TRULY THE MOST REGRESSIVE SIGN OF OUR TIMES IS WHEN RANDOM, ARMED MEN GUN FOR CIVILIAN LIVES, CLAIMNG ‘A DIFFERENCE OF FAITH’ AS THEIR PREMISE.. SANGEETA WADDHWANI DRAWS A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE LIVING PRESENCE OF HINDUISM ON THE ISLAND OF BALI… IN AN ISLAMIC NATION LIKE JAKARTA. THIS IS JUST A MICROCOSM OF WHAT SHOULD BE EVERYWHERE….
“Yeh khitaye Kashmir hai, jannat ki ik tasweer, insaniyat ki dastaan, har zarre mein tehreer” – Rifat Sarfarosh
This is Kashmir, an image of heaven, every particle of this land tells the story of humanity
THEY FOOLED NOBODY
For every shot fired at an unarmed, peaceful Indian civilian, a hundred other hearts are broken, shedding unseen blood. Hearts in the Kashmir valley, which had started beating again with hope… were bleeding, with hope draining out of the fragile economic and inter-religious ecosystem.
DHARMIC WAR VS TERRORISM
Every major religion offers a code of conduct even in war. Women and children were never targeted. Unarmed people were always spared. You never fired arrows when your opponent was in prayer. These were the ways of dharmic warriors. Terrorism is never, and can never, be about a religious war. It is hell on earth. A manmade poison imposed on times where peace is the greatest of luxuries. Inner peace, outer peace, which was the unsaid ‘wealth’ people came looking for in Kashmir.
PRE-ATTACK KASHMIR
The light-eyed, simple Kashmiris, had started to breathe again. Every inhalation and exhalation, a happy sigh. Eyes that had shed tears of angst, for decades, were now smiling amidst wise wrinkles. These eyes had combed over the tulip-carpeted flower fields, the snow-capped, witnessing mountains. Just off the ridge of shikaaras, eyes were gazing at the tadpoles leaping around with unexplained glee. The sheer joy of rebirth was in every cellular creature. The wise old eyes remembered – these were the legendary lakes of Kashmir, where lotuses abounded, and honeymooners dared to dream of everlasting love.
Tourists, too, were flocking in, shopping on the Dal Lake from an idyllic shikara, for kawah tea, silver jewels, beautifully embroidered and woven shawls – some featuring the local craft of sozni, which has designs on two sides. They were there to revisit the timeless Paradise described by Amir Kusro, as Heaven On Earth.
But one human invention took it all apart. The gun. In the wrong human hands. Turning brother against brother. While another human invention – Instagram – was immediately dismantling their agenda. Reels were calling them out, saying (paraphrased), ‘we will not let you seed poison, turn human against human, strip Kashmir of her heavenly attributes and reduce the brilliant artisans to penury. Peace, is prosperity. You want to take our peace away in the sacred valley.’
After all, we are not living in 1947. We are not even living in the 70s, 80s, 90s. The idea of religion has long been replaced with the idea of humanity and spiritual evolution. The worldwide web has made us one family. Everything opposed to justice and humanity, is simply a-religious. Aspiritual. WWW knows this.
BALI: A HINDU ALLADIN’S CAVE
Just earlier this year, in January, I was in Bali with a lively group of female friends. Almost everywhere we looked, we saw that Hinduism is a palpable, living force. There was no sense of polarization between the largely Islamic nation of Indonesia, and this paradisical Hindu island sitting in it.
Right from our arrival at the Denpasar airport, we felt the vibe. Stunning renditions of spiritual themes greeted our eyes, showcasing Balinese culture. Some notable installations include Mataya Gate, Paradise Scape, Wana Rupa Segara Gunung, Palemahan, and The Tree of Life. These pieces symbolize harmony, the life cycle, Balinese philosophy, and the interconnectedness of life, respectively. We were welcomed in a very Hindu style, by our local tour operator, ‘Pocha’. Being an all-girls squad, we told Pocha he now had garlanded many wives!:)
Day one:
WATERSPORTS AT NUSA DUA BEACH
On the same day we did the Parasailing, Banana Boat ride and Jet skiing, we also had lunch at a nearby Udupi resort and then hired a private car to travel to Uluwatu!
