Mahatma Putra

India and Indonesia are countries that achieved their independence in an almost exact time. India celebrates its independence on 15th of August 1947, while Indonesia is on the August 17th 1945, two years earlier than India. India has struggled for their independence from Britain while Indonesia from Dutch. These two countries share certain values and traditions applied in their social life, for colonial’s occupation has made their mentality to grow in difficult conditions. If we see some Javanese and Indian values, their philosophy are very much alike for their similarities and strong roots of Hinduism. However there are certain things that have vanished in Indonesia caused by the enculturation processes and Islamic values that have erased some basic fundamental Hinduism values. Ahimsa is one of India’s values that have been erased during Islamic proselytizing. Literally ahimsa translated as a term that means not to do any harm. Ahimsa is avoidance of violence. This principal is an imp...

Indonesia is a vast archipelago that unites a lot of ethnic groups that has their own values and traditions. From Dutch occupation for almost 350 years, then Indonesia learn to unite by suffered together under colonial's rule. From the difficulties Indonesian people had been facing for 3 centuries, then they have learned to cope all the problems collectively together due their lack of education and intellectualism. The circumstances required them to think and do things with a lot of not-so-intellect brains in order to solve their problems. The condition then made Indonesian people --from all ethnic groups-- becoming more collectivist. They depend on each other on almost every aspect in their life. The needs of others in Indonesia are very high. From here then born things such as gotong-royong and musyawarah. Gotong-royong is an Indonesian way to work together in almost every aspect of their social life. Up until now, in Indonesian country-sides still we could see, for example, when...

  "For the words that flows from your heart are my finest tranquilizer"  The story began when loads of smoke exhaled throughout my mouth, the uncountable substances that flew out from my mouth to fill the room that fully loaded with unstable people that would like to complete themselves thoroughly, for their essence in life are to seek the meaning of life by living their life undeniably, free from our tight social-constructed system. I have had a contenting experience with the one, whose name is reflecting the purpose of my own life to illuminate the black nights, ascribing the essence of loneliness that indirectly spoke in the name of the truth, and then conquered it once and for all, for today. For the taper always be the source of light in our small and peaceful hut, and the stars always shine to direct the way in the age of the darkness, accompanying pilgrims to wade the oceans, all over again. And there will be Set, our mighty Egyptian god that always have killed ...

When I was just a little boy, I asked my mother, "What would I be?" "Will I be famous, will I be rich?" Here's what she said to me "Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be" "The future is not ours to see, que sera sera" When I was just a child in school, I asked my teacher, "What should I try?" "Should I take photos, or should I write?" This was his wise reply "Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be" "The future is not ours to see, que sera sera" When I grew up and fell in love, I asked my sweetheart "What lies ahead?" "Will we have rainbows, day after day?" Here's what my sweetheart said. "Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be" "The future is not ours to see, que sera sera"

  “Even if thousands of Socrates resurrects and have another thousand years of dialectics, still they could not describe this Love." - Mahatma Putra Photo: Mahatma Putra 's Personal Archive What I am about to write is something that is corny and shallow when it is not being experienced. It is about one's purpose in life, to find a moment when someone feels complete thoroughly. A moment when life and dead, are no longer the main points of joy and fear. Questions about God are no longer relevant when you experienced Him/Her. That moment of that experienced named love. It is all one have to experience, to feel the rush that given directly from that transcendent being, and often given separately into the hearts of two human being. Therefore, it will become something astonishing that drive them remarkably crazy to find that other half -I like to understand it as arche 1 . One’s search will stop when they give up. But for me personally, giving up is not a condition...

Photo: Mahatma Putra 's Personal Archive I used to see ‘a’ world in black and white. Yes, I was a color-blinded person. I had never seen colors before, and sometimes, especially, when the night was very dark, it was funny and dizzy to walk on the street. But I’ve changed –now I see colors in everything! Not because I’ve had an eye-surgery and replace my color-blinded eyes with some fresh-colored eyes. I had some kind of holy- dumoly -magic-water poured into my eyes, and suddenly I saw that sky’s color was not a light gray, it was blue, and my girlfriend’s nipple was pink! I thought it was very grayish, near to the white. It was my first day to see the real world. God is great, eh? But still, I did not know what was the purpose of my new eyes, that most of the people I met, ever so often said that it was a gift from God. Then I used to reply them arrogantly yet frantically, “don’t you dare to tell me as if I don’t know what it is!” I knew there was something more I could...

