Sangamam : A Convergence to Remember

Photos: Reflection Media

Photos: Reflection Media

By Luckmi Pawa

STAFFORD: Our world, filled with objects, animate and inanimate, is made up of matter. Matter, that has undergone the ardent process of numerous permutations and combinations, to become the objects that are today.

Just as gold has the potential to transform itself into beautiful jewelry, clay the potential to transform into beautiful pots, the jeevatman, or physical matter, has the potential to elevate and transform itself into the absolute consciousness or the paramatman.

sreepadam-in-4

These transformations and confluences are not only seen in objects around us, but also in arts, traditions, culture and spiritual practices. Be it the union of swaras to form melodious music, or that of bhavas, ragas and talas to form dance, there are mergers and unions happening all around us with an ultimate goal of transforming and becoming one.

sreepadam-in-3

Such transformations provide ultimate bliss. Just as the river keeps flowing until it unites with the vast ocean – the soul continues its journey, until it becomes completely one with the creator – the supreme Brahman.

This year’s Sreepadam School of Arts’ annual production, Sangamam 2016, was indeed a confluence of immense magnitude. On Saturday, October 29, the Stafford Civic Center was resonating with the sounds of hundreds of tiny feet adorned with bells, weaving in and out, in complete symmetry and formation. The music wafting in the air, combined with coordination of rhythmic feet, resulted in the convergence of sights and sounds that formed the perfect…..Sangamam!

sreepadam-in-1

Divyaa Unni, the statuesque and graceful dancer/teacher, was nothing short of poetry in motion. Her agility and presence on stage made it difficult to remove one’s eyes from watching her. The intricate choreography, colorful costumes, and adorable smiles of the students, made the two hour program seem to just whiz by! The auditorium was filled to capacity with adoring and proud family and friends of the 130+ students, who seemed riveted with the performance. Stafford’s Mayor Pro Tem, Ken Mathew, was in attendance as well.

Each year, Sreepadam School of Arts tries to make its annual show thematic, as well as an enjoyable learning experience for its students. The theme is integrated into the dances they perform, thus enabling them to truly understand the underlying concepts of the dance, and further enable them to become ONE with the dance.