Remembering Lempad

A bout 200 meters to the east of the Ubud Palace in Bali hangs a simple plaque that reads, "Rumah Pelukis dan Pematung I Gusti Nyoman Lempad" (Home of the Painter and Sculptor I Gusti Nyoman Lempad). As is common in traditional Balinese houses, the Lempad residential complex is situated on a plot of about 800 square meters and consists of several structures. In the center is the Bale Dangin, frequently used for religious ceremonies. Then there is the Gedong Rata, the place where Lempad used to work. There are also family buildings, a puri and a building that faces the main road which the family rents out as a shophouse.

This complex, lush with foliage from frangipani and other flowers and plants, is where maestro Lempad spent his days until his death on April 25, 1978, at the age of 116. Lempad passed away on a morning when he had asked his daughter, I Gusti Putu Oka, to bathe him. After the bath, he asked whether the sun had already risen. Then he went back to sleep. It was in that slumber when he took his final breath. The death of Lempad and his ngaben ceremony, or grand cremation, were preserved for eternity in the documentary Lempad of Bali by Australian directors John Darling and Lorne Blair.

August 12, 2014