In the middle of a cemetery and tucked away in the backstreets of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, a stagnant, concrete fishing pond lies dark with algae. Around it, men sit chatting, eating and smoking with their fishing rods dangling in the sludge and slime. It’s quite the social affair.
Its just entertainment for the people around here, says Maysudin, manager of the fishing club. It’s a tradition for people in this community to fish around here it started decades ago.
Madesa Fishing Club, which takes its name from masa depan suram (the future is bleak), is a group of local men who often lose themselves sitting around all day in the sport of catching fish.
An unofficial rule of the club is that once a man joins the group, he must stay and continue fishing all day, every day, with no future plans past that hence the name of the club.
Madesa opened in 1998 and is one of four ponds near Menteng Dalam in South Jakarta, though there are more than 100 ponds in South Jakarta and many fish waiting to be caught.
You would never guess that the hustle and bustle of the chaotic capital exists just five minutes away from Madesa, because right outside the cemetery people in a small kampung greet strangers with laughter and friendly smiles. Then down a back alley, just past a mountain of rubbish and beside the kite-flying children, two ponds wait with up to 30 men sitting around them, laughing and talking and catching their dinners.
Devoted fisherman Rijalani has been going to Madesa Fishing Club for almost two years, and he says the fish are tasty and sweet perfect for frying or tossing together with curry and vegetables.
The men catch a type of carp known as golden fish, a sturdy breed that is strong enough to survive the polluted waters. Under normal circumstances, carp can grow up to 120 centimeters long and weigh around 40 kilograms, but with the skilled fisherman at this pond ready to snap up the best catch, the carp here only grow to about 50 centimeters in length.
2011 JakartaGlobe