The story of 13-year-old Benzy Kumar, a special needs class III student of Laxman Public School, Delhi who was awarded the gold medal (of the Union ministry of women’s development and welfare) in last year’s National Child Awards for exceptional achievement by prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on November 14 (Children’s Day), is very near to that of Michelle McNelly in the blockbuster movie Black.
Mentally challenged from birth, Benzy still needs help with routine functions such as eating, clothing, bathing etc. As a child, she couldn’t crawl, walk or speak. It required numerous muscle toning and other therapies before she learned to walk and stammer a few words. “Miraculously she responded to musical toys and musical rhythms and that was our cue,” says Benzy’s mother Kavita, a former state-level badminton player and bachelor in education who opted to nurse her daughter rather than pursue a career. Therefore music therapy is what the Kumars zeroed in on as their only hope for her development.
Consequently a music teacher was hired to tutor her from the age of four. “The teacher didn’t get any response and wanted to quit, but we suggested she should sing for her,” recalls Kavita. It was sage advice and Benzy quickly picked up music rhythms and lyrics. Her speech became clearer and she started to sing and at age seven, gave her first stage performance. “Today she can sing classicalbhajans, songs and all the ragas and her first cassette Basic Ragas was released in 2002,” says her proud mother.
Able to accompany herself on a 75-key synthesiser with professional precision, Benzy’s musical achievements have attracted countrywide acclaim. IGNOU has made a documentary on her life; several television channels including Doordarshan have featured her concerts and national newspapers and magazines including Swagat have showered encomiums. Moreover she has received letters of commendation from a host of leaders in all walks of life including President A.P.J. Kalam and singer Lata Mangeshkar.
In 2004, Benzy was conferred the national award for special children by the Union ministry of social justice and empowerment. “This year’s national award is specially prized because it isn’t a special needs children’s award. Benzy was adjudged on a par with all other children,” says Kavita Kumar who believes that her daughter’s best is yet to come.
“All children have talents. You need to discover them early and encourage them through positive interventions. Secondly, music therapy works wonders for all ailments and afflictions. And third, don’t give up on differently abled children,” adds Kavita.
Autar Nehru (New Delhi)
Karun Krishna
He rattles off facts and statistics relating to myriad subjects ranging from otters to the solar system. But that’s the least of the achievements of Bangalore-based Karun Krishna (11). He can also make doves fly out of silk scarves and solid metal rings intertwine. That’s because for the past eight years, Karun has been a practicing magician.
At the age of three, he got to learn the first tricks of the wizard’s trade from his father, and then attended the Magic Academy, Bangalore, where he was a student of K.S. Ramesh. For the past five years, he has been under the tutelage of Calicut-based master magician M.P. Hashim.
Although green in years, this boy wonder magician has staged more than 3,000 shows and has picked up several awards, most notably the Ugadi Puraskar of the Madras Telugu Academy in 2000, the state award of the government of Karnataka and the Arya Bhata Award in 2001. Unsurprisingly he has routinely been winning magic competitions in the junior category (for contestants between ages six-16 years) since 1999.
Karun travels with his mother all over the country to perform in festivals and competitions. The class VI student of St. John’s High School says: “Although I’m able to manage my studies now, I know it’ll be difficult in the higher classes. We try to restrict performances to weekends, but my teachers give me leave when I need it.” The fact that he’s a class topper and all-rounder who is active in sports, debates, drama and quizzes may have something to do with the school management’s generosity. However, his mother Sudha says that so far, his age has worked to his advantage. “Because he’s so young, people are willing to see him perform,” she says.
Which means that as he gets older, Karun will have to perfect his act. For inspiration he looks up to internationally renowned magicians like Lance Burton (stage magic), Peter Marvey (card tricks) and Michael Ammar (close-up magic). But above all he reveres Isaac Newton. “That’s because I want to be a scientist,” he says. “I love magic but it will forever be a hobby,” he says with a wisdom belying his youthful years.
K. Anjali (Bangalore)