"THIS is the story of Tantri Kamandaka,” says Bagus Gede Subali Jelantik Manuaba, a student of the Indonesian Hindu University showing off to Tempo a palm leaf comic he created. Unlike usual lontar scriptures which are filled with ancient Balinese characters, Subali’s also contains drawings of animals: storks, water buffalo, birds. Like in a fable, these animals are depicted as being engaged in conversations.

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