Family of street singers spreads Babasaheb Ambedkar’s teachings

“We sing songs to spread the teachings of Babasaheb everywhere. We sing about equality, about ill-effects of alcoholism, gutka and tobacco, about the need to protect, nurture and educate the girl child. We don’t ask for any payment for our performances. We take whatever the audience is willing to put in our hand at the end of every performance,” Satyabhama says.

Being ardent followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, on December 6, these street singers made their way to Shivaji Park near Chaitya Bhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar’s ashes are interred, to be a part of the melee of supporters that gather here every year to pay tributes.

The Maske family’s base is a 180-square feet room in a slum at Asalfa, where they live for about 10 days a month between their wanderings. Satyabhama, originally from Nanded, started learning music when she was nine years old, after her marriage to visually impaired Dnyanoba Maske, who was himself a singer. Eight years her senior, Dnyanoba assumed the role of Satyabhama’s music guru.

“Our first show was at Jai Bhim Nagar in Nanded. Initially, it used to always be my husband and me going around putting up street shows, accompanied by my parents. But, now my husband is 60 and has physically weakened. Hence, I have involved my sons,” Satyabhama says.

manasi.phadke@expressindia.com