The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Notes of a different kind

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Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Notes of a different kind

P. Ram Mohan

US musicologist Mark Lindley teaches English and music in a simple way with the aid of some pictorial notes

CRUSADER: Mark Lindley teaching poor rural students English at the Samskar Ashram Vidyalayam at Varni in Nizamabad district.

VARNI (NIZAMABAD Dt.): Mark Lindley, a noted musicologist, and more recently a historian of modern India, has endeared himself to poor rural children with his selfless teaching of English and music at Samskar Ashram Vidyalayam in this interior place.

Born in Washington DC, the 71-year-old Lindley during his two-month stay every year at Kotaiah Camp, headquarters of Samskar-Plan International, a social service organisation, dutifully teaches English in a simple and lucid way with the aid of some pictorial notes prepared by himself.

Besides, he has donated computers and other material for the poor students of the residential school. His 14-year association with the school meant for orphans and children of Jogin women has made him an integral part of the social service organisation.

Widely travelled

Prof. Lindley has toured several countries and rendered his services as Professor of Musicology, mainly Western Music, in more than a dozen premier universities in different countries. He also worked at the University of Kerala. A product of Harvard and Columbia Universities and Julliard School of Music, Prof. Lindley’s concentration has been on the Independence struggle with focus on Mahatma Gandhi and some of his associates.

A Gandhian who lives a spartan life, Prof. Lindley has authored several books and articles on Mahatma Gandhi. He is also known as the author of a great number of papers in musicology and is regarded as an expert on the history of tempered tunings, of early keyboard fingerings and of the chromatic scale.

Kind soul

Being a Good Samaritan, Prof. Lindley currently focuses on improving the healthcare and hygiene of poor children of this school by contributing some money for supply of brown rice. He says brown rice is highly nutritious and therefore must be an essential part of the menu in all welfare hostels.

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