Gemblong and Royal Wedding

Well, actually I don’t know why I got idea to write this kind of story. Is there any connection between Gemblong and Royal Wedding? Is gemblong become one of snacks in Britain’s Royal Wedding? Or Does Prince William of Wales has hobby of eating Gemblong? Do you want to know? Ok, lets start the story!

Actually, it was begun when I was waiting for the train to Bogor that noon. While I was sitting in the chair, I was also starving. Then, I saw a man across my side (another train rail opposite my train rail) who was selling Gemblong which is famous as Indonesian traditional snack made from ketan covered by red sugar. It is one of my favorite snacks.


Seeing that man made me more starve (I haven’t eaten breakfast yet during the time). Meanwhile, I thought that I couldn’t reach that man to buy gemblong because I was still worry if my train was coming when I bought the Gemblong. Yeah, instead it was just need a couple minutes to reach there but I was stuck due to my worry. So, what did I do? Hmm… The train took so a looong time and stupidly I was just still looking at the same place: The man and his gemblong across me. I started fantasize in eating gemblong. The man looked so poor and the gemblong are usually sold cheaply (Rp 1.000,-/piece). I think the salary of selling this is quietly cheap due to its not his made self. His head was moved everywhere looking for the buyer. ‘Hey, its me here.. I want your gemblong please!’ said me voiceless. Err… I was just still gazing at him and his gemblong.

People came along in front of him without pay attention of him. Suddenly, a disable person came in front of him. He walked with his hands. This man is usually asking someone else to give him money. He went straightly in front of the poor man without asking him money, it was maybe because he thought that the poor man is same as poor as him. But, something happened and touched my heart. Whereupon, the poor gemblong man gave him money (without asking of disable man). I saw it was a coin, only one coin. There were four possibilities of what he gave to him. First, maybe it was coin of Rp 100,-. Second, maybe it was coin of Rp 200,-. Third, maybe it was coin of Rp 500,-. Fourth, maybe it was coin of Rp 1000,- that had published recently. Well, those are not important! The point that touched my heart was the poor man who has nothing gave another poorer (maybe yes maybe no) disable man. It means that he is a sincere thankful man. Eventhough he was lack of money, he still wanted to share to anyone else. He is a hard-working man who share his happiness although just a little to anyone else. I felt so “Wow, Is it real that in the world there a man like that?”. It happened, in Indonesia.


Instead of that, once upon a time in the same earth but in a different world, there living a prince and princess-to-be who will get married. I’m not going to tell you who they are, how the live, or how they met, etc. because you assuredly already have known that news. What I’m going to concern of this Royal Wedding is the luxurious and glamorous wedding that ever happened in this century! It cost $78 million to celebrate the wedding. Well, I’m not also going to criticize this wedding. Remembering that poor gemblong man who really work hard to get money and remembering the royal family that spend money easily reminds me of extravagant me, myself. The man taught me to keep share to another eventhough you are not a wealth man. Comparing to myself, when I feel “Oh my God, my money is just Rp xxxx,- left so I have to keep it until next month, until my parents send me again”, sometimes I forget to share it to anyone, I forget to “Sedekah” even just a little. Royal wedding taught me not to spend much money while there still another poorer person around you (maybe because there is no one poor around the palace so they can spend much money? Or maybe they had spent more for charity? Yeah, I don’t know). Our prophet, Muhammad said that “Those shall not be my follower nor the believer if they can eat fully meanwhile their neighborhood is starving..”

So, it is real that gemblong and Royal Wedding have a connection in my mind that noon in rail station, right? Have a nice share!