"What is fame if not a social manifestation... or should I say social effluence? Look at the famed prostitutes of today's world, those men and women who through the successful use of their skills have found the upward path to glamor and luxury. Have they ever had their civil rights stolen from them or had to suffer officially sanctioned humiliation and oppression? No, because of their fame, diplomats and head of states open their arms wide to bid them a proud welcome. Fame trumps all political and moral qualms.
When I was your age one of my teachers was the writer Mara Soetan, a fairly well-known man in his day and age. All the students stood in awe of him. Though he was never a large man, his body seemed to have grown smaller with age. His face was shrunken but his eyes, peering from behind his gold-framed spectacles, sparkled and shined. It was he who taught me that everything a person comes to know is the product of what that person does with his life."
* Taken from 'THE MUTE'S SOLILOQUY', a memoir of Pramoedya Ananta Toer [chapter: Natant Ruminations (A letter for Pujarosmi)]
PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER
(2nd. Februari 1925 - 30th April 2006)
Personal note: Beside Buya Hamka, this is one of many writers from Indonesia that my late mother like to follow & her favourite was 'Keluarga Gerilya', a book I read at the age of 6 but if my memory doesn't misled me, I only happened to finish the book at the age of 12. That was the first of his writing I read & second was 'Sekali Peristiwa di Banten Selatan', others of his writing I can't remember much, but still until today his story has become a forever landmark for my skill of writing.
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