Rajam Shanker's Healing Notes

Rajam Shanker’s years of devotion to music always had a higher purpose. Her music therapy work with autistic children is proof of that. 

A sense of confident calm and assurance comes in Rajam Shanker’s soothing voice as she speaks about her work with music therapy. In her mid 60s, Hyderabad based Shanker is an exponent of Carnatic music and also has a masters in Vedic Astrology. But it’s her work as a music therapist that has made her touch the lives of others in myriad ways. Rajam’s music therapy uses the ancient tradition of Nada Anusandhana, a method of evoking inner sounds. This technique, used by Yogis in ancient times, associates a specific musical note with a specific chakra. For the uninitiated, there are seven main chakras in the human body, starting at the base of the spine and going up to the crown of the head. It is said that each of the seven chakras correspond to the seven notes on a musical scale.

As Rajam explains, “Nada Anusandhana is about evoking sounds from a particular chakra. It’s a process similar to Pranayam. When we are inhaling, as we utter the sound, we concentrate on the particular chakra during the process. The frequency of the sound vibrates the chakra and in the process as we exhale, the toxins are released.”

The energy that is produced through the frequency of the sound and passed through the seven chakras in our body – from the root chakra Muladhara to the crown chakra Saharara, helps in releasing toxins, leading to an overall sense of well being. Rajam says most people prefer to sing the Om sound, though they can produce any sound based on their religious or personal preference. “A simple Aaaaa sound is also sufficient.”

Photography: Silver Talkies

Having extensively studied the subject under the guidance and blessings of her guru Brahmashri Sangeeta Maha Mahopadhyay Kollegal R Subramanian, Rajam uses music therapy with senior citizens, some of whom meet in her Hyderabad home for music therapy sessions. “This is for their general well being and to help them overcome issues like lack of hunger, sleeplessness, etc.

However, the core of her work involves children with autism, with whom she has been working for more than 15 years. Her eyes light up talking about them. “Many of them are completely non verbal when they start and gradually, with therapy, have started speaking slowly, understanding and responding to commands.”

The time taken for progress depends on the score of their autism and is hard to quantify, says Rajam. She proudly mentions the case of a student who was completely non verbal and took about 50-60 sittings to say Om. “Today, he fixes his own pitch and can sing without any provoking. He is also 100 per cent verbal. The process has taken 5 years.”

Musical Healing

Rajam’s work with autistic children began in 2004, with Dr Lakshmi Prasanna of the Saandeepani-Centre for Healing and Curative Education, a unit of Little Hearts Children’s Hospital, Hyderabad. “She (Dr. Prasanna) was looking out for somebody who could work with Indian classical music. Slowly, with her guidance, I started working with a small group of children at the centre. She took care of the medical part and gave me complete freedom in my work.” Initially, the children would shut their ears, scream or run around but eventually Rajam started noticing slow yet sure changes.

Blessings to work towards a greater good also came from Rajam’s guru who said he had always known that her knowledge of music was meant to be used for this purpose. Support has also come from her family, especially her husband, a businessman, who also takes care of her emails and appointments as and when required and accompanies her to international conferences.

Rajam also works with women suffering from menopause related issues. She tells us about a scientist in a reputed organization who was unable to control her anger and had become extra sensitive as she was going through menopause. “The doctors advised alternate therapy and that’s how she came to me.” Rajam worked with her for days and one of the best moments of her life came when she was invited to the lady’s house for a function. “Her sons and husband walked up to me and said, thank you, you gave her back to us.”

Rajam also trains music students from India and overseas in the method of Nada Anusandhana. Many of them stay with her in her home in Hyderabad.

Notes of Wellness

When she does her Music Therapy work with laypersons, Rajam advises them to sing for themselves, even if they do not have a singing voice. “I ask them to record the session with me, put their earphones on and sing along. They need to concentrate on the chakras and match their voice with my voice. That’s how I train them.”

Photograph courtesy: Rajam Shanker

It’s also what she advises mothers of the autistic children to do. “I train the mother to sing for her child because the mother’s voice is the best therapy for the child. I ask them to sing along to the recording, concentrating on their chakras and the child’s. I write and give, this sound has to come from this chakra.” Rajam has had repeated requests to record music CDs for the purpose but she does not believe in commercialising her calling.

She also works with organisations for children with special needs, like Tamahar in Bangalore, apart from others in Mumbai and Chennai. Her work with Music Therapy has garnered international acclaim and she has presented her work in European Music Therapy Congress at Cadiz Spain and World Congress of Music Therapy at Seoul, South Korea, as well.

Music has always been in Rajam Shanker’s life. She started learning music at an early age and is a graduate in Carnatic Music from the Telugu University, Hyderabad and Sangeeta Alankara with distinction from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, the National Music University.

Even as a child, she had felt the power of the ragas within her.

“As a kid when singing certain ragas, I felt something was happening to me. I kept it to myself and when I started learning music much later, I discussed with my Guruji. He understood what I had felt and asked me to work on it slowly.”

It was not until a traditional ceremony during her daughter’s pregnancy that Rajam felt the inner sound mostly keenly. Her guru, a much respected musician who composes his own songs, went into a trance and started singing the Raag Kalyani, traditionally sung during such ceremonies. “I felt the energy within me,” she says, adding that it was the start of her journey.

Rajam has been guided by her guru but is largely self taught when it comes to her music therapy work. “My guruji introduced me to a book called Sangeeta Kalpadrumam, written in the 18^th century, that has given me a lot of inputs and works as my base to practically apply the knowledge. Another book called Harmony of Human Body by author Armin Husemann has also been my guide.” Both books detail the therapeutic effects that a musician could achieve through music and continue to guide her work.

Rajam believes that Psychology and music therapy are two sides of the same coin. She points out that earlier families were joint ones and in many ways, therapy, whether musically or through talk, was done by the elders at home. Today, as she painstakingly works with children with autism, women suffering bouts of depression or suicidal tendencies, the calm and collected Rajam Shanker brings back some of that ancient wisdom into their lives and more.