Come August, the Baburaj Memorial Music Academy in Kozhikode will have another feather in its cap. The 13-year-old academy, named after legendary music director M.S. Baburaj, will be the first programme centre of the University of Calicut to offer undergraduate course in music through distance education.
The academy, set up in 2001, is already offering classes for undergraduate and postgraduate courses of Madras University in Carnatic vocal, violin, and Bharatanatyam, and for the diploma in music of the Government of Tamil Nadu. But the academy is not an examination centre for either. However, the academy is a recognised examination centre for the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal and offers diploma course in Hindustani music affiliated to the mandal. Regular courses in Hindustani and Carnatic music, musical instruments, and Bharatanatyam are also offered.
With the addition of the new BA Music course of the University of Calicut, the academy is well on its way to the status of a college. The course was provided after evaluating the infrastructure and faculty of the academy. At a time 20 students will be admitted to the course.
From a huge building in an isolated portion of the Kozhikode beach, the academy was shifted to a small building next to the Nadakkavu post office in 2005. Since then, the number of students has gone up, says Principal K.X. Thresa. She says the building is too congested. “I keep my fingers crossed when dance classes go on in the first floor. It is an old building,” she says.
