CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OF CULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS: A CASE STUDY OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA IN PERTH _____________________________________________________________________________ This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Jennifer Shanthi Mudhan B.Mus (Durban-Westville), BA (Hons) (Natal), MA (NICE) School of Arts Murdoch University Declaration ___________________________________________________ CONTINUITY AND CHANGE OF CULTURAL PRACTICES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS: A CASE STUDY OF THE INDIAN DIASPORA IN PERTH _____________________________________________________________________________ This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Jennifer Shanthi Mudhan B.Mus (Durban-Westville), BA (Hons) (Natal), MA (NICE) School of Arts Murdoch University I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains, as its main content, work that has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution ……………………………………………… Abstract ________________________________________________________________ This dissertation investigates diasporic Indian cultural practices in Perth, Western Australia with special reference to the performing arts. It examines, through the cultural practice of music and dance, different negotiations of diasporic cultural identity, consciousness, representation, and belonging. Drawing on theoretical discussions on diaspora in general, it investigates how an Indian diasporic group, a twice-displaced people, imagine and live their cultural practices, and how these are worked through within the context of Australia’s multicultural ethos. The study is interpretive insofar it is based on the perspectives and lived experiences of artists, teachers, parents, and students of an Indian diasporic community in Perth which has been successful in continuing traditions and embracing cultural changes. It is informed by the researcher’s own lived experiences of diasporic living, and cultural experiences with members of the diasporic body. During this experience, it was observed that continuity and change of cultural practices in the performing arts appeared to be a significant trend that was approached rather differently. Over the years, there were noticeable changes in social practices, experiences and activities in the performing arts, occurring across systems of communication, relationships and boundaries. The dissertation shows that the particular diasporic group becomes a significant ‘carrier’ or ‘host’ of changing Indian culture mainly through performances. Changes to cultural traditions are continuously reworked, reshaped and renewed. A significant contribution of this dissertation is the compelling case that, when the performing arts are responsive to changes in the wider cultural variables in a society through adaptation and transformation, mono-cultural world views of the dominant cultures may change. The diasporic group in the case study achieves this by transforming not only their own cultural behaviours, but by going beyond a ‘boutique’ multiculturalism. The dissertation includes an analysis of several performances of music and dance to demonstrate different cultural perspectives, interpretations and experiences from both the observer and the observed. Acknowledgements __________________________________________________________________ I acknowledge the One who strengthens me with inspiration - Proverbs 4: 6-7. I wish to thank people who made it possible to complete this dissertation. I thank my supervisor Professor Vijay Mishra who extended my research skills and provided invaluable feedback. I am deeply grateful to Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya (SMV) and the participants for introducing me to the wonderful way of seeing our world through the arts. Thanks to Saseedaran Ananda, Sivakumar Balakrishna, Muralitharan Pillai for the generous time they graciously provided. I could not have come this far without their strength and humour. I must acknowledge people who remain part of my diasporic life, even in memory. This thesis is dedicated to them. They are my father Jimmy Madrai Pillay who first introduced me to the world of Indian classical music and jazz and he would have been pleased that I have finally ‘finished the journey’; and my mother in law, Dhanalaxmi Assaram, who could not see this thesis completed. I end by thanking the people who remain central in my life, my husband Prem Mudhan who has given a sympathetic ear to my research intricacies and who stood by me through all these years in this journey. I thank my daughter, Keturah Vashti Mudhan and son Caleb Eleazar Mudhan for their unwavering support and genuine interest in a research that involves part of their own history. I also wish to