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The time keeper
Machines in miniature: Watchmaker I Made Patraâs fascination with machines led him to watch restoration back in the early 1950s, a profession he has continued to practice for 64 years
M
span class="inline inline-center">Machines in miniature: Watchmaker I Made Patra's fascination with machines led him to watch restoration back in the early 1950s, a profession he has continued to practice for 64 years.
The British sci-fi cult series of the 1960s, Doctor Who, is a fictional diary of the life and adventures of a 'Time Lord'. In the pretty Balinese hillside town of Bangli, meanwhile, lives a real Time Lord.
At 91 years of age, I Made Patra has been resurrecting broken clocks and watches for the past 64 years and like his timepieces, he has no intention of winding down any time soon. This time keeper may be the oldest watchmaker in Indonesia, certainly the oldest still practicing in Bali.
A gentle tick tock from the revived 1950s wall clocks hanging on his workshop walls sets the motion for the day, their bass note chimes marking off the hours. There is no rush in Patra's world, all is patience and calm; one of the secrets to long life, he says.
On this time keeper's desk is a silver pocket watch dating from the 1860s. After moments of examination Patra declares the watch viable and begins the operation that will have it running to time for another 150 years.
'This is a good watch. It's still working. I can fix this,' he says. Stripping down this ancient timepiece demands all his focus. With an eyeglass, surgeon-steady hands and a set of tools dating to the 1950s, Patra reveals the minute inner workings of the watch, removing minuscule screws, tiny jewels, gears and the astonishingly fine spring that is as active and difficult to control as a Slinky toy.
After a bath in alcohol and a final check that all the pocket watches' makings are in good order, Patra begins the complex job of putting it all back together. This work would challenge the focus and hand-to-eye coordination of people several decades younger, yet within hours Patra has the antique watch restored to its former punctual habits.
His extraordinary hand-to-eye coordination led Patra into a range of jobs before he settled on watchmaking, says his grandson, Wayan Kariawan.
'Grandad can do just about anything with his hands. When he was 17 years old, he was painting. Later on, he worked on big motorbikes, the old BMWs and BSAs,' says Kariawan, displaying a family heirloom painting done by Patra in his teens. The painting is astonishing in its vibrancy and detail and suggests Patra could have been one of Indonesia's great artists, but the World War II and Japanese invasion set the young man on a very different path.
'Back in 1942, I worked in forestry. I did not like the job, but I did it because otherwise, with the Japanese invasion you had to join the military. So I chose to work and live in the forest and escaped the Japanese forced labor,' says Patra who had studied at agricultural college before the war.
For a time he worked as a supervisor for farmers in the Jimbaran area. 'Those people were so poor. There was no water and they had no idea of the value of money. Back then they would barter their produce at the market. It's different now,' says Patra who later turned his hand to goldsmithing, rattan weaving, sandal making, any job that would bring in a wage.
During the years of Indonesia's struggle for independence, Patra stayed in the background. 'I wasn't a fighter. I wasn't with the guerrillas. I was supplying them food. Working with farmers I knew how to get supplies,' he says of the struggle. The early years of independence were tough on the young man.
'I had lots of jobs, but nothing brought me success. So in 1951 I started making watch cases. People would bring me their watches and I made new cases out of a silver and nickel mix. The results were not as good as the original cases because it was all done by hand. At the same time I was repairing motorbikes on the side,' says Patra of his earliest tinkering with watches and machinery that would marry to become his life's work.
'I was really happy working on motorbikes and I still miss it. But at my age I cannot even stand a bike up, let alone strip an engine,' quips Patra, who is as mentally sharp and physically fit as a man years younger.
His fascination with machinery led Patra from watch cases and motorbikes to watch making. 'In 1951 I learned watchmaking by doing. I opened watches and looked at how these tiny machines functioned. It took about three years to perfect my skill.
'I don't want to be arrogant, but at that time, of all the watchmakers in Gianyar and Badung I seemed to be the best,' says Patra, admitting to only a few 'lost' watches.
Watchmaking gave Patra the financial success he sought and in later years proved to be the hobby that would keep his mind active.
'These days I repair clocks and watches as a hobby. If I was to sit around doing nothing I would get sick. Bringing these watches and clocks back to life brings me satisfaction and pride,' says Patra of the activity that is his second secret to a long and fulfilling life.
His last secret is simple good luck. 'It was by accident that I have never been really ill. I think the most important thing is attitude. Eighty-seven percent of people in the world are stressed. If you can have the attitude of the other 13 percent, you'll live a long time,' says Patra, who has managed to slow the hands of time with an engrossing hobby, fresh food and a calm take on life.
' Photos by JB Djwan
