Bangalore-based Shalini Menon (14) is still savouring the sweet taste of success after she was adjudged best pianist (Grade V) in India by the blue-chip Trinity College of Music, London late last year (October 2005). The Trinity College of Music (TCM), is an apex level music school which offers training in western classical and other music to students in India through its affiliated institutes such as the Bangalore School of Music and Musee Musical, Chennai. In India TCM conducts its annual high achievers concerts soon after completion of its music grade exams in August every year. Students who obtain a distinction (above 70 percent), are eligible to participate in these concert-cum-competitions. Three hundred and fifty young pianists from across the country (grades I-VIII) participated in a music festival for the annual TCM awards.

A multi-talented musician (vocal, recorder and piano), this class IX student of Bangalore International School (BIS) is particularly accomplished because she is visually challenged and has learnt music auditorilly. “I was attracted to music right from childhood. My brothers and sisters play the guitar and sing, so my learning came naturally,” she recalls.

Inevitably success hasn’t come easy for the young virtuoso. Her typical day starts at 6 a.m, when she practices for two hours before setting off for BIS. After school, which closes at 3.30 p.m, she heads for BSM for her alternate-day one-hour piano and recorder lessons, followed by academic study and final piano practice before bed. “My teachers make special efforts to help me learn, since I can’t read and there are no Braille books with music scores. I learn auditorilly from audio cassettes and oral instruction,” acknowledges Shalini.

Nor have visual impairment and hectic music schedules adversely affected her academic performance. Last year Shalini averaged 75-80 percent in the International Baccalaureate middle-year-programme at BIS. “I owe my good academic performance to my mother, Nirmala. She has learnt Braille herself so she can teach me, and helped me excel,” she adds.

Given her talent, Shalini aspires to make music her career. She has chalked out a plan which includes a degree in music from Florida State University, to qualify as a music teacher. “I’ll travel abroad for my undergrad and postgrad studies in music,” she says matter-of-factly.

A bubbly, confident teenager with no time for lamenting the happenstance of misfortune, Shalini Menon is a profile in courage and optimism.

Srinidhi Raghavendra (Bangalore)

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