Andre Syahreza visits the Narmada, a fascinating replica of the Rinjani environs with a living history...

    A few girls seemed so happy at the edge of the bathing pool with its cool natural panorama. They immersed their bodies up to their short pants and shirts. The sun bounced off their yellow skin that evening, at the beautiful place called Narmada.
    I was standing in an old building, above the pool, and I saw the girls clearly from the wooden structure with a dominant blue colour. Their pleasant voices were carried in segments by the wind to the place where I stood.
    The guide who accompanied me on my trip to Narmada still stood beside me. He told me that one hundred years before, just at the place where we were, there had been a king who always stood in that position and looked down to the pool below where his maids took a bath. Then he would usually choose one of them to accompany him for the night.

That story had an amazing effect on me, as someone who has lived in a completely different age. “They are not maids and we are not kings,” I said as I looked to the bathing place. My friend smiled.
    To understand Narmada, you must try to appreciate the fascination of the king’s ceremony that has become a legend. The footsteps of the past have left strong prints, which is why Narmada is not only a great place for a vacation because of its natural beauty, but also a fascinating historical journey.
    The unique history of Narmada began in 1727 with a king named Anak Agung Ngurah Rai Karangasem. According to the records, Anak Agung was a Karangasem prince who traveled to
Lombok. As a Balinese who lived in Lombok, he still continued with his Hindu religious practices.
    One of his most unique ceremonies was a visit Mount Rinjani, in the middle of the island of Lombok, as he would on certain dates and in certain months. In that ceremonial procession, he threw objects made of gold into the Segara Anak Lake as a symbol of his thankfulness to the universe and to the gods for their gifts.
    Years passed, and the king grew old, so that his aging body could not muster the energy required to hold the ceremony on location. Because of the limitations of his physical condition, he made a spectacular model to act as a substitute, a tiny version of Rinjani he called the miniature Narmada.
The historical model, which has now become a tourism asset, was accurate to the finest detail. There is a heap of small hills at the bottom of Rinjani, which are at Narmada’s heart. From a distance, it looks like an orderly pile soaring impressively towards the heights. A large number of stairs are made of old rock to support the glorious Rinjani imitation. On the top is the Kalasan temple, where the king held his religious ceremonies. Through to today, Lombok-Hindu worshippers, especially those who lived in the vicinity, continue to visit the temple.

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