Samagam 2025

All About Gratitude

Invocation of Human Connection

On the evening of February 8, Takshni hosted Samagam 2025. It was an invocation, a gathering built around the idea of gratitude. Held in a thoughtfully designed space, the event unfolded as a slow, intentional sequence of storytelling, performance, and dialogue. Every element was crafted to offer not just a show, but an experience of connection. The evening opened with Preetie Bindra, a storyteller known for her grounding presence. She welcomed the audience not with announcements but with an invitation to reflect. Each guest was handed a small gratitude stone and guided through a short meditative exercise. People closed their eyes. In that brief silence, the room shifted. The focus turned inward.

The first half of the evening opened up to a set of deeply meaningful conversations. The panel featured three guest speakers:

Parul, a textile artist and natural dyer working between San Francisco and Uttarakhand. She shared her journey with colour as material, memory, and method. Her story wove together environmental care, traditional knowledge, and the possibilities of collaborative art practice.

Panchuram Ji, a master craftsman rooted in indigenous knowledge systems. His insights focused on the importance of preserving traditional skills, not as museum objects but as living, evolving practices passed through generations.

Apeksha, interior designer and author. Her story offered a glimpse into the emotional terrain of a soul discovering journey in the hills, where gratitude appears in unexpected places, between design deadlines, client calls, and shared conversations and gestures amongst the people of the region.

Each speaker brought a unique perspective on how gratitude enters through their practice, their upbringing, their art. The panel was conversational, not formal. The stories flowed easily, and the audience responded with deep attention.

Preetie,continued with a powerful monologue drawn from personal memory. She spoke of growing up in Patiala, her photographer father, a childhood home filled with warmth and quiet details. Through humour, nostalgia, and emotional precision, she touched on the loss of intimacy in fast-paced lives and the quiet things that stay with us. This mood was carried forward by Ritika, a trained classical dancer, who translated the narrative into movement. Her dance was rooted in traditional form but open in interpretation. She brought stillness, softness, and strength into the room, allowing the audience to feel the themes - memory, emotion, resilience - through gesture. Next came a devised performance written and directed by Pragya Jha, a theatre-maker and actor, with Mansiin collaboration. The act followed the inner life of Ichha, a young working woman negotiating loneliness, pressure, and disconnection in a metropolitan life. Through interactions with her friend Sanaa (MANSI), she begins to reconnect with forgotten memories and relationships. The performance was minimal, sincere, and deeply relatable.

Following this, Pragya invited Richato the stage. Without an overt introduction, a piece of her artwork was unveiled. It was subtle and emotionally textured, mirroring the energy of the evening, a mosaic of emotions, connections. The artwork remained on stage, becoming a silent presence in the room for the rest of the night. To close the evening, musician and poet Salman Elahiperformed live. Known for his lyrical compositions and gentle stage presence, he brought the room into a final moment of reflection. His songs, rooted in Urdu poetry, spoke of love, memory, and quiet courage. His voice created a space for all the stories of the night to settle. After the performances, the audience was invited to share a grand dinner.

This was not a formal banquet, but a table of warmth. Conversations continued. People stayed. Artists and attendees sat side by side. There were no name tags, no divisions. Just stories continuing to unfold. Samagam 2025was not just about gratitude as a theme. It was about making space to feel it, speak it, and carry it home. The evening offered no conclusions. Instead, it left behind a soft imprint, a reminder that in stillness, in story, and in shared presence, something essential is remembered.