The Better India
Naresh Purohit (12) is like any other child when it comes to going to school. Some days he just doesn’t feel like it. Except that Naresh has an incentive waiting for him at school — music class. For the last three years, The Sound Space, an initiative by two sisters, Kamakshi (38) and Vishala Khurana (36), to offer music and allied learning to children from underprivileged communities in Mumbai, has been holding music lessons at Naresh’s school. Started in 2010, the premise of the initiative lies in making music accessible in a contemporary way. It stemmed from the sisters’ observation of different underserved communities in South Mumbai and the realisation that the lack of space and access deterred children from learning. This inspired their mission to build a world where music is valued as fundamental to human development, and where Indian classical music is embraced as a living, accessible practice — one that transcends barriers of geography, privilege, or prior training. A childhood guided by rhythm How can music be seen beyond an extracurricular activity? As Kamakshi explains, “Many children are sometimes clueless about the different emotions they experience or why they feel this range of emotions. A lot of our music and our sessions are directed towards helping children experience their emotions, recognise them, and connect with them. Music allows that space for expression.” The Sound Space is a music education and experiential platform dedicated to exploring the transformative power of sound and music. She adds that the music classes help make the children aware of different aspects of life. “We have songs that make the children aware of their bodies; no one really spends time explaining to the children why their bodies are reacting in a certain way. Music helps with self-awareness.” In fact, the siblings’ formative years, too, were largely shaped by music. Having learnt and practised classical music since the age of three — their father was a trained musician with a visharad (equivalent to a bachelor’s degree) in Hindustani classical music — Vishala recalls how, from the time they woke up in the morning, rhythm was a part of their routine. “Even our mealtimes used to be rhythmic; we’d sit as a family and sing for hours. That’s just how we bonded. Even our studies were most effective when we did them through music. As we were growing up in our teenage years, we realised having music as a friend was like having something that would always be by your side,” she explains. The goal of the initiative was making music accessible, meaningful, and engaging for people of all ages. She adds that their shared sentiment towards music made them see it as a joy that everyone should experience through The Sound Space. “We're not trying to make singers out of everybody; we’re just trying to bring the joy of music to as many people as we can,” she shares. When music becomes a teacher The 45 minutes that Naresh spends learning music, singing, and perfecting action songs at his music classes are the favorite part of his time at school. “Every day it’s something new that we learn,” he says. While Naresh hasn’t learnt to play an instrument yet, he says he’s learnt all about them. In fact, he often enjoys these subjects even more than academics. This mode of learning suits him. Kamakshi empathises with him. “When I was in school, I was never one to score well. I was not great at following the rules of the school system. Interestingly, my parents didn't push me too much because they could see that I wanted to pursue music. Some children are naturally good at learning concepts; I’m terrible at it, but will remember tunes and lyrics very easily.” The Sound Space offers a wide range of classes, workshops, and community-based programs rooted in both traditional and contemporary musical practices. Through The Sound Space, the sisters want to assure children an alternative learning mode . But while expanding the initiative, they realised that many children are not even enrolled in schools. Government reports suggest that, for the year 2024-25, 1.17 million children across India have been identified as those not enrolled in primary, secondary, and senior secondary education, or Out of School Children (OoSC). In Mumbai, these children are usually concentrated in and around the bastis (slums). In 2023, the sister duo decided that if the children couldn’t come to school, they would take the school to them through Soundspace on Wheels, a mobile music classroom that goes into the different communities of the city. The ‘classroom’ is basically a bus, which, as Vishala explains, is a safe space for the children. It’s in this bus-turned classroom that students from different communities become part of the music class. “On Monday, the bus will go to a certain area, and then on Tuesday it will head to another area. Once the bus parks within a community, the teachers and students have their sessions (music lessons where they learn about Indian music, Western music, different artists) in the bus, helped by volunteers. The children get to interact with other children, and they share musical ideas. Sometimes, we have people who come in and play different instruments for the children. They learn to read music, sing as a group, and connect as a community.” The Soundspace on Wheels is a mobile music classroom that goes into the different communities of the city. Vishala adds, “Since the children have an opportunity to interact with other children and people from all strata, they also learn social skills.” At the end of the day, the bus is cleaned and heads back to the centre. Kamakshi explains, “Every session lasts 40 minutes and accommodates 25 students. It travels to seven bastis throughout the week, and over 500 children between the ages of five and 12 attend these sessions.” Through engaging sessions, the goal is to help strengthen language skills , spark creativity among children, build social-emotional awareness, and enhance communication abilities. The Sound Space also has a choir programme specialising in Indian classical music and choir training, focusing on vocal skills, music theory, and performance, with opportunities to build confidence through events. They also engage children with hearing and speech impairments through weekly music classes to develop their communication skills through interactive musical activities, alongside music therapy sessions for children with special needs that help them connect with their body and mind. At the core of this is the sisters’ endeavour to ensure every child they reach out to begins to see the world as a space where their voice matters. All pictures courtesy The Sound Space Sources 'Music on wheels: This organisation teaches melody and rhythm to underprivileged children in Mumbai' : by Rekha Balakrishnan, Published on 9 September 2024. '1.17 million children identified as ‘Out of School’, govt tells LS' : by Vrinda Tulsian, Published on 10 December 2024.
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