Garuda grapples with a dragon, beautifully depicted on a bamboo flute. Based on an ancient Balinese folktale, it depicts the Garuda bird riding atop a winged dragon. The story tells how Garuda had to find the magical elixir of life in a secret place guarded by seven dragons. Known as a suling in Bali, the instrument is carefully crafted by Nyoman Lentong. Flutes of this type are used in the Balinese gamelan percussion orchestra, whose importance goes well beyond the pleasure of music and into the realm of ritual ceremony. Lentong shapes the buluh, or bamboo, by hand, using burnt coconut ash to create the motifs. He signs it as Pan Nasib, as he is known in his village.
