The Grand Mewsic Mela

The Mewsic Mela was a memorable event for Brett Lee and his team at the Mewsic   India Foundation. The children from Brett Lee’s Mewsic India Foundation worked hard to showcase their talent to Brett Lee and wife Lana Lee on 27th July 2014 in Mumbai.

Honorable guests present were Brett Lee with wife Lana Lee, the very famous singer Leslie Lewis, Victorian state minister Heidi Victoria and Australian Consul General Mark Pierce and his team. 

This was the first time the kids from Dharavi and Govandi got together to perform on the same stage. Mewsic vocal tutor Patil and his kids performed various patriotic songs while Music Tutor Mahesh and his kids had a live jam session of various Bollywood songs. Dance Tutor Sachin and his kids showcased their dancing skills by performing a specially choreographed piece on the social issue ‘Save the Girl child,’ which deeply moved the audience.

Mewsic tutors Patil, Mahesh and Sachin work hard every day to train and mold the children to deliver these powerful and inspiring performances. ‘It was just unbelievable to know that my child has such an amazing talent in music’ said a parent present at the event.

The Mewsic Mela brightened up even more when Leslie Lewis, advisor of Mewsic India Foundation and famous Bollywood singer performed his hit songs including his favorite ‘Yaaron Dosti’.

Victorian minister Heidi Victoria was thrilled to see the talent in the kids and   gifted Koala Bear toys to express her appreciation for the kids.

The event concluded with a special message from Brett Lee saying, “I am completely speechless and blown away with these performances. I have a little boy in Australia but I have 1200 kids here in India. It’s unbelievable to have a vision about the foundation and I never ever thought that today we would be celebrating the 3rd birthday of the foundation and seeing such wonderful performances on this stage”.

Brett and Mewsic India Foundation also thanked Australian Consul Mark Pierce and team for funding this event as part of the Direct Aid Program.

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Brett Lee's items auctioned for his foundation

On the 25^th July, Rotary Club of Bombay held an auction of Brett Lee’s personal items, at a dinner hosted at the Pal
ladium Hotel, Mumbai. On offer were personally autographed cricket bats and balls, handcrafted sterling silver cuff links, a signed Biography, Brett’s Kings XI Punjab jerseys, dinner and coffee with Brett amongst other things. The auction led by Mandira Bedi and Brett Lee himself,  saw some spirited bidding from the guests present, knowing that the money was for a great cause.  All proceeds from the auction were matched by the Rotary Club, and donated to the Mewsic India Foundation.

During the informal interaction session, Brett shared interesting anecdotes about his cricketing days, his numerous trips to India and his motivation to set up the Mewsic India Foundation. The power of Music has helped Brett get through some tough times in his own life, and as a father of a young son, he felt deeply motivated to help the children in slum communities get music tuitions and experience the power of Music. This inspired and galvanized the audience to pledge their support for the work through personal donations to the foundation.

The evening was a great success, as not only did it give the guests wonderful memories but also raised significant rupees  for the foundation.

Our Brand New Jaipur Bus

The Mewsic Bus program was recently inaugurated in Jaipur, Rajasthan all thanks to Rotary Club of Castlehill and Rotary Club of Jaipur South. The program commenced operations in September, creating such a buzz that on the very first day that the bus arrived in the communities to conduct classes; children were lining up eagerly awaiting to enroll in the music classes. Rajasthan has a rich tradition of folk music and dance, and the people native to that region have a deep appreciation of Music. This program will ignite a spark in the children to learn music, and help channelize their energies constructively.

The Mewsic Bus is a customized vehicle, furnished to house a mobile Mewsic Center, equipped with Guitars, Keyboard, Harmonium and Electric Tabla (Indian percussion instrument), and opens out into a mini stage for performances .The Bus travels to four slum communities within Jaipur during the week as per a fixed timetable, built around the children’s school schedules. The program consists of two tutors on board, to teach singing, music and dance, in both Indian and western styles. The Mewsic tutors are recruited not on the basis of their musical skills and qualifications, but also for their leadership abilities knowing that they serve as role models for the children.

