A Melodious Lyrical Journey: A Heartwarming Tale of Inclusivity and Friendship

Swaraangi Sane

Pune, 14th September 2023: Since the last Hindi Diwas, a unique endeavor has been captivating audiences worldwide through the YouTube channel “A Melodious Lyrical Journey,” led by three dedicated individuals: Swarangi Sane from Pune, Bhuvan Sarwate from Bengaluru, and Amit Joshi from California.

This musical odyssey is an ambitious project that aims to explore the Hindi alphabet from A to Shre (अ से श्र), unraveling hundreds of words and idioms associated with each letter in a metaphorical and engaging manner. With millions of Hindi learners in universities across the globe, this initiative offers a valuable resource for free. The channel boasts over a thousand subscribers, a number that continues to grow steadily.

All three creators reside in non-Hindi speaking regions, yet they passionately contribute to the world of Hindi language and culture. Together, they transformed their childhood friendship into the YouTube channel known as “A Melodious Lyrical Journey,” where they collaborate to create songs and poems that celebrate the beauty of the Hindi language.

Since November 2020, their journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Their journey began with the song ‘Baatein’ on their YouTube channel, and since then, they’ve been committed to fostering dialogue and connecting with all segments of society through literature and culture. On the last Hindi Diwas, they embarked on an ambitious project: the creation of an alphabet series, spanning from A to Shre, each episode rich with hundreds of words related to a specific letter. This innovative approach allows viewers and listeners to explore the diverse vocabulary and phrases that can be formed using a single letter. All three of us—Swarangi, Bhuvan, and Amit—reside in non-Hindi speaking areas but are dedicated to working in Hindi, for Hindi, and through Hindi. We transformed our childhood friendship into the YouTube channel known as “A Melodious Lyrical Journey.” Without any financial gain, we embarked on a journey that connected people from Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States. Today, we have more than a thousand subscribers accompanying us on this journey. Every song and poem by Swarangi Sane, who has made Pune her literary home, is composed by Bhuvan Sarwate in Bangalore. Amit Joshi, based in California, has supported us in every aspect. This channel, “A Melodious Lyrical Journey,” is a fusion of Amit’s melodies, Bhuvan’s music, and Swarangi’s lyrics, and you can watch and listen to our creations on YouTube.
The channel has proven to be so successful that YouTube granted them the privilege of naming their own link, himself, leading to “Abhiswar” joining “A Melodious Lyrical Journey” at resulting in the birth of “Abhiswar,” which can be accessed at https://youtube.com/c/AMelodiousLyricalJourneyABHISWAR.
In it A and I is from Amit’s name, B and H from Bhuvan And last but not least the SWAR from Swaraangi…And Youtube gave them a handle- AML Journey. In the verses of the Rigveda, “Abhiswara” refers to the one who accepts or praises Indra in accordance with their meaning and who sings it. It also symbolizes the unity of the three creators behind the channel. The channel features songs, poems, and short stories centered around child psychology. The foundation of our work is rooted in our belief that the songs and music are our own creations.

“A Melodious Lyrical Journey” doesn’t just showcase songs and poems but also delves into short stories rooted in child psychology. Originality is their hallmark, as they take pride in creating their own songs and music. They even uploaded a touching song titled ‘Silent Happiness’ dedicated to deaf and mute children, emphasizing the importance of understanding and communicating with these special individuals. The song was presented in a trilingual format, with Hindi lyrics, English subtitles, and sign language performances by the children. It’s a powerful reminder that happiness transcends language barriers and can be seen in the eyes and smiles of friends.

Swarangi Sane has had a decade-long association with the Deaf School and College of Special Education (HI) run by the Sadguru Saibaba Seva Trust. Over the years, she observed how these children, hailing from remote villages in Maharashtra, formed strong bonds and communicated effectively in their own unique way. Swarangi realized that while their language was different, their emotions and friendships were just as valid.

