Oleh Muhammad Amin

Sampai saat tanah moyangku
tersentuh sebuah rencana dari serakahnya kota
terlihat murung wajah pribumi
terdengar langkah hewan bernyanyi

Itulah sebait syair dari lagu “Ujung Aspal Pondok Gede” yang dilantunkan penyanyi kawakan Iwan Fals. Nyanyian itu merupakan satu dari suara kegetiran orang-orang Betawi, penduduk asli Jakarta yang perlahan mulai terpinggirkan oleh modernisasi. Kawasan Pondok Gede sendiri kini sudah menjadi kawasan yang ditumbuhi gedung-gedung, tidak lagi kawasan asli Betawi di zamannya yang nyaman dan asri.

Kisah dalam novel ini bermula dari banjir Jakarta yang entah mengapa menjadi jadwal musiman. Haji Jaelani adalah salah satu warga Betawi yang harus menerima akibat dari perkembangan Jakarta, dan juga menerima konsekuensinya. Salah satunya adalah banjir akibat hilangnya banyak sekali resapan air yang dulu tersedia.

Hampir semua orang betawi memiliki empang. Selain berfungsi untuk memelihara ikan, empang juga sangat penting fungsinya untuk mengantisipasi banjir. Kini, empang-empang itu sudah berganti dengan gedung pencakar langit dan menghilangkan fungsi antisipasi banjirnya.

Haji Jaelani pun harus membuka harinya dengan melawan air. Sofa basah, teve radio dan alat elektronik yang harus diungsikan merupakan langganan pekerjaan ketika banjir mulai melanda. Pengusaha sapi perah ini juga harus pandai-pandai memindahkan sapi-sapinya ke tempat yang aman.

Usai bersih-bersih, rumah Haji Jaelani justru benar-benar ‘’dibersihkan’’. Dengan alasan perkembangan kota, Haji Jaelani mau tak mau harus tergusur dari kampung halamannya sendiri. Tak ada yang dapat diperbuat. Ia hanya pasrah. Sampai ia pun berujar: ‘’Coba dulu babeh gue ngajarin mantra Jiung yang dipake buat nyelametin orang-orang waktu tentara Jepang ngejarah, pasti tanah gue sekarang masih utuh…bisa selamet dari orang-orang yang pada ngegusur!’’

Haji Jaelani tak sendiri. Kronik penderitaan orang-orang Betawi terjadi nyaris di semua lini. Haji Jarkasi, seorang seniman juga mengalami hal yang sama. Kehidupan murid Haji Bokir ini tidak pernah beranjak lebih baik karena seniman Betawi nyaris tak pernah dihargai.

Novel Kronik Betawi ini memang menceritakan latar belakang Betawi dan orang-orangnya yang bersahaja, polos dan apa adanya. Ada harapan, penderitaan, juga kisah cinta yang didedahkan. Dalam Kronik Betawi ini, pengarangnya mencoba seluas mungkin mengeksplorasi budaya Betawi yang perlahan sudah tergerus zaman. Kendati terbilang sangat muda, Ratih Kumala mencoba memaparkan sejarah Betawi dengan upaya maksimal dan detil dengan gaya orang-orang jadul (jaman dulu) yang khas. Di antara yang sering terlupakan, misalnya bahwa Menteng itu merupakan nama buah, Bintaro itu nama pohon dan Kebon Jeruk memang merupakan kawasan perkebunan jeruk.

Orang Jakarta sekarang hanya tahu bahwa kawasan-kawasan itu adalah kawasan gedongan dan elit. Dalam novel ini, Ratih Kumala bercerita tentang perjalanan Betawi dan anak daerahnya menghadapi modernisasi ibu kota. Novel ini memang Betawi asli, dengan bahasa dan sudut pandang penceritaan yang sangat alami dan khas Betawi.***

Sumber: Xpresi Riau Pos.
Buat yang tertarik memesan novel ini, sila klik halaman ini.

Photo by Dalih Sembiring

Ratih Kumala is a Jakartan, first by birth and then by marriage. Born in the city 28 years ago, the writer-cum-editor moved to Palembang, South Sumatra Province, when she was in the fifth grade. She lived there for three years before her family took her to Solo, Central Java Province, where she eventually married writer Eka Kurniawan in 2006. Just one week after the wedding, Ratih followed her husband to the Big Durian.

What was it like to return to your birthplace?

I was shocked to see how much Jakarta had changed, especially the traffic. Let’s just say I’m glad my job doesn’t start at 9 a.m.

What do you do?

Right now I’m a script editor for Bioskop Indonesia, an Indonesian-films-made-for-TV program on Trans TV. I used to be a freelance scriptwriter for Jalan Sesama, the Indonesian adaptation of Sesame Street, and then someone told me that Trans TV was looking for a full-time script editor. I’ve been doing it for three months now.

Has Jakarta changed your personality?

Not that I know of, but when I meet my friends in Solo [Central Java], they say that since I’ve lived in Jakarta, I always seem to be in a rush, that I have become impatient. There, life goes by the saying: Alon-alon waton kelakon [slowly but surely]. Here, my life revolves around deadlines.

How does Jakarta affect your writing?

I think reading materials are the things that affect the way authors write. Wherever you live, your writing style will evolve over time because of what you read. However, Jakarta favors writers that are market-oriented. There is a bigger chance here than anywhere else in the country that you will be influenced to think about what readers want and what the publishing industry is looking for — what really sells.

Jakarta forces you to be realistic. That’s also what I feel as a script editor. My team and I have to weigh up the viewers’ expectations, the producers’ money and the quality of the film altogether.

Were you thinking about the market when you wrote your last novel?

No. “Kronik Betawi” [Batavia Chronicles, published in Republika newspaper as a series] was inspired by my father’s side of the family, which is Betawi [native of Jakarta]. Moving to other regions sort of deprived me of my Betawi roots, but I feel like a Betawi whenever I gather with them here. I put parts of my childhood, my admiration for Benyamin Sueb [a late Betawi artist] and bits and pieces of Betawi culture into the novel. “Kronik” shows how the Betawi people like to get married several times, how they feel strongly about their culture and Islam and how they gradually became marginalized.

What is your Betawi family like?

Just like any other family, except louder! Betawi families also are religious. I was raised in a devout Muslim family. My grandfather was a mosque preacher, and my family used to run a Koran reading group in the village.

What is the greatest thing about Jakarta for you as a writer?

The cafes! Many cafes here offer great atmosphere for writing. There didn’t used to be any cafes in Solo, but during my last visit I saw several.

Where is the best cafe to write in Jakarta?

Bakoel Coffee in Cikini. It’s quiet, especially on the second floor. It has wireless Internet connection and it’s close to the [arts and literary] scene of Taman Ismail Marzuki, which is basically my territory.

Will you stay here for good?

Someday, when my husband and I feel that we can no longer progress, that we have grown too comfortable with life in this city, we will move somewhere else.

Ratih Kumala was talking
to Dalih Sembiring
Source: Jakarta Globe, 11 January 2009.