Karling klub Vukovi

At the invitation of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Romania, Her Excellency Mrs. Marianna Sutadi and at the initiative of the Defence Attaché in Belgrade, colonel Joesni Agoes, also a nonresidential representative of Romania, the Gamelan team of the Indonesian Embassy sojourned from 27 – 29 September in Bucharest, where they participated in the celebration of the 65th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

Ambassador Sutadi organized in her Residence a welcoming dinner for the Gamelan musicians. In those pleasant moments, she informed the musicians about the activities happening during her residence in Romania and she took an interest in the activities of the Gamelan orchestra in Serbia.

The Diplomatic Reception, organized by Ambassador Sutadi for the accredited diplomatic delegates in Bucharest and the representatives of the political, public and cultural life of Bucharest, was held on 28 September in the hotel ‘Crowne Plaza’ in order to commemorate the Independence Day of Indonesia. A great number of eminent guests were present, including the representatives of the Public Administration, the Military and General Staff of the Republic of Romania, the cultural and media representatives, as well as the friends of Indonesia.

Members of the ‘Nusantara’ society – Mirjana Janković, Marko Jelić, Benny Enriko Napitupulu, Boris Vančev and Nebojša Pavlović, with the Gamelan team of the Embassy of Indonesia in Belgrade – Ramon Tommy Sirait, Dyanih Mahesthi and Mirjana Sukiban, played the whole evening traditional Javanese songs: ‘Kebo Giro’, ‘Kebo Giro Esok Sore’, ‘Manyar Sewu’, ‘Ricik Ricik’ and ‘Srepegan’. Gamelan, traditional Indonesian music, is most frequently performed in Java and Bali. It is played in various occasions for welcome. The performance was well noticed and the diplomatic corpse positively commented on the participation of the Serbian musicians.

The Reception was attended by The Ambassador of Serbia, His Excellency Mr. Zoran S. Popović and the Third Secretary, Mrs. Isidora Đorđević, who did not hide the delight because of the participation of Serbians in the celebration of this Indonesian holiday. The Ambassador of Serbia organized a cocktail party in the Serbian Embassy the next day, where, in a friendly conversation with the members of the Gamelan team, he was acquainted with the study of Gamelan in Serbia, but also with the activities of the Association of Serbian-Indonesian Friendship NUSANTARA.

Friendly Indonesian diplomats organized a sightseeing tour of Bucharest. Kindness, cordiality and warm welcome, on one side, and a successful presentation and a creative performance of the traditional music, on the other, have opened the door to the future cooperation.

Photos of the Reception are available here [click].

Gamelan music has been studied in the Embassy of Indonesia in Belgrade for almost ten years. The conductor of the orchestra is Mr. Sutikno Sukiban, a creative connoisseur of this traditional music.

All interested are welcome!