Muslim Vishnus
Although Indonesia is a Muslim majority country, it has a long Hindu-Buddhist history. So the quotidian here is intertwined with the imagery and idiom of Hindu epics. My local mechanic is called Rama Repairs, and my Muslim banker is named Wisnu (Vishnu). I discover a nationwide charitable foundation for twins called the Nakula and Sadewa Society, and a support group for Indonesian women in mixed marriages named Srikandi (Shikhandi).
Just driving around Jakarta’s streets is an education in the Mahabharata. Buses are painted with large advertisements for an energy drink called Kuku Bima, which promises Bhima-like endurance. Opposite the city’s main national monument, Monas, is a kinetic statue of Arjuna being driven by Krishna to battle on a chariot led by eight horses. Further west, one of the most congested arteries is Gatot Subroto, named after a much-feted army general. An appropriate name as it turns out the name Gatot is a diminutive for Ghatotkacha, Bhima’s fearsome half-demon warrior son.
Lingua Sanskrita
People here pepper their conversations with words like karena (because), manushya (humanity) and bumiputra (son of the soil). The national museum’s nickname is ‘museum gajah’ after the statue of an elephant on the front lawn. The national language, Bahasa, has lots of Sanskrit-derived vocabulary, the word itself for one. But the familiarity should not be taken for granted. If you hear people discussing chinta, for example, there’s no need to pass them the Prozac. In Bahasa, chinta means love rather than anxiety. And it’s common to be offered some susu at parties and restaurants—not because Indonesians are closet Morarji Desai fans but because it’s the Bahasa word for milk.
Double take
I was intrigued by a car sticker I spotted outside the Ministry of Religious Affairs that seemed to say: ‘I Love Madrasis’. It turned out to be: ‘I Love Madarsas’.
