Journalism of Courage
Underprivileged children share studio space with established singers for a music album titled Ek Nayee Umeed
Six songs sung by 10 children along with singers such as Shankar Mahadevan,Madhushree Bhattacharya,Pandit Raghunath Panshikar and Vijay Prakash sound good. The fact that they come from the underprivileged sections of society and have cut their own album sounds even better. And that the album talks of their determination and faith is the best part. Ek Nayee Umeed,an endeavour of Innocent Heroes Foundation (IHF) run by Sheetal Kharka,is scheduled to be released in the last week of June.
The selected children come from NGOs such as Maher,Asha,Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK),Anadan and Samparc. In February,they underwent training sessions with music composer Uday Ramdas. We knew they were good,but they were also raw and had to be inducted into the studio mould of how songs had to be sung,voice modulation and control. So the sessions were important. The songs were recorded with Shankar Mahadevan and the rest,who came on board without any second thought. Even for the children,it was an enjoyable experience. What stood out about them was they they were disciplined yet fun, she says,adding that the proceeds from the launch of the album will go to helping these children.
Kharka also shared that Ramdas has decided to take three of the children under his tutelage to teach them professional singing. That is what we want from the album they get noticed. We want to ensure that through endeavours like this,we help make them self-sufficient, she adds.
