How to Help Your Child Appreciate Carnatic Music – A Personal Reflection

My cousin learned from an accomplished vidwan. Swamimalai Sri Janakiraman used to come home to teach her. I recall his visits; I recall that she had a good voice; but don’t remember ever sitting down to listen to them. I can now remember some of the songs she learned, which means some have been registering in my subconscious mind.

As I entered my teens, I learnt the song ‘Samaja Varagamana’ as it was rendered in the Telugu movie Sankarabharanam on my own. I was told that the song was in the raga Hindolam. I surprised myself by identifying that raga when someone sang or played it. But that was the extent of my skill –  I could tell whether a song or alapana was Hindolam! I had no aspiration to improve my repertoire. I still didn’t have the patience to listen to anyone singing Hindolam for any prolonged period.

Years later, when I was in my late teens, Maharajapuram Sri. Santhanam had agreed to sing on the eve of my cousin’s wedding –   a different cousin. The concert was held in a small hall for a select audience. I was there by being a member of the family. I wasn’t particularly apprehensive, but I wasn’t looking forward to sitting for a prolonged period in a small hall, where the audience was small enough that the artists could make eye contact. The concert started, and it somehow pulled me in. As it progressed, I was enthralled. 

No, he didn’t sing Hindolam. The main ragam was Saveri, although I didn’t know it then. While I didn’t know what the raga was called, I could associate it with the start of ‘Bhavayami Raghuramam’. As he sang Ragam-thanam-pallavi, I tried to predict the following note, phrase and line he would sing. That was a new experience. For the first time in my life, I began to appreciate why people spend hours listening to such seemingly repetitive, old-fashioned music.

As I spoke to more knowledgeable folks, I realized that all the passive listening in my earlier years had prepared me for the appreciation of music that evening. It took a great artist, and a focused listening session to bring the knowledge to the foreground. 

Soon after, the society to promote Indian classical arts, SPIC-MACAY, arranged a violin concert by Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman in my college. I listened to it, and was spellbound again. Over the next few years, I sought out opportunities to hear these two great artists in person and recordings.  Years later, if someone sings or plays in their paani, it still appeals to me.

All this is not to say that I’ve developed into some authority in music now. However, I have indeed developed musical tastes, likes, and dislikes for this style of music. I try not to miss the concerts that occur in Toronto. The unique combination of art and science that forms Carnatic music provides me great pleasure, although it took years for me to be receptive to such music.

When it comes to educating children, the best thing the parents can do is expose them to plenty of passive listening. Children growing up in countries like Canada won’t have anywhere near the extent of involuntary exposure to music that I (and most people from my background) enjoyed. But that can be partly compensated by playing an album a day at home or in the car that the kids listen to, even if it’s just background ‘noise’ for them. Pick good music, without compromises.

Not every child will grow up liking Carnatic music, or music. That’s ok. The parents’ job is to provide the opportunity for the children to discover their interests, and provide adequate background material for the interest to blossom, if and when it does.

Notes do not just learn many songs and ragas. Learning how you bend the notes and oscillate them (gamakas) and which parts are emphasized (raga lakshana) requires plenty of listening. My experience has taught me that you train your ears with years’ worth of such listening without even being conscious.  While the parents are keen to enroll the kids in music lessons, they may also want to consider giving their children the advantage of trained ears.

One more point before we wrap up. It’s also essential to have a circle of reinforcement. Children, especially young ones, look at something as not-so-cool if none of his/her friends do that. This applies especially to classical arts. So it is helpful to build a social circle with the other children who are also learning.