Child Prodigies .. where are they a decade later?
Talented children (well, lets call them gifted) are very rare to find, especially when they are aged about 2 yrs! This is what I came across a few days back on youtube (awww....don't tell me you dont know this website). There is this child prodigy called Aditya Phatak .. just have a look at his videos and you will be stunned!
This boy is hardly 2.5yrs of age and can already recognize the most complex Taals in Tabla (rest assured, I do know Tabla and hence my writing will be worth some of your time). I learnt of an instance where this boy just started off perfectly with Ada Chaartal while accompanying a musician who had no idea this pleasant surprise was in store.
Yes, gifted children exist .. the source of their talent/extreme understanding is inexplicable. Perhaps it is their Karma .. perhaps it is ours. Perhaps it is God's enigmatic way of showing us what we, the mediocre junta, were capable of when we were young too!
Well, having written so much, I must not fail to mention what I deem the most important point. Gifts are many .. opportunities are many .. tales abound of gifted people .. yet why is it that so few of them actually surface on the arena where things do matter? What fills this gap (from talent to limelight) in there? Where in this vacuum do most of these small lamps get extinguished?
The true answer lies in the upbringing that these tiny tots are subjected to. Most of them, at least from well-to-do families, get a lot of encouragement. However, parents sometimes cross the line and the child feels supremely important - more than it actually is. I have seen cases of people with talent/understanding of music far beyond ordinary comprehension. Yet, parental encouragement was so full in measure that they lost their head and once that happened, they lost everything - reputation, status and most importantly respect.
On the flip side, lack of parental encouragement is a bane too (often musically disinclined parents). In this case, it is up to the child to recognize its talent, nurture it and blossom it into a rich future. This has often happened as well. The psyche of the Indian society has the undercurrent "My child must become a doctor " (and more recently, a software engineer). Anyone good at anything non-academic has (or is supposed to have) a bleak future for sure. Musicians, sportsmen all have trying times juggling their interest with the essentiality of a "stable" job. No wonder, most established musicians today have over 30 years of experience in some Bank!
Talent is also lost due to peer pressure. I can personally attest to this having seen atleast 25 such cases! Making friends is an art. Everyone must have a sphere of personal space and only the tried and tested ones with matching interests must be allowed into it. Brashness leads to poor selection of friends and then it is not just the society but also creepy human fallacies that the child must battle! Hanging around cafes with friends is cool .. roaming in the city streets discussing the latest movies is trendy ... This is how talent gets wasted away. Precious time is lost thus which could have been spent nurturing the gift of God. And mind you .. it all gets explained in the most convincing manner "I had lots of homework to do!" "I had project submissions and assignments" .... Am I going to write all the reasons here? Oh come on! Lethargy can presented with a wide range of shades.. we haev have done this at some point of time in our life.
These are some of the reasons I present as I make my attempt to explain the phenomenon why most of the child prodigies fail to make a mark on the real scene... Of course, it is not a generalization I make and I definitely do not imply that none of the children have made their mark. But compared to the promise, the stuff actually delivered is a lot less. Proper guidance by the parents, not hesitating to use the rod when necessary, not hesitating to appreciate the child openly when necessary, is a must. Only then will the true gift of God be felt by all in all its glory!
Way to go Aditya!
This boy is hardly 2.5yrs of age and can already recognize the most complex Taals in Tabla (rest assured, I do know Tabla and hence my writing will be worth some of your time). I learnt of an instance where this boy just started off perfectly with Ada Chaartal while accompanying a musician who had no idea this pleasant surprise was in store.
Yes, gifted children exist .. the source of their talent/extreme understanding is inexplicable. Perhaps it is their Karma .. perhaps it is ours. Perhaps it is God's enigmatic way of showing us what we, the mediocre junta, were capable of when we were young too!
Well, having written so much, I must not fail to mention what I deem the most important point. Gifts are many .. opportunities are many .. tales abound of gifted people .. yet why is it that so few of them actually surface on the arena where things do matter? What fills this gap (from talent to limelight) in there? Where in this vacuum do most of these small lamps get extinguished?
The true answer lies in the upbringing that these tiny tots are subjected to. Most of them, at least from well-to-do families, get a lot of encouragement. However, parents sometimes cross the line and the child feels supremely important - more than it actually is. I have seen cases of people with talent/understanding of music far beyond ordinary comprehension. Yet, parental encouragement was so full in measure that they lost their head and once that happened, they lost everything - reputation, status and most importantly respect.
On the flip side, lack of parental encouragement is a bane too (often musically disinclined parents). In this case, it is up to the child to recognize its talent, nurture it and blossom it into a rich future. This has often happened as well. The psyche of the Indian society has the undercurrent "My child must become a doctor " (and more recently, a software engineer). Anyone good at anything non-academic has (or is supposed to have) a bleak future for sure. Musicians, sportsmen all have trying times juggling their interest with the essentiality of a "stable" job. No wonder, most established musicians today have over 30 years of experience in some Bank!
Talent is also lost due to peer pressure. I can personally attest to this having seen atleast 25 such cases! Making friends is an art. Everyone must have a sphere of personal space and only the tried and tested ones with matching interests must be allowed into it. Brashness leads to poor selection of friends and then it is not just the society but also creepy human fallacies that the child must battle! Hanging around cafes with friends is cool .. roaming in the city streets discussing the latest movies is trendy ... This is how talent gets wasted away. Precious time is lost thus which could have been spent nurturing the gift of God. And mind you .. it all gets explained in the most convincing manner "I had lots of homework to do!" "I had project submissions and assignments" .... Am I going to write all the reasons here? Oh come on! Lethargy can presented with a wide range of shades.. we haev have done this at some point of time in our life.
These are some of the reasons I present as I make my attempt to explain the phenomenon why most of the child prodigies fail to make a mark on the real scene... Of course, it is not a generalization I make and I definitely do not imply that none of the children have made their mark. But compared to the promise, the stuff actually delivered is a lot less. Proper guidance by the parents, not hesitating to use the rod when necessary, not hesitating to appreciate the child openly when necessary, is a must. Only then will the true gift of God be felt by all in all its glory!
Way to go Aditya!
posted by Sandeep | 12:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home