Rajkot : Little wonder captivates music lovers
Rajkot,
Sept
23:
At
a
tender
age
of
three
years,
Shivam
Singh
of
Gujarat"s
Rajkot
District
is
a
little
wonder.
The
child
prodigy
sings
melodiously
and
plays
traditional
Indian
musical
instruments
with
as
much
ease
and
aptness
as
he
recites
his
nursery
rhymes.
His
expertise
in
music
is
evident
in
the
effortless
manner
with
which
he
renders
both
melodious
hymns
and
classical
music,
and
taps
apt
rhythms
on
tabla
and
plays
harmonium.
The
only
son
of
Ashwin
Singh,
a
music
teacher
at
the
city's
SNK
School
and
Madhuri
Singh
a
housewife
with
immense
interest
in
classical
music,
Shivam
is
creating
waves
in
Rajkot
with
his
talent.
"I
am
a
grown
up
now.
I
sing,
play
the
tabla
and
also
the
harmonium.
Thank
you
very
much," says
Shivam.
Recognising
this
talent,
Akashvani
(All
India
Radio)
recently
aired
a
special
programme
to
project
his
artistry.
"He
used
to
listen
to
us
as
even
as
a
month
old
child
when
we
used
to
practise.
I
feel
his
interest
in
music
started
from
there
itself.
At
a
sub-conscious
level,
he
had
music
in
his
system
ever
since
then,"
says
Ashwin,
Shivam's
father.
His
mother
maintains
that
it
is
not
practically
possible
to
teach
a
child
at
this
age,
and
they
have
never
made
any
conscious
effort
to
do
so.
She
says
the
child
is
a
quick
learner.
Often
regarded
as
miracles
of
the
nature,
child
prodigies
intrigue
the
ordinary
and
tease
scientists,
who
are
keen
to
decode
the
mystery
surrounding
their
capabilities.
"He has an excellent genetic pool to learn music. Also, he has got a very conducive environment that is congenial for his hereditary talent. His parents encourage him if he sings or plays with musical instrument. While other kids recite Baa Baa Black Sheep, he sings religious hymns," said Shruti Hemani, a child specialist.
There are numerous prodigies in India like P. Hari Krishna, the country's youngest-ever chess grandmaster; the Mysore brothers, Nagaraj and Manjunath, who gave their first violin concerts at the ages of 10 and 9 respectively.
Human calculator Shakuntala Devi was also a child prodigy as was Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), who had mastered trigonometry at the age of twelve. Shivam appears as the next to join this long list of luminaries.
ANI>