December Issue 2014

By | Art | Arts & Culture | Published 9 years ago

Qamar Bana’s first trip to Indonesia was in 1991. In 2013, during a visit to Malaysia, she and her husband decided it was a good opportunity to visit the islands again. She wanted to experience Indonesia’s natural heritage in its natural setting — “as one does when visiting Moenjodaro, Harappa and Taxila in Pakistan,” she says — as opposed to in the closed, unnatural space of a museum. Qamar unhappily recalls standing in long queues outside museums during her trip to China in 2009, which she feels takes away from the whole experience.

While she was surprised to find how urban Indonesia has become, overflowing with tourists and resorts, islands like Sumba and Tana Toraja still retain their “wild and remote” natural charm, she says. The photographs and short video clips from her trip were displayed at the V.M. Art Gallery under the title, Travel Khazana.

This article was originally published in Newsline’s December 2014 issue.