Henrietta's Blog!: About Me - Henrietta Decruz

Hello Everyone!

I have spent over five decades on earth so far and it is an exciting time as I am still learning more about who I am!

Finding joy in my life

Here are some things that will help you get an idea of who I am.

Music

I used to be glued to the radio and was often located by my singing while I did most things.

I love music and singing since childhood. It was literally my life since I was a quiet child who didn't speak much.

I would listen to all kinds of music and sing both western and Hindi film songs.

I participated in many singing competitions and won many prizes for singing solo and in groups too.

Here are a few memorable highlights:

I started writing and composing songs in 1982. In July that year I performed my original song for the first time in public at a St. Francis DeSales Church parish programme. It was a programme for the Parish Priest, Fr. Thomas Thoomkuzhy's birthday. My sister sang along with me.

1985 - Winning the First Prize in the 'Youth Festival held to commemorate the International Year of the Youth in Delhi. Sang my original song “True Love” written and composed by me. I was accompanied by my sister and a band. This performance caught the eye of a person who was instrumental in getting me a chance to sing on television.

1986-1987 - Sang 6 of my original songs for 3 television programmes on Delhi Doordarshan - first in the Delhi Metro Channel followed by the Doordarshan National Channel. In these 3 television programmes too I was accompanied by my sister and a band. The programme on DD's National channel was repeated several times because of the very good response.

Here's an excerpt from one of the television programmes aired on national TV. The video quality is poor as it was recorded on a prerecorded video cassette and is very old too.

An Excerpt from our Doordarshan TV Programme 'Youth Forum' in 1986

1990 - Wrote and composed an original song 'Song for Women' on request for the Bicentennary Celebrations of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, held at Mumbai. The song was recorded in a studio, Leon D'Souza gave background music while Aarti Rao gave her voice for the track used in the special programme.

Memories of the Bicentennary Celebrations Programme in 1990

1991 - Sang 6 of my original songs on All India Radio, Goa during a holiday visit.

I went on to write several songs through the years including secular songs, gospel songs and cause related songs.

2001 - Wrote, composed, produced, sang and recorded a song, 'Say No to Hate’ which was inspired by the tragic World Trade Centre bombing on September 11, 2001.

My Song 'Say No to Hate'

2007 - ‘Suggested Artist’ at the Song of the Year Contest 2007 for my song ‘Say No to Hate.’

My Song 'Power of the Blood'

2008 - Semi Finalist at the U.K Songwriting Contest 2008 for my song – ‘The Power of the Blood’ in the Gospel Category.

2009 - Semi Finalist at the U.K Songwriting Contest 2009 for my song – ‘Say No to Hate’ in 2009 in the Open Category.

2010 - First Indian Finalist at the U.K. Songwriting Contest 2010 for my song – “Follow Me” in the Faith/Christian Category

- Suggested Artist at 'Song of the Year Contest' 2010 for my song - "Follow Me"

My song 'Follow Me'

UK Songwriting Contest Semi-Finalist Certificate for 'Power of the Blood'

UK Songwriting Contest Semi-Finalist Certificate for 'Say No to Hate'

UK Songwriting Contest Finalist Certificate for 'Follow Me'

The news article in Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, on becoming a Finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest 2010

Some years ago I was very happy to hear my song 'Follow Me' plan on an Internet Radio Station - 'I AM'

Message received from 'I AM Radio'

I have written, composed, sang, recorded songs and published some of my songs online through various websites including Reverbnation, Soundcloud and YouTube. A few of them are finished recordings with background music while a good number are sung acapella without background music.

In God's time, I will be working on the music and bringing out my original songs, both secular and gospel songs. Watch out for this space!

Writing

My Favorite Class Teacher Mrs. Anies Sebastian, SFS

Being a very quiet child, I hardly conversed with anyone in my family. I found a new lease of life when my Class Teacher from school in Std IV, Mrs. Anies Sebastian taught us to write poems. Suddenly the world of words opened its arms and welcomed me into itself.

