Nagpur: Some great legends of Indian music and culture will perform at SPIC MACAY’s much-feted week-long outdoor convention of Indian culture, which is back after a COVID-19-imposed break of three years.
The convention will be held this time at the prestigious Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) here from May 29 to June 4, 2023. More than 1500 students and volunteers will gather from across India and the world during the week-long festival of Indian culture.
The idea of organizing the convention is to contrive a unique ashram-like atmosphere to leave an impact on the new generation. “This also resonates with SPIC MACAY’s core purpose – to have every child experience the inspiration and mysticism embodied in Indian and World heritage. The vision is to reach every child by 2030,” Suman Doonga, national vice chairperson of SPIC MACAY said.
SPIC MACAY (The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Amongst Youth) is a 45-year-old volunteer-based, apolitical, non-profit organization working to bring Indian classical music, dance and other aspects of Indian culture like folk arts, meditation, yoga, cinema screenings, talks by eminent persons, heritage walks and crafts workshops to university and school students.
Some of the renowned artists to perform at the Convention are – Dr Prabha Atre, Umayalapuram (Mridangam), Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and Kaleeshabi Mahaboob (Nadaswaram), Ashwini Bhide Deshpande (Hindustani Vocal), Pt Sajan Mishra (Hindustani Vocal), Pt. Ajay Chakraborty (Hindustani Vocal), Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Vidushi Vijayalakshmi (Carnatic Violin), Alarmel Valli (Bharatanatyam), Begum Parween Sultana (Hindustani Vocal), Dr N Rajam (Hindustani Violin), Margi Madhu (Koodiyattam), Mukul Shivputra (Hindustani Vocal), Teejan Bai (Pandavani), Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Hindustani Vocal), A. Kanyakumari (Carnatic Violin), Bombay Jayashri (Carnatic Vocal), Ustad F. Wasifuddin Dagar (Dhrupad) Warsi Brothers (Qawwali), Dadi Pudumjee (Puppetry), Tarapada Rajak (Purulia Chau), Dr Alankar Singh (Gurbani), Bhaskar Kogga Kamath (Gombaetta), Naga Choir.
The convention is the flagship event of SPIC MACAY and is held every year at a reputed educational institution in the country. Activities at the convention range from classical music and dance concerts, folk performances, crafts intensive workshops, cinema screenings, heritage walks, shramdaan, early morning yoga (4 am) and eating holistic food. The participants at the convention get an outlook on Indian culture, heritage and ethics as they interact with the greatest artists for free and at close quarters.
“This is the first convention since 2019 after which the pandemic struck and did not allow outdoor gatherings. The schedule of the convention is such that a person is completely isolated away from the world that is bombarded with too much information,” Doonga said. She added that the convention is open only to school and college students who have registered for the event. “Their entire accommodation and food will be free of cost as they get to experience the best of classical Indian arts in its full glory for a full week,” she said.
Doonga added: “We are striving to enrich the quality of formal education among adolescents and youth by raising awareness about various aspects of Indian heritage and motivating them to imbibe the values contained therein. Volunteers from all walks of life organize about 5000 programmes every year in 100 towns in India and abroad. During the pandemic, SPIC MACAY organized 1000 programmes Online.”
– global bihari bureau
