when runners participating in the Mumbai Marathon pass through Marine Drive, students from a Worli municipal school will regale them with song from the ‘cheering zone’ set up nearby.
On Sunday, when runners participating in the Mumbai Marathon pass through Marine Drive, students from a Worli municipal school will regale them with song from the ‘cheering zone’ set up nearby.
The 12 children who will perform at the marathon on Sunday, January 15, are among 40 students who have been training in choir music for the last two years at their school in BDD Chawl.
Eight years ago, the school was adopted by the non-profit group Muktangan which runs seven such schools. Nearly 230 students are taught at this English medium school.
The Muktangan Children’s Choir has performed at distinguished venues like the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) and has also been the subject of a documentary exhibited at international film festivals. The children have also participated in musical theatre shows in the city.
“This is the first time that NGOs will be present in the cheering zone of the marathon,” said Usha Laxman, director (resources) of Muktangan.
Music is part of the regular curriculum at the school, and the children in Muktangan’s choir group were chosen after an elaborate audition process. They are trained in choir singing by Patricia DaCunha and Astrid Pereira, who are prominent western classical music teachers.
“We chose children who could carry a tune; basically, their singing and resonance had to be clear,” said Jayanti Sundaram who teaches them Indian music.
Ashish Prajapati, a Class 8 student, is already keen to take up music as a career, while his classmate Sanjana Khairnar, is a Michael Jackson fan and loves folk music. Sunil Shrestha, also a Class 8 student, said that he likes to play the piano apart from singing.
The children are now confident performers. Ashish said that when he first performed before an audience of 1,200 at NCPA’s Tata Theatre, he was quite nervous. “I was a solo singer and not able to hit the high notes. One of the conductors gave me the courage to do it. I cannot forget that day. When I came down from the stage after the performance, my parents said: well done.”
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