Samvaad Foundation, the charitable wing of Samvaad Institute of Speech and Hearing, recently organised a fundraiser show at Mount Carmel College in aid of a stroke rehabilitation centre.
Known as 'Celebrating Abilities', the evening saw a spectacular dance performance on wheelchairs by the differently-abled, which was choreographed by Syed Sallauddin Pasha.
H R Bharadwaj, Governor of Karnataka inaugurated the evening and shared his personal experience of suffering a stroke, noting how important it is to help the victims come back to normalcy.
"God made the human body absolutely perfect. But he also creates circumstances where there are problems in it. We have to readily give help to those suffering and create awareness about the problem to prevent it.
With willpower and medicines, I am dealing with my problem," he says. After the screening of a film showing the work of the organisation, the mind-blowing performance began with a Sufi dance on wheels. It was amazing to see the swiftness and dedication with which the dancers spun and whirled in surrender.
At one point, the dancers even held on to each other's wheelchairs and spun in unison with no one getting the timing wrong, which was highly admirable.
This was followed by a group dance to the tunes of Khwaja Mere Khwaja, where the graceful hand movements and facial expressions were prominent.
There was great control over the movement shown by the performers. But for the audience in the dark and watching them balance on the back wheels, it was awe-inspiring and numbing.
"That was one of the most invigorating performances I've ever seen in my life. I don't think anything's going to beat this," notes Sanjana N, a member of the audience.
Another stunning piece was a bharatanatyam varnam, which incorporated yoga and bharatanatyam into an energetic and moving piece. There were a lot of stunts in this like the dancers getting off the wheelchairs and spinning around solely with the support of their hands.
"It's a spiritual experience to teach them. Every time I see them perform, I feel special. It's a tapasya," shares choreographer Syed Sallauddin Pasha.
"I took time to understand how to use the wheelchairs and then taught them. It's important to see how the syllables are incorporated into four wheels instead of two legs," he adds.
Among other things was a jugalbandi of bharatanatyam between three hearing impaired girls, who were absolutely on beat despite the inability to hear, and the boys on wheelchairs.
Hoots and cheers filled the air and the audience waved to show their appreciation.
The final item was a dance drama based on an excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita, where the wheelchairs became chariots and the dancers, war horses.
For all who attended, this proved to be an evening that would be hard to forget and that reminded them of how it is possible to overcome their problems, no matter how grave they seem.
Known as 'Celebrating Abilities', the evening saw a spectacular dance performance on wheelchairs by the differently-abled, which was choreographed by Syed Sallauddin Pasha.
H R Bharadwaj, Governor of Karnataka inaugurated the evening and shared his personal experience of suffering a stroke, noting how important it is to help the victims come back to normalcy.
"God made the human body absolutely perfect. But he also creates circumstances where there are problems in it. We have to readily give help to those suffering and create awareness about the problem to prevent it.
With willpower and medicines, I am dealing with my problem," he says. After the screening of a film showing the work of the organisation, the mind-blowing performance began with a Sufi dance on wheels. It was amazing to see the swiftness and dedication with which the dancers spun and whirled in surrender.
At one point, the dancers even held on to each other's wheelchairs and spun in unison with no one getting the timing wrong, which was highly admirable.
This was followed by a group dance to the tunes of Khwaja Mere Khwaja, where the graceful hand movements and facial expressions were prominent.
There was great control over the movement shown by the performers. But for the audience in the dark and watching them balance on the back wheels, it was awe-inspiring and numbing.
"That was one of the most invigorating performances I've ever seen in my life. I don't think anything's going to beat this," notes Sanjana N, a member of the audience.
Another stunning piece was a bharatanatyam varnam, which incorporated yoga and bharatanatyam into an energetic and moving piece. There were a lot of stunts in this like the dancers getting off the wheelchairs and spinning around solely with the support of their hands.
"It's a spiritual experience to teach them. Every time I see them perform, I feel special. It's a tapasya," shares choreographer Syed Sallauddin Pasha.
"I took time to understand how to use the wheelchairs and then taught them. It's important to see how the syllables are incorporated into four wheels instead of two legs," he adds.
Among other things was a jugalbandi of bharatanatyam between three hearing impaired girls, who were absolutely on beat despite the inability to hear, and the boys on wheelchairs.
Hoots and cheers filled the air and the audience waved to show their appreciation.
The final item was a dance drama based on an excerpt from the Bhagavad Gita, where the wheelchairs became chariots and the dancers, war horses.
For all who attended, this proved to be an evening that would be hard to forget and that reminded them of how it is possible to overcome their problems, no matter how grave they seem.