Balcony concerts help locked-down Delhiites beat boredom, get to know their neighbours

NEW DELHI: Musician Hitesh Madan is used to playing for large audiences across the globe. But perhaps he had one of his most meaningful performances recently when he and his two sons held a concert for their neighbours from the balcony of their home in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden.
“Since I am a former member of the band Euphoria, the crowd was excited, particularly because I was singing ‘Maeri’, one of the band’s top hits,” said Madan.He was accompanied by son Ariv (12) on the guitar and Advay (11) on the drums. Keeping the stircrazy audience in mind, the trio presented songs ranging from Punjabi folk to Indipop.
“A lot of people thanked us for making them feel less lonely and we have held such concerts twice,” Madan said. They plan to continue with their effort at entertaining their house-bound neighbours till the lockdown is lifted. The kids are both exhilarated, the balcony concerts being their “most attended” stage performances till date.
The novel coronavirus has moved performances from thronging halls to tiny balconies from Madrid to Mumbai and from Toronto to Zhejiang. Balconies offer a structural distancing of the musicians and the members of their audiences. For the performers, their cramped balconies with space for just a set of drums and some amps have taken on dimensions that are measured in happiness rather than square feet.
Balcony concerts strike a chord, help residents hum away blues
Rahul Sharma, a guitarist-cum-singer from B Block of Swasthya Vihar in east Delhi, said he first performed on March 22 when the janata curfew closed India down for a day. "When everyone came to their balconies to beat utensils as per the Prime Minister’s request, I saw a wave of happiness ripple across the neighbourhood and realised that little things done with a common purpose can light up everyone’s mood," Sharma said. "I immediately posted a message on the RWA group informing them about a small gig I’d like to organise on the balcony. It proved a hit and I have performed two more times since."
In Indirapuram’s Ashiana Greens, Captain Ranbir, the RWA president, accepted music’s capacity to light up people’s mood. "When the lockdown was announced, I had this idea of performing for the people in my colony to make things less gloomy. It’s been almost a fortnight that we have been performing every day," Ranbir said brightly. "The neighbours get their cups of tea to the balconies, recline and cheer along as we sing. We sing Bollywood classics because both the young and the old enjoy such songs."
Ranbir said it was sad that it took a pandemic to bring all the residents together, but now everyone is glad that they are together ensuring their spirits are kept high despite being confined to homes.
Jaideep Singh of E Block, Kalkaji, claimed to have performed for a cumulative 50 hours in his colony. "Some days are Sufi nights, some are Bollywood nights, while others are ghazal and retro nights," Singh said. "We have also celebrated six birthdays in this period. Besides, every evening from 5.30pm to 6pm, all of us gather in the balconies and pray."
Singh said everyone looked forward to these events, and he is happy about doing his bit to bring down the barriers among many residents who had never interacted with each other earlier.
For many musicians, the balcony concerts were also an opportunity to increase their audiences. They and their neighbours have posted videos of the performances online to be shared thousands of times. When Madan played his first quarantine gig in March, an estimated 20,000 people joined live via Facebook across the world. "Our neighbours were engaging with us through social media and within no time we saw our performance going viral," he said.
Meanwhile, several artists are organising online "watch parties" too. DJ Priyansh Dhaka said that his neighbours and friends all know when he would be performing and, like him, in lockdown but performing all the same, they join him virtually from their homes. He revealed that he recently organised an online event expecting a maximum of 500 viewers to see him play live, but belying expectations, the watch party was attended by over 1,500 viewers. "Since I have an audience of my own, I am encouraging other artists to contribute and play for my audience. This will eventually be good for their reach," Dhaka said.