Meenakshi Shankar Music School

More talent galore concealed in a cranny of the city. Another gifted person swept away in the surging tide of everyday life. A view of the dark side of the moon, again.

In such circumstances, all one can do is smoothen the remains of one's sand castle, and try to build a new one. And that is precisely what Meenakshi Shankar is doing with her tiny music school.

Trained at the Women's College Of Music And Dance, Hyderabad, Shankar is doing her best to spread whatever knowledge she has drawn together about these forms of art. She had given several performances during the years 1982-1986. She claims that her Guru Uma Rama Rao, a recent recipient of the Delhi Sangeet Natya Academy award, used to be quite avaricious, with a policy of "you show me the money and I'll show you the lights". As a result, Shankar knocked on doors, beseeching people to give her a teeny-weeny chance. And finally, with the help of her sisters, who are all trained musicians, she fulfilled her dream to lay bare her talent.

But this is not the end to the fairytale; destiny has not entered the plot as yet. It entered in the guise of marriage. Once Shankar tied the knot, she was coerced by a sense of duty, to deliberate only on her family. And for years she burned in the flames of an unfulfilled passion for her art. When the urge to dispense her understanding of these arts refused to dissipate, she opened a school of music and dance.

Her affairs with music and dance are purely a hobby, and not a profession. But she is unyielding about the amount of dedication she demands from the student. Due to the innumerous quandaries she faced while she tried to build a platform for her own talents, Shankar actively sees to it that her students write, qualify and pass first class in the music exams conducted by the Maharashtra Mandali. So, it is "Welcome to Lady Hitler Land", for everybody who wants to register at her school.

While enrolling in the exams just costs Rs. 80 to Rs. 130, it is the effort that one has to put in, that is exhausting. But for anybody who is even a little assiduous, it is as easy as beating an egg.

Shankar also insists that they perform at the nearby temple, to make sure they are divested of their stage-fright. For, a comfortable performance, she believes, is a very important part of learning an art.

So, if the ardor burns in you too, and you are just in need of the conduit, Shankar will come to your rescue. Minus avarice.