Bhoomija’s sixth edition of the Jackfruit Festival for children will be held in Bengaluru between September 20 and 22. Shubha Mudgal returns as a festival director. Organised in association with Indian Music Experience Museum, the event is supported by Arundhati Moorthi Philanthropies and this year’s edition will feature concerts, and workshops.
Persons with disabilities (PWD) from the Shrishti Special Academy, will present the inaugural concert, Sunny Symphony. The concert celebrates inclusion at every level and is directed by musician and singer MD Pallavi. The young performers will present a range of popular Kannada and regional songs with Pallavi.
“Leading the inaugural concert with students of Shristi Special Academy is a profound expression of what inclusivity in the arts looks like,” says Pallavi. “This performance is a powerful reminder that music transcends all barriers, offering every participant, regardless of their background, a chance to shine.”
Singing Into the Future 2.0, Shubha Mudgal’s flagship creation for the festival will will feature tabla maestro Aneesh Pradhan and showcase a vocal ensemble of child prodigies from across the country. In addition to this, there will be workshops for aspiring musicians and music lovers led by maestros such as Shruti Sadolikar, Ratnamala Prakash, Aneesh Pradhan, Purbayan Chatterjee, and Bengaluru-based beat-boxer Vineeth Vincent.
As part of Bhoomija and IME’s’ community outreach initiative, musicians such as Jayachandra Rao and Vasu Dixit will conduct workshops on the premises of different educational institutions. “This festival represents our commitment to nurturing a diverse array of voices and ensuring that every tradition is both honored and explored,” says Shubha Mudgal.
Suchi Somashekhariah is a special educator, who has been instrumental in starting Shrishti Special Academy and has been working with special needs children for the past three decades. She says Shrishti’s foray into the Jackfruit festival was organic.
“One of our volunteers knows the people at Bhoomija. She helps us with networking and partner interface, creating awareness and helped connect us with Bhoomija, who did a concert for us last year. We visit IME with the children. We work with children with disabilities of all ages and have children with autism, cerebral palsy and intellectual disability and so on.”
Special educator Suchi Somashekhariah | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 60-year-old special educator says music is a part of therapy for the children. “It heals and calms the mind and even peps the quiet mind. We believe art forms are critical for the holistic development of our children. Music attracts the right soul and when this happens, language or genre do not matter. Our children love and enjoy music, which is soft and gentle most of the time. It has not been a challenge to get them to connect to music.”
The concert will see the children present classical music, says Suchi. “There will be eight children who will sing, and an additional 12 to 20 children who will sing in groups, duets and solo. Each one is at their own level in music and will perform as per their abilities.”
The children will be accompanied by instrumentalists. Praising Pallavi’s efforts, Suchi says, “When popular and talented people make time and effort to make a difference to our children, we are grateful and applaud them. We also have had other artistes in the past like Geeta Bhat who have come forward making time and effort to work with our children.” The children have been practicing for six weeks for the Jackfruit festival.
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, Suchi says it was her dream to become a special educator. “For me just teaching was not enough. I wanted to give something back to the society. When I visited institutions and saw the work and the impact of special education on children and families, I decided it was something I wanted to do. I wanted to make it meaningful and provide children and families with quality service,” says Suchi, who started Shrishti Special Academy in June 1995 in a two-bedroom house in Basaveshwara Nagar with a handful of children. “It was about what we could do to better their lives rather than focusing on numbers. We started small with whatever we had in our homes.”
“And in 2000, we were donated a two-acre land on Magadi Road. We have provisions for day boarders, and a few studio apartments where students are trained with independent living skills. “Our focus is to give life skill training. We believe in making the children economically contributive members of their family. If they cannot be contributory, then we train them to be contributory towards their own care, specifically those who are wheel chair bound.”
Shrishti’s goals, Suchi says, includes improving the quality of life of persons with disability, ensuring there are opportunities for them to participate and inclusion into the community and strengthening the eco system.
The collaboration between Shrishti and the Jackfruit Festival, Suchi says is overwhelming. “It shows how magnanimous they are and that art has no boundaries. I am happy that the children are getting an opportunity like anybody else and they are excited about this.”
Children are children, says Suchi. “We have all sprouted from the same seed called nature. Nature does not always give the perfect quality for everything or everybody. Every seed grows different and sprouts uniquely. We need to look at the uniqueness, put ourselves in their shoes. I find children extremely perceptive to our emotions and they connect to our souls. They are forgiving and never hold grudges. We get everything easy, while they have even earn their basic privileges. Yet, they love you unconditionally.”
The Jackfruit Festival is at MLR Convention Centre and Indian Music Experience from September 20 to 22.Tickets and details on BookMyShow or call 9743734630.
Published - September 18, 2024 09:04 am IST
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