Bindu S•••

About

On the record

In 2011, when my daughter Mahati was born, I wanted her to enjoy all the benefits music has to offer. I started looking for music from around the world to help her have fun while learning new languages, and introduced her to musical instruments when she was a toddler. I soon realised there were many parents who wanted their children to have a fun learning environment where they could make the most of the arts. And that's when I decided to spend my life creating ways for every child to access the best of global music education. When SaPa began, we had two students and three teachers, with big dreams for little learners. Today, we impact students a year from 100 schools, and still have the same excitement every time we introduce a child to music. SaPa’s goal is simple: No matter how you want music in your life, we’re happy to bring it to you. Extensive training in vocal and instrumental disciplines? Musical activities as a gateway to building 21st century skills in school children? Self-paced online courses in songwriting, production, ghazals, and more by India’s best musicians? SaPa has it all. SaPa’s in-schools program has built India’s first ecosystem for music education from scratch, with its five pillars designed in collaboration with the Norwegian Academy of Music (built by the Government of Norway). We design the learning material, curriculum, syllabus, teaching methodology, teacher training, and assessments. We believe that music education can transform societies. To that end, we offer the program free of cost to over children a year. Principals have reported improved attendance, confidence, and reading after SaPa was introduced. In 2020, we took SaPa online, hosting courses by some of the world’s best musicians – like Dr. L S•••, Kavita Krishnamurti S•••, Anup Jalota, Russ Miller, and more. In this time, music bridged many gaps created by the absence of community. I consider myself a lifelong learner, and recently gave a TEDx talk about choosing meaningful career paths. I was honoured to be listed among GQ’s 2021 list of 25 most influential young Indians, named among BusinessWorld’s top women entrepreneurs, and BusinessWorld’s 40 under 40. I’m Co-Chair of the Australia India Youth Dialogue (AIYD), and Chair for AIMA’s YLC (Young Leaders Conclave). I am also President of the Stanford Seed Transformation Network (South Asia), have a Master's degree in law, a Master's certificate in songwriting and music business from Berklee College of Music, a Montessori diploma, an MPhil, and a PhD in Music Education.