SELCOs latest - Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya

Last week saw the inauguration of SELCOs largest single system installation; a 14KW mini grid at Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya at Dharwad. 

This was one of our really tough projects and Senthil the project lead, who ate, slept, breathed Kalkeri for months now, has tons of fascinating stories to tell about the challenges of setting up the installation, so a real kudos to him and the team, they did a brilliant job.

Apart from the excitement of the solar customized design solution, The Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya itself is a really interesting story: 

Founded in 2002, it's set up in a quiet valley, off Kalkeri, a small village close to Dharwad in Karnataka. The institute provides education in music, and also academics to children from villages of the surrounding areas. also providing accommodation, food and healthcare, at no cost whatsoever.

           

KSV is the brainchild of four founders across three countries. The idea was conceptualized by one Mathieu Fortier from Quebec, Canada. Another founder is Ustad Hameed Khan, who hails from Dharwad and is part of an unbroken music tradition; 6th in line of the generation of musicians in a family honoured for its great contribution to hindustani classical music. His grandfather, Sitar Ratna Rahimat Khan, was the innovator of the contemporary sitar. He was a disciple of legendary Ustad Bande Ali Khan of the Indore Beenkar Gharana. The other two founders are Agathe Meurisse Fortier and Blaise Fortier, Agathe is a fine arts graduate from the Sorbonne University in Paris and Blaise, Mathieu’s brother is a Directors of Young Musicians of the World (Canada).

Mathieu Fortier and his wife Agathe travelled extensively in India, during which time they spent two years at Shanti Niketan, West Bengal, learning yoga and Indian languages. Mathieu spent several years learning Hindustani Shastriya Sangeet. This musical journey took Mathieu and Agathe to Benares, and then finally to Dharwad.

In Dharwad Mathieu started to take classes with Shri Rajshekar Mansur, the son of the late Pt Mallikarjun Mansur. It's there that he met Ustad Hameed Khan Principal of the Music College. Mathieu, Agathe and Ustad Ji got together in 2001 and started to give free evening tuition classes in vocal, harmonium, sitar and tabla. It was not long afterwards that Mathieu heard about a farm house on five acres of land to rent just outside the village of Kalkeri which was how and where the Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya was born.

Some pictures of  the installation, the school and the kids.

                                       

The institute has not only a great academic record, but also a 100% passrate in the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya music exams which they all take.

Here's one of their stories:

Sharda is 14, the youngest of four children. Before joining Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya, Sharda had never experienced a regular school day and couldn’t read, write or count. And coming from the poor banjaran community, she rarely had even three meals a day. 

Sharda is now in 9th class, has passed the Government Junior Music Exam and the 3rd level exam with the nationally recognised Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. She has gone from being a quiet withdrawn girl with few opportunities, to a confident young person with outstanding singing abilities and an impressive academic success with an 82% average.

Upon completion of her school education Sharda has ambitions to go on to university to study music.

Stories that touch you deep within.