Iswahyudi
"I don't try to follow trends, I believe I have my little path," says Sastrani when asked about her musical principles. As a Solo Soprano singer, she is undeniably loyal to classical music. The golden voice bestowed upon her by God could have easily led her to become a pop diva in Indonesia if she had slightly wavered her commitment to classical music. Sastrani once mentioned that at her poppiest, she was all about Broadway. Born in Jakarta on November 15, 1988, she admits that classical music wasn't her life's choice; rather, it was more of a natural inclination.
"It's not like I chose it, sir. Since I was little, I've been singing like this... Because when I listen to recordings of myself from when I was little (I've been singing since I was 4 years old), my mother says, I sang like a seriousa opera singer... Basically, since I was little, I didn't like bands and such... Since I was little, I liked listening to Keroncong. It's the old-fashioned Keroncong, which is still seriousa... I listened to Opera... I listened to classical music... Since I was little, I didn't choose... It's not that I focused on classical music, but my heart has always been drawn to it," she explains when asked why she's so faithful to classical music.
Initially, she taught herself classical singing. It was only when she studied at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ) from 2006 to 2010 in the music department, majoring in vocal performance, that she became acquainted with the bel canto technique. Studying music was not her aspiration; she originally wanted to enter the psychology faculty. However, she was hindered by her lack of exact subject grades. Her second choice was cinematography, motivated by her father's involvement in the film industry and her own fondness for cinematography. Again, due to her lacking skills, she failed to enter that department.
Eventually, her aunt enrolled her in the Vocal program at IKJ. Her motivation was simply "better than not going to college." During middle and high school, Sastrani achieved numerous accomplishments in arts and sports, earning a scholarship from her school. She had great potential in vocals, but her fundamental knowledge, such as reading sheet music, was not very deep, although she did take courses in that field.
It was at IKJ that she was trained in Bel Canto technique. Initially, she felt insecure, but eventually became highly motivated to catch up when she saw her classmates already proficient in writing sheet music and mastering theory. This drove her to study much harder to catch up. She took extra lessons at Gita Swara under Chatherine Leimena. She admitted that she was crazily chasing after catching up. She practiced up to 8 hours a day.
But strangely, when asked about her true dream, she didn't want to be a singer. "To act in movies. I never thought of becoming a singer, sir. Never. To become an actress or something else? Because I know being an opera singer doesn't bring much money, right? But I don't know why, I'm not interested in other fields. Maybe I'll cross over? Cross over to traditional to jazz or something. But I'll still stick to my principles. I won't change my technique. That's why I was the first singer at Java Jazz back then. Just jazz like that... in 2010, that's when it started... From then on, I started to overcross classical with pop."
The Pandemic Leads Her to Find the True Path
Sastrani began her music career in 2007-2008 as a Solo Soprano in the Cikini Klasika Orchestra. From 2008 to 2011, she worked with the Indonesian Youth Orchestra as a Vocal Instructor and Basic Piano Teacher. In 2011, she was recruited by Franky Raden, an Ethnomusicologist and Composer, to become his Solo Soprano in the unique traditional orchestra, the Indonesian National Orchestra (INO). From 2011 to 2017, she collaborated with several jazz musicians and composers to combine jazz and classical music, resulting in Aria Opera and Broadway repertoires with different spectrums. This concept was evident at Java Jazz (2011-2015), Jazz Goes to Campus, and the World Youth Jazz Festival. From 2013 to 2018, she was a Solo Soprano for the Twilight Orchestra, conducted by Addie MS.
Sastrani said that before she found enlightenment or the true path, she considered herself ambitious. She had many pursuits and achievement targets. "Being so driven to perform here, there, an everywhere. If it's not achieved, it's stressful because the competition is fierce. People need money, they have to have money to bring them here and there. Take for example, the famous singer x , her father is extremely wealthy. On the other hand, I'm not wealthy. But I have talent, that's why I'm persistent in coming here - there. It never ends like that... Now if, for instance, I don't succeed, I get frustrated. Because I feel like I was born wrong. It seems like I was born in the wrong place (Indonesia). That's how it feels."
In 2020, she met musician Eros Djarot after 12 years. The musician was delighted to meet someone as talented as Sastrani. She was recruited to be a part of Eros Djarot's Masterpieces, aiming to bring back the legendary soundtracks of BADAI PASTI BERLALU. The project was supposed to last until 2021. But all those plans failed because of the pandemic. The pandemic project, brought about by God for a specific purpose, instantly brought musicians' lives like Sastrani's to a nadir point. Sastrani felt frustrated, wondering how a musician like her could survive during this pandemic.
