Skip to main content
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 28 January 2017

The Choir of the Loaves and Fish, a musical ensemble of senior citizens, started by Pervin Varma with Regina Thomas in Bengaluru has been immensely therapeutic for the elderly and has helped bring loads of warmth and sunshine into their lives.

Picture above: Ammachy taking a bow with Pervin Varma

Imagine a group of people – all senior citizens between 65 and 96 – people who have suffered strokes or are living with cancer, arthritis, heart disease, dementia, physical disabilities, people with walkers or in wheelchairs, coming together to sing and perform in concert…“It is like magic is happening,” says Pervin Varma, who started this unique singing group for the elderly called The Choir of the Loaves and Fish. What began as a casual singing session with senior citizens at the Holy Spirit Senior Citizens Home in Bengaluru in May 2012, blossomed into a full-fledged choir that now stages two concerts a year, on Independence Day and during Christmas, with much fanfare.

Choir at the Independence Day Concert 2016 @Koramangala Methodist Church, Bengaluru

The Choir of the Loaves and Fish was born when Pervin moved out of full time work at TISS to focus on being there for the senior members of her family. With long innings at Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-government organization and a shorter stint at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) working on a leadership building program in Mumbai, Pervin was keen to do something that brought together two particular passions, music and people discovering their potential for action. The idea to work with elders started brewing during her visits to her aunt and uncle who were residents of the Holy Spirit Home. She found them to be happier each time she got them involved in singing. And since music was her passion from childhood, she decided to leverage its potential. When Regina Thomas, who was Pervin’s friend and colleague retired from CRY in 2013, she too decided to get involved with the choir, music and helping people being her passion too.

Believing in Music

“I believe music is a very powerful medium for change,” says Pervin. “It has tremendous power to heal, change attitudes and bring joy.”

Riding on this conviction, Pervin started The Choir of the Loaves and Fish with the basic purpose to reach out to senior citizens and to give them hope and cheer through music and song. She got tremendous support from the Sisters of the Home, led by Sister Merlyn, to coax the residents to come and sing and make melody once a week.

Some residents responded very enthusiastically and even encouraged the not so keen ones to join in. Some of the others had to be cajoled to come every week. The change started happening gradually. “They started receiving me more warmly and looking forward to the weekly sessions. Some would sing happily, some had never sung before and thought they couldn’t sing and some would just mumble the lyrics or sing a line or two. Once they knew I was committed to coming every week, they also began to take the sessions more seriously. And slowly I began to see glimmer of the possibility of a choir happening.”

Stories of hope and transformation

“I remember one of our members whom we called Ammachy. She came to us in her nineties and for the longest time would come every week, in her nightie and often glare at us but not say or sing a word. This continued for many weeks. Finally a dance movement therapy session conducted by a dear friend of mine Renelle Snellekz gave us the idea of getting her to play with shakers – and a percussionist was born! Interestingly, she took to it very well. I saw her enthusiasm and rhythmic move improve each week. She would now more enthusiastically and smiled more often! She also chose to sit in the front row for the next choir concert . When we had our Christmas Choir performance that year, she played with gusto and a smile on her face. She was our diva that night and at every concert after. When I introduced her as our hotshot percussionist, she bowed very happily before the audience and everybody cheered for her. There was definitely a change in her personality. In her last two concerts she even sang solos which was a real miracle. Sadly, she passed away last year at the age of 96 and we miss her sorely.

Regina Thomas helping a choir member during the concert

In another instance, I remember there was priest whom we called Achan. He was critically ill when he joined the Home with a bad heart and cancer of the lungs. But he had the most amazing spirit and attitude. However ill or exhausted he was he would come for the session saying it made him feel better and stronger. Despite the state of his health he sang in his last concert literally two weeks before he passed away, and inspired the choir and the audience with his courage and commitment.