THE TIMELESS TALE OF RAM AND ‘SHINTA’
Even before leaving for the trip, we had booked tickets online to see the Balinese theatrical take on the Ramayana, to be staged at the sea-side Uluwatu Temple. We read, “This Balinese Hindu temple is located on the south-western tip of the Bukit Peninsula in Uluwatu, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia. It is the only Balinese sea temple that is also one of the nine directional temples. It is dedicated to Sang Hyang Widhi Wasa in his manifestation as Rudra.” (Research tells me that SHWW denotes “The Divine Order,” and is the Sanskrit equivalent of Achintya, the inconceivable. The Brahman, a force from which all other gods and beings are believed to emanate.)
The Lord Hanuman vibe was all around this temple, with mischievous monkeys waiting to grab whatever they could from us –wallets, shades, phones. A huge warning sign did tell tourists to expect such plundering as we made our way to the temple’s amphitheater, where the Ramayana was to be performed.
My dear friend Shweta Singh fell prey to a rambunctious monkey who not only grabbed her eyeglasses off her face, but sat to pose with them! I was so tempted to take a quick click, but respect for my friend’s panic-striken state made me restrain the urge. Besides, a monkey would have grabbed my phone! Fortunately there were forest guards who threw food packets the monkey’s way, leading the monkey to discard her precious spectacles. Whew!
As we climbed towards the area by the open sea, we were gob-smacked by the vast beauty of the sunset, and I somehow sensed an umblical connect to the Ramayana. I could almost ‘see’ Lord Hanuman as a giant silhouette in the vivid skies of Bali, flying over Uluwatu… almost see him leaping over the Indonesian archipelago – as a rambunctious divine monkey child!
EXPERIENCING AN INDIAN EPIC, BALINESE STYLE
While printed pages are offered to tourists which recount the essence of the Ramayana, we were surprised that the Uluwatu KECAK performance, had no spoken dialogues. The sounds that capture the moods of the story came from 90 bare-chested young men, all chanting ‘chak chak cha cha cha’ throughout the duration of the play, in different speeds and with different levels of energy. Perhaps that’s why it was called The Ramayana – Kecak Dance.
They were like collective backdrop music, going fast, going slow, complementing the action onstage. Ravana’s kidnapping of Sita, therefore, saw this ‘sena’ of chanters picking up speed and urgency. Laughably, the arrival of Hanuman brought a sense of lightheartedness, as he climbed to sit with members of the audience, taking selfies, while keeping his eyes on Shinta in the gardens of Ravana! The capturing of Lord Hanuman by Ravana’s men, and Hanuman’s endless tail burning down Lanka, were wonderfully presented, circles of real fire surrounding the stage. (My friend Shweta felt the ‘chak chak chak’ chanting was not exactly trance-inducing… it was disturbing!:)
YOU AREN’T ALLOWED INSIDE TEMPLES IN BALI… BIZARRE!
The magic of this epic, was brought to life with vivid masks, elaborate headpieces, jewels, costumes. The fact that the sea was just below us, and we were on a majestic mountain top with cliffs, added its own intoxication to the evening.
Of course, we were in purple sarongs out of respect for the deities and the temple arena. Like most temples in Bali, no public is allowed inside, but you are allowed to take pictures around the area.
Another temple we would have loved to go into was the Maa Saraswati temple in a lane off the main Ubud street market. While you could buy tickets to just walk around the temple gardens for several lakh IDR, you would remain clueless about how Maa Saraswati actually looked in this part of Asia. Research shiws a proper day tour which included entry into this temple, cost over six lakh IDR, which is over INR 3,000.
WHERE DID THE HINDU INFLUENCES COME FROM IN BALI ISLAND?
The Kalinga kingdom, (1100 BCE) located in what is now Odisha, India, had significant maritime and cultural connections with Indonesia, particularly with the islands of Java and Bali. These interactions led to the establishment of Indianized kingdoms and the spread of Indian culture in Southeast Asia.
