Waldjinah's stardom is a road well-traveled

Text and photos by Tarko Sudarno

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Tune in to the many music programs on television, and cross a musical assortment of pop, rock, jazz and the Arab-influenced beat of dangdut.

Some local music is left out of this musical medley. One rarely stumbles across keroncong, traditional pop tunes with distant origins from Portugal. Rarer still are the sounds of tembang, Javanese poetry recited to gamelan accompaniment.

The strumming of the guitar, bass and violin in the sweet melodies of keroncong, or the gamelan of tembang, have been virtually drowned out by the more noisy rhythms of popular music today.

It was not always the case as keroncong and tembang were once the hitmakers in the country. Now, they survive as fading memories for many older citizens, and their small followings are composed of confirmed romantics.

But both musical forms cling to existence, and will continue to survive if Waldjinah has her way.

At 52, the grand dame of keroncong and tembang in the 1960s and 1970s is still moving from one venue to another on an unrelenting round of performances.

A resident of nearby Mayudan village, her tireless schedule is the sustenance for fans hungering after their favorite music.

Although the ever-smiling Waldjinah spends most of her time on the road, her ordered life is an exception in the turmoil of the modern world.

Her routine flows smoothly, just like the unwavering timbre of her voice in Walang Kekek, the song that launched her recording career.

Waldjinah began singing keroncong and tembang when she was a little girl. Her favorite songs in elementary school, she recalls, were Dandhanggula, Pangkur, Sinom and Pocung.

She got her first break in the fourth grade of elementary school, winning the Mocopatan contest to recite six-line Javanese verses for the Surakarta regency covering several districts.

She has never looked back.

As a 12-year-old first grader in junior high school, she was crowned Kembang Kacang Queen for a singing contest organized by the Indonesian National Film Association (Perfini) and the local station of state-owned radio network, RRI.

"Soon afterwards I received invitations to sing, and I began to travel for musical shows," she recalled.

Waldjinah quit school in her second year of junior high to concentrate on her singing career.

At 15, she married Sulis Mulyo Budi, then 20, also a keroncong singer and son of the Pekalongan mayor.

Most artistes experience faltering in their careers after marriage, but not Waldjinah.

In 1965, when she had just turned 20, she won a national singing contest organized by RRI, considered an outstanding achievement in days when radio was more influential than TV in shaping a singer's career.

In 1969, she turned to recording, another extraordinary achievement by the artistic yardstick of the time.

In those days, Waldjinah said, a singer had to win an RRI contest before landing a recording contract.

"Today, a first-timer with no achievements can easily have his or her songs recorded," she says.

Her first record, Walang Kekek, released by Lokananta recording company in Surakarta, became a major hit, a surprise even to her.

Walang Kekek was a folk song from the Osin area in Banyuwangi. With her special treatment, she shed the East Java locale and made it famous nationwide, earning herself a lifelong association with the tune.

"Since then I have been known as the Queen of Walang Kekek," she said, chuckling.

It paved the way for even greater success in the recording arena with songs such as Yen Ing Tawang Ono Lintang, Enthit, Jangkrik Gingong, Jago Kluruk and Ayo Ngguyu.

Today, she has built up a loyal following across the country. She has traveled to all 27 provinces with the exception of easternmost Irian Jaya.

The nation's leaders have even been partial to her tunes.

She has performed many times at the presidential palace, both for the first president, the late Sukarno, and President Soeharto.

"When Mrs. Tien Soeharto was still alive, she always asked me to sing Putri Solo (The Lass from Solo) and Walang Kekek."

Fame did not lead her to forget her fans. She sang in villages, small towns and big cities, wherever people wanted her to perform. Invitations for appearances are unceasing.

Waldjinah says she has never picked venues based on prestige. "In a period considered auspicious for a wedding, I may be invited to sing anywhere, from villages to star-rated hotels, every day."

Fame has also taken her abroad. She has performed in Holland, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Greece, Japan and Suriname.

She was a big hit in the latter two countries, and she has visited Japan six times.

"They always ask me to sing Walang Kekek, Japanese songs like Hana or Bunga Sayang (Beloved Flower) in a keroncong version. Early next year, I will go to Japan again for another show."

In Suriname, whose population includes many people of Javanese descent, she always receives an enthusiastic welcome from fans who can sing from memory almost all her songs.

"I was really surprised when I found that a street had been named after me in Suriname."

Waldjinah, who has five children and six grandchildren, does not discriminate between people based on social status. She said she showed the same respect to those whose form of appreciation was a simple thank you, or others able to pay her handsomely.

"I never fix a fee for my show. I only wish to befriend everybody. I get paid for my singing talents because singing is my profession."

This attitude has ensured Waldjinah's continuing popularity even in middle age.

For noted shadow puppetmaster Ki Mantep Sudaharsono, his ketoprak show is lacking if Waldjinah does not appear as a guest performer, even if it does cost him millions of rupiah.

Waldjinah's fame has not been accompanied by ostentatious wealth.

She lives in a modest old house and owns only one car.

Her only wish is to earn enough to provide her children with proper schooling, and her goal has been realized.

"Some people may think that I am really wealthy because I perform everywhere. They couldn't be more wrong. I live a modest life as I have always done."

Waldjinah received few royalties although many of her albums were hits. She says producers told her sales did not meet targets. "I never want to quibble. Let other people enjoy the fruits of my endeavor."

Even in hard times like today, when most people find it difficult to crack a smile, Waldjinah never loses her cheer. "Life will be very easy if you resign yourself to God, and keep faith in your conscience."