JP\/19\/MELB<\/p>\n
Festival Indonesia a reminder of the good things in life<\/p>\n
Dewi Anggraeni
\nContributor\/Melbourne, Australia<\/p>\n
Life is full of extremes in crests and troughs, and we
\nexperienced, or at least witnessed, one such occurrence last
\nweekend.<\/p>\n
On Saturday night, when the three-day Festival Indonesia in
\nMelbourne's Federation Square was closed with a spectacular two-
\nhour performance of Jamrud Khatulistiwa, an extravaganza of
\ndances, martial arts, and live bands, nobody in his or her right
\nmind suspected that within a couple of hours a second series of
\nbomb attacks would hit Bali.<\/p>\n
It seems strange and somewhat unseemly now, looking back at
\nthe success of the first-ever, comprehensive Indonesian festival
\norganized in Melbourne, where the Indonesian Consulate General
\nhired 5th Season Entertainment to manage the event
\nprofessionally.<\/p>\n
However at a time of grief and misery, we may need some
\nreminding that many things still go our way.<\/p>\n
Federation Square as a venue is not only centrally and
\nstrategically located in terms of public transport, but also
\npicturesquely perched on the eastern bank of the Yarra River.<\/p>\n
Sponsorship was received from the city of Melbourne, the
\nIndonesian Investment Coordinating Board, as well as private
\nenterprises of various sizes, from Rio Tinto to Austindo.<\/p>\n
Throughout the three days, visitors of different ethnic
\nbackgrounds wandered around, visiting stalls displaying as well
\nas selling their merchandise and services, going to performances,
\neating and drinking, all while being entertained by daily free
\nentertainment on the center stage.<\/p>\n
Meetings were also organized between the visiting and local
\nbusinesses to explore trade cooperation. On the last day, while
\nonly a few claimed to have gone further than exploratory talks,
\nmany expressed optimism that links had been established.<\/p>\n
The launch by Arief Budiman of Margaret Kartomi's book on
\nGamelan Digul also took place during the festival.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the Bali Night, subtitled Bali Beyond Kuta, stands
\nout as the most spectacular event of the festival. No one in the
\norganizing committee or the audience had any idea that the
\nfollowing evening would witness a tragedy, yet again, on their
\nbeautiful island.<\/p>\n
Like many Balinese performances, Bali Night was a riot of
\ncolors, accompanied by a continuous eruption of loud gamelan
\nmusic. It was held in the BMW Edge, a space wrapped around by
\nglass walls, with a large, sunken stage and an entrance hall
\nlarge enough to accommodate a pre-performance party for the
\naudience.<\/p>\n
The main organizer, Mahindra Bali, a Melbourne Balinese Hindu
\ncommunity, rallied together a large gamelan orchestra, which not
\nonly accompanied the dance performances beautifully, but also
\nfilled the room with total Balinese ambience.<\/p>\n
Bali in fact, was not only present on Bali Night, because
\nwhile Jakarta, Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Solo, West Sumatra and
\nGorontalo were represented in the festival, the northeast corner
\nof Federation Square was dominated by Balinese display tents,
\npromoting a variety of commodities from clothing, accessories and
\nsoft furnishings to tourism and hospitality.<\/p>\n
For the participants from Bali and other regions of Indonesia,
\nthe three days were filled with hopeful anticipation, hard work,
\nperseverance and -- not least -- great fun.<\/p>\n
To be confronted the following morning with the news of
\nanother bomb attack back home must have been like waking up to a
\nnightmare.<\/p>\n
However, nobody can take away the success of Festival
\nIndonesia, because the event has indeed left a mark in the memory
\nof the Melbourne community, which enjoyed the entertainment, ate
\nand drank, bought the items of merchandise which they may now be
\nwearing or using, or which may be sitting in prime corners of
\ntheir homes.<\/p>\n
The event has also left a mark in the memory of those
\nvolunteers and performers who went home each evening tired, but
\nsatisfied for having made some people happy, or made new
\nfriendships.<\/p>\n
Life is indeed full of extremes.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp19melb-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }