BackMINORITY REPORT | Melodious catharsis
A soul singer connects with street children through music to narrate untold stories
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It was on 12 November 1947 that Mahatma Gandhi made his only trip to All India Radio to address refugees from Pakistan through the state-run broadcaster. Commemorated as the National Broadcasting Day, mostly in ways that quickly slip out of memory, this year’s celebrations also saw some street children sing songs in the Mahatma’s memory at an event at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre (IHC).
It was over a casual conversation with classical singer Rene Singh on 12 November that I got reminded of National Broadcasting Day. The factoid had been buried deep in my mind. Singh told me that this year’s programme was the outcome of an ongoing project called “Taking Children to Gandhi", aimed at exposing street children to names and philosophies of socially relevant heroes such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King through songs of tribute. As its musical director, she was on her way back from the event when we met.
This was my first meeting with Singh, sparked mainly by my curiosity about her after watching her sing Jaiye aap kahan jayenge, the sensual Asha Bhosle song from the 1965 film Mere Sanam at a recent couture show by designer Suneet Varma.
The couturier had invited four of his closest friends to sing nostalgic Bollywood numbers from the 1960s and ’70s while models in decadent lace and silk, with roses decorating their bouffant, walked the ramp. Singh wore a beautiful gold ensemble (roses in her hair, too) but her clothes faded out of attention as soon as she began singing. Unlike a couple of other singers who were wonderfully lip syncing, Singh sang the song live, adding to the electric charge the event generated among the audience.
When I asked for a meeting a few days later, she readily agreed to chat over coffee. Out tumbled the story of her intimate, life-long relationship with music, Sufi and contemporary poetry, her research on Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Amir Khusro and a series of concerts on India-Pakistan commonalities in music.
“Constructing musical, personal and social narratives with children is a mutually salvaging relationship," said Singh, now in her mid-40s.
She added that she wasn’t sure if she should be called a classical singer as it was too technical a term. Explaining how she had been transformed as a singer and person through her work with street children, Singh insisted she only sang from the heart, classical or otherwise. “Is there a way to label me accordingly?" she asked.
Having begun her formal musical training at Delhi’s Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at the age of 10, Singh, who composed and sang the welcome song at last year’s Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean)-India summit in Delhi, says that her work with underprivileged children started spontaneously one day, many years back.
In an attempt to bring solace to some hassled street children on Delhi roads, she began to sing and saw the emotions change on the faces of her little audience. She witnessed the anxious clouds of their troubles dissipate in the positive embrace of music. “The electric energy that travels in these sessions can only be experienced, not re-told," said Singh.
That experience led to many workshops which would soon take the shape of “Touch a Chord", a musical group that formally took shape in 2005. One of the many outcomes was a musical production and an album called Chand Tere Jeb Mein Hain (The moon and the stars are in your pocket) composed with stories of hope. “Touch a Chord" now takes Singh to places like Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh, Purulia in West Bengal and Ghatshila in Jharkhand, where she uses specially designed modules to create musical activities for rural children.
Their performances are based on the life stories and the issues of these children in their local dialects rooted in their own culture. “I have interacted with children from more than 20 villages from different community backgrounds, experiencing their tales, laughter, tears," said Singh. Meethi jalebi ki madhur duniya (the melodious life of a sweet jalebi) is now the unlikely but symbolic name of a bi-weekly dramatic and musical programme broadcast on Unicef’s community radio—an extension of Singh’s work with the global organization.
What seems most compelling in the musical fabric of Singh’s dialogue with rural children is the openness of process contextualized through life experiences. These become cathartic standpoints for everyone involved. “The process takes a new shape with every area I visit and every group I work with. Every visit leads to a new surprise in terms of talent and thought," she says. Usually discouraged by parents and the society from voicing their frustrations about their difficult lives, children vent their feelings through music, getting a chance at personal expression otherwise viewed as a privilege only for the educated and the well-to-do.
Not a small gain even in a life of loss.
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