Sometimes modernity comes to an unexpected world. Sometimes it is not clear whether it appears from without or within. Listen, for instance, to the story of Djasi'ah.

She is the main character in Daoed Joesoef's memoirs, titled Mother (Emak), which tell of his mother, remembered with deep love. She came from a farming family in North Sumatra, and married Moehammad Joesoef, a milk dealer who also cultivated a few fields.

The couple was ill