The man looked busy. His hands actively checked his musical instruments. Pardi (42 years) is just a street singer, but he is not like any other. He does not just sing and play music.

Pardi is an ondel-ondel street singer. At his house in East Jakarta, he has two giant ondel-ondel. Their height is almost as high as high house.

As a Betawi, Pardi is familiar with this art. Seven years ago he decided to establish an ondel-ondel group named Putra Mandiri. “I established it with my own money. I made a pair of ondel-ondel with 4 million IDR as my initial capital,” Pardi said.

Now, his group consists of 15 youths. The group starts the play every day at 14.30-18.00. “Except for Saturday, we begin at 09.00,” Pardi said.

No special training that he gives to his group. “Everyone in group should be able to bring ondel-ondel,” he said. The weight of a 2-meter-high ondel-ondel can reach 20 kilogram.

The accompanists play traditional Betawi musical instruments, such as kendang, gong, and tekyan or rebab. “The most traditional is tekyan. It is Chinese heritage. The main key is in this instrument. Others only follow its rhythm,” he explained

They do not only play Betawi songs. Pardi gives the group a freedom to play any kind of music. “They can play whatever song they know,” he added.

The group usually brings home 500,000 IDR a day and a million on the weekend. From the income, Pardi takes 30-50 thousand IDR for maintenance. The rest is divided evenly to everyone in his group.

Rusdi, a member of the group, said his involvement in the group gave positive impact because he did not only have an activity, but also had additional money.

Pardi’s aim on inviting youths in his group is to avoid the uncertain activity. Pardi also wants to pass his love to Betawi culture. “One day if I am gone, I want these kids to continue,” he said.

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