Indians and Chinese Celebrate Jointly in Sydney

March 5, 2007

Author: Tarique

Source: Indian Muslim

http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/march/05/art_culture/indians_and_chinese_celebrate_jointly_in_sydney.html

Sydney, March 5 (IANS) In a joint celebration of Holi and the Year of the Pig, Indians and Chinese here got together in a concert featuring classical Indian dances and Chinese traditional music inspired by the symbolism of the lotus and the phoenix.

Kuchipudi dancer Vimala Sarma and the Sydney Sizhu Ensemble led by Tony Wheeler and featuring vocalist Chen Hong Yu and Zhao Ying Chun on the Erhu performed at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Saturday.

The event was organised by the City of Sydney to celebrate the Indian festival of colours, Holi, and the Chinese New Year. The show was titled Lotus and Phoenix. The lotus is a symbol of beauty, perfection and spiritual purity in Buddhist and Hindu traditions and the phoenix is a symbol of good fortune and happiness in Chinese culture.

Sarma also performed the Lakshmi Pravesham, a dance celebrating goddess Lakshmi and prosperity. She ended with a piece invoking Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy and a Boddhisattva. The piece was performed in the delicate and feminine Mohiniattam style, according to Indianlink, an ethnic Indian newspaper.