"A Man Left Lonely" A man left lonely will soon grow tired of waiting, He'll do crazy things, yeah, on lonely occasions. A simple conversation for the new women now and again Makes a touchy situation when a good face come into your head. And when he gets lonely, he's thinking 'bout her women, He knows she's taking him for granted, yeah yeah, Honey, he doesn't understand, no no no no! Well, the fevers of the night, they burn an unloved man Yeah, those red-hot flames try to push old love aside. A man left lonely, he's the victim of the life, yes he is. When he can't keep up his own way, good Lord, He's got to do the best that he can, yeah! A man left lonely, Lord, that lonely boy, Lord, Lord, Lord! * a modification of "A Woman Left Lonely" by Janis Joplin

Photo: Mahatma Putra 's Personal Archive The room was black, as black as his past. He sat there alone, in his black Victorian-chair, accompanied only by his books. He had no friends, for he thought there were no one he could speak to, he thought everyone else was dumb and that if he socialize with them, it could lead him away to reach enlightenment. So he locked himself in his black painted office, where he could spoke and listened to Heidegger and Machiavelli -some of his few imaginary friends. They told him -and he believed- that when he had enlightened, his black-painted office would transform itself into a brilliant white box. When someone was too lonely, sometimes there was a voice that one couldn’t differ whether it was real or not. He had been a director in Mayhem-Factory for almost a thousand years. This job was no different than any other job; it had its ups and downs, and maybe this time, right now was the most-down side his job. He mourned a lot, for everything ar...

Photo courtesy of Change! Magazine. Photographer: Mahatma Putra. Model: Astrid. Make-up Artist: Alya. Fashion Stylist: Arfa Suci So, what is fashion? Literally fashion was translated as a mode for people to dress, and fashion always come to the term of noun. It is a thing that cycling around the era, something abstract that tells people how to dress properly and in the end is accepted as a trend. Fashion is a trend on how people should dressed around their time, and the person who could afford to follow the trend literally -some called them the ‘fashion victim'- called fashionista . Quoting from wikipedia: "Fashion is the style and custom prevalent at a given time, and it commonly refers to current clothing styles." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion on September 6th, 2010. Even the open-source encyclopedia mentions it ignorantly, forgetting its own roots and history, and deviate from the origin of itself. From Oxford English Dictionary, we could ...

Photo: Mahatma Putra 's Personal Archive The room was black, as black as my past. The memories were dark, glancing in a blast. From an old clock rack, tick-tocked in a rush. _ It was rainy today, I saw at the weather forecast. It was wet and cold, yet we ate Haagen-Dazs. We were together, yet we listened to Radiohead's 'Just.' Finally you said that I had life none could adjust. You left me alone like that girl in Bang-Bus. I shocked, nearly stopped my pulse. It was on that park, I remembered that dog's bark, I felt that cold spark. _ It was on that grass, we met and talked, it was all about us. Sipped some wine each a glass, until your cheek's blushed. We toasted to a past, for the life we have passed.

The stone-shaped man answer her question gently, “We were going to a place called Mayhem-Factory!” said stone-shaped man gladly. Che liked to watch nasty-b-movie-sadistic films, but she did not like to be in a chaotic situation. She liked to watch butchers cutting their meats, but she could not stand to see her friends cries for a mere broken heart. She could stand blood, but not tears. She would like to go there, Mayhem-Factory seems to be a very strange, exciting, and mystical place, but she felt that maybe if she came back to the school now, was not too late. There still must be a celebration party, and she loved party. Che did believe in astrology, her zodiac was Leo; perhaps that’s why Che liked party very much, because according to her belief, Leo was popular and liked to be the center of attention. The stone-shaped man could read her mind -it was a mystical creature, eh? It knew that Che did not want to miss the party, but it also knew that Che also liked new t...

Her name was Che. Che was nothing but an ordinary good-girl; she always sleep at ten o’clock and never forget to brush her teeth. She studied diligently, and took an oath to become a nun when she grew up. Che is a lovable daughter, sister, and friends. No one in this world would love her not. This summer, she was still at high school, but in a blink of an eye she would attend college, majoring politic. Her childhood dream to become a nun vanished, although she still admired Mother Teresa, one of her role models beside Diana Krall and Che Guevara. If she could, she would like to become the fusion of them. She wanted to play jazz-piano to entertain the poor while she wrote and led a revolution war -an ordinary dream for a smart sixteen-year-old child. She admired Che Guevara very much beside of the fact that her father named her after him. She was very proud of her name. She built her confidence through Che Guevara, and was influenced by him. On her sixteenth birthday sh...

