BUKAN THREE MUSKETER: Isbedy, Kurnia Effendi, Oyos
Early one afternoon in early August 2005, some 30 employees of an automotive company could not help but be perplexed when entering a caf‚ in the compound of an automotive company in Jl. M.T. Haryono, East Jakarta.
At first, the employees, apparently exhausted after attending the meeting that had started much earlier that day, thought Kurnia Effendi, one of their colleagues, would take them to lunch.
However, Kurnia, an employee of the automotive company and also a short-story writer, did not permit them to start eating.
Instead, he had something of a surprise for his work mates. He was going to launch his latest book of short stories, Aura Negeri Cinta (Aura of the Country of Love).
He was going to introduce his colleagues -- who spent their days dealing solely with automotive matters -- to literature.
Already present at the caf‚ were Asma Nadia of the Lingkar Pena Publishing House, Chusnato, who also manages www.sriti.com, Sisi Arsianti, editor for Metafor publishers, Emiria Dita Prasanti, one of Kurnia's nieces and also a character in one of Kurnia's short stories, as well as several contractors, who were business associates of the automotive company where Kurnia is employed.
"Allow me on this happy occasion to introduce some healthy reading matter for teenagers. I call it healthy reading because the short stories in this book are free of scenes depicting passionate embraces or kisses, although they do dwell on love. So, if you have teenage children, you should buy this book."
The audience agreed to listen to a short-story reading before starting their lunch. Shortly after Kurnia's opening speech, Dita Prasanti started reading one of Kurnia's stories.
As many as 46 copies of Kurnia's latest book and several copies of his other two books, Senapan Cinta (Gun of Love) and Bercinta di Bawah Bulan (Making Love Under the Moonlight) were sold that afternoon.
Writing 'in his blood'
That was how Kurnia, an Indonesian contemporary short-story writer, and also a group head for network development of an automotive company, introduced literature to his colleagues.
Three other books of short stories by Kurnia were launched at more serious literary events here and there, though with nuances of pop culture.
The launch of his first collection of short stories, Senapan Cinta (published by Kata Kita, 2004), for example, was marked by a short story reading by actress Cornelia Agatha, while during the launch of Bercinta di Bawah Bulan (Metafor, 2004) actress Wulan Guritno appeared as the guest star.
Born in Tegal, Central Java, in 1960 and graduating from the interior design department of the school of fine arts and design of Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Kurnia began his literary activities when he was still a teenager. While still an ITB student, he was president of the Literary Appreciation Group (GAS) of ITB in 1986.
He started writing in 1978, when he was still studying at the STM Pembangunan high school in Semarang. His early stories were published in Gadis and Aktuil magazines and also in the Sinar Harapan daily. Kurnia has frequently entered writing contests and has earned about 30 citations, six of which were first prizes.
Although he is a full-time employee in the automotive company, he has never stopped writing. Kurnia's job entails visiting car showrooms across the country, and he makes use of this opportunity to meet fellow writers from other regions.
"When I meet fellow writers, I feel like a recharged battery. I have used many of my friends' stories as material for my own short stories. I usually have a message in my stories. I also pay special attention to the beauty of language in my writing. I always try to retain the melodious nature of the language I use," said Kurnia, who added he was very fond of Alistair McLean's books when he was a teenager.
Kurnia has written a collection of poems, Kartu Nama Putih (White Name Card), which was published by Biduk, Bandung, in 1997, in addition to four books of short stories.
His latest book of short stories, Kincir Api (Fire Mill) was published by Gramedia Pustaka Utama in August 2005. His poems and short stories can also be found in dozens of anthologies with other poets and short-story writers.
In 2004, his short story Terompet (Trumpet) was chosen as one of 14 best short stories by Horison literary magazine, and his other piece, Roti Tawar (Bread), was one of 10 best short stories making up the Kompas 2005 Collection of Best Short Stories.
Love's tricky course
Most of Kurnia's short stories deal with love. He says that the theme of love has yet to be exhaustively explored in Indonesian literature, so it is always interesting to write stories having love as their theme. Love, he went on to say, though, is not always plain sailing.
"Love is present when we feel sad, bitter or painful. So, when I write about adultery or an unrequited love, the essence remains love. I believe that no matter how evil a human being is, he still has a morsel of love," said Kurnia, who is married to Ratu Ade Wasna and has two children, Najma Amtanifa and Afi Syaifi Irzan.
His short stories are based not only on his own observations but also on other people's experiences. He added that he had another technique to find material for his short stories: making a collection of titles that he thinks are interesting.
If he happens to have no time to jot down an idea that strikes him, he will usually tell this idea to a friend who happens to be near. "So, if I forget, I will ask my friend to retell the idea to me," he added.
For Kurnia, every trip that he makes provides material for his stories. His trip to Surabaya, for example, has become the material for his story titled Abu Jenazah Ayah (Dad's Ashes). The characters in the story are real people, but the scattering of the ashes is completely fictional.
One night while walking in Tokyo, Kurnia was caught in drizzle. The next day, while on the way to Disney Sea he saw many shopping corridors crowded with people. The Starbucks cafe was also crowded. Later, these experiences became the background of his story titled Lelaki Yang Menghilang Dalam Gerimis (The Man Who Disappeared in the Drizzle)
The killer tsunami that devastated Aceh and parts of North Sumatra in late 2004 inspired him to write Laut Lepas Kita Pergi (To the Open Sea We Go), a short story laden with mysticism and narration.
Kurnia's short stories have been published not only in leading newspapers like Kompas and Koran Tempo but also in several magazines like Femina.
He also writes short stories for teenagers in Gadis (a teenagers' magazine) and Cinta, a magazine that only prints short stories.
Although his stories are written seriously, Kurnia does not agree with poet Acep Zamzam Noor's statement that his stories have been written through extraordinarily hard work, saying that many have been written as a form of enjoyment.
"I wrote Lagu Malam Braga (The Braga's Nocturnal Song), for example, in hotel rooms in Bandung and Bandarlampung; the atmosphere was very relaxing then," he added.
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Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung
13 Januari 2006
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