The focus is to provide music and dance tuitions to teach the very basic techniques but as this program is taken forward, changes will be made in exploring ways of incorporating an innovative curriculum, using music as a tool to teach the children number concepts, simple ways to memorize multiplication tables, healthy habits and values.

It is only because of the generous support of Rotary Club of Castlehill and Rotary Club of Jaipur south that these children have received a very valuable opportunity to enhance their lives and helped launch this program in Jaipur

How music has changed me

Our volunteers’ filmmaker Tomas Uribe and political scientist Paola Duran from Columbia talk about their three week journey in Mumbai describing how music has changed the lives of the children at Brett Lee’s Mewsic India Foundation

Music is definitely a universal language. It communicates and transcends through people’s souls and ears regardless of social statuses or geographical location. The following is a short summary of our experience in India, working with Brett Lee’s Mewsic India Foundation, and learning from a truly extraordinary culture and people.

Along with my partner, community planner Paola Duran, we arrived in Mumbai on the first week of August. Our first impressions of this culturally rich and extensive country were not far from amazing and unique. Clearly, dense traffic jams and street-packed pedestrians colored the urban landscape as we made our way to what was going to be our lodging for the following three weeks.

The objective of our visit was to delve deeper into the lives of these children, who participate in the music centers, and understand the role music plays in their lives. Fortunately, everyone was on board and excited with the project, and thanks to the valuable participation of tutors, mobilizers and communication with the Mewsic team, we interviewed not only several children, but also their parents.

The interviews served to understand how the trust is created between tutors and students. Taking into account that not all kids come from the same background, or are equally vulnerable, we assessed which were the best ways to communicate with them. Clearly, one of the first barriers was the language. Some of them preferred to speak and answer the questions in Hindi, or Marathi (Maharashtra’s local dialect), while others simply preferred to play their guitars or sing a song. It was then when we noticed how music can aid in the development of a young boy or girl. Music speaks for itself.

Mewsic India Foundation is undoubtedly committed to improving these children’s lives through music and its positive impact has become evident not only through the kids’ words and actions, but also through their parents. Even though these moms and dads share their perspective when talking about the importance of education and success for their children, they know this might be just a hobby. What they observe in their children is how they have become fixated on something other than the average activities at the slums, something potentially better. When we asked about their thoughts or feelings when seeing their kids perform, the common denominator was that they felt overwhelmed and proud. They admire how their children have invested their time in learning new dance moves, singing new songs, and rehearsing guitar, flute, and keyboard. All interviews have a sense of a nostalgic dream. While walking in the slums, we can almost feel how people talk through the walls, not only words, but sounds. These are the sounding walls of Mumbai, telling the stories of music students, their parents, and a foundation that believes in the power of music as a tool for empowerment.

While doing these recordings, we got the opportunity to understand and see more of Mumbai and its culture. Mumbai, as the breathing and urban organism it is, possesses the aspect of a British colonial city, with monuments and architecture hard to forget. These characteristics, along with its contrasts in city planning, religious buildings, and crowded streets make it a unique and breathtaking place. All of this added to the wonderful experience we had while working on this project. Most importantly, we met amazing folks that not only helped to make this process as ‘smooth’ as possible, but made us feel right at home. A truly great experience we will never forget, and a beautiful project we’ll continue to develop, be part of, and try and make it better, little by little.

Thanks to everyone at Mewsic and Innovaid.

All the best,

Tomas Uribe and Paola Duran .

Brett Lee back in Bollywood

(Brett poses with film director Anupam Sharma and actress Tannistha Chatterjee)

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot launched Brett’s Lee new Bollywood film 'UnIndian' during his recent visit to Mumbai. Brett Lee will be will be paired opposite Indian actress Tannishtha Chatterjee, in this Indo-Australian romantic comedy.  Brett Lee has previously starred in the cricket-themed Bollywood film Victory and famously sung a duet with Indian iconic singer Asha Bhosle.

