Music Educator
During my vocal training at Baroda, I entered the teaching world where I realized my special abilities to communicate the intricacies of classical music in a simple way to young children. My Guruji Pt Narayan Rao Patwardhanji helped me create many techniques to make music lessons simple such that even a beginner could understand the grammar and skill of music with ease and simplicity. I believe music is divine as it touches ones soul and restores the peace of mind leading to a sense of well-being.
During this learning/teaching process I came across many questions that helped me to perceive music with depth and intensity. My approach towards music is that of being simple and that speaks of the flow of the life.My humble efforts are that music should have the human touch. For me singing a raga or a thumri would mean more than a combination of notes as it consists the feeling and experience of life.
As a teacher or performer my emphasis is always on the depth of the bhava in the raga or a composition of thumri which could touch the heart and one can experience the eternal flow of life.
During the year 1999 in Mumbai I came across a teenager suffering from Autism, to whom I had to teach music as a therapy. It led me to innovate many methods to simplify music for special kids like him. Here again I got another chance to view music with a different perspective. It made my vision more clear and expanded towards music and life as well.
I have cultivated many exercises using music as a therapy for such special kids to bring them out of their own shell and could see them vibrating well with the music and they were able to relate to the outside world in much better way.
In medical parlance I remained non entity but the effect on my special kids was highly apparent. I recollected the mythical fable of the eternal songs of Tansen and Baiju Bawra during Akbar's regime in India. The songs illuminated the lamps and brought rain. I feel it was certainly not a myth. Since the first student proved a kind of providential commandment I went on cultivating various exercises in musicology. This experience is very inspiring and has satisfied my urge to see/view music with humanistic approach.
Well known film director Aruna Raje made a documentary on Autism titled "Behind the glass wall" where I also got a chance to view myself teaching my special student Nihar. Here you can see the 2 min clip of the documentary .
