Farewell, Professor!

Friday afternoon, 14:50 Netherlands time. Motul sent me a pm: Prof. Sudjoko passed away. So sudden; no sign, nor preliminary news beforehand. I browsed rightaway the Alumni Seni Rupa ITB mailing list; there are three posts asking for confirmation of this rumor. Furthermore, Motul (who heard additional news from an 89 alumni) said that indeed nobody knew about it; he was found by his neighbours, already three days gone (therefore, at present, is being investigated by the police). How sad.

People might be familiar with his articles in Kompas, usually discussing the use of Indonesian language. There's humour in his article, however bitter. He was also very active in our mailing list, mostly 'pulling our ears' to see the other side of any news, which often roused controversies - even anger - from other members. He used to send emails to the editors of newspapers, such as de Volkskrant, to inquire terms in Dutch language he found in that paper that he's not familiar with. Old as he was, he never stopped learning.

He used to be our lecturer in the History of Asian Culture class, which started at 07:00 in the morning. Of course some of us came late and missed the attendant list; those he didn't hesitate to nag in front of the whole classroom - even in front of the whole students who happened to pass by the lecture building. He was famous, sure, for his style of being very rude and stern, although I was sure he meant that for something. I, by the way, hardly ever get nagged because I was among the nerds who were very discipline and turned in our assignments on time and all. But facing Prof. Sudjoko, one can either turned to disilke him, or to take a positive side of his rudeness, or both.

Anyhow, I'll continue this journal after I receive further and clearer news about his passing.
In the meantime, I just pray for his soul to have a good rest.

============================================
Saturday morning..

I checked Kompas online and found an orbituary page: Prof Dr Sudjoko Ditemukan Meninggal. Posts in mailing lists of ITB lecturers and Product Design alumni added to the information about a last salute in ITB and his burial. It's time to move on - still keeping in mind values that he actually taught us. The last e-mail I received from him (dated Aug 20, perhaps one day before he's gone) was about a Mozart concert in Beijing by Lang Lang (a pianist), that was broadcasted by Metro TV. His email, like many others, was sent to many people, contained images and midi files. He used to tirelessly remind us, alumnis of an art & design school, to include images in our email. He used to be very actively involved ITB choir and film community, all which only confirm his commitment to enrich our cultural insights.

What I'm going to write here is our contact during my stay in The Netherlands. Around the end of 2001, he mailed me, asking me to track down a long-lost friend of his: Sie Hauw Tjong (a fellow ITB art student, who departed to The Netherlands perhaps in the 50s). During the search, I found instead Thé Tjong-Khing, also a former ITB art student, who now resides in Haarlem and is a reknowned illustrator. Pak Khing informed us that Sie Hauw Tjong has passed away years before. Pak Khing, whom we also learn a lot from, lent me several old photographs from the days when he was studying in Bandung (see my journal about Pak Khing here and here). I scanned them and sent them to Prof. Sudjoko, who became very delighted and started telling about those days (also to Pak Khing, despite the fact that Pak Khing can no longer speak Indonesian as good as we do).

2002 was the year that VOC had its 400th anniversary. I went to the Scheepvaart museum in Amsterdam to gather some materials concerning the VOC commemoration for Prof. Sudjoko, for he's known to be very interested in history. I had my sister take these materials (booklet, poster, etc.) to Bandung, where a person (Prof. Sudjoko's acquintance) supposed to deliver the package to him. I didn't know wheter he ever received it.

Much later, he was still active in a couple of mailing lists. I just did a search in my mailbox using the keyword "Sudjoko", and there they are: emails of images, news, encouragement, etc. - mostly sounding out humanity, all in Sudjoko style. I'll end this entry by listing some lessons I learned from his lifestyle:

• Write and read properly, in any language. Especially in Indonesian, because that's our national language (eventhough it's not everyone's mother tongue), and also in English, since it is, for now, an absolute access to information and international relationship.
• Be humble. Never act as if you're higher than other people only because you're older, more fortunate, or have a higher academic degree. Express it in your gesture, body language, and acts.
• Never stop learning, don't hesitate to ask questions, however simple, to improve your knowledge.
• Keep a cool head in a heated discussion, while still being recourseful.
  
• Never lose your sense of humour.

Farewell, Professor. I'm sure your spirit and good deeds will be continued by those who have known you.


Klipping:
- Pikiran Rakyat (Sat 26 Aug): Budayawan Keras Itu Telah Berpulang
- Detik.com (Sat 26 Aug): Profesor ITB Ditemukan Meninggal Setelah 4 Hari
- Kompas (Wed 6 Sept): Sudjoko yang Lurus dan Khas

Image: Map of Batavia from around 1642, graph of Mattheus du Chesne, KITLV - among the 400-year VOC commemmoration documents. Source: VOC Kenniscentrum, KITLV

Copy of Prof. Sudjoko last email that I received (it was sent to several recipients):

-----Original Message-----
From: Sudjoko [mailto:djokojls@bdg.centrin.net.id]
Sent: Mon 8/21/2006 8:42 AM
Subject: Di Forbidden City

(foto Lang Lang)
Lang Lang, pianowan

Siang ini, 21 Agustus 2006, jam 14.05
Siaran Ulang Metro-TV: MOZART DI BEIJING

Pokoknya SUPER deh!

Arek2 di Kompas mbok ya
bikin rekaman VCD-nya
(lebih cepat, minta salinannya dari METRO-TV)

mbak Sofia gimana? Bisa bikin VCD-nya?
lantas kirim sekeping kepada saya, hehehe!