Letter #57

Amelia Kurniawan, Temen sekantor

Popular, Ganteng, Smart

Pertama kenal Ardha di kantor Nielsen. Gua sama Ardha ga beda jauh masuk Nielsenya, paling beda beberapa minggu. Ardha di mata gua adalah orang yg easy going banget, dia bisa dengan mudahnya bersosialisasi. Ardha juga seneng ngeceng2in orang, anaknya rame. Tiba2 dia resign dr nielsen dan gua jg ga pernah kontek2 sama dia lagi.

Ga lama eh ternyata dia balik lagi ke Nielsen. Namun kali ini Ardha sudah berbeda (tentunya in positive way).. Dia jauh lebih dewasa, makin wise juga dan lebih terlihat kebapakan (emang dah bapa2 jg sih).

Dan gua kebagian ampir setaun terakhir duduk di depan lu persis Dha. Menyaksikan muka serius lu pas kerja plus bonus muka super ga bisa diganggu klo lagi ribet bgt kerjaannya. Ngeliatin pas lu ngajarin anak buah lu dengan sabarnya. Juga ngedenger ketawa2 lu yang khas.

Ardha Desk

Well.. We miss u Dha..

Letters #56

Nadia Hanif, temen sekantor Nielsen

Tinggi, putih, diem

Hi Mas,

Kalo yang mereka bilang itu benar, bahwa “restu manajer sama kayak restu orang tua”, gue harus sangat-sangat berterima kasih sama lo sih Mas. You’re I hoped the first few people that I will tell if I got this news.

Inget ga sih obrolan kita pas gue resign, tepat seminggu sebelom lo pergi selamanya, pas itu gue cerita, “Kalo dikasih kesempatan sih Mas, gue mau nyoba ngejar mimpi lama gue nih untuk membangun sistem kereta api di Indonesia”. Dan reaksi lo saat itu, lo sangat-sangat mendukung gue. “Ayo If, coba aja, ga banyak kali yang bisa berkarir di bidang ini”

And here I am less than 3 months after I left the office, I got an offer to work on railway company, DAMN!. Sesuatu yang aku pikir enggak pernah aku bisa dapatkan mengingat pengalaman kerja aku selama satu tahun ini adalah di bidang Market Research.

Everytime I doubted myself should I take the offer or not, gue selalu inget obrolan kita saat itu sih Mas. Makasih Mas udah merestui gue kala itu dan makasih pula sudah pernah jadi Manajer gue.

 

Letter #55

Yudi Suryanata (Ibe), Nielsen

Apa adanya, konyol dan teman setia

Ardha itu beda umur lumayan jauh ama gua, tapi ya kalau lagi ngomongin tentang musik, beda tipis lah. Salah satu kegiatan kami kalau stress di kantor ya berkesenian, entah gitar2an, bikin panggung akustik amatir, ya kalau nggak sekedar pergi karaoke. Berhubung dia itu yg gua tau pernah punya band, kadang ya dia bilang mau solo karir krn bandnya bubar… ya gua gak mau kalah lah ya. Jadi cara gua ngebully Ardha ya melalui karaoke lagu2 lawas lah. Mulai karaoke saling nantangin satu sama lain utk nyanyi lagu2 beatles atau musik2 rock lawas biar Ardhanya mati kutulah. Tapi Ardha ya Ardha lah… kalau emang dasarnya suka musik ya pastinya jadi lawan yg tangguh. Paling banter ya ngalahin Ardha lewat beatles. Caranya ya masing2 dari kami milih lagu yg paling gak terkenal dan lawan hrs bisa nyanyiin lagunya ampe kelar… ya lumayan lah ketawa bareng kalau salah atau mandeg di tengah2 lagu… kali lain ya main bilyard dimana gua bisa menang sepenuhnya lawan Ardha, ya gak tau aja dia kalau gua latihan tiap minggu.. hahahaa.

Hari ini gua mungkin hanya bisa mengenang semua keceriaan kami itu. Tuhan memberikan cerita yang sampai kapanpun mungkin gak bisa gua mengerti. Yang gua tau, Tuhan memberikan cerita yang jauh lebih indah buat Ardha dari sekedar karaoke dan main bilyard atau nongkrong2 gak jelas bersama gua. Selamat jalan kawan, adik dan sahabat gua….

Letter #54

Great humble guy

Alia Kemala, teman sekantor Nielsen

Saya kenal Ardha dari baru masuk Nielsen tahun 2011. Sebenarnya kita ga terlalu dekat karena ga pernah kerja bareng langsung walaupun kita satu divisi. Tapi selama satu kantor yang saya tau Ardha one of rising stars, yet tetep humble dan baik sama semuaaa orang.

