Musicians perform at Kendriya Vidyalaya 1 at a programme presented by Spic Macay

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya 1 recently enjoyed a morning of Indian classical music presented by the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music among the Youth (Spic Macay), a movement that focuses on exposing the young to Indian art forms and heritage.

The performers included Hindustani vocalist Ustad Waseem Ahmed Khan, Sanjay Adhikari on the tabla, Jyoti Goho on the harmonium and Sarwar Hussain on the sarangi. Khan sang ragas including Ahir Bhairav, Vilambit and Pancham which drew long-drawn applause from the students.

Then came the requests and questions from the little ones.

“Classical music gives one inner satisfaction. It is a type of meditation. We should all learn classical music, or at least listen to good music. It is a vast ocean. We can’t give it anything, it gives us everything,” smiled Khan as he summed up his answers.

The audience included reality show winners to children who wish to take up classical music as a career or become aware of its nuances. “I have been learning how to play the sarod from Rajiv Chakraborty for the past six years. I wish to take it up as a profession. I have attended several performances by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. I love his sitting style, straight but facing sideways, never towards the camera,” said Srijoy Maitra, a Class IX student.

Asmita Kar of Class X was the first runner-up of Zee Bangla’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2013. “I love listening to Kaushiki Chakraborty, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shreya Ghoshal and Lata Mangeshkar. Today it was really encouraging to find that so many of my friends are interested in classical music,” she smiled.

Contrary to listening trends among most children of their age, these students did not seem to be very fond of contemporary stars. “My favourite singers are Mohd. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. Amongst the current musicians, I only like A.R. Rahman. I love his composition Kun fayakun from the film Rockstar,” said Imamah Ali, Class IX.

Siddhartha Chatterjee of Class VIII echoed what Imamah said and also highlighted a sad reality: “I have been learning music since I was six years old. I like listening to Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. There are some good singers today but none to compare to these two. I wish to be a scientist alongside singing as classical vocalists do not earn a lot.”

The teacher-organiser, Muzar Mannan, pointed out that students need to be exposed to classical art. “Children are getting alienated from Indian culture and unless they are exposed to the beauty of the art, they will not learn to appreciate it,” she said.