Samahaara…bringing it all together…blending it in…amalgamation…n that’s precisely what the group does…it not only brings together people with an inclination towards theatre art form…but it also brings together the scattered bits n pieces within you…that you had almost forgotten about…definitely a “reconnecting” with yourself kind of an experience…
It took me almost four years to actually getting myself sign up for the eight week workshop…I’d read about Samahaara and had followed their progress…but took me quite some time to commit that I’d be able to attend all the sessions and complete the course…
I joined the workshop with only one expectation – that I’d learn something new…little did I know…that it’ll turn out to be the start of my love affair with theater…the very first class – where our director Rathna Shekar discussed the nuances of the old famous plays, where he pointed out the nitty-gritties of the way the playwrights capture the minds of the target audience, how the drama is built up to grip hearts and stir emotions…oh…the beauty and power of theater…got me hooked on and asking for more…there on…it was all about reading and studying theater between the weekend workshop sessions and attending the sessions with all the curiosity of a kindergarten student…Rathna Shekar is passionate about theater and ensures that the same is passed on to his apprentices…you never realise that the two hour class has ended with the way he builds up the flow and energy in his thought-provoking discourses…
Another amazing aspect of being a part of Samahaara – the fact that you share your theater interest with so many others…our batch of eighteen, with a varied age group range of fourteen to forty plus and different backgrounds of finance professionals, certified trainers, corporate personnel, students – came together on that one common platform – learning and loving theater…it is refreshing to interact with people on a simple ‘shared interest’ basis…where you are not trying to sell your agenda or build up an image…again…something which ‘routine’ deprives us of…connecting with humans on a ‘no-requirement’ ground…
Personally, for me, Samahaara has been a magical discovery…with a new-found respect for the field of story telling, realising the impact that this medium can have on society…quite mind-boggling…I’ve noticed that now I study people differently…react to situations differently…and sometimes even record some behaviours in my mind to fill up my ‘tool-box’ (a term Samahaarian’s would recognise 😉 )…
There is so much to learn if only we realise how little we know…so much more to life than our jobs and responsibilities..when you reconnect with that particular idea / thought / hobby which has been playing on your mind and you never paid much attention to – it works wonders…
– Monalisa Shorn