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means of sharing the wealth generated by my firm?

Harshu Ghate answers

  ::..:: ARCHIVES ::..::

A group of corporate executives walk into a room full of percussion instruments. Each of them is asked to pick one and play. A few rounds of persuasion and convincing later, the band is ready to play.

What ensues is a pretty chaotic scene, which generates plain noise. As the minutes progress, however, the discordant notes seem to strike a strange harmony. The change was more visible in the group. The executive shying away from the stage suddenly seems to forget his inhibitions, handling the rhythmic thrust of the bass with a new-found ease and confidence. The tough-talking corporate honcho softens, the stern lines on his face disappearing into a “childlike” laughter.

An hour into the session, the “boardroom boys” look relaxed – quite unaware that they have slipped out of their egos, skepticism and hang-ups.

Such is the magic of music.

The scene above is neither out of a Bollywood movie, nor a drama. It is, in fact, a music therapy session in progress. Ever heard of music therapy? It is way of healing the body and psyche by exposing the person to what is almost a music bath.

And you only have to meet Stuti Chandok, a 38-year-old music entrepreneur, to find out for yourself its miraculous effects on your blood pressure.

“Contrary to popular perception, music therapy isn’t merely about listening to good songs or tunes. It is more about participation. When the music suddenly starts flowing, it touches us and helps us discover the musician inside. It’s a phenomenal healing process,” says Chandhok, who has been teaching music since 2002.

A certified music therapist, she has grown up on a diet of Hindustani classical music since she was six. But that wasn’t enough for Chandhok who says she “always strives harder to keep the love for life alive”. In 2005, she decided to become a music therapist to help people overcome emotional hurdles through music. A quick search for certified courses showed there were very few institutions that offered good courses in clinical music therapy in Delhi, even though it was widely practised across the country in several forms.

Chandhok decided to learn from the best, even if that meant waiting for three years. In 2008, Margaret Lobo, founder of the UK-based Otakar Kraus Music Trust, opened a branch in India that offered a postgraduate diploma in clinical music therapy. Chandhok was one of the three students that made up the first batch.

As an entrepreneur, she has definitely struck the right notes. For the past year, she has been working with corporates to hold therapy sessions for their employees and management. Her clients talk of a deep healing process – an experience that they claim is a “freeing and uplifting process”. They also describe the therapy workshops as “stress absorbing” sessions that leave them feeling light and happy.

“Some of these executives who are very active in group sessions, sometimes, tend to be very depressed about work. Some let out their stress and loosen up about work-related problems and family issues. During group session, most corporate guys just play like kids. They love the fun of being away from boardrooms,” says Chandhok, who is inches away from closing some handsome deals with corporate houses.

While she is yet to formalise it as a business, Chandhok is hoping to find commercial success in this unusual field. She plans to hire and train more people over the next year, so that she can take on more corporate assignments. In five years, Chandhok hopes to set up an "integrated music academy” that will combine the music therapy business and her music academy, Madhur Mantra, where she trains children in music.

Does she get bothered by the views of leadership coaches such as Santhosh Babu of Delhi-based OD Alternatives, who described such practices as “fringe therapy” that have limited means of serving organisational systems?

To this, Chandhok contends that “music is, after all, spirituality”. For sure, it helped her heal her own life and made a difference.

So, the next time you want to try a team-building exercise, try a music bath. The result just might sound like music to your ears.