Romo Mangun

I was on my second year at senior high school when I first met JB Mangunwijaya, who is more widely known as Romo Mangun, in an interview for the school magazine's feature story. I can still recall vividly the words he said when I asked him for the interview.

"Hmmm… how convenience you are. I have to do all the thinking and all you have to do is just write them down."

The sharp words have a sinister ring to it. Subsequent encounters were mostly through his works, essays or books that he had written, aside from numerous occasions, where I met him during my “extra cast” days in the “Girli”, short form of pinggir kali (riverside) community in bank of Code, Yogyakarta.

Of course, it is inappropriate for a high school boy to judge another persons based solely on first impressions, especially when it involves a Romo Mangun. Most of us are certainly no strangers to Romo Mangun’s works that reach into various areas of expertise, namely architecture, culture, literature and education, not to mention the many humanitarian acts that have brought out the true nobleness of Romo Mangun.

There is Erwithon Ngapitupulu or more popular as Erwin, a farmer architect of architect farmer, who for years has been documenting architectural works of Romo Mangun religiously, using his own means and expenses.

Erwin’s documentation on Romo Mangun’s works has never been an easy task as the architectural structures were in an immense variety and scattered far and wide to the remotest parts. More daunting still, is the fact that not all Romo Mangun’s architectural designs were in drawings. One example is Arief Budiman’s house in Salatiga. When I happened to visit the residence of this new order regime rebel, Leila Ch Budiman, Arief’s wife recollected how Romo Mangun had scribbled the initial design of the house on the ground using a twig.

All the years documenting Romo Mangun’s masterpieces brought Erwin to a disheartening realization of how today’s generation are seem to be ignorant toward Romo Mangun’s existence, or worse, doesn’t know him at all. This gave the lecturer, who lives in Bandung, the encouragement to keep promoting the works, thoughts and ideas of Romo Mangun.

I consider myself lucky, when I got the privilege of helping Erwin designing T-shirts for Romo Mangun’s admirers. On Erwin’s insight, I managed to design a caricature of Romo Mangun to be printed on the T-shirts. Not only as an effort to raise funds for his documentation works, the sales of these T-shirts is also expected to be able to bring Romo Mangun’s figure closer to the hearts of the younger generation.

March on Erwin!... Keep Romo Mangun’s spirit and idealism alight!