, Dwiki Dharmawan, Trie Utami and Sawung Jabo sang and
played to thousands who crammed the decorated, unfinished
construction site of Teater TIM.

The drizzle-soaked, soccer field-sized muddy site was a
telling arena for expressing the nation's beliefs and unstable
emotions.

The message was clear, from the flying of a dozen silk
Indonesian flags during an Iwan Fals number, to a stupa of steel
resembling a grotesque Christmas tree with charred-looking foam
bodies decorating it and a half-mast flag at its pinnacle.

It was a celebration of reforms already won, and a push for
the goal of total reform.

Poet Sitok Srengenge told The Jakarta Post that TIM would no
longer be an exclusive venue for art intellectuals and cultural
observers.

"It is now a public forum, a forum for the people and by the
people," Sitok said.

Poetry reading seemed as sweet as tax-free water, a kind
common people have not tasted for long.

Sutardji's recital about relying more on telling faces than
meaningless words was intense.

An excerpt read: Faces of the young with tired eyes, eyes
tired of going through want ads/faces welcomed with kicks of
boots/faces quietly suffering in terror, faces crying out and
saying/one motherland, one nation, one language and one flag.

Danarto's poetry was a volatile mix of idealism and young
love.

Tanda Cinta (The Sign Of Love) told of a lover's stifled
passions and concerns due to war.

"I have a red mark on my chest oozing out blood/Would you like
to kiss it?/ No. I'd rather fly pigeons or fly between the city
of love and that of missing."

Jose Rizal Manua made his criticism in his piece, which
included this line: Politicians are always so sleepy during
meetings held to decide on State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) but are
loudest when it comes to agreeing with uncompromising State
Policies Guidelines.

F. Rahardi, notorious for his intellectual poetry, has long
since been "censored off" for recitals at TIM. His recital was
more the television news-reading of wit than simple poetry-
reading.

Belalang (Locusts) was about the kinds of hama (plague)
besetting the nation. He said that in Lampung, Sumatra, farmers
cooked locusts swarming their fields and ate them with relish,
while in Indramayu, West Java, mice eating away crops of farmers
were caught, chopped and fed to ducks.

The punchline came with his irreverent definition of the
"plague" on Jakarta.

"Hama Minata," said Rahardi, referring to Maj. Gen. Hamami
Nata, who left his post as the Jakarta Police chief on Wednesday.

Something interesting happened during the poetry recitals.

Four victims of the 1984 Tanjung Priok riots came up on stage.
The government said that the incident claimed 12 lives, but the
four victims told the TIM audience that more than 400 were
killed. They demanded the Armed Forces (ABRI) reinvestigate the
case and that the then ABRI chief Lt. Gen. Moerdani and Jakarta
Military commander Gen. Try Sutrisno to be brought to justice.

Music

Music played at the festival gave new meaning to the word
unbelievable.

There was Slank, and then there was the rain.

Some 200 people gathered around the stage of the 7,000 spread
out throughout the site, screaming and yelling Balikin (Give It
Back) to Slank's hit, Balikin, when it was drizzling.

Lead vocalist Kaka had each foot on a speaker, singing Kamu
Sudah Harus Pulang (You Have To Go Home Already) with Bimbim
drumming the euphoria off the bongos.

The Gelombang Putih group of Franky Sahilatua, Cok Rampal,
Jalu Pratidina, Iwang Noorsaid, Eki Lamoh and Dima sang sweet,
melodious tunes to mind-blowing lyrics.

At one point, a man holding a gigantic flag raced down the
site to the stage and swayed its beauty to Cok Rampal's singing
of Tanah Baru (New Land).

The group sang other favorites like Menangis (Crying) and
Gelombang Putih (White Wisps).

The climax of the festival began and ended with Kantata Takwa.

Nearly 7,000 people filled the arena in the three-day-long
yearning anticipation for Iwan Fals and group.

In a blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans, with a totally shaven
face and a blue Islamic cap on head, he seemed at peace with the
raving crowds, waiting to listen.

He strummed tunes of some 10 songs, including Bongkar, Bento
and Kesaksian (Testimony).

The singing of Bongkar was interjected with Rendra's recital
of the famous Sajak Orang Kepanasan (Poetry of A Person In Heat).
After every paragraph read, the crowd howled "O... oh ya oh ya oh
ya Bongkar...".

Sung with simplistic, unfashionably non-yuppie tunes, Iwan's
songs reflect the feelings and wants of the commoner, like the
song Berikan Kami Pekerjaan (Give Us Work). This is the reason
why he is dubbed the voice of the common people.

All in all, the celebration of reform conveyed a message which
could not have been more aptly expressed than the telling lyrics
of Bongkar: When love is cast off/ do not expect justice to be
done/ pain becomes a mere show for them who are made to run in
the race for positions.