| Shrutinandan
is basically a concept of teaching music unique
per se. "Shruti" means "hearing"
that refers to the aural tradition followed
in India, and "nandan" means "child"
as well as "what is aesthetically pleasing."
We see that the word "Shrutinandan"
begins with the letter "S" and ends
with the letter "N" and it truly
serves the "A to Z" of the Indian
music taking care of the training of all genres
of Indian music. While the President of Shrutinandan,
legendary musician Dr M. Balamuralikrishna,
teaches Carnatic music, the creator of Shrutinandan,
Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty takes care of all
other genres of Indian music, the Raga music
(Hindustani vocal) in particular. Over the
centuries, the global listeners have liked
Indian music as the best musical discipline
of the world, rich with its longer tradition
and options for improvisation that helps the
innovative power of the artistes delineate
their musical thoughts in the right spirit
and expression. The role of Shrutinandan is
thus a real symbiosis of tradition and modernity.
It is evident that India has started getting
more and more recognition and respect from
all over the world and has always been the
richest centrestage so far as the spiritualism
and music are concerned. But because of
lack of scientific approaches these priceless
properties of our heritage could neither
properly penetrate into the science and
technology oriented people of India itself
nor the people of the western globe belonging
to more scientific mental makeup.
In this typically framed background of
Indian music, the research for the scientific
system of training to make people understand
why Indian music is the richest became necessary,
and Shrutinandan concept of training was
born out of that arduous research for more
than three decades. Of course, this dream
came true through Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty
who had the rare opportunity of learning
all the genres of Indian music from highly
respectable Gurus of Indian music keeping
the Raga music in the prime focus.
Before commencement of the regular classes
of Shrutinandan on the very day of Guru
Purnima i.e. 20th July, 1997, a long seven
year teachers' training programme had been
designed and directly conducted by Pandit
Ajoy Chakrabarty at the initial stage. It
is worth mentioning here that age limit
of the students was kept between 5 and 11
to "catch them young" to implant
the Shrutinandan concept in their plastic
minds right through.
Thus laying down the foundation of "the
new passage to Indian music", Shrutinandan
has served the society in its stint of last
ten years with a good number of well-groomed
pupils who are already in the take-off stage
and trying hard to achieve newer heights.
These burning lamps are sure to keep up
the process ever burning while transmitting
the unique method of Shrutinandan music
training system to the posterity. In the
next few years Shrutinandan expects to make
the society feel proud of possessing a plethora
of blazing stars to shine over the arena
of Indian Raga music as well as various
other genres of Indian vocal music as a
whole.
In the last ten years, world class personalities
have visited Shrutinandan to bless its mission.
Prof. Roald Hoffman from Boston made his
hallowed presence when Shrutinandan stepped
in its 4th year only and expressed his mind
with the words that Shrutinandan is a "world
treasure of music". Almost all the
maestros like Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit
Birju Maharaj, Dr M. Balamuralikrishna,
Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,
Pandit Shivkumar Sharma from classical arena,
Shri Manna Dey from film arena, to name
a few have profusely blessed the mission
and the child tutees. Besides, the Hon.
Chief Ministers and Hon. Governors of West
Bengal and especially the Hon. former President
as well as the famous scientist of India,
Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, blessed the children
of Shrutinandan with his valued presence
for longer than scheduled hours and to everybody's
delight said that he wished he could take
a month off to learn music sitting amid
the children of the institution.
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