By Tarun Balani

Healing through music is in reality the beginning of development through the art of music, the end of which is attaining that which in the words of the Vedanta is called samadhi. – Hazarat Inayat Khan

It was  in junior high when I use to follow my  brother   into  the music  room, he was the lead guitarist of the school band , where  I was first   fascinated  by the drums set  and the power  of the beat. Fascination  became  interest  and  interest   grew into  passion. I spent countless hours playing to my favorite recordings of Joe Satriani, Metallica, Nirvana etc , also playing for the school band and jamming with my friends.

I began my professional career at the age of 18 playing for local bands like Incognito, Advaita, Artistes Unlimited to name a few along with teaching drum set at Gurgaon School of Music.

(Photo by: Mayura Kadur)

In the summer of 2005, I went to study at Drummer’s Collective in New York, one of the best drum schools in the world, and just being in New York city and listening to the best musicians from all over the world, inspired me to study music and get deeper into the art form. After returning to India , I continued playing and gigging with Advaita along with teaching drums at Performer’s Collective School of Music, but it was not the same. I wanted to play with more musicians, different styles and explore new ground.

After a few years of preparation and diligent practice, I was accepted into Berklee College of Music on a scholarship for their bachelors program. 2 years of intensive study at Berklee , playing with musicians from all over the world, exploring different styles of music, studying composition, music technology was like a dream come true. Even though I was doing what I had wanted to for so many years, I still felt that my music had no meaning as it was just a relentless pursuit in becoming a proficient musician.

I decided to take a break from my studies at Berklee and returned to India for a few months. It was then that I was contacted by Faith Gonsalves to be part of a Music Basti workshop. I knew about the project, but I had not thought of getting involved or working with Music Basti, I was just going to observe the workshops.

(Photo taken at Music Basti workshop at Uma Pandey Home for boys, “Dil Se” Campaign, February 2009; Photo by: Shiv Ahuja)

My first experience at the workshop was overwhelming- the kids were real and not from some movie called “Slumdog Millionaire”. Some of these children were orphans, others had run away from home and some of them were  from families affected by poverty. I was not sure if I could feel their pain, or even imagine what they went through but I could see it in their eyes. They were so deeply affected by their experiences that they were stuck in that moment. Some were longing for love and affection and would just cling on to you, some were furious because their father would beat them and were constantly beating up other kids, and some were just numb. But, for those 40 minutes while the workshop lasted these kids were somewhere else, they forgot about their fears, the pain and the problems they have, and sang along, danced and became one with the music. On our way back from the workshop Faith asked me if I had any ideas for the upcoming Music Basti concert and I offered to write a song for the children which we could perform. I wanted to get involved.

That evening I sat down and I wrote “Yeh Pal”, a song describing these children, their dream, aspirations, fears and their vision. After a long time I felt my music had a purpose  other than entertaining an audience and self satisfaction, this was for someone else. We started visiting the Uma Pandey Home for boys, “Dil Se” Campaign, Aman Biradari, in Shastri Nagar, North Delhi, twice a week and the rehearsals began.

Video: Workshop with Suhail Yusuf Khan, Tarun Balani, Nipun Cheema at “Kilkari” Home for girls, Kashmere Gate; and others.

I experienced the healing power of music, from the time the Music Basti team would walk in for a workshop to the time we would leave, we would see a change in the behavior of the kids. The kids would be fighting, screaming, running around, but after a session of music they would become calm and relaxed. By the end of the few weeks the children came together as well , helping each other learn the song , sharing lyrics etc. It was quite a task to teach 50 children a song in 3-weeks but just the fact that the song was written for them , gave them the inspiration to learn and perform the song. The concert (a special performance featured at the “Blending Spectrum Festival” March, 2009, hosted by partner organization The YP Foundation) was well received and sharing the stage with these children was an experience I will never forget.

(Photo taken at “Kilkari” Home for girls, “Dil Se” Campaign, Aman Biradari, August 2009; Photo by: Shiv Ahuja)

I have been working with Music Basti ever since my first introduction to the program in February 2009, and it has helped me grow as an artist because these children can see through us, there is no pretense if you are not performing with your heart they will catch you as they are listening to you sincerely. Apart from performing our  aim at  Music Basti is to motivate  these children to enjoy learning and develop skills , attitudes needed to succeed in life as these children are at risk, particularly those who live and work on the streets face a series of problems that are interconnected, including a physically unsafe environment to live in, being illiterate or drop outs, exposure to crime and sexual abuse, being orphans, runaway or abandoned by their families, living in detention centers, child labour, trafficking and also being part of families where parents are incapable of caring for them adequately.

