Anak Agung Pandji Tisna (11 February 1908 – 2 June 1978), also known as Anak Agung Nyoman Pandji Tisna, I Gusti Nyoman Pandji Tisna, or just Pandji Tisna, was the 11th descendant of the Pandji Sakti dynasty of

Buleleng Buleleng ( ban, ᬓᬩᬸᬧᬢᬾᬦ᭄ᬩᬸᬮᭂᬮᭂᬂ, Kabupatén Buléléng) is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Bali, Indonesia. It has an area of 1,365.88 km2 and population of 624,125 at the 2010 census and 791,910 at the 2020 cen ...

Singaraja Singaraja is a port town in northern Bali, Indonesia, which serves as the seat of Buleleng Regency. The name is Indonesian for "Lion King" (from Tamil ''singam'' and ''raja''). It is just east of Lovina, and is also the centre of Buleleng Distric ...

, which is in the northern part of Bali,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. He succeeded his father, Anak Agung Putu Djelantik, in 1944. On the last page of Pandji Tisna's book, ''I Made Widiadi'', written in 1955, he wrote his life story in chronological order. He was a writer and a novelist. He refused to be the king of Buleleng, but being the eldest son, the Japanese occupancy troops forced him to be "syucho" after the death of his father in 1944. During his reign, he became the leader of the Council of Kings of all of Bali from 1946 to 1947 (''Paruman Agung'') and the

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. In 1947, because his uniquely Christian faith did not fit in with the predominant Hindu religion, Pandji Tisna surrendered the throne to his younger brother, Anak Agung Ngurah Ketut Djelantik or I Gusti Ketut Djelantik, also known as Meester Djelantik, until 1949. He died 2 June 1978 and was buried in the graveyard on the eastern side of his land near the chapel he built years before.

Early years

Anak Agung Pandji Tisna was born to Anak Agung Putu Djelantik and his wife Jero Mekele Rengga. Pandji Tisna received his formal education in a primary school in Singaraja and continued his education in a middle school in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

Career

Pandji Tisna is best known as a novelist. His novels, all of which are placed in Bali, especially in Singaraja, his birthplace, were published by

Balai Pustaka Balai Pustaka (; also spelled Balai Poestaka, both meaning "Bureau of Literature") is the state-owned publisher of Indonesia and publisher of major pieces of Indonesian literature such as ''Salah Asuhan'', ''Sitti Nurbaya'' and ''Layar Terkemb ...

. Many of his short stories were published in the ''Terang Bulan'' magazine in Surabaya. He also wrote poems, such as ''Ni Poetri'', which was published by Sutan Takdir Alisyahbana in ''

Poedjangga Baroe ''Poedjangga Baroe'' (pronounced ; Perfected spelling: ''Pujangga Baru'', also known by the intermediate spelling ''Pudjangga Baru'') was an Indonesian ''avant-garde'' literary magazine published from July 1933 to February 1942. It was founded ...

'' magazine in Jakarta. Pandji Tisna had a varied career as a merchant, secretary to his father, headmaster of elementary school, editor of ''Jatayu'' magazine, and farmer, before succeeding to the throne on the death of his father on 25 July 1944. He was Chair of the Balinese Council of Kings from 1946–1947, but abdicated in favour of his brother, Meester Djelantik, in 1947. He was a member of the Provisional Parliament of the State of East Indonesia from 1946–1948.

Development of the Balinese tourist industry

Pandji Tisna is also remembered as a pioneer of Balinese

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

, especially in the northern beach district. In 1953, he chose Desa Tukad Cebol (now Desa Kaliasem aliasem Village as his holiday home. There he wrote and received both local and foreign guests. He named his holiday home ''

Lovina Lovina Beach (or often simply Lovina) is a coastal area on the northwestern side of the island of Bali, Indonesia. The coastal strip stretches from 5 km west of the city of Singaraja to 15 km west. Singaraja is the seat of Buleleng R ...

'', which is an abbreviation of words ''Love Indonesia''. He then built several guest houses in the western coast in Buleleng. The whole area then became known as ''Pantai Lovina'', or ''Lovina Beach'' in English. For this reason, he is accredited as "The Father of Balinese Tourism". In 2003, the Balinese government posthumously awarded him the Karya Karana Award in recognition of his services to the development of Balinese tourism.

Family

Pandji Tisna had four wives, Anak Agung Istri Manik, with whom he had two sons; Ni Ketut Mayas (Jero Mekele Seroja), with whom he had two sons and 1 daughter; Luh Sayang (Mekele Sadpada), with whom he had two sons ; and Jro Mekele Resmi, with whom he had 4 sons and two daughters.

Major works

*''I Made Widiadi (Kembali kepada Tuhan)'' (1955) *''I Swasta Setahun di Bedahulu'' (1938) *''Sukreni Gadis Bali'' (1936), this work was firstly published in Balinese language. It has subsequently been translated into other languages with the following titles: **''Bali Taruniyan Dedenekuge Kathawa'', a

Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. Sinhala is also s ...

edition, a translation by Dr. P. G. Punchihewa. **''The Rape of Sukreni'', an English edition, a translation by George Quinn. *''Ni Rawit Ceti Penjual Orang'' (1935) **''Panglajar Djadi Tjoelik'' a

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

1940 edition, a translation by Soerjana.

References

*''Modern Indonesian Literature, vol. I'', by

A. Teeuw Andries Teeuw (12 August 1921 – 18 May 2012), better known as A. Teeuw in scholarly circles and Hans Teeuw to his friends, was a Dutch critic of Indonesian literature. Biography Teeuw was born in Gorinchem, Netherlands, on 12 August 192 ...