Music for the young generation

Music Session at Townsend and Kilparrin Schools Adelaide, 21/5/04

Dr. Chandrakant provided an entertaining performance and question time to the visually impaired and multiply handicapped students. He played melodic pieces that for several minutes throughout his twenty-minute demonstration gained the rapt attention of most of the children. It was also a time for parents, carers and teachers to relax. Due to the kind of severe (or profound) disabilities many of these students have, it was remarkable that he could extract even a few minutes of peace. He fielded many questions from them after the performance and allowed the blind students to feel various parts of the sitar. The children were very interested in the instrument and how it is played–they were particularly impressed by how it was built from pumpkins.
Comments from the Junior Primary class after Dr. Chandrakant's performance indicated that the students thought highly of his skills and of the different musical sounds he produced on the sitar. This was something they had not heard before. One boy, almost the last to leave, went up to Dr. Chandrakant with his teacher and asked when he would play for them again.