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HOME SoS: Sounds of Sustainability is a travelling music group advocating for the Planet.

Hello reader,

I want to take you on a short, immersive journey to EXPERIENCE the story of a musician who has laid her soul bare about the one thing she cares about the most—Mother Earth.

Sushma Soma advocates for the planet through gig theatre with her traveling musical group, HOME SoS. 

Before you read this piece, I urge you to listen to the seven songs to FEEL her emotions, EMPATHISE with them, and better UNDERSTAND their stories.

Who are the people of HOME SoS? What is the story of HOME SoS. How was it conceptualised?

Home SOS has 2 integral teams that make it what it is today—those behind the music and live production and those behind the scenes. These teams developed into an entity called HomeSOS with a vision to build a community of like-minded people who love our planet.

The music in the album HOME (from where Home SOS was born) was produced by the LA-based musician-producer Aditya Prakash. The music adaptation to the live format was made possible by ace percussionist Praveen Sparsh, and the dramaturg was celebrated Bharatnatyam choreographer and dancer Mythili Prakash.

Sushma Soma and Aishwarya Natarajan produced Home SOS.

Aishwarya, as the founder of Indianuance has been Sushma’s advisor on her journey with the album HOME. And it was Aishwarya’s involvement with the project and music that led her as Indianuance to becoming a co-producer in creating the vision for HOME SoS.

However, the project was conceived with two additional members:  Amrita Haldipur, a brand strategist, and Nanni Singh, an events specialist.

The conversation starts here:

Deepa:

I listened to the Home Album: it had dark and evocative themes. I can understand how that would play out in a skit about climate change. I know that classical music is evocative, but certain aspects about how the tracks have been composed, with lyrics, instruments coming in and out, and the tempo going slow or fast, evoke many emotions in me.

The title track, Nature, felt like rain. It started with slow drizzles and ended with a downpour as if all my pent-up emotions had been released.

Man I and Man II gave a peek into how our unconscious, everyday choices shape society (especially with those dialogues interspersed with the music as well as how the kids were made to follow the main lead singer’s lines, which gave me an idea about how kids are so impressionable to our actions.

The ivory game felt like how one would feel when driven insane by greed (especially with the words Moha/Moham being chanted). Grief was sorrowful, but Elephant’s funeral mixed grief and anger. I remember the song Ma; I was choking and felt the Earth choking.

Deepa:

How did you conceive of advocating for climate change through music and theatre? Could you take us through the process behind your music creation, narration, and screenplay? 

Sushma:

I did not know how to talk to people about climate change. I didn’t have a script, but I had all these different things that I wanted to convey. My own stories that I wanted to share. Talking about it did not do justice to it. I found it hard to advise people through talking. I was being preachy. So, I wanted people to FEEL something for the environmental cause. Talking did not connect. So, I wondered if I could do something through Art).

If you’re asking specifically about the album creation process, there was no storyline/script when Aditya Prakash (my co-creator) and I started creating. We both brought some musical and narrative ideas to the table. Some worked, some did not. For example, with The Elephant’s Funeral, I told him that juxtaposing the fast-paced Parai with the mourning of the ladies I had witnessed at South Indian funerals always intrigued me. In the context of HOME, I mentioned that I envisioned it as the celebration of Man while Nature was crying and in pain. We used that narrative as our starting point. As we continued working on it, it started becoming a piece that allowed me to express my utter devastation following the pregnant Elephant and her calf’s deaths.

Grief, on the other hand, was the last piece we recorded after placing all the other six tracks. We felt we needed a song like Grief to wrap up the arc that had organically developed with the tracks. 

As for HOME SoS, the live production, we worked with the songs that existed in the album and started working on a script. My dramaturg, Mythili Prakash, whose work I am also inspired by, always emphasises the need for honesty in the work. With that in mind, I knew the only way the production would have authenticity was if HOME SoS was a narrative from my lens, and I could speak and sing about why HOME is important to me. We also wanted to be able to create dialogue with the audience, so we broke away from the conventional ‘concert’ format to create a narrative, ask questions, interact with the audience, etc.

Deepa:

You’ve mentioned that you are a travelling music group that fuses classical music with traditional instruments) with contemporary elements. How do you practice sustainability in your company? 

Aishwarya:

Ours is a small step in making conversations around sustainability more friendly and acceptable. We don’t want this to be a space that preaches, but rather, one that encourages an environment of all of us taking ownership and making conscious consumer choices. So, I would say our tips are really things we try and do on our own, some through the project and some outside of it.

Our favourites are carpooling, using public transport where possible, opting for economy class over J class, carrying one’s bottle, refusing plastic cutlery, etc.

As far as concerts are concerned, apart from the above, it would be good to see more venues and festivals, and even conferences adopt practices where sustainable power sources fuel stages and the production, and materials that are either re-usable or can be disposed of with little to no harm to the environment.

Deepa:

Why do you think music and entertainment/infotainment are crucial ways to advocate or sensitise people about climate urgency?

Sushma:

Personally for me, the reason why Art is so powerful is because it allows us to feel. I read stats and see numbers, but until something punches me in the gut and makes me feel I am passive, apathetic or indifferent. I read many news articles that have informed me that the temperatures are rising, climate change has wreaked havoc and ecosystems are affected. However, it was not until I watched documentaries such as Ivory Game, Virunga, or My Octopus Teacher that I was so gutted by Man’s actions and felt the urgency to speak up in whatever capacity I could. 

