[world-vedic] Indonesia Proud of Vedic Heritage

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>

>Title: Kuch kuch hota hai in Indonesia

>Author: Dileep Padgaonkar

>Publication: Times of India

>January 30, 2000

>

> JAKARTA: The `Hindu' presence in the capital

> of predominantly Muslim Indonesia is far

>

> more conspicuous than it is in the capital

> of India. At a traffic roundabout on one of

> the busiest arteries of the city stands a

> monumental sculpture facing the central bank

> on one side and the national monument on the

> other. It depicts Krishna and Arjuna in a

> chariot drawn by several horses. The sheer

> size and magnificence of this famous scene

> from the Mahabharata has no parallel in

> India.

>

> Indian culture, often in its pristine form,

> makes an appearance whichever way one turns

> in this sprawling archipelago. The national

> language, Bahasa Indonesia, is replete with

> Sanskrit words. So are names of people:

> Nirmala, Apsara, Rati, Dewi and so on. The

> given name of Abdurrahman Wahid's wife is

> Sinta, which is Indonesian for Sita. And the

> Vice-President is, of course, named Megawati

> Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's

> first President, Sukarno.

>

> The mottos inscribed on government buildings

> are equally revealing. When you drive past

> the defence ministry -- called the Yuddha

> Graha -- you come across the following

> inscription engraved in marble on the

> archway: Chatur dharma, Eka karma. Further

> down the road is the ministry of sports

> known as the Krida Bhakti.

>

> An image of Lord Ganesha is printed on high

> denominational currency notes. Ganesha

> statues are seen everywhere, including a

> magnificent one at the entrance of the

> presidential palace. Statues of dwarpalakas

> are to be found in front of both public and

> private buildings. The exhibits in the

> national museum are almost entirely Hindu or

> Buddhist: Shiva and Parvati, Vishnu, Durga,

> Vigneshwara, Brahma Deva...

>

> If Indonesians are at home with their

> classical Hindu and Buddhist legacy, they

> are equally avid about mass culture from

> today's India. Hindi films are a rage. At

> least three Bollywood productions are shown

> on television channels every day. Kuch kuch

> hota hain ran to full houses for several

> months in scores of cinema halls leaving

> well behind such American blockbusters as

> Titanic.

>

> The Punjabi brothers, Indonesian citizens of

> Indian origin, have long established

> themselves as the main distributors of

> Indian films. But in recent years they have

> captured another market. Their soaps in

> Bahasa Indonesia, inspired by Bollywood, are

> a rage on television.

>

> Indian film songs are hugely popular in

> their dangdut versions: the musical score is

> the same as the original but the lyrics are

> translated in Bahasa Indonesia. Dancers

> sporting Indian clothes and the bindi mimic

> Indian gestures with an abandon that would

> make Saroj Khan envious.

>

> However, an Indian visitor, pleasantly

> surprised by all this would do well not to

> rub in the point about the Indian influence.

> It irks the Indonesians who are proud, quite

> legitimately, of the uniqueness of their

> culture. That is especially true today when

> there is a growing consciousness of the

> country's Islamic identity.

>

> But even the most pious Muslim seldom fails

> in conversations to draw analogies from the

> Indonesian versions of India's epics.

> President Wahid, whose erudition of Arabic

> and Islamic texts is legendary, ended his

> interview to The Times of India with a

> reference to the Ramayana. He said that his

> favourite character was Kumbhakarna, the

> brother of Ravana. Kumbhakarna, a rakshasa,

> abhorred taking orders from his sinister

> sibling. He tried to conceal his resistance

> by falling asleep. But when the kingdom was

> attacked, he went to the battleground

> displaying uncommon bravery and never came

> back alive. This, Wahid said, was an utmost

> sacrifice. Alluding to his own efforts to

> resist Western pressures on issues like

> human rights and economic reforms, he then

> added: ``We share the idea of Kumbhakarna as

> the defender and the saviour of the just.''

>

 

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