JP/19/MELB
Festival Indonesia a reminder of the good things in life
Dewi Anggraeni Contributor/Melbourne, Australia
Life is full of extremes in crests and troughs, and we experienced, or at least witnessed, one such occurrence last weekend.
On Saturday night, when the three-day Festival Indonesia in Melbourne's Federation Square was closed with a spectacular two- hour performance of Jamrud Khatulistiwa, an extravaganza of dances, martial arts, and live bands, nobody in his or her right mind suspected that within a couple of hours a second series of bomb attacks would hit Bali.
It seems strange and somewhat unseemly now, looking back at the success of the first-ever, comprehensive Indonesian festival organized in Melbourne, where the Indonesian Consulate General hired 5th Season Entertainment to manage the event professionally.
However at a time of grief and misery, we may need some reminding that many things still go our way.
Federation Square as a venue is not only centrally and strategically located in terms of public transport, but also picturesquely perched on the eastern bank of the Yarra River.
Sponsorship was received from the city of Melbourne, the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board, as well as private enterprises of various sizes, from Rio Tinto to Austindo.
Throughout the three days, visitors of different ethnic backgrounds wandered around, visiting stalls displaying as well as selling their merchandise and services, going to performances, eating and drinking, all while being entertained by daily free entertainment on the center stage.
Meetings were also organized between the visiting and local businesses to explore trade cooperation. On the last day, while only a few claimed to have gone further than exploratory talks, many expressed optimism that links had been established.
The launch by Arief Budiman of Margaret Kartomi's book on Gamelan Digul also took place during the festival.
Ironically, the Bali Night, subtitled Bali Beyond Kuta, stands out as the most spectacular event of the festival. No one in the organizing committee or the audience had any idea that the following evening would witness a tragedy, yet again, on their beautiful island.
Like many Balinese performances, Bali Night was a riot of colors, accompanied by a continuous eruption of loud gamelan music. It was held in the BMW Edge, a space wrapped around by glass walls, with a large, sunken stage and an entrance hall large enough to accommodate a pre-performance party for the audience.
The main organizer, Mahindra Bali, a Melbourne Balinese Hindu community, rallied together a large gamelan orchestra, which not only accompanied the dance performances beautifully, but also filled the room with total Balinese ambience.
Bali in fact, was not only present on Bali Night, because while Jakarta, Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Solo, West Sumatra and Gorontalo were represented in the festival, the northeast corner of Federation Square was dominated by Balinese display tents, promoting a variety of commodities from clothing, accessories and soft furnishings to tourism and hospitality.
For the participants from Bali and other regions of Indonesia, the three days were filled with hopeful anticipation, hard work, perseverance and -- not least -- great fun.
To be confronted the following morning with the news of another bomb attack back home must have been like waking up to a nightmare.
However, nobody can take away the success of Festival Indonesia, because the event has indeed left a mark in the memory of the Melbourne community, which enjoyed the entertainment, ate and drank, bought the items of merchandise which they may now be wearing or using, or which may be sitting in prime corners of their homes.
The event has also left a mark in the memory of those volunteers and performers who went home each evening tired, but satisfied for having made some people happy, or made new friendships.
Life is indeed full of extremes.