My own Uncle who suffered from dementia was losing his memory rapidly and would often forget people including his own family. But he never forgot the lyrics and melodies of the hymns he had sung all his life. And no matter what his state of mind, when we began to sing his favourite songs his eyes would light up and he would start singing with us, his voice growing stronger as he sang more. He would be so much more alert and present after that. It would also stimulate his memory and he would start telling us stories from his young days.”

Related reading: Music therapy in Dementia

In the last four years, Pervin and Regina have witnessed some of the most dramatic transformation in members thanks to signing. “Increasingly I feel music has the power to heal and bring new meaning and hope into people’s lives.” Says Pervin. “It just brings them alive. They forget their aches and pains for a while and immerse themselves in singing. We know through research on music therapy that music stimulates creativity, and that singing keeps the voice strong and is good for the lungs. But also singing together has special meaning because it brings much fun and laughter, it also brings people together, building a sense of community and bonding. They begin to reach out to others more and share in each other’s joys and struggles. So it is beneficial for them in all respects.”

The Gift of Encouragement

Encouraged by the positive response from the residents, Pervin began by staging a Christmas Concert. The first year, she had the show in the dining hall and requested all her friends and relatives to come. Over the years they have been getting a lot of support from all quarters. From friends, family members of the choir, colleagues, well-wishers. The Choir is accompanied by extraordinary and well known musicians in Bengaluru, Dr Maya Mascarehnas and Eric Samuel, who despite their busy schedule drop everything to play for the choir twice a year. All the promotional material for the concerts have been designed by Supriya Balasunderam an artiste in Mumbai. This year we had Christeena Samuel a volunteer all the way from Canada who helped with the Christmas concert. The shows now attract newer audiences beyond just family and friends. “It is heartening to see the generosity all around. People are so touched and moved by the performance of the senior citizens. It is amazing.”

“Some magic happens during the concert” feels Pervin. “We have anywhere between 17-21 senior citizens participating in the choir for a concert. Every concert they give their best and seem to be getting better and more accomplished. People don’t come with brilliant voices. They come with open hearts and the desire to give their best and that makes beautiful music. We keep the songs simple. We offer the Lord whatever we have, trusting that He will use it to be a blessing to the community in His special way. That’s how the name, The Choir of Loaves and Fish, was derived. From the Biblical story of Jesus feeding five thousand people with the five loaves and two fish a young boy offered. It was all he had. That’s the spirit of our choir. In short, it means – we offer our all and wonderful things are possible with God.”

The Choir is now spreading its wings. They have done 10 concerts in 4 years! 2 of the concerts were outside the Home. One was at a church for Independence Day in 2016 and the other was at another senior citizen home in Bengaluru where the seniors there were so inspired to see people like themselves performing despite the many difficulties of old age. They were particularly inspired by Rajee Sawhney who despite being in a wheelchair due to a stroke, was such an enthusiastic singer. One of the seniors in the audience, in her vote of thanks, said, “We are so used to having young people come and entertain us. This is the first time you have brought people like us to sing for us. And we are very inspired. We thought when we came to the Home that our lives were going down but now we see it can go up, like the members of the Choir.”

It was a tough call. They had to organize a convoy of cars and hire special taxis that could accommodate wheelchairs. But the impact it has had on the choir and the audience reaction was worth every ounce of effort. The Choir have told the team that one of their dreams for 2017 is to go and sing in new places outside the Home!

The Difficulty

What is the most difficult part of organising senior citizens into a Choir group?
“The most difficult part is when you lose choir members. Over a period of time, you develop a strong bond and relationship with them. So to lose them one day is heart breaking even though we know it is inevitable. You just pray that they go peacefully with the knowledge that they lived well and were deeply loved.”

Dreams are renewable
No matter what our age or condition
They are still untapped possibilities within us
And new beauty waiting to be born.

-Dr Dale E Turner

This quotation has been the core message and vision at the heart of all our work with the Choir of the Loaves and Fish”, concludes Pervin passionately.