Murni, the 'Ibu' of Ubud village

Murni, the 'Ibu' of Ubud village

By Rob Goodfellow

UBUD, Bali (JP): I was having dinner with an international
businesswoman based in Singapore. I asked if she knew Murni's
Warung in Bali. Without blinking she said, "Know Murni? Of course
I know Murni! Everyone knows Murni. She is a legend. Travelers to
Bali call her the Ibu (mother) of Ubud". In October this year I
traveled to Ubud to meet this living legend.

Murni was born just after World War II in the village of
Penestanan-Ubud. Her life reflects the history of Ubud itself.
Her family has always been closely involved with international
travelers. Her mother cooked for Walter Spies, the German
aristocrat painter, who lived during the 1930s in a thatched
cottage overlooking rice terraces in the neighboring village of
Campuan.

At this time, (much like today), anyone who was anyone visited
Ubud and they all at some time ate Murni's mother's food: Charlie
Chaplin, Noel Coward, Barbara Hutton, the Woolworths' heiress,
Colin McPhee, the ethno-musicologist and his anthropologist wife,
Jane Belo, Vicki Baum, the novelist, Margaret Mead and Gregory
Bateson the pioneering anthropologists.

Some say Miguel Covarrubias, the Mexican painter and
ethnologist, was so inspired by the food in Ubud that he decided
to write the still widely read and influential book Island of
Bali, published in 1937.

Colin McPhee likewise decided to stay and live in Ubud where
he studied Balinese gamelan music. He wrote a marvelous book, A
House in Bali, which has just been re-printed in paperback.
Murni's great aunt looked after him too. She is still alive and
well and living in Ubud.

In the 1950s it was in Murni's village of Penestanan that Arie
Smit, a Dutch painter founded a school of art called "The Young
Artists of Penestanan", which has profoundly influenced the
development of the avante garde art for which the area is now
known. Again, Murni's family was involved.

During the 1960s Ubud was not the bustling tourist center it
is today. Murni would get up at 4 a.m. every morning and cycle
downhill to Sanur on the south coast of Bali and sell her
textiles to visiting cruise ship passengers.

If it was a bad day she had to put her goods back on her head,
and cycle home up the hill to Ubud. However, before long she had
four shops and counted the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger as one of
her regular clients. He is still a customer of Ibu Murni shops
today.

By the mid-1970s Murni had returned to Ubud where she created
the first real restaurant in the area - Murni's Warung. Ever
since it has been one of the places to go in Bali. Today Murni's
Warung employs over 60 staff and continues to serve patrons from
all over the world. It has been called the most romantic
restaurant in Ubud. You can hear the sound of rushing water in
the narrow jungle gorge that has formed from the convergence of
the River Wos and its tributary. Here locals and visitors,
writers, artists and dancers, all enjoy the atmosphere, the
exotic cuisine, and, most importantly, each other's company.

Murni's shops, Kunang-Kunang I and II and the Warung Shop are
all in Ubud's main street. They have been imitated but never
surpassed for quality, authenticity and value. Her international
clients think of Murni so highly that they call to check if she's
in Bali before they book their flights. It is little wonder that
many of her friends are important people from the United States.
The New York Times has in fact named Murni's Houses as one of the
best small hotels in the World.

Murni's latest venture is the creation of Villa Kunang-Kunang.
This is about 15 minutes outside Ubud, on the road up to the
landmark Mount Batur. Kunang-Kunang means "firefly" in the
Indonesian language. Here Ibu Murni has built two fabulous
villas, which are said to have the best views in Bali. The Villas
look out over the ancient rice fields and are set in 3 hectares
of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens.

Hidden away is a curved swimming pool, which merges into
breathtaking views of the emerald-green rice terraces. There are
fishponds, water lily ponds, lotus ponds, and the sounds of
running water everywhere.

In addition, there are 33 Buddha statues lovingly placed
around the gardens. The Villas are furnished with a mix of
contemporary and antique Balinese and Indonesian furniture in
Murni's inimitable style. There is even a book specially written
for her guests on Balinese life and culture.

There are walks along the rice terraces and, if Ibu Murni has
time, she takes her friends and guests along trails where
tourists never go, explaining the tropical trees, flowers and
plants. Along the way she stops to introduce her guests to local
people they would never otherwise get an opportunity to meet.

What continues to inspire Ibu Murni is her strong faith in the
importance of maintaining Balinese culture, as living and unique.
This is combined with her genuine desire to extend friendship and
hospitality to others and to show visitors to the Island a
special piece of the real Bali.

-- The writer is based in Australia. He can be contacted by e-
mail on sujoko@ozemail.com.au