Ellora ’26, looks to teach guitar lessons to disadvantaged children in India.
Across India today many children do not receive an adequate education. This is most apparent in rural villages where access to resources are also limited. To combat this many nonprofits and government initiatives are geared towards the implementation of quality teaching, specifically within the core subjects of English and Math. However what is often overlooked is the arts.
So, with my CSGC grant I hope to teach children in Aurangabad the guitar. To do this I will partner with Pratham, a non-profit organization, for which I will be volunteering for two weeks. Working with small groups of kids from the ages of 8-14 we will explore songs in both English and Hindi, culminating in group performance. My end goal is to reach the hearts of every musician that are these kids and leave them with the means to continue their guitar journey.
Currently I am figuring out where to source these guitars, whether Delhi is better or directly in Aurangabad. Also talking to family in India to gauge some ideas for songs to teach. One challenge that I am preparing for is the language barrier between me and the children. Their native language is Marathi, so I am learning some key musical phrases in that language. However I welcome the fact that most teaching should be visual rather than spoken.
Overall I am super excited to meet these children and I know that I will learn so much from them and we will have great fun making music together.