From protecting Java’s fleeing Hindu-Buddhists to resisting pressures to abandon its own faith, Bali’s story is one of civilisation’s most remarkable acts of endurance. The last article in this column discussed how a tiny-dot-on-the-map Bali rose to the occasion by rescuing the endangered Javanese lives and over a millennium old Hindu-Buddhist heritage of theirs, and how it accommodated both in the manner of protecting and upholding the Dharma. While all that happened in the

As Majapahit crumbled and Islam reshaped the archipelago, Bali emerged as the unlikely custodian of Java’s classical inheritance. The last article in this column discussed how Java held a uniquely important position of the strongest anchor of the Indic character of Indonesia. Not many Indians are aware of a fact about the supporting or rather the most crucial role that has been played by Bali, a tiny adjacent island thinly separated by sea from Java, in historically protectin

From temple rituals and volcanic landscapes to parasailing over the Indian Ocean, Bali offers a rare blend of thrill, spirituality and calm. There are places you visit, and then there are places that stay with you forever. Bali, the famed “Island of the Gods”, is one such place. Part of Indonesia—the world’s largest archipelagic nation with over 17,000 islands—Bali is more than a destination; it is an experience woven with spirituality, adventure and timeless culture. With my