One Year of Healing Verses: When Music Leads and Poetry Gently Follows

Pune, 31st March 2026: In most cultural spaces, poetry is performed. It is recited, applauded, and analysed. But in a quiet, deeply human initiative in Pune, poetry has been learning to step back—making room for something even more powerful: music, memory, and emotional comfort.

Healing Verses, a social initiative by KavitaKAFE founded by Garima Mishra, completed one year on March 29 this year. Over the past twelve months, Healing Verses has carried a thoughtfully curated blend of music and poetry into spaces where art is not consumed as performance, but experienced as relief—old-age homes, palliative care centres, rehabilitation institutes, and special schools.

The journey began at Vrindavan Old-Age Home, where the very first session set the tone for what Healing Verses would become. It was here that the team realised connection did not come from complex verses, but from familiarity—from songs people could hum along to, from words that felt like home. That insight has guided every session since.

“For individuals living with dementia and other age-related conditions, poetry in its traditional form can often feel distant. Music, however, finds its way in. Sessions in such spaces lean almost entirely on songs, particularly old Hindi melodies that carry the power of memory. A tune begins, and slowly, recognition follows. A line is completed. A rhythm is tapped. And for a few moments, there is a visible return to something once deeply familiar,” says Mishra.

In palliative care settings, the approach becomes even more mindful. The sessions avoid intensity, choosing instead to focus on light, comforting shayari interwoven with familiar Bollywood classics. The idea is not to provoke thought, but to offer ease—to create a space where patients can simply listen and feel a little lighter.

“For a very long time now, we have been associated with the Healing Verses initiative under KavitaKAFE. We have had an extremely wonderful experience with the team. Whenever they visit, there is a renewed sense of energy in our centre, and our elders truly enjoy these sessions. They sing along, dance along. Everything is very well organised, and the team is warm and compassionate. We wish them all the best and hope this collaboration continues for a long time,” says Riddhi Jagdale, Geriatric Counsellor at Aaji Care Geriatric Centre.

The initiative is powered by artists who volunteer for the cause. “Being part of Healing Verses taught me that giving is the purest way to receive joy. Every laugh, every smile shared made me feel part of something bigger than myself,” says musician and Sufi singer Omkar Zanjote.

Over the past year, the initiative has reached a diverse range of communities across Pune, including QMTI, Poona Blind School, Cipla Palliative Care Centre (Warje), and Aaji Care, Kalyani Nagar. Yet across all these spaces, the responses echo one another in quiet, meaningful ways – a patient humming despite visible fatigue, an elderly listener recalling a song from decades ago, a room that begins in silence and slowly fills with shared sound.

“Yes, these are not grand transformations. They are small, almost imperceptible shifts, but they carry a depth that lingers,” adds Mishra.

What sets Healing Verses apart is its collaborative spirit. These sessions are not about performing for people—they are about creating something with them. Caregivers, coordinators, and participants all become part of the experience, shaping its tone and flow.

“It’s been a year, but honestly, I don’t count it in sessions or numbers. I remember the small things—a song someone hummed after years, a quiet smile, a silence that didn’t feel so heavy anymore. That’s what stays with me,” says Mishra.

As Healing Verses steps into its second year, it carries forward a simple belief: sometimes, healing does not come from what is said. It comes from what is felt—through a familiar tune, a gentle line, and the simple act of being present.