A tune of the times: Online classes hit the right note amid Covid blues

Virtual distance helps aspiring musicians to shed their inhibitions and reach out to learn from the best

Sanchari Bose did all she could to learn singing. She would travel six hours by train from Jabalpur to Allahabad, stay in a hotel for a couple of days, and step out to record four 45-minute classes with her guru.

The winner of the singing reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’s Children’s Spe­cial, followed this drill from 2004 till 2010 just so she could practise well at home.

Bose, who now teaches music, was prompt in shifting her classes online after the Covid-19 pandemic curbed travel. The little studio she had at her house in Mumbai for riyaaz (practice)