SPIC MACAY 9th International Convention will take place from 20 to 26 May 2024. More than 1,500 students and volunteers would take part in the event.

Participants get an outlook of Indian culture, heritage and ethics as they interact with great artists. The convention is open to only school and college students who have registered for the event, say sources from SPIC MACAY.

Accommodation

Their entire accommodation and food will be provided free of cost as they get to experience the best of classical Indian arts in its full glory for a week, say sources from SPIC MACAY.

Hosting

IIT Madras will be hosting the event. Looking forward to hosting the event. Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said culture is the spine of every country.

As a country, we are proud of the variety of cultural activities performed across Bharat. SPIC MACAY brings all of them to our IIT Madras campus, he said.

SPIC MACAY Newsletter

The SPIC MACAY Newsletter May 2024 issue focused on the 9th International Convention can be viewed and downloaded from the following link – https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SYuB1lRjWOdBFOoQ3fE_Re8dFp5alznm/view?usp=sharing

About the event

Prof. Sathyanarayana N. Gummadi, Dean Students said spoke about the event of SPIC MACAY. This is third time that IIT Madras is co-organizing this event which SPIC MACAY.

Faculty, UG, PG and research scholars team of around 150 and above are actively participating in smooth conduct of this event.

This is a great platform for IIT Madras community to experience the rich cultural festival for one week, he said speaking about the event of SPIC MACAY.

Activities

Activities during the convention range from classical music and dance concerts, folk performances, crafts workshops, and movie screenings to heritage walks, Shramdaan, early morning yoga and eating holistic food.

Unique aspects

Mr. Radha Mohan Tiwari, National Chairperson, SPIC MACAY spoke about the unique aspects about the convention.

SPIC MACAY is completing 47 years of it journey as a movement of the youth in which IIT Madras has played a very crucial role.

With the help of IIT Madras and other supporters we are able to provide everything free to all the participants from accommodation to food to workshops, he said.

Also read – Top 20 MBBS Colleges in Gujarat

We will provide each of the nearly 1300 participants, from across India, an opportunity to learn one art form every day and experience the performances of the topmost artists of India, said national chair person of SPIC MACAY.

I hope the Convention will achieve its objective and make some difference to the lives of the youth, he said.

Pillars

Ms. Suman Doonga, Vice Chairperson, SPIC MACAY, said, “SPIC MACAY stands on the shoulders of its four main pillars: Artists, Institutions, Sponsors and Volunteers.

IIT Madras, an eminent institution, is an important pillar of support for our movement.

It is one of the few institutions that has a vibrant cultural scene, and hosts several classical music & dance events, said SPIC MACAY Vice Chairperson.

Objective

The idea of organizing the convention is to create 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.

Main supporter

The main supporter of this convention is Tata Consultancy Services. This is SPIC MACAY’s flagship event which is held every year at a reputed educational institution in the county.

Artists

As is being done every year, the Convention will feature some of the finest and best artists from all over the country.

Some of the artists performing at the convention include Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia (Hindustani Flute), Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (Sarod), Vid. Padma Subrahmanyam (Bharatanatyam), Vid. Sudha Ragunathan (Carnatic Vocal).

The other artists are Vid. Seshampatti T. Sivalingam (Nadaswaram), Vidushi A. Kanyakumari (Carnatic Violin), Pt. Ulhas Kashalkar (Hindustani Vocal), Pt. M. Venkatesh Kumar (Hindustani Vocal).

Also are Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan (Sitar), Vidushi Sunayana Hazarilal (Kathak) Ustad Wasifuddin (Dhrupad), Vid. Jayanthi Kumaresh (Saraswati Veena), Vid. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande (Hindustani Vocal), Shri Margi Madhu Chakyar (Koodiyattam) and Vidwan Lalgudi GJR Krishnan (Carnatic Violin).

Workshop

The convention will also have five-day long workshop intensives by eminent artists and craftspersons such as Carnatic Vocal by Vidwan Neyveli Santhanagopalan.

Gurbani by Dr Alankar Singh, Sattriya by Guru Gopiram Burha Bhakat, Kathak by Vid. Sunayana Hazarilal, Mohiniyattam by Dr Neena Prasad, Odissi by Vidushi Madhavi Mudgal.

The others will be Pung Cholom by Khumukcham Romendro Singh, Purulia Chhau by Shri Tarapada Rajak, Hatha Yog by Swami Tyagrajanand Saraswati, Puppetry by Sudeep Gupta, Dhrupad by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar.

Different types of craft intensives such as Tikuli painting (Bihar) by Shri Ashok Kumar Biswas, Gond Tribal painting (Madhya Pradesh) by Shri Bhajju Shyam, Mughal Miniature painting (Rajasthan) by Janab Shakir Ali, Roghan art (Gujarat) by Janab Abdul Gafur Khatri, Mask making (Majuli Assam) by Shri Hemchandra, Terracotta (Tamil Nadu) by Shri VK Munusamy, will also be conducted.

About SPIC MACAY

SPIC MACAY is a 47-year old volunteer-based, apolitical, non-profit organization working to bring Indian classical music, dance and other aspects of our culture like folk arts, meditation, yoga, cinema screenings, talks by eminent persons, heritage walks and crafts workshops to university and school students.

They 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 of India and abroad.

During the pandemic, SPIC MACAY organized 1000 programmes Online.

S. Vishnu Sharma

S Vishnu Sharmaa now works with collegechalo.com in the news team. His work involves writing articles related to the education... (Full bio)