Parents, guardians, schools need to expose children to music & arts: Shubha Mudgal

"Sadly, studying music or arts for a lifetime is not considered important enough. Success means winning a talent show and not otherwise. I fail to understand how one puts artistic urges in these parameters?" questions Padma Shri awardee Shubha Mudgal, adding parents and guardians and schools need to expose children to all kinds of music and arts, and the splendid diversity this country offers in it.

The singer, along with co-artistes Aneesh Pradhan (Tabla) and Sudhir Nayak (Harmonium) was recently in Chandigarh to perform 'Rang Hori' on the invitation of 'Elsewhere', conceived in the memory of Sangeet Natak Akademi award-winning playwright and author Swadesh Deepak, added: "I was a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education constituted by the Government of India, a focus group discussing the need for introducing an arts education programme in mainstream school education during the National Curriculum Framework 2005. It was eons ago, and our recommendations were accepted but we are yet to see them applied. Till we do not give the same importance to music and the arts as we do to maths and science, or attach a tangible outcome to its study, children will never understand the value it adds to growth and development."

Talking about the 'Rang Hori', the singer and musicologist, who was performing in Chandigarh after more than a decade stressed that when it comes to basant and holi, there is an inexhaustible wealth of compositions to be presented.

"In our tradition, so much has been written on and inspired by the seasons. I am fortunate enough to continue to be immersed in the khayal and thumri dadra forms for the last 40 years, to learn and perform them to my best."

Born into a musically dedicated family, Shubha has been trained by some of the finest musicians and musicologists in India including eminent scholar-musician-composer Pandit Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang", Pandit Vinaya Chandra Maudgalya and Pandit Vasant Thakar.

She later learnt stylistic techniques from well-known maestros Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki and Pandit Kumar Gandharva. She also received training in thumri from Naina Devi.