Do you remember how the steps on an escalator moved in an infinite loop the last time you were at an airport? Or how long did it take you to fasten your seatbelt? Or what shapes the clouds seemed to form when you looked out of the little window? The children of The Dharavi Dream Project (TDDP) do, and vividly enough to retell these experiences to the world that takes these joys for granted. Dharavi Dreams: Art Saved the Kids, the Project’s upcoming play, will aim to bring such slice-of-life anecdotes and lived experiences from 14 young artistes’ lives to the big stage in October.

For the past four months, writer-director and theatre educator Neha Singh has been making trips to Dharavi to train and rehearse the hip-hop-musical play with the children, most of them between the ages of seven and 17. Take a look at the beaming faces from last weekend’s rehearsals, and you’ll never guess that they’ve returned after a week-long curfew following a violent crime in the area, or that the rehearsals have moved outdoors because of an unannounced power outage. “These kids are different. I have never seen a bunch of kids so determined and committed to a project,” shares Singh.