If you’re abroad for some time, it can be so touching to see something that reminds you of your home country — so was the case for Indonesian travel content creator Mas Kasan who met a street musician playing his country’s national anthem, Indonesia Raya, in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
Speaking to Coconuts through Instagram, Mas Kasan says he was on a walking tour around Tbilisi when he met the street musician happily playing an accordion at the highest viewpoint in the capital. Kasan said that the street musician struck a conversation with him, asking about his name and home country, because he appeared enthusiastic about his performance.
“When I said I was from Indonesia, he immediately hysterically shouted, ‘Wow! You are from Indonesia. This song is for you!’. That’s when he played Indonesia Raya for me,” Mas Kasan said.
@hassanhans Ketik satu kata buat si bapaknya! 😍🇮🇩🇬🇪 #MasKasan #Georgia #IndonesiaRaya #Indonesia #Tbilisi ♬ original sound – Mas Kasan
Kasan posted a video of his performance on his social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok, the latter of which has been played over 951,600 times.
If you’re familiar with the street musician, it’s because he also appeared in a video by Filipino TikTok influencer Sasha May Fernandez, which widely circulated last March. In the TikTok video, he played the Philippines’ national anthem, Lupang Hinirang (Chosen Land), in what appears to be a similar spot to Mas Kasan’s video.
Unfortunately, Mas Kasan didn’t get to continue his conversation with the street performer because he had to continue the tour with his group — he was even almost left behind because he recorded the national anthem performance. Kasan said that the busker shouted “Indonesia is a beautiful country!” at him before they separated.
At that time, Mas Kasan was on a four-month trip to several countries including the UAE, Turkey, Ukraine, Armenia, and Georgia — spending almost a month in the Caucasus country. Because he was away from his home country for months, Mas Kasan said that it was “almost a surreal feeling” upon hearing Indonesia Raya in such a far away country as Georgia, performed by a stranger.
“I understand that the busker might have memorized various national anthems of other countries, but moments like this still makes citizens of any country feel touched upon hearing [their national anthem],” Mas Kasan said.
