Dancing Ferns of Sumatra

 

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” - Roald Dahl

 

From the moment we, Taruna, my wife, and I, learnt that we would be moving to Indonesia, we felt a magnetic and uncanny pull towards the country. How absolutely blessed we thought, we were, as we set about reading about the country which was going to be our home for at least three years. Indonesia, an archipelagic nation of more than 18,000 islands and islets, of which only around 6,000 are inhabited has enormous natural, historical and contemporary treasures to appreciate and soak in. It is also widely diverse in terms of traditions, languages, ethnicity, religionS and biodiversity. Interestingly, Indonesia’s national motto is “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” meaning ‘Unity in Diversity’ is akin to India’s own national ethos. For me personally, the tropical rain forests of Kalimantan and Sumatra with their orangutans and honey bears, the Komodo islands with their dragons held a special appeal.

Another aspect of Indonesia that particularly fascinate me, is the national obsession with abbreviations, acronyms and telegraphic language, a trait which I personally have grown to practice and enjoy. Quickly I had to quickly figure out that Ambassador is 'Dubes', short form 'Dutabesar'; 'Monas' is 'Monument Nasional'; and 'Nataru' stands of 'Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru' meaning Christmas and New Year. Even political parties use abbrevations, and unlike India where we use alphabets, for example Bharatiya Janata Party is BJP, in Indonesia the words are also  abbreviated by syllabes. So 'Golkar' is the abbreaviated form of 'Golongan Karya' or Party of Functional Groups and 'Gerindra' is the short from of Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya, the Great Indonesia Movement Party. There is even 'DO', meaning School or University 'Drop Out'. The Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Train is onomatipoeically called 'Whoosh', the short for 'Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Hebat' which means, 'Timesaving, Optimal Operation, and Excellent System'. I thought to myself, deciphering and remembering cryptic acronyms is truly going to be a roller coaster ride.  

Amongst our friends and extended circle, we sensed a great deal of fascination bordering on obsession with Bali. They reacted as if we were getting posted to Bali itself. Hardly, anyone said, “see you in Jakarta”, everyone said, “we are coming to Bali’. But Indonesia is certainly so much more than Bali. It has strong religious, cultural, and civilizational links with India. Even in modern times, India and Indonesia were leaders in decolonisation of the world and worked together in the non-aligned movement. In more recent times, with demcracy taking firm root in the country in the late 1990s, India and Indonesia are the two shining examples in Asia of a democratic order bringing people together and bringing them prosperity and opportunities. The more I read about Indonesia and its religion, culture and people, I resolved to get to know the country better. What was also intriguing, particularly from an Indian perspective, in reading Clifford Geertz, Hamish Macdonald and Sadanand Dhume, was the lingering prevalence of mystical traditions in the country's sophisticated Javanese culture.

We had never travelled to Indonesia ever before. I had been to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines and Laos, but somehow Indonesia I had missed. Perhaps the best was kept for the last. I reached Jakarta on 14 August 2023 just in time to be able to attend the Independence Day celebrations. I noted that India obtained independence on 15 August 1947, while Indonesia became free on 17 August 1945. To reach Jakarta, I had to switch planes at Singapore. It was startling that two large countries, maritime neighbours, hardly had any direct air connectivity. Remedying this was certainly a top priority for me. 

No prizes for guessing that our first destination was Bali, which charmed us with its mesmerizing shoreline, captivating mountains and cultural extravaganza evident in the lives of the ordinary Balinese people. If you are sensitive, there is without a doubt a vibe, an energy that soothes, that is impossible to miss. Hinduism in Bali is manifest everywhere. On exiting the airport, at the roundabout, there is a magnificent statue by the master Wayan Winten of Karna and Ghatotkacha, reminiscing Mahabharat depicting Ghatotkacha sacrificing his life for Arjuna as he made Karna use the Vasavi Shakti that he was saving to kill Arjun. On every street, infront of every shop or house, floral offerings to divinity are ubiquitous.

Our next destination was Lake Toba, the largest tectonic-volcanic crater Lake in located in the island of Sumatra formed formed from a super volcanic eruption in Late Pleistocene, 73,500 years ago. The Lake is 87 km long and 27 km wide and has a maximum depth of 530 metres. The natural beauty of Lake Toba, enchanting landscape, friendly and fascinating Batak people and their distinct culture, attracts tourists from all over the world to Lake Toba. The Lake also has a large inhabited island, Samosir, popular with backpackers.

We went hiking in the forests of Sibuaten on the slopes of the volcano, near Simalem resort, on a trail that led us to twin waterfalls. As we walked in silence just listening in awe at the sounds of the jungle, a sense of peace and contentment started pervading our senses. Our guide, Pak Desman Kaban, had done this for 30 years and showed us time and again various leaves, stems, roots and explained the medicinal properties they contained. We  walked spell bound, watching our steps on the mossy stones of the trail, trying to make no noise yet  minding our steps. Suddenly, Pak Kaban, who was some steps ahead of us pointed to a tree and  exclaimed in a hushed tone, “This is a Bird Nest Fern on a tree. It is absolutely still at the moment but sometimes if you are the lucky you can see it dancing.” We were a little surprised by what he said and walked on ignoring his proclamation. Lo and behold, as soon as we came closer to the tree, the leaves started to move, quite strongly, as if they were waving or rather dancing at us. There was no breeze in the forest and not a single leaf on any other tree or shrub was moving. The guide looked at us, with a didn’t I tell you so look, but himself astonishingly pleased. He then smiled and said, “Mother nature is welcoming you.” One felt much gratitude at this connection with the energy of the great mother and her display of the warmth that she always has for her children. Fortunate we indeed were. At the next turn, barely twenty metres away we saw two large gibbons frolicking in the trees. We watched them silently in awe, reconciling the emotions arising from the dancing ferns on the tree we crossed and gibbons dancing on the trees in front of us. 

The dance of the ferns can be seen at:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ecaCl5tMHW0?si=ZGLplXdAc5noaHlX

The frolicking gibbons are at:

https://youtube.com/shorts/bxIU6KWIqaM?si=Qs1uXJd4xhAlF-Nd

Our hearts are full of gratitude that we have been welcomed in ‘Wonderful Indonesia’, not only by its lovely and kind people but even by the land and nature. We are already looking forward to many more connections with these islands and the lovely beings that inhabit them.

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