Love as long as your Visa
lasts,
and beyond....
|
n 1958 a Nepali prince ran onto
thetarmac at Khatmandu airport and stopped the plane of a Bangkok-bound
jetliner: he commanded the plane to lower its stair, climbed aboard
and foundthe woman he loved, Barbara Allen, who was sitting next to
her husband oftwo weeks. Barbara Allen followed her prince off the plane
and into herown special production of the "King and I"
A procession of 'new Balinese'
In 1988 I worked in Bali on a Phillip Noyce film: "LoveAs
Long As Your Visa Lasts" was its working title. It starred JohnLone
(The Last Emperor), as the dancing prince from Ubud, and Wendy Hughes(Picnic
at Hanging Rock) as the love-struck Australian tourist. The titlecame
from Jakarta wit Aji Damais who had observed how well eligible youngBalinese
were marketing their charms and how often a cheap holiday wouldturn
into a torrid romance of the Barbara Allen variety.
This month the Stranger looks at the Balinese tradition,now
prevalent in the palaces, for taking european wives:
|
| One
of the great Balinese lovestories of this century is that
of Dr. Anak Agung Made Djelantik, son ofthe last King of
Karangasem, and his dutch-born wife Astrid. Married
in1948 they fought huge prejudices both from within his
staunchly royalist,staunchly anti-Dutch-colonial family
and from within the dutch culture where"marrying a
native" was often cause for social ostracism.
Due to his urbane
charm, her fiercelyindependent spirit and their
international life together - they worked andlived
together in Somalia, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iraq and
Europe - themarriage survived fifty odd years - their
children are now modern leadersin Balinese society.
Late last year Astrid
Djelantik passedaway after a long illness: to the end she
remained unanchored to her husband'svery extensive
family. In one way they were the Wallis and Edward of
theirgeneration.
I stood close
to Dr. Djelantikon Sanur Beach as he carried his beloved
Astrid's ashes to the sea: becauseof the love we all feel
for this supremely unselfish man it was agony towatch the
bewilderment on his face turn to despair as, in the
Balinese way,he bade his wife farewell on her final
journey.
|
Since Astrid and Dr. Djelantik's
ground breaking marriage, Balinesesociety has moved
towards internationalism with alarming speed while
theculture remains largely intact. Balinese society,
always all-embracing,has grown to expect a few pink or
pale faces in the passing parades.
And no-where more fashionable than the
fashion-conscious mini-palacesof Ubud and Peliatan where
every second Jero, the honorary title awardedto a wife
from outside the palace caste, is a ring in!
|
Diana Darling, Jero Ratna,
the ultimate Bule Age
|
Royal Wedding, Puri Kauhan, Ubud, June
2, 1998
The invitation annoyed me - the long names I didn't recognize,
the newage Balinaise character of the design (dry twigs on earth
tones). The dayand time were inconvenient too. Someone in my
office advised me that thegroom-to-be was the younger brother of
"Odeck" (Gung Ari) themost stylish kssatrya (nobleman)
in a town of Cary Grant wannabes, and owner/creatorof the
heavenly Ari's Warung restaurant in downtown Ubud.
I arrived at the palace gates at 6.30 p.m., fashionably late I
hoped,wanting to avoid too much hill-tribe small talk from my
compatriots (well,my sample group) and wanting to spend quality
time with Odeck's inner circle,the Hindu intellectuals keen on
our women. The 'leader' of this pack, thewidely admired Putu
Suasta, my sponsor (along with Yardley's and Nike),had been on
BBC earlier today banging on about the Cendana families' wealthin
Bali and I wanted to congratulate him on his exposure. He's our
localhero.
In
the alleyway to the inner entrance I was waylaidby a gaggle of 'new-balinese'
and their support group of young empressarios.Everyone had beautiful skin and
ruby buttons. Even the new Balinese werepictures of Byzantine beauty - wasp
waists in silk brocade, perfect postureson rented chairs. Mr. Bali, Gus Kik,
Poppo Danes and other ageless charmersanchored a saloon of courtiers keen to
kick on.
