From Slums to La La Land!

The power of the stage to heal is a popular cliché. Undeterred by abject poverty, troubled childhoods and the hardships of slum life, some talented musical prodigies from Indian slums have not only done their family proud, but the entire country.

There are several rags-to-riches stories, but very few people know about the grit of the never-give-up spirit of these globally acclaimed musical geniuses. Eminem used to live an impoverished life. The success of Naezy and Divine opened a whole new stratosphere of ambitions for youngsters from slums in our country.

Everyone knows about the hardships faced by iconic Bollywood singer Kumar Sanu during his struggle days. He lived in the slums of Mumbai. He and his wife would sleep on the floor and sometimes even struggle to have one square meal a day. He sang in dance bars before he broke into success.

The Songs of Dharavi

Arts is considered a circle of elites, but there are some stories where art turns out to become the biggest enabler – cultural, social and financial. Dharavi Rocks is a unique music band which plays music on recycled plastic drums and instruments made from waste.

“I started my drumming career with a spoon and glass.” Vinesh, an instructor for the band says. “If you know the rhythms, you can create it anywhere.” He remarks. “It is totally about the students. Those who are playing are from slums. They collect different types of glasses and bottles and create rhythms and melodies with utensils.” The band was started by Vinod Shetty of ACORN Foundation as an educational programme for children working in the recycling industry and as waste collectors. It has performed more than 220 shows in India and abroad. They have played on stages as big as Kala Ghoda Festival and NH7 Weekender. “We played for Rahul Gandhi at Bharat Jodo Yatra. We played live with Amitabh Bachchan at NDTV.”

“These kids have so much talent, and hope,” singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan had reportedly said about Dharavi Rocks. His foundation collaborated with the band for an event.

From Dharavi to Europe

Vinesh talks about their journey. “We played in Goa. They told us you guys are amazing.” This performance led to a journey to the LaLaLand Festival in the Netherlands.

“We felt proud that we were representing India. The people who were organising saw it as something different. We taught them how to play Nashik Dhol, how to play Garba.”

Sairaj, is a b-boy, a rapper as well as an instructor who performed at LaLaLand festival.

“After my trip to the Netherlands, I got a chance to travel to Slovakia.” It was made possible because of crowdfunding through Kabir Community. “My trip to Slovakia was for Outbreak Europe, an eight-day festival. For the first four-days you get trained by the legends of the b-boying scene.” He feels b-boying helped him get out of Dharavi. “When I went there, I saw youth from 96 countries. For the very first time, I was in the middle.”

Beyond all the differences, Sairaj and the others connected with one another seamlessly. They were feeling safe. It was a life-transforming experience for him.

He realised that hip-hop is doing something beyond entertainment.

Changing Perceptions 

However, things were not easy for the band. “Earlier, we did not get gigs because they would not let us enter the clubs,” says 7Bantai’Z while talking about their past. “The biggest lesson is unity. The place we come from is very secular. We have never seen differences. The biggest struggle was to change people’s perspective.” They were a part of the Gully Boy Cypher and recently did three songs for a movie directed by Bejoy Nambiar.

Choirs Across the World

The story of how Chennai Children’s Choir found its way to the Serenade Choral Festival in Washington D.C. is out of a movie as well.

“The choir nurtured by NalandaWay Foundation is rooted primarily in Indian musical traditions. It has Sufi, bhajans, folk, Carnatic classical, Hindustani classical, few western classical and folk traditions,” say Manjula Ponnapalli, Director and Deepika Sharma, Associate Director of NalandaWay Foundation. The performance at the Serenade Washington Choral Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. was a landmark moment for the choir. Many of these children who travelled to the US had never been on an aeroplane before. “Most of them come from economically disadvantaged communities where access to learning and art is a new concept. Exposure is not much,” say Manjula and Deepika.

Creating A Safe Space

“These children find safe spaces where they can belong to each other when they connect in this kind of community through the choir. These are children who are passionate about music. They’re born artists. They want to take their life in a direction which breaks a lot of barriers,” add Manjula and Deepika.

Art As An Equaliser

The road to success is never easy. But these musical prodigies from underprivileged families have some amazing innate talent and the willpower to carve a niche for themselves in the world of art and entertainment. “Come out of your comfort zone. Try something new. Don’t copy others. Put your energy and work hard. You will make it,” say the members of 7Bantai’Z in unison.

From spoons and glasses used as drums to international festivals and world stages, these journeys illustrate how talent can rise from the most unlikely places. From collecting waste to performing in the Netherlands. From hustling in the slums to rendering songs in a movie.

MUSICAL PRODIGIES

• Dharavi Rocks has performed more than 220 shows in India and abroad. It is a unique music band which plays music on recycled plastic drums, bottles and instruments made from waste.

• Chennai Children’s Choir found its way to the Serenade Choral Festival in Washington D.C.

• 7Bantai’Z is a world-renowned multilingual hip-hop crew from the Dharavi slums in Mumbai.