Internet Gharanas

There was a time when classical music was learnt at the feet of the guru following the age-old guru-shishya parampara. It moved out of the gurukul long back. But with the Internet calling,it seems to have moved out of music schools too.

“Our objective is to use technology to let students learn Indian classical music,even if they are in different parts of the world,and to provide an environment that mimics a face-to-face learning experience,” says Nand Rajan Kulkarni of the Web portal shdjamadhyam.com that came up recently in collaboration with the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya,Delhi. Each lesson,60 to 90 minutes long,comes for $30 — and usually a student logs on for eight-ten lessons a month.

Narayanan,who uploads his practice videos on his website that can only be accessed by Pradhan,says,“I used to rue the fact that I could not be in India but e-learning has been really helpful.” Pradhan,who started Internet classes four years ago,however,says,“I think learning over the Net is a great supplement to real classes but can never be a substitute.”

Pradhan’s wife,singer Shubha Mudgal,is also planning to take classes over the Net. “I am a gadget geek and have done concerts through Web-casting. I performed with Farid Aiyaz when he was in India and I was in Pakistan. We performed together in the jugalbandi format and the audience loved the concert,” says Mudgal.

Gurus and students are more or less happy logging on as the classes generally start on time and students are keen to learn. “Only those who are really enthusiastic opt for a class like this. Also,I have surprised myself. A few years ago,I was hardly into technology and now I am taking music classes over the Net,” says Kashalkar,who suggests that students should meet their gurus when in India.

But there are limitations. “Sometimes the bandwidth is low; sometimes there is static or echoes. Sometimes the audio will not be working and one ends up watching soundless video,” says Bildikar from Illinois. Gurus have other issues. “If you pick up a wrong style or a particular besur due to a bad connection then it is difficult to get rid of it,” says Madhuri Joshi,who teaches music through soorsangam.com to students in the US and India.

Yet,as intricate alaaps and taans stream through the Web,the Internet seems to be the new gurukul.