Inget banget pertama kali kenalan Ardha nanya gw tinggal daerah Fatmawati mana. Karena males basa-basi dan baru kenal juga jadi gw cuma bilang “Yaa sepanjang Fatmawati itu deeh”. Kesannya jadi lebay rumah sepanjang jalan Fatmawati hahahah. Tapi itu yg selalu dia inget, dan setiap kita kenalan sama anak baru di kantor dan ngobrolin rumah pasti Ardha bilang “Alia ini rumahnya sepanjang jalan Fatmawati” ya kalliiii….

Kalo soal kerjaan jangan ditanya. Istilahnya bos hepi, kolega hepi, client hepi. Gw inget waktu itu dia senior research exec, dan managernya malah nanya soal pricing ke client baiknya berapa. Malah Ardha yang disuruh menentukan, bukan bosnya 😀 Pernah juga dia cerita kegep sama clientnya lagi buka laptop di sela-sela konser band. Kebayang kan dedikasinya kaya apa (tapi tetep bersenang2).

Gw, Ata, Ardha dan ada beberapa temen lain suka bandel solat injury time 😀 tapi jadi keinget terus karena kita jadi suka solat jamaah dikebut dan digabung.. *tidak untuk diikuti dan dilakukan lagi :p

Panggilan favorit Ardha ke gw adalah “anorexia” karena menurut Ardha gw kurus bet. Dan begitu ketemu lagi sama Ardha di Nielsen bab 2 (setelah kita sama-sama resign dan sama-sama balik lagi), terus Ardha kurus juga, langsung laaah gw balikin tuh julukan dengan puasnya. Panggilan ini masih berlaku sampe terakhir kita ketemu ngobrol-ngobrol di lorong kantor.

Well, walaupun ga sering ngobrol banyak, tapi Ardha cukup berkesan di hati gw dan banyak orang. Seperti surat2 yang sudah gw baca, gw salut bgt sama prioritas Ardha ke keluarganya. Sayang kita ga pernah cerita banyak soal anak masing-masing, pastinya bakal seru bahasannya ya Dha.

Turut berduka sedalam-dalamnya untuk keluarga dan kerabat yang ditinggalkan. Semoga Ardha Husnul khotimah, diterima semua amal dan ibadahnya. Aamiin.

We love you, Ardha.

Letter #53

Friendly, fashionable, fun

Raufi Pohan, teman main

We shared the same interest in music, football club, fashion sense…dan kita sering pergi konser bareng sampe ke Singapore… Words can’t never describe how much we’ve lost you Dha…You’ll be missed surely cuii…YNWA!

Letter #52

Kind, strong, reliable

Poeti Gladyzka Emiria, Saudara kandung (anak ke-6)

Hello Abada.

It’s been more than a month since you came back to God’s side and I hope you’re resting peacefully. Sorry it took me so long to write to you, sometimes it still doesn’t feel real to know you’re not here anymore. Sometimes (most times) I feel like it’s better to think you’re still out there, working in your office, socializing with your friends, and coming back home late than rather to think you were actually six feet below the ground.

I actually tried to write out my feelings a couple times, especially on the day you finally Rested, to convey my feelings to the world but somehow I think it’s too… private. But I do want the world to know how amazing you were as a person and as my brother so, this is my attempt to share my thoughts about you.

Bang, two days before it happened, you already know what I truly thought of you, right? You asked mine, Kakak, and Ali’s opinions about you as a big brother and, since I was embarrassed to say it in our family group (heck, I was even embarrassed saying it to you), I texted you personally. Like I had said in our chatroom a month ago, I really feel you were The Big Brother figure for me. Ali and Abang Aidil are my brothers, yes, but they’re not like you. Your strong and reliable figure was always there ever since I was little and even until your last days. I especially remembered how you took me in for a whole year even though you could have said no, and how you looked out for me and made me feel comfortable in your home. I don’t think I can tell every single thing you had done for me in your lifetime but for every single one, I am grateful.

Aside from giving me a lot of things, you had help also our family even while you have your own problems to attend to. I had wish I could give you things in return but as it was, I was clueless on what to do to pay you back for all your doings. So in turn, I just try to make you laugh with our banters and jokes and make you feel light-hearted, even though it’s just for a moment.

