The Kindness of Children\'s Songs

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Yaya Risbaya

Yaya Risbaya (34) plays melodies to nurture values of kindness through the rhythm of percussion to the clink of a frying pan. The pandemic has not dampened his enthusiasm one bit.

A cheerful song was heard from a rented house in the Dago area of Bandung city in West Java on Thursday (24/12/2020). The title of the song, "Hai Papua", aptly points to its lyrics: "Hi Papua, I\'m from Java. We are the same, there is no difference. Hi Papua, it is reported that there are many flying birds, in the vast forest”.

Nobody knows how many times Baya smiled when he played the song again. He clearly enjoyed every piece of the song he created with his students. "The story is derived from the experiences of children. We have made the lyrics together. Children are highly tolerant. They do not see the color of their skin, but the kindness that Papuans have, just the same as they see other children,” he said.

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As a musician, Baya has made a name for himself when he joined the Mr. Sonjaya music group in 2010. Three years ago, he joined Syarikat Idola Remaja, a pop ballad music group that is actively collaborating with musician Iwan Fals.

Among his activities as a professional musician, he shares his knowledge to grow good values according to his expertise. In 2017, he became one of the facilitators of a workshop from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to write children\'s songs. From there, Baya found love in the world of children.

The world of children that is close to playing and having fun together is gradually lost.

According to him, children today do not get the privileges they got before. Nowadays, children\'s songs often don\'t come from their world. Messages and knowledge close to their daily lives are often not conveyed. The world of children that is close to playing and having fun together is gradually lost.

"In the past, there were many children\'s songs that were well known and sung by children. Now, almost nothing. Well, there are no rules regarding children\'s songs, but in my opinion, the children do listen to children\'s songs," he said.

At the KPK, Baya trained 10 children in his group. The target is that these children will be able to create songs by incorporating the values of integrity, such as honesty, caring, independence, discipline, hard work, responsibility and fairness.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Yaya Risbaya

One song created by the children is entitled "Going to School". The simple lyrics describe the activities of children learning together and respecting their teachers. Baya became increasingly aware that the lyrics of songs created by children are generally simple, cheerful and friendly. "Children\'s songs are supposed to describe children," he said.

After becoming a facilitator at the KPK, Baya, who already loved the innocence of children, initiated the Irama Anak Tanah Air (Indonesian Children Rhythm) study group in Bandung. The participants were dozens of children from Rumah Bintang, a community for playing and being creative. They were invited to learn how to compose song lyrics.

"I asked them to write down their daily activities, from interesting events to their dreams. After we collected them, we compiled the lyrics from scratch. I only gave a few suggestions for word synonyms and tone choices,” he said.

It\'s not an easy matter to ask children to be creative. It took a year to complete an album of 10 songs. His first children\'s song album with Rumah Bintang was entitled Song of the Star Children.

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The songs tell a complete story, from daily life to dreams and to tolerance toward others, expressed through the song "Hi Papua". "All of those came from hearing a lot of their chatter," he said.

In the chatter of the children, Baya sees innocence and purity, which provides fertile ground for the emergence of inspirational songs. “I love children\'s thinking. They are so honest in looking at things. They are able to describe what they see, imagine," said Baya.

Tolerance

In 2019, after the first album, Baya visited several areas of West Java and Central Java to teach children to compose songs. To prove the love and sustainability of his mission, Baya targets to make an album of children\'s songs every year.

"Now there are two albums, maybe more than 20 songs. I am not very good at keeping the recordings. The ones that still exist are those stored on a CD [compact disc]," he said. The songs have not been released to the public because we are still thinking about the royalties and production mechanism.

For the future, Baya said, he still has a long list of dreams. He wants to turn Irama Anak Tanah Air into an official organization, which could make it easier for them to move on and work, including in production matters. In addition, Baya also wants to continue traveling around Indonesia, given that children in each region see the world from the perspective of their own culture.

“Children from every region must have a unique point of view. I will present these differences through folk songs I have created. The cultural diversity of Indonesia is easier for children to understand. That is what becomes the seed of tolerance," he said.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented Baya from going any further. Travel to other areas is just a plan for now, yet Baya doesn’t want to sit on his hands. In his rented house, he has recorded several songs. Even now, in the same place, he added his acts of kindness even more with the clink of a frying pan.

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Baya and his fellow musicians cook rice to be distributed for free through an activity called Musafir\'s Kitchen. This activity has been running since the end of May 2020 and is still going on today. As of this week, Dapur Musafir has distributed foods 33 times amid some limitations.

Half of the living room of Baya\'s rented house with an area of about 36 square meters has been turned into a kitchen with a gas stove and a rice cooker. The other half of the room was vacated to create room for wrapping the food. Baya was assisted by other artists and neighbors who made a living becoming fried rice sellers.

"We borrow cooking utensils from neighbors who sell fried rice. Now, other neighbors are also willing to help with cooking,” he said.

Now, they are distributing packaged rice that they have prepared themselves to help musicians and street children.

Initially, the Musafir Kitchen was created to help fellow artists who had lost their income. Social restrictions prevented them from holding exhibitions or concerts that would create crowds. Now, they are distributing packaged rice that they have prepared themselves to help musicians and street children.

"Initially we prepared about 20 packages of rice and side dishes. Now it has increased to 70 packages of rice. It all depends on donations from fellow musicians," he said.

Baya said that Musafir\'s Kitchen will be organized across regions. One of them was brought to Jakarta at the end of December 2020. Packaged rice was given to street children, buskers and homeless people.

"We cook later, with one of the senior musicians. Fellow artists can also join in cooking. However, all of them have to have a rapid test first to confirm their health condition,” he said.

KOMPAS/MACHRADIN WAHYUDI RITONGA

Yaya Risbaya

A piece of Baya\'s story provides evidence that kindness is worth fighting for. It can be done through anything. Baya gave an example that kind values can live long through the melodies of children\'s songs to the clink of a frying pan.

Yaya Risbaya

Born: Kuningan, 7 November 1986

Activity:

- Member of Mr Sonjaya (percussion)

- Member of Syarikat Idola Remaja (percussion)

- Founder of Irama Anak Tanah Air (2018-present)

(This article was translated by Kurniawan H. Siswoko).