Taratala: Cheering students, clapping teachers and an inclusive band belting out favourite numbers - that's the kind of school day Debojyoti Roy, a Class VI student of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, would like every day.

More than 100 students from all classes and departments of the institution were treated to some popular music by an energetic band of 10 that made its debut on Tuesday.

Six of the band members are from the Welfare Society for the Blind (WSB). Among them, harmonica player Manoj Sarkar turned out to be a favourite with the crowd. As Manoj played Hain apna dil to awara on his harmonica to fellow musician Mamta Sharma's singing, the crowd shouted for an encore.

"I felt proud when the crowd loved me. Rain had often curtailed our practice sessions but not our spirit," said Manoj, who has just finished his master's in Bengali.

The Calcutta chapter of inclusive band Pehli Baarish, an initiative of NGO Trinayani and the Rotary Club of Calcutta Midtown, is the brainchild of singer-activist Ritika Sahni.

The band seeks to empower musicians with disability and groom them for stage performances. The Mumbai chapter was launched four years ago.

Ritika, the founder of Trinayani, and singer-actor Silajit joined the musicians on stage, belting out a heady mix of Bollywood, English and Bengali songs.

Putting the band together had been a challenge. "I had to establish trust and instil a sense of discipline in the musicians. Initially, they would land up at different times for rehearsals. They were not sure the effort was going anywhere. Most of them had no instruments of their own. They would only practise at the blind society. Building the team spirit and helping them coordinate with the regular members yet another challenge," she said.

The band rehearsed once a week for a month. "Four days were enough to get all of us in sync. We are all balancing music with our studies, so time management was sometimes a challenge," said Ratul Basak, a student of computer applications who plays the tabla.

The response of the students and teachers at IICP has filled the blind musicians with hope. "I dream of singing live before a larger audience in future," said Surajit Mondal.

The band has also fired musical dreams in the students of IICP. "We have an in-house band at our school. I want to be like these musicians one day," said Bittu Sen.

For Suvangi Mitra of Class VI, it was the most memorable day of her life. "The band honoured most of our song requests," she smiled.

The music was interspersed with simple tips from Ritika. "A guide should never pull a blind person. Just lead him from the front," she said, as Surajit was led to the stage to sing Sadher lau and other hits.

Sonali Nandi, the chief operating officer and director (technical service) of IICP, was happy with the show. "Music is a great motivator. It acts like therapy for our students. Seeing them happy and cheerful is a big thing for us," she said.

Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta