The 18-year-old Kalimpong girl, a talented violinist, has just completed the first year of a course in western classical music at the University of Music in Nuremberg, Germany.
In town for a short break, the budding violinist said she wanted to realise the dream of her deceased benefactor Father Ed McGuire by becoming a “big violinist” one day.
Father McGuire is the founder of Gandhi Ashram, where underprivileged children in and around Kalimpong are given free education, including lessons in musical instruments, primarily violin.
“I went to Germany in 2004 when I was only 13. After spending three months there, I came back for a short break. On my return, I told Father (McGuire died in 2005) that I did not want to go back. But he asked me not to miss such an opportunity. I thought about it and decided to go back,” said Kushmita.
She went back to a convent in Munich where, apart from learning music, she learnt to read and write German.
Kushmita offered an interesting take on how quickly she managed to speak German: “Initially, I was, like, dumb. I did not know German and I did not have friends. But because of my musical talent, I picked up the language very soon,” said Kushmita.
And since then, there has been no looking back for her as she single-mindedly pursues her dream to master the “difficult” bowed instrument. Kushmita was one among the 10 violinists who had managed to get an admission to the music university from among 80-odd applicants from across the world, including countries like the USA and Japan.
“It is very hard to get admission to the university. There are very talented musicians who apply every year. Some people respect me a lot because I come from a place like Kalimpong,” she said.
The girl’s education in Germany is funded by the well-wishers of the Ashram, where she first learnt to play the violin. The course she pursues is four-year long.
However, once in Germany, Kushmita had to learn afresh. “Whatever I had learnt at the Ashram were mainly Nepali and Hindi cinema songs. I learnt proper bowing and fingering techniques under the guidance of my teacher in the varsity. Now, I practise for five hours every day,” she said.
Apart from learning at the university, she plays for the Bavarian Youth Orchestra. At the annual programme of the Jesuits in Germany, she had played with young musicians from different countries like Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. “Only best young musicians are allowed to take part in the programme called ‘Sound of the World’,” she said.
From here on, though, the challenge for her would be to become “best” among the best
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