Now street musicians will jam inside local trains in Mumbai

Street artistes Vilas Lone left and Chetan Patil entertain commuters with their music performance on a local train on Friday afternoon PicsSneha KharabeDholak player Chetan Patil is familiar with singing in Mumbairsquos local trains After all he has done it for more than ten years However unlike earlier when he would pace the length and breadth of the compartment begging for alms this time he takes a seat Accompanied by Vilas Lone a visually challenged musician and a few members of NGO Swaradhar Patil begins singing Marathi composer duo AjayAtulrsquos chartbuster Deva Tujha Dari in his folksy voiceBefore we know it the compartment has transformed into an ad hoc sitdown concert Curious commuters who earlier paid no heed now crane their neck to watch the performance while others take videos and tap their feet One of the commuters even slips a Rs 100 note in Patilrsquos handA local jamWelcome to a session of Dabbajam a recently launched campaign by Andheribased NGO Swaradhar Founded by 25yearold Hemlata Tiwari the NGO aims to provide a dignified platform to talented street artistes The campaign was started due to the lack of a culture for street performers ldquoUnlike UK and Europe in India when artistes sing in local trains they are labelled as beggars We want to change this perception and help them get the respect they deserverdquo says TiwariTo drive the point home documentary filmmaker and member Deep Kakade has been roped in to play narrator during the jamming sessions ldquoThey might not be the best singers but they are making an effort to use their talent to earn a livelihood I introduce the players talk about why we are here and exhort people to treat them as artistes and not beggarsrdquo says Kakade who till now has been part of four jamming sessionsThe sessions are held every alternate Saturday ldquoWe understand that for many Mumbaikars the only metime they get is during a train ride We donrsquot want to disturb that brief interlude of peace and introspectionrdquo says TiwariThe team normally organises the session in the afternoon when the trains arenrsquot crowded ldquoWe change compartments or get off at a particular station and board another train in order to reach a wider audience on a given dayrdquo she tells us The songs are chosen on the basis of popularity and are usually in Marathi or Hindi ldquoBut we make sure itrsquos a peppy number so that people donrsquot get boredrdquo Tiwari addsA struggle for livelihoodInterestingly all the 25 singers on board are educated While Lone has a Sangeet Visharad degree Bachelor of Music Patil has completed his HSC ldquoSadly because most of them are physically challenged they could not get jobsrdquo says Snehal Adsule a member of the NGOIt took two years of research for the team to identify artistes and convince them to join SwaradharldquoWe have travelled in trains on both Central and Western lines but it wasnrsquot easy to get them on boardrdquo she says The NGO also collaborated with PUKAR an independent research collective to ascertain the reason why people choose to sing in trainsAmong the artistes only five per cent are from Mumbai the rest are migrants from Rajasthan and Gujarat ldquoFor some performing in trains has been a family tradition and for others itrsquos a matter of sheer necessity in the absence of other opportunitiesrdquo says AdsulePatil who used to run a PCO booth in the past before selling wares and singing in trains admits he was apprehensive when he was approached for the project ldquoI have been conned by people who promised to help me in the pastSo initially I found it difficult to trust them But once we started work I realised they were genuinerdquo says Patil who was invited by a TV channel to feature on a music reality show with Amitabh Bachchan last yearA license to actThe first session of dabbajam was held two months ago from Thane to CST and back The response Tiwari tells us has been overwhelming with many commuters coming forward to sing alongThe problem however is the absence of law in support of such streets performances ldquoUnfortunately people who sing in trains fall under the purview of the AntiBegging Act that bans singing dancing or fortune telling in local trains for the sake of livelihood They often face harassment from train authoritiesrdquo says TiwariThe team is now trying to work on a petition to obtain permission to acquire licence for such performances ldquoWe are studying the laws and plan to collaborate with TISS to work a way around this problemrdquo she says