Nadasurabhi ventured into a new territory of promoting Carnatic Music in the month of February 2015. As most of our members, donors, patrons, rasikas, well wishers and music lovers are aware Nadasurabhi has been conducting monthly music concerts of a high standard, conducting a week long Annual Festival in November featuring the best artists in Carnatic music, a special concert series dedicated to the Youth in February, and another to highlight the contribution of Karnataka to Carnatic Music in August and many other such events. Nadasurabhi, as part of Karnataka Fine Arts Council, participates in the Youth Festival, Kalavanta in May. Organising high-level music courses to select few by eminent musicians is another commendable contribution of Nadasurabhi to the promotion and development of Indian Classical Music.
There was however an ambition within Nadasurabhi to take Indian Classical Music to the grass root level, where all learning starts, to the school. In its maiden effort, the Principal of Chinmaya Vidhyalaya Smt.Saroja Sridharan and the Principal of B-Mona High school, Smt. Moganambal were approached. The schools are located in Koramangala, Bangalore. Both the Principals, without a moment’s hesitation, welcomed the idea and promised all necessary help in conducting a “Music Appreciation Workshop” in their respective schools. The idea was to introduce the basics of Indian Classical music in a simple way to children, which would kindle their curiosity and increase their interest in this subject.
Nadasurabhi’s next task was to identify a teacher to handle this complex task. The teacher should be comfortable with interacting with children, keep them entertained and simultaneously be able to educate them on the subtle nuances of Classical music. He should be a musician who can sing and demonstrate the fundamental concepts as well as intricate musical patterns in an interesting way. The person finally arrived at was Vidwan R.Vasudevan. He is an artist who is passionate about music. He has left a lucrative post as a senior manager in a Multi National Company and now devoting time to be a musician and teacher.
The lecture demonstration sessions in the two schools turned out to be a delightful experience. As they were totally extempore interactive sessions with the children, the lectures in the two schools took totally different shapes, although never leaving the core topic of Indian classical music. Several topics including the various forms of music, the beginning of music, the difference between Indian classical music and other forms of music, the importance of the basic concepts of Sruthi, Raga, Taala, Bhava, Navarasa in Carnatic music were discussed. The demonstration of a train starting and picking up speed and its understanding with a taalam background gave great amusement to the children and understanding of the basics. As Sri.Vasudevan is a good vocalist, he could demonstrate the basic structures as well as complex keethanais up to the level of Alaapanai, and Thaanam.
Nadasurabhi feels that this first step in the unique direction of exposing school children to Carnatic Music, is a significant one. It also hopes that in the coming academic years, the effort can be further deepened and widened with the cooperation of the schools, the authorities, members of the staff and students. It is firmly believed that, in time, there will be many children who will grow up to be keen enthusiasts of Indian Classical music and may also produce at least a few great musicians.
