by: Gratia Sidabutar
15 January 2018
Around 20 people gathered in Lumpini Park, Bangkok, to attend ‘Get To Know Indonesia’ that is being conducted every month with different theme to introduce Indonesia. Cakrana is derived from the Sanskrit word which are ‘Caraka’ means ‘Ambassador’ and ‘Kelana’ means ‘Wandering’ which is initiated by 4 Indonesians that are currently based in Bangkok, Thailand, which are Gratia Sidabutar, Selena Dennysal, Aisyah Yasmin, and Tiwi Nazia, its objective is not only to gather Indonesian abroad but also to unite them to promote Indonesia together, as well as to invite international community to become active citizens by having awareness of promoting their own country in their own way.
This event is supported by Education and Cultural Division of Embassy of Indonesia in Thailand showcased Indonesian traditional food and beverages, ‘Bahasa’ class, Indonesian tourism session, and Indonesian cultural heritage workshop, such as Batik and Angklung. As mentioned above, every event has their own theme, starting from ‘Reminiscing Childhood Memory’ that showcased about Indonesian traditional games, ‘The Wonderful Melody of Indonesia’ that showcased about Indonesian traditional musical instrument, which is ‘Angklung’, and last but not least, ’Experience The Charm of Indonesian Traditional Textile’ that showcased about Indonesia’s prestigious cultural heritage, Batik. Not only attended by Indonesians, this event was also attended by people from different nationalities, for example, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Germany, Nigeria, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Serbia, Myanmar, Mainland of China, and India.
Each event is conducted around 3-4 hours not only successfully put a smile on every single person that came, but also became a start of a newborn friendship within each other and bring up the enthusiasm within participants to experience the beauty of Indonesia by their own eyes. Furthermore, the discussion between the participants will spark their spirit to get to know each other’s culture that will create mutual understanding between each other. From strangers to friends, a simple initiative that will not just bring the name of Indonesia to the world, but also to increase tolerance within nations, and to support peace between nations.
