Sama – Whirling with Memory, Sand, and Soul

Sama is more than a painting—it’s a sand art piece that captures the essence of memory and emotion.
While sketching the first lines of this sand art painting, I found myself softly humming a line from Rumi:

“Motasel ast oo, mo’tadel ast oo, sham’-e del ast oo, pish keshidash…

The music was playing in the background, my hands moving with rhythm, and the image of the whirling dervish slowly emerged in my mind — not just as a dancer, but as a soul in harmony with the universe. That moment became the birth of my first conceptual illustration — a fusion of emotion, poetry, rhythm, and silence.

It was autumn, close to the time of Rumi’s remembrance. I was in Esfahan, back at my parents’ house after years of independent life, waiting for my visa to move to the Netherlands. It was a time of gratitude and unrest: I was near my loved ones, especially my father, and yet caught between two worlds. In this emotional state, art became my stillness.

I began making abstract lines and shapes on paper. Without intention, a figure kept emerging: the whirling dervish. I showed one of these sketches to my father, asking, “What do you see?” He smiled and said:

“Raqs-e Sama… the dance of our dear Rumi.”

He then softly recited a verse by Rumi that has stayed with me ever since:

اگر چه بام بلندست بام هفتم چرخ   گذشته است از این بام نردبان سماع

These words became part of the piece itself. With his encouragement and the guidance of my art teacher, I finalized the design and created the painting using colored sand and acrylic on MDF wood.

The swirling background in tones of yellow, orange, and red reflects the energy of movement in Sama. The paisley motifs on the robe — known as “boteh jegheh” — symbolize Persian identity, life, and continuity. While the background moves in circles, the dervish remains centered, one hand reaching to the heavens, the other grounded — just as in the philosophy of Sama.

Sama is not a dance for the world to see — it is a turning inward, a surrender to silence through movement.

This painting is more than just an artwork. It is a memory, a longing, and a moment of personal transformation. It holds the presence of someone I loved deeply: my father.