Whether Subandar is or not another name for For Jaya Kesunu’s wife is highly debatable. The fact that Subandar is an important figure in Bali is beyond question. There is a large shrine dedicated to Ida Ratu Ayu Subandar located in the extreme northeast corner of the outer courtyard of Pura Dalem Balingkang. Inside of it is a long megalith that is considered to be very sacred and in the shape of a barong landung. At any rate, there seems to be some connection between Subandar and the Balingkang stories. With this in mind, let us examine the other Subandar phenomena in Bali.

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Driving eight kilometers north from Kintamani, you will find Penulisan where Pura Tegeh Koripan lies. Turn left you will head to Singaraja, turn right to Sukawana village.

Follow the northern rim of outer crater from where you can take in the wild and rugged beauty of the crater. The road leads to Pinggan on the crater’s north side, the curves southeast to Songan. Through pine forests coffee, clove, orange, and lemon plantations, you will find Pura Penataran Agung Dalem Balingkang just before Belandingan.

Ceremonial temple festivals at Pura Dalem Balingkang always take place for a nine to eleven day period during the full moon of Kelima (around November) in accordance to the Balinese saka lunar calendar.

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WORCESTER, Mass. * The Holy Cross departments of theatre and music will present the spring concert of their famed Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Gita Sari, under the directorship of visiting fellow in Balinese performing arts, I Wayan Dibia, on April 28 at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. This concert will feature a lively roster of guest artists, including Ni Made Wiratini, Ni Nyoman Manik Suryani, I Nengah Susila, Ni Made Pujawati, I Nyoman Saptanyana, and Ida Ayu Ari Candrawati. These semi-annual concerts, free and open to the public, are routinely standing room only and provide for a thrilling evening of Balinese music and dance.

Gamelan Gita Sari was founded in 1999. Gita Sari translates as “the essence of song.” The company is composed entirely of students and faculty from the College. The group performs on its Gong Kebyar gamelan, built for Holy Cross in 1998 by master Balinese craftsman Pande Made Sukerta. Following a blessing ceremony in Mengwitani, the gamelan was shipped to Massachusetts, where a second ceremony was conducted in July 1999. This coincided with Holy Cross being awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Grant to fund a Balinese scholar-artist-in-residence for four years.

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If you are driving from Pura Ulun Danu Batur (Bali’s most important lakeside temple that pays homage to water and irrigation) in a southern direction you will come to a cross-road just a couple meters into the journey. The road on the right hand side leads to the villages of Payangan and Ubud, while the left shows the way to yet another Hindu temple complex called Pura Bukit Mentik. The road here winds steeply as you approach the foot of Mount Batur.

Keen adventurers also use this route as a starting point for early morning climbs of Mount Batur’s rugged terrain. The road actually circles the lower base of the mountain and to the west there are stunning views from the lakeside temple of Pura Jati as well as Toya Bungkah, with hot water springs, on east side. Further along the road you will also come across Toya Mampeh.

According to local folklore, Mount Batur used to be called Gunung Lebah. During the rule of the legendary Waturenggong the name was changed to Batur. However, the people of the area still keep the term Gunung Lebah, which also refers to a temple there.

The complex of Pura Bukit Mentik was completely surrounded by molten lava during a volcanic eruption in 1974. But the temple itself and sacred banyan tree amazingly remained untouched by this act of Mother Nature. The temple is now referred to as the ‘Lucky Temple’.

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Three Dancers – Three Traditions – One Vision at Nusa Dua Saturday, April 29, 2006.

On Stage - a long-awaited organization on Bali’s arts and culture scene dedicated to celebrating the diverse traditions of performing arts found on Bali, will make its debut presentation in late April, the first in what is hoped will become a series of monthly events.

Three Dancers – Three Traditions – One Vision

Three Dancers – Three Traditions – One Vision will be an evening of rare and memorable dance presented by three of Asia’s leading contemporary dancers of the day.

• Keiko Nakano - Acclaimed as Japan’s “Best Dancer” and the first-prize winner at the competition of modern dance in her native land in 1998, Keiko Nakano founded the Keiko Nakano & Dance Museum Yagi in 1989. Serving as the lead dancer and inspiration for the groups repertoire, Keiko uses the medium of dance to interpret poetry, literature and her unique view of the “curious moments” which populate our daily lives.

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Recently I took a trip to Trunyan, which is nestled on the eastern bank of Lake Batur at the foot of Mount Abang. Trunyan is home to the descendants of the original inhabitants of Bali who are known as the ‘Bali Aga’. This community of people, who have certain animistic beliefs, populated the island long before invasion of the Javanese aristocracy from the Majapahit kingdom during the 14^th Century.

Trunyan is accessible only by boat and I made my mid-morning crossing from the village of Toya Bungkah, which was only a 20-minute journey. The cool waters of Lake Batur were calm on the way over, but the return trip was slightly choppy due to the strong afternoon winds.

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