Strings hummed and voices rose in unison at Keysborough Secondary College’s Banksia Campus on 12 and 13 July 2025, as Kalakruthi School of Music staged its 31st Grand Annual Concert. Backed by 30 years of work in Melbourne’s Carnatic music scene, the school once again brought together senior disciples, curious newcomers, and devoted families under one roof for a weekend of music built on discipline, joy, and tradition.
The concert began at 4pm on both days, with day one led by the senior students. They performed ensemble pieces and individual Manodharma segments—the improvised heart of Carnatic music. Guided by their teacher and school founder Smt Shobha Sekhar, the performers demonstrated not only their vocal and instrumental training but also their grasp of raga structure and rhythmic sophistication.
Day two turned the spotlight to the school’s youngest learners. Children barely tall enough to hold a tanpura stood confidently in front of a full hall. Their performances may not have held the gravitas of the seniors, but they carried their own quiet weight—a reminder of how early training shapes musical sensibility and cultural confidence.
Kalakruthi’s emphasis on rigour and authenticity is tied to its accreditation by the Music Academy in Chennai, a benchmark many Carnatic musicians in India still look to with respect. Shobha Sekhar, who received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2015 for her contribution to Indian music education, continues to teach with a curriculum that preserves tradition while acknowledging Australia’s cultural and linguistic context.
Many of her students do not speak Indian languages at home. Some come from mixed backgrounds. Yet their performances showed a clarity of intonation and phrasing that spoke to years of practice. Shobha has often said that language is not a barrier if one understands the emotion behind the composition—a sentiment that clearly resonated through the concert.
Dr Sushil Kumar, Consul General of India in Melbourne, was among those present and took a moment to commend Kalakruthi’s long-standing efforts to foster intercultural understanding. Audience members included parents, alumni, and well-wishers from the broader community. Some had been attending the concert for years, witnessing students grow from hesitant learners to confident performers. Others were first-timers, drawn by curiosity or invited by friends.
Kalakruthi’s concert comes at a time when traditional music schools face mounting challenges—rising costs, limited rehearsal spaces, and the pressure to remain relevant in a digital-first world. Yet the turnout and the quality of performances suggest that there’s still strong demand for depth, discipline, and continuity in the arts. For many Indian-Australian families in Melbourne’s south-east, Kalakruthi has offered more than music lessons. It’s provided a space to pass on cultural memory.
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