I found a new meaning to my music, I often recall the faces of the children I worked with while I am performing or writing music and It fills my heart with joy for the fact that I made a difference in someone’s life through music.Photo at “Khushi” Home for girls, “Dil Se” Campaign, Aman Biradari, January 2010 workshop with Aditya Balani Group from Boston (with Tarun on percussion); Photo by: Dwaipayan Majumdar

I don’t believe in pivotal turning points in time, an “aha” moment – they are illusory. So many people have asked me this question – “What made you want to create this program?” or worse, “What was that moment that changed your life or suddenly gave you the idea?”

I never fancied myself a management oriented person (most of the time I still don’t!), but my experience working with Delhi based youth organization The YP Foundation during college- though challenging, really helped me understand what goes into creating and sustaining development work, particularly in an urban setting which is volunteer oriented. Though only with research, practice and experience have I really learnt what volunteer management, project management or program development are – I must say that The YP Foundation helped strengthen my confidence to begin Music Basti.

I started this program to create a fun space for interaction and learning. I have great respect for and belief in music as a medium of self-expression, and self-expression is something that is often extremely challenging for the children that Music Basti works with. The power to create something, own it and be proud of it is what is truly empowering. Music is an excellent medium and provides an excellent medium to promote every child’s right to self- expression, and to slowing realizing and claiming all their rights. Children’s voices are amongst the most subjugated, and it’s important to listen to what they have to say. This is a concept we promote through Music Basti.

In two years Music Basti has evolved to encompass many more ideas and projects, including the Music Modules project, song and music creation project, instruments learning project, collaboration with prominent artists and musicians, etc.

The Music Basti project is a part of the activities of Integrated Development Education Association (IDEA) and is sustaining itself through the voluntary contributions of artistes and volunteers, who work part time or full time to contribute their time, efforts and ideas round the week and year. It is supported by organizations and partnerships including The YP Foundation, Bridge Music Academy, Aman Biradari, Furtados Music India, EFICOR, and Gibson Foundation; it has collaborated with organizations including CRY, iCONGO and American Center, amongst others.

Despite the overwhelming support the ideals and programs of Music Basti has received,sustainability is problematic – because unlike in other cultures, music education is not part of the Indian education system, and music is still in a nascent stage of proving its value to the development of children, through improving their skills towards school and curriculum matters, but more importantly their creativity, motor skills, language skills, self esteem, and self expression – among providing a really great space to promote the value of cooperation, togetherness, and recognizing and appreciating diversity.

The project model is gearing itself towards being more financially viable through the Music Modules, Song Project and Instruments Learning (See last post, “My first blog ! What Music Basti is all about”) in order to ensure that children learn real skills they understand and can use, so that the unique process of teaching and evaluating can be replicated with different groups of children.

Music Basti works with a creative team of individuals, primarily students just out of college, trained musicians and performers and also enthusiastic volunteers who may not have a musical background. The team works to create the content of the program i.e. all the music; plan, develop and implement workshops; manage and create events and concert spaces for performance; communications and campaigning; and work on overall project management. The team at present works with key musicians who help develop content and conduct workshops and programs.

Personally speaking, there is always a crisis in identity that pushes the program to achieve quality driven and process oriented work. It’s a positive crisis though – I think constant re-evaluation of goals and methods is really important to Music Basti. Ensuring that the activities are as child- centric as possible, striving to create programs that move toward the goal of building self- mobilization among groups of children to creatively use their voices against injustices that are relevant to them, or to just have tools to be creative – these are the ideals that drive the team. Along with this, to reiterate the underlying theme of the project – participation and inclusion are values that are critical because they promote therecognition of the uniqueness of diversity, and not the acceptance of uniformity but that of universality.

Photos by: Shiv Ahuja

“The Fifth Basic Need: Joy”

By Dharna Noor (Intern, mid July-August 2010)

For as long as I can remember, summertime has meant annual trips to New Delhi from my home in the United States. This summer, rather than opting for the usual five weeks of visits to family of friends of family and exhausting shopping ventures in Cannaught Place, I decided to find an internship. An aunt told me about Music Basti in an email. As someone who has studied music since the fourth standard (and someone who has felt more guit ridden with every haunting stare from a hungry street child into my family’s rented air-conditioned car), I had a vague idea that it might be interesting. To say the least, I got much more than I bargained for.