You mentioned earlier in one of the questions above that listening to Ma felt like you were being choked and the Earth was being choked along with you. With HOME, this discomfort or visceral reaction was one of the intentions. I feel desperate and choked watching the world crumble around me, and I wanted the music to be a reflection of that emotion. Now that you were able to feel that same emotion, I can only hope that the feeling can lead to action and change. And this is what I hope for with other listeners, too. 

Deepa:

Do you also include or incorporate folk or regional elements into your performance that are specific to the places where you perform?

Sushma:

The music in HOME features instruments from the Parai form and the Nadaswaram instrument. However, this was not because it was specific to any of the places I performed.

The Nadaswaram played a key role in the entire album and arc. It symbolised the voice of the Elephant, an animal that instilled urgency and kickstarted the whole creation process for me. 

We wanted to collaborate with Parai artists for The Elephant’s Funeral, as the music idea was born from their tradition of playing at funerals. It would have felt ingenious not to work with the actual instruments and artists belonging to the Parai form. 

As I got to know Deepan, the Parai artist, and when I visited him at his Home in Korukupetai in North Madras, I realised the importance of him having to share his story. My privilege while addressing sustainability and wildlife conservation was jarring for me. I realised there was no way I could speak about environmentalism without Deepan sharing his story of how he, his neighbourhood and communities were bearing the brunt of actions committed by people of privilege like myself.

Deepa:

Do you organise the concerts in a way where the concert experience revolves around environmental advocacy and sustainability? How do you convey the message to different audiences and make them immersive? Is it participatory theatre as well?

Aishwarya:

HomeSOS in itself is an experience in music and storytelling. But we do believe that the universe of people who work in the field of sustainability, especially start-ups and small firms, is scattered across sectors. Music can be that unifying thread that brings their stories alive. So, we do embrace the idea of creating experiences around HomeSOS where our partners can engage with the audiences in alignment with the broader vision of making conscious and environment-friendly choices in life. This goal could be achieved through partners across sectors, such as waste management, fashion, food, wildlife, clean fuel, and many more. The same holds true for post-event activities and engagements.

It is crucial, however, that the narrative is one and that we are all coming together, despite our varied fields, to spread that one message. Our intention is not for this to become a platform for individual companies or brands to promote their products or services.

Sushma:

I first needed to identify WHAT the message of HOME SoS was before deciding on HOW I could convey it. I realised I wanted to talk about everyday consumer habits. I firmly believe that in order for us to think about the bigger picture, policies and voting for the right parties who have the environment as one of their priorities, sustainability and conservation have to be important values for the individual. From personal experience, I know that for my loved ones and me to develop that as a value, we had to start with our everyday consumer habits. From bucket baths to avoiding plastic bags to recycling to choosing public transport over cars, these little choices we made were what led to deeper conversations on corporations, policies and politics. 

And this is exactly how we attempted to convey the message to different audiences. At this point, I think it’s also important to acknowledge that HOME SoS will invariably feature predominantly to audiences of privilege. So regardless of whether it’s Indians or otherwise, Tamilians or otherwise, young or old, I imagine that the people who will buy tickets and come for the show will be people in a position to effect change. I assume they are the ones who can say no to indulgent showers, to choosing public transport over cars, to say no to palm oil, etc. 

So, there is a segment in the show wherein I ask the audience questions about their consumer choices. These questions are designed based on the statistics of the city. For example, when I performed in Singapore, the theme focused more on plastic consumption. When I performed in Bangalore, it was more focused on water consumption. The segment also reveals statistics and impacts that the average person may not come across. The aim is not to shame the audience, but the hope is to have the audience leave the space reflecting on the impact of the daily choices they make. 

Deepa:

What is the audience’s reaction, and what kind of conversations on climate change have you had with your audience? How did they react to your shows? Have they come back to you mentioning that they have taken either ‘this or that’ action against climate change?

Sushma:

Below was one of the responses we received from our show in Bangalore:

A mother wrote to me:

‘For me, it was a feeling of irony cos as much as it sounded like a celebration, it was talking about some deeply disturbing things…I keep thinking the whole segregating waste and carrying a bottle thing I do will lead to nothing, but as I saw my son raising his hand for all your questions so proudly, I realised it does make a difference’.

Another response from our Singapore show:

‘We spoke all the way home about our life choices, just how we can do better for the earth on a day-to-day basis—where we can begin—and really, I think that’s a testament to how much your work made us think, questioned us, and put us in uncomfortable positions’.

What was heartwarming for me was that even people who questioned the power that an individual actually holds were moved and inspired to believe in the agency they have to make more environmentally conscious choices. That many were also parents was important for me, as these would then hopefully become the values their kids are taught.

Deepa:

Who are your partners and collaborators? Who would you like to feature/partner with in the future? What kind of shows can we expect in the future? Will you be exploring any specific themes within environmental sustainability, eco-conscious lifestyles, or any issue that would need an urgent call to action?

Aishwarya:

While Home SOS was developed as a gig theatre, which combines music and dramaturgy, we have also adapted it to a more music-centric version, where storytelling and dramaturgy are downplayed. We did this to reach more audiences and cater to diverse venues and festivals where formats become an important deciding factor.

Home SOS is currently in the process of building its next tour in India and hopefully one to follow in the UK. These will be across venues and festivals with a sustainability-focused theme, but also for general music lovers who we believe will be drawn to the music but may eventually pique their interest in the larger cause we hope to serve.

Deepa:

Thank you Sushma for giving me a chance to feature your work to advocate for the Planet! The purpose of ecoHQ has been realised with this meaningful piece. I am grateful to Aishwarya for co-ordinating this interview. And shout out to Namrata for introducing me to HOME SoS.