ROURKELA: Not giving in to abject penury and physical limitations, a small group of visually-impaired musical talents from rural pockets of Sundargarh district has banded together and found livelihood in music to lead a life of self-respect. Performing in temples, religious, social and other functions, these musical ensembles eke out a living for themselves and also sustain their families.
The person behind the initiative is Akhay Kumar Tiwari (30), a visually-impaired man and alumnus of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Bhubaneswar. Hailing from Rourkela city, Tiwari has settled with his family and the small orchestra group at Subalaya in Subdega block of Sundargarh.
It all started in June 2018 with the formation of the orchestra group Utkal Jyoti Dibyang Bhajan Melody Sandhya. Tiwari says he completed intermediate and studied Odissi music in Bhubaneswar. However, after completing his training and returning from Bhubaneswar, he found he was not alone. There were many visually-impaired persons with a flair for music, but they found no support or platforms and were forced to beg alms to sustain their lives.
“People usually looked at us with pity and occasionally extended support. In our own families too, we were expressly or indirectly considered lifelong burden. I, being like them, could easily comprehend their pain, emotion and helplessness,” Tiwari says.
It was then that he decided to organise these unknown yet musically talented persons with physical deformities and form an orchestra.
“The initial phase was full of struggles. We did not get any support. People viewed us for our disability and not our ability. But we had our resolve and persisted. We started to hold street performances and slowly began to have an audience,” Tiwari says.
However, as they were just getting started, another crippling roadblock emerged in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. The group split up as music performances became impossible and they searched for ways and means to survive. After nearly two years of the pandemic, they regrouped but reaching out to people was a challenge.
Tiwari said as a mode of promotion for the group, they held street shows where people donated some money. Slowly, some came forward to contact them for musical programmes at their ceremonies, functions or festivals. What began as a trickle has now developed into a small flow.
“Our group is gradually gaining popularity. We get contacted for musical performances from temple committees, religious and family functions, including thread ceremonies, birthdays and community programmes nowadays,” Tiwari says.
The group’s preferred musical genre is bhajan and devotional songs, but the ensemble is equally deft in a wide range of filmy melody numbers and other popular songs. The group usually performs with seven to eight members, which at times increases to 10 to 12. Tiwari leads the group both as a singer and keyboard musician.
Rajesh Barla (40) is deft both in singing and playing the mrudang, while Krishna Majhi (26) is skilled in playing the electronic musical pad. Others include Karna Banda (42) and Suresh. Most of the group members have more than one talent. They usually perform with small traditional instruments like mrudang, tabla, dhol and tasha along with an electronic pad.
Tiwari’s wife, Suchitra Karoli, is the group’s de facto chief organiser and manager. Karoli said the visually-impaired musicians hail from different parts of Sundargarh and a few among them have no family. “Some stay with us at Subalaya, while others living with their families are called during performances. They practice daily to sharpen their musical skills,” she says.
On the remuneration they get, she says that depending on distance, they charge `6,000 to `15,000 for a two-hour performance. The group’s popularity has grown beyond Sundargarh to neighbouring districts. On Friday evening, the band performed at a yajna function at Panchagaon in Jharsuguda district.
“The group struggles financially during the lean period, but they share the joy and sorrow of life together as one family. While regaling audiences with soulful singing and melodies, they demonstrate talent that cannot be restricted by physical limitations. The group has enabled the members to live their musical passion and also earn a livelihood,” Karoli says.