Mohanam is an interactive art piece designed to gently guide the viewer into a state of peace and tranquility through indirect meditation. Rooted in the Carnatic raaga Mohanam (Sanskrit for “that which enchants” or “captivates”), it draws on a pentatonic set of swaras (Sa, Ri, Ga, Pa, Da / C,D,E,G,A) long associated with uplifting, serene, and meditative moods in Indian classical music. Visually, the work centers on a stylised rose, a symbol of allure and focused attention, rendered within a stained glass–like frame of nature. The soft, pastel palette and fairytale-inspired aesthetic evoke innocence, wonder, and safety, inviting the viewer into a gentle, otherworldly space. The “tainted” or stained glass metaphorically represents divine light filtered through human experience, suggesting that our perception of truth is continually colored by personal history, limitations, and illusion. Delicate butterflies appear around the composition as symbols of transformation and freedom, hinting at release from the weight of the material world through meditative awareness. As each note of Mohanam is played, the viewer is invited to fix their gaze on the artwork alone, allowing the combination of color, symbolism, and sound to gently narrow their awareness. Over time, this sustained focus helps the surrounding world recede, drawing the user into a meditative state where they feel held, captivated, and quietly stilled by the piece. Medium: Mohanam is a code-based art piece, created partly using generative code. The generated code was created using the help of Chat-GPT 5.3 and Perplexity AI, and implemented using the p5.js web editor. Artist Bio: Sahana Sethuraman is a first-year Statistics and Data Science Engineering student at UCLA with a passion for probability and machine learning. She is equally drawn to music, painting, and poetry, and has always looked for ways to bring her artistic and technical sides together. For her, generative art is that bridge, where code and creativity merge into something that feels innovative and true to who she is. Artist Statement: Art has always been my escape. When I’m painting, hours slip by unnoticed, and the canvas slowly becomes the only thing that exists in my field of attention. With Mohanam, I wanted to build a piece through code that could offer that same gentle sense of immersion to anyone who encountered it. I also wanted to share my love for my culture and its music, so I based the work on my favourite raaga, Mohanam. I find it deeply pleasant to listen to, and I hope its soothing quality was a relaxing treat.​​ For anyone who craves a pause from the noise of the world, I hope Mohanam can feel like a small sanctuary: a moment to breathe, to feel lighter, and to reset through meditation. P.S. If you stay with it long enough to reach a certain meditation index, I coded a little easter egg into the piece that’s waiting to be discovered.