UNEXPECTED PLEASURES IN PARIS OF JAWA AND
MEMORIES OF THE MAGIC OF BANDOENG
On a good day, without the perennial
traffic jams Indonesia is famous for, you can reach Bandung from Bogor in about
3 hours, I was advised. I was entrusted to the care of WoWo, on instructions
from my good friend PJ. WoWo turned out to be more like a guardian: Driver,
Guide, and purveyor of Food. After a brief stop at a roadside Starbucks, we
reached Bandung in less than 2 ½ hours.
I had planned to look the remaining Dutch
colonial architecture and I was not disappointed. There were many of them, most
of them in good shape, some of them turned into government building, such as
the Satay Building.
Bandung like Bogor are words from my
childhood, I scratched my head for memories and I realized that I had heard it
from my father, who knew the history of this region, mention it in relation to
some of the giants of the political scene of that time, Nehru of India and
Nasser of Egypt, to whom he bore a resemblance.
I remembered clearly now, once while
visiting him in Kuala Belait, he mentioning about the 1954 conference of
African and Asian states which was to become the Non Aligned Movement,
organized by Soekarno.
Over the years the august body deteriorated
in its ideals, its current head is nothing like a non-aligned state to look up
to: Islamic Republic of Iran!
But this visit was so very satisfying. The
first stop was of course at the African Asian Centre which might have looked
grand in 1954 but the museum and the hotel nearby which still stands which may
have accommodated the leaders stand as withered metaphors for the grandiose
ideas of these western educated leaders who exploited local ignorant
nationalistic fires and turned their countries into poor, corrupt and back ward
nations.
Soekarno and the Chinese hating Suharto are
not remembered and now Indonesia ranks just below China in its rapid growth and
economic potential, but with a huge population of 243 million people stretching
out from the Sharia-crazy Bandar Aceh (you can expect it to become the least
developed part of Indonesia soon, as they are more interested in hijabs and
prayers than human development) to the other extreme ending in Papua, covering
multitudes of islands, volcanoes and languages and cultures!
It is a magnificent country, the most
diverse in all of SE Asia. How lucky am I to have known SEAsian gems like
Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia!
Braga Street gives you a glimpse of the
past. Old cafes have been turned into art galleries but there are enough to
remind you of the grandeur of the café and intellectual culture of Bandoeng of
yesteryears.
A Kopi Tiam, Koffehuis Oey takes you back
to the era of the Kapitans, the Chinese gentlemen of wealth, industry and
influence; very much like the Baba culture of Malacca, who built homes faithful
to their ancestors, maintained their original culture but mixed extensively
with the new. There were many coffee bars still with the flavour of the Dutch
clinging on to them.
While walking along the street, we were
approached by a group of young girls attending a local Muslim school and I have
chronicled that experience in an earlier blog
Encounters with the Enchanted
Certainly that was the highlight of the
visit. Visited the Campus of ITB where Soekarno was once a student. Felt the
very refreshing atmosphere of this university where the university students
walked with pride and confidence and also a sense of unity.
While looking through an Indonesian Book
Store, I was introduced to the Term Hijabbers. Like in Iran, Hijab, even though
not compulsory outside Aceh, has now become a fashion item and I saw multitudes
of books on how to look sexy, romantic, confidant etc. in a hijab! Good on you, Indonesia! There were books on
Wedding Hijab and also fashion models sporting hijabs of various types. So
Hijab has become a fashion item rather than a proclamation of faith or even
more importantly an item to separate one group of people from the next.
The meal at Kopi Tiam Oey was sumptuous and
it was time to leave, within 2 hours 15 minutes we were back in Bogor!
