The Java connect

Akash Mehrotra

An ancient city and the last remaining Sultanate of Indonesia, Yogyakarta has been a cradle of art and culture and for long nurtured the Javanese connection with the outer world. Old ways of life exist side by side with bustling modernity here and the city decorates itself with the symbols of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. From shadow puppetry, the age old extraordinary Buddhist temple of Borobodur and the equally impressive Hindu ones of Prambanan, socially aware graffiti on the wall to the beautifully styled Batik designs; Yogyakarta, Indonesia’s second most visited spot, is a cultural palette on display.

The city comes as a huge relief from the urbane madness of Jakarta; narrow roads lined with trees, old buildings wearing a colonial touch, shops styled as pagodas, alleys lined with themed restaurants, art cafes often buzzing with some performances, random music bands performing on streets, endless boards advertising batik designing lessons, and strangers wearing a gracious smile; Yogyakarta gives you a feeling of being in a different era. 

The city is always throbbing with performances, mostly unannounced. An art gallery will host a performer or a dance troupe visiting the city performing an ancient myth, puppetry shows in some random corner around the Sultan’s palace, rappers set up on a plaza, some impromptu performance in some coffee shop or even private homes inviting strangers for a local gamelan performance; festivals can pop up in any corner. 

And as you remain on the lookout for the art scenes, don’t miss to do what all travel blogs tell you. Yogyakarta is a Unesco heritage site for its old temples and its age-old puppetry tradition. Put these in your ‘must-do’ list and then proceed. Start off your day with the Krotan Palace, snaking your way through the alleys of the old town, an area owned by the Sultan. The palace stands like a happy collision between the conformist and the iconoclastic. Perhaps, the most captivating, the Gamelan music, an ensemble of bronze percussion instruments, including gongs, xylophones and drums, often combined with string and wind instruments as well as vocals, can be experienced regularly throughout the week. 

At a stone’s throw is the water castle. At a walkable distance from there, through the narrow alleys, housing some painters, designers and artists is the underground masque. 

Cut to evening and brace yourself for some more artesia. In the north of the airport stands another emblem of Yogyakarta cultural heritage — the Prambanan temple. The towering temples with spires and spectacularly sculpted walls are a treat to watch. The temple also serves a backdrop of the Ramayana ballet, a spectacular staging of the South Asian Hindu epic, in a dance drama form, with firelights, extravagant costumes, gamelan orchestra, grandeur and an adroit mastery in story-telling. The town seems to have grown up with the Ramayana tales, no wonder many kids (including Muslim kids) have been named after characters of The Ramayana.

The Borobodur Temple 

Ditch that urge to lie in late and take an hour-long drive past the enchanting countryside to the Borobodur temple, the largest Buddhist temple excavated in the early 19th century by the then British king of Indonesia, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. Sitting atop a hill, surrounded by volcanoes, Borobodur haunts with its striking architectural beauty. A colossal 30 metre-high step pyramid, housing some 500 Buddha sculptures perched around and lower terraces built as balustrades with countless sculptures from Buddha’s life and teachings, the temple is a sight to behold. 

In the early 19th century, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles heard of the site and ordered its excavation. Even though one can find enough cues of this decay in the temple, Borobodur stands as a defining architectural piece and attracts hundreds of travellers and art lovers from across the world, for academic revelations and picture perfect moments.

Both Prambanan and Borobodur, give a peep into how elegantly Yogyakarta embraced and nurtured different cultures and religious ideals, which still live in the daily rituals of the common folk in the form of rituals, myths, stories passed on from one generation to other, puppetry shows, music, dance forms or just as symbols hung on doorsteps.