When Shobha Sekhar arrived in Australia 26 years ago, her only concern was whether she would be able to pursue her love for music.
‘Australia, I used to say, was like a desert for music," she says.
“I used to ask God why did he send me here. I used to feel that Australia was a desert for music. There was no water, no fertilisers. So I had to fertilise the soil. I had to water it. Then we had to grow a plant.”
Today, Ms Sekhar feels that her tree is fully grown.
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Now, when she looks back at her journey with so many feathers in her cap, Shobha Sekhar believes Australia not only helped her achieve her dream of living a musical life, it has also brought meaning to her life.
“Today I feel that there was a purpose behind my coming to Australia. More than regret, Today I feel grateful to Australia.
“Here, Browns matter. Australia is multicultural and has recognised me for the music, so I feel that I am in a good place.”
Ms Sekhar is one of the seven people of Indian origin who have been bestowed with The Medal of Order of Australia on Queens Birthday 2020.
She says, “This award for me personally, I think it validates my conviction that music is therapeutic. It moulds us.”
Ms Sekhar is a firm believer that all of us should have music in our life. However, her professional career as a musician took a little hit when she moved to Australia from Singapore.
“We came in 1994. But before that, I was in Singapore. Singapore is best of East and West. You can live an eastern life there with music and culture.
“My heart is so much in music all the time. I need music in my life to be happy. So when I arrived here, I started teaching music to the children, I realised that there was no awareness of Indian classical music.
It made her anxious that she would not be able to pursue her love for Indian classical music.
“There was no environment here.”
“For instance, in classical music, we need to squat on the ground for hours. But children here were not able to do that. So I used to tell them to practice sitting for one hour or so. It had to start from scratch.”
“It left me depressed and anxious. India was far away, and my professional career as a musician took a little bit of a setback.”
However, Ms Sekhar worked relentlessly and made a name for herself.
Kalakruthi School of Indian Classical Music, which was founded in 1994 by Smt Shobha Sekhar is now reputedly accredited by Music Academy, Chennai.
She works with children with autism and has great success stories to tell and takes pride in it.
“When they started, they were not able to speak confidently. Today, because of the music, they behave normally.”
She also teaches at Melbourne University and performs across the world.
However, Ms Sekhar says her pride comes from her students.
“I feel privileged to make history by introducing Indian classical music and Australian universities. During the past 12 years I have mentored scores of undergraduate and postgraduate students and made for the race into mainstream institutions of Australia,” she says.
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Other Indian-origin recipients of the Medal of Order of Australia:
Dr Sithamparapillai Thava SEELAN, Sydney
For service to medicine, and to professional colleges.
Mrs Sivaganga Sahathevan, Bundoora VIC
For service to the Indian community of Victoria, and to music.
Dr Rama Rai, Wheelers Hill VIC 3150
For service to Indian music and dance.
Mr Lakshman Prasad-Alluri, ACT
For service to the Indian community of the Australian Capital Territory.
Dr Mulavana Santhadevi Parvathy, Merewether NSW
For service to medicine, and to medical education.
Dr Arumugam Alagappa Arumugam, Victoria
For significant service to medicine, to psychiatric health care, and professional groups.
