Cempaka Culture and Tourism: Socialites take center stage to save dying troupe

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Socialites take center stage to save dying troupe

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta | Sun, 03/01/2009 11:22 AM

A group of actors rehearses at the Jakarta Playhouse ahead of the Clones of Srikandi performance on March 2-3. The charity performance is aimed at raising funds to help the dying Javanese traditional performance troupe Baratha. JP/R. BERTO WEDHATAMA

For some people, there is nothing more interesting than a good piece of wayang wong, a dance drama that portrays episodes of the famous Hindu epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Wayang wong , also called wayang orang (Javanese opera), comes with dance, talk, jokes in Javanese with music played on gamelan, an ensemble of tuned gongs.

On March 2-3 an exceptional performance takes place at the Jakarta Playhouse. The performing troupe will be a mix of professionals from the Bharata group based in Jakarta and semi- or nonprofessionals, the latter consisting of socialites who are rediscovering the beauty of their culture and wishing to help preserve Javanese culture such as wayang orang.

Among these aficionados are well-known business owners, artists and professional celebrities: Wiwoho Basuki, a prominent businessman in the oil-serving industry, his artist wife Kartini Basuki, Tuti Roosdiono, painter and antismoking activist, Atilah Soeryadjaya, artist Astari Rasjid, Yani Arifin, Carloluigi Castel, an Italian national who represents Pirreli in Indonesia, Made Widjaya and Ted Sulisto from Satmarindo.

Many among them are keen observers of traditional art, or were born into traditional culture but were then more interested in Superman and the like.

"But now, we want to know who we are", explained Ted Sulisto when asked how he came to join in this group.

"In this global culture today, we need to have our own identity", said another participant.

ASTARI RASJID: JP/R. BERTO WEDHATAMA

Astari was drawn for other reasons: she uses the experiences as a source of inspiration to make paintings, sculptures and installations in contemporary modes.

The Clones of Srikandi unfolds the story of Arjuna, whom Benedict Anderson describes as "the whole man to the older generation of the Javanese: an unequalled warrior in the battlefield, yet physically delicate and beautiful like a girl, a hero whose wives and mistresses are legion".

In this part of the epic, Arjuna decides to put the faithfulness of one of his wives, Srikandi, to the test. He disappears from the palace and transforms into the guise of king Wijayakusuma who everyone knows desires Srikandi for his wife.

The story becomes very complex when clones of the real Srikandi appear with her before king Wija-yakusuma.

In the Javanese wayang, Srikandi is a beautiful, strong woman and a skilled archer in her own right. She proposes a duel between her and the king, if he wins, she will become his bride. But for the second time Arjuna, now in the guise of Wijayakusuma, disappears. No duel takes place, but the truth is revealed in mystical ways.

As in most wayang stories, there is a patriarchal undertone. Here is the philandering Arjuna wanting to test his wife's fidelity, but the irony is lost in the overall atmosphere of constant jokes, and general silliness, a standard feature of wayang orang. I wonder whether preserving tradition should not go hand in hand with reinvention and adjusting longstanding biases to the norms of the present.

For now, however, the dire state of the Bharata Teater members needs a helping hand.

The Bharata Wayang Wong Theater has been performing in Jakarta since the early 1970s, but neither their accommodations nor their livelihoods have improved much. The building at Jl. Kalilio is dilapidated, leaking even when it's not raining.

The aficionados have set up a partnership with the troupe, Mitra Bharata Wayang Orang, to help improve the livelihoods of the Bharata artists. Proceeds from their performance on Monday and Tuesday will be used to help traditional artists better cope with daily living and improve their living quarters.

Another major objective is to bring traditional culture to a new audience and shine a spotlight on this gem of comic performace for a wider public.

For tickets @ Rp 250,000, Rp 350,000, Rp 500,000, Rp 750,000, Rp 1 million. Please call Pak Murtadji of Mitra Wayang Orang Indonesia 0813 8013 8118, or before the performance at the Jakarta Playhouse.