Lit up by Music

The conductor Aly Osman did not sway the baton; instead with a swift tapping of his fingers,he motioned the girls to begin the show,and they set the tone of the evening with a spirited rendition of Rossini’s The Italian Girl in Algiers. This was followed by a tender melody The Mamluks by modern Egyptian composer Mohamed Abdel Wahab,where the daf players struck their flat drums forcefully,swaying their torso to the rhythm,while the oldest member,violist Sharifa Ahmed,48,dazzled the audience with her buoyant solo act. But it was the encore,Mera juta hai Japani from Raj Kapoor’s classic Shree 420 that enthralled the audience.

“For these girls,the instrument is their strength. It’s is what frees their soul,” said Amal Fikry,75,vice-chairman of the association,who has been with the organisation for 40 years.

The Cairo-based orchestra began as an experiment with 15 girls and their first public performance was in 1972. “It was a novelty when it began,” recalled Osman. The girls attended morning school and learnt music in the afternoon from Ahmed Abou Eleid,who transcribed music in Braille. “They memorise the notes. Many a time,they work in pairs,with one girl reading the notes and the other playing,” said Fikry. Ahmed was part of the first batch that joined in 1970. “I was in primary school when I learned Braille. I studied violin before switching to viola,” she said. Hela Mohammed,a 30-year-old trombonist,smiled,“It is the ring of applause that makes me happy. We show that we can stand on our own feet. There were times when nobody took care of the blind. They were hidden away in homes. Now,things have changed.” Her trombone would sing to that.