Awakening of the Serpent Energy
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AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT ENERGY AN INDIAN-ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE EXCHANGE Beena Sharma MA Sociology, BA Performing Arts Master of Arts, Honours (Performance) 2001 University of Western Sydney School of Applied Social and Human Sciences Beena Sharma 1 MA (Hons.) thesis AWAKENING OF THE SERPENT ENERGY AN INDIAN-ABORIGINAL PERFORMANCE EXCHANGE Beena Sharma MA Sociology, BA Performing Arts Master of Arts, Honours (Performance) 2001 University of Western Sydney School of Applied Social and Human Sciences Beena Sharma 2 MA (Hons.) thesis CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that this thesis, except where acknowledged within the text, is my original work, and that it has not been presented previously for examination for any other degree at this or any other institution. I also agree to abide by the Copyright Rules of the University. Signed ……………………… Date __ / __ / __ Beena Sharma 3 MA (Hons.) thesis Dedicated to AUM NAMAH SHRI TRIPURA HRIM (Salutation to the Highest Being in the Abstract) and My Gurus and Parents Rajender and Sarla Paul Beena Sharma 4 MA (Hons.) thesis ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to numerous people who have either influenced me or have given me valuable advice and assistance in my venture. First and foremost I am grateful to my mother, Sarla Paul in conceptualizing my dream, and to my father retired Wg. Cdr. R. Paul, for translating verses into English and helping me in collecting materials on the Serpent energy. To Neena Bhardwaj, my sister, for organizing the music in India. I would like to offer a heartfelt acknowledgment to my family members, especially my husband Vijay and my daughters Radhika and Sarika, for their tireless support and patience throughout my writing. To Radhika I am further grateful for the illustrations and the drawings. To the Department of Asian Arts, Art Gallery of NSW, for allowing me to use the documented work on The Hindu Gods and The Dreaming. To Mangalmay Mandir, Ratlam, M.P, India, for using excerpts from Shiv Upasana Kalapam. To Angela Martin, Aboriginal Education Officer of Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney for making my vision come alive in a performative mode, and letting me use some of the photographs in action. To the Government of India Tourist Office, Sydney, and The Consul General’s office of the High Commission of India, Sydney, for their enthusiastic support. To Imelda Willis for her willingness to talk about the energy experience in the third eye, and for coming down from Townsville and introducing the program to the audience for two days. To the Venerable Achariyaji Chandra Prakesh, Shiva Temple Minto, Sydney, for transcribing the script. To my friends Barbara Leigh, Mrs. Bhattachariya, and Ranjana Malhotra who have all variously encouraged me and showered me with their good wishes in pursuing this work and for offering any support that they could render. Beena Sharma 5 MA (Hons.) thesis To Late Tej Prakesh Tulsi for composing the music. To Vijay and Ritu Paul for the encouragement, and moral support throughout my stay in India. The Dance Department of UWS, for taking the video. The Department of Social, Community and Organisational Studies, UWS, for making a grant available to assist and compile these studies undertaken. To Stephen Page of The Bangarra Dance Company for allowing me to interview him. To Bernadette Wolong for my workshop and brief discussion on serpent energy. To Dr. Kumar Suresh Singh, Director General (Retd.), Archeological Survey of India, for suggesting in bringing out the spirituality in my dance. To anthropologist Leela Dube, New Delhi, for her guidance. To friends Anupam Sharma and Sofia Oberoi for all their support and encouragements. To Pt. Sundar Lal of Brighu Ashram, Haridwar (India) for his spiritual guidance. Finally, I am indebted to my supervisors, Kathy Driscoll and Anne Marshall, at the University of Western Sydney, who enthusiastically encouraged me in my endeavors. Kathy was always available to discuss and critique my performances. Anne Marshall (who is herself an Aboriginal performer) was always available to talk, discuss, and check every aspect of my work, and for always directing me to the proper sources for my research and for her moral support and encouragement. Beena Sharma 6 MA (Hons.) thesis Note to examiners Beena Sharma’s thesis was printed from Zip disks formulated in America and posted to Australia. Unfortunately, some of the punctuations has disappeared and seems impossible to fix since, while it appears on the screen, it does not print out. Attempts to correct this have failed. SYNOPSIS This is a story of a cross-cultural dance exchange conceptualising myth as a living art through traditional Kathak dance form in collaboration with contemporary Aboriginal dance form, weaving and celebrating the reconciliation and independence of all people through male and female energy to evoke an ancient universal serpent energy. Beena Sharma 7 MA (Hons.) thesis It is presented as part-fulfillment (50%) of an MA Honours (Performance) examination, and continues the poetic traditions of interpretation which accompany the arts in both Indian and Aboriginal cultures. Beena Sharma 8 MA (Hons.) thesis TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of Originality..................................................................................................2 Acknowledgement ...........................................................................................................4 SYNOPSIS....................................................................................................................... 7 PREFACE.................................................................................................................... 13 Multiculturalism and The Art of Dance........................................................................ 13 Dance as A Reflection of Experiences .......................................................................... 13 Experiences Find Expression........................................................................................ 13 Dual role as The Serpent .............................................................................................. 14 The Serpent Expression Begets Communication .......................................................... 14 Communicating and Mapping the Probability ............................................................. 15 Communication Transpires through Energy ................................................................ 16 Expansion as Energy in Motion.................................................................................... 16 Motion is the Grounding of Energy .............................................................................. 17 Expanding Energy Transforms Itself ............................................................................ 19 Probable Connections Become Synergy in Performance ............................................. 23 Prism Deflects............................................................................................................... 25 Kathak’s Role as A Medium in the Project................................................................... 25 Communication............................................................................................................. 26 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 29 MY BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................... 29 Live energy in action..................................................................................................... 29 Fate’s groundwork........................................................................................................ 30 Fate begins its networking............................................................................................ 31 I Began My Journey...................................................................................................... 33 It’s All In The Making................................................................................................... 37 What is a myth?............................................................................................................. 37 Setting of the stage........................................................................................................ 38 Global Ramifications .................................................................................................... 45 Structures I Used In My Myth Making.......................................................................... 46 Transformation ............................................................................................................. 48 My interpretation of bindu or dot in Transformation ................................................... 49 CHAPTER 1................................................................................................................. 51 Awakening of the Serpent energy.................................................................................. 51 The Task........................................................................................................................51 Definitions on culture and inter-culturalism ................................................................ 54 Culture a social process................................................................................................ 54 An organizing principle ...............................................................................................