With the support of her friends Bhuvan Sarwate and Amit Joshi, Swarangi brought their song of friendship to life. Despite language differences, they bridged the gap with English translations, enabling the children to understand the lyrics. Dedicated teachers, Shraddha Shinde and Priyanka Joshi, provided further guidance, while Professor Hrishikesh Raikar ensured that the children could feel the rhythm of the music through a speaker. The children’s enthusiasm was boundless, and they choreographed the song with unwavering dedication.

Through this heartwarming project, Swarangi, Bhuvan, and Amit were welcomed into the circle of friendship that these special children had created. Each visit to the school was marked by warm smiles and heartfelt greetings, a testament to the power of music and inclusivity in fostering bonds that transcend barriers.

Trustee Swati Sadakale mentioned that through the use of multimedia, these children can simultaneously see and understand sign language while also learning from lip-reading (interpreting the movement of lips during speech). Some teachers at the institution had lip-reading lessons for the children, who then performed in sign language and even began dancing to music.
As the school’s headmaster, Rajendra Bhosle, showed us the computer lab, LCD projector, e-learning education department, and ear mold making department, Swarangi couldn’t help but pen lines for a song, reflecting the sense of self-reliance she witnessed.
Prakash A. Sadakale, the President of the organization, emphasized the importance of children understanding lip-reading to communicate with the outside world in addition to sign language. The more these children interact with ordinary people, the more their self-confidence will grow. Swaraangi stated here To illustrate this point, young technocrat Balendu Sharma Dadhich came all the way from Delhi to participate in our AML Journey’s ‘Samvadi Lahja’ series on our YouTube channel. During his visit, we also took him to this institution so that the children could see how vast and full of possibilities the world is. Our ‘Samvadi Lahja’ series features interviews with activists, women journalists, Hindi enthusiasts, writers, and musicians who are shaping our society in new ways. We also include compositions based on classical music and dance, as well as Kathak performances inspired by poetry. She told we conduct experiments like “Muniya’s World-MKD” focusing on child psychology. Furthermore, our channel features English translations of poems and innovative musical instrument experiments. Additionally, we use multimedia to integrate animation with poetry.
Swaraangi remember Prior to this, on our YouTube channel, “A Melodious Lyrical Journey,” We also address social issues with pieces like “Old Age Home – Janeev’s Story.” we demonstrated our social commitment by highlighting the “Jaeev” old age home in Pune.

The poem that was shared on Friendship Day serves as the title poem of Swarangi Sane’s poetry collection, “Woh Hansti Bahut Hai,” published with the support of the Maharashtra State Hindi Sahitya Academy, Mumbai. Transforming the essence of friendship, it was recited by Amit and embellished with Bhuvan’s musical accompaniment and Warli designs from Maharashtra. The concept of Warli was provided by Bhuvan’s wife, Sonali Sarwate, who also happened to be the singer of their first song.

Interestingly, as soon as the lockdown was enforced, people were confined to their homes, but it opened a window for these long-lost friends to reconnect. This happened in June 2020, when they inquired about each other’s current pursuits. During their conversation, the first song was conceived, and it was ready by October 2020. Bhuvan Sarwate from Bengaluru asked Swarangi Sane from Pune if she still wrote as she did during her school days, to which she replied affirmatively. Bhuvan, known as a singer during his school days, was now contemplating adding music to his IT career. Together, they decided to embark on a unique journey, resulting in the creation of their first song, ‘Baatein.’ Swarangi wrote the lyrics, and Bhuvan composed the music.

The question arose: what should they do with it? Amit Joshi, residing in California, suggested uploading it to YouTube. All three had been schoolmates from class IV to VIII, but after that, they lost contact.

This was back in the 1980s, a time when only a few households had telephones, let alone social media. They had no communication for many years until they reconnected after three decades. On November 4, 2020, ‘Baatein’ was uploaded, and it instantly became a hit. People appreciated its presentation, tune, and the journey has been growing ever since.