From the 7th century CE, the powerful Srivijaya naval kingdom flourished, bringing Hindu and Buddhist influences with it. The agricultural Buddhist Sailendra and Hindu Mataram dynasties subsequently thrived in inland Java. The last significant non-Muslim kingdom, the Hindu Majapahit kingdom, flourished from the late 13th century, and its influence stretched over much of Indonesia.
The Chola Empire was a major maritime power, (between the 9th and the 13th century), and their naval expeditions extended to Southeast Asia, including parts of modern-day Indonesia. Their main goal was to control trade routes and secure access to valuable resources like spices and textiles.
And then of course, in William Dalyrmple’s book, The Golden Road, we read that there were seven islands south of India, which were known as the Suvarna Bhoomi lands. Thailand and Indonesia were included in that cluster. It basically came to light for Indian traders, when the Roman trade corridor came to a close, that gold was lying right in our own backyard! So traders from South India made the Suvarnahoomi their new trade corridor… The nomenclature translated to “Land of Gold,” in ancient Indian literature, with islands primarily located in the Indonesian Archipelago, particularly Sumatra and Java. The term also encompassed other islands in Southeast Asia like Borneo, as well as the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.
HINDU DEITY PAINTINGS IN BALI
At the Krishna Mall in Kuta, I fell in love with the richly rendered paintings of Radha Krishna. Different interpretations of the celestial couple on moonlit nights, capturing a love both ethereal and physical, not to forget far beyond the pale of convention.
Then, every major junction on the streets featured a very recognizable scene from the Ramayana or the Mahabharat. One tableau showed the building of the Lankan bridge, with the monkey sena carrying boulders on their backs, led by Lord Hanuman. Another showed the lesser known brothers Nakul and Sahadeva of the Mahabharat, sons of Pandu from his wife Madri – standing tall and proud in front of the sena, as if they were principle characters from the epic! And even as we were deciphering which epic tableau was the crowning glory of a traffic intersection, our driver’s radio station was playing a deeply moving Bollytune from the 70s – Tujse Naaraaz Nahin Zindagi, Hairan Hu Main – sung in the local language in a uniquely Balinese style, by a female singer. Her rendition gave us goosebumps. How much we take our own cultural wealth for granted!
It blew my mind why temple experiences were not open to tourists and possibly devout followers of the Hindu deities? Did they fear Muslim attacks? Imagine being charged in India to just walk into the gardens and compounds around a temple, for thousands of rupees, but being categorically told no spiritual connect with the deity was possible?
THE BALI JUNGLE SWINGS
Now this may be a very touristy thing to do – trot over to a viewpoint where a host of very Balinese inspired cane swings, often interlaced with flowers, take you high over a valley of lush forests. But what a smart way to tap into your country’s rich countryside beauty. There were gowns on hire, which brought a surreal red carpet, cinematic quality to your photos, when still or in motion.
I posed for these in my two-tone ensemble, in my shades and sneakers. The swinging definitely connected me to my inner thrill seeker and inner child – loved being suspended over forests hundreds of feet below, and charging up, skywards! Little wonder honeymooning couples love to honeymoon in Bali. The photo-ops are dazzling. One does feel that just Maharashtra has gorgeous, cloud capped mountains in the monsoon, and setting up viewpoints with cafes and jungle swings could be such a joy for families! Forget that, it would make our gen-next eco-sensible, learning not to litter green zones, teaching them how nice it feels to have non-polluted air in one’s lungs!
There was a couple’s bed swing as well – and we being a girl gang – well, made it all about girls swinging every which way – no pun intended!
There were also insta-friendly cameo spots, Balinese doorways with water bodies in front – which the expert local photographers duplicated by putting a mirror below the camera. We got wonderful, mystic portraits of ourselves – as if Bali itself was offering portals to other dimensions.
We wound up our experience having an Indonesian/Indian meal – but the highlight was always, the giant coconut water we often chose as dessert! The coconuts in Bali are so massive, we made it a practice to share one between two or three of us.
THE MARA RIVER SAFARI LODGE
“You could spend days on this property and yet not see everything in it!’ was our driver Pocha’s heads up as we exited Kuta and headed towards our next stop, the African safari-inspired Mara River Safari Lodge in Taman.
