Ahmad Tohari was born on 13 June 1948 and is an Indonesian author.
16 Facts About Ahmad Tohari
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Ahmad Tohari was born in the village of Tinggarjaya, Jatilawang, Banyumas, the fourth of twelve children.
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Ahmad Tohari's father has been described as a "progressive intellectual" and under his guidance Ahmad Tohari developed a deep understanding of Indonesian politics and a strong sense of social and environmental responsibility.
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Ahmad Tohari's mother maintained good relations with a ronggeng dancer from a neighboring village, and it was this that later provided Tohari with the background for the Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk trilogy.
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Ahmad Tohari has described himself as a "progressive religious intellectual" whose aim is to nurture a modern Islam that honors Indonesia's diverse indigenous culture and traditions while following the teaching of the Koran.
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Ahmad Tohari explored several faculties of economics, social and political studies and medicine, but did not graduate from any of them.
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Ahmad Tohari moved to Jakarta in the early 1970s and worked briefly Bank Negara Indonesia, was editor of the newspaper Harian Merdeka and editor of the magazine Amanah.
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Ahmad Tohari began writing short stories, poems and essays in the early 1970s while working for the BNI.
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In interviews, Ahmad Tohari has explained how his ideas for books, including Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk, have often been inspired by things around his home village.
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Ahmad Tohari's books have been published in Japanese, Chinese, Dutch and German.
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In 2011, the second film version of Ahmad Tohari's novel Sang Penari, produced by Shanty Harman and directed by Ifa Isfansyah, was screened in Jakarta.
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Ahmad Tohari has voiced his approval of this latest screen version of his work, having previously expressed his disappointment in the 1983 version, Darah dan Mahkota Ronggeng, made by filmmaker Yazman Yazid.
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Ahmad Tohari has often written for the national newspaper Suara Merdeka and the famous weekly Tempo.
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Ahmad Tohari was staff editor for the Jakarta newspaper, Merdeka from 1979 until 1981, and General Editor for Amanah, a political and religious magazine, from 1986 to 1993.
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In 2009, Ahmad Tohari set up a magazine called Ancas in his home town.
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Ahmad Tohari continues to write, and has stated his desire to write one more novel to match Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk.