Hermann Hesse In Sumatra

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Written by Nurel Javissyarqi
Translated by Agus B. Harianto

PELAIANG*
Hermann Hesse

Malam benderang oleh cahaya kilat
Dan menggerenyet dalam sinar memutih
Dan berkedip ganas, goncang dan mencolok
Di atas hutan, sungai dan mukaku pucat.
Bersandar pada batang bambu yang sejuk
Aku berdiri dan menatap tiada henti,
Tanah pucat yang dicambuk hujan
Mendambakan ketenangan,
Dan dari masa muda yang jauh
Mendadak terdengar bagai kilat
Teriakan gembira lewat kesuraman mendung hujan,
Bahwa toh tidak semua hampa,
Bahwa toh tidak semua hambar dan gelap,
Bahwa petir masih memancar
Dan bahwa kebosanan hari-hari
Dilewati rahasia dan keajaiban buas yang membara.
Mengambil nafas dalam aku dengarkan guruh menghilang
Dan kurasakan kelembaban badai di rambutku
Dan untuk beberapa detik aku jaga bak harimau
Dan gembira, seperti pada masa muda
Yang sejak masa itu tiada pernah lagi aku rasakan.

* Pelaiang ialah nama tempat di Sumatera (Pelayang).


PELAIANG *
By Hermann Hesse

The bright night by the light of lightning
And spasm in the light of whiten
And fierce flashes, unstably and conspicuous
On the forest, the river and my face are pale.
Relying on a shaded bamboo stems
I stood and stared at endlessly,
Ashen land whipped by the rain
Crave onto the peace,
And from the distant youth
Suddenly heard like a flash
Shouts of joy through the gloom of clouds and rain,
That indeed all are not empty,
That indeed all are not senseless and dark,
That the lightning is still shining
And that the boredom of days
Passed by secrets and passionate wild magic.
Taking a deep breath I heard the thunder disappearing
And I felt the humidity of storm in my hair
And for a few seconds I guarded like a tiger
And be happy, like in the youth
Which since that nothing ever again I felt.

* Pelaiang is the name of a place in Sumatra (Pelayang).

Hermann Hesse, author of poems and prose which was interested into Asian culture. He was born in Calw, Germany, at 1877. At the age of 18 years, he moved to Basel, Switzerland, working as book seller and also spent most of his life there. In 1911, he was wandering Asia; his experience as well is clearly depicted in his book entitled Aus Indien (From India). When his first married ended, he moved to Montagnola, Switzerland. One of his novels is Siddhartha (1922). He got Nobel Prize in literature in 1946, and died at 1962.
(Took from the book Malam Biru di Berlin (Blue Night In Berlin), translated by Berthold Damshäuser and Ramadhan KH, 1989, which is in retranslation into English would be more or less like above).
***

Remembered to his novel, Siddhartha, I imagined Hesse is the adventurer figure that was sensitive to the style song of Asian and the noble values supported him. The universe tempted the feeling; specific great heart of the artists supports the sense of life to be more meaningful.

Contemplation of the sun bear thousands pieces of meaning or never satisfied to the main light, his efforts affected the composition of stars on the sky to change its own destiny formed.

Through the soul of women apprehended the oddity of I (egoism), his refusal melted with fated tragedy, didn’t involved into the changes and still survive to wander the air and run the color of view.

Curiosity rose up with the stuff of lessons similar unspoken prayer of taught by the ascetically deed, his sorrow life taught him to do not make mistaken of acceleration to get the essence. Sacrificed with divorced his wife, there were lines of resistance, but he had to choose, cut the time that is in the superficial seem fierce.

Every his step was smiled on renewal as balancing matters on the banks of the rivers were visited, his memory focused to the masterpiece since the tired of the time of sensed the eternity.

Wanderer figure seem didn’t go anywhere, but the earth circulating in front of him. Fear and joy is simply a dice, or swing that just about the time it will stop like an object falls.

Impulse of feeling from the past memories had been read in the book, heard the river flow at distant approached to the heart that is in peace to yearn for, desiring to convey the shadow of thought.

He was not prosecuted by the ideas but the height of the heart, the pain of disappointed emitted beautifully, and the appeared suffered as the flower of life that is blooming to know the world.

Read his poem, Pelaiang, I saw Hesse came in the rainy season. Lightning was flashing and he was trembled, the voice of nature rose up from the cliff of the night, ganged the isolated memory to strengthen the soul as young as on in the streets in Switzerland.

There was dismay but with a smile of friendship of this nature of his previous time, more intimately to see the testimony of universe, he was destined to be the great being, clink of the bell of shadow made unity component facing the sky.

Whether worriedly or joy driven (motivated) by something that was not manifested yet, India was still far away land, his notes had deadlock or doubts that haunted from the dealt past or the day after.

It is a solid chunk that must be cut down by the reasoning of tough masculinity by read the signs. Whether caused by his reading in the other parts of Asia in the past, he dragged his fate into the jungle of Sumatra.

His feet covered in dirt, rain dropped heavily with the glint of sword of continuance lightning. The incident was never forgotten in his next journey.

The figure of searcher without boring researched the universe of values of life. Beautiful scenery in the morning, fresher than yesterday, the most polite tropical breeze was beautiful as pretty as the singing praises of Eastern buzzing in the ears of tenderness.

His conviction grew to be younger; battle of space-time in various countries stabled him, the wanderer that disgruntled to search the existence of soul.

For him, live was updating the value from the voices of ages at behind, explored the secrets of the world of heart to conduce absolute will, by composing literature to preserve the cultural.