Hamsad, a modest man finally gets his due

T.Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

When veteran literary figure Hamsad Rangkuti learned he was selected as the winner of the Khatulistiwa Literary Award for Indonesia's Best Fiction 2002-2003, one of the first things he did was to order a box of name cards.

"I made the order at a sidewalk kiosk for Rp 25,000 per 100 name cards. And see, now the box is half empty," said Hamsad, showing the box of his name cards when The Jakarta Post met him at his modest home in Depok, West Java.

The award was presented at the posh Plaza Senayan in South Jakarta on Oct. 17 after his collection of short stories, Bibir dalam Pispot (Lips on the Chamber Pot) beat the other four nominators -- Joko Pinurbo'sTelepon Genggam (Cell Phone), Nukila Amal's Cala Ibi, Sapardi Djoko Damono's Ada Berita Apa Hari Ini, Den Sastro? (What's the News Today, Den Sastro) and Radhar Panca Dahana's Lalu Batu (Then Stone).

The 60-year-old won Rp 70 million and a scholarship for a writing course in London from the British Council as well as to have his winning work translated into English.

"I am looking forward to England. I hope I will get many experiences that will inspire me to write," said Hamsad. So far the only foreign countries he has visited are Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

As for the money, he plans to buy a minivan that will be operated as an angkot (public transport). This new business will be managed by his two unemployed sons -- one of them is an engineer and the other one has a college degree in art.

Hamsad has four children from his marriage to Nurwindasari -- his youngest child is still in high school, while the other one is married and has a good job.

"I already have education insurance for my youngest child and hopefully I will not have any problem with the money to finance her education," said Hamsad, who obviously is devoted to his family very much.

Born in Titikuning, Medan, North Sumatra, in 1943, Hamsad's father was a Koran teacher who was also a good story teller.

"As far as I remember, I am the fourth of seven siblings -- two of them died when they were very young. But my parents told me they actually had 10 children. Well, you know that at that time, life was very hard and infant mortality was high. It's a miracle that we have lived so long," he said.

Such conditions, in fact, has inspired many of his stories, which are also based on many daily experiences and his keen observation of his surroundings.

"I tell stories of the poor and their sufferings, but I am not lamenting," he said.

The winner of a literary award from the Jakarta administration in 2000 has been writing since he was a teenager. But he said that at that time, he was so shy that he did not dare use his real name, Hasyim. Therefore, he decided to use a nom de plume, Hamsad -- which is a combination of his own name, his father's, Muhammad Saleh, and his mother's, Djamilah.

He admitted that at that time he was not so productive as he found it hard to write. But things changed after he joined a six- month writing workshop conducted by the Institute of the Jakarta Art Education and the Ministry of Information in 1975.

His short stories have been published in the local and foreign media, including Manoa, a Pacific Journal of International Writing, University of Hawaii Press (1991), Beyond the Horizon and Short Stories from Contemporary Indonesia, Monash Asia Institute (1991). He has had four collections of short stories published too, some child stories and a novel, Ketika Lampu Berwarna Merah (When the Light Turns Red, 2001).

"The one that has sold best is my last book, Bibir dalam Pispot. But, it has not yet been reprinted," he said.

According to Hamsad, only 3,000 copies of the book were printed, meaning that even though the book has won such as a prestigious award, the sales has not surpassed 3,000 copies as many are still available at local book stores.

Hamsad, who was the editor of Horison literary magazine from 1986 to 2002, said the magazine printed 12,000 copies, but 9,000 copies were subscribed by the Ministry of Education to be distributed to the high schools across the country.

He lamented the poor reading culture among the people of this country, especially literary books. "Even my children don't like reading my books. So I tell them the stories," said Hamsad, who also likes story-telling, a skill he learned from his father, in addition to painting.

The title of his book, Bibir dalam Pispot is taken from the titles of his two short stories -- Maukah Kau Menghapus Bekas Bibirnya di Bibirku dengan Bibirmu? (Will You Erase the Mark of His Lips on My Lips with Your Lips?) and Pispot (the Chamber Pot).

The first short story, which is quite popular here and has been presented several times in short-story reading events, tells about a woman who asked the narrator to kiss her before she committed suicide by plunging into the sea.

The other one is about a man who was accused of snatching a gold necklace in a public minivan. The man was believed to swallow the necklace and was forced to take laxatives. He relieved himself three times, but the police could not find any evidence in the chamber pot. He actually stole the necklace because he needed money to buy medicine for his child who was seriously ill. But the police could not find the necklace because every time the jewelry came out, the man swallowed it again.

Hamsad's only novel, Ketika Lampu Berwarna Merah, was a winner of a writing competition held by the Jakarta Art Council in 1981 and was serialized at Kompas newspaper in the same year. It was published as a book only in 2001 and a film producer was interested in making a film based on the book. For this, Hamsad was paid Rp 2.5 million.

"It's hard to live as a writer," said Hamsad, whose receives Rp 600,000 for a short story published in a daily newspaper here.

Yet, he decided to resign from Horison because he wanted to concentrate in his writing. He is now still working on his second novel about the becak (three-wheel pedicab) evictions in Jakarta.

At same time, he has also been moved by the fate of thousands of squatters who lost their homes during the recent forced evictions by the Jakarta administration. "I am interested in writing about the evictions of the poor people," said Hamsad.