Guess What? Ratna N. Riantiarno

Guess What? Ratna N. Riantiarno

Choked-up with emotion and verging on tears, actress Ratna N.
Riantiarno forced herself to continue her salutation of
playwright and movie director Arifin C. Noer.

Representing the Indonesian Arts Council, Ratna was asked to
say a word about Arifin, who died on May 28 from a liver
malfunction.

"It is difficult to give a speech because I have a problem in
separating my position as a member of the Arts Council and myself
as an ex-student of Arifin," Ratna said.

Ratna, a leading Indonesian stage actress, is a former member
of Teater Kecil which was established by Arifin in the 1980s. She
is known to have been Arifin's favorite student.

Clad in a black shirt and pants, Ratna, who married theater
director Riantiarno, said she wouldn't forget how Arifin directed
a play or how he got angry or expressed his happiness.

The atmosphere at last week's discussion, which took place at
Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center, was so moving that not only
Ratna had trouble holding back tears, but also Poet Taufik
Ismail, who read a prayer during the discussion. Playwright Putu
Wijaya, former chief editor of the defunct Tempo magazine,
Goenawan Mohamad, the center's executive director, Pramana PMD,
and Arifin's actress wife, Jajang Pamontjak, were among the
gathering.(als)