April 7, 1998Diaz Hendropriyono
Northfield, VT
Banyan trees are the first things you see before entering this place. One would wonder what is behind this massive three-meter high brick wall covered with beautiful green vines of ivy. At the center of this immense wall is a huge iron gate with two computerized doors operated by a sentry in the guardhouse behind this fence. With the exception of special events, cars are forbidden to come in through the gate. As one approaches this main gate, the sentry in uniform would come out asking for an identification card before permitting you to make an entrance. Once you are given permission to proceed through the gate, you will see a two-meter-wide asphalt road that brings you through a forest-like environment with nothing but big trees on each side whose leaves and boughs sometimes fall on the street, reflecting the janitors’ negligence.
The shaded road and the overpowering scent of Indonesian garden flowers make you feel as if you were in the celestial Kingdom. In addition, the sounds of birds chirping seem to “embellish” the divine atmosphere. You would feel unusually cooler walking through this esplanade because of the sheltering trees.
After going through this winding confined avenue, you would eventually gaze in awe at one of the most wonderful views in the world: an enormous two-storied white house which, on the front part, has a beautifully sculptured figure of a corpulent child with its right hand pointing to the west, as a direction for the Moslems of where to pray. A small “reservoir,” with a water fountain that keeps spurting up around this figure, whose gushing reminds you of a brook, surrounds the statue of the naked cherub. This imposing sculpture, which is always kept illuminated throughout the night, is encircled with the road that proceeds from the main gate, with another going off to the exit gate.
A spacious ravishing garden and its multitude of beautiful flowers color your vision around the house with naturally green scenery. The big trees no longer obscure the sky. You can see the ethereal beauty of this gigantic, yet meticulously built, house in the middle of an exquisite garden that stretches for approximately five hectares.
East of the statue is a walkway which ends up with a three-step staircase leading to the main door of the extravagant palace-like house. The two white giant pillars, with some intricate decorations on them, at the front part of the house and the oval terrace make you feel as if you were about to enter the White House.
On the left and right hand side of the front door are two statues, in the form of human beings--male and female--from the Stone Age only wearing a piece of cloth, kneeling to each other, as if showing respect to people entering the house. Usually a butler, who is always impeccably dressed in a clean white uniform, would open the door as he courteously greets you with a warm Indonesian welcome saying “Selamat datang.” The butler would have probably been told by the guard of a guest’s arrival.
As soon as the door is open, you would see a vast lobby with a gigantic crystal chandelier hung from an approximately four-meter-high arched roof. On each side of the hallway, you would be dazzled by two plushly red carpeted stairways ascending in an outward archlike manner to the second floor.
The room seems to glitter because of the gold colors found in it: the ornate gold-gilded frames of the paintings hanging on the wall, the decorations on the roof and wall, the luster of the marble floor, several Grecian urns, and the glistening crystals.
As you advance inside the house, you would find two paintings, each about two meters in length and 1 ½ meters in width, of my grandfather and grandmother. Continuing on, you would behold some pictures, in much smaller sizes, of the families of my grandparents’ children. These pictures are hung at eye level enabling everyone to see them. My family picture, taken when I was about fourteen, is among them.
The several rooms in this house are luxuriously furnished and decorated. Some rooms even boast private features such as saunas and spa baths. The elegance of the rooms can be seen by noticing the huge beds that can probably fit six people, the extravagant parlors just off the bedrooms, and the marble-in-laid bathrooms that are kept scrupulously clean by the maids.
At the rear of this edifice, you will witness an enchanting extensive golf course with an architecturally man-made pond. As you progress with your dainty steps towards the verge of this golf course, which has a hilly contour, albeit hindered by several big trees, alas, you would see in a far distance an impoverished village down the hill from where you are standing. Amongst those little huts, where you will see a few peasantry who seem to hover on the brink of destitution working on their farms, is a large sign indicating the name of the village: “Desa Gandok, Jogjakarta, Indonesia.”
As you are going back to the front part of the house heading to the exit gate, going through a different way from where you entered, you will see an inscription autographed by a man, who was believed to have been an opulent Dutch entrepreneur, whose nick name was Joko.
