Special notes from a music teacher

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Dr H.V. Hande was the chief guest at the anniversary celebration held recently in Chennai.

Surya School of Music completed a milestone recently. On August 9, the music school catering to children and young adults with special needs celebrated its fifth anniversary and its 300th stage event with a multi-talent show to enter the Nova World Records. This is the fourth time students of the school put up a show to enter a record book, each presenting their talent to be seen and heard.

Prabha Gurumurthy, granddaughter of legendary actor and singer T.R. Mahalingam, is behind this initiative aimed at identifying the talent in children with special needs and giving them a stage to perform.

For nearly two decades, this music teacher has been taking online classes for able-bodied children in bhajans, slokas and devotional songs. During the pandemic, Prabha expanded the scope of her classes to include the differently abled.

Prabha Gurumurthy is granddaughter of legendary actor and singer T.R. Mahalingam. Her classes for the differently abled youngsters are conducted in Mandaveli.

A youngster on the spectrum approached the music teacher with a grouse that he never got a chance to perform like other children. That actually got Prabha thinking and doing something for those with disabilities.

“The success of two batches of classes that I took during the pandemic encouraged me to start the music school,” says Prabha, a resident of Mylapore.

From 15 differently abled students, today Prabha has nearly 80 students learning lessons from her at a space managed by V-Excel Educational Trust in Mandaveli; a majority are above 18 years and many are non-verbal.

From karokae, orchestra, classic retro, cine songs, solo to duets, exclusive to inclusive shows, the children have adapted themselves to every new stage performance. “Opportunities, limelight, recognition, appreciation have boosted the children’s confidence and self esteem. And, music definitely calms all children,” says Prabha.

She says with a positive approach and tailoring the lessons to suit each child one can train specially abled youngsters in music. To commemorate Tamil poet and lyricist Kaviarasu Kannadasan’s centenary year, 100 shows are being discussed and Prabha plans to be a part of this celebration with her students.

“As a mark of gratitude, I wanted to do something good for Kaviarasu. Our upcoming events will feature his songs sung by my students,” says Prabha, who is in her mid-50s and a member of the Rotary Club of Chennai Octave.

Among other plans are teaching students instrumental music and supporting them through a livelihood initiative.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.