Brought up among farmers, the native of Jatitujuh Jatiwangi in the West Java town of Majalengka, who is better known as Wa Lulut, had a high fever at seven which caused him to lose his eyesight.

Being blind did not stop him from pursuing his love for tarling, a combination of gitar (guitar) and suling (flute), the music's signature instruments.

He learned from the tarling expert, Jayana. Jayana's other students include Narto, Abdul Adjib, Raden Sulam, Riam and Duleg. Narto and Abdul Adjib are now known as prominent tarling players in the towns of Cirebon and Indramayu, respectively.

Lulut, however, was Jayana's only student who came from outside the instrument's origins of Cirebon and Indramayu.

Until today, Lulut, who has performed in many events since his teenage years has stayed loyal to the art form, promoting it in his hometown of Majalengka, some 20 kilometers from Cirebon.

Like Abdul Adjib, Lulut works hard to maintain tarling's original colors and characteristics, without blending it with other styles.

"I was once tempted to perform fusion with jazz after being encouraged by Bandung musicians but I later regretted it, feeling like I'd committed a sin," Lulut said.

He spoke of his early years of playing tarling, and of the music's development, in mid-October, after participating in a tarling concert at Bamboo Music Festival 2008 in Sabuga, Bandung.

According to him, tarling became popular during the transitional period between Dutch colonialism and the Japanese occupation back in 1941 to 1945, thanks to Jayana, a native of the Karangampel area in Cirebon.

In the story, Jayana, a son of the district chief, refused to attend formal school and fled to the forest, upsetting his parents who ordered him to be hunt down and returneddead or alive.

Jayana was found but when his father decided to execute him, he begged to be allowed to sing with a guitar and a flute. For unknown reasons, his execution was called off and he was allowed to develop this art form.

Lulut said it was because of his admiration for both tarling and Jayana that made him learn quickly in spite of his limitations.

Now his tarling group - Tarling Wa Lulut - is the only classical troupe of its kind outside Cirebon and Indramayu.

Since the 1970s, Lulut has been performing tarling accompanied by Tarwita (on flute), Ami (singer) and seven other members. They have become the pride of Majalengka.

Tarling is close to the peoples' hearts in West Java's coastal areas due to its popularity as music for young people in the 1930s to 1940s.

To the listeners, the tones produced by the two main instruments provide relief for their burdens of life, while the songs have moral values which are enlightening and yet entertaining.

In his book, Tarling, Migrasi Bunyi dari Gamelan ke Gitar-Suling (Tarling, migration of tones from gamelan to guitar-flute), author Supali Kasim, who is also a traditional artist in Indramayu, estimates that tarling emerged around 1931 in Kepandean village, Indramayu.

According to his account, a Dutch commissioner consulted a local gamelan expert named Mang Sakim. The Dutch official did not show up but while waiting, Mang Sakim compared guitar music to gamelan's pentatonic tones.

His protege, Sugra, experimented with transferring the gamelan tones to diatonic guitar strings. The unique guitar tunes combined with high flute sounds soon became familiar and later were popularly known as tarling.

Villagers in Indramayu and Cirebon regencies began to accept tarling as part of their lifestyle.

In 1935, tarling was accompanied by a box as a drum, a jug as a gong, a basin and bongos - which completed the percussion.

Sugra and his peers were frequently asked to entertain at local parties and interestingly, his group also presented drama shows with tear-jerking love stories much enjoyed by audiences even up to the present day.

Indramayu's other tarling figures were Jayana, Raden Sulam, Carinih, Yayah Kamsiyah, Dariah and Dadang Darniyah. In the 1950s, Uci Sanusi was a famous musician in Cirebon.

The favorites of the 1960s were Abdul Ajib from Buyut village, North Cirebon district and Sunarto Marta Atmaja from Jemaras village, Klangenan district, Cirebon. Lulut followed later.

Today, among those still performing actively are notably Narto, Abdul Adjib and Lulut, although in the early 1980s the dangdut or the Indian-Malay blend of music was so dominant that tarling performers were forced to survive by absorbing dangdut elements.

Since then, tarling-dangdut groups have emerged while the classical version is also increasingly influenced by jazz, reggae and pop melodies.music has made tarling artists more creative by allowing a fusion with jazz, pop and reggae besides dangdut. This introduces a different and easy-listening type of music," said Bandung musician Mukti-Mukti.

But the development has not been welcomed by all.

Cirebon art observer Ahmad Subhanuddin Alwy, who is also chairman of the Cirebon Art Council, regretted what he called the contamination of tarling by dangdut.do the existing groups prefer the tarling-dangdut version to genuine tarling?" Ahmad asked, adding that this fusion constituted a process of destruction.

While Lulut has been significant in the growth of Majalengka's classical tarling, in Cirebon Abdul Adjib is the one leading the force.

Abdul's ideas and creative process have changed tarling from a spontaneous and simple show into an appealing performing art. Warung Pojok (A corner street stall) is one of his signature pieces, which is also being performed by the country's renowned singers, including Lulut himself.

"Blindness has never dampened my spirit because tarling has always been a part of my life," Lulut said.

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