Virasat at Kolkatta

Virasat 2007, the annual cultural festival of Spicmacay — a movement that promotes Indian classical music among students — was inaugurated by flute maestro Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia at the Regency Convention Centre on December 3. Akshar, a school where differently-abled children are encouraged to interact and study with their peers, hosted the programme on behalf of Spicmacay.
“Sangeet itni badi shakti hai, jo har jagah gunjti hain (Music is such a powerful force that it can reach every corner),” said Panditji. “Every raag has its own specific time of the day. If one plays a raag in violation of the rules, the goddess Saraswati is displeased. This is why I’m going to play an evening raag. Guess the raag after I play it,” he told the students.
Following brief recital, the audience was quiet, except for one bright student who correctly guessed the raag to be Bhupali. “Raag Bhupali has a Carnatic classical equivalent too. What is it called?” quizzed the maestro. “Mohana,” answered another member of the audience.
With characteristic humour, Panditji then played a version of Jingle Bells: “All of you will know this tune,” he smiled. The maestro was at his warmest as he asked the students to sing along to his renditions of Om jai jagdish and Vaishnava janato.
The interactive session left students asking for more from the maestro, as everything from Om Shanti Om and Saawariya to Panditji’s childhood was discussed. Asked about what inspired him to take up the flute, he said: “I come from a very poor background and couldn’t afford to play the sitar or the sarod or even the tabla. The flute was the cheapest. Besides, it is such a beautiful instrument. Sri Krishna charmed all the gopis with his flute. I wanted to do the same,” he smiled.

SPIC MACAY SCHOOL INTENSIVE

SPIC MACAY SCHOOL INTENSIVE> > HARBALLABH SANGEET SAMMELAN> >> > We are very pleased to inform you that the 132 nd Shree Baba Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan - 2007 will be held between 28 Dec to 30 December 2007 for three days. The venue is Sree Devi Talab Mandir , Jalandhar . Very eminent artists like Rajan Sajan brothers,Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Ustad Nishat Kkhan, Us Sabri Khan, Pt Kartik Kumar, Pt Niladri Mumar, and Ustad Sattar Khan ( Tabla wizard from Pakistan) will participate in the Sammelan.
> > As part of this well known Sangeet Sammelan, we are also arranging a special School Intensive 2007 which will include a few workshops like yoga etc and also provide the children a great opportunity to attend the various music programmes . All arrangements relating to their stay , food , transportation etc are being taken care of by the organisers in close coordination with SPIC MACAY. This will be a special Intensive , as different from the previous programmes in the sense that the children will be part of the famous Sangeeth Sammelan and will know about Baba Harballabh and the rich traditions of Indian classical music. We are sure this will be a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience . You may consider sending about 15 school /college children for the Sammelan at Jalandhar. It must be ensured that the children chosen are properly selected keeping their discipline, enthusiasm to be part of Sangeeth Sammelan, desire to attend to various Hindustani Classical music/instrumental music programmes and ability to withstand the severe North Indian winter. The minimum age is 15 and maximum age is 25which should be strictly adhered to.The children can be accompanied by one teacher/guardian and should reach Jalandar positivey on the morning of 28 December. They can leave Jalandhar on 31st morning . Please carefully select the students and advise me their names, date of birth, gender, class studying, name of school, address and contact numbers . The list should reach me within a week to make all the arrangements for their inclusion in the final list at Jalandar by the organisers.

As part of this well known Sangeet Sammelan, we are also arranging a special School Intensive 2007 which will include a few workshops like yoga etc and also provide the children a great opportunity to attend the various music programmes . All arrangements relating to their stay , food , transportation etc are being taken care of by the organisers in close coordination with SPIC MACAY. This will be a special Intensive , as different from the previous programmes in the sense that the children will be part of the famous Sangeeth Sammelan and will know about Baba Harballabh and the rich traditions of Indian classical music. We are sure this will be a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience .> >> > You may consider sending about 15 school /college children for the Sammelan at Jalandhar. It must be ensured that the children chosen are properly selected keeping their discipline, enthusiasm to be part of Sangeeth Sammelan, desire to attend to various Hindustani Classical music/instrumental music programmes and ability to withstand the severe North Indian winter. The minimum age is 15 and maximum age is 25which should be strictly adhered to.> >> > The children can be accompanied by one teacher/guardian and should reach Jalandar positivey on the morning of 28 December. They can leave Jalandhar on 31st morning . Please carefully select the students and advise me their names, date of birth, gender, class studying, name of school, address and contact numbers . The list should reach me within a week to make all the arrangements for their inclusion in the final list at Jalandar by the organisers.> >> > Regards> >> State coordinator Central coordinator> Indira Srivastava
> mob.no.09896372353

The Tribune coverage

SPIC MACAY all set to expand in Haryana Aditi TandonTribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 15Twenty-nine years into the SPIC MACAY movement, Kiran Seth is beginning to feel apprehensive.
This time the worry is not so much about lack of money to see the programme through as about society’s reigning indifference to the intangible realm of our heritage.
“I think a lot these days about the tendency of the young to engage with the tangible. A student, for example, is more likely to spare time to teach a slum child than attend a SPIC MACAY meeting. I don’t blame them for that. It’s natural for people to make efforts that yield visible results. But as a professor of abstract mathematics, I can say this much with authority - one who understands the intangible, abstract domain understands everything in the world. Through SPIC MACAY, we strive to celebrate the abstract,” Kiran Seth said in an interview.
In Chandigarh for SPIC MACAY’s Haryana advisory board meeting, Seth spoke with urgency about the need to put children in touch with the lost heritage. With this in mind, SPIC MACAY recently launched two massive nationwide programmes for school students.
The first, National School Intensive, is designed to take children close to the masters.
“Twice a year, we select 300 students from India to attend a five-day spiritual camp in a chosen school. Here, they must lead humble lives, away from the spurious attractions of modernity. They stay in the company of inspired men and women and learn from it. We have people like Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar and Anjolie Ela Menon come over for such camps,” Seth said.
At another level, SPIC MACAY is running a programme for students of elementary level.
“This one was born out of the need for cultural grounding of children. Parents, these days, have literally outsourced the job of cultivation of “samskaras” to television and schools. We don’t want students to be deprived of the nuances of Indian culture, which they once learnt from grandparents,” Seth said, elaborating also on SPIC MACAY’s recent collaboration with the Riks Konsertene in Norway, which produces global classical music concerts for school students back home.
With the Konsertene, SPIC MACAY has produced “The Gateway of India”, featuring four legendary Indian artistes. Interesting it is that Norwegians pay in either case, when Indian musicians travel to Norway and when Norwegian troupes come to India. For Seth, the collaborations with western music and folk groups continue to be precious.
“Under this programme we have brought to India rare art forms like Noh theatre of Japan and Kun Chu opera of China. Shortly, a Hungarian group will be coming to India,” Seth said, after attending the Haryana advisory board meeting, which saw encouraging participation from top bureaucrats, educationists and industrialists.
With this meeting, SPIC MACAY is all set to expand base in Haryana, where the government has assured all possible help.
The plan is to hold SPIC MACAY’s next national school intensive in Haryana, besides constituting SPIC MACAY bodies in every district.
Earlier, Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai had donated Rs 1 lakh to the movement, which may well get a portion of the publicity budget every department of Haryana government gets.
It is, in fact, the constitution of such advisory boards and their ensuing support that has salvaged SPIC MACAY from its worst-ever financial crisis.