Music has nothing to do with the eyesight

Begumpet: Music touches people in more ways than one, more so in the case of the blind. Many blind schools have come up with music as a part of curriculum. Devnar School for the Blind has been engaging with music for the past 27 years. Its students learn instruments such as guitar and keyboard and Carnatic music thrice a week.

Speaking to The Hans India, Dr A Saibaba Goud, founder, Devnar School for the Blind, says, "Apart from providing education, we train them in sports, games and other activities. We identified children who are interested in music and dance with the help of our special teachers and encourage them to learn the music. Many of our children have become experts in playing musical instruments and singing. It proves that nothing is impossible to a visually challenged kid."

Jayanthi Parameswaran, a voluntary music teacher, at Devnar School for the Blind, says "I have been working as a voluntary music teacher in Devnar School for the blind since 2016 and have been teaching Carnatic and light music to the visually challenged children. I learned Carnatic music from the professional music teacher for nearly 12 years."

Jayanthi shortlisted 8 children who had the flair for music. "Even though learning music does not have anything to do with the eyesight, I found the difference in teaching the visually challenged children due to the lack of eye contact.

Since music is more to hear and learn, it did not take me long to cope up with them, she said. As the students had no basic background of Carnatic music, she had to start with some light music initially for their voice to get tuned. "Then I started with the preliminary level of Carnatic music for the last five months," she added.