Sangeetha Vidyalaya & Shanmukha Journal                 Sub-Committee
CONVENOR
Smt. Anupama Devarajan
MUSIC COMMITTEE
Smt. Radha Namboodiri	Shri. Rohit Prasad
Km. Dharini Veeraraghavan	Smt. Bhavani Srinivasan
Shri. Gopalkrishnan Raman	Shri. Shivkumar Anantharaman
EDITOR
Shri. Gopalakrishnan Raman
ASST. EDITOR
Smt. Gayathri Sundaresan
EDITORIAL TEAM
Smt. Radha Namboodiri
Km. Dharini Veeraraghavan
Smt. Shyamala Sajnani

The walls of Shanmukhananda reverberate with melody, rhythm and talent! At its heart is the Sangeetha Vidyalaya and Natya Vidyalaya, striving to keep our classical traditions alive, the city’s only professional institution that trains students for a Diploma in Carnatic Music, recognised by the University of Mumbai.

The Vidyalaya is headed by Smt Shyamala Sajnani, the Principal of the School and it functions under the advice of a Sub-Committee answerable to the Management Committee of the Sabha. The Vidyalaya has over 300 students, learning various Indian classical performing art forms. In the Carnatic style, vocal, veena, violin and mrudangam are taught. In the Hindustani tradition, vocal, sitar, tabla and harmonium are taught. As part of the Natya Vidyalaya, Bharatanatyam is taught, and Kathak classes are scheduled to commence this Vijayadashami 2023.More disciplines are being added progressively.

The School Library has over 2500 books on Carnatic and Hindustani Music, including journals and reprints.

Faculty & Staff  ^
The Sangeetha Vidyalaya has 18 faculty members imparting training in various streams such as Vocal, Veena, Violin, Mrudangam, (in Carnatic Music) and Vocal, Sitar, Tabla and Harmonium in Hindustani Music, apart from Bharatanatyam and Kathak. These include the Principal, teachers, as well as the Teachers assigned to coach Diploma in Music (KVC- Carnatic Vocal Classical) course and others.

Principal
Smt. Shyamala Sajnani

Carnatic Music
Vocal
• Smt. Rohini Venkatachalam
• Smt. Parvathi Shankar Narayanan
• Shri. Sreenivasan
Veena
• Smt. Anuradha Srivatsan
• Dr. N. Sekar
Violin
• Shri. Balasubramaniam Sarma
Mrudangam
• Shri S. Gopakumar

Bharatanatyam
• Shri. Anand Satchitanand
• Smt. Jayalakshmi Anand

Hindustani Music
Vocal
• Smt. Swastishree Joshi
• Smt. Bhakti Jadhav
Sitar
• Smt. Roopa Padmanabhan
Tabla
• Shri Milind Joshi
• Shri Rajan Singh Thakur
Harmonium
• Shri Vinay V. Dalvi
• Smt. Reshma Mehta

Courses offered   ^
The Music School trains students in the following fields:
• Carnatic Vocal
• Veena
• Violin
• Mrudangam
• Hindustani Vocal
• Sitar
• Tabla
• Harmonium
• Bharatanatyam
• Kathak

Each of these courses is of 7 years duration. Students who successfully complete the 7-year course in each of the faculties (obtaining at least 50% of the total aggregate marks in the 7th year) will become eligible for consideration for the Proficiency Certificate - SHANMUKHA SANGEETHA / NATYA MANI  by the Sabha. For this purpose the students will be subjected to a separate special practical and written test assessment.

In addition, the school also coaches students for a 2-year Diploma course in Carnatic Vocal Classical (KVC), which is recognized by the University of Mumbai. The course is based on a syllabus approved by the University of Mumbai and is held every year from June to April.

For further details regarding courses and admissions, please contact:

The Vidyalaya’s Office 022-24078888 Ext. 202 (4 to 8 pm Monday to Saturday)

Email: bhamusicprincipal@shanmukhananda.com

Academic Year ^
The academic year for the Music School’s 7-year courses is from October to September of the following year. The first term is from October to March and the second, from April to September. The Vidyalaya closes for vacation from 1st May to 14th June and reopens on 15th June. The academic year for the Diploma in Music KVC (Carnatic Vocal Classical) affiliated to the University of Mumbai is from June to April of the following year.

