Monas Park
A visit to Monas (National Monument) is refreshing, relaxing for the Jakarta citizen, stressed after seeing, hearing all the dreary “modern” fuss of an over-crowded city-life.
Trees planted in Monas are now growing into shady woods. Wandering leisurely through it as through Nature’s chapel, treading as on a carpet of golden acacia pollen, hearing de woods resound with wonderful choirs and echoes of singing insects, seeing the green leafage of the bamboo, or the king palm burst into showers of blossoms, seeing the lace-like silhouette foliage against the sky, watching the floating clouds pass by like subtle thoughts or feelings, hearing the joyful chatter and twitter of hundreds or perhaps thousands of starlings and sparrows high up in some tall mahogany tree at dawn and on their return at sunset, breathing the fragrant soft scented air of woods and blossoms, … How cool the shade beneath the trees, how fresh the morning breeze.
I’d even found an oasis, a bubbling spring from some underground broken PAM water-pipe, making lovely shallow pools of unusually clear water, gently flowing as a rivulet. In it were tadpoles, water-snails; fresh water crabs, an occasional fish was sporting among the grass and weeds as water-plants while delicate damselflies were hovering, perching and swaying on its leaves as though on fancy trees and bushes along its banks. It would be fine if we could have some “leakages” made on purpose, as to create more permanent springs, pools and streamlets, at least for birds to drink and frogs and dragon-, damsel-flies to breed.
There is a stately young waringin, waiting for deer; coconut trees waiting for squirrels to chase and play hide-and-seek; woods for birds, chameleons, big tree-spiders, forest-ants, fireflies, grasshoppers, chirping crickets, cicadas that sing in the breeze; ponds, waiting for a duck-family or water-birds, frogs, fish, water-lilies; flowers that should invite bees and butterflies and not to forget the little snails, looking like fairy-tale sledges or tiny sailing boats, sliding and sailing up and down on stalks and leaves.
It’s people that were doing most of the harm on holidays as they flock or swarm like ants, making a lot of noise, playing loud music and leaving much dirt and rubbish behind.
How I wish Monas someday, growing so large in area that it would include Lapangan Banteng, the Istiqlal mosque, the Cathedral, Immanuel church, the Palace and the Ciliwung river flowing through it. But that wouldn’t happen in the near future as we only slowly would become wiser. Perhaps we’d see the storks and herons visiting Jakarta again as in former times; sailing, gliding, occasionally sporting in soaring, diving, circling, dancing as fascinating fireworks and vanishing away as in a dream or the close of a wonderful song.
Indonesia Times, July 8, 1986
A visit to Monas (National Monument) is refreshing, relaxing for the Jakarta citizen, stressed after seeing, hearing all the dreary “modern” fuss of an over-crowded city-life.
Trees planted in Monas are now growing into shady woods. Wandering leisurely through it as through Nature’s chapel, treading as on a carpet of golden acacia pollen, hearing de woods resound with wonderful choirs and echoes of singing insects, seeing the green leafage of the bamboo, or the king palm burst into showers of blossoms, seeing the lace-like silhouette foliage against the sky, watching the floating clouds pass by like subtle thoughts or feelings, hearing the joyful chatter and twitter of hundreds or perhaps thousands of starlings and sparrows high up in some tall mahogany tree at dawn and on their return at sunset, breathing the fragrant soft scented air of woods and blossoms, … How cool the shade beneath the trees, how fresh the morning breeze.
I’d even found an oasis, a bubbling spring from some underground broken PAM water-pipe, making lovely shallow pools of unusually clear water, gently flowing as a rivulet. In it were tadpoles, water-snails; fresh water crabs, an occasional fish was sporting among the grass and weeds as water-plants while delicate damselflies were hovering, perching and swaying on its leaves as though on fancy trees and bushes along its banks. It would be fine if we could have some “leakages” made on purpose, as to create more permanent springs, pools and streamlets, at least for birds to drink and frogs and dragon-, damsel-flies to breed.
There is a stately young waringin, waiting for deer; coconut trees waiting for squirrels to chase and play hide-and-seek; woods for birds, chameleons, big tree-spiders, forest-ants, fireflies, grasshoppers, chirping crickets, cicadas that sing in the breeze; ponds, waiting for a duck-family or water-birds, frogs, fish, water-lilies; flowers that should invite bees and butterflies and not to forget the little snails, looking like fairy-tale sledges or tiny sailing boats, sliding and sailing up and down on stalks and leaves.
It’s people that were doing most of the harm on holidays as they flock or swarm like ants, making a lot of noise, playing loud music and leaving much dirt and rubbish behind.
How I wish Monas someday, growing so large in area that it would include Lapangan Banteng, the Istiqlal mosque, the Cathedral, Immanuel church, the Palace and the Ciliwung river flowing through it. But that wouldn’t happen in the near future as we only slowly would become wiser. Perhaps we’d see the storks and herons visiting Jakarta again as in former times; sailing, gliding, occasionally sporting in soaring, diving, circling, dancing as fascinating fireworks and vanishing away as in a dream or the close of a wonderful song.
Indonesia Times, July 8, 1986
No comments:
Post a Comment