Calling My Waterfall to Return

Memanggil Air Terjunku untuk Kembali

2024-on going

A woman woke down rattled, everything that she saw turning upside down. She walked in the air, while a tip of a tree was above her hair. She tried to think and think, what did she do before laying up in bed last night. She tried to run up all the details of what happened prior that day. One thing in particular stood out, she dropped almost everything that she held.

The closer I got to the heart of the gorge, the more my sense heightened. Long deep breath at last. Humid. Smells of soil. My eyes absorbed all the lights that still persevered. I saw infinite varieties of plants, flowers, and trees surrounding me. The purple flowers were luminous, contrasting with the green and shades that congregated in that undisturbed place. I heard the prayers were as loud as the water current of the waterfall, yet as quiet as the capillary action of the plant absorbing water; it defied gravity.

During a hike on Mount Salak in West Java, Saras conversed with a local tour guide who accompanied her there. The dialogue led to a reflection on economic disparity and social mobility in Indonesia and the Netherlands, as well as the lasting impact of Dutch colonization and forced cultivation on the land and society. She examined the lack of reciprocity in kindness given by both the earth and people.

The guide showed Saras the wild river as it cascades down the mountain to the surrounding rice fields. When following water on its journey through the ages, can one see that the waterfall is umbilical for us?

From which elevation do we look at our surroundings?