Some of the musicians from the
Paris tour are still alive. One is the master drummer and ugal
player, I Made Lebah's son, I Wayan Gandra. His electric style
of drumming can be heard on Saturday nights at Dalem Puri, wlien
the Gunung Sari troupe performs. Also from this area, I Made Grindem,
who died in 1989, brought the Peliatan style of gender playing
to a high art form in Teges Kanginan. His son, Wayang Lantir,
carries on the tradition.
Peliatan today boasts 15 gamelan groups, including: gong kebyar,
gong semar pegulingan, gong angklung and joged bumbung. Almost
every banjar owns at least one set of instruments and you can
hear the haunting sounds of the gamelan in the Peliatan area nearly
every night, whether in rehearsal or performance.
In 1987, Peliatan's women's gamelan, Mekar Sari, was begun under
the tutelage of Gung Kak. Now the group performs every Sunday
night at 7:30 pm in Banjar Teruna. The dancers are all under 12
years old. The Gong Kebyar Gunung Sari also puts on a dazzling
show at Pura Dalem Puri in Baniar Tebesaya every Thursday and
Saturday at 7 Pm. The more lyrical sounds of the Tirta Sari Semar
Pegulingan (with two different legongs) can be heard on Friday
night at Banjar Teruna. And every Tuesday at 7:30 pin in Banjar
Teges Kawan, the Gong Kebyar Semara Jati presents a variety of
fine dances and dance dramas.
The traditional and the modern continue to flourish side-by-side
here. Anak Agung Oka Dalem, one of Gung Kak's children, excels
in the kebyar styles which Peliatan put on the map 40 years ago.
In 1982, he founded Padma Nara Suara (PANAS for short), a dance
group that fuses modern choreography and costuming with traditional
Balinese dance movements. One could say that PANAS is the Busby
Berkeley of Bali.
Carving and painting
Peliatan is also a village of carvers and painters. Everywhere
you go you see orchids, fruits, frogs, ducks and birds being fashioned
out of wood. These are all of course for tourists. Two of the
more exceptional carvers are I Wayan Pasti whose life size horses
and dogs will make you do a double-take - and I Nyoman Togog (the
original "fruit man"), who received a Presidential award
in 1985.
I Ketut Madra of Banjar Kalah is an excellent painter in the traditional
wayang style. He is not a businessman by nature and does not have
a gallery, but likes to show his work to visitors and accepts
special commissions.
To view the classical painting style of the 1930s, visit any one
of the following: I Gusti Made Kuanji in Banjar Teruna, I Nyoman
Kuta in Banjar Tengah and Ida Bagus Made in Tebesaya. For an overview
of Balinese painting, pop into the Agung Rai Museum of Art on
the road to Pengosekan from Peliatan. If you see something you
like, you can probably look up the artist nearby in his home.
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