Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno (1940 Ad) Poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar

First President of Indonesia
Was Dr. Bango Kamo Sukarno,
Known for his love for women and wine.
During his foreign trips he was keen
To meet the best of women with wine.
On a state visit to Japan, he went
In the year of nineteen fifty-nine'
Where he was introduced to a lady.1

By Naoko Nemoto's exotic beauty,
He was fascinated with and fell for her.
She was a bar hostess and at nineteen.
He was 58 and got a good treat.
Sukarno and she fell for each other.
He found in her a source for his passion.
She found in him a way for fame and wealth.
He later married her as his fourth wife. 2

He renamed her Ratna Sari Dewi,
to suit the Indonesian language
After she converted to Islam.
With her marriage to the President,
She became the First Lady of the land,
And moved to a palace built for her.
An oil painting of Dewi in wester clothes
Was hung on the wall of the drawing hall. 3

Ratna lead a luxurious life and enjoyed
The power of her husband in all manner.
The interest of Japan was always
There in her heart, and she made a huge wealth
And put it in the bank of Japan and Swis.
She lived in her villa like a queen
And built a bridge between her man and Japan.
She was keen that her husband was in power. 4

In the meanwhile, a military coup
Under Gen. Suharto was staged
And Sukarno was made a captive head.
His twenty years of rule as dictator
Came to an end to the plight of Dewi.
She came there to marry power and wealth,
And was not ready to wilt with her husband.
To flee Indonesia was her option. 5

Dewi was pregnant. Under the pretence
Of delivery, she left for Japan.
Her husband had built for her villas
in Djakarta, Paris and Tokyo.
She went away to enjoy the life
Of luxury in Paris for tow years.
She gave birth to a daughter in Paris
And named her Kartika Sari Dewi. 6

Once she thought of returning to her husband
But left it for fear of prosecution.
She expressed grief over the fate of him
And gave him up for good in her rest of life.
During Dewi'sstay in Japan, she made
Friendship with one Masahiko Tsugawa,
The famous film star and kept his company.
She, not a divorcee, could not marry him. 7

Sukarno fell ill and his wife returned
With their child for him to see his product.
He laid down his life in their presence
In nineteen seventy, when he was sixty nine.
‘I loved her as the jewel-essence. Instead
Of being the jewel-essence herself, jewels
Had become the essence of her life.' said he.
A well-known media figure she lives in Japan.
June,2020