Already heady with the beauty and abundance of greenery as we drove, we turned into a thick foresty zone and saw the welcome tableau of this property. Needless to say, all the girls screamed – “We want photo here POOOOOCHHHHA!”
And so Pocha religiously obeyed as we took our group picture, all pointing to the faux animals decorating the entry
As we got into our rooms, (which had those lovely netted beds I loved from childhood stays in Mahableshwar), we saw wallpapers, art, rustic but clean bathrooms, and open terraces as the signature. From these terrace balconies, we could spot giraffe, zebras, not too far away.
Included in our package was a mini train ride through the area of the resort, landscaped to include an ENTIRE jungle filled with exotic creatures of the wild – from Thailand, India, Indonesia and of course, Africa. We are taking from bison to giraffes, zebras to hippos, elephants to tigers, lions, deer, panthers, bears – even the cuddly koala bears. A cheery Balinese guide offered a running commentary on the animals we were seeing – including telling us about the love stories and offspring of some of the notable big Fives…because clearly, they were bred in captivity.
Boasting a lovely view of Mount Agung in the distance, even just walking around the property, is a delight. We came across a giant stone sculpture of Lord Ganesha, and a lively exhibition on the state of the Lion as an endangered, cherished species. All around, were opportunities to invite a South African parrot to sit on your arm, and click photos. There were even opportunities to have a snake around your arm – but that chance, I didn’t take.
From our dining hall, various predatory creatures mulled close enough for us to worry – initially. Then, it started feeling strange to be in a world where lions paraded in front of you as if born to do so, lionesses sat at the bar window, as if they were animated portraits straight out of Harry Potter’s world – roaring with no need to! Our posing Lioness certainly didn’t have to defend herself from gawking children, or hunt for dinner! What kind of ‘training’ did these animals have to go through, to dramatize their own ‘wilderness’ where there was no need for them to be fierce?
Similarly, holding a parrot that didn’t attack or attempt to fly, or a snake that was possibly so tranquilised it could not bite – these mysteries continued to haunt me on the property. I do hope to get answers someday!
Above and beyond this, we were told there were fine dining experiences – under the water – where predatory sharks would swim around you. Having done this at the Atlantis in Dubai, I did not want to put 20 lakh IDR for this experience… and my friends were more keen to go clubbing
So we savoured the fresh air, the random presence of baby Elephants in the elephant bay, and the traditional Balinese architecture that housed many galleries. We didn’t even get time to check out the Kiboko Pool!
At night, post dinner, we were regaled with shamanic dance performances with animal-inspired headdresses and intoxicating Balinese music. Something primal and deep troubled us at night – nobody slept well – and in one of our friend’s cottages, they were freaked out with the sound of nails scraping on their door. More mysteries!
NUSA PENIDA ISLAND
Now this is odd, but many girls from our travel troop backed out of visiting Nusa Penida island. Mostly because of the fear of equatorial temperatures. Yes, even January end! Our tour agent had chosen to have us up before dawn to get on the first catamaran out to Nusa Penida on a Sunday morning, so we could sight-see around the three beaches (my friend put it like this – “teen bitches teen beaches dekhenge”) before the searing hot sun had us in a Victorian-inspired ‘swoon’.
Most of the girls chose to stay in at the resort for a spa day…but me and two brave friends – Ruby Singh and Rita Patel – took the plunge. While we made it to the boat on time, and to the other side by 9.00 am or so, our teenage driver seemed to have either smoked up a bit or a very late night and showed up at 10.30 odd to take us across to the legendary three beaches – Broken Beach (Pantai Pasih Uug), Angel’s Billabong, and Kelingking Beach in the west then heading east to Diamond Beach.
Since our driver was not the most conversational guy, I am stunned to find out now, that Nusa Penida is steeped in Balinese folklore, with legends of black magic and evil spirits, particularly the story of Ratu Gede Mas Mecaling (also known as Dalem Bungkut).
Mecaling, once a king of Bali, was exiled to Nusa Penida for his black magic and is believed to still roam the island, bringing misfortune. These stories contribute to the island’s reputation as a place of both fear and spiritual significance.
