Salesian College starts music course

Kurseong , Dist Darjeeling : Salesian College, Sonada, has good news for budding Prashant Tamangs.

One of the oldest undergraduate degree colleges in the region, the institution has initiated a music course from this academic session. The college, which boasts of a 70-year-old orchestra and a brass band of repute, will be the first to do this in north Bengal.

“We will be offering certificate, diploma and advanced diploma courses in music, both vocal and instrumental in Western and Classicial Indian streams,” said Father Thadathil SDB George, the principal of the college.

“About 15 students have been inducted so far for the course,” George said. “To begin with, we are starting courses on the piano, violin and guitar, besides tabla, and Western and Indian classical vocal.”

Set up in Shillong in 1933, Salesian College was brought under Calcutta University in 1935, George said. In 1938, it was shifted to Sonada. It came to be affiliated to North Bengal University (NBU) when the latter came up more than 40 years ago. It is the only college run by the Salesians of Don Bosco in the region.

The course, George said, would go a long way in training the hill youths. “The students here are very talented and the communities are musically inclined,” George said. “But, there aren’t any formal music training centres. Our course will help them a lot.”

The college also plans to conduct a study on the music of the Darjeeling hills. “The hills are blessed with a rich cultural heritage and each of the different communities — Gurungs, Tamangs and Limboos — boasts of a rich musical tradition. But none of this has been documented so far,” George said.

“The course has been introduced as part of career-oriented programmes (COP) and will be an add-on that students can take up along with their regular undergraduate degree courses,” Nupur Das, secretary of the NBU undergraduate council, said.

While music was started at Salesian, NBU gave its nod to Malda College for starting a COP in fisheries.

“NBU is laying a lot of stress on these programmes, which are career-oriented and have geographic relevance,” Das said. “The UGC, too, is very forthcoming with funds for these courses. It also helps colleges to get better rating from National Assessment and Accreditation Council.”

Communicative English, Computer Applications and travel and tourism management, among others, have already been started in several colleges. “These subjects are very popular,” Das said.

Organic farming, industrial microbiology, office and secretarial practice, women’s studies, bio-diversity conservation are some of the other subjects in which NBU have sanctioned COPs for college students.

Source: The Telegraph