MUMBAI: With the lockdown due to COVID-19 all the children are packed inside the house with the parents. A lot of parents are running out of ideas to entertain their children, especially the ones working from home.

Dharini Upadhyaya, CEO and Co-founder of the Furtados School of Music believes that this would be the best time for the children to start learning an instrument online. The video lessons are available on Furtados' Zoom platform, both one-to-one and one-to-many. Students can choose their course based on the access they have. All they need to have is a laptop and internet connection, and they can fix a time slot.

Further, Furtados has started with introductory courses and voice lessons for those who don't children have instruments at home. But for those who do, they also offer instrument lessons. "It is a good productive engagement for the child at least for a few hours, and they end up feeling more calm and refreshed. Learning music is always a good idea. Not only is it fun, but it also helps in brain development and relaxes the mind" said Dharini.

Furtados School of Music, started in 2011, offers music education as part of the school curriculum. It is a structured learning programme that is put together for students. "We have our own learning centres where students come after school hours to pursue their interests further. We have different propositions right from pre school to high school. Schools outsource their music education programme to Furtados. We have reached about 200 schools now," says Dharini.