SPIC MACAY

SPIC MACAY
Name	SPIC MACAY
Formation	1977
Founders	Pandit Ravi Shankar; Dr. Kiran Seth
Type	Non-profit cultural organization
Headquarters	New Delhi
Region served	India and international chapters
Language	English; Hindi; regional languages

SPIC MACAY is a non-profit cultural movement founded in 1977 that promotes Indian classical Hindustani classical music, Carnatic music, Indian classical dance forms, and allied traditional arts among youth, particularly on university and campus platforms. It organizes concerts, lectures, workshops and heritage walks featuring renowned artists from traditions represented by figures such as Pandit Ravi Shankar, M. S. Subbulakshmi, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore-linked institutions and repositories like the Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Kala Academy. The organization has stimulated collaborations between performers associated with institutions like the Chennai Music Season, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, and international venues including the United Nations cultural programs.

History

Founded by Dr. Kiran Seth with early support from Pandit Ravi Shankar, the movement grew from campus concerts and lecture-demonstrations at sites such as the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the University of Delhi, and the Banaras Hindu University. Early patrons and mentors included maestros linked to the All India Radio tradition and maestros from gharanas connected to Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, and Ustad Zakir Hussain. Over ensuing decades, the initiative expanded into rural outreach alongside urban hubs like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, and international chapters in cities such as New York City, London, and Toronto. It interfaced with cultural policies influenced by entities like the Ministry of Culture (India) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi while drawing on archival resources from the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and collaborations with museums including the National Museum, New Delhi.

Objectives and Activities

The movement’s stated objectives include exposing students to classical performers from traditions represented by lineages such as the Maihar gharana, the Kirana gharana, and the Bharatanatyam tradition exemplified by schools tied to Rukmini Devi Arundale and Padma Subrahmanyam. Activities encompass classical concerts, lecture-demonstrations by exponents associated with institutions like the Banaras Gharana, the Tanjore tradition, and the Lucknow gharana; workshops on Sitar and Tabla with artists in the lineage of Vilayat Khan and Alla Rakha; heritage walks highlighting architectures like the Red Fort, the Qutub Minar, and the Hawa Mahal; and film screenings that feature works connected to Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt, and Adoor Gopalakrishnan. The program also organizes festivals, yoga sessions referencing lineages such as those associated with T. Krishnamacharya and lectures on texts like the Natya Shastra and Natyashastra commentaries, often inviting scholars from the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Organizational Structure

The organizational structure comprises a national secretariat originally rooted in hubs like New Delhi with advisory boards featuring artists and academics affiliated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and universities such as the University of Cambridge and the Columbia University. Regional coordinators liaise with gurus and institutions from the Gwalior gharana and the Patiala gharana, and committees oversee programming, archival documentation, and liaison with diplomatic cultural wings such as the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Governance has included trustees and patrons drawn from cultural figures connected to awards like the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Shri.

Chapters and Student Involvement

Chapters operate across campuses including the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management, the National Law School of India University, and liberal arts colleges such as St. Stephen's College and Lady Shri Ram College. Student volunteers coordinate events, maintain archives referencing manuscripts in libraries like the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, and arrange artist residencies with maestros associated with the Ali Akbar College of Music and the Kalakshetra Foundation. Participation often brings collaborations with student bodies including the Students' Federation of India-linked cultural cells and independent cultural clubs modeled after university societies at Oxford and Harvard University.

Notable Events and Collaborations

Notable events have included campus festivals featuring artists with associations to the Chowdiah Memorial Hall, the Royal Albert Hall-linked tours, and commemorative programs honoring luminaries such as Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ravi Shankar-era sitarists, and dancers from the Kathak and Mohiniyattam traditions. Collaborations extend to cultural institutions like the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai), international cultural festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and archival projects with libraries including the British Library and the Library of Congress. The platform has hosted interdisciplinary dialogues bringing together scholars from the Banaras Hindu University, musicians from the Ali Akbar Khan School, and filmmakers associated with the Film and Television Institute of India.

Impact and Reception

The movement has been credited with rekindling campus interest in maestros affiliated with the Maihar gharana, sustaining pedagogy in schools linked to Uday Shankar and Padma Subrahmanyam, and enabling cross-cultural projects with artists who have appeared at venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Scholars from the Jawaharlal Nehru University and critics writing in outlets covering the Times of India, the Hindu, and the Indian Express have noted its role in cultural preservation and pedagogy, while ethnomusicologists at institutions like SOAS and University of Chicago have documented its methodologies. Reception has combined praise for reviving traditional repertoires with critique from commentators connected to contemporary arts collectives and modernist festivals such as Serendipity Arts.

Category:Cultural organisations based in India