For example, a story would go that the 7 swaras are nothing but 7 friends with different heights. So I used to tell her stories that relate to the topic. I do prepare myself with the lessons to be taught and challenges for her in the class too. I always prepare myself for classes, whether it be Saumaya or other students. Teacher's preparation = Lessons + Challenges. These are all exercises that challenge and improve a student’s ability. A few of these were: a) creating her own patterns and singing them in different speeds and in aakar (singing musical notes only using only the vowel sound ā) b) singing bandish (a composition in Hindustani classical music) with swaras (musical notes) to perfect the placements c) creating her own aalaps (a prelude in a composition). I would recommend exercises that Saumaya could practise at home in between her class sessions. After some classes, she started to make her own patterns and sing them at different speeds too. She struggled in the beginning but worked on it. I gave her the group of a pattern and asked her to complete it. So I started asking her to create her own patterns (varying sequences of notes). But then I didn't just want her to copy that. I noticed that Saumaya listens carefully and sings everything back easily. I have arranged Manasi’s answers as a categorised flow of points. The principles she used can form a teacher’s playbook on how to work with a gifted child. Her answers give a glimpse of how the hidden hand moved. It took a few questions to take Manasi back to her early days of teaching Saumaya. The essence of it all sinks in only when they take a step back, relive that experience, and take in perspective. These individuals – so immersed are they in what they do for others – often are not conscious of what they do. Hidden hands, most commonly, belong to selfless souls. But sustained strength and purity of musical notes always reveal the presence of a teacher’s hidden hand. And she will tell you she had little to do with it. Just ask Manasi how she feels she has contributed to Saumaya’s achievement. They remarked to Saumaya that it is because of her training in Indian Classical music that her notes are so strong. It was when Saumaya shared a comment by the representatives of Mets Opera that Manasi’s heart swelled with a teacher’s contentment. “Saumaya is one of the youngest artists performing with some of the world’s most accomplished singers,” Sridhar wrote on. Met Opera ( “one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world,” wrote Sridhar) has made Saumaya a part of five operatic shows: Turandot, The Queen of Spades, Werther, Der Rosenkavalier, and La Damnation De Faust. As the New York Metropolitan Opera (Met Opera, in short) did, in the case of Saumaya. And when capability runs the long distance with effort, achievement arrives. Challenges in music lessons and music learning are met by the student with ease, grace, creativity. A teacher knows the earliest when capability arrives in a student. When talent runs the long distance with effort, capability arrives. What impressed Manasi, even more, was Saumaya’s ability to not mix the distinct techniques the two forms of music apply. Saumaya impressed Manasi with her ability to sing both classical and western music with ease. Here is a voice sampler of Saumaya’s singing in those early times. In response, Manasi shifted her directly to a course of a more advanced level. It comes as no surprise then that Saumaya made rapid improvement in her singing and progress in her course. It is effort that propels talent toward the finishing tape. Now, if you are an artist or a teacher you will already know one home truth: Talent, on its own, won’t go the entire mile. But within a few classes, she sensed something more: Saumaya’s love for music and capacity for sheer effort. Saumaya Dhar was 8 years old when she joined Shankar Mahadevan Academy’s Hindustani Vocal Music course 100A – a beginner-level course – in September 2017. It’s not often that talent comes knocking at the door. The message warmed hearts all around, most of all for Saumaya’s Hindustani Vocal Music teacher at the Academy, Manasi Hedaoo.Ĭut to 2018. Our student Saumaya Dhar has been selected for the New York Metropolitan Opera, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world,” his message shared. "A proud moment for Shankar Mahadevan Academy. It was Sridhar Ranganathan, CEO and Co-founder, Shankar Mahadevan Academy, sharing good news with the academy’s group of teachers and staff. Exactly one minute before 11.30, the morning of December 11, 2019, my WhatsApp for Desktop flashed a message alert.
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