100 kids complete a year of arts training

They were mentored as part of a scholarship programme by a Bengaluru foundation

A hundred children who had won arts scholarships participated in a competition finale recently.

They were chosen from across India and mentored by a Bengaluru-based organisation called Singhal Iyer Family Foundation (SIFF), founded in 2016.

The foundation launched the Young Artiste scholarship programme in 2020 to promote young talent in classical and contemporary arts.

“We wanted to provide an equal platform to all students,” says Kavita Iyer, co-founder. The Young Artiste programme with 20 categories was the brainchild of 16-year-old Dhaani Singhal, daughter of Kavita.

The scholarship began with The Young Artiste Advanced Mentorship Program.

“The pandemic really changed the way we perceive art, and made it more accessible. As the entire programme was conducted virtually, we had the opportunity to reach various pockets across the country, instead of just focusing on the metropolitans,” says Dhaani.

The foundation received applications from 12,000 children, of which 100 children made the final cut, and were mentored from November 2020 to March 2021. They got free virtual mentorship from artistes such as Terence Lewis, Amjad Ali Khan and Shovana Narayan.

Shreya V Murthy, winner of the Hindustani vocal category, says the healthy competition helped her. “I also got to do many things for the first time, right from going live on Instagram to being judged by the top musicians of our country,” says the 18-year-old Bengalurean. She plans to specialise in raga therapy.

Tamish Pulappadi, also from Bengaluru, was among the three finalists who received the ‘Young Artiste of the Year’ awards. He is currently producing and co-writing a music album. “The programme motivated me to work harder,” he told Metrolife.

Plans are afoot to launch the next season, and Kavita hopes music and dance become a bigger part of the school curriculum. “Every single child in school should pick up on the arts. Even if they don’t pursue it professionally, it is a huge source of joy,” she says.

The foundation may be contacted on siffscholars.in.