Story writer and writer Shyama Panikkar seeks to bridge the gap in Indian classical music education for children through her books and music promotion programme.
Story writer and writer Shyama Panikkar seeks to bridge the gap in Indian classical music education for children through her books and music promotion programme.
Writer and story writer Shyama Panikkar says, “Music and maths are inextricably linked. A song is a raga, built in a rhythmic pattern. Understanding the beats and the math behind the beats is very essential in music education. ”
The Mumbai-based artist recently hosted an online music story session narrating about her recently launched book boom, hop, melody pop, The event was organized as a part of an initiative by library entrepreneurs of India to raise funds for a community library in Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh.
Trained in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music, Shyama realized the gap in music education for preschoolers when she could not find an age-appropriate book to introduce her three-year-old son to Indian classical music. “I knew I had to change it,” says Shyama. This led to his first book a musical road trip in 2020. It is a story that takes readers through the origin and significance of the seven swaras of Indian music. “Ancient musical literature written during the Vedic period mentions that the notes are derived from the sounds of animals and birds. This information will never be available to children. So I turned it into a book,” says Shyama.
Her second book, which launched in January this year, features a story about children and their discovery of music through the popular math game of Hopscotch. The game follows a musical pattern making game with an orchestra of bouncing balls, parrots, bicycle bells and anklets.
“The main aim is to break the notion that classical music is dull and difficult. The purpose of the book is to show how music and math are related and that a simple game of hopscotch can be downright enjoyable while singing and jumping through the charts ”, says Shyama.
In her endeavor to make the learning experience of classical music interactive and fun, Shyama has been running an Indian music promotion program ‘Sur Taal Aur Masti’ for the past three years. The pandemic came when she started taking classes in the online platform. “The pandemic has been physically and mentally exhausting for the children. I think music is a great source of calm and positive energy for kids,” says Shyama.
Shyama Panikkar, the founder writer and storyteller of Soor, Taal and Masti during a session with children. photo credit: special arrangement
A telecommunications engineer and a management graduate, Shyama was always fascinated by music. Not only this, he left his corporate professional career to take up music as a full-time business. Shyama says, “The connection between music and maths has really fascinated me. Even in my classes, I highlight the creative elements as well as the mathematical elements to the kids. I teach the kids I encourage you to make up your own tunes too.”
“They first decide on a rhythm structure, put notes in the structure to form a melody and then add their own words. It’s an exercise with lots of creative and intellectual benefits.” To keep the lessons engaging and experiential, Shyama brings all kinds of props to convince kids that music is versatile. “We use kitchen utensils, shakers, spoons and all kinds of metals to demonstrate that music is everywhere,” she says. Shyama also incorporates other forms of art into her music lessons. In one of his online classes, children learned thumri in Ragu. Hamir. Thumri describes the beauty of Radha in Krishna’s eyes. “Finally, where the children were asked to draw an image that came to their mind and they made their own versions of Radha on paper,” recalls Shyama.
She feels that Indian classical music is often under-appreciated during the childhood years and most children are introduced to western nursery rhymes and children’s songs. “Kids grow up listening and singing ‘Wheels on the Bus’ and ‘Baby Shark’. But Indian music is known to be complicated and boring.” According to him, making learning interactive and introducing children to books on music with colorful pictures and story works as an effective medium to inculcate musical interest and curiosity in children.
Shyama learns music online and follows her Instagram page @surtaalmasti. can be contacted at