A city academy is changing the way Carnatic music is taught. It offers music, shlokas, bhajans, and moral education via storytelling.
Shreya Srinath started Gopika Academy online with her husband Ajay Athreya in 2020. Now, she also conducts offline classes at her home in Jayanagar. Currently, their online module has 30 students and they hail from states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and countries like Qatar, Singapore, Canada and the US.
Finding a “good teacher is the most challenging part of learning music” and that is a gap Shreya, who started learning Carnatic music at the age of 10, wanted to bridge. “A lot of teachers prefer older or advance students. Not every child is born talented and inculcating a talent can take a while. I was not a natural at music and shifted between many teachers. This inspired me to start a venture for children,” she explains.
Since children have a shorter attention span, they are encouraged to read stories from the ‘Ramayana’ and other epics, and understand the moral lessons these carry, Shreya talks about how she makes the classes engaging. Children are also encouraged to narrate stories inspired from something they read or observe around.
Shreya has a deep interest in shlokas, which is why she blended them in her teaching. She shares, “There is a shloka to chant while brushing one’s teeth to the things one should be grateful for. There are shlokas on mother India, mother earth, the saints, and all the gods and their significance,” she says.
The academy has also compiled course books with bhajans, shlokas and stories for different levels.
Shreya is glad to share the success of her teaching method. “We have had students who have difficulty pronouncing words, or have speech issues. Often doctors advice such children to learn Sanskrit, and we have noticed changes in such students who have enrolled with us and also those who have Attention-
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.”
*Details on gopikaacademy.com
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