Seeing how great you were since I was little, I always thought of you as the coolest sibling. The Golden Son. Handsome, smart, successful, kind, out-going, your talents in music, your sport activities, what don’t you have? I also think the fact that you were able to go out of your “slump” and became better and achieving your dream was really amazing. All those reasons and more, was the reason why you were my role model and why hope I can be like you one day. Why I admire you so much. It is also worth noting that whenever you give me an advice I always try to remember it and think of it as some “kata-kata mutiara”.

Speaking of admiring you, it really makes me happy if we share the same taste in things—such as music or tv shows. Somehow I feel validated, haha, like “oh Bang Ardha likes this which means it is cool! I’m glad I also liked it!”. It also makes me happy because it means I can talk about our interests together although sometimes I feel like I would be a hassle, I don’t know why. And so, while I thought of talking to you more, I ended up not doing it. I do feel regretful at times but what can I do now, right? [And oh, the fact that I share the same alma mater as you made me immensely proud. I still remember asking you about my soon-to-be uni back in 2015 and you, with Kak Dita, told me stories about it. That was the moment where I feel like I made you proud too.]

That time you took our family to Singapore was one of the best moments in my life and no, it’s not because of Coldplay. But it is more because we get to spend our time as a family and having fun. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this must be like to have a family outing when I was still a toddler. No nephews or niece or step-siblings, but just our parents and the six of us.’ Although, Abang Aidil and Kakak didn’t go with us, I still thought of the trip like that.

The fact that I get to experience watching a concert with you, Uni, and Ayah made it even more special because I truly think it was a once in a lifetime experience. I guess now it really is a once in a lifetime thing now that you’re gone…

Nonetheless, I still remember what you said a few days before you Left. “Gw janji akan menjaga kalian selalu, sampai kalian tua nanti.” Maybe because of those words too I didn’t really feel that you were truly and really Gone, Bang. Maybe because of those words, I still feel you’re still here with me, protecting your younger siblings like how you usually did. And maybe you’re not here physically but as long as you are at peace and feel happier wherever you are now, that is enough for me. The fact that for this whole week you have been visiting my dreams also comforted me. Please do visit me a lot through the dream space Bang, for years and years and years.

I remember how you teased me for saying this to Kakak when she had her birthday earlier this year, and I already told you the same anyway back then but still, I really am glad that we were born in the same family Bang. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone out there to be my big brother. You are irreplaceable.

There are more stuff that I would like to talk about but I feel for now, this is enough. To be honest, I don’t think there will ever be an end to talk about how amazing and great you are and how much I looked up to you.

With all of that said, I love you Bang Ardha ♥

– Babria/Gaday/Your kid sister, Gladyz.

Letter #51

One memorable friend

Rizka Ramses, temen sekantor Nielsen.

I believe that a person is put on this earth to create memories with others, make a mark on the life of each human being they meet and know, no matter how big or small.

My memories of Ardha are a combination of serious conversations, silliness, laughter, and a lot of sarcastic comments being thrown at each other.

He once gave me an advice when I was stupid, when I was about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life. He put me back on track, realizing what was really important and what was right. He was there when I needed a friend. Not just any friend, but a real friend who not only wanted the best for me, but also bluntly scolded me when I needed to hear the truth, not a soft pat on the back.

He often made me laugh by telling stupid stories or just by doing simple silly things when we were hanging out with our friends. One time he was so happy because he thought he scored THE setlist in a concert by one of our favorite band, the Killers, only to realize the setlist was ripped into two and the other part was taken by an angry looking girl next to him. We all laughed and laughed nonstop that night at his misfortune.

Competitive is one of his traits that sat well with me, being one myself. I remember how determined we were to win at a company outing game when we were put on the same team. He never wanted to show it, always tried to be nonchalant about anything and everything, but he always hated it if he didn’t do his best. Oh yeah, and of course we won that year. We made a great team indeed hahaha.

Our knack for quick witted sarcasm also made us clicked as friends. Sarcasm. It’s a sign of being guarded, I think, in a way. Guarded by the fear of disappointment from opening up to people. My biggest regret was not seeing this early on, how guarded Ardha was and how hurt he must had been in times he was being the most sarcastic. I could have been a better friend to him.

Ardha was as much a family man as I am. My son means the world to me and so was Reya to Ardha. He would do anything for her. Even before Reya was born, Ardha told me that he loved Dita even more because she was about to give him the best gift he would ever received, not knowing how to repay her for that.

Ardha made mistakes, he was mere mortal, a human being with flaws. But I choose not to focus on that, as his presence usually brought joy and fun to the lives he touched. His funeral was a proof of that. So many friends, colleagues, acquaintances and family, came to pay their last respect. That’s just how he was, he lured people into liking him no matter what. I don’t know how he did that.

