SANGAM - It’s something more than that ...

Written by Neeraja Raghavan on 23 July 2018

I always look forward to SANGAM. And I thought I knew why. The palpable good cheer, the high quality music, the singers ranging from young to old, from specially abled to exceptionally talented, the range of genres that are offered all in one day ...


But now that I returned from my third SANGAM in a row, I think I have gotten a closer glimpse of just why I look forward to it.


It is, of course, all of the things that I said above. But it’s also something more than that ...


Watching middle aged and elderly people performing along with youngsters moves me deeply every single time. And this year, I understood why. In the difficult times that we live, it is a breath of fresh air when barriers break down and divisions melt away. The learners on stage are seen: their ages are of no significance. In a society which can easily veer towards hierarchy that is based purely on age, this showed me that it is possible to move out of that box – at least during SANGAM, or during classes held by SMA.


And yet, it is something more than that ...


The usual hierarchy of events in a programme are such that the last item is when everyone is understandably tired and eager to get home soon. After all, it is an unusually long day. And performers have been practising hard for months together, and even rehearsed the previous day. But the audience is human – and so are the performers. So it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the audience thinned down by the evening and the last item was barely listened to or listenable. Instead, when the Voice Gym group could be pulsating with energy and simply burst with vim and vigour, singing with infectious enjoyment to a crowded hall, I was ready to listen to another eight hour show all over again. Watching the performers – especially the middle aged gentleman – almost pop out of their skins as they beat time to their lively melody and all but danced to it, I marvelled at the enthusiasm and and energy which they had sustained right until the end of the programme. What a teacher they must have, if they can display such vibrant energy even at the end of the day!


Yes, it is things like this, and yet, there is something more ...


It is so normal to associate ‘celebrity-dom’ with pompousness – even arrogance. But each time I watch Shankarji, I am awed by his humility and graciousness. No matter what the performance, he never fails to acknowledge each and every person accompanist, support staff, etc. I, for one, have not made any contribution at all to SMA this past year. [Assignments which are up my street have simply not been there, I think.] Yet, I received an invitation and was allowed to bring one more person with me. If this isn’t graciousness, I don’t know what is. Not feeling like I had earned this treat, I nevertheless made sure that I honoured the invitation! Now why would I miss such a treat, tell me?!


Yet, it is something more, too ...


It is depressing to read the daily newspaper or watch the TV news beyond a point, isn’t it? And that’s because it seems like there is just far too much greed, violence, apathy and “Me Too” going around. But each time I attend SANGAM, I return home with hope. Hope that there is some possibility of a good future, for aren’t there people who love music and learn it even into their old age? Aren’t there musicians like Smt Lalit Rao who choke when they recall their Guru, and wish only to preserve the fine teachings of their teachers for posterity?


Ah, yes, it is these things and more ...


A Riyaaz with Shankarji session is the dessert after the meal. So when this time, it was announced that it would be just ten minutes long, I was consumed by disappointment. But ten minutes later, I was transformed. For I had experienced the magic of a musician involving all of us in first praying to the Goddess of Music, and then singing for the country. We forgot the person. We forgot ourselves. We were all elevated to something beyond our petty existence, far away from paying bills and buying property, reading depressing news and seeing violent acts ... and all this happened in less than ten minutes.


Yes, now I see. THAT is what it is all about ... SANGAM lets us see the world in a grain of sand, and experience eternity in an hour. Time is not needed to touch the heart, to connect to the soul. No, not at all. All it needs is for another SANGAM to show me this all over again. I need this tonic – it keeps me positive about our youngsters, our aged, our country, our world ... Life!