By Joydeep Gupta, IANS
Bali (Indonesia) : Wherever an Indian goes in this island of the gods, the first question is: “Are you a Hindu? I am.” From taxi drivers to tour guides to policemen, the question in this crowded little island of 2.5 million people does not vary.
Over 90 percent of the population is Hindu, and you see signs of that everywhere. Every few steps on the pavement, there is a small leaf-plate, with a few flowers and an incense stick in a corner. It is an offering to the family deity, the locals tell you, and you have to watch your step.
Sounds of worship float out of every neighbourhood temple in the evenings – the gongs, the small drums and the singing where you can pick out a few words of Sanskrit here and there if you listen carefully.
Rabindranath Tagore in his famous poem “Sagarika”, about ancient India’s maritime glory, wrote thus during a visit to Bali around 80 years ago:
“You were sitting on a rocky shore when I first came here as a foreigner. You welcomed me. We picked flowers together. You were at home when I came again as a merchant prince. You welcomed me again. We worshipped the gods together. Then my fortunes declined. Today I have come to you only with my veena. I can see a lot of myself in you. Can you recognise me?”
Today, the Balinese have a ready answer, as is evident from the fact that Indians are recognised and greeted here.
Of course, the majority of the four million tourists who flocked to Indonesia by September this year – most of them to Bali – came more for the beaches than for the culture. But there are lots of things for the minority too, especially in Ubud, a village on the slopes of a volcano that is famous for its traditional crafts.
Travel and Leisure Magazine calls Bali the best island destination in the world. Now the authorities here are getting ready for the “visit Indonesia year 2008”, and Bali may get most of the seven million tourists expected in the country.
Indonesia’s Minister for Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik said here Tuesday: “Travel and Leisure Magazine gave Bali the top ranking for five reasons – nature, people, culture and tradition, food and value for money.”
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change that opened here Monday and will go on till Dec 14, Wacik referred to a sticker put out by a local NGO – Travel Warning: Dangerously Beautiful.
And truly, most of the 10,000-odd delegates gathered here for the climate change summit are already getting impatient to get out of the Bali International Convention Centre – majestic as it is – and sample as much of the fabled tourist delights as they can.
Perhaps it was the last point that Wacik made that makes Bali so popular: “The same money fetches much more fun here, and for the entire family.”
Now the minister wants to extend Bali’s popularity to all parts of this archipelago country. “There are other places just as beautiful. We just need to promote them,” he said. To do that, there will be over 100 events next year.
What about the 2002 Islamic terrorist strikes in Bali that kept tourists away for nearly two years and the series of natural disasters that have befallen Indonesia?
“Come and see how good this place is despite all that,” the minister responded. “Seeing is believing.”
(Joydeep Gupta can be contacted at [email protected])