Sangeet Mahavidyala: Jarring note of apathy

KANPUR: Amidst dingy rooms with seeping roofs and unfavourable conditions, a group of music lovers have kept the musical tradition of the city alive. Though their zeal and students' spirit remain unbridled, its the apathy of Kanpur Nagar Nigam that is slowly pushing the Gandhi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya on the path of extinction.
Former student Indu Mehrotra, who is now principal of the college, comments dejectedly, "No development will ever take place here." She further says "Assurances and boastful claims about ameliorating the condition of the college are meant for public consumption only.Nothing has happened at the ground level."
Still the college has continued to produce performing artists who have won accolades at the national and the international level. To name a few, Veenasahas Buddhe, a vocal musician who has trained several IIT'ians; Gopal Pathak who has played sitar on international platform many times; and Harish and Ashish Jha who have done well in Bollywood.
Established in 1948, the college came under nagar nigam's jurisdiction in 1955 and soon lost favour of the power-that-be. KNN's apathy towards the college can be gauged from the fact that music teachers are regarded and paid as worker instead of being graded equivalent to a teacher of any intermediate college. Roopam Bajpai who has been teaching in the college for more than 20 years said, "We are treated as an employee. As a former student, I want to see the college regain the glorious heights of founder Shankar Paad Bodas' tenure."
The same desire drives the students. Physically challenged Ranjit Pandey, a student, says, "My passion for music overrides my disability. In fact, it motivates me to hone my skills and prove my worth."
DS Bajpai, a retired IAF officer, has joined tabla, sitar and harmonium classes. Like an ideal student he comes to the college regularly and enjoys being a student. "After spending many years of my life in the defence, I have now ample time to concentrate on my hobby. The glorious past and the ambience of the college attracted me to be a part of it."
The Gandhi Sangeet Mahavidyalaya affiliated to Akhil Bhartiya Ghandharv Mahavidalaya Mandal, Mumbai offers diploma in Kathak dance and vocal music in harmonium, sitar, veena, guitar, mandolin, tabla and violin. The teachers here claim that the course offered is far better than other private musical schools.
Gopal Pathak, a teacher since 1981, laments decline in love of classical music among city youths and helds private music colleges responsible that have mushroomed in the city. "Classical music has lost its sheen to Bollywood and international music. Students who enroll in the college want to learn basics of vocal music to enter the glittering world of tinsel town."