Hindu epics in the spotlight in Bali
Hindu epics in the spotlight in Bali
By I Wayan Juniarta
JIMBARAN, Bali (JP): Dozens of literary scholars from at least
12 countries are holding an international conference and festival
on the ancient Hindu epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
The three-day meet, starting from Sept.13, is being hosted by
Bali's Udayana State University. At least 50 academics are
presenting their latest ideas and findings on the two influential
and enduring tales.
A first conference on the epics was held in Malaysia last
year.
Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is scheduled to
officially open the conference on Thursday (today Sept. 14).
The speakers include Minati Kar, a professor from India, who
will present a paper entitled Sri Khrisna and Gita -- the
Celestial Song. Indonesian professor Partini Sardjono
Pradotokusumo will speak on The Old Javanese Ramayana Kakawin: A
World of Feminism.
In a public lecture, Malaysian professor Rajantheren will
deliver a paper on The Rama Story in Tamil Tradition, while Dr.
Chirapat Prapandviadya of Thailand will speak on Common Elements
for Ethical Teaching in The Mahabharata and Buddhist Literature.
There will be three art performances: a Bharatanatyam dance
from India, a leather puppet Wayang Kulit show and Cak Ramayana
from Bali, which will feature other dramatic and aesthetic
versions of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Most of the conference activities will take place in the newly
finished Udayana University auditorium on the top of Jimbaran
hill, some 27 kilometers south of Denpasar.
Udayana University has recently shifted its campus to Jimbaran
hill. The old campus was in Denpasar, the provincial capital of
Bali.
Conference organizing committee chairman I Gusti Ngurah Bagus,
the professor of the University of Udayana, said the conference
was a good chance for scholars to share their expertise on the
subject.
"In this historic moment at the end of the 20th century, the
world is facing a great challenge of increasing its conscience,
dignity and universal humanistic values. The Ramayana and the
Mahabharata can be both the source of those values, and the tools
to spread those messages," he said.
He said that the epics, which originated in India, had spread
widely and influenced civilizations across Asia. New plots,
characters and interpretations have been added by local authors
and the stories have been enriched in the process.
"The additions are local authors' efforts to adapt the epics
to their local situation and context. The epics have also been
transformed into local literary art forms, such as geguritan,
songs, in Bali," a Balinese literary scholar Ketut Sumarta said.
In the course of history, Sumarta explained, the adaptation
process had strengthened the bond between the epics with the
local people, and they did not perceive the epics as "imported"
literary products.
"Most Balinese and Javanese people treat and regard the epics
as a part of their own culture," he said.
In Bali, the Ramayana and Mahabharata have been prime sources
of inspiration for poets and authors, choreographers and dancers,
and sculptors, painters and puppeteers.
"It is like owning an eternal pond (of inspiration). No matter
how much water you take, the water level never decreases,"
choreographer Swasthi Widjaja said.