Divyalakshmi Kamalakannan with her daughter Aarohi
Can music begin to shape a child’s life before birth? Carnatic vocalist and educator Divyalakshmi Kamalakannan believes it can and has designed a programme to help expectant mothers explore this possibility.
An engineering graduate who chose music over a corporate career, Divyalakshmi founded her music school at the age of 23. Aarohanam the school of music ran for close to six years in Kilpauk until the pandemic forced her to down its shutters. It was also the time when her daughter was born.
Recently, the music school opened in Shenoy Nagar, with noted conductor Augustine Paul as chief guest. The event also saw the launch of her latest initiative: music lessons curated exclusively for expectant mothers.
Her inspiration comes from her own journey as a mother. “My daughter, Aarohi Kiran Kumar, would identify 1,000 pictures when she was just one-and-a-half years old and played the violin at 3.5 years,” says Divyalakshmi, a resident of Shenoy Nagar. Divyalakshmi notes that music is partly behind her daughter’s intellectual precocity. As a vocal trainer, Divyalakshmi sang almost daily, and that constant exposure did play a role.
She has been researching on the role of music with a small circle of expectant mothers for over four years — many of whom shared positive experiences — to launch this programme.
“Each musical note carries a unique frequency. When sung at the right pitch, these vibrations resonate through the mother’s body — which is largely water during pregnancy — and may positively influence the baby’s development,” she says.
The six-month pregnancy curriculum includes simple vocal exercises, the basics of Western music theory and introductory piano training.
Beyond foetal development, she notes, music has proven benefits for mothers too: it reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure, and increases dopamine levels, supporting both physical and emotional well-being during pregnancy.
For details, call 9003225123
Published – October 27, 2025 11:25 am IST
