Rieke reads British Sufi's poem

Rieke reads British Sufi's poem

JAKARTA: Admitting she knows barely anything about Sufi
poetry, actress Rieke Diah Pitaloka provided her own
interpretation about the poem she read at the British Council's
Poetry Reading during a breaking of the fast gathering.

With only minor glitches Rieke read British Sufi Martin Ling's
The Garden last weekend, translated into Indonesian by Abdul Hadi
W.M.

To me, The Garden is about the greatness of God illustrated
through things in a garden. We can experience God through the
things that we see, sometimes through beauty, other times through
silence," she said.

Rieke, who is a poetess herself, said that it was difficult to
read and to understand Sufi poetry as it was usually themed
around things beyond human control.

"Nevertheless, they are interesting to explore, and the
difficulty becomes a challenge for me," she said.

British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard Gozney, poet Hamid
Jabbar, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, and AIDS activist Baby Jim
Aditya also read some poems in the event.--JP