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In the so-called new Asian century, the idea of Asia has come to stand for the new, rather than the old, suggesting a point of disjuncture between Asia s heritage (religious or otherwise), its temporally complex present, and its vision for the future. At the broadest level, we ask: how is Asian antiquity made relevant to an Asia that is rewriting itself, and is Asian modernity made distinctive by this relationship? This workshop will provide an opportunity to explore how Hindu textual heritages are appropriated and performed in contemporary contexts, with a comparative focus on India, both an august centre of Asian antiquity and one of the world s fastest growing new economies, and Bali, an exemplary site for the showcasing of Asian Heritage within its context of being a rapidly-modernising Indonesian island. This event will provide a forum to reassess the enduring history of shared religious and literary heritages in India and Bali from a comparative and trans-regional perspective, with a focus on Sanskritic and vernacular textual (or text-like) materials. In so doing, it will highlight the relevance of these premodern materials to the interpretation of contemporary socio-cultural and religious phenomena, and encourage the interaction between academic disciplines focusing respectively on texts, performance, and theory. Conveners: Dr Andrea Acri Asia Research Institute, Email: ariaa@nus.edu.sg Dr Andrea Pinkney South Asian Studies, Email: sasamp@nus.edu.sg
31 JANUARY 2013 (THURSDAY) 09:30 10:00 REGISTRATION 10:00 10:15 WELCOME / OPENING REMARKS Prasenjit DUARA Asia Research Institute and Office of Research, Humanities and Social Sciences, Andrea ACRI Asia Research Institute, Andrea Marion PINKNEY South Asian Studies Programme, 10:15-11:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS 10:15 Prasenjit DUARA, Asia Research Institute and Office of Research, Humanities and Social Sciences, A 21st Century Sanskritist in Bali McComas TAYLOR Australian National University 10:45 Discussion 11:00 11:15 TEA BREAK 11:15 13:00 PANEL 1 CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCES OF THE PAST 11:15 11:35 11:55 Vineeta SINHA, Department of Sociology, The Vedamūrti: Embodying the Veda in Contemporary Maharashtra Borayin LARIOS University of Heidelberg, Germany The Legend of Devi Tulja Bhavani: Re-scripting in the Service of Pilgrimage Economy Kiran A. SHINDE Bharati Vidyapeeth (deemed University) Ārudra Darśana Mahotsava in Contemporary Chidambaram Aleksandra WENTA Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla 12:15 Discussion 13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 15:15 PANEL 2 PREMODERN HINDU TEXTS IN (POST)MODERN BALI 14:00 14:20 Janet HOSKINS, Lee Kong Chian International Fellowship, National University of Singapore Pañcakuśika and Kanda Mpat: From a Pāśupata Myth to Balinese Folklore Andrea ACRI Asia Research Institute, Puja Tri Sandhyā: Indian Mantras Re-composed and Standardized in Bali Sugi LANUS Institut Hindu Dharma Negeri, Denpasar, Indonesia 14:40 Discussion 15:15 15:30 TEA BREAK 15:30 16:45 PANEL 3 NEW PERSPECTIVES ON YOGA 15:30 15:50 Saranindranath TAGORE, Department of Philosophy, Yoga in Bali: Old Texts and Present Practice Michele STEPHEN Latrobe University, Australia Rājayoga: The Reincarnations of the King of All Yogas Jason BIRCH Oxford University, UK 16:10 Discussion 16:45 17:15 FILM SCREENING 16:45 Annu JALAIS, South Asian Studies Programme, Embodying the Veda: A Day in the Śrī Kṛṣṇayajurveda Pāṭhaśālā, in Sātārā, Maharashtra Borayin LARIOS University of Heidelberg, Germany 17:00 Discussion 17:15 END OF DAY ONE
1 FEBRUARY 2013 (FRIDAY) 09:00 09:30 REGISTRATION 09:30 11:15 PANEL 4 HINDU TEXTS IN SONG 09:30 09:50 10:10 Anne BLACKBURN, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore Creative Rivalries: The Utsawa Dharma Gita Competition and the Contemporary Evolution of Balinese Textual Singing Helen CREESE University of Queensland, Australia Popularizing Religious Values through Textual Singing on Interactive Radio and TV Programs in Bali I Nyoman Darma PUTRA Universitas Udayana, Indonesia Singing the Past into the Present: The Memory of Marathi Kirtan in Tamil Bhajana Practices Davesh SONEJI McGill University, Canada 10:30 Discussion 11:15 11:45 TEA BREAK 11:45 13:00 PANEL 5 HINDU TEXTS THROUGH NARRATIVE 11:45 12:05 John WHALEN-BRIDGE, Department of English Language and Literature, Stories of God : Contemporary Oral Performances based of the Bhāgavatapurāṇa McComas TAYLOR Australian National University Purāṇapravacana and Harikathā: Two Performance Styles Based on Hindu Textual Heritage Ananth RAO Australian National University 12:25 Discussion 13:00 14:00 LUNCH
14:00 15:15 PANEL 6 NEW LIVES OF THE EPICS IN INDIA AND BALI 14:00 14:20 Michael FEENER, Asia Research Institute and Department of History, A Very Present History in the Land of the Gods: Modern Māhātmya Writing on Uttarākhaṇḍ Andrea Marion PINKNEY Re-Imagining the Mahabharata in Bali Adrian VICKERS University of Sydney, Australia 14:40 Discussion 15:15 15:45 TEA BREAK 15:45 17:00 15:45 16:05 PANEL 7 BALINESE NARRATIVE IN HISTORIC AND AESTHETIC PERSPECTIVES John Miksic, Southeast Asian Studies, The History of a Narrative. The Story of Prince Aja and Princess Indumatī in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Bali Peter WORSLEY University of Sydney, Australia Why I have Chosen the Wayang-style of Balinese Painting Gusti MIRDIANA Universitas Hindu, Denpasar, Indonesia 16:25 Discussion 17:00 17:30 CLOSING REMARKS 17:30 END OF WORKSHOP 18:00 WORKSHOP DINNER (For Speakers, Chairpersons & Invited Guests)