Violins In Kalimpong

Fred de Sam Lazaro of American public television (PBS) reports on a really cool musical experiment in Kalimpong. Here, a Jesuit priest, gave violins and lessons to poor kids and watched them find joy from their own talents.

Take Kushmita, for example. As a poor kid having been accepted at an upscale convent, she faced typical challenges of peer acceptance and fitting in. This is what she tells Mr. Lazaro:

KUSHMITA BISWA KARMA: I used to play violin. I used to play solo songs, like Hindi, Nepali songs. And they all used to love me playing violin. I had friends. Many friends I had in the convent.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: So you had many friends in the convent school because you were able to play violin?

KUSHMITA BISWA KARMA: And I was good, also.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: She's good at the violin-- so good she was pulled out of school to be tutored by a visiting German music teacher in hopes of attending one of Germany's most prestigious conservatories.

KUSHMITA BISWA KARMA: Before, I didn't know, like, the rules and the way... how we should play violin. She taught me how I should hold my bows and how should I cast the violin. I want to come back to Kalimpong because my parents are here. I was born here. I studied in Gandhi Ashram School in Kalimpong.

Father Thomas McGuire of Gandhi Ashram died recently. What a beautiful legacy he's left behind. Very cool!