BandungBergerak.id – Although Haryoto Kunto left 23 years ago, his books are still sought after. His name is almost always mentioned when people talk about old Bandung. Reading the works of “Kuncen Bandung” is like looking back in nostalgia, as well as a mirror to see the condition of the city today, to then look far into the future.

On June 20, 2015, Komunitas Aleut (Aleut Community) had the opportunity to visit the home of writer Haryoto Kunto on H. Moh. Mesri Street or Haji Mesri Street, not far from Bandung City Station. At that time, the holy month of Ramadan had just entered its first week. The atmosphere reminded us of the book Ramadhan di Priangan (Tempo Doeloe) (1996) written by Haryoto Kunto.

The book, which tells the story of the fasting month in Bandung and other cities in Priangan in the past, is dedicated by the author to his beloved wife, Etty Rochaetin Winarya. It was with this woman, who works as an educator at a public high school in Bandung, that Komunitas Aleut (Aleut Community) talked about Pak Harry, the nickname of Ir. Haryoto Kunto, who passed away on October 4, 1999.

Since 1919, the house located at H. Moh. Mesri Street No. 5 has been the family residence of R. Koento Tjokrowidigdo and his wife, who had 11 children, since it was still called Rozelaan. Haryoto Kunto was also born in this house on July 23, 1940.

Haryoto Kunto often tells the atmosphere vividly in his books. Readers are transported to the atmosphere of Rozelaan in the past when it smelled of biscuits and bread from the Valkenet bread and pastry factory located in Litsolaan (H. Rais Street).

As an employee of Staats Spoorwege (SS), now PT KAI, R. Kunto was always have their jobs transferred to many places. Starting from Gombong, R. Kunto’s family lived in several cities along the railroad tracks in West Java and Banten, including Serang (1914), Rangkasbitung (1916), Bandung (1919), Kiaracondong (1925), Cianjur (1934), Cimahi (1935), Purwakarta (1936), Cibatu (1937-1947), and Tasikmalaya (1947).

Haryoto Kunto wrote about his father’s duties as stationmaster (Stationschef) of Cibatu, Garut, in his book Ramadhan di Priangan (Tempo Doloe) (1996). For example, his father and mother's initiative to make a food parade to enliven the time before takbiran night. The insertion of personal stories like this is what makes Haryoto Kunto’s books personal and not rigid like a formal history book that is only filled with a sequence of facts and year numbers.

Although Haryoto Kunto’s writings are more of a popular history of Bandung that is lighthearted and filled with stories and tales, the author tries to include urban issues. The aim is to raise the awareness of readers of his writings, which are not only published in book form, but also distributed as column articles that are regularly published in a media in Bandung.

This concern for urban issues is in line with Haryoto Kunto’s educational background as a graduate of the Planology Department of the Bandung Institute of Technology (Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB)). According to the book Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya (1986), one of his lecturers at ITB was Prof. Ir. V. R. van Romondt, a professor who taught the course History of Indonesian Architecture.

Baca Juga: NGALEUT BANDUNG: History of Urban Legends in Bandung
NGALEUT BANDUNG: Bandung’s Preparation Period

Meeting with W. J. S. Poerwadarminta

Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya is dedicated by Haryoto Kunto to the predecessors, developers, and managers of Greater Bandung. The 1,116-page book is an expansion of his first book, Wajah Bandoeng Tempo Doeloe (1984), which was ‘only’ 383 pages long.

In this book, which is considered a magnum opus, and was only published in its first printing in April 1986, Haryoto Kunto presents the historical trajectory of Bandung from pre-history to the projection of Bandung in the future, with all its problems. There is a special section on Bandung's projected future 19 years after the book was published. This special chapter is titled “Bandung Menjelang Tahun 2005”.

Other chapters in the book are also filled with suggestions and criticisms of city managers, ranging from the issue of cultural heritage buildings, green open spaces, to animal protection. Given its comprehensive contents and rarity, it is not surprising that this book is classified as an antiquarian book with high economic value.

Haryoto Kunto’s first book, Wajah Bandoeng Tempo Doeloe (1984), was dedicated to the memory of his mother, Siti Kadariah Kunto (1902-1983), a post office employee in Tegal. His mother’s cooking skills were famous, to the point of attracting the attention of the Garut Regent’s family to taste her cooking. This incident was published in the book Ramadhan di Priangan (Tempo Doloe) (1996).

It took a long time for Haryoto Kunto to start writing. As written in the author’s biography in the book Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya (1986), it never occurred to him to write, even though his book collection had thousands of copies. Until one day, Haryoto Kunto met the prominent writer and dictionary compiler Wilfridus Jozef Sabarija (W. J. S) Poerwadarminta on a train trip from Jakarta to Yogyakarta.

W. J. S Poerwadarminta’s advice at the meeting would become Haryoto Kunto’s credo in writing: “Write, write everything that comes to your mind! Even if the sentence structure is not perfect, there will be someone who can edit and utilize it.” It was destiny for the son of a train company employee to meet the man who would open the door to a field that would later make his name famous as the “kuncen of Bandung” (Bandung’s caretaker).

Haryoto Kunto and Tens of Thousands of Books in His Personal Library

Etty Rochaetin Winarya talks a lot about her husband’s infatuation with books. Not only books, according to her, her husband also collected old newspapers and magazines. The books and piles of magazines and newspapers then filled all the rooms in his house, spread even on the dining table.

The fondness for books has been there since Haryoto Kunto was a child. According to his best friend, writer and journalist Us Tiarsa R., even when playing marbles, Harry would bring and read books. While waiting for his turn to play, he would pass the time by reading, and when it was his turn to play, his reading book would be clutched in his armpit.

