editorial
For the Parent in you To know, to understand, to connect
L
egend has it that Tansen, the famed musician in the court of Emperor Akbar, was once ordered to sing the raga ‘Deepak’. On the day of the performance, as Tansen sang, the lamps lit up, the air got hotter and hotter and there was a burst of flames all around. Anticipating the power
of this raga, Tansen had trained his daughter and her friend to sing the raga ‘Megha Malhar’, and as the notes of this raga flowed from the damsels, the skies darkened and rain pelted the ground below. Such is the magical power of music! Music has the power to set on fire our joyful energies; it has the power to cool the stresses of the mind. As the famous English composer Edward Elgar says, “There is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.” We may not all be composers or singers or musicians, but we all still enjoy music in some form or the other. In the month of December, in Chennai, the sounds of Carnatic music fill the air, with hundreds of
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concerts performed all around the city, by both the stalwarts of music as well as up and coming musicians. Our cover story ‘Classical Music: The hidden notes that will appeal to your child’, talks about instilling the joys of music in our youth and Kalaimamani Dr S Sunder gives us an overview of what to expect and how to appreciate Carnatic music concerts. The month of December brings along with it the joys and festivities of Christmas. Our special Christmas story talks about Christmas traditions, both local and global. Not all children are born the same. Our article, ‘Autism: Rewiring our Perspective’ talks about the challenges and options for families with an autistic child. With understanding, love and care it is possible to provide a good quality of life, not only for the affected child but also for the entire family. Why does our loving, adorable child, suddenly as a teenager, turn into this stranger you can no longer understand or relate to? Neurologist, Dr Prithika Chary explains to us the nuances of the development of the adolescent brain and how it affects teen behaviours. With these ideas, I leave you to read this issue and give us your feedback.
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SPECIAL P.10
Joy to the World COVER STORY P.20
Classical Music REGULARS 6 14 38 19 30 36 40 42 46 56
IN FOCUS FEATURE Autism: Rewiring our Perspective Playthings for your child from a Toy Library
LEARNING An Easy Approach to Learning Science
HEALTH CIRCLE Salutations to the Sun: Surya Namaskar
MINDSET Slow Learners
46 50 52 53 55
From Waste to Art
TEEN CIRCLE
4
The Tantalizing Teenage Brain
ROOTS
8
Ancient Indian Mathematics
LIGHTER VEIN
9
Tooth-fairy Tales
Parent Circle / December 2011
PARENT CHEF Baked Goodies
CHECK IT OUT Interesting Books and CDs on Carnatic Music
EVENTS Chennai this Month
KALEIDOSCOPE Happenings in the City
HANDS ON Stars for the Xmas Tree
FORUM
CIRCLE OF LIFE
ON THE COVER YOUNG MRIDANGIST R NARASIMHAN PHOTOGRAPH BY ARJUN DOGRA
2
RESOURCES
54
YOUR WORD VIEWPOINT Reading Resurrected
PARENT EXPRESS A Broken Puzzle
DISCUSSION POINT School Bags Getting Heavier
your word
Letters to the Editor
o ys t a w st nce o c ow audie l e v t vati r targe o n In you h reac
I have a son aged 7 and a daughter aged 12. I’m a regular reader of your magazine. Every issue of Parent Circle gives us very useful information. In the month of November 2011, it was interesting to read about the History and Development of School Boards. All the articles were well presented. I congratulate your team and I expect more such articles in the forthcoming issues. S RAMESH Parent Circle gives quantitative and qualitative articles relevant to people working in the field of child development. We welcome
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Parent Circle / December 2011
special
Shopping is an integral part of the festival. Gifts have to be bought and homes have to be decorated. A visit to Thomas Rodrigo & Sons in Broadway, Chennai is a must for the traditional items.
