HANAMKONDA: Long gone are the days when students were glued to their textbooks alone. Now, even schoolchildren are constantly on a journey to find their voice through extracurricular activities. It is because of the same reason that Vaddiraju Nivedita is a beloved figure in the erstwhile Warangal district. A renowned Carnatic vocalist, Nivedita dedicated her life to teaching government schoolchildren music about three decades ago.
Since then, she has been the first choice for kids, who aspire to become vocalists and their parents, as a music teacher. Thanks to her relentless efforts, Nivedita’s students have been making strides in various national-level competitions for the past several years. Her students also performed at the national-level folk dance competition in New Delhi in 2015.
Their performance during the national role play and folk dance competitions that year on the topics of “adolescence education” and “environment protection” received much acclaim and appreciation from NCERT and Population Education Cell (PEC) authorities.
The very next year, her students showcased an amazing performance and received awards during the national-level competitions held in Mysuru. During the 2018 Kala Utsav competitions organised by the Central government, Nivedita’s students displayed a performance on Haryana’s culture and traditions.
During a brief chat with Express, Nivedita said that though there are hundreds of students out there who aspire to become vocalists, they are unable to pursue the dream due to financial issues.
“Most students who take admissions at government schools hail from poor families. Though they won’t have prior knowledge about Carnatic music, such kids would definitely have a deep desire to be a vocalist. If given a good push at the right time, all these kids will go on to become maestros. My current aim is to create awareness on the benefits of learning music among other subjects, which would help hundreds of students become experts in music. I have already managed to help scores of students turn successful in the field of music. Now, several students of private schools are also making a beeline for my classes,” she adds.
Inspired by her grandfather and renowned scholar, poet and philanthropist late Pamulaparthy Sadasiva Rao, Nivedita learnt music from Guru Kari Kurmanadh at Government Music and Dance College, Warangal.
Her services were recognised by the Telangana government and she was honoured with the Best Teacher Award in 2018. She has also been felicitated by the district collector, educational officer, several bureaucrats and elected representatives. Vaddiraju Nivedita has also been focusing on folk and classical dances for the past few years.