thank my twin sister Jennet Sunthoshum Hansen who shared a musical life with me and often acted as a sounding board, my mother Gairamah Thena Pillay who nurtured a disciplined mind with her children, and Tchaikovsky and Puccini, who provided a calming presence during this journey. ii Contents Declaration ii Abstract i Acknowledgements ii Contents iii List of Figures 1 List of Images 1 Prologue Moment of self-reflections 2 Chapter One Introduction to the Research 8 Introduction to the Research 8 Part I: Scope and Sequence 14 Outline of the chapters 14 Justifications for the thesis 18 Research aims 21 Part II: Research Design and Methodology 24 Qualitative Research design 25 Cultural Studies approach 26 Concepts of culture 30 Cultural acculturation 31 Ethnographic approach and method 35 Lived experience 39 Research parameters 40 Data collection methods and triangulation of work 40 Chapter Two Interpretations of Diaspora 45 Origins, meanings, paradigms 45 Approaches 47 Categories and patterns of movements 49 Concepts of home and homeland 51 Notions of diasporic space and cultural identity 53 Globalisation—connectivity and cultural identity in deterritorialised places 55 Chapter Three The Indian Diaspora 58 Part I Historical Perspectives 59 Defining the Indian diaspora 59 Indian diasporic consciousness 60 Contextual migration trends 61 The colonial period—Rule Britannia 62 The postcolonial Period—Jai Hind 64 Contextual issues of Home and Homeland 66 Historical context 68 The first wave of Indian arrivals 68 Immigration restrictions: Implications for Indians and Australians 69 iii A new wave of Indian arrivals 71 Indian demographics 72 Part III Indian Culture and Practice 74 Indian cultural trends and realities 74 The performing arts in Indian culture 76 Chapter Four A Study of the Performing Arts at Saraswati Mahavidhyalaya Case Study—Part I 79 Introduction and Focus 79 Reconnecting culture, reclaiming lives—Malaysia 81 Resuming culture—changing lives in Perth 85 Collective strength in individuality and diversity 89 Fine arts as an applied art form in performance and pedagogy 91 Dance and cultural performances 97 The observer and the observed 100 Identity and belonging in intercultural engagement 104 Music shifts and the positioning of Indian classical music and fusion music. 113 The dynamics of music performance rituals 123 Cultural Organisation—Agent of change, transformations 126 Chapter Five Swan Festival of Lights: Case Study—Part II 131 Deepavali in Perth 131 Performances and the audiences 150 Chapter Six Performances: Conversations, Experiences and Interpretations 172 Feet on Fire 172 Hindustani instrumental recital–A learning experience 199 Conversations around the Margam—A dance of connected conversations 200 Chapter Seven Major Findings and Conclusion 217 Bibliography 235 Appendices 277 Appendix A: Table of Key Participants 277 Appendix B: Distinctions of the Indian Diaspora 278 Appendix C: SFOL 2010-2016 Program Outline. Tables 1 – 7 279 Appendix D: Research Information Letters 286 Appendix E: Indicative Questions for participants 292 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Census of Indian Community profile Figure 2: Participants interpretation of the term ‘darkness’ Figure 3: A typical structure of North Indian instrumental music performance Figure 4: An outline of Feet on Fire – an interpretation Figure 5: An illustration of Rag Kirwani with Western notation form Figure 6: An illustration of the adaptions of Indian classical music in fusion musical form Figure 7: An outline of the rhythmic counts and sounds of two cultures. Figure 8: Illustration of the counting patterns, rhythm, accents and note values Figure 9: Basic melodic ostinato idea (gat 1-thematic notes) Figure 10: Melodic Variation I Figure 11: Melodic Variation II played on the Violin and Sitar. Figure 12: A representation using Charles Taylor’s four dialogical relationships. List of Images Image 1: Arrival of Indenture Indians in Natal (Brian 1985, 23) Image 2: Integration of cultures and arts –painting, dancing, singing to Sanskrit chants. Image 3: Henna Indian body art - Shirelle’s hand Image 4: SFOL Fireworks finale Image 5: A scene from An Indian Journey (Introduction) Sunday 3 November 2013. Image 6: WA Police Pipe Band (snares and bass) 2014 SFOL Image 7: Painting and dance in progress Action SFOL 2013 Image 8: A Personal diary of the event Image 9: SFOL 2016 central Perth position Image 10: Feet on Fire Ensemble at The Spanda, Elizabeth Quay. Image 11: The author in discussion with respondent SB. (The images used in this thesis were taken with the permission of the participants at the festival events, from the participants’ personal collections and from my own inexpert photographic work carried out during the fieldwork. Other images from social media have footnote reference