India, April 9 -- When you go to a music festival, you typically expect to come back energized. The buzz lasts for a few days, and then you get on with your life. What makes the ITC Sangeet Sammelan in Kolkata stand out is its mission to catalyze an inner shift. The organizers want to encourage people to not simply consume and enjoy the music but embrace the discipline of a musical education by joining the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

As an institution devoted to preserving and promoting Hindustani classical music heritage, ITC SRA, which was founded in 1978, follows the residential Gurukul model. Students with exceptional talent are given full scholarships to train with eminent gurus and also benefit from the academy's archives contain...