THREE pohon asam ranji (tamarind trees) stand in the grounds of Goenawan Mohamads modest house. The trunks are big and solid. They are more than 3 meters tall with numerous, dense branches. I brought the seeds from my village in Batang, Central Java. My wife and I planted them not long after we moved to this house, said Goenawan, 62.

The rain had just eased up at the simple house in the Tanah Mas area in East Jakarta. It wasnt cold. The wind was b