The story of 'UnIndian' is about a divorcee and single mother, Meera(Tannishtha), who meets the charismatic Will(Lee). Love is the last thing on Meera's mind, but her marital status is the subject of much discussion within her family, and she is encouraged on a seemingly daily basis to marry "a nice Indian man".

The film UNINDIAN will be directed by Anupam Sharma, the Australian film-maker of Indian origin who plans to start production in October in Sydney , and is scheduled to  release in March 2015. This film is the first from the recently established Australia-India film fund which will produce movies highlighting the complexities of Indian Diasporas.

"Brett has a huge fan following in India. He has already charmed the Indian audience. He has got a lot of talent which has been untapped. Even without a single film he has a huge fan-following. We got the ideal combination in Brett -- art, creativity and commercial package’’ said Anupam Sharma.

Grand Hyatt Mumbai supports Mewsic

The Grand Hyatt Mumbai has stepped forward as a fan and supporter of Mewsic India Foundation by coming on board as hospitality partners to support the upcoming trips by Foundation founder, Brett Lee.

The luxury 5 star hotel situated in Santa Cruz, Mumbai, will provide a range of services to support Brett's four annual visit's to India for his Foundation work, including the use of accommodation, travel and food/beverage facilities in addition to conference facilities for the Foundation’s board meetings and other official activities during his visits.

Grand Hyatt Mumbai is committed to a range of corporate social responsibility activities as a part of a broader sustainability strategy. The hotel recognizes the impact that it creates on the surroundings and works towards a greener future and a fostered community by dedicating resources, time and talent to important initiatives.

Grand Hyatt Mumbai’s General Manager and Area Director for Hyatt hotels in Mumbai, Pune & Goa - David Mansfield, an Australian national who has been managing Grand Hyatt Mumbai for the past 3 years, is happy to support Mewsic India Foundation which uses the power of music to heal, educate and empower disadvantaged children in India.

David Mansfield, Area Director/General Manager, Grand Hyatt Mumbai states “It is our great pleasure to be associated with Mewsic India Foundation. We at Grand Hyatt Mumbai are aware of the impact that organizations and conglomerates today create on their surroundings and progressively work towards a fostered environment and thriving community. We are happy to extend our wholehearted support towards the noble cause of healing and empowering underprivileged kids through the power of music and are pleased that Grand Hyatt Mumbai is the preferred partner in this benevolent initiative.”

MEWSIC to the ears of 20,000 ROTARIANS

Brett Lee at the Rotary Convention, Sydney

Brett Lee spoke about his Mewsic India Foundation to 20,000 Rotarians at the Rotary Convention 2014, Sydney on 2^nd June 2014, winning the hearts of the delegates from around the world with tales of his Rotary-supported projects.

Rotary currently supports two Mewsic programs - Music Therapy with Cancer Patients (thanks to Rotary Club of Nariman Point) and the Jaipur Mewsic Bus (thanks to Rotary Club of Castle Hill & South Jaipur).

A major attraction of the session was when interviewee radio host Jason Morrison decided to take a ‘selfie’ of Brett on stage with the 20,000 Rotarians cheering in the background. This picture when viral on twitter after Brett tweeted it to his nearly 2million followers – most of whom are from India.

Brett Lee felt privileged to speak in front of the Rotarians from across the world about his foundation and how grateful he was to them for their ongoing support.With a passion for music, Brett spoke about how Mewsic can heal, educate and empower children - the three visions of the foundation.

“After visiting India for the past 20 years, I knew I couldn’t keep going to this beautiful country and not give back something.” Said Brett Lee.  "If I can achieve my dream," he said, "hopefully the children can achieve theirs."

In the coming years, Lee is aiming to start 100 centers in India and expand to Australia