London: New England English music courses for schools started on Friday include Indian Classical Music, Bollywood Hits and Bhangra Beat. The Department of Education (DfE) said that the aim of the scheme for all schools in England is to give more and more youth the opportunity to hear and learn about music through cultures.
Kishori Amonkar’s ‘Saheli Ray’, Anushka Shankar’s ‘Indian Summer’, AR Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ and Bollywood box-office hit ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ among the Indian music references included in the DFE curriculum guidelines for schools Are one. The guidelines state that it is important to acknowledge that the modern British identity is rich and diverse. It states, “Kishori Amonkar was one of the leading singers of Indian classical music in the 20th century.”
It also references the song ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ from the 2010 film Dabangg. It added, “The song contains many distinctive features of Bollywood films in music, dance and colorful visuals.” DFE said that its model music curriculum has been developed by a panel of 15 music education experts – teachers and musicians.
