RENDRA, the poet known as 'The Peacock,' turned 72 last week. His voice no longer resonates as forcefully as before, but his charisma is still as haunting as ever. His words are often interspersed with quotes from the Holy Book.

He keeps busy by reading history textbooks-something he began a few years ago. He absorbs it all, from the origins of fruits and plants found in Indonesia to the rise and fall of kingdoms around the archipelago.

Rendra, who