The stage at Bala Vidya Mandir, Adyar, is an organised chaos of students, and the harmonies they produce boom through the adjoining cricket ground.
Inside, proud parents clap along as Srinivas Krishnan, director of Global Rhythm, takes the mic to announce the next song: it’s the classic ‘Mera Piya Ghar Aaya’ by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and the accompanying orchestra, which includes an array of both Indian classical and Western instruments, does it justice. The students also perform with singers Srinivas, Aruna Sairam and Jayateerth Mevundi among others.
“There are 565 students on stage right now,” says Aruna R., treasurer of the school. An astounding number, really, but what’s truly commendable is the students’ enthusiasm. Trained for seven months under A.R. Rahman, Srinivas, and the team of musical trainers at Global Rhythm, the students have learned over 40 songs. Their repertoire spans a wide variety of music, and as I enjoy the finishing strains of a Sufi qawwali, the students launch into Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ with abandon.
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“The music, along with the other extra-curricular activities that the school provides, is a creative outlet for the kids. We want them to know that a world exists outside of academics. With this programme, they get to learn songs in multiple foreign languages and express themselves in a unique way,” says Srinivasa Raghavan, Principal.
Though the school has existed for over 50 years, the holistic training that the staff has carefully put together is only a year-old development. The results, however, are unprecedented, and collaborations with internationally-renowned artists are some of the experiences the students have only dreamt of.
Music professors Paschal Yao Younge and Zelma Badu-Younge heard about the initiative from Krishnan three months ago, while conducting a similar presentation at a school in Ghana. They jumped on board almost instantly. “We love working with children,” says Paschal, who is fondly called Totobli by the students. And the children couldn’t love them more. As the professors get on stage for the grand finale, the students spring to their feet to join in their presentation of kpatsa, a traditional Ghanian dance.
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The crowd joins in; even Helmut Schippert, director of the Goethe-Institut, Chennai, whose affiliation with Bala Vidya Mandir helps bring about programmes such as these. “These initiatives help create a better world. They allow students to broaden their minds and give them a sort of self-confidence and awareness that makes them believe they too can make a difference.”