Mrs. Anies encouraged our class to write articles for our school magazine. Thus I wrote my first piece 'A Prayer for Courage' which got published in St. Francis DeSales School's Annual School Magazine 'The Quest.' It was written in the aftermath of the Delhi Riots following the assassination of Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Since then I wrote a poem or writing for the school magazine and even for our Class Magazines every year.

'A Cry for Friendship' by Henrietta

My First Letter to the Editor - 1985

I wrote my first letter to the editor in 1985 when I was in the 9th Std! It was a short note thanking the Times of India for the new 'The Times Offspring' section which later became its 'Education' section.

One day I came across the 'Teenager' magazine in the SFS school library. I saw some poems published in it and decided to send in my poems too. To my surprise they got published! The first one titled 'Autumn' was published in the July 1986 edition, while the seond one 'The Reawakening - When' was published in the January 1987 edition.

I also wrote for a newsletter published by some youngsters titled 'Vicinity' and for the 'Parish Bulletin' of the St. Francis DeSales Church. Sadly I lost all the copies of the Parish Bulletins I had saved up as my father gave it away without asking me. I still grieve the loss of those Bulletins.

The first magazine to publish my poems - 'Teenager' in 1986

My poem 'Autumn' was published in the July 1986 edition

'Teenager' January 1987 edition

'The Reawakening - When' was published in the January 1987 edition

Writings in 'Vicinity' - a neighborhood newsletter - 1

Writings in 'Vicinity' - a neighborhood newsletter - 2

Writing My First Book

The first book I wrote on my own is 'The Seeker - A Search for Truth'

A ‘Seeker’ is a person who wants to find the answers to these questions and sets out to find them. A seeker wants to know the truth for himself/ herself and will not settle until they find it. 'The Seeker' was written to meet the need each has person has to reach the truth.

I delved into my own journey to find the truth and have shared short easy to read chapters with information to help seekers find answers.

The front cover of my book 'The Seeker'

The back cover of my book 'The Seeker'

This book is available on Amazon.

Here is the link to the book 'The Seeker' on Amazon

My Second Book

The Second Book I wrote is a book for children titled 'Sasha & His Friends: The Swing in the Park.'

It is a simple and easy to read story that will help children grasp moral values. The story highlights the importance of friendship and honesty in relationships.

My second book 'Sasha & His Friends'

This book can be purchased on Amazon.

Here is a link to the Kindle version of the book 'Sasha & His Friends: The Swing in the Park

A Shocking Discovery

When I was around ten years old I discovered something that shocked me completely. I learned that my life began with the terrible and traumatic expereince of being rejected by my father because I was born as a girl. I learned this truth from my mother. After grieving for a number of days, I made a decision that I would prove to my father that I was as good as a boy, if not better.

I plunged myself into all kinds of activities and participated in all competitions and to my surprise, I did well too. I won a lot of prizes and certificates. However, the sad truth was that I didn't receive any joy from winning all these prizes or certificates since my real goal was to receive the acceptance and approval of my father.

Prizes & Certificates received in school

Prizes & Certificates received in college

Certificates received later

Art & Paintings

Drawing and art has been a part of our family. I guess that is because my Dad was a very good artist. I was blessed to be able to draw well even during myschool days. However, it wasn't until after several years that I discovered how therapeutic it is. During a time of great stress, I painted the 'Mughal Princess' painting and found the experience very calming. Since then I didn't look back!

I experimented with various mediums and allowed art to flow through me! The result is here for you to see.

Here are some of my paintings and artwork:

Cover Songs

Singing was a passion when I was a child. I was so glued to the radio that I learned songs very fast. Not just that I used to mimic the sounds of the singers and try to sing just like them. I would sing the male voice and female voices too.

As I grew up and got more involved with spiritual matters over the years, those songs faded away. It was only recently that I realized that I have a gift and that I should use it well to glorify my Creator. Since my voice is unique and different and hard to find, I felt I should sing more and give all the glory for my voice to the Lord Who gave me such a voice. Thus began a new chapter in singing cover songs.

