Jakarta gets decked out in colorful lights

Jakarta gets decked out in colorful lights

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesians could not have chosen a better month
to gain their independence. Not only is August a bright, sunny
month, it also means grand, magnificent, stately or brilliant.

Now, the city is living up to the last term in that list of
meanings as Aug. 17 nears. Mansions and huts alike are sparkling
with the colorful lights put up to mark the most important day in
the life of every Indonesian.

Everywhere in the capital, as in most other places throughout
the country, these celebratory lights have transformed the
mundane into the extraordinary in a way some consider
extravagant.

The transformation of the nation's capital is partly due to
Jakarta Governor Surjadi Soedirdja's encouraging the owners or
occupants of all buildings to put up decorative lights to
commemorate Indonesia's 50 years of independence.

The various colors of the lights and the decorative shapes
they form are expected to raise the people's spirits as they
struggle home through chronic traffic congestion.

At the very least, the scenery along Jakarta's streets, large
and small, is expected to take on a festive appearance with
lights decorating skyscrapers forming letters defining the
meaning of 50 years of freedom and brightly lit billboards
telling the crowds their advertisers are proud to observe the
country's independence along with them.

And once they get home, the commuters will be greeted by their
own patriotic light shows in their front yards.

To some people, however, the penchant for commemorative lights
is becoming a bit excessive. A friend told me, "You know what?
These ornaments are making me dizzy. I can't even distinguish
between a normal residence and a night club."

I believe that the ornaments are symbols of happiness, and
nothing more. But for some of this city's resident's they have
become a symbol of prosperity, with home owners competing with
each other to be numero uno and, by inference, to appear better
off than their neighbors.

Clearly, a huge amount of money has been spent on decorating
the houses, streets and buildings with lights. And one cannot
help but wonder whether this money couldn't have been put to a
better cause. There are still many people without electricity in
many parts of this archipelago. What an irony it is that Jakarta
is bedecked in a display of exuberance, while darkness and
hardship mar other places in this nation.

And yet, it seems that the consensus is that the lights are
for everybody to enjoy and that this benefits the less
unfortunate people as well because it makes them feel that they
have somehow participated in celebrating the country's
independence. Some would even go so far as to say that this
display of national exuberance has narrowed the gap between the
fortunate and the less fortunate.

If that is, indeed the case, hopefully these ornaments will
not disappear as soon as the Aug. 17 the celebration is over.
And hopefully, people will retain the sense of joy the
Independence Day celebrations have brought with them.

-- Pandu Sjahrir