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Nglanggeran, tourist site made popular by Didi Kempot, mourns the late maestro
After “Banyu Langit” became a hit, the number of tourists increased and made the Gunung Kidul government work harder to tend to Nglanggeran.
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Primeval volcano Nglanggeran in Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta. (Shutterstock/ajar jayanto)
T
he passing of campursari maestro Didi Kempot has been considered a huge loss to the stakeholders of Nglanggeran, a tourist destination at Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta.
The primeval volcano has enjoyed popularity as a tourist attraction after Didi mentioned the site in one of his popular ballads, “Banyu Langit” (Water of the Sky), taken from his 2016 album Kasmaran.
Nglanggeran tourism board secretary Sugeng Handoko said the single had brought a significant increase in the number of visits.
He met with the singer at Nglanggeran in 2013 when Didi was invited to sing for an event there. Didi sat among the residents who earned their living as caretakers of the site, Sugeng recalled.
“In the morning, he said goodbye. He did not have the chance to walk around Nglanggeran,” Sugeng said as quoted by tempo.co.
He added that before going home, Didi had promised to make a song inspired by the volcano.
“It turned out he really wrote a song about Nglanggeran and it became a hit.”
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The lyrics of the song include: "Water of the sky coming from beyond the heavens/Majestic rocks are hidden by the mist of the rain [...] The cold ancient volcano/It seems to hear your voice."
Previously, Didi was known for incorporating places familiar to residents of Central and East Java as well as Yogyakarta in his love-lorn songs. They included Balapan station in Surakarta and Parangtritis Beach in Yogyakarta.
The fame of “Banyu Langit” brought a large number of tourists, causing the Gunung Kidul administration to put in extra work tending to Nglanggeran.
Sugeng said the song also brought young people to the volcano, who then recorded themselves singing and dancing to the song with Nglanggeran as the background.
The tourist agency planned to make a music video for the song, but it never came to fruition.
“We hope what he did during his life brings rewards for him in heaven, as his creation has given us many benefits,” he said. (gis/wng)
