IN a village in Madura, East Java, Surahmo had long been a fan of ngejung. He had a large tape collection, and often attended live performance events. When his neighbor organized a ngejung, Surahmo offered to lend a helping hand. But on the designated day, he suffered from a bad toothache. He could only listen to the music from his bedroom, trying to obliviate his pain.

The tale of Surahmo the ngejung fan is a short story titled ‘Ngejung&r