After some polite discourse on the power politics in the Puri
(palaces)of Ubud with a Californian aspirant (Tjok-o-holic) I was
ushered into themain courtyard by a beaming Odek, thrilled to be
showing off his guests- "Hi Guruh, "Vive la
Resistance"; Hi Mick, Hi Jerry".
His garden was resplendent with makeshift pergolas dripping
Balinesedecoration, deep views to distant golden pavilions and
copies of my Wijaya
Classics fountainrange.……and the groom, Agung
Ngurah, parked like Napoleon at hiscoronation, and Cokorda Istri
Risma, an exhausted Josephine.
There were thousands of guests, all perma-pleat, and six
gamelan orchestrasin courtyard after courtyard of ceremonial
bliss. Each courtyard had a gianttelevision set in its corner.
"I went to a royal wedding in Mengwi last
week……….theyonly had 20 inch screens" I
gushed to a nearby noblewoman from Novascotia:in fact, there
seemed to be more new-balinese than the genuine article.(Soon the
Balinese will need to buy tickets to such occasions).
With Bapak Nyoman Tusan,
former Director of Art at Indonesia's Departmentof Art
and Culture, I watched an inspired Wayang Wong dance
performance,my favorite. Tonight's dance troupe, from
Bapak Tusan's village of Tejakulain far North-Eastern
Bali, has been revamped by famed choreographer Sardono,of
Jakarta, who is also responsible for the space-age Bomo
Ketjak from theTeges village troupe.
My old chum Jero Asri, Sydney-born wife of Cokorda
Kertayasa (brotherof the late great King of Ubud) swept
in as I was savoring the perfect satay.She lead a phalanx
of Ubud wives from down under - Chery, Beryl and Jane-
who sat on faux-Amandari chairs in the dress circle. I
sidled over andtold her how I'd just decided to abandon
my future as an historian of OrdeBaru (Soeharto era)
architecture and devote my life to Jero-ology, the
phenomenonof good goy girls marrying exotic noblemen.
Grace Kelly would be the patronsaint of the new research
facility, I proposed, and the Australian Women'sWeekly
the magazine of record.
But, jokes aside, the Balinese culture is sustained -
naythe Balinese thrive on these palace mega-events where
high style, logisticprowess and feudal fervor are doled
out in equally generous portions. Itwas an evening to
impress even the most jaded expatriate -
thepoise of the Ubud chapter of new-Balinese a major
contributing factor.
|
Jero Asri and her prince at
their 1979 weddingin Ubud |
Farewell my Lovely:
an obituary.
Little Agung is dead, murdered in a village mêléeon
Christmas Eve. The December pin-up boy who never made it to the
end ofhis month, was to be married on January 1, now the date for
his cremation.
Simple Pleasures: Head
forthe Hills.
What a relief to have Bali back to the gentle pace of
yesteryear.No megaprojects pounding the earth, the world's
tallest Garuda ison hold and the dredge at Turtle Island
has been turned off.
Royal Cremation forJero Bongkasa,
May 1997
The full-scale royal cremation of the Prince of
Bongkasa, I GustiAgung Gede Oka, on the 18th of May, 1997, was a
magnificent affair. Familyin white, guests in black, and
battallions of war veterans in the peacockcolours of their
regiments.
Jero Dalem Kepaon,June 1997
My balinese mum's trusted lady-in-waiting, admiredby
all thevillage for never having missed a day's temple duty in 60
years.
R.I.P for K'tutTantri, August
1997
Ketut Tantri, a Scottish-born American woman, and the
authorof Revolt in Paradise, was Bali's most notorious Stranger.
Sakenan Festivalon Turtle
Island in the Age of Development, September 1997
The Pura Sakenan temple festival has always
been a mainevent on South Bali's religious calender. For the
pious it is an importantpilgrimage : for teenagers it is a dating
place par excellence(above the din of screaming priests
one could always discern a gentle rub.....
Nothing if Not Practical-
Burning Bodies and Batteries in Space Age Bali
"El Nino, El Dorado and Elle Mac Pherson" &SHY may
sum up thehysteria of these uncertain times &SHY but the
Balinese go on with theirceremonies and devotions oblivious to
rising collossii and camel parks.