It is not unusual that the number of books in Haryoto Kunto’s house is estimated at 30.000 copies, as stated in the author’s biography on the back cover of the book Nasib Bangunan Bersejarah di Kota Bandung (2000). These tens of thousands of books in Haryoto Kunto’s personal library, which takes up half of the ground floor of his house, are his reference materials for writing books.

After Haryoto Kunto passed away on October 4, 1999, after suffering from kidney failure, the book collection was still well preserved. When Komunitas Aleut (Aleut Community) came to visit in June 2015, there had been no more visitors. As written in the author’s biography of the books written by Haryoto Kunto, it was explained that the book collection of his private library was not open to the public. Not just anyone can visit and enter.

Etty Rochaetin Winarya, as the heir, is very careful in preserving the legacy of her late beloved husband. Many people have offered to take care of the book collection. However, the offers that came from government agencies and private companies, one of which was from a development company where Haryoto Kunto had worked as a consultant, were not suitable.

No matter what, Mrs. Etty still had to make herself available to continue to bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining the treasure trove of knowledge that her husband had inherited. One of the ways she did this was by making the private library closed to the public. Only those who have obtained permission can enter. It was even reported that a journalist from a newspaper had to leave disappointed when he came to investigate.

Mrs. Etty did this to keep the collection of books from being lost, even though the valuable collection was not accessible to the public. According to Mrs. Etty at that time, if one day there was a competent person to take care of her husband's collection of books, she would gladly hand it over to be used for the benefit of many people. But until then, the collection of antiquarian books will remain in the library room at Haryoto Kunto’s residence on H. Moh. Mesri Street.

On the second floor of the house, in which there are photos of the Kunto family, there are paintings of Haryoto Kunto’s three older brothers who died in battle during the Indonesian revolutionary movement for independence. They are Sugiarto Kunto, a student of Kogyo Daigaku Bandung (now ITB) who died in a battle at Lengkong Street on December 5, 1945, Lieutenant Colonel Suroto Kunto, commander of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the Siliwangi Division who went missing and was declared dead when facing the enemy at the Warung Bambu Front, Klari Village, Kerawang on November 28, 1946, and Major Yusuf Kunto who served in the Yogyakarta Army Headquarters as an intelligence officer of the oemoem staff (SO-I) and died during the 2nd Clash on January 2, 1949. Major Yusuf Kunto was also an activist in the Rengasdengklok Incident around the Proclamation of Independence on August 17, 1945. To these three brothers, Haryoto Kunto dedicated his book entitled Balai Agung in Kota Bandung (1996).

Pilgrimage to Haryoto Kunto’s Grave

Along the way, the book review class turned into a literacy class. Literacy class activities are trying to interpret literacy in a broader perspective. It is not only about books, because there are many other activities that actually have a literacy side. One of them is momotoran (motorcycle riding). Through this activity, not only the destination is the main thing, but also how to establish and learn to work together. That is the side that Aleut Community wants to train through this activity. Two-wheeled vehicles are only a means to an end when the destination is impossible to reach by ngaleut or walking together. The most important thing is the process of reaching that destination.

After seven years of literacy class activities, and seven years since the visit to the residence of Haryoto Kunto, whose books have become one of the references for ngaleut activities, Aleut Committees finally had the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Haryoto Kunto’s grave through momotoran activities. Actually, the visit was not planned to find the location of Haryoto Kunto’s grave. It was a mere coincidence based on developments in the field during the Aleut Community’s momotoran to Lembang last Sunday (9/1/2022).

Initially we visited several other places in Lembang, including the grave of Oto Iskandar di Nata at Pasir Pahlawan and the grave of Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn. Being in Lembang, we spontaneously decided to also look for Haryoto Kunto’s grave. With a little information about the name of the place, the Aleut Community momotoran participants were able to find the location of the Kuncen Bandung's grave. Besides a scattering of flowers, a prayer for the deceased was said at his grave.

Haryoto Kunto's great love for Bandung, and the choice of Lembang as his final resting place, easily brings to mind the last words of naturalist Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn: “Groeneman yang budiman, maukah engkau membukakan jendela kamarku ini…., aku ingin berpamitan dengan gunung-gunungku yang tercinta. Buat akhir kali, aku ingin memandang hutan-hutanku…, ku ingin sekali lagi menghirup udara pegunungan yang segar.” (“Dear Groeneman, would you open the window of this room of mine? I want to say goodbye to my beloved mountains. For the last time, I want to look at my forests..., I want to breathe in the fresh mountain air once more.”)

Also included in Haryoto Kunto’s first book, Wajah Bandoeng Tempo Doeloe (1984), this line represents the author’s love for nature and the city of Bandung, whose stories he has written about wholeheartedly.

Haryoto Kunto’s Book

1. Wajah Bandoeng Tempo Doeloe (1984)
2. Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya (1986)
3. Savoy Homann Persinggahan Orang-Orang Penting (1989)
4. Balai Agung di Kota Bandung (1996)
5. Ramadhan di Priangan (Tempo Doeloe) (1996)
6. Seabad Grand Hotel Preanger (1997)
7. Nasib Bangunan Bersejarah di Kota Bandung (2000)

A list of studies written by Haryoto Kunto in accordance with his duties as a member of the Expert Group at Bappeda DT I of West Java Province:

1. Riwayat Kota di Tatar Sunda (1992-1993)
2. Bangunan Arsitektur Tradisional Sunda di Jawa Barat (1994)
3. Penerbitan Sistem Pemberian Nama Jalan dan Kawasan Dalam Wilayah Perkotaan (1995) 

* Translated from this article by Altaf Hasna Banafsaj.