But indeed, there is always a silver lining behind every event. Once again, she wondered about a path that could free her from all attachments. The true path she had always yearned for since childhood. She admitted she had studied many teachings to answer her life's questions but had yet to find one that resonated with her heart. "At that point, I thought about what could make me release all attachments (even though I hadn't met Dafa yet) that could release the attachments of the heart, but still allow me to continue making music, what could it be? Why is it so exhausting being human? That's what I thought... What could make me achieve a certain spiritual level but not weird, not strange, not involving rituals like other people," she said, holding back tears.
At her most pressured point, she met a Falun Dafa practitioner whom she had often seen but rarely talked to intensely. The practitioner actually understood his struggles from A-Z because he had worked as an event organizer for jazz events. Amidst her frustration, she finally opened up about her grievances. The practitioner eventually talked a little about the principle of karmic retribution. Sastrani felt a connection. In that moment, she received a Falun Dafa brochure from the practitioner. From that yellow brochure, she felt that the path of enlightenment was right in front of her, and she would soon find it.
"Then I read it, the words 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.' When I read those words, sir, it was like a button... Click... The house was dark, suddenly the sacred button was lit... Byarrr. Finally, the house became bright. That's what I felt," she recounted, full of enthusiasm and emotion.
Finally, she managed to join a practice site in a park in the Menteng Bintaro area. She followed the Falun Dafa's five sets of exercises. She felt pain during the meditation in the fifth set.
"My legs, even though it was only half an hour, felt like the joints were being broken... The pain was extraordinary... But after the fifth set. When I stood up, my body felt light... It felt like floating... My body was as light as cotton... Truly, as light as it could be... It felt like I could fly," she remembered, both emotionally and joyfully.
Afterwards, she began to read the book Zhuan Falun. After reading the first lecture, she felt that 70 percent of her life's questions were answered. She felt that all the principles written in the Zhuan Falun book were true. She felt that this was what she had been searching for since childhood.
"Because, initially, I wanted to let go of resentment... I wanted to let go of hatred towards someone... but how? When I read that lecture... It felt happy, really, really happy," she said, emphasizing the word 'happy' with a tone as if she were singing opera with a prolonged note.
Once convinced and determined about her true path, Sastrani underwent a drastic change in her outlook on life, life principles, and attitude towards life. Slowly, she began to find the reasons for her existence, why she remained faithful to the classical music path. She started to piece together the puzzle of her life and found her life's calling. Furthermore, she wasn't selfish about her true path, which had changed her life; she diligently shared her experiences and even became a moderator for the Falun Dafa Introduction Webinar, which had been held for over 100 episodes since the outbreak of Covid19, claiming 50,000 lives in Indonesia. She seemed to want to be one of the candles that light up in the darkness of the pandemic.
In the midst of the pandemic engulfing the world and his country, his heart is still called upon to perform significant acts of kindness that could awaken many to a true path capable of saving people from the critical moment of human civilization teetering on the brink of destruction due to the severe pandemic. As predicted by the Chinese sage Li Bowen, who foresaw the arrival of this epidemic centuries ago. According to Li Bowen there are three keywords for humans to survive this epidemic: Zhen Shan Ren.
As a singer, the talent given to her by God in the form of her golden voice, now she knew its purpose. "Since becoming a cultivator, I realized that the talent I have... It's not for making money. What I have is for singing good things. For singing beautiful things. For singing Dafa songs. When I realized that, I felt really calm. Especially since I've always wanted to perform ShenYun scores. By accident... I found NTD Classic... There are Master Li's scores there, I downloaded them, I learned them... Until finally, the center entrusted me with their songs. Yes, I became more aware... That this talent isn't mine... This talent was entrusted to me... I don't know what my oath was... I was given this talent to sing good things. To voice good things, not to make money."
And unexpectedly, she created a song with a fellow Falun Dafa practitioner, April Gunawan, titled 'Kindness is Cool' and entered it into a content creation contest themed around kindness held by a digital platform called Ganjingworld with a vision for Humanity-centered Technology, and became one of the winners. Now her life's happiness principle is very simple, "Being able to let go of everything." And Zhuan Falun says 'letting go brings gain.'