PARTICIPANTS in the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali last week were greeted with the sound of the Balinese gamelan and traditional dancers performing the welcome dance, gadang melati. To the participants, the six dancers represented the beauty of Balinese women, as they adorned the guests’ right ears with flowers.

The guests were treated to a large number of traditional Balinese rituals until the reality of certain socio-political