article by Sapna from Motherwell

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Annual cultural function of Lanarkshire Hindu Welfare Association

A feast for the eyes and the ears, a riot of colours complemented with sound. The location – Sir John Wilson Town Hall at Airdrie, the occasion- annual cultural function of the Lanarkshire Hindu Welfare Association.

And as if enough senses were not full, the founder of the association, Mrs Asha Mallik made it a point to see that the audience enjoyed a sumptuous vegetarian meal after the culmination of the event.

The show was performed by a group called ‘Sangeet Mala’, which lasted for about two hours. The chief guests were Deputy Provost SLC Mary McNeill and Lord Provost NLC Patrick Connolly. The group presented a colourful mix of music and dance from various regions of India. The theme of the performance was ‘Badalte Mausam’ or changing seasons.

There were Bengali, Punjabi, Tamilian, Gujarati, and Hindi/Urdu song and dance sequences, which included the traditional Bharat Natyam and Garba among others. They spoke about spring, summer, monsoon rain, autumn, effects of war, saving the planet Earth and others.

The harmonic vocal chords of the chorus group had soothing effect on the audience, some of them very new to this South Asian concert. The performance was concluded with a beautiful song by the late Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, which invited every one to rejoice and celebrate life on the planet Earth.

At this point I am reminded of a famous Hindu quote: A king asked a sage to explain the Truth. In response the sage asked the king how he would convey the taste of a mango to someone who had never eaten anything sweet. No matter how hard the king tried, he could not adequately describe the flavour of the fruit, and, in frustration, he demanded of the sage "Tell me then, how would you describe it?" The sage picked up a mango and handed it to the king saying "This is very sweet. Try eating it!" 

Likewise, I would strongly recommend you to have a personal experience rather than me writing and describing about the performance by ‘Sangeet Mala’!

Sapna Sharma, Dr.

Webmaster replies

Thanks Sapna

I agree, the best way to enjoy the colours, the sounds (and the tastes) is to experience it first hand and be there.

I was there for the second time and really enjoyed it.   Can't wait until next year.

Click here for some photographs I took.

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