SPIC MACAY attempts to make high culture a youth movement
SPIC MACAY, India’s foremost society for cultural promotion, is celebrating its 40th annual international convention with a week-long gala event being hosted in the national capital, featuring some top musicians and performers, writes Taru Bhatia.
Raj Rakt, soul. It is like we are holding the young person’s hand and taking them through soul-touching music. It can happen through Hindustani music, it can also be felt through Carnatic music or even by Western classical music. The ultimate aim is to connect youth with themselves.”
SPIC MACAY was founded in 1977 by Professor-Emeritus from IIT-Delhi Dr Kiran Seth, who received the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contribution in the field of arts. He conceived this platform with the sole aim of educating the youth about diverse aspects of Indian heritage. The organisation also seeks to introduce the younger generations to the intangible aspects present in arts such as beauty, grace, values and wisdom so that they lead their lives on few such principles and ultimately become better human beings. In 2011, SPIC MACAY was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana award in recognition of its contribution to youth development.
Seth said that by this initiative he is trying to expand the cultural knowledge in young people. “The aim is to bring an enriching experience into the lives of the youth which they are somewhere missing through their educational system and social environment. We are trying to bring in elements that are very subtle, abstract, inspiring and also mystical. These four things are primarily missing in a young person’s life today and these are embedded in our heritage. So, we are using different tools of our heritage to make them familiar with these aspects,” he said. The event is on till 11 July at IIT Delhi