Baal Vikas – Changing Children's Lives with a Focus on Music, Art & Dance

As a child, the first time I held a guitar was at the age of 13. The ‘barre’ chords were too difficult to hold, as you can imagine. I almost gave up because of that...

But it felt cool to be able to play simpler and open chords even if there was little or no encouragement otherwise. There was more criticism rather than anything else for even daring to try…

It is also the reason why I feel closest to the children at the Baal Vikas who might play irregular beats on a tabla, a few discordant notes on the piano or even hold a violin in the manner that a professional violinist performs and might not actually progress to playing one as they grow older.

It’s still music to our ears at the Aamod Centre of Liberal Arts…

These activities are also what take place during the Baal Vikas – a program offered at the Aamod Centre of Liberal Arts.

Yes, it’s a clear effort to introduce our children to art, music and dance be it Indian or Western in nature.

For example, our piano teacher taught the kids last week a song aptly titled ‘The Kaeru Song’ where they not only learn how to sing it on different scales but also imitate the movements of a frog.

As for our violin teacher, he shows them the rudiments of holding a violin while playing different notes for them to get used to the sounds of violin. He also gets them to sing a few familiar children’s songs on the keyboards.

Of course, not all of them will turn out to be professional musician, dancers or artists but what they will learn is to appreciate the finer things in Life that influence who we are and what we do for the better.

And the earlier the better it is…

I can’t think of another place where this concept of getting children to get the feel of an instrument in a group situation.

Even if it does exist, the professional musicians that spend time with these children below the age of 6 years every week on Wednesday from 3 to 5 pm aren’t easily replaced. And that’s putting it mildly…

But how does this benefit my children, you might ask?

Studies have shown that children who are introduced to some art form or the other, whether they consider taking it up as a profession or not in the future, tend to learn better as it has positive effects on memory retention among a host of other benefits.

(Read this article to learn more about how exposure to music, in either Indian and Western forms, can benefit your child.)

Apart from this, and as we’re noticing with every passing month, there is a strong sense of togetherness among this group of children, and which can only help along the aspect of socialization that a child needs to survive and thrive in today’s world.

Every parent can surely recognize how imperative it is for children to begin to get along with others from an early age…

Yet the biggest benefit of all is the discovery of whether one can truly play music as a professional or not in the real world.  It’s something that they would thank you for the rest of your Life as parents…

So, if you’re curious about attending the Baal Vikas, please follow this link to our Facebook Montessori page for weekly updates.