One of the biggest discoveries I made since I started singing these cover songs was that many of the old songs I loved were sad songs. They revealed that I was able to relate to them well and that was why they were close to my heart.

They too were a kind of therapy for me as it helped me express my suffering without really saying anything to anyone.

Acting, Scriptwriting & Direction

I got my first chance to act in a play in Std IV. I acted in various stage and street plays too.

I was asked to write a script on the theme 'What is happening to our Mother Earth?' And this play was performed by various groups at various places. I was happy to be invited as a special guest when the play was performed by a school's primary section in their annual day programme!

Participating in school, college and hostel programmes kept me busy through the years. Later I got to be a part of a short film and also play the part of Mary in a Good Friday Drama presented by my church.

Performing the role of mother in the reenactment of a testimony story. It was aired as part of a CBN television programme

Christmas The Inside Story, NLAG's Cantata & Drama can be watched on Youtube. Here is the full presentation.

Scriptwriting - My first play

I used to write poems and stories but it was by request that I wrote my first play. Ms. Gracie Joseph, Registrar of the College of Social Work told me that the nearby church (Our Lady of Dolours, New Marine Lines) needed a play that the children can put on during Children's Mass. The title of the play was to be 'What Is Happening to Mother Earth?'

I think she felt I could do it because I worked for the environmental project 'Forum for Environmental Concern' (FEC) then. I remember I had a week to write it. A couple of days went by and then suddenly there were just two days left.

In those two days, I envisioned mother earth being in a broken and bruised state and a court case being held with God as the Judge. To segregate the ones who abused the earth and those who cared about it, two characters were made. All of creation came and testified before God about what man had done to mother earth.

I was able to write the script in time and the play was given to the church. I didn't get to see the play being performed. After that I wondered what I should do with the script. Since I was setting up a Library and handling documentation for FEC. I kept the script in the library thinking perhaps it could be used by more people.

True enough, there was an enquiry from someone who was part of a youth group. He took the play and their teams performed it in different places. He then came and informed me that the play had been picked up by St. Paul's School at Dadar and that the children from Primary School would be performing the play on their Annual Day. In fact I was invited to come and see their performance.

I remember how special they made me feel as they introduced me to the children who were getting ready for the performance saying, 'This is the Aunty who wrote the play you are acting in!' Later as I sat in the auditorium and saw this big group of children perform my play I was overwhelmed. I hadn't thought that the play would reach this far! I just wrote it on request.

Scripting Street-Plays

When I was a student of Social Work. I volunteered to act in a street play for Sakhya the Anti-Dowry Guidance Cell. After many performances of the play, I got to be part of another play. The script was not developed and Probir Bose gave me the opportunity to put into words the anguish of an unborn female foetus whose mother was considering abortion. I wrote more scripts for street plays too.

Scripting Stage Plays

While working with children in 2005 I thought of ways to bring the Word of God alive for them. This gave me the idea of writing plays that the youth would perform for the children to bring stories from the Bible alive for them.

Fr. Aloysius Selva Kumar was a very open minded leader with vision. He facilitated everything that was required in bringing everything together. The volunteers of St. Anthony's Church, Gandhinagar were excellent. Whether it organizing things for the children's camp or acting in the Bible plays they did it so well.

I started with the Parable of Talents. After the youth performed the play, I got the children to list out the characteristics of the three servants during the discussion. The whole board was filled with their answers and I was overjoyed to see how much they learned from the play. Any teacher could not have conveyed so much with a lecture.

This led to more Bible plays. As we had a Children's Sunday once every month, it was a chance to showcase one more story. The best part was that at the end of the year, we got the children to pick their own stories from the Bible, write, direct and act in their own plays. It was a very special Drama Competition! The children were very excited, they would get together in the evenings and prepare their play.

The plays we wrote and performed as part of the Children's Programme included The Parable of Talents, The Rich Man & Lazarus, Three Men & The Fiery Furnace, The Prodigal Son, Jesus & Zacchaeus, The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax- Collector, The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith and Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant.

