Music Basti is an NGO in New Delhi that hosts music-based workshops and programmes for underprivileged children. Music Basti is now releasing a new album, titled Dhanak Dhin, which features songs created by a host of New Delhi musicians who collaborated with former street-children of the Dil Se Campaign in the capital. The initiative kicked off on November 14 this year, which is also Children’s Day.
So what exactly is Dhanak Dhin? According to Music Basti
Dhanak Dhin an original music album project features former street-children and artists’ work on the theme of the monsoon season in Delhi. With songs created by artists including Suhail Yusuf Khan and Abhishek Mathur (of Advaita), Five8, and Shubh Saran and Smiti Malik, over 60 former street-children of the Dil Se Campaign, Delhi (Center for Equity Studies and Aman Biradari) collaborated to create music through a unique community music project. It celebrates the voices of at-risk children and youth through the freedom to create, express, cooperate and develop shared outcomes, but also global outreach by giving their voices the power to travel globally and transcend not just geographic but also social, economic, cultural, linguistic and other borders. Music Basti created Dhanak Dhin, meaning rainbow lyrics in Urdu, with the support of Project Ahimsa and local artists. Dhanak Dhin’s film partner also include NowDelhi with a series of three short films launching online this week onwards.
The album will be available for free download on December 10. Music Basti Project Officer and Founder, Faith Gonsalves filled us in with more details about Dhanak Dhin
Dhanak Dhin is personally my favorite example to share the core values and beliefs of Music Basti. It is a community music project bringing together artists and youth volunteers with children and youth who are ‘at-risk’ (formerly children who were living or working on the streets as beggars, rag pickers, orphans, abandoned or runaway) and creating a positive engagement between otherwise very separate sections of society.
Learning music through Music Basti (and otherwise) not only gives access to children to navigate through a world unexplored, but projects also strive to create access to opportunities that are unique, meaningful and give agency to the voices of children whose rights are violated or not realized. With the many benefits of learning and interacting with music aside, participation in this kind of community arts process helps to promote the skills and abilities of children, as well as their sense of identity, confidence and articulation. This allows the children participating not only the freedom to create, express, cooperate and develop shared outcomes, but also global outreach through the online launch, distribution and sharing of album, associated films or content. Dhanak Dhin celebrates the voices of children-at-risk, sharing their messages and identities through music gives them the power to travel globally to transcend social, cultural, religious, linguistic, age and other barriers.
The mission of Music Basti in the concrete is to strengthen the voices of children, while raising awareness also on social global causes. Through Dhanak Dhin we have been able to truly take achieving this mission to a different level, with the support of many partners, artists and volunteers we have been able to take a project and message from children who are otherwise living outside the periphery and purview of most people’s everyday existence, a project that began as fairly microcosmic, to something that people all over the world can listen to, enjoy and share.
More from Dhanak Dhin soon. In the meantime, check out this interview with some of the artists about the journey of creating this album.
Interview with the Artists – “Saavan Kabhi Jaana Nahi” from Music Basti on Vimeo.
Photos by Tanushree Singh
Twitter
Facebook