Amritsar, Punjab, India. June 1984. Indira Gandhi gave the go-ahead for Operation Blue Star. The Indian Army broke into the Golden Temple complex, a sit of utmost holiness to Sikhs, to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers who were hiding there thinking the Army would not enter. The fighting and loss inside the sacred building left many people shaken.
Delhi, later that year. Indira Gandhi was killed by two of her Sikh bodyguards in retaliation and the city drastically changed in a matter of hours. Crowds moved through neighbourhoods looking for Sikh men, pulling them from their homes and identifying them by their turbans and beards. Thousands were slaughtered by the mobs. Many families lost everything they owned in the fires that followed.
In the weeks after the violence, women who had never met before found themselves waiting in the same queues for food, documents, and any kind of help. Some eventually settled together in Tilak Vihar in West Delhi. Over time, the area became known as the Widows’ Colony, a place where people rebuilt their lives with very little, raising children on irregular income and carrying memories that never quite settled. The cracked, muddy streets there carry a different mood than much of the city, shaped by years of survival rather than choice.
Enter Brinda Singh.
Brinda (who insists on being referred to by me as such, instead of Mrs Singh or the honorific Brinda Ji) is a warm, inviting and engaging woman who radiates a lifetime of experience in working for the good of others. Her late husband was a wonderful man who had a passion for creative arts, especially theatre. He ran a publishing house and their children are all musicians and grew up happy and healthy. So it only followed that Brinda would want to allow the same opportunities to others less fortunate.
Brinda set up Nirvair – a teeny tiny initiative in New Delhi that is located in the only neighbourhood in the world that on Google Maps is called Widows Colony. They work with families who have been victims of communal violence. Besides the usual educational support, computer training programmes, vocational training amongst others, at the beginning of 2025 they set up a music department. This initiative has been started with the belief that every person should learn to play an instrument and be given an opportunity to sing. It was a wonderful idea but they didn’t even know where to begin.
“That’s where and when Will Adam stepped in”, says Brinda. “He guided us in setting up the programme, helped us source instruments and even helped us find teachers to teach students to play the guitar, and percussion instruments. Will on his part, taught students to play the keyboard.”
The biggest hurdle for me was that none of the students knew English, so that meant that I had to deliver every 90 minute lesson using whatever communication tools and skills I had available. Thankfully my Hindi had reached a level where I was confident enough to sit with students and converse with them. It would be a challenge and I would need a lot of patience and grace from my students but thankfully they were all so impressed that a foreigner is speaking Hindi that they took great pleasure in listening and helping me as well as learning a new skill. “Language was not an issue”, Brinda continues, “the transparency of his love to teach and the excitement of the students seeing him coming all the way from England (as they perceived) to teach them was there for all to see.”
It was a 6-month course from absolute beginnings. I crafted a syllabus that contained just the right amount of theory, vocabulary, exercises and long-term projects. Actually, it may have been a little too ambitious, but I adjusted it slightly as we got to the half-way point. Every Friday we would go through scales, chord knowledge and songs such as Love You Zindagi (‘Love You Life’), Tum Se Hi (‘From You Alone’) and their absolute favourite, Tu Jhoom.
“Will was extremely patient, he put in a lot of effort to make sure that every student understood him. Language was not a barrier, they found creative ways to communicate. In the bargain he learnt a little Hindi and the students could practice speaking English with him. There was a wonderful buzz in the room as the students created music.”
The course ended with a written and practical exam and everyone passed! I’m so proud of them all.
“They were devastated when they heard that Will had to go back to England and are waiting for him to return.” I cant wait!
I’d like to say a huge thank you to those of you who donated funds for the students’ keyboard stands. Being able to stand and sit instead of crouch on the floor, transformed the students’ learning. Thank you.
Also a huge thank you to Brinda for making all of this possible, and to the ever reliable, resourceful and radiant Parul for administrating everything so smoothly. Big thanks also need to go to my dear Reshma at Manzil Mystics for introducing me to Nirvair.
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