Sarpagati is a powerful dance-theatre work that has become a landmark in contemporary Indian dance. Inspired by the significance of snake worship in Indian culture, Sarpagati draws upon rituals, myth and symbolism associated with the snake. In popular belief the snake is associated with wealth, fertility and power. In tantric symbolism, the snake represents the primal creative energy or Kundalini which lies dormant in the base of the spine, which, when aroused, ascends and activates the chakras of the subtle body. "The Way of the Serpent", specifically refers to the manifestation of this energy within the context of the lower three chakras, symbolized as the elements of Earth, Water and Fire. These in turn relate to three fundamental drives which form the basis of survival; the drive to accumulate, to procreate, and to dominate.