Umar Kayam, A Celebration of Life

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Forty days after he was laid to rest in Karet, Umar Kayam, a noted man of culture, still thrills people everywhere. His resonant voice mixing Indonesian, Javanese, English and Dutch in an eloquent, powerful and humorous sentence; his vibrant short stories which are beyond comparison; his great enthusiasm for food, arts, familial relationships and friendship. Just like his alter ego, Ageng, Kayam lived his life without a grand plan, flaming ambition or conscious strategy. Kayamand Agengwere figures that celebrated life. With all the difficulties that stifled him, he lived this life with a relaxed and humorous attitude and complete fervor. The following is a TEMPO report on parts of his life: his involvement and approach to literature, politics, films, theater, fine arts and the academic realm. This and articles by Taufik Abdullah, Nirwan Dewanto, Bakdi Soemanto, Bambang Bujono and Laksmi Pamuntjak, highlight just a few of Kayams contributions to a world that he loved dearly.

. tempo : 173515262669.

and the young man simply got close to Sri quickly and hugged her. And in response Sri simply hugged him tightly. She shut her eyes tightly and she felt a few teardrops flow down the side of her cheeks. Hugging each other tightly were two human beings, a woman close to 50 years old and a young man barely 30 years of age. They were involved in their own con-versations in their own language
(Sri Sumarah, page 99, Umar Kayam)

Umar Kayam gave birth to

...