Young ones strum it out

“Lay down the rose, coz I declare war. My demons are with me,
can you hear my rage roar? Blinded by pain, my conscious won’t start, Get ready for battle, I’m about to scream charge!”

The song is about an Army General,” says 16-year-old songwriter Asjad Ahmed, student of Billabong High, Juhu. The war song is one among the many penned by Ahmed for his five-member rock band, Prayer Disintegrate, of which his 14-year-old brother Akhlad is also a part.

Asjad and Akhlad, like many other school students across the city, are turning to music to divert teenage angst into harmless self-expression. And school authorities are more than happy to stand by their side. “The spate of student suicides in the recent past bear testimony to the fact that students are increasingly feeling worked up. Music is a great de-stressor for them. We are happy to have multiple rock bands in our school,” says Shim Mathew, principal, Vibgyor High, Goregaon, which recently hosted an interschool rock band competition.

Amateur school bands may be a far cry from professional ones, but their passion makes up for that. “For students, music is a platform to express their emotions through musical instruments, songs and lyrics,” says Ruchika Agarwal, principal, RIMS International School, Juhu. Amplified Dreams, the school’s band, defines music as not just a hobby but something that helps them break out of the mundane, and helps them relax and think healthier.

Parents too are for the idea and are getting comfortable with the little rock star in the next room. With unconventional career options gaining acceptability and the ‘rock is rebellious’ notion wearing off, parents are encouraging their young ones to express themselves using any creative medium. And music is one of them.

“I was glued to Guns ‘n’ Roses and Pink Floyd in my young years. It was cool to be a rock star and it was our way of expressing that we were different from our parents’ generation. The current generation is no different except that they are starting early. I see no harm in it. It is an extension of their personality,” says Rajita Sharma, filmmaker and mother of 14-year-old Rahul. Rahul is the lead singer in his five-member rock band at Vibgyor High — The Phoenix Lament. “Phoenix is associated with happiness and lament is a Turkish expression for sorrow. Imagine what would happen when a phoenix turns sorrowful,” says Rahul, explaining the dichotomy.

While for some students, practice sessions are once or twice a week affair, others devote at least an hour to rigorous jamming every day. Twelve-year-old Rishaad Ali Khan prefers the latter. Khan is the band manager and co-singer of Uncensored, one of the two rock bands at the Podar International School. “Music and songs have a lot of emotion. When I am playing an instrument, it feels as if I am in paradise; I am no longer thinking. I am free,” says Khan, who listens to Supersonic by Oasis when he is feeling low. Uncensored is looking forward to their gig at a popular coffee joint in the city.

While college gives you more freedom to experiment with your looks—  long hair, tattoos, body piercing— school students have to compromise on the front. Shivan Sengupta, 15, a student of Vibgyor High, a rhythm guitarist for 13 Journey, says he is happy adding funkiness to his guitar if not to his looks. Sengupta has coated his guitar with brown paint, the coat being artistically carved. Though, he is currently avoiding a haircut. “I have curly hair so I try to cover up the length by combing it differently,” smiles Sengupta.

However Tanya Agarwal, 14, member of Zero Degrees, at Podar International School, who is as comfortable with the guitar and drums as she is with the keyboard and flute, feels that “the way you dress and the way you hold your instruments are key.”

Sudeshna Chaterjee, principal, Jamnabai Narsee School feels creating music even without  sophisticated musical instruments will encourage more schools to open up to the idea of rock bands. “Our students use anything lying at home or in the classroom right from clay pots to tin cans to create music,” says Chaterjee.

Vandana Lulla, principal of Podar International School takes a scientific view. She feels that schools should incorporate more music into the curriculum, be it western or classical. “Harvard Gardner’s research and the Multiple Intelligences theory points out that every child is born with nine intelligences. However, in schools we have just tapped their linguistic and mathematical skills. It’s high time we cater to their musical intelligence,” says Lulla.