I

have written this letter on the eve of my departure from Jakarta, and in all probability I have now already left my final job there!

The Jakarta Post will always have a special place in my heart because my very first attempt at writing started with this newspaper, when I wrote about the statue at Pancoran in South Jakarta.

I never knew that this statue was of the Hindu god Hanuman, and more surprisingly that it was built by Indonesia'€™s first president, Sukarno, by selling his Mercedes Benz. (Though Wikipedia has a different story on its website, the news item in the Post mentioned both the points about Hanuman and Sukarno, plus also how a kind-hearted businessman who had his office near Pancoran had it cleaned by spending his own money!)

I was very impressed by the gestures of Sukarno and this businessman and wrote my first letter in the Post and that is how my '€œliterary career'€ started.

Since then I have written many letters (more than 150) in the Post on various issues, like political events, Indonesia'€™s elections, the election system and its comparison, the rise of people of Indian origin on the world stage, and Pakistan.

Actually, I like Pakistani people (I have many friends) and Pakistani democratic governments and take note of all the positive things they attempt to do, but I don'€™t like their military rulers, and so when the military was in command, my letters dwelt on their many condemnable actions.

Recently I started writing in Marathi, my mother tongue, in Marathi newspapers.

One of my adaptations from an English book in Marathi is about to get published in India. As a result of these projects, my contributions in the Post dwindled.

As I leave Jakarta shortly, I feel sorry that this relationship is coming to an end.

K. B. Kale
Jakarta