meet pak sugeng :)
this picture was taken a few months ago by a friend of mine’s blackberry. we were having breakfast at one of our fave spots - bubur tanjung, menteng. pak sugeng played a javanese sitar while humbly singing a love song (at least that’s what i can capture from some familiar javanese words). back then, i was so eager to take his pic, but too shy to approach him personally.
today, after a month of absence, i had my fave chicken porridge back. and this time i got a sweet chance to meet pak sugeng again. as he drew himself closer, i smiled and nodded my head. and there, he started his playing on the pentatonic melody. wish to digest the song and enjoy it more profoundly, i decreased my eating tempo.
after finishing a gentle song, i thanked him as handing a few pieces of paper to him. then we began to converse. asking him some questions about his sitar, he offered me to buy it. he is about to go home, paying for his kid’s examination fee, thus buying his sitar would be helpful. i was really tempted, but again i didn’t bring enough money (although he said i could pay a down payment and complete it when he’s back in jakarta) and i don’t want to take advantage of his kind offer (at first he didn’t set the price, he let me pay voluntarily as much as i could afford, but i insisted him to let me know the basic price because i had no idea how much it costs). finally he gave me his business card so i could contact him anytime needed.
sunday morning, smile is rolling. the sky seems even bluer than any other days. maybe it’s only an effect of a very special encounter with a simple guy, which i believe has a genuine heart. or maybe jakarta’s sky is really brighter today.
