Writer finds inspiration on Merapi

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

For Sindhunata, a writer, cultural observer and Catholic priest, there is nothing new about being labeled Chinese.

The Jesuit priest made a name for himself with his famous fiction Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin (The Dwarf Who Directs the Wind). He is also known as a soccer commentator for the Kompas daily newspaper.

Sindhunata, whose father was Chinese and mother Javanese, is never bothered by racist remarks.

"I've never been worried about my origin. Since I was a small boy I have been living in a predominantly Javanese community."

He talks about his father who loved to collect antiques, like kris and spears as well as practicing Javanese asceticism.

"Even when my father died, our neighbors gave him Islam abangan burial procedures and we accepted although we were Catholics and the only Chinese family in the neighborhood."

Romo (Father) Sindhu, as he is affectionately called, was born in Kampung Hendrik, Batu, Malang, East Java 50 years ago. From his childhood until he was in senior high school he lived in this cool village on the slopes of Panderman Hill.

Since his childhood, he has been used to a rural atmosphere: Taking a bath in the river, watching a Ludruk (Javanese opera) or leather puppet performances or taking a walk with village children at night, wearing a sarong.

About 10 meters behind the house, there is a small mosque belonging to Nadhlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest Muslim organization which claims to have 40 million members.

The sweet thing he remembers about his country home is the call for prayer from its loudspeakers and the chanting of the Koran during Ramadhan.

"Sometimes when the memory of rural life comes back, I long to return to my home village, where the feeling of togetherness, peace and security prevails," says Sindhunata, who now lives at Santo Ignatius College, Kotabaru, Yogyakarta.

There is something he has missed terribly from the countryside of Malang, where he spent his childhood: The quiet and peaceful environment where ideas flow freely. It was at Kampung Hendrik where he wrote his greatest work, Anak Bajang Menggiring Angin.

The novel was serialized by Kompas in 1981 and reprinted several times as a book by publisher Gramedia.

It was this atmosphere of Javanese life and culture that inspired him to write this book.

"I don't know why I wrote this story based on the Ramayana epic that the ideas flowed smoothly. It was as if something was pushing me to keep on writing," he says.

"If I'm to write something like this again, I don't think I'm up to it. It seemed as if I was always in a good mood the whole day through. Perhaps I was then very young?" he wonders.

Now that he lives in the hustle-bustle of the city, he has to go to the countryside for its peace and quiet to write.

As a writer, Sindhunata remains productive. He writes short features and essays. The latest article that this philosophy graduate from Hochschule fur Philosophie, Munich, Germany, wrote was an essay Urip Mung Mampir Ngombe, based on Javanese wisdom on how to make the best of life. The article appeared in the latest issue of Basis cultural magazine that he leads.

His other acclaimed essays are Bayang-bayang Ratu Adil (Shadow of Queen of Justice) and Cikar Bobrok, which discuss the present crisis from the Javanese cosmological point of view.

To gratify his longing for a peaceful rural atmosphere where he can write without distraction, Sindhunata has built a cottage on the slopes of Mt. Merapi. The building stands on a bank of the Boyong River.

The locals believe that the river serves as the "highway" connecting the Palace of Mt. Merapi and the South Sea Kingdom. On certain nights, the queen of the South Sea Kingdom can be seen riding her brightly-lit golden carriage, accompanied by her cavalrymen. Locals call this entourage Lampor, and because of this inherited belief, no villagers dare leave their homes when they hear the booming sound and the clanging of the bells of the passing golden carriage carrying queen Nyai Roro Kidul.

The cottage is called Padepokan Karang Kletak because it is located in Karang Kletak hamlet. To add to the uniquely Javanese rural atmosphere, he has put in this cottage a set of simple gamelan called Gamelan Kyai Joko Tentrem.

Every weekend or when he feels bored, Sindhunata retreats here to refresh his mind.

"Actually I have built this cottage to proceed with the tradition of Romo Dick (the late Father Dick Hartoko.) We must discipline ourselves to write every week after getting tired working in the city," he said.

To Sindhunata, a dangdut music buff, this cottage serves as more than just a retreat. Over there he may retrace his nostalgic experiences when he lived in Kampung Hendrik. The cottage generates a similar atmosphere, close to the houses of humble and honest villagers with a strong sense of togetherness.

So now when many people come looking for him to write or speak at a seminar and fail to meet him, he is maybe Padepokan Karang Kletak while enjoying the sound of his gamelan for inspirations.