Sitaro Ki Mehfil – A Dream Come True!

Event Date: 12th July 2024 

This blog is a story of the evolution of music sessions at the Dongri Observation Home which culminated into a musical event, “Sitaro Ki Mehfil”, and in the process led to the transformation of the children who were a part of this journey.

Introduction

For a long time, Sheetal always wanted to conduct music sessions with the boys at Dongri, with simple instruments and random day to day objects, as a method of rehabilitation. In the early months with Seedling Foundation, she started the process with a group of boys. The aim of the session was for them to develop cognitive abilities, release some frustration and learn how to be a part of a team by creating various rhythms together. In the early sessions, we used plastic glasses as our instruments which the children would bang on the metallic tables that we have to create beats and rhythms. Little did we know back then that this small experiment would turn into a session that children loved and over time, into a full 1 hour event at the Dongri Observation Home.

   

Purpose of Music Sessions

As the music sessions started getting more traction from the children, Sheetal brought a couple of Djembes that she had and other small instruments like a Dafli, a few wooden sticks, a flute, and some shakers. This became our instrument for transformation, and they created magic over the months to come. Most of these children are heavily influenced by “Ganpati Dhol” and enjoy creating beats. Also, as compared to other activities, music is close to their hearts and it gives them immense joy. Playing these instruments also becomes a physical activity and releases a lot of frustration, negative emotions and other thoughts and brings them into the present moment. Moreover, we designed behavior rules for anyone who wanted to be a part of music sessions, such as respecting the instruments, no foul language, no violence whatsoever and respecting each other and the facilitator. These rules, over a period of time, led to many positive shifts in the children who were regular for the music sessions.

The Build Up

We started having regular sessions and over time a few boys emerged as good players of the instruments. They self organized into a team and we asked them if they would perform on 1 song during another event, and they reluctantly agreed. After practicing sincerely, they eventually performed during another event, as a welcome song for the guest, and it was a hit! All the staff members and children really loved it and this gave a big boost to the group who performed and to us. This was the start of something big – they got the confidence and belief that they can take their performance to the next level and they have a willing audience. They went on to perform 3 songs about a month later, as a part of a farewell event for the 2 JJB Magistrate ma’ams (city and suburban), whose term was ending at Dongri. This time, they had put in much more effort than last time and there was flawless coordination between the team as well. Both the Magistrate ma’ams loved it and there were loud cheers from the audience throughout. The boys did an amazing job and so did their mentor, Sheetal, who played a silent but very significant role throughout this process. After this performance, we started having conversations about having an independent event, an hour long performance of the boys playing the music instruments and there was a lot of momentum. Soon enough, we had the UTSAV events in June, in which one of the events was playing musical instruments. Right after UTSAV, a group of boys approached us and said that they wanted to do an event and they seemed very determined. And so were we. We followed up diligently and took it up.

Preparations for “Sitaro Ki Mehfil”

We quickly started the preparations and the boys started forming their group. In the end we had a group of 8 boys. We shortlisted some songs and the practice started. Based on their interest and comfort, the boys started deciding which songs to include and which to omit. Over time, we finalized 5 songs: Jhund Teaser – Entry Music, Mere Rashke Qamar, Chaiyya Chaiyya, Main Nikala Gaddi Leke, Sadda Dil Vi Tu (Ganpati Song – ABCD). The group started practicing very sincerely and diligently. The team work went up. We could see natural leaders emerge from the group. The sense of team spirit was strong and dedication to reach perfection was clearly visible. They practiced day after day for almost 3 weeks and in less than a month after UTSAV, we announced the event – “Sitaro Ki Mehfil”. Looking at the efforts and preparations of the boys, we decided to make the event announcement grand, by creating an iconic and illustrious event poster which drew a lot of attention and created anticipation across the Home.

Sitaro Ki Mehfil

After a long discussion with Sheetal, she insisted that I anchor the event. As a part of anchoring, we decided to take the audience through the journey of the preparation of the boys since the process itself was the most important part. The journey was definitely more important than the destination in this case. We narrated the journey to the audience in the form of a story, a story based on the values that we observed from the boys, which continued through the event in between each song.

   

Overall, we observed amazing discipline and teamwork throughout the practice. Our behavior rules worked wonders and throughout the practice they maintained respect for the instruments, for each other, for the facilitators and refrained from any bad words or violence, all of which is quite rare at Dongri. Their teamwork was amazing to see – they would rotate various instruments for various songs, they would voluntarily sit out for some of the songs, the more experienced boys guided and mentored the newer ones, there was an acceptance of mistakes and all in all they created strong bonds which went beyond the music session. 

We then went on to highlight individual qualities that each boy showcased. One of them who emerged as a leader took ownership and accountability of the practice. He would ensure everyone would come for practice and actively took the group forward. Another one showed a lot of maturity and leadership as a good instrument player. He had experience of playing various instruments and he nicely molded other boys to become better at their part. Another one showed a lot of hardwork and practice. Despite being new to the group he put in a lot of effort and worked on all the feedback that he received. Yet another was quite empathetic and made a lot of sacrifices so that others in the team could be incorporated. One of the boys was an extremely distracted kid. He would not sit in one place for any activity for more than 10 mins. Yet, for the practice of this event he would be there for over an hour almost everyday and practice his part. Everytime there was a break between 2 songs though, he would get a little distracted and then get back into focus. 🙂 However, we saw his patience, focus and ability to sit in one place go up tremendously because of the music sessions. There were 2 other boys who were on heavy psychiatric medication and faced a lot of issues because of the side effects. But that did not waver their commitment and they turned up for practice regularly and played their part with full vigor. The last one was a gifted boy. He was amazing with playing the instruments and his hands were swift and in perfect sync. He would go into the “zone” every time he started playing, almost as if he was in devotion to the greater power. He would be lost in music. It was a treat for us to facilitate sessions for these children and see them grow in their role as well as their personalities. 

Within the event, we also included two staff members who wanted to sing. One of them was a support staff at one of the JJB Courts. A couple of months before the event, someone had requested me to give him an opportunity to sing during an event whenever possible and added that he sings really well. So we decided to invite him to sing during this event and he sang beautifully. Everyone was pleasantly surprised to know that there was a hidden talent among us, someone who works there everyday, but is quite invisible. He was elated and proud, and suddenly everyone saw him with a different perception now. He was very grateful to us for the opportunity and we were glad that we gave him the stage. 

Conclusion

Each of the boys were quite unique in their own way and yet, they came together in such a beautiful manner to create what they created. It was amazing to witness it all unfold. Something like this is not common at Dongri and such an event left a mark on all the staff and other children. The boys received a lot of appreciation and they felt proud and there was a sense of achievement. 

Before closing the event, I did something unusual, something that I generally wouldn’t do, and in a way something that does not fit our principles either. But I did it anyway, with all consciousness, because I felt that it was needed in the given situation. I praised a teammate of mine, on stage; I praised Sheetal. Generally we do not praise our own work when we are on stage, but I felt that this occasion deserved it. I went on to share how this was her dream and from where she started this journey. I spoke about her hard work and resilience to make this happen and how she led this entire journey with the boys. I gave a tribute to her and the audience echoed it with loud applause and cheers. The boys who performed also applauded loudly since they had seen her efforts and they felt a strong connection. I ended it by expressing my gratitude to our group of boys and everyone in the audience to make this possible and to allow Sheetal’s dream to come true. It felt special. It felt different. It felt right. 

After this, the boys played the final song of the event, a Ganpati song, with high energy and we ended the event on that note.

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