1919-2007
A prince from Karangasam who studied in Holland during the Second World War and returned to Indonesia as a medical doctor. Later upon his return to Indonesia he was sent to different parts of Eastern Indonesia that were frequently quite isolated to help the people there. In the course of these postings both he and his wife contracted malaria but he also became a specialist in the treatment of malaria. This proved to be extremely useful when Dr Djelantik worked for the World Health Organization which sent him to Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. Later he became the head of Bali’s main teacher’s training college in Sanglah and helped to found the Medical Faculty which he later also headed at the University of Udayanan in Denpasar.
Dr Djelantik playing the violin as a young boy. (photo: Bulantrisna Djelantik)
Dr Djelantik was a Renaissance man who was also active in the field of Balinese culture, both studying and promoting it. He was head of the Walter Spies Society with its Walter Spies Festival which focused on music and dance. Together with Fredrik de Boer, Hildred Geertz, and Heidi Hinzler he established the Society for Balinese Studies or Lembaga Penkajian Kebudayaan Bali in 1985. It held annual conferences in Bali and also abroad and according to Adrian Vickers Dr Djelantik was the natural leader of the organization. Via the organization he promoted both Balinese culture as well as the study of it. Dr Djelantik wrote papers on Balinese culture and a book on Balinese paintings which covers Balinese art history as well as Balinese aesthetics. Later he taught Aesthetics at the Akademi Seni Rupa Bali or the Balinese Academy of Arts. He also wrote an autobiography called “The Birthmark, Memoirs of a Balinese Prince”.
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