The millennium seems to have marked the beginning of self-proclaimed ‘prodigies'. There is a mushrooming of ‘child prodigies' in every field: a ‘mathemagician' who would reel out tough formulas along with Aryabhatta's Sanskrit arithmetic, or a nubile ‘ashtavadani' who would be multi-tasking not just his literary brilliance but eight bizarre subjects under the sun, all at one go. Computer whiz kids are dime a dozen while every second child seems to be born with a musical gene.
These ‘little wonders' are spotted first by the parents who nurture, cast them into a mould, provide a public platform and let the world know that a super talent has been born. And the birth of such prodigies is very rapid these days.
Decades ago, a Sreenivasa Ramanujan, a Shakuntala and a John Nash were born as one in a million. Today, the earth seems to be teeming with juvenile sensations. While one cannot make a blanket statement that there are no prodigies, most of our talented children whose aptitude to a certain art or subjects manifests at a fairly tender age, are tutored to turn into some phenomenon by eager parents.
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Once the child exhibits such a quality of mind, he or she is cordoned off from the run-of-the-mill children, quarantined with teachers and specialists dealing with the arts/sports/computers/etc., and moulded like mannequins for public display. In order to excel in one or multiple fields, the talented child loses out on childhood and turns into a semi-adult well before the development process begins.
“Many parents come to me with their child claiming that he/she is able to reproduce my style of classical singing without missing a single syllable. They may be true to a certain extent. The child does exhibit a strain higher than the average young student of music. And admitting he/she is able to reproduce a maestro's level of singing, does not necessarily confer him with a guru's title. At best, it is re-creating not creativity. Further, allow the child to grow through the process of childhood, youth and adulthood. Maturity and experience have their own advantages. The seed spurts into a plant and then given the time, energy and care, will grow into a tree. But, if the gardener is over anxious that the plant turn into a tree overnight, well it will just remain a bush at the most. Needless to say, the growth is stunted at a certain point. This is true of all the young, aspiring talents in music. Do not hasten the process of growth in art. It will strike strong roots and spread its branches for others to hold on. That is the end of all artistic pursuit,” counsels T.N. Seshagopalan.
Mridangam maestro Karaikkudi Mani says: “We were also bright sparks at a very tender age. I would play the mridangam sitting on a short stool for public to catch a glimpse of me, a boy of five. Once I was lifted up in the air on the request of the audience to see and applaud. But never did my parents nor my guru allow me to feel elated at all the encomiums being heaped upon me at that age. I was sternly asked to continue with my practice. So fame did not or was not allowed to go to my head. It was nipped in the bud. It is good to encourage children who perform well, but let us not overdo it.
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They are too immature to handle fame and name at that age and it may not augur well for their future. Competition that is healthy is good, but not so, when it comes with a commercial tag.
Overexposure of young minds to public accolades by virtue of marketing talent is dangerous in the long run.” Parents of these little wizards have a different view altogether.
“Unlike olden times, we are able to recognise talent early in life and streamline it so that our child is able to grasp it quicker and in a more organised manner. If fame comes his/her way too early, well do we not deserve it?”
Subjectivity is the bane of development in art field. Unadulterated praise in the name of encouragement by near and dear including the guru, makes it tough for the young artist to accept correction little knowing that objective criticism is the hallmark of success.