yup…it seems to be the newest ‘black’ in Indonesia…

Photobucketlast Saturday I was trying to browse through the semi-traditional market here in Banda Aceh, on the Northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, Indonesia.  who knows I might find one or two pieces of moslem-appropriate clothes to pack together with my partner’s stuff to be sent to Yemen… and you know what I found?  batik….batik…batik…. all over the place.

they said the supply was from Jakarta.

to be honest, I was tempted to grab one or two pieces… hehehe… rather ironic since I had spent nine years living in Jogja, where most of the original batik patterns came from, anyway. 

a part of my heart is really happy, to see batik everywhere, on TV, worn by news presenters  (thank goodness infotainment presenters are not there with the batiks….), and on the streets…everywhere.  it’s also good to see that batik outfit now comes with so many ‘modern’ styles with moderate prices, not the standard simple shirts with good price, and the slightly-nicer-branded shirts with exagerated prices.

but to be honest, a different part of me feel ‘jealous’, hehehe….

why jealous?  jealous because to be honest, I kind of feel that wearing batik is not that ’special’ anymore.   emoticon

I still remember those days when wearing batik is a kind of social struggle as ablue batik younger person, since most youngsters thought that batik is old fashion and unfashionable.  to think that those days were only 3-4 years ago, and that it happened in Jogja…. to remember the days when people who were actually wearing batik to work in courses which focus in language and culture could be counted with the fingers in one hand…. to remember the days when we were often mistaken as Sales Promotion Girls or Event Organizers Staff (since they were among the only ones who should wear such things…. emoticon ) 

but still, I am happy with the choices… and I am happy to see the "pesisiran" batik is featured more and more often.  it is understandable since the lively colors of the ‘batik pesisiran’ is much more attractive for youngsters clothes.

VIVA Batik! emoticon  the new black… emoticon