Monday was a really satisfying day. I was invited by Mewsic to visit one of their NGO based music centres for underpriviledged children in Mumbai. I travelled up to Mankhurd on the train, passing through some of the poorest areas of Mumbai. Then it was a speedy autorickshaw drive to the orphanage where the children live and study. Bal Kalyan Nagari is a peaceful location, with trees and some open green space around (not often seen in the 4th most populated city in the world with 20.5 million people).
The venue for the music class is a bare room with mats on the floor and the limited resources include 5 guitars, 2 keyboards, and a set of bongos, spread amongst 30 children, some of whom have notebooks with notes of how to play happy birthday and other similar melodies. I met mr Patil and his colleague who teaches guitar and then I started the class. Boys and girls aged 7 to 17, sitting in rows very neatly with wide eyes - having never seen a violin before, let alone heard one. These were amongst the broadest smiles I have ever seen - and the opportunity to just sit, and listen was clearly cherished by the group. I was treated to some lovely performances of dance and singing and a small amount of very basic guitar. The teachers are incredibly strict with the children and one step out of line really isn't tolerated. However, this is coupled with teachers leaving the room unattended to have a cup of tea or oversee another group and so there is little consistency for these children. Whilst I don't speak Hindi and the children understand very little English, I communicated fairly easily with them through actions and demonstrations, and the children trusted me very quickly. My session introduced them to the violin, a Scottish song, some body percussion and some Scottish dancing, but the highlight was definitely inviting the children to have a try of my violin. The sense of individual achievement that some of them got from having a go was clearly evident on their faces and they were desperate to be next in line!
I will be returning soon to do more work with the children and have scheduled a meeting with the organisers of Mewsic to discuss my future involvement.
Unfortunately I can't post pictures of the children from the sessions but here are some of the journey to the centre, and the teachers trying out my violin! (cover your ears)!
screeech!
view from the train: goat, shanty houses, burning rubbish, children playing
people crossing the railway tracks - good timing
children playing right between the train and a sewer of filthy water
back in Mumbai central area they have dug up the pavement since I walked here in the morning
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