Thanks for the memories, cuy! I will never forget the silly stories and stupid jokes. The pizza time and dendeng lambok feast. The yelling at each other and laughing it off 2min after because we were being too dramatic.

And to Reya, always be proud to call Ardha Renzulli as your father, as proud as he was each time he talked about you.

—-

Letter #50

Three words about Ardha:

Bright, Brilliant, yet Humble at the same time

Alice Jahja, Ardha’s Team Member in Nielsen CI.

Please kindly let me introduce myself, my name is Alice and I’m proud to call myself a part of Ardha’s core team in Consumer Insights (CI) Nielsen from May 2016 to March 2017. The core team itself during the period had Ardha, myself, Haekal, and Nadia as the latest addition. I tendered my resignation from my role in Nielsen just around 7 weeks before Ardha passed away.

To begin with my story, first & foremost Ardha was a bright & brilliant person among any others. Having been looked up to as the ‘eldest brother’ of the bigger team, he was greatly loved & favored by both his colleagues & clients. He handled & served his accounts really well with both great business recommendations & client-relationships. Most of the accounts that he managed have grown from small-seed projects into well-fruited businesses. Generally, Ardha always carried himself in a true gentleman manners & presented himself as a role model. He always conveyed his messages & what he was trying to say in a polite way, his introverted nature had made him more of a listener & observer than a talker, and therefore he was able to always say the right things at the very right time. He never talked nonsense! To his team, even though he was stubborn and hard to handle sometimes, he was always on our back up, stood by us, believed in our capacities, appreciated our work, and gave honest feedback & recognition when necessary. He never made anyone feel small, never pointed his finger to blame anyone, and he took the time to understand & accommodate our needs.

I still remember meeting one of our big clients and he acclaimed Ardha as one of the rising stars in CI. I was a proud team member & I couldn’t have agreed more with what the client said, even though Ardha himself humbly & politely denied such credits. It’s such a rare combination that someone so amazing & bright could have been humble and down-to-earth at the very same time. “I don’t like being under a spotlight, Lice. I would be more than happy to see anyone else steal the light”, as Ardha told me once. “I would rather be called as a ‘peer-loyalist’ than to stand out or look different from my friends.” I was amazed to see Ardha being content & secure with himself. Unlike many others, he didn’t get so busy throwing himself out there just to convince people of his capabilities. He just simply proved it by showing people he had what it takes and working on his things amazingly. Neither ever he presented himself as the hero. He put values on his teamwork more than anything. He truly is an inspirational leader!

Too many things to share about Ardha and my words would fall short to fully tell the story of all that he has done to me & his team. The impact of his life is beyond words. Still his values at work inspire me personally every single day, especially at times I should make any plans or decisions. I would think, “What would Ardha do if he was seeing this situation? What would he think? What would he say?”, and putting myself in his shoes really helps me to make decisions. I know I wouldn’t be who I am today, with my current capabilities, had I not met Ardha. So much things I have learned & sourced from him. Two years of working in Nielsen under his supervision has served me more experiences than my previous job ever would. Leaving his team was a real tough decision for me, and he knew that really well. I remember telling him that I so looked forward to crossing path with him again in the near future given the right circumstances & opportunities, but apparently God has another plan for him…

My heart greatly mourns over an amazing soul that has gone way too soon. Yes, C.S. Lewis said “A death of a beloved is an amputation”, and I agree that Ardha has taken a part of our hearts away with him which no one could ever replace. No words of consolation would ever heal the wound, but God must have His own reasons, and I’m praying for God’s strength, peace, joy, & confidence to fall upon the whole family to carry on.

Sending my warmest regards to Reya, Ayah & Bunda Ardha, and all of his family members. Memories of Ardha and the messages he carried through his life shall continue to live on. We love you, Ardha! We will greatly miss you!

Yours sincerely, Alice

Letter #49

Aradea Ramadhan Hakim (Ara), Kakak ipar.

Saya mengenal Ardha sebagai seseorang yang baik dan supel dalam pergaulan dengan teman-temannya, juga sebagai seseorang sayang kepada keluarganya. Setidaknya ada 3 episode yang saya ingat secara jelas tentang beilau.

Pertama ketika di awal kenal sebagai adik dari sahabat saya. Ardha yang pada waktu itu bersama teman-temannya sedang main ke Bandung, menyempatkan untuk menghubungi saya untuk kemudian ketemuan dan ngobrol. Ini sangat berarti dan berkesan bagi saya. Saya ingat  ketika mengantarnya ke beberapa tempat di Bandung dan juga wajahnya yang ceria saat bertemu dan ngobrol dengan saya.

