More NewsSandesh16 October 2009continued from page 15I feel StronglyEven Rs.100 per student can raiseabout Rs. 80,000 from one school. Ifeven five schools come up with such acontribution, it will help us raise Rs.4,00,000 per year. No schooladministration or parents' body wouldobject to such a small amount forgetting inspiring and movingperformances. Besides cross-subsidizinggovernment schools and colleges, wheremoney is a major constraint; we can alsosupport the dormant and smallchapters in a state. Because of ouroffering to govt. institutions we can alsoget lenient support from the State’sCulture Department.Dr Kiran Seth, the inspirationbehind SPIC MACAY, alwaysemphasises on the weekly meetings.I strongly agree with his views.Hyderabad Chapter has bouncedback as a strong chapter only due tothe regular conduct of weeklymeetings. <strong>The</strong> meetings have to beregular without any break. For about2 years, there were times I was theonly person present at these meetingsin Hyderabad. Today SPIC MACAYhas become a brand and manyinstitutions are eager to startchapters and have weekly meetingsin their campuses.Today, when I look back, I feel Ihave personally gained much fromSPIC MACAY. I feel it is an integralpart of my life. I learnt organizing,planning, coordination, directingstudents etc. here. Above all, I founda very big family in <strong>spic</strong><strong>macay</strong>ites allover the country. Moreover, themost precious thing I learnt to facechallenges.SPIC MACAY is not only aboutorganizing programmes, it is aplatform to mould oneself into acomplete human being. SPIC MACAYhas given me an opportunity to servemy country in a beautiful way. Indiais known for its arts, crafts, traditionsand culture more than anything else.I am glad that we have thisopportunity to contribute to ourMother India.SPIC MACAY JOINS HANDS WITH ICCRTHE TWO leading promoters of Indian art and culture in the world – SPICMACAY and ICCR ( Indian Council for Cultural Relations) – have agreed to cometogether. ICCR will sponsor some of the SPIC MACY events in Pune, Maharshtra,which will focus on foreign students. Pune is often called the Oxford of the East orsince it attracts a large number of students who come to study in the manyeducational institutions based here.Under the proposed arrangement, events will be conducted at such venueswhere maximum number of foreign students can attend the programmes. It willbe a part of the ongoing VIRASAT ‘09 series. This weeklong event would compriseof different modules such as concerts of classical music and dance, workshops ofclassical music and dance (which could be extended), yoga, talk, walks tohistorical monuments, screening of film classics (of Indian directors). <strong>The</strong>recould also be workshops by Saiduddin Dagar and Arti Ankalekar for Vocal music;Sarvari Jaminis for Kathak, Sucheta Bhide Chapekar for Bharatnatyam, DivyaSoma Mashe for Warli painting, Vijay Ghate for Tabla, Teejan Bai for Pandavani orKrishna Chandra Sahu for Prahlad Natak etc. On the final day of the workshop allstudents learning these art forms would be required to give a presentation oftheir experience. More details regarding the schedule of this programme willsoon be decided.HYDERABAD TO HOST NORWEGIAN GROUPHyderabad chapter is going to host a Western Classical concert by aNorwegian Group in October-end; under World Heritage Series. <strong>The</strong>performances would be organised in various schools and colleges.SPIC MACAY GOES TO NEPALSPIC MACAY chapter of Nepal will be launched in October 2009. Nepal chapteris being inaugurated by Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt. He will perform at four schoolsin and around Kathmandu. He will be accompanied by Sh. Ram Kumar Mishraon Tabla. <strong>The</strong> activity in Nepal is being initiated by the Nepal Music Centre.Mr. Santosh Sharma is heading the centre and is keen on bringing Indian ClassicalMusic to the young people of Nepal.SPIC MACAY IN SINGAPORE<strong>The</strong> newly established Singapore chapter held its inaugural concerts by Pt.Satish Vyas (santoor) on July 31, 2009. Pt. Vyas was accompanied by PtMukundraj Deo on tabla and gave a scintillating performance at the S.P.JainCentre of Management. <strong>The</strong> second concert was held at the Global IndianSchool on August 3. <strong>The</strong> initiative for starting the Singapore chapter has beentaken by Dr Samarendra Singh. A group of <strong>spic</strong>a<strong>macay</strong>ites worked hard for manymonths to impress upon the institutions the need to create awareness of India’scultural heritage in foreign lands.Contd. from pg.6A Full Education<strong>The</strong> result of all these efforts would be that a young person would become morebalanced and will be able to contribute much more to the society. While satisfyingand improving her material world, she would grow in the inner domain too,thereby realizing that titillation cannot give lasting happiness, which necessarilyhas to come through the intangible domain. A by-product would be, that a lot ofproblems of divisiveness and insensitivity plaguing us would get diluted if wegave the areas mentioned, adequate attention in education.
