Tales from the East…
by Lolo Kartikasari Sosronegoro posted May 23, 2011
I believe in telling stories to children. I believe in sharing wonderful stories I grew up with. My Dad shared his with me and it became a bond between us. A world where we speak the same language without boundaries, even when I was going through my most difficult- most emotional teen years. Do you know the feeling of being on the same page with your old man, understanding why he is the way that he is and you are able to accept that fully and completely? Pure happiness if you ask me.
Indonesian folk tales, rewriting them in a language that my daughter and her friends understand became a passion. And a mission. I wasn’t told Mahabharata in Javanese or Sanskrit. But my knowledge of it, my understanding of the complexity of the characters and the stories, I am proud to say, is as deep if not deeper than anyone who speaks Javanese fluently. I thank every single story tellers of my childhood. I wish to do the same as they did for me. Giving stories.
I translated two folk tales, Timun Emas and Malin Kundang, Dian McManus edited them and Irma Hardjakusumah drew the beautiful illustrations. Together with Bengkel Amal, Verten Media and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Los Angeles we collaborated on a beautiful storytelling event on May 15th.
Angelina Handayani reading ‘Timun Emas’, the Golden Cucumber
Suzanne Roring-Wolozny reading ‘Malin Kundang’
It was a lovely event. We had balinese dances amazingly performed by Cassey dance group. They have a class every Saturday morning at the Indonesian Consulate in Los Angeles. Thank you!
Everyone involved in the project. Thank you all so much.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you very much for everyone involve in this project. This is the beginning. There will be a lot more. You will be able to get these stories here on our site. There are still a lot to do and we are very excited! Til next event…
Such an awesome event, really! And the book cover is so lovely and classic
thank you so much
we still have a lot to do but this is a good start to an exciting journey!
Acara ini sangat bagus sekali terutama untuk mendidik anak2
kita,agar mereka mengerti akan :yang baik akan menang ,sopan santun kepada orang tua atau yang di tuakan dan yg penting,belajar mencinta membaca,juga supaya anak2 belajar budaya kita meskipun jauh di negeri orang tdk melupakan Kebudayaan kita
Wass,
Chaula Sukasah
Terima kasih banyak Tante. Irma, Dian dan saya sedang mengerjakan satu cerita lagi, kita juga akan terus menjalankan storytelling event ini di Amerika dan hopefully di Jakarta, bulan November nanti!