New music project aims to spark memories for South Asian community
A new initiative from Age Scotland and Playlist for Life is highlighting the connection between music and memory.
The ‘Bollywood Memories’ Playlist project focused on creating a tailored playlist of Bollywood songs to help get older people from South Asian communities thinking about the music that is important to them and that would feature on their own ‘playlist for life’.
Individuals and community groups from across Scotland fed into the playlist through Age Scotland’s Ethnic Minority Older People Forum - a group which works to influence policy change and challenges inequality and discrimination faced by ethnic minority older people, including the impact of Isolation and loneliness and barriers to accessing information and services.
The playlist comprises 14 hours of music and is available to stream at www.age.scot/spotify-bollywood or by searching on the app for “Age Scotland Bollywood Favourites”.
At a launch event hosted by Age Scotland on 1st November, special guests including Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar MSP and Foysol Choudhury MSP joined members of the Forum to share their own memories of Bollywood and connect over the powerful effects of personal music.
Age Scotland’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Rohini Sharma Joshi, said:
“We were delighted to collaborate with Playlist for Life on this exciting new project. We all have those particular songs that evoke memories and bring happiness, and over recent years the link between music and wellbeing has become increasingly apparent.
“The Bollywood Memories playlist is something different and goes further than simply talking about music, and the launch event was a brilliant opportunity to come together to enjoy singing and discover more about how beneficial music can be for health and wellbeing, particularly as we get older.
“Working with so many individuals and community groups across Scotland has helped us create a unique resource that we hope will be useful, accessible and, most importantly, enjoyable for older people.”
Playlist for Life’s Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Mehar Shagufta said:
"It was wonderful to work with SEMOPF and we’re so grateful to Rohini for gathering these Bollywood favourites and tunes that bring back personally meaningful memories for people of South Asian heritage.
“It was a joy to witness the performances and see everyone singing along to their favourite tunes. We encourage everyone to listen to the playlist and hope that it sparks cherished memories and brings you joy!"
