Mumbai: Music is only as important as the way it makes you feel. That’s the lesson around 100 visually impaired children from the Happy Home and School for the Blind in Worli learnt on Thursday. Musicians from the Symphony Orchestra of India mentored students through an exploration of different instruments comprising an orchestra.
The students, between the age group of eight to 15, sported neatly-tucked checkered blue shirts and broad smiles to welcome their new teachers.
“Playing for you is like a dream come true. No one can appreciate the joy of music the way you can,’’ conductor of SOI Zane Dalal told his audience. Even though Dalal spoke in English, a third language for the Marathi-medium students, the children didn’t have any problem understanding what he was saying. “It’s the language of music,’’ said Snehlata Joshi, the principal of the school.
For the technical information regarding the instruments, a volunteer translated it into Hindi to ensure that the children understood the meaning.
“It was beautiful and sad at the same time,’’ said Std IX student Niket. “The students have a keen ear for music. Each of them is gifted and our job is to hone the unique talent in each of them,’’ said Meher Banaji, the director of the school.
Some of the visually-impaired students showed off their singing skills. From the classical ‘Swing low sweet chariot’ to the popular Hindi song ‘Ajeeb daastan hai yeh’, the student choir wowed the professional musicians.
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