Family Details

Name :

Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai

Kinship :

Mother

Brief History :

Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai was born around 1881 as the second daughter of a couple Nyoman Pasek and Ni Made Liran. As a daughter her parents gave a nickname "Srimben", means abundance of sustenance that brings happiness of Sri goddess. As a teenager at Banjar Bale Agung, Nyoman Rai Srimben has closed relationship with Made Lastri who was then introduced her with a Javanese migrants teacher named R. Soekeni. R. Soekeni finally took away Nyoman Rai Srimben to marrige and had a new life through strugling that is almost past the bloodshed. They were officially married on June 15, 1887. Her first daughter, Raden Soekarmini (later known as Mrs. Wardoyo) was born on March 29, 1898 and then moved to Surabaya. In Surabaya on June 6, 1901 Nyoman Rai Srimben birth her "Son of the Morning" or Sukarno in a simple village house near the Dutch Graveyard - Pandean III Surabaya. Nyoman Rai Srimben educated their childrens with Hindu spiritual as she has been learned. Six months later Nyoman Rai Srimben should follow her husband to move to a small town district of Ploso (Jombang) and she experienced great suffering because of their two children were often getting sick. Because of that health factors, Nyoman Rai Srimben separted with Sukarno to be nursed and taken care of her mother in law in Tulung Agung. However, Sukarno finally raised back by her when she should follow her husband moved to Mojokerto. In Mojokerto she got her eldest daughter married and then lived with her husband. Nyoman Rai Srimben was very sad as she had to living apart with her daughter and because of that she gave her full blessing of love to Sukarno. Problems arise when her husband should be transfered to Blitar while facing a reality that Sukarno should take his school in Surabaya. Finally she followed her husband moved move to Blitar and Soekarno left at HOS Cokroaminoto�s home to continue his school in Surabaya. In Blitar, Nyoman Rai Srimben lived in boarding school, which is now the Senior High School I Blitar and trusted to manage the dormitory as well as take care of the students� meal staying in such referred dormitory. The most tauching moment was when she had to let Soekarno married with Utary, the daughter of HOS Cokroaminoto but then he asked to divorce with Utari. She got heartbreake and tauched at the same time, but she could only said "just choose the best way, and if that is your intention, please set in well." she got her heart touched Again when Soekarno wrote a letter informing that he will get married with a widow named Inggit Ganarsih. Another issue made her sad was the arresting news of Sukarno in the Sukamiskin Prison, Bandung. Nyoman Rai Srimben went to Bandung and go straight to jail because she no nothing about Sukamiskin and as she was complitely blind on politics she dirrectly asked to the prison officers. She got no answer instead of screaming and expelled to go from the prison. Ever since that time Nyoman Rai Srimben having a grudge againts the Dutchmen, whenever and whereever she watched the Dutchmen she showed displeasure. At the same time her home in Blitar was overseen as her son fight against the Dutch colonialism. Nyoman Rai Srimben told the incident that happened at the prison, and finally R. Soekeni decided to retire early as a teacher of the Dutch Ministry of Education in Batavia. In his retiring period, Nyoman Rai Srimben kept accompanying her husband while awaiting for mail, newspapers or news or just a short story carried out by relatives or her acquaintances about her son Soekarno both inside and outside prison. Life in Blitar roared back when Nyoman Rai Srimben heard that his son was divorced from Inggit and later married with Fatmawati, she received all that news toughly. Soekarno�s marriage with Fatmawati gave her a grandchild very extrimely expected by Nyoman Rai and R. Srimben Soekeni. Nyoman Rai Srimben and R. Soekeni witnessed the birth of their grandson in Jakarta. Nyoman Rai Srimben happiness did not take that long because during a walk in Jakarta R. Soekeni got ill and died on May 8, 1945. Nyoman Rai Srimben then went back to Blitar. In her old age when Sukarno became President of the Republic of Indonesia, Nyoman Rai Srimben never want to set her foot at the State Palace. Nyoman Rai Srimben pionering a mixed marriages among ethnic groups, so that might give inspiration to Sukarno to unite the archipelago into the Republic of Indonesia. On September 12, 1958, Nyoman Rai Srimben died and buried next to the graves of her son Soekarno and her husband R. Soekeni Sosrodihardjo.
Source: Indonesian Mother in Memories by Nurinwa Ki S. Hendrowinoto, et al.
Publiched by Gramedian Script Bank in cooperation with the Indonesian Biography Foundation, 2004