Nike Ardilla's fame lives on in museum in her honor

Nike Ardilla's fame lives on in museum in her honor

By Bruce Emond

BANDUNG (JP): There is not much in the Nike Ardilla Museum,
but then the singer was only 19 when she was killed in a car
accident in her native Bandung, West Java.

The museum, housed in a rainbow-colored two-story building a
few hundred meters from the Makro store on Jl. Sukarno-Hatta, was
established by Nike's parents after her death in 1995. Pretty,
doe-eyed Nike was hugely popular among teenagers, particularly
young men, with fan clubs dotted across the country.

"We still get a lot of fans coming, especially on weekends,"
said the young woman at the front desk.

Known for soulful rock ballads, Nike's fame endures, with the
cassette and CD The Best of the Best of Nike Ardilla released
earlier this year. Several Nike lookalikes have tested the
entertainment waters but none has been successful in winning over
fans.

A short distance from a security post, the museum is the first
building in the housing complex. Two flights of stairs lead to
the poorly lit area showcasing the exhibits, with most of the
space taken up by a reproduction of Nike's bedroom.

On show are the singer's collection of perfumes, several of
her stage outfits, even her mobile phone and passport. Nike was
also a teen magazine model and starred in several television
series, and photos from throughout her career adorn the walls.

The most poignant part of the exhibit is the bedroom, which
the receptionist said was moved intact after Nike's home was
leveled to make way for a toll road. It is the regular teenage
quality of the room -- the stuffed toys on her bed, a carton of
floss, a scribbled reminder note pasted on a cupboard -- which
are most affecting.

Nike was said to be obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and the room
contains several framed photographs and a picture book of the
American actress. There is also a painting showing Nike and
Monroe together.

Nike's untimely and violent death brought huge media coverage,
with some reporters speculating on the perils of fast-lane living
for young entertainers. From a child singer in Bandung, Nike had
risen quickly to stardom through her collaboration with
songwriter Deddy Dores. She had toured the country as part of a
group of "lady rockers" and secured a loyal fan base of her own.

Reporters pounced on the sensational aspects of Nike's death,
dragging up rumors of drug use and lesbianism. Nike was said to
have driven back and forth between Jakarta and Bandung on the
Saturday night she died, visiting a disco and ending up in the
early hours of Sunday at the popular hangout Kintamani near the
Cilaki area of the West Java capital.

Nike left the restaurant shortly before dawn with a woman
friend, Atun, and headed along Jl. Marthadinata. She lost control
of the speeding car and slammed into a concrete wall, dying from
massive injuries. Atun, in the passenger seat, survived.

Her death also ignited a wave of grief among fans, who
embarked on Nike "retreats" in honor of the star. Her parents
sold the wrecked car to the father of one young singer with
designs on becoming the next Nike.

Deddy put together a collection of unreleased songs, titled
Mama Aku Ingin Pulang (Mama I Want to Come Home), on a
posthumously released cassette. An entertainment reporter for the
Bandung daily Pikiran Rakyat wrote a biography of Nike, in
cooperation with the singer's parents. It sidesteps the lurid
tales of the singer's last hours, putting greater emphasis on her
efforts to help the unfortunates through her Nike Ardilla
Foundation and orphanage (entry to the museum is free but
visitors are requested to give donations to the foundation).

The sordid speculation about Nike is dismissed by fans who
grew up listening to her music.

"I don't care what they say, there was nobody who could sing
like Nike," said Iyon, 24, who said he began listening to Nike in
his early teens. "She had a melancholy quality in her voice which
was unique."

Yet he is not averse to his own speculation about what led to
Nike's death on that fateful morning.

"I've heard that Desy (Ratnasari) and Mita (Paramita Rusady)
were jealous of Nike's success," he said of the two popular
actress-singers. "They banded together to have a curse put on
Nike so they would be popular. See for yourself how successful
they are today."

Only 19 and at the peak of her career, Nike Ardilla left many
questions unanswered. For her fans, however, her museum is a
place to remember the way she was.