Catching them young

We often lament about how teenagers don’t take to Indian classical music as well as they should, because they’re increasingly being seduced by Bollywood and Western music. On the other hand, teenagers often find Indian classical music “boring”. How then, do you go about making sure that we keep our rich musical tradition alive?

The Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, run by the Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal, is making efforts in this direction, to ensure that kids develop a liking for classical music, by launching a special basic course in Indian classical music for the children in the 10-16 years’ age bracket from July 15.

“We direct what little profits we make from the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival towards our musical training programmes at the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahavidyalaya. This year, we decided to bifurcate and start a course for young children with an aim to create a liking in them for Indian classical music,” says Mukund Sangoram, trustee of Arya Sangeet Prasarak Mandal. He adds that the course will not be exam-oriented and will be extremely informal, making learning a fun process for the children. The best names in the field of Indian classical music will interact with these children.

“If they like this basic introductory course, they can always opt for a higher-level training programme in Indian classical music. Kids are the future listeners of classical music and by cultivating a liking for classical music in them, we are generating a musical market for the genre,” says Sangoram, adding that this will help keep the musical tradition alive. Further details can be obtained at the Sawai Gandharva Sangeet Mahavidyalaya.