BY SHASHWATHI SANDEEP
H
This 132-year-old shop is open throughout the year and sells
o! Ho! Ho! Bells are jingling,
with 100 kgs of dried fruits and include
all the religious items that a Christian
cribs are being readied and
candied ginger and orange peels. We
household might need. It was started by
Christmas trees are being
outsource some of the ingredients from
Thomas Rodrigo in 1878 and is now run
brought out of closets!
countries like England. Spices go into the
by 81-year-old Pius Rodrigo, his great
Christmas is here and it is
mix as well, as the Three Wise Men were
spreading joy everywhere. So, hunt out
carrying spices.”
your Santa dresses and start rehearsing those carols…
These hotels also hold cake mixing ceremonies where a group of people
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of
get together and mix all the ingredients
Jesus Christ. It is celebrated with as much
together. This is an event by itself. “Every
fervour in India as it is overseas. In India, it
year, we invite a set of people for the
has become a national festival, where not
cake-mixing ceremony. We had invited
only the Christians but other communities
people from an old age home last
too celebrate Christmas.
year and this year we invited celebrities,” he says.
THE PREPARATIONS Christmas is only a daylong celebration, but for many, the preparations for it start as early as September. The all-important rum and raisin cake can be eaten within seconds but it takes months of preparation to make this delicious cake. While many families buy it from shops, there are some who continue the tradition of baking it at home. Flavian R, a 42-year-old who owns a shop on Broadway, celebrates the occasion with all family members and friends. He says, “My mother soaks the dry fruits in rum and whisky for about two and a half months prior to Christmas. The taste is great!” Hotels in the city also follow the tradition without fail. Chef Johnson of Radisson Blu explains the whole process, “We soak the dry fruits in rum, a 100 days before Christmas. We generally make the cake
10 Parent Circle / December 2011
cover story
The hidden notes that will appeal to your child
BY SUDHA RAJA
Y
ou like listening to classical
How then, to make a child appreciate
sound, and hence music. No child is
music, though you may
and take to music with readiness and
really tone deaf, or pitch poor. As it is with
never have had any formal
enthusiasm? How should music be taught
the learning of any subject, the pace of
training. Or you may have
to him? At the moment we are restricting
learning may vary due to reasons in the
had formal training, but
ourselves to the appreciation of Carnatic
external environment. For instance, the
somehow you did not quite enjoy your
music, but the basic tenets apply to
child may have too much of school-work
music classes when you were young and
Hindustani music and other styles of music
to do, and may focus less on music. The
did not pursue the journey further. Or you
as well, whether vocal or instrumental.
teacher thus, has a great role in identifying
may have enjoyed the learning and even
the need of the child and catering to it
now, enjoy going to concerts. Perhaps you
You should identify an appropriate teacher,
appropriately – and your child will soon
also play the veena and can sing very well.
who not only understands music, but
love this initial ‘distraction’ of music.
understands children and handles them Whatever your background of music has
sensitively. You may also need to be
been, you may want your child to learn
objective about your own attitude and
WHEN CAN THE CHILD ENROLL FOR MUSIC CLASSES
music, because you understand that
ideas, so that the child as an individual, is
If a child can talk, she can surely sing. We
learning and listening to music brings
finally benefited.
never question whether the child is too
definite benefits, tangible and intangible.
young to start going to school at age three. And he does learn his alphabets and
a different environment. You may have
UNDERSTANDING THE CHILD’S CAPABILITY
been unquestioning in your childhood, but
As a parent, you need not worry about
in music and its reproduction in children
today, your child needs to be taught music
this as long as your child is like most
as little as three and four years invariably
suitably, to get adequately interested, and
other children. There is a Sanskrit verse
comes as a pleasant surprise to the
develop a lifelong love for it.
which states that every living creature
teacher and parent. The parents should
in this universe can recognise aesthetic
however give time to the tutor and the
But the child of today is growing up in
20 Parent Circle / December 2011
nursery rhymes. The level of assimilation
student. A certain amount of trust in the
Says Lalitha
teacher is necessary.
