Remember in the beginning of the lockdown, how people in Italy sang together from their balconies? Or how people in Wuhan and Spain turned to music and sang/made music together in the time of a crisis? There’s a very good reason behind the communities doing so. When life as we know it, our movements, our choices were not in our control, music helped us regain that sense of control. Made us feel free at least in some ways by creating a sense of belonging and co-creation. When we felt lonely and alienated it was one of the only ways to stay connected. 

Taal Inc. being the pioneers in the country when it comes to facilitating collaborative music-making activities, it was not just our wish but also our responsibility to do our bit and offer activities that provided a similar experience to people and we did so by offering many empowering online sessions.

Fast forward to, October. We finally got a chance to be able to facilitate one of our most loved sessions, Taal Inc. Community Drum Circle. This time in a Covid-Compliant way. It was the last Sunday of October, the venue was our favorite, The Monalisa Kalagram, we’d made announcements and we waited with bated breath for participants to show up and to our surprise, not one not two but over 35 people showed up which only goes to show how much needed art, music and communities were in strange times like this and also, perhaps should’ve been a part of the essential services, with necessary precautions of course. 

Things were quite different this time around. The circle was bigger, chairs placed 6 feet away from each other and every participant maintained physical distance. What was not different though was the unadulterated joy they felt along with the powerful bonding despite sitting apart from each other. It was certainly an unparalleled experience for us and for the participants alike. Here’s what one of them had to say about Taal Inc. Community Drum Circles

“My daughter Mansha and I attended the Taal Inc. Community Drum Circle completely by coincidence. At the lovely Monalisa kalagram.

It was such a welcome, lovely sight to hear the drums as we walked in… Sanitized chairs, sanitized drums, all arrangements well made, keeping in mind the covid norms.. The social distancing between the seating. A hand sanitizer ready to clean our hands before we joined the amazing drumming session.. And then, of course, the joy of drumming collectively after so many long months of isolation… It was such an exhilarating experience to be in the green, with the community, drumming and moving in sync with complete strangers.. The music made us one big family in these crazy, unique times… Cheers to the circle for showing yet again that we need to be together, for each other and listen to each other’s music..our inner music, rhythms and beats.”
–Poorva

We’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to Ms. Lisa Pingale and The Monalisa Kalagram for hosting Taal Inc. Community Drum Circles ever so graciously and of course, all the participants who trusted us with their safety and attended the session. As we resume our Community Drum Circles, We promise to bring you the same joy, rhythm and connections that our Community Drum Circles always have. 

We’d also like to invite you along with your friends and family for our Pataka.. I mean Diwali Community Drum Circle on the 15th of November 2020. You certainly won’t miss firecrackers this Diwali as the beats of the drums will do the trick for you. As Varun says, ‘Be the Pataka you want to see in this world…’
–See you at The Monalisa Kalagram

Aman Joshi

Taal Inc. Drum Circle Facilitator