Admissions ^
Admissions for 7-year courses are on Vijaya Dashami Day and continue during the year. The minimum age for admission is 6 years. Admissions for 2-year Diploma course in Music KVC (Carnatic Vocal Classical) commences in June / July. Students are admitted on the basis of their performance in the audition test. The minimum educational qualification is SSC or its recognised equivalent. To know more about the Vidyalaya, refer to the brochures of the Vidyalaya Click here

Duration of Classes  ^
All classes (vocal, instrumental and Natyam) are held twice a week, in one-hour capsules, between 4 & 8 pm.

Examinations  ^
Two examinations are held every year for the 7-year course in different disciplines. The half-yearly examination is held in March and the Annual Examination is held in September / October. External examiners, who are experts in the field, are invited to conduct the examinations for fair appraisal. The University Examinations for the Diploma in Music KVC are held in March / April of every year.

Competitions   ^
The Music Competition is an important annual promotional activity of the Vidyalaya. It is generally held on the first Saturday and Sunday of February every year and the last date for receipt of January 15 of the New Year. Students from all over the country participate in the competitions which are judged by external judges, who are eminent musicians of Mumbai. Prizes from Endowments are distributed by reputed performing artistes. Dance competition was introduced for the first time in 2008 and is now a regular annual feature. The application forms for the competitions can be downloaded from the website (see link below).

For more information click on the link below

For Dance Competition, Click here

For Music Competition, Click here

Scholarship Awards  ^
Scholarship Awards are given every year to meritorious students who consistently perform well and score high marks in the examinations conducted by the Vidyalaya. There are many Endowments for different disciplines.

Vaggeyakara Day Celebrations  ^
The Sangeetha Vidyalaya conducts Vaggeyakara Days of eminent composers of Carnatic and Hindustani music every month where local musicians with concert exposure are invited to perform compositions of the designated composers. The idea is to familiarize the students, teachers and other rasikas with the rare and lesser heard compositions of those composers.

Shri Seshadri Memorial Talent Exposure Concerts  ^
The promising students with potential in different disciplines of the Sangeetha Vidyalaya including Bharatanatyam are specially trained for performing mini concerts of 40 minutes duration to showcase their talent before an audience, to help them overcome stage fear. Two mini concerts are held once in a quarter. The accompanists are also invariably selected from among our students. The best students are duly awarded with prizes from Scholarship Endowments.

Saraswati Puja & Vijaya Dashami   ^
Saraswati Puja is conducted at the Sangeetha Vidyalaya as per tradition, followed by a group rendering of Devi kritis. Initial lessons are rendered by all the faculty members and the students of all the performing art disciplines on Vijaya Dashami day and initiation classes are held for new students and old students in the respective classes.

Thyagaraja Aradhana   ^
Thyagaraja Aradhana is conducted at the Sangeetha Vidyalaya on Pushya Bahula Panchami Day (January / February) every year. Unchavritti is performed in the traditional style, followed by group rendering of Thyagaraja’s Pancharatna Kritis by the students and faculty members of the Vidyalaya. 

The Natya Vidyalaya   ^
In 2003, the Natya Vidyalaya at Shanmukhananda began with a few students. Since then, the strength of the school has increased steadily, with over 140 students learning Bharatanatyam today.

The Vidyalaya provides an excellent centre for the students to have a good foundation, while having the advantage of a great platform to give opportunities for the students to showcase their talent on the big stage. Students feature regularly in the Talent Exposure programmes and participate in the Vaggeyakara Day Celebrations of the Vidyalaya.

This Dusshera 2023, Kathak stream is being added to the list of performing art disciplines at the Vidyalaya. The vision of the Sabha is to expand its Vidyalaya, both the Sangeetha Vidyalaya as well as the Natya Vidyalaya, adding more streams, students and faculty, making it a holistic learning environment where classical art forms and learning flourishes. The Vidyalaya has produced several famous musicians who have become world renowned and continues to impart the Indian classical art forms to the younger generation.

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