Deadline for nominations (with copies of the

The Myth of Prodigy

They learn to read at age two, play Bach at four, fluently speak foreign languages by six, and breeze through calculus at eight. Their classmates shudder with envy; their parents rejoice at winning the lottery. Prodigious children make headlines in ever increasing number.

In the business of performing old music, the industry is relying on youth as never before. While symphony ticket sales are stagnant and classical album sales are plunging, talented teens are filling concert halls and putting CDs on the charts. The past few decades have seen more and more orchestras and record companies in the U.S. turning to youngsters to lift their sales. This trend is being seen in other industries too, such as in Indian TV shows featuring young musical talents. Indeed, today’s swelling crop of prodigies reflects neither a sudden surge in talent among kids nor an improvement in teaching techniques. Instead, it reflects industry-specific economics, pure and simple.

So, who exactly is a child prodigy? In psychology, the term child prodigy is defined as a person under the age of ten who produces meaningful output in some domain to the level of an adult expert performer. Wikipedia maintains a dynamic list of child prodigies covering the past four centuries who rose to prominence in various disciplines spanning mathematics, music, science, sports, etc. It features luminaries such as Mozart, Rabindranath, Ramanujan, von Neumann, as well as Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber”. Ever wondered what happened to those wunderkinds from decades ago? Surely many of the prodigies on the Wikipedia list had reached the pinnacle of success in their respective domain. However, to paraphrase T.S. Eliot, the careers of most tend to end not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Consider the most prestigious award in the US for scientifically gifted high school students, the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, called the Super Bowl of science by one American president. Since its inception in 1942 and until 1994, the search recognized more than 2,000 precocious teenagers as finalists. But just 1 per cent ended up making the National Academy of Sciences, and just eight have won Nobel Prizes. Of course, these odds are better than 1 in 1000 (of nonprodigious individuals) making the list of Nobel laureates. Yet for every successful prodigy, there are many dozens who fall far short of their potential.

To be a prodigy in music, for example, is to be a mimic, to reproduce what you hear from grownup musicians. Yet only rarely do child musical prodigies manage to make the n e c e s s a r y t r a n s i t i o n from mimicry to creating a style of their own. The “prodigy midlife crisis,” as it has been called, proves fatal to all but a handful of would-be Mozarts. Early acquisition of skills — which is often what we mean by precocity — may thus be a misleading indicator of later success.

Precociousness is a slipperier subject than we ordinarily think. The notion of precociousness as an early form of adult achievement is much of the problem. Often the benefits of earlier mastery are overstated such as in the case of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Famously, Wolfgang Mozart started to compose music at age four; by six, he was traveling around Europe to give special performances with his father, Leopold; and went on to produce hundreds of highly regarded works before his death at the ripe early age of thirtyfive.

Upon first glance, Wolfgang definitely supports the explanation that “talent” is genetic and not learned. However, if we take a closer look, we will find some very striking details that we may not have thought about before.

Leopold Mozart was a famous composer and performer in his own right. He was also a very controlling parent who put Wolfgang in an intensive training program of music study starting at age three. Leopold was well qualified for this role as he was considered one of the most highly accomplished and soughtafter teachers. He also had a deep interest in how music is taught to children. In a way, Leopold was an 18th-century equivalent of a little league father.

Wolfgang’s early compositions have raised several questions upon close scrutiny by many scholars. These manuscripts are not written in Wolfgang’s own hand. It seems Leopold always wanted to “correct” them before anyone else saw the compositions. It’s also interesting to note that Leopold stopped composing himself at about the same time he began teaching WolfBy Subhodev Das

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REMEMBERING KANAK DUTTA (1927-2018)

gional Cooperation, and she, of course, gave the AIA, her whole-hearted support, as she did with Veena Merchant and Gopal Raju and their publication “India Abroad”.

People in the Bengali community speak highly of Kanak di as well and describe the many ways in which she helped them in time of need.

Kanak Dutta passed away on September 3, 2018. Her impact on the broader political scene was of great importance. She inspired many others to serve in local and state politics and made it easier for New Jersey’s citizens to realize that there were people | continue from page 3 of Asian Indian origin who were keen to help in the betterment of their state. And Kanak Dutta always wanted Asian Indians to work towards that betterment. “This is your country now,” a New Jersey resident of Bengali origin remembers Kanak di saying. “Leave your mark on the governance of this state. Get involved in its affairs.” In the Agarwal interview, her closing words to all Asian Indians were, “Be a very good honest American citizen, participate in community activities --- community activities and politics go hand in hand --- be an elected official and make excellent laws that will contribute to the welfare of all Americans.”

A Report on Heritage Day Activities and Annual...

| continue from page 1 began in the Tagore Hall at 12 noon with a reception, featuring a variety of snacks and drinks. Shortly after 1 pm, the program began with an invocation by Biswabhai, our resident priest. Dipak Sarkar, Chair of Fund-raising Committee then welcomed the guests. Ashok Rakhit, President of Ananda Mandir, followed Dipak, and began his presentation with a newly made informational video, titled “Ananda Mandir – Our Home Away from Home”. He then summarized the many accomplishments of the organization during the past twelve months and outlined the plans for the next three to five years. It was exciting for the audience to learn that Ananda Mandir has secured township approval to (a) build a private puja room, adjoining the temple building; (b) install a gate to the property and two pillars for the gate; (c) finish the basement of the Front Building; and (d) add a second floor to the Front Building with several bedrooms and baths for occasional overnight stays by elderly members after major religious events. – The audience then learned from Ashok that NABC 2018, organized by Ananda Mandir, was a huge success, and that we had received numerous compliments from the attendees. It was particularly gratifying to learn that the event is likely to generate a net surplus of about $150,000 that would benefit Ananda Mandir’s finances.

Ashok ended his presentation by articulating the challenges ahead for Ananda Mandir, most notably the need to meet the mortgage burden of approximately $23,000 per month. He detailed the various sources of income and the key categories of expenses. He further explained why the Annual Fund-Raiser is critical to meeting that mortgage payment burden.

Pronoy Chatterjee, Chair of Awards & Recognition Committee, then presented plaques to the two recipients of Distinguished Leadership Awards: Amitabha Bagchi and Dilip Chatterjee. (Please see the report on Distinguished Leadership Awards on Pages 8 for details). A representative of our younger generation, Anirudh Sarkar, talked about the importance of knowing and nurturing our Indian heritage and the role Ananda Mandir can play in this regard.

Following the closure of the meeting by Dipak Sarkar, a sumptuous lunch was served to all the guests. Cultural Program Following the lunch, a 2-hour cultural program was presented by Ananda Mandir members and invited local artistes for the enjoyment of all the guests. The program began with songs sung by the Anandadhwani group under the direction of Arun Bhowmik. The program featured superb dance performances by IMGE, the “urban Indian dance troupe” of Ishita (Mili) Bhattacharya -- and by Madhumita Pal (a renowned chhou dancer from Kolkata) and her group of local students and partners. The final attraction for the cultural performances was a play, “Four Walls”, written and directed by Manoj Sahane, and performed by members of Theatrix, NJ. Inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s Doll’s House, this play “explores the delicate relationship between man and woman” in a modern society and changing nature of that relationship.

The cultural program, organized by Sajal Mukherjee, was a fitting finale for an eventful and satisfying day of activities for Ananda Mandir.

NOTE: As of writing this report, the total collection from the Fund-Raising Luncheon has exceeded $155,000. More donations are expected to arrive in the near future, and the total collection is likely to reach $175,000 level.