Jai Ho at Trinity College

The music halls of Trinity College,London,will resonate with the beats of Jai Ho and Raga Bhairavi. After training students in western classical music,the famous musical conservatory will now impart training in Bollywood and Indian classical music. “We are changing our syllabus to keep it fresh,relevant and contemporary. It should reflect global trends,and including Bollywood music is a way of doing that. This brings inclusiveness in our repertoire,” said Sarah Kemp,chief executive of the Trinity College.

Under the new syllabus which began in January,Bollywood music has been included in the electronic keyboard section of the music examination.

The college is attributing the inclusion of the course to AR Rahman’s music in Academy-award winning Slumdog Millionaire. “Bollywood music has been catapulted to the centrestage. The international success of Rahman’s music has been very important in bringing Indian music to the world platform,” said Kemp.

The college has also started to test the interest of its global students in Indian classical music. “Under a pilot project in London,we have offered Carnatic music to some of our students. Depending on the feedback,we might include Indian classical into our syllabus permanently,” said Nick Keyworth,chief examiner of music.