Lisa Siregar

Mourners gather to remember WS Rendra at a funeral in Depok. (Photo: Lisa Siregar, JG)

Jakarta Mourners Remember Poetry of WS Rendra's Life

Prominent lawyer Adnan Buyung arriving at the funeral. (Photo: Lisa Siregar, JG)

Friends and family gathered for the funeral of poet WS Rendra on Friday, with prayers at Jami Nurul Yaqin Mosque in Depok. He was later buried at the compound of his art workshop, the Bengkel Theater, also in Depok.

The graveside was crowded with a few hundred mourners, including family and friends. All seemed eager to share their recollections of one of the country’s most beloved writers.

“I am sad, but God knows best,” said Yanti Suryo, his younger sister.

“As Rendra’s student at Bengkel Theater, I remember Rendra as an egalitarian,” said Putu Wijaya, a playwright and director. “He always said that we have to be brave to fight power.”

Rendra’s grave is just 10 meters from the resting place of one of his best friends, reggae musician Mbah Surip, who died unexpectedly earlier this week.

“Rendra had prepared the plot years ago. He wished to be buried under a shady tree,” Rendra’s brother-in-law, Iwan Burnani, told Antara news agency.

Six days before he died, Rendra wrote his last poem from his hospital bed, “God, I Love You.” The handwritten poem was displayed at his house in Depok on Friday.

Jero Wacik, the minister of culture and tourism, said Rendra was always passionate about developing art in Indonesia. “We lost Rendra but we shall not lose his spirit,” he said.

“When he received his first payment as an artist,” Rendra’s sister Yanti recalled, “everybody gathered in his bedroom and he joyfully threw the money into the air and he bought new shoes for all his siblings.”

Other mourners included Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal, musician Iwan Fals and Paramadina University rector Anis Baswedan.

“Mas Willy was very humanistic,” Djamal told TV One. “He dedicated his life to art and he was very critical of social realitie s.”

Iwan told Antara that Rendra had recently spent two months in a hospital for heart and kidney problems. He was released on Tuesday, but on Thursday he was rushed back to a hospital in Depok and died at around 10 p.m., less than two hours after he was admitted. He was 73.

The coffin of WS Rendra being carried from the mosque. (Photo: Lisa Siregar, JG)

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