Meaningful music at Hindu Mandir Glasgow

The majority of the group are not living with dementia, but one lady who attends has advanced dementia. Mrs Sood no longer takes part in conversation, but the ladies told us they often sing with her. Some of the ladies sang Punjabi songs from childhood and talked about the memories they brought back. As a result of the visit, the Shanti Bhavan Social & Cultural Centre agreed to join our Help Point network and share our printed resources in English, Hindu and Punjabi with their community. 

At a further visit we showcased our resources and chatted to many of the ladies who shared their knowledge of the power of music and what it means to them personally, with one lady sharing how music brings back memories of her mother who was a musician. During the session the ladies began to sing to engage Mrs Sood. Mrs Sood began to sing ‘the old songs’ and the ladies sang along with her and we were fortunate to gain permission to film a clip of this moment. The group commented on how well the music engages Mrs Sood and how she remembers all the words and they were keen to highlight this as an example of what we had been talking about – the power of music.