Pesantren, Love, and the Image of Santri: A Novel Explores Human Stories Behind the Walls
Surabaya (ANTARA) - The love story between Mahiru (an ustaz at a pesantren) and Aida (a brilliant and intelligent female student), which ends in the ‘victory’ of power relations within pesantren culture in a fictional tale, does not cause the dignity of this Islamic educational institution to collapse.
Mohammad Hairul, a teacher and national literacy activist, has skilfully packaged a romantic story that pits an ustaz against a ‘gus’ — a respectful term for the son or family member of a kiai — in his novel ‘Novel Bersampul Batik’ (Novel Wrapped in Batik). The narrative avoids the trap of cornering, let alone insulting, the world of pesantren.
This novel reinforces the belief that a pesantren is a bottomless well, storing a mosaic of riches ready to be excavated into a series of stories in creative works. The tale in this romantic novel is a humanistic portrayal of a kiai’s family and santri, including ustaz, as they navigate the path of love’s grace possessed by all people, including those living within a pesantren.
The emotionally stirring story begins with a flashback, when the main character Aida, who is in a relationship with Ustaz Mahir Khair — who has a literary education background — is assigned to replace a female ustazah on leave. The story starts when Aida is already married to Gus Haikal, a member of the pesantren family.
Aida, who married Gus Haikal due to pressure from her older sister Halimah, harbours her love for Mahiru by collecting books — novels or short story collections by the ustaz — wrapped in batik. The gus, depicted as a man who only possesses the cover, while the essence of Aida’s love remains with Mahiru, one day catches his wife in the private library room wrapping a book in batik cloth.
Throughout her life with the pesantren family where she studied, Aida becomes aware that the batik cloths are not merely covers for books. The batik transforms into bandages for her inner wounds from being separated from her heart’s desire. Covers for wounds that refuse to heal.
The story of unfulfilled love is unveiled by Hairul at the moment when Gus Haikal concedes and is willing to accompany his wife, Aida, to attend the launch of Mahiru’s latest book. It is not a concession, but rather Gus Haikal forcing Aida to attend the VIP invitation meant for the couple.