If the practice of music, like all art, improves the mind, leading to overall refinement, no less pleasure is obtained from disseminating its tools amongst eager learners. The avowed goal, or “mission”, of a unique undertaking of a husband-wife duo—Pandit Shubhendra Rao, a sitarist, and his cellist wife Maestro Saskia Rao-de Haas—has this as a point of departure, but goes well beyond that. Indeed, their uncommon ambition is surprising in its scale: Who would have thought of music, especially classical music, as the “birthright of a child”? Or conceived children-friendly music books that teach basics like taal, svara (rhythm and notes) and later raag, through illustrated stories? SaRe Gaayein, an initiative of the Shubhendra and Saskia Rao Foundation, believes in music as a “healthy diet”, something that helps people “interact…
