Sat Sri Akaal (2016), Morni Hills Performance Art Biennale, Kurukshetra IN

The organiser of the biennale, Harpreet Singh, is Sikh, as is approximately 5% of the population in Haryana (the second largest Indian state after Punjab) where Kurukshetra is located.

Namaste is a Sanskrit greeting meaning “I bow to you,” recognising the divine within each person. It is often accompanied by the gesture of palms pressed together and a slight bow as a sign of respect.

Within the Sikh culture, the equivalent of Namaste is Sat Sri Akal, a traditional Sikh greeting that means “God is the Ultimate Truth” or “The Timeless One is Truth.” It combines Sat meaning “truth,” Sri an honorific implying respect, Akal meaning “timeless” or “immortal,” referring to God.

After presenting my artistic practice to the arts students at the University of Kurukshetra, I walked to the garden, placed the flowers gifted me by the students onto the grass and sat behind them, cross-legged. Placing my right hand in a half Namaskar mudra, I waited.

Shortly after, the shy students approached me, and, together, our hands completed the mudra. Two young women began chanting OM, the sacred syllable, and after everyone had sat with me, they also sat, together.

Photo Mehak Kaushal