Vedi Sinha
Musician & Performer , The Aahvaan Project, New Delhi
SINGING IN THE DARK TIMES!
“I have grown up with a lot of books, stories and conversations since both my parents are journalists. When I got out of school, I was certain that I wanted to tell stories, but I didn't have any stories to tell. I got through the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad but I couldn't finish the course. I always wanted to believe in something, but I could only pick up cues from my families, elders, or what I saw around. I left NID, knowing that I needed something different. I was depressed for quite a few months. I would be lying in the same corner for hours, paralysed and my sister Pakhi would take care of me. After many months like this, something shifted. I decided to get up and leave. I heard Prahlad Tipaniya ji sing Kabir in Rajasthan, and I felt like I truly understood Kabir, for the first time. I found the philosophy I needed to heal. I continued to travel across villages, meeting strange new people, making friends and witnessing many stories. And so Aahvaan started in a very organic way. I realised that it's important to keep listening to different stories, because there are so many contexts in this world, you can't ever claim that you know everything. I want to have these conversations because of love. We read and talk about love, but we don't see this love around in everyday actions. Aahvaan is a collaborative space. In Delhi there are 2 artists and more who perform with us. I get strength from Pakhi, my sister, who sings with me. She’s the spine of Aahvaan. We do performances and workshops with school children, young people. We sing for adults in temples, open spaces, protests, on streets- wherever we get an opportunity to have a conversation. We try to contextualise the stories and songs according to who we are talking to because everyone has their own truth based on their experiences. And finally, because that need to talk, is ours.”
Vedi Sinha, along with her twin sister Pakhi Sinha took to the streets during the Anti-CAA-NRC protests to sing songs of love and dissent.
“When the pogrom happened in Delhi, I kept questioning what I was doing. Because there was a limit to how much I could help. I realised, even to put my point across, songs and stories are important. Even to listen to others, stories and songs are important. The truth is when you are performing, rather than comforting others in their pain, you are actually comforting yourself and acknowledging your own pain. And that is the least we can do as artists, as humans. If I can't do that with the medium I have, then what's the point in any of it ? While power holders will keep playing their games, and despite an abundance of content we are unable to take our blinders off. So the aim is to talk about the human issues, which bind us all, rather than those that break us. The love that connects us, so that we can see it again. Over time it's become more evident, in the layers, we have drowned and lost the simple connections to one another, to life. Kabir, like many, have spoken about that one single thread that connects us. Kabir has put himself amidst everybody else, not on a pedestal, by talking of the pain he sees in the world. And every time I feel stuck in a place, especially today with politics and hate, Kabir comes to my rescue.”
Vedi feels that it's important to share stories, now more than ever, because we are all walking around with closed minds and preconceived notions and don’t want to listen or talk to people who disagree with us or see the world differently.
“ Once I went to a school for a workshop, and I am telling the kids that there are no wrong answers, as they are scared they might say the wrong thing and get scolded for it. I am in the middle of the session trying to facilitate this process, get them to open up, and the principal walks in, hears a boy trying to stand up and speak, doesn’t like the answer and slaps him ! And I feel our world has also become this way. The first slap I get is when I get out on the street and see things for what they are. This despair and hopelessness is a personal challenge I face all the time. 'Hum saath toh hain is ladai mein, magar hamari niji ladaiyaan bhi hain (While we are fighting this war together, we also have our own personal battles to fight ).”
Even in the darkest of times, Vedi finds hope in spontaneous connections and friendships.
“For the first time the other day, a Pakistani participant joined our virtual sessions, and I was elated, because Pakistan, Bangladesh, India we all come from similar socio-cultural and national contexts. But the first thing a well wisher told us was, ‘Beware of this’. I don't understand , what should I be beware of ? I want to talk to people and that's my philosophy. How does it matter where a person comes from, if I want to know their story? Just the fact that there are some spaces where we can still connect, is beautiful. If people get such spaces, they do talk. They might not agree, they might get angry, but they will still listen to each other and this gives me hope.
“Forget maths and science, the first few years of schooling should just teach kids to reflect and be able to express their feelings, and learn to respect others, like we do for ourselves. “
Interviewed by Nida Ansari
Collage by Pooja Dhingra, Embroidery on collage by Singhleton