Perhaps this is why one sees YouTube videos of boats tossed on wild waves around Nusa, with passengers worried about capsizing – and tourists not being allowed to actually go down to the beaches. We did adore the abundant beauty of the foliage, hills and glades and rice terraces, that spread out like Nature’s balm between the east and west of the island.
Once we actually got down to Nusa Penida… I was mesmersied by the claw like formation of the land below. It did smack of the idea of a animal-like warrior out with his claws and reminded me of the claw-pose of the Hanuman character I took a picture with post-show, at Uluwatu. Even in Thailand, long, claw-like, upturned nails are a regular feature in the projection of dragon feet, goddess hands and of course, gargoyles. Interesting.
We had our giant coconut water of course, to stay hydrated, and then got back on the catamaran to head to Bali. On the journey, my friend Ruby and I chose to sit at the back deck, open air, as there was no ac in the main part of the catamaran, and the humidity and heat were unbearable.
Sitting out at the back, she captured some dramatic cloud formations that danced over the water, using her iPhone insta filters. Somehow, there was a theatrical quality to the skies… something we don’t see in every destination. I do believe Bali has a mystique personality – and we didn’t even scratch the surface. Just got a sense of it moving through her spaces.
I still have a Ganesha statue, the colour of rusted copper (a pastel green with gold highlights which I bought for one lakh IDR at the Ubud street market, and I remember the store owner seeking its blessings before passing the Ganesha to me. Religion is a living force here, and again, it’s a Hindu island in an Islamic state. Beautiful.
We had many other experiences worth cherishing in Bali – watersports, para sailing, and eating the yummiest Nasi Goreng in Seminyak! We had a blast buying their cane woven bags, with beautiful shell motifs, a shell-based cocktail ring, and even a few sexy sarong and blouson dresses. I also bought a hand-painted wallet featuring a cheery feather motif. Loved the fashion at Ubud Street Market, especially one store which featured gorgeous monochrome outfits with gold stud work.
BRUNCHING AROUND WATERFALLS
On our last day in Bali, we chose to pay through our noses and book a table at a coveted club. Now when we think ‘club’ in Indian cities, it is rarely a landscaped affair, with picturesque waterfalls and luxe open terraces. This club offered us this lovely sense of proximity with nature while bringing the hugest possible thin crust wood fired pizzas and the nicest of local beers and wines.
Just down from the club, was a mini shopping street, so those who missed out on local goodies stocked up on giftables and dresses before calling it a stay!
GOODBYE BALI!
As we approached the airport, a friend in the group called our attention to a palm-shaped island – probably manmade – and joked that this was not Palm Jumeirah, but “Chummeirah” – meaning we are kissing it goodbye!
The departure terminal was far more luxurious – the arrival terminal had been more artsy and functional. Here, luxe shopping – especially for local souveniers, spirits, watches, art – offered us plenty to see. I bought a giant embroidered denim bag which was great to load the extra somethings I was carrying with me. I also figured it was a wonderful bag to have if travelling short distances and one wanted to throw in a cap, a book, a sunscreen, etc etc.
We had an eight hour layover in Singapore, which became a comedy. We were like posh refugees, sleeping on the white leather circular benches around faux trees. Intoxicated with wine from the flight, remembering the most random things – like our PM referring to Donald Trump as ‘Do-Lan Trump’ and Trump calling him a Chi-Walla. The prim and propah Chinese passengers walked up to us, demanding civilised 3.00 am behaviour, so we shut the ** up!
Still, being ever adventurous, I bought some Chinese cookies filled with dried pineapple, while my friends bought their favourite spirits.
One can never get enough of travel!
The moral of the story is, be it Bali or Singaore, nature has been allowed to co-exist with the most sophisticated interiors and exteriors. While we are proud of our infrastructure – the snaking highways zigzagging across the sea – we would be smart to learn from the Asian Tigers to dress them up in Nature. Flowers, plants, trees. Return soul to modernity. If the Ambani’s concrete Antilla can be dressed in vertical gardens, so can Mumbai!
LIFE OF A MAGAZINE EDITOR 