From the day all the planets formed, lived a creature that until now no one ever knew what really created it, like it was exist eternally. It was not a man nor woman, some people now will called it 'she-male,' or 'hermaphrodite.' It color always changed. Sometimes it was blue, but on the dawn of a man it skin turned black and red, when it walked around dessert its color turned green. It always shaped according to the universe needs, sometimes it was like bull, there was a time it shaped like fish and cross, but usually it shaped like a ball, a perfect circular ball. It had no eyes, no ears, nor a heart, but people now still talks to it, wanted it to watch what they do, and begged for its mercy. No one knows what the creature name. Some people called it god.

He lighted his cigarette and sucked it deeply. He felt relieve tonight he could go to a bar in Jalan Jaksa to met his loyal friends, Jack and Johnny. Jack Daniels always brought him back to his small and peaceful garden at his home in rural area of London, where he usually spent his time laying around, drinking, and wandering of a new places, while Johnny Walker usually walked his way home to a small flat in south Jakarta, Johnny helped him to sang on his way back home. Few hours later he arrived at “Kosmos,” his favorite bar, although he still did not know what is the essential meaning of such as “favorite” or “truth,” because for him to know what is “favorite” and “truth” means you have to choose one absolute thing. Anyway, he stepped in, grabbed some beers -for starter, sat, and waited. He waited for Dini. Dini left her Mini Cooper around the corner of Jalan Jaksa and walked to “Kosmos”. Likewise, every Saturday night was hard to find a parking lot at Jalan Jaksa. Dini came to “...

Once upon a time lived a man that never took a bath. He hates water as much as he hates time. He didn’t like the flow of them both because they always led him to the end, end of everything, and the beginning of the greater mystery. Water will led him into an open ocean, place that led him to nowhere, while time will led him to an oldness, a wisdom. But he did not want to become old. He wants to be an idiot, a stupid person who always curious about wisdom itself. He had a round face with funny-looking glasses. His hair was long, not as long as his penis. He wants a longer and bigger penis, but his god turned him down. His god thinks that he would not able to control his penis, so he gave him a short and tiny penis, to prevent him from getting syphilis. Because if you shy of the size of your penis, you wouldn’t dare to use it carelessly, you will use is wisely. His name was Daud. Like in the bible, Daud likes women very much. He could spend his time wandering around his n...

We passed upon the stair, we spoke in was and when Although I wasn’t there, he said I was his friend Which came as a surprise, I spoke into his eyes I thought you died alone, a long long time ago Oh no, not me We never lost control You’re face to face With The Man Who Sold The World I laughed and shook his hand, and made my way back home I searched for a foreign land, for years and years I roamed I gazed a gazeless star, we walked a million hills I must have died alone, a long long time ago Who knows? Not me I never lost control You’re face to face With the Man who Sold the World Who knows? not me We never lost control You’re face to face With the Man who Sold the World The Man “The Man Who Sold the World” is a song written by David Bowie and popularized by Nirvana. Kurt Cobain sang this song a moment before his suicide action. Implicitly, maybe Kurt wanted to tell the people that he ‘d already sold the world. Personally, I think he overstepped David Bowi...

Amir is a title for Arabic nobleman. Around Jakarta, there was a man named Amir. He was not a nobleman, and not an Arab as well. He was a plain Javanese, flat-nosed, and a bit flat-minded. Amir like to hunt. In his spare time, he went to the jungle in Karawang, riding his old Volkswagen car, side by side with his rifle. An ordinary air-rifle inherited from his late father. For Amir, to hunt is to control, to conquer, to become god. Amir believes in god, his religious dogma, and he also believes in his dear country. He was lucky, he never doubt. He was not choosing to believe, he had been chosen. By his god and his country. In his mind at least. Beside his great devotion to his god, Amir is a mere human. A human who wants power and greatness. He wants people to envy him. Amir felt power-hunger for the first time when he was a boy. One day Amir went fishing at the lake near his school. He’s good at fishing. But today he realized something extraordinary. When he saw a f...