Journey of a Seed of Faith
Sept 2025
Video Designer
A musical celebrating 150 years of YWCA across Mumbai and India.
In September 2025, the YWCA of Bombay celebrated its 150th anniversary with a gala musical, Journey of a Seed of Faith, staged at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra.
The production was a large-scale community performance featuring a cast of 38 performers entirely from the YWCA community – members, staff, students of nursing, tailoring, and beautician courses, as well as children from the neighborhoods YWCA serves.
Scripted and directed by Padma Damodaran, with music and lyrics by Asif Ali Beg, the show wove together song, dance, story, and archival memory to narrate 150 years (1875–2025) of YWCA’s impact on women and children in Bombay.
The musical combined original songs, choreography, live performance, projections, costumes, and set design to create a vivid timeline — from colonial Bombay, through the wars and independence, to contemporary challenges and the future.
The performance also coincided with the release of a commemorative Coffee Table Book, marking the YWCA’s sesquicentennial milestone.
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I had the privilege of designing the video projections for Journey of a Seed of Faith. Guided by Padma Damodaran’s vision, my approach drew deeply on vintage photographs and archival materials from the YWCA’s own collections. Historical photos of Bombay, early portraits of members, and records of community initiatives became the textures and landscapes that framed the musical. Sepia tones, subtle flicker, and layered imagery helped transport the audience across 150 years – from the YWCA’s founding in 1875 through the wars, independence, and into the present day. It was important to me that the visuals supported the on-stage action and not overpower it, and support the visual storytelling. My heartfelt congratulations to the entire team for executing this production with such dedication and joy.
Cast & Crew
Written and Directed by Padma Damodaran
Performed by YWCA community — members, staff, students of nursing, tailoring, and beautician courses, as well as children from the neighborhoods YWCA serves.
Direction Team: Riya and Oscar
Lyrics and Music by Asif Ali Beg
Music Arrangements by Kaizad Gherda
Choreography by Amey Mehta
Lighting Design by Yael Crishna
Projections and Sound Operation by Nayan
Projections Design by Gaurav Nijjer
Costume Design by Pallavi Patel
Set Design by Raju
Makeup by Renuka and Team
Sound Engineering by Lazarus
Production Management by Rahul Kumar, Prem, and Sudhanshu
About the YWCA in India
The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is a movement working for the empowerment, leadership and rights of women, young women and girls in more than 100 countries. The members and supporters include women from many different faiths, ages, backgrounds, beliefs and cultures.
YWCA of India has its headquarters in New Delhi and has its 93 associations across the country. Our organisation strives to eliminate inequality and injustice in society by alliancing with our associations and networking partners with timely intervention in programmes and projects that specifically address the needs of marginalized communities regardless of age, class, caste, creed, religion. We aim at working for the marginalized people, especially women and young children, so that they are able to realize their rights, influence decision making processes and transform power structures. In this journey, YWCA of India also aims at addressing the environmental issues with our partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments, along with the persistent support from corporates, individual donors, and well-wishers.
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