The life story of prince Madé Djelantik is imbued with wonder and magic, awakening feelings of “lightness of being” in this uncertain age. Born in a legendary royal palace in Bali during the twilight of the feudal age in colonial times, the prince was later driven by an early passion for medicine to set sail for Europe and was the first Balinese to receive a degree from the University of Amsterdam. His calling took him to far flung corners of the planet, where he encountered everything from a pirate ambush in the South China Sea and a night attack by a famished army of rats, to a deadly volcanic eruption, and even arrest by the Saddam Hussein’s secret police. In each situation, Dr. Djelantik responded with equanimity and a sublime sense of humor. His extraordinary story is also linked to a pivotal event in his early childhood and the prophetic words uttered by the great Rabindranath Tagore, when the Bengali poet was a guest of his father. By the time, Dr Djelantik established the first hospital in Bali, he had become an internationally recognized malaria expert and as such, he radicated malaria on the island. At 80, the doctor was struck by a life-threatening illness. After miraculously waking up from a five week deep coma, he began to paint crucial scenes from his past. His 42 watercolors gave birth to this book. Dr. Djelantik’s world odyssey draws the reader into an incomparable vision of life, one that offers timeless guidance.
A must read! With an insider’s touch, the author pays homage with her vivid storytelling to the prince’s fascinating and dramatic life that spans much of the 20th century – from Bali’s feudal times to our global age.”
These marvelous stories and illustrations carry the graceful promise that it is possible to be both vividly local and profoundly global.
The temptation of this epic is irresistible! The learning begins and ends with a note that it may be a good idea, in our violent time, to recreate the possibility of joy.
This book reminds us how another truth exists within the law of “cause and effect” in the material world, and this truth is made of luminous coincidences, wonders, and miracles.
I celebrate this book and welcome its place in our world; there is so much we can learn within its pages.
Astonishing! These episodes are swashbuckling adventures and forgotten histories, but perhaps most movingly, the celebration of a decades-long friendship between the author and the protagonist.
Idanna Pucci with Dr. Madé Djelantik
Ubud Writers’ Festival, Bali 2019