Art for Hope and Peace: An SAYC Initiative
South Asia: On January 2, 2021,the South Asian Youth Conference alumni brought in the
new year with an event called Art for Hope and Peace. We heard Babitha PS perform a
beautiful rendition of Kabir’s Peele Amiras Dhara. Deeda Shakeb recited couplets from
Rumi’s Nay Naama in Persian. Bhagya Senaratane performed her own poem on processing
the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka and a friend’s poem on love in Sinhalese. Taimur Rehman
recited poetry by Sahir Ludhianvi, Raghib Badayuni and Abdul Mateen Niyaz in Urdu.
Akansha Thakore performed Harivanshrai Bachchan’s Need ka Nirman Phir Phir and her own
original poetry in Hindi and Gujarati. Beautifully hosted and held together by Saurabh
Kumar, it was a hopeful start to the new year.
Since 2011, SAYC has been providing a space for South Asians to meet, interact and learn
about each other in a region that otherwise has few avenues for people-to-people interaction.
As SAYC intends to enable the growth of more branches from this stem of the yearly
conference, one of the avenues we are choosing to pursue is around culture.
One of the ways in which this has manifested has been the spoken word/ poetry at Art for
Hope and Peace. We intend to continue to hold such events and utilize the platform of SAYC
to learn about the variety of cultures that exist across South Asia.
Testimonials from the event in January 2021
Bhagya Senaratne
“I really enjoyed the cultural evening with the alumni of the South Asian Youth Conference,
as it enabled me to understand that all cultures share the same feelings and emotions. To me,
it portrayed the human side of being South Asian; a region that is not integrated enough due
to no reason of the average citizen. I am confident events of this nature will add colour to the
already vibrant region and hopefully help the region to prosper in the future.”
Babitha P.S.
“The idea of conducting a cultural event organically evolved and I feel humbled and
privileged to be a part of it. The idea of coming closer to know, understand, celebrate not
only others but also one’s own culture was refreshing. From the very beginning, people
pitched in, from organizing to poster making to ensuring all are represented, the energy was
quite contagious.
As a performer, I’m glad that I could offer whatever I held close to my heart. For me, each
one who offered their bit made me understand how we are connected to each other even
though we really are from different ethnicities. And that’s the beauty of art, that it binds
people and touches a chord. It was an alumni-only event since it was the first of its kind and I’m
really grateful for it happening at the beginning of a new year.
I hope in the future this becomes a platform where people come together to celebrate their piece
of work, exchange values, and make connections that are strong and deep.”
Akash Upase
“The takeaway for me was that culture is a very strong tool to build as well as bridge
relations between people. It made me believe that it needs to be leveraged and amplified
more given the rich cultural fabric that is shared by South Asian regions and SAYC is one of
the places to do so.”
Akanksha Thakore
“Art for Hope & Peace felt, simultaneously, like an old friends’ hangout and the thrilling
discovery of new voices and poetry, new cultures and connections. To hear poetry in Hindi,
Urdu, Persian, Sinhalese, and be able to share one in my mother tongue, Gujarati, felt like a
real treat. We spanned Kabir to Rumi, Sahir Ludhianvi to Harivanshrai Bachchan, and a few
of our own compositions thrown in. While this is just the beginning, I’m excited about what
further such evenings will bring, the colors and stories and legacies we will be unearthing
from each other’s countries and cultures while going deeper into our own viraasat to be
able to share them with our friends from across borders. 2021 sure has been a new
beginning.”
Nandita Palrecha
“It was an enriching evening, one where we saw the possibility of what South Asia could
look like. Listening to poetry in different languages but being able to understand the
underlying sentiments nevertheless speaks to the strength of human connection, language and
culture. After all, these are not things that states and their governments control the narratives
over; they belong to the people. This event in itself, along with the spirit of the event is a
rare source of hope in otherwise hopeless times.”
Hosted and tied together beautifully by Saurabh who peppered the session with more heart-
warming poetry, we imagined and hoped about the potential for oneness and harmony across
South Asia.
SAYC hopes to continue to hold such events on a quarterly basis with plans to reach more
audiences. Please stay tuned!
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/sayc2020