About Benzy and adoption of Music Therapy: Father of Benzy

Benzy is our 14 years old special girl child who while being treated with help of Music Therapy and has shown extra-ordinary results.
Benzy our daughter had lot of problems by birth. Her milestones were retarded and medically she is termed as MR Child. She had a babbling speech, which could be seldom understood. By the time she was four years old we had applied all the therapies given to us by experts. All these therapies did improve her to some extent but could not improve the large extent, which was required. Time was passing by and learning age, which is 7 to 12, was slipping. Suddenly it strikes to benzy's Mother, who has done her MA, M Ed, that why not use positive qualities which is still retained in Benzy. She found that logic part was weak but her rhythmic part was intact i.e. if taught ABCD she won't learn but if taught in same thing by adding some rhythm to it then she learns fast.
Why a person likes music. It is the particular rhythm that engulfs him. In childhood one likes rhythm more. In any brain rhythm is more penetrating, this is the reason why we like a particular song. Music knows no boundaries. This is the only thing that is accepted by all be it plant or animals. This is the only media through which we penetrate brains of such special children. This is the language through which one can effectively communicate with these children and an expert in music can do this. Indebt research in future will certainly show that cure to these children lies somewhere in this therapy.
We kept a music tutor at the age of five. Benzy did not respond to him. He also complained the same thing. But we did not give up, he was told to come, sing a particular raga and go. We found that after two years she started responding to all ragas and music. Classicals have magical powers in it. Sangeet Samrat Tansen knew it, that is why his ragas were so powerful that use to pull the clouds when 'Megh' raga was sung. Our Western science also shows that even trees, plants respond to music, by growing faster.
Mother Nature gives answer to all our quarries. It is the particular vibration that affects these minds in particular way slowly curing. Science behind chanting of any mantra is also the same. It seems that our ancestors have designed our ragas in such a way that it if practiced properly in learning age can give astonishing results and a baby should be waken up by some light classical music instead of shaking them and waking them up forcibly.
Research is going on Gayatri Mantra and the results are amazing. Similarly research work is being done on 'Maha Mrityunjay Mantra' and it is found that this mantra has got great medicinal value for curing a disease.
Slowly we found that while practicing Classicals, Benzy's voice has become clear and louder without any trace of babbling. Now we thought how to make use of her rhythmic memory. We thought of that she should cram up the musical notes instead of cramming the meaning of the poem as if cutting musical notes in blank and wet mud. Result is that today she can sing all the ragas taught to her tirelessly. She learns a particular tune sheerly by listening to it. She can immediately make out that if a particular song is based on some popular old song beats. She does need a guru for riaz and who teaches her to sing in a pattern in which her vocal chord is not damaged.
Few months before we found that she herself can play harmonium though we she was never taught. it. She can easily play synthesizer and take out a particular tune in 75 key board which is played by big professionals. She was not taught Sa Re Ga Ma on harmonium yet she can play music of Western song taught to her and all jingles of serials on TV, on harmonium. By the age of nine she had given several stage shows and we had released her audio- cassette named BASIC RAAGAS in which she has sung 10 ragas without any retake, in one go. This cassette was made as an experiment to gauge the effect of Music Therapy. After finding its wide scale acceptance we had dared her second cassette.
Today she has completed her second cassette named ‘KOSHISH’ which is marketed by Nupur Audio Company. For this she has won prestigious National Award from our President of India, Mr Abdul Kalam. She is featured in Limca Book of Record for National Record in music. She was called by our Union Home Minister and Awarded earlier. This indeed is the first time that a small girl like Benzy was given National Award. Recently on Womans Day on 8th march 2006, www.hindustantimes.com has done a survey in which Benzy is among top 12 Lady achievers of India. All this is sighted to show that if Benzy can then why not others.
She has ability to pick a song and to stop while music is being played, just like sing-along karaoke, with computer precision finishing exactly in the sound graph, which after lot of practice, only big professionals can perform.
Today she can make out even the slightest distortion in music. All this is because she has only music notes cut in her mind and makes no mistake with music.

We were ready with her second cassette months before, but at that time she was not having the concept of wearing headphone or to sing in chorus. So we bought a headphone at home practiced to sing with headphone daily for 20 min. Took her to groups to sing in chorus; finally she was ready to sing in studio with headphone. It may seem awkward but without headphone no song would get recorded.
These children are rare gift from Almighty, which no one asks for, but if trained properly these children show better result in a particular field than 'normal' child. These are trained child and can do extraordinary in a particular field not in all fields. This is the reason big scientist of the world were called mad (genius in one field but below average in other fields)
All other therapies applied to these special children is to trying to bring them to this world with an impression that they are not ‘normal to our society norms’ This makes music therapy more important than other therapies. All Therapies have their own importance and effect and some of them has cured lighter physical disability but are far behind in curing brain related distortions. More over they are very age specific and is not effective after certain age. Whereas music therapy refines by age and has far reaching effect which researched further are bound to give amazing results.

Today we know that brain related distortion whom we call mentally challenged is the most difficult field in disability. For any physical disability we have aids but for brain distortion we have nothing. This is the reason that working with these children is up hill task.

Secondly parents may be passing time compelling her child to do some movement (which may be suiting us or our society) without indebth understanding his child strengths in a particular field. It is pertinent to mention here that these type of children have one track mind and can grasp a particular activity faster and meticulously. Field must be of their interest.

Example – Suppose a typical business family where there had been no one in the field of music(rather music was treated as waste of time) for last five generation but special child born in the family shows his inclination for music then one has to go for harmonica and songs instead of pulling him in for old family traditions. The same has happened with us. Lot of explanation and argument is to be done with elders of the family.
Once again I stress that if Music therapy if adopted in tender age then it is bound to give results. A person never forgets swimming or cycling similarly music particularly classicals have its everlasting effect.

Once our experiment with music therapy is successful then we can prove to the world that these special children are boon and not curse to the society. These special children have one track mind with no diversion and responds positively to music therapy, if taught in learning age. They will be like designer brain child who orient to parents wish but of course not engineer or doctor or MBA.
Many learned and experts may not agree with all this but at the same time no one will give remedy for cure.
Note:
To identify the area of interest in the children is very difficult and minute this is the reason that these children should not be left over on servants or governess and observe his every feeble movement. One should not forget (be it any religion) that Almighty has chosen parents for this pain and not the children, so one should not evade it. As far as these children are concerned they are most royal with least worries. Even if we do not work with them they will never ever complain.
Even normal children have lot more capacity than their parents. If they are also given a harmonium at an early age, they can do miracles in music not necessarily their parents may be knowing 7 basic note of music. One should not judge others with their own capacity. The above is sighted to explain that every person has tremendous capacity and one should not treat these special children as a waste.
That human beings are not yet able diagnose all brain functions and one has to live with mysteries of these functions.