Scripting for Television

I was very excited when I got a job in CBN - Christian Broadcasting Network. They produced programmes for television which were broadcast through mainstream television channels. I was given the opportunity to write host scripts for 'Ek Nayee Zindagi' and wrote a set of them before the programme's production was moved to New Delhi.

After this, I was asked to write host scripts for their children's programme 'Khushi Ki Duniya.' As I had worked with children for many years, I loved doing this job!
One of the exciting things I thoroughly enjoyed doing was writing a song depicting how the children's programme was produced. This was for the 100th Episode of Khushi Ki Duniya. Sangeetham Prabhakar asked me to write a song and said the song should have different styles in it.

I wrote and composed the 100th Episode song. It was fun recording for this song with different voices. The last part of the song had to be sung in a qawwali style. Sangeetham got Ruknuddin, a professional qawwali singer to sing it! Then came the video recording. The whole team had a great time shooting for this unforgettable episode.

Social Work - Voluntary & Professional

As a teenager, I encountered the bitter truth about the great suffering some people have to endure when I met a 12 year old gangrape victim in a remand home. Though I had suffered due to rejection too, my suffered seemed like nothing before what that girl was going through.

Here is a poem I wrote in my blog based on my encounter with the 12 year old gangrape survivor's predicament -

Lone Girl - A Survivor | A poem on my experience of meeting a gangrape survivor

It was a series of meetings that made a great impact on my life. I began to think about those like that girl who had no voice or ability to make a better life for themselves. I wondered what happened to such people.

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that something needed to be done for these people and I decided that I would study Social Work and become a social worker. This led me to get admission in the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan in Mumbai. This was the beginning of one the best chapters of my life.

Volunteering as a Student

While I was still a student of Social Work, I began volunteering for various activities and supporting causes.

1988 Coordinate Committee for Vulnerable Children, Mumbai. Assisted as a volunteer in organizing the first rally of street children held in Bombay

1988-91 Sakhya, Anti-Dowry Guidance Cell, Mumbai. Volunteer, helped in organizing the yearly awareness programme called ‘Avhan.’ Did the main role in a street play titled 'Mukhauta' to raise awareness among people on dowry. It was performed several times on the streets of Mumbai. Co-wrote, composed and sang a song on Anti-Dowry Awareness for a Cassette produced by Sakhya.

1993- 2000 Tulsiwadi Slum Community, Mumbai. Concept Creator, Social Worker. Worked with riot-affected children who were first generation learners. Organized tuition classes, extracurricular activities, 7 residential camps and a behavioral modification programme. Reported about in the print media in Times of India, Indian Express and on television news through Star News and Kiran, a programme on Doordarshan.

The video of the Star News Report covering the work done in Tulsiwadi

Stills from the Doordarshan programme 'Kiran' on the work done in Tulsiwadi

You can watch the video of the DD programme 'Kiran' here

November 2001- July 2002 The Deaf Way Foundation, Hyderabad. Taught and conducted a 7 month course in English for adult Deaf students

June - December 2005 St. Anthony’s Church, Hyderabad. Conceptualized, organized and implemented a Children’s Programme and a 6-day Summer Camp. Wrote and directed 9 plays based on Biblical stories that were performed by the church youth.

2003 to 2014 Various NGOs, Hyderabad. Volunteered for events and activities organized by various NGOs working for:

Street children,

Orphans,

Physically challenged children,

HIV positive children,

Cancer patients,

Beggars and destitute

Youth and

The elderly in an Old Age Home

2004 Prison Ministry of India, with Sisters of Charity S.C.C.G, Hyderabad. Volunteered and assisted activities specially organized for the women prisoners in the Chanchalguda Special Prison for Women

May 2009-April 2012 Deaf Enabled Foundation, Hyderabad. Prepared website content, wrote project proposals, promotional letters, press releases, handled documentation and legal paperwork. Prepared presentations and conducted training programmes for deaf women, students and workers. Was MC at the International Day of the Deaf Celebrations programmes where major dignitaries including Governors and Ministers were chief guests.

