ISLAMABAD, NOV 11 (DNA) – The Indonesia cultural icon fascinated the participants of Batik workshop, who gathered at the Indonesian residence to practically take part in Batik preparation drill.

The spouse of the Indonesian Ambassador Rita Berlinia Amri hosted a lively Coffee Morning on Monday and Batik workshop.

The Coffee Morning brought the guests an opportunity to understand and get exposure to the Indonesia’s diverse culture and its philosophical, cultural and historical values through its signature and most famous Indonesian textile which is called Batik.

The host gleefully welcomed the guests at the workshop who turned up in big numbers were the spouses of the Ambassadors and Heads of the Diplomatic Missions based in Islamabad.

Welcoming the participants Rita Berlinia Amri informed that the Coffee Morning featuring Batik was intended to take the participants to a trip to explore and experience Indonesia’s rich and diverse art and cultural heritage.

She also informed that Batik was increasingly becoming popular across the world and has been added to the Representative List of UNESCO’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage by recognizing Indonesia as the origin and home to this exclusive art form.

To conduct the workshop, the Embassy had invited batik maestros Fonna Melania Djuwaeni, Ulfah Yulaifah and Andri Purbawiana from the Sukabumi Region of Java Island to showcase and share some basics of the wonderful ancient art form with the enthusiast participants.

Fonna and her team specializes in Botanical Print Dyeing and Mixed Techniques or Eco-printing which is a technique that uses plants, leaves and flowers to leave their shapes, color, and marks on the fabric.

Batik as both an art and a craft is a wonderful creative medium. The art of decorating cloth in this way, using wax and dye, has been practiced for centuries.

Batik is a “resist” process for making designs on fabric. The artist uses wax to prevent dye from penetrating the cloth, leaving “blank” areas in the dyed fabric. The process, wax resist then dye, can be repeated over and over to create complex multicolored designs.

To the joy and surprise of the participants an enthralling “Legong Dance” was performed by Keni S.Soeriaatmadja who is a dance maestro and currently visiting Islamabad on the Embassy’s invitation.

“Legong Dance” is one of Bali’s most visually alluring royal court performances.

The dance is considered one of the island’s most revered classical pieces, known for its physically demanding postures and fast-paced movements which require a significant level of flexibility among its generally young female performers.

The participants appreciated the host Rita Amri for her passionate efforts for promoting cultural linkages and giving them an opportunity to be a part of the cultural extravaganza a truly enjoyable and learning experience.=DNA

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