16
years old Jothy would have been just one another human being if her mother,
Mrs. Kalaiselvi had not noticed the blessing amidst her disability. Jothy, a
visually challenged and autistic child was sent out of school as she was “not
like everyone”. But her mother noticed that she possessed a talent beyond all
her disability. When I asked her how did she find out that she has got an
innate sense of music, she says “she was never able to sit in a place even for
5 minutes except when she was making sounds out of vessels”. This made Mrs.
Kalaiselvi realize that she has got some extraordinary music skill which should
be addressed. During our conversation she explained, “It was very difficult to
make her sit in a place even for a while. This was the main reason why she was
not taken in any schools”. Seeing this Mrs. Kalaiselvi started to probe further
and found out that after 10th standard she can take up diploma
courses directly and enrolled her in Government Music College, Adyar for
Diploma in vocal. The teachers in the college were really moved by her ‘Swara
knowledge’ and she is now in the final year of the course. Though
she was not able to read, write and understand some concepts in the normal text
books she performed extremely well in college. “Highly reputed people in the
industry like Ananth vaidhyanath sir were moved by her Swara Knowledge” the
lovely mother happily said. Her mother helps her to prepare for the theory part
of the course and Jothy plays the instrument all by herself. Apart from this
she learns Carnatic music from AS Murali, who is a professor in Kalakshetra.
When asked about future plan she has for Jothy, she says she is also currently
pursuing DMT, a one year diploma course that would give her the knowledge of
how to teach music at college level. My next plan is to enroll her in BA
Violin and she says “It’s very important to equip her in all the ways to
sustain in this highly competitive industry”. Her unusually stunning knowledge
of swara attracts her chance to meet prodigies in the industry.
When
the whole world saw what she can’t do, this mother saw beyond that and spotted
the skill and she has built her whole dream around this kid. It was really
difficult for me to manage her in the earlier days as she could not understand
certain things a child & a girl of that age would understand. But after
going to Music College, she got to interact with more people which has changed her
a lot. Her communication has increased, her behavior has matured says Mrs.
Kalaiselvi. During our entire conversation, I was really moved by this mother’s
love and whose sole dream is to build a future for her kid. I am eagerly
waiting for Jothy’s debut in G V Prakash Kumar’s next movie as he has posted in
his Facebook page.
Listen to her wonderful rendition here Kannamma cover song
Article by Sree Mahalakshmi