Sivakumar,
Teaching music theory innovatively: some ideas
a Carnatic Children are innocent. They do not have
music
adult-like prejudices. They are ready to try
teacher from
The theory of music should
out anything new. This gradually changes
Chennai, “I
commence simultaneously
as they grow older into their pre-teens,
conduct only
with practice to make the
but when they are young, they are quite
one-to-one
learning wholesome.
adaptable. They start with the idea of liking
classes for
music, particularly when they observe
students, but
people around them appreciating it. So go
I take them
ahead and send your young one to a tutor.
on, only when they show a passion for
Here are some tips on Lalitha Sivakumar
music. Indeed, only such students should
introducing theory in a comprehensible way:
IDENTIFYING A TEACHER
be sent for formal learning.” Lalitha gauges
Identify a suitable teacher, with references
their levels of interest in about 15 minutes
if possible, based on her style of teaching.
of interaction and whether they have a
Teachers have the moral responsibility to
sense of thalam (rhythm) and sruthi (pitch).
A small song can be taught with the ragam and thalam; and the rudiments of that particular thalam, with the terms laghu and dhrutam, their symbols, aksharas and the like.
They should never use a harsh word,
Radha Ramji of TKG Gurukulam feels
Unravelling the origin of the seven
undermine the child’s efforts, or criticize
that individual learning does not give the
formal notes from birds and animals,
them in front of their peers. Any correction
student the exposure of listening to other
makes it interesting for the child. They
has to be done gently, persuasively and
students who are at their own level or
absorb the names of the notes if the
without hurting the feelings of the child.
their seniors. “Children benefit from group
lesson is taught in such a ‘fun’ way.
bolster the self-esteem of their students.
classes. If a child is unable to grasp,
DO NOT PUSH YOUR AMBITIONS ONTO YOUR CHILD
she learns in no time by listening to co-
A song featuring the major ragams
students and hence does not develop a
can be taught easily to children who
Yes, you want your child to learn and
complex. When the students are equipped
have not even begun to read, much like
appreciate music. But does it stop with this
enough to give concerts, they need
how the multiplication tables are taught.
altruism? Or are you dreaming of the first
individual attention,” she says.
This way, they can also remember the names of swaras and thalams, even if
stage appearance (Arangetram) of your child, visualizing the dress that she will
For parents who still doubt their children’s
wear and the applause and appreciation
inherent musical abilities, group learning
that she (or is it you) will get?
is better. There is a popular consensus,
they do not understand it completely.
It may just happen that by pushing for the
when the child is young, it is better to have
Even something as complex as the Melakartha Raga chart (a table of 72 Raga names, which has to be uttered
Arangetram, the pressure of learning gets
shorter sessions with smaller groups of
and remembered in the exact manner)
transferred inadvertently to the teacher and
children. The attention span of the child
can be broken up into segments
student, and your child may be building
between three and eleven years, is usually
or Chakrams of 6 ragas, or 3 ragas
up an inner resentment. So instead of
limited to not more than twenty minutes.
each. These can be memorized in
that in the initial learning stages, especially
appreciating music, she could lose interest altogether.
successive classes. The class typically begins with initiating the sruthi or pitch. It takes a student
The Jantai Varisai, which is the
ONE-ON-ONE TUITION OR GROUP LEARNING
a week or more to settle down to a
second chapter for the beginners
comfortable pitch and then the children are
dealing with pairs of swaras, is rather
Some parents insist on ‘individual
divided into groups of four or five.
long and monotonous. Weaving in a
attention’. A one-on-one tuition may work
story like the Ramayana to match these
out for some children. Certainly, focus
When the group is small, the teaching is
lessons makes it interesting to learn. It
on an individual student helps during
definitely more effective, and the children
then becomes a game and the children
advanced learning.
are more enthused to give their best than
want to learn the next verse to get on
when they are taught individually. 8
with the story.
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