Hamsad, a modest man finally gets his due

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.