Now, more kids take to music, dance

PATNA: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That is probably the reason why parents in the city are encouraging their Jacks and Jills to learn different forms of music, dance or visual arts.
Saroj Das, a music teacher at Don Bosco Academy (and guru of Indian Idol contestant Ritika Raj), who gives music training at two centres in the city, said, "Parents have always been interested in imparting music training to their kids.But the problem is that there is a dearth of good classical trainers in Patna." He added, "Classical music is the base. If a student learns that, he/she will not have difficulty in singing any style. But teachers should tailor classical compositions according to the demands of the day in order to interest more pupils."
Parents are now becoming aware that only bookish knowledge will not suffice for the development of their children. Lata Sinha, a homemaker, said, "Today it is the overall personality of a child that matters, not just their educational qualification. So I send my daughter to take music lessons in vocal and instrumental music. She is learning to play harmonium." She added that many of her friends and relatives also encourage their wards to learn music and dance. Shivani, whose eight-year-old daughter has just started to learn Kathak, said that dance helps create a great coordination between mind and body, and is a great exercise to keep fit. She said, "I always wanted to learn dancing, but couldn't. I'm living my passion through my daughter."
Neelam Choudhary of Ninad said that in the last 15 years, parents have become conscious to impart artistic skills to their children and the trend has really picked up in the last two-three years, may be because of the reach of media and globalization. She said, "There are more than 500 students at Ninad, mostly between the age of 5 and 15. Most children give up extra-curricular activities for studies, once they reach class 10 or 11." Children today are under tremendous pressure of competition in studies. Music, dance and painting gives them an opportunity to channelize their emotions in the right direction, Choudhary added.
Nemisha Sah, a Class 7 student of Notre Dame Academy, has been learning Bharat Natyam at Ravi Bharti Institute of Communication for the past three years. When asked if dancing hampered her studies, she said, "My classes are scheduled every Sunday, so it does not interfere with my daily routine." Her brother Chetan has also been undergoing training in Western style dancing for the past one year.
Many schools also conduct music and dance classes to promote extra-curricular activities among children. Vishal, of the "Funky Freeze" Dance group, who's been teaching for the last four years, said that with so many dance reality shows being telecast, parents encourage their wards to learn dance. Currently, he tutors 30 students in different styles of Western dancing and said that schools also call him to train children for their talent night programmes. Students under his tutelage have auditioned for programmes like Dance India Dance, Just Dance and India's Got Talent and even made it to the top 100 of different shows, he claimed.
Anwesha, a Class 11 student who trained in Indian classical music for five years, said, "I have a senior diploma in Indian music (instrumental). But I left my formal training in Class 10 as I was not able to devote much time to daily music practice." Navneet, a Class 9 student, said that he was very attracted towards the beats of "tabla" and so "I decided to try my hands at it". He has been taking private tuitions from his guru since February this year. "You totally immerse yourself in sense of rhythm and the feeling is divine," he said.