Kedua, ketika suatu waktu di 2005 saya mengunjungi rumah Pulomas, saat itu saya terenyuh melihat Ardha yang menunjukkan perhatiannya kepada Ali yang pada waktu itu masih kecil (dengan menepuk-nepuk kepala dan menyisir rambut Ali dengan penuh kasih sayang).

Ketiga, ketika tahun lalu (2017) Ardha berinisiatif untuk datang ke Bandung dan menyewa villa di Resor Dago Pakar untuk kumpul-kumpul dan meluangkan waktu bersama saudara-saudara kandungnya. Walau tidak banyak berbicara dari hati ke hati seperti yang mungkin dimaksudkan, tapi saya ingat interaksi yang baik antara Ardha dengan anak-anak saya, nonton dan makan bersama.

Saya ingin mengakhiri dengan mengutip Gibran tentang persahabatan dan perpisahan: “Janganlah bersedih ketika berpisah dengan sahabatmu, karena kebaikannya akan lebih cemerlang bersama ketiadaannya.”

Kami yang ditinggalkan tidak akan merasa sedih (berkepanjangan), karena kebaikan-kebaikan Ardha akan semakin diingat dengan kepulangannya.

Letter #48

About Ardha:

Kind-hearted, smart, mature. Nice and fun to be with and to work with. Never complained. Respect others.

Olivia Samosir, Nielsen.

*Via direct message Instagram:

“Hello Chica. Ini Olive. Kita pernah bareng di Synovate, semoga inget ya. Akhirnya setelah mencari ke sana kemari dapet juga account elo. Belasungkawa sedalam2nya ya Ca. Maafkan gw ga bisa hadir di pemakaman mengantarkan Ardha karena anak-anak gw lagi sakit waktu itu.

Gw kaget banget waktu dapet beritanya hari itu. It took me some time to digest the news. Karena gw berasa baru ngobrol 2 minggu sebelumnya. Dua minggu sebelum pergi, dia sempet nelfon gw. Mo minta bantuin report seperti biasa. Waktu itu gw lagi di RS karena anak gw diopname. Tumben2nya dia bilang dia sakit dan agak berat. Padahal selama satu team sama gw ga pernah dia ngaku sakit Ca, walaupun dah jelas-jelas keliatan sakit. Kalo ditanya jawabannya sama,”Ah gpp, ini sakit dibikin sendiri.” Dan tetap komit meeting deadline. Sampe gw kadang ga tega liatnya tapi dia tetap determined finishing his work. Bahkan lots of times covering buat temennya. Kalo dipaksa “Dha istirahat aja”, bilangnya kesian karena gw dah banyak kerjaan juga….

Gw merasa diringankaaaan banget kalo kerja sama dia. Gw sering bilang kalo dia ga perlu manajer karena dah bisa manage sendiri semuanya. Aslik gw cuma brief sekali dan periksa final report sekali dan tinggal duduk manis di klien karena Ardha yang presentasi. Padahal waktu itu dia masih SRE lho Ca. Semuanya dia yg inisiatif. And he was excellent in his work. I just couldn’t tell you enough how lucky and relieved I felt at that time to have a peer like him and blessed at the same time cuz life was made much easier by him being in the team.

Ardha dulu suka nanya kenapa dia jarang atau hampir ga pernah dapet coaching session. Jawaban gw dan Teddy (the other manager tandeman gw) selalu sama, bahwa Ardha ga perlu kita, dia itu pinter dan self-motivated dan juga overqualified buat posisinya (waktu itu dia SRE). Tapi dia ga mau dipropose buat promote jadi manager karena dia merasa skillnya belum cukup. Kita waktu itu merasa karena Ardha mencoba menjaga keharmonisan dengan temen2 sesama SRE-nya. Such a considerate young man he was.

I could go on sharing all the good things about Ardha during our time together as a team, but time and words just couldn’t enough to describe his good character. Behavior could be very human from time to time, but you just couldn’t help to see the good heart and a strong character in Ardha. Though I still feel a bit shocked and couldn’t believe that he’s gone, God loves him much more than the rest of us do…

My thoughts and prayer are with the whole family. Semoga semuanya dimudahkan untuk keluarga yang ditinggalkan. Hope Ardha rests in peace. Semoga diberi tempat terbaik di sisiNya.

Please accept my highest respect for him. Take care Chica. All the best for your future endeavours too 🙏🏻”