Pramoedya cherishes the simple life

Pramoedya cherishes the simple life

By I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): To be a modest farmer in a rural area where life
is far from being hectic has been a dream for the country's most
internationally acclaimed writer, Pramoedya Ananta Toer. He has
been cultivating another suited field, harvesting valuable
reading material, which is edible for his fans and culture.

"As a child, I wanted to be a farmer, a modest one, perhaps
owning a tractor. But this is my life now, living in a hectic
situation in the capital. I can't write in this kind of
situation. Everywhere I turn in my house, I just see the roof and
walls. I plan to go to a rural area in Bojong Gede, where I have
a secluded piece of property. I can enjoy the river and woods
there. Perhaps I can write there," said the 75-year-old writer.

Pramoedya has been writing since he was a young child at
elementary school. He said his father was a stern, tough man who
was frequently undermining and humiliating him.

"I grew up lacking in confidence and it took me ten years to
complete elementary school. I wrote as a way to get through it. I
continued to feel the same, lacking confidence, until I was 20,
particularly when I met friends who achieved higher education or
spoke many foreign languages."

He recalls that he gained confidence when he met a Dutch girl
who liked him.

"I wondered about that to myself when suddenly I gained
confidence. This happened while I was in the Netherlands where I
had a Dutch girlfriend. The Dutch were usually superior to most
Indonesians at that time, but for me, I could sleep with a Dutch
woman. It was just sex. I did not know what love was, until now.
On my return to Indonesia, I began speaking at seminars."

Then he continued writing, but he never thought about it
commercially.

He said between 1942 and 1945 during the Japanese occupation,
no publishers were interested in publishing his writing,
including the poems, short stories or romance stories.

"My first published work was Kerandji Bekasi in 1947. When I
was jailed during the Dutch's first aggression in Indonesia, I
also wrote. There was a library at the jail and everyone in hard
labor got paid, so I could buy books. During the New Order regime
under former president Soeharto, a prisoner would be found dead
during the day after he was caught reading a piece of newspaper."

Pramoedya spent 17 years in jail. In the last 10 years before
his release in 1979, he was exiled to Buru island after he was
accused of communism. He wrote about the prison and prisoners in
the Buru tetralogy, which comprises This Earth of Mankind, House
of Glass, Foot Steps and Child of All Nations. He also wrote
various fiction and nonfiction work, including The Mute's
Soliloquy and the Chronicle of the Indonesian Revolution.

"Some 30 titles have been published. The books have also been
translated into some 30 languages, including Chinese, Turkish,
Spanish, French and Vietnamese."

When Soeharto was in power, all his books were banned, and the
ban remains in effect until today.

Pramoedya said he does not have any hope or trust for the
current government under President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"Indonesia will remain like this just like hundreds of years
ago. The country never tries to value its culture. The
intellectuals only lay down and live in hypocrisy. They live
against their own inner voices. The era of Soeharto, Habibie and
Abdurrahman have the same military, police and bureaucracy; the
New Order system."

He said during the New Order regime, he earned a living by
receiving income from abroad.

"It's strange, isn't it? As an Indonesian, I couldn't live in
my own country. But life is somehow better now. Hasta Mitra, a
publishing firm, has started to republish my books. I will
receive my honorarium once the books are published."

He said the ban on his books was just the same as piracy.
Pramoedya's pirated books are easily found with street vendors in
Senen, Central Jakarta.

"Piracy is a crime and must be handled by the police. Although
I didn't have any idea that my books were being pirated, I think
those who are pirating them are just the same as those who banned
my books. The ban was an attempt to cut my life as I only write
to live," he said.

"It's weird that although the ban still exists my books are on
the street. This reflects on the government. The government does
not have any character. It's robbery, just like the Army soldiers
who burned my documents when they annexed my house in Rawamangun
or the soldier who wrecked my hearing."

He said when his house was set on fire, he lost everything:
his childhood pictures, books, documents and other antiques from
the last century. "I wondered how they could do that.
Fortunately, they did not have any time to read my diary," he
joked.

The house in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, was seized in 1965 by
the Army. Although he holds legal documents to it, his family has
always failed to get the house back in court.

Prize

Pramoedya has received various international awards. Five
years ago he was awarded the Magsaysay award. In September this
year, he will receive a prize at the ceremony of the 11th Fukuoka
Asian Culture Prize. He has also been nominated as a Nobel
laureate.

"I do not have any ambition to be a Nobel winner or to win any
other awards. I just work and work. This includes writing or
doing physical exercise, like gardening or burning my neighbors'
waste."

This year, he plans to publish his correspondence with his
friend, the late professor Wertheim, and his columns in Lentera
-- a supplement in the defunct Bintang Timur newspaper during
1962 and 1965. He said the Cornell University would help him with
the documents as he was unable to get them domestically.

"I still have a lot of other texts and documents. I have to
select them one by one to be published. My consideration is for
cultural improvement. Some of them are old letters or dairies
when I was very productive. I wrote so much after my release from
Buru. But now I have not begun to write again. I just do some
clippings and documentation."

When he does write, he finishes without making any
corrections.

"I never rewrite anything I have written. My same mood and
frame of mind and spirit never return. That's why I also never
correct or reread my texts."

About his books, he said he did not have any favorites. Each
of them was his product and has its own history. "They are the
children of my soul. People may condemn, appraise or harass them.
It doesn't matter."

He said his health was in its best condition to write.

"Now I have some health problems, and I easily forget about
things. I did not expect that about getting older," he joked.

He does physical exercise every day and takes vitamin C
because he is a smoker. "I also do some breathing exercises as I
have smoked since I was 17."

Pramoedya has eight children, the youngest one is his only
son, 15 grandchildren and one great grandson. He said his
children had grown up in hard times and lived in fear for some 14
years. "For me this is so dissatisfying."

Do his children also write?

"Talent is not inherited. My children are able to write, but
due to the bad experience of their father, they are afraid to be
writers. In one case, my children were threatened when I won the
Magsaysay award," Pramoedya said.

"Writing is so enjoyable. I encourage my grandchildren to
write dairies. It's good for them to know how to use language and
how to describe something."

Pramoedya expressed his sadness about what is happening to
Indonesia.

"The condition will get better with the role of the younger
generation. This is about character. They have to build better
character, starting with themselves. That's why I always remember
what (first president) Soekarno said, 'nation building and
character building'. He had a futuristic perspective, very
outstanding, but I don't understand why so many people always
condemned him."

Pramoedya believes character building must begin with self-
drive. "There is no teacher for this. We have to start from the
family and home. This is about self-teaching and resurrecting.
The intellectuals would have started this. I don't mean to ignore
those who are successful in self-educating, but I'm just saying
this in general. Indonesia is lagging behind. It's so sad."

Pramoedya, who does not like the Internet, computers or
television, said he likes having discussions with the younger
generation.

"I like to chat with youths, and share ideas. But for myself,
I just want to be a simple man, just as my logic is."