As musicians, learning from home during the pandemic wasn’t really the most ideal situation since most of our subjects required offline training. Like other colleges, our classes were conducted online but it wasn’t really taking us anywhere. Eventually, things got better and a hope for offline classes rose when TSM decided to shift to the Vijaybhoomi University campus. Moving to VU was good change given the numerous amenities we had at hand. Mainly the practice rooms which are a vital part of our lives as music students. Practicing everyday is an absolute must for us. Staying on campus has made it easier for us to practice and maintain a routine.

The university being so remotely located allows us to attend offline classes peacefully. The nature surrounding the university makes it an even more pleasurable experience. The pandemic affected my mental health. Moving to campus helped me recover from the stress of being stuck at home and get disciplined.

During the pandemic, performing live had completely stopped. Coming to campus gave us the platform to do the same. Be it actually performing on stage or just watching as audience. It’s also made it easy for us to jam for open mics or ensembles or just simply for the fun of it.

Having practice rooms at a distance of barely 20 steps is a huge advantage of shifting to campus. There is no valid excuse for not using them. It is a huge advantage because practicing in individual rooms doesn’t really happen since there is always some or the other distraction. Practice rooms allow us to focus better without our minds diverting.

Besides all this, I’ve also made some friends that I can assure are for a lifetime. Meeting new people, making new connections is always exciting. There are people coming from different states. There’s so much to learn from each other, about our lives, sharing our experiences with each other. The best part is sitting together with my friends after a long day and just spending time laughing and unwinding. . I won’t change a thing about this new life, I’m grateful as ever.

By
Shanaia Shrotri
B.Mus, Music production, TSM, VU.