At DEF's International Women's Day Programme - with Ramya Miryala

January - June 2011 Carpe Diem Foundation, Hyderabad. Conducted sessions on values for the children who are orphans and semi orphans

June 2013 – March 2014 Prison Ministry, Hyderabad. Conducted talks and organized activities for the women prisoners of the Chanchalguda Special Prison for Women

September 2014 to 2021 SOI – Street Heroes of India, Kochi, Kerala. Conducted and supported SOI's activities at children’s shelter homes. It started with taking English classes for the girls in Valsalya Bhavan, Don Bosco Centre, after which I supported their activities such as workshops on music therapy, art therapy and a picnic to Marari Beach.

Memories from the picnic the children of Valsalya Bhavan had at Marari Beach

When I look back, I realize that all these activities have enriched me and helped in shaping who I am today. Meeting different people and working with different organizations for various causes has taught me many things and made my life extraordinary and special.

The Launch of My First Podcast!

Timeless Words of Wisdom

'Timeless Words of Wisdom' or TWOW is a weekly podcast.

Through this podcast I share small golden nuggets of wisdom which simplifies the important matters of life and makes it easy to understand. If you are interested in going deeper into matters that concern life, you may like these messages.

The first episode I shared was on the subject 'Who should you fear?' It was first aired on Instagram on 19th August 2023 and then shared on YouTube.

All the episodes of this podcast have been shared together on this blog. Check them out!

The TWOW episode on 'Are You Tired of Life?

The subsequent episodes covered questions such as - 'Do you feel unwanted and alone?' 'Are you tired of life?' and 'Have you been rejected?

There are more interesting episodes on issues we grapple in life coming up. Subscribe and stay tuned so you don't miss any of them.

You can watch the TWOW podcast on Spotify, YouTube and Instagram too.

Timeless Words of Wisdom podcast on Spotify

Timeless Words of Wisdom podcast on YouTube

Timeless Words of Wisdom podcast on Instagram

The Resurrection of a Forgotten Dream

God resurrected a dream I had forgotten for many years. While growing up the radio and television played a big role in my life. Music and films became very integral to my existence as there weren't many conversations happening with anyone around.

I would watch the award winning films that were shown on Doordarshan every Saturday. I would watch the interviews with the directors too. I loved cinema and the way it could convey messages and tell stories. However, I didn't have the courage to tell myself that I would be a filmmaker then as the circumstances in my life were so negative and almost hopeless.

Come January 2024 and my God turned things around and led me to make my very first film, a documentary film that was entered into a Film Festival!

In mid December 2023 I received an email from Rajashekhar Vijjeswarapu of Engage Disability Hyderabad Hub. It was about WHO's Health for All Film Festival. WHO Rehabilitation Programme had emailed them a 'Call for short films on rehabilitation.' The deadline for sending in entries was 31st January 2024.

After a busy Christmas season, around the end of December I checked the details and had an idea and put down some questions. Our Engage Disability Hyderabad Hub team met on 5th of January and gave me their thumbs up. We didn't have any time to raise funds.

We were a two member team, my filmmaker son Isaac and me, and we had a hectic month filled with shooting interviews, editing, working on the music and finishing the film for submission.

To say the least, it was a sublime and humbling experience. We are grateful to Ravi Iyer of Talkaholics and George Ebenezer from Santosha Samsara. Thanks to their support we were able to include an interview each from Mumbai and Bangalore. Thanks is also due to the Founder of Epistles, Dr. Rajkumar Songa for allowing us to shoot interviews in their premises.

I am extremely grateful to God as without my even knowing it, He resurrected my childhood dream of making films which was lost and buried somewhere. I look back and am amazed to see how He enabled me to direct and produce this documentary film which is my first film as a filmmaker!

'A Call from the Deep' is now a part of my life story, a very important milestone for me as it involves a subject that is very close to my heart too.

I am very thankful to Rajashekhar Vijjeswarapu and all the members of Engage Disability Hyderabad Hub for giving me the opportunity to work on this film.