My grandfather once told me that his father bought the house from this person, whose real name was unrevealed, when the country was colonized by the Dutch. After going through another forest-like environment, you will see this plaque hung on the exit gate next to another guardhouse.
Banyan trees are the last things you see when exiting. One would keep recalling this historical house that had been refurbished many times.
This is the house that Joko built
The shaded road and the overpowering scent of Indonesian garden flowers make you feel as if you were in the celestial Kingdom. In addition, the sounds of birds chirping seem to “embellish” the divine atmosphere. You would feel unusually cooler walking through this esplanade because of the sheltering trees.
After going through this winding confined avenue, you would eventually gaze in awe at one of the most wonderful views in the world: an enormous two-storied white house which, on the front part, has a beautifully sculptured figure of a corpulent child with its right hand pointing to the west, as a direction for the Moslems of where to pray. A small “reservoir,” with a water fountain that keeps spurting up around this figure, whose gushing reminds you of a brook, surrounds the statue of the naked cherub. This imposing sculpture, which is always kept illuminated throughout the night, is encircled with the road that proceeds from the main gate, with another going off to the exit gate.
A spacious ravishing garden and its multitude of beautiful flowers color your vision around the house with naturally green scenery. The big trees no longer obscure the sky. You can see the ethereal beauty of this gigantic, yet meticulously built, house in the middle of an exquisite garden that stretches for approximately five hectares.
East of the statue is a walkway which ends up with a three-step staircase leading to the main door of the extravagant palace-like house. The two white giant pillars, with some intricate decorations on them, at the front part of the house and the oval terrace make you feel as if you were about to enter the White House.
On the left and right hand side of the front door are two statues, in the form of human beings--male and female--from the Stone Age only wearing a piece of cloth, kneeling to each other, as if showing respect to people entering the house. Usually a butler, who is always impeccably dressed in a clean white uniform, would open the door as he courteously greets you with a warm Indonesian welcome saying “Selamat datang.” The butler would have probably been told by the guard of a guest’s arrival.
As soon as the door is open, you would see a vast lobby with a gigantic crystal chandelier hung from an approximately four-meter-high arched roof. On each side of the hallway, you would be dazzled by two plushly red carpeted stairways ascending in an outward archlike manner to the second floor.
The room seems to glitter because of the gold colors found in it: the ornate gold-gilded frames of the paintings hanging on the wall, the decorations on the roof and wall, the luster of the marble floor, several Grecian urns, and the glistening crystals.
As you advance inside the house, you would find two paintings, each about two meters in length and 1 ½ meters in width, of my grandfather and grandmother. Continuing on, you would behold some pictures, in much smaller sizes, of the families of my grandparents’ children. These pictures are hung at eye level enabling everyone to see them. My family picture, taken when I was about fourteen, is among them.
The several rooms in this house are luxuriously furnished and decorated. Some rooms even boast private features such as saunas and spa baths. The elegance of the rooms can be seen by noticing the huge beds that can probably fit six people, the extravagant parlors just off the bedrooms, and the marble-in-laid bathrooms that are kept scrupulously clean by the maids.
At the rear of this edifice, you will witness an enchanting extensive golf course with an architecturally man-made pond. As you progress with your dainty steps towards the verge of this golf course, which has a hilly contour, albeit hindered by several big trees, alas, you would see in a far distance an impoverished village down the hill from where you are standing. Amongst those little huts, where you will see a few peasantry who seem to hover on the brink of destitution working on their farms, is a large sign indicating the name of the village: “Desa Gandok, Jogjakarta, Indonesia.”
As you are going back to the front part of the house heading to the exit gate, going through a different way from where you entered, you will see an inscription autographed by a man, who was believed to have been an opulent Dutch entrepreneur, whose nick name was Joko.
My grandfather once told me that his father bought the house from this person, whose real name was unrevealed, when the country was colonized by the Dutch. After going through another forest-like environment, you will see this plaque hung on the exit gate next to another guardhouse.
Banyan trees are the last things you see when exiting. One would keep recalling this historical house that had been refurbished many times.
This is the house that Joko built
