MUMBAI: Time and again it is proved that music has a healing power. The genre may differ for every person, but music holds the capacity to calm the mind. Therefore, while talk therapy is the most widely used medium to confront mental health issues, music therapy is the most loved one.  

But why? The reason is simple because it allows you to feel your unexpressed emotions, a root cause for many of mental illness and aligns your mind to healthier thoughts.

A couple of years ago when Deepika Padukone spoke about mental health, it created quite a furor and made people actually sit up and take notice of this issue. However, there are organisations that have been working towards this issue relentlessly. Aditya Birla Education Trust is one such organisation. The organisation run by Neerja Birla has always deployed innovative methods to engage people in need of therapy, and one of such unique outreach program is Mpower, a champion of mental health. This Sunday they would be celebrating two years of completion, by hosting a music workshop for the teenagers dealing with stress and teenage problems by manifesting the power of music.

Mpower, supported by a hashtag #stampoutstigma, believes that music being an expressive art could be extremely beneficial to mend and better the mental health. The organisation believes that music can help one identify emotions and organise thoughts. Recently, Mpower had also presented a similar presentation at the Times Litfest, where they curated a unique segment with percussion under the title "Drums Circle", which was to manage anguish or anger.

This time Mpower has a similar workshop for community building, with music being the focus on Sunday, 21 January 2018. The session will be led by Samay Ajmera, a musician himself, who realised the power of music and utilises it to connect with people dealing with stress or developed mental issues.

MPower lead – outreach and collaboration Gauravi Lobo shared, "There is a long-standing stigma towards mental health which we need to get rid of. At Mpower, we help build a vibrant atmosphere for the same, unlike the intimidating vibe at therapy sessions, and what better way to loosen up the atmosphere than engage with music. This time around we would be having musical instruments and would be introducing children to them, which will be irrespective of knowledge to play them.”

The age group for this session will be 12 to14 year olds, who are dealing with teenage problems. This session will encourage them to express their feelings.

Previously, the organisation also dealt with the common issue of bullying faced by children at schools. They also had a concert with Arijit Singh for the organisation, which was well received.

To register for the workshop, please click on the link below: https://www.mpowerminds.com/registration.php