On 31st January 2024, just before we ran out of time, we were able to submit our documentary film to the Health for All Film Festival! 'A Call from the Deep' is a short documentary film of 7.58 minutes.

Watch the documentary film 'A Call from the Deep'

A New Chapter as an Entrepreneur

In the year 2020, God began stirring my heart to become an entrepreneur. It was during the Covid pandemic He gave me the seed of an idea. I was working for an ad-agency at that time and it took me some time to grasp what the Lord wanted me to do.

Come June 2022, it was time for a new chapter and I was able to enrol into a mentorship programme by Gerald Duran, Founder of CanaGlobal. In November 2022 God began leading me to take baby steps to start my own business. Thus 'Rehale' was born!

Rehale is a coined word meaning 'to breathe new life.' Rehale is a digital services agency that 'crafts digital success stories' for clients including businesses and NGOs.

The services provided by Rehale include copywriting for print ads, brochures & pamphlets, press releases, handbooks and social media posts. We also prepare content for websites along with web designing & development, branding, social media campaigns, blogs and email marketing. We also do scriptwriting, shooting and editing of videos and films.

I am ever grateful to God, my Father!

I have seen a lot of ups and downs in my life. Some of them were so terrible, I couldn't imagine getting out of those situations. But God. God had a plan and purpose for my life. He pulled me out of those difficult life situations. It took me many years to heal from the long periods of trauma I had been through, but God never left me even for a second. He was with me covering me and protecting me from the attacks that would have taken me out and He was there healing and restoring me back to life too.

I know for a certainty that I am alive and have breath in my lungs today only because of my heavenly Father Who saved me when I had reached the brink and wanted to end my life a couple of times in the year 2000.

He sent me a wonderful friend who shared the love of God to me in my dire situation and literally saved me from destruction! I am indebted to the Lord and to my friend Rekha who was instrumental in my salvation. Though I was born in a Christian family, I didn't know Jesus as my personal Saviour and it was her prayers, her love and the grace she showed me that led me to see and receive Him as my Saviour too.

I lived through a disastrous chapter of my life and survived things that anhilated my identity and my personality. Everything I knew about myself upto that point was erased by the trauma and pain I endured in that relationship. God brought me to the point of realizing where I was and walked me every step of the way to reclaim and regain my lost identity.

It was a long process as there was so much fragmentation that had taken place in me, putting the pieces together was hard and difficult as I was raising my child as a single parent without any support at the same time. I owe everything I was able to do during those years only to my Lord, my ABBA Father. He gave me strength and hope to keep going when there was no one to encourage me and speak a kind word to me.

God's Word was my go-to in every situation in my life. I found solace in His Word and His counsel gave me wisdom to navigate through the sticky and hard situations of life I found myself in. I have made mistakes in my life and later realized those mistakes on reading the Word of God. He corrected me and helped me change my mindset and patterns of thinking for the better.

I am proud of my heavenly Father and indebted to Him for life. I cannot imagine living the rest of my life without my Lord. I thank Jesus my Saviour for taking all my wrongdoings, my sins on the cross so I could enjoy freedom from all the things that held me down and snuffed out every joy from my life. God refilled my hope and gave me a reason to live. His words in Isaiah 43:1-4 really spoke to my heart. He has really walked with me in each and every chapter of my life. He has been faithful even when I was unfaithful to Him. How do I thanks such a wonderful and loving heavenly Father enough!

I hope all that I have shared in this section will inspire you to trust in your Maker, your Creator, Who is the one true Living God. He knows you by name and inside out because He created you.

Thank you for going through this long 'About Me' section patiently. I wish you the very best in life. I believe you are very special and unique too. There are gifts inside you that are waiting to be discovered. I hope you will seek to know more about who you are by seeking your Maker and asking Him to reveal the whole truth about you and your identity. Most of all please remember to not compare yourself with anyone but to celebrate who you are and focus on developing your gifts and talents so you can be a blessing to many people and glorify your Maker.

Henrietta's Blog!

About Me - Henrietta Decruz