VOICES OUT OF BHARATA
Ricky Martin, Bobo magazine

“Your timelessness is my hope, your endlessness is my responsibility”

That is the slogan held tight by an art company Wayang Orang (WO) Bharata which is located in Senen area, Central Jakarta. This group of wayang orang, which literally means human wayang (puppet), was born in the capital Jakarta in 1972 and continues to live amid the global modernization. The WO Bharata boasts over 100 dancers and traditional musicians and singers who dedicate their lives to Javanese traditional art.

It is very interesting to have a look at the life of WO Bharata artists. Despite their economic limitation, their spirit to preserve Javanese culture in the middle of metropolitan Jakarta never fades away. They have received various awards in a traditional art performance at home and abroad.

Most of the artists reside in Sunter area, Ancol, North Jakarta. They live a modest life, or to be precise, a life of a constant lack of money. Some of them live inside a sports hall which is turned to be a temporary shelter, now becoming a place they call home.

“We perform at Bharata theater every Saturday night for the sake of cultural preservation, not of a commercial purpose,” said Krisna, a 7th generation member of WO Bharata. The fee per artist for this Saturday-night show ranges from 25,000 to 60,000 rupiah, depending on the artist’s role. The fees are deemed too low in comparison with a decent living cost in a metropolitan city.

This, however, does not stop them from keeping the cultural asset. In order to get extra monthly income, some of them resort to becoming dance instructors while others make themselves as professional consultants for a wayang orang event organizer catering to the requests of both private companies and government institutions.

“You won’t get rich by being a wayang orang artist. But, you will get the knowledge and a lot of lessons out of this traditional art,” Marsam, the head of WO Bharata group, told Bharata’s young generation. This is a message he always repeats whenever he meets with the young generation in order for them to keep wayang orang cultural heritage alive.

A university graduate can be easily found, but are we able to provide a single wayang orang artist?