Sandesh17 October 200924th nationalconventionIN SEARCH OF SELF...By PanchamTHE WORD Ashram conjures upvarious images in the mind. Forpeople of the previousgeneration it meant isolation anddisconnect from the world, perhaps inthe Himalayan caves. For ourgeneration it means a holiday once ina while in Rishikesh without muchdisconnect with the rest of the world!!!For the Gen Next it means a placewhere they can enjoy swimming, spaetc and let their hair down withoutanyone admonishing them.However, for the 650 odddelegates (predominantly students) ofSPIC MACAY, assembled atTrivandrum for the 24th AnnualNational Convention from May24-29, 2009, it was a totally differentexperience being introduced to the richtraditional Indian culture. <strong>The</strong>y werehere seeking a glimpse of the beauty,grace and wisdom embodied in ourheritage to make it an integral part oftheir lives. For these people Ashramlife is an opening of the inner eyes, asour logo portrays, and the realizationof the joy in discovering the soulwithin while being a part of the worldat large.SPIC MACAY’s first Conventionin God's own country – Kerala saw atremendous enthusiasm and a lot ofactivities. Kendriya Vidyalaya,Pattom and Kendriya Vidyalaya,Pangode were the two schools for stay,workshops, Intensives and some of the'talk' programmes. <strong>The</strong> inaugurationand concerts were held at the famous–AKG Memorial Hall.24th May: Invocatory Panchavadyam,a typical temple art ofpercussion ensemble consisting of fivedifferent instruments, heralded theinauguration function. It waspresented by the well known group ofSreevaraham Ashok Kumar andparty. Shri M. A. Baby, Minister forEducation, Kerala lit the lamp andDr. Kiran Seth at the inauguration of24th National Conventiondeclared the Convention OPEN. In hisspeech, Mr. Baby lauded the efforts ofSPIC MACAY to bring together theyouth and provide them inspirationfor a lifetime. President of SPICMACAY-Kerala chapter delivered theopening address and spokeabout value basededucational system beingthe need of the hour.<strong>The</strong> stage was set forthe opening concert, aneagerly awaited musicalexperience for the audience.Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharmatook the stage and it wasawe inspiring to watch himat his dazzling best. Keralahad pre-monsoon climateand rains were hanging inthe air.Panditji appropriatelychose to invoke the rainGods by choosing Raag Megh. <strong>The</strong>beautiful sounds of the invocationwere too much for the Rain Gods toresist as they came rushing down onthe landscapes of Kerala while we wereall completely drenched in the NadaShowers inside. Sh Ram Kumar Mishragave able support on Tabla.<strong>The</strong> second half of the eveningfeaftured Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopitogether on the stage renderingSanthana Gopalacharitam inKathakali.25th MAY: As per the conventionpractice, there was Yoga sessionevery day from 4 AM conducted byGurus from Vivekananda YogaKendra, Kanyakumari. <strong>The</strong> fewstudents who came steadfastlypreferred the Shavaasan so they couldrest their tired limbs and eyes. At 9AM the eminent Kavalam NarayanaPanicker gave a talk on folk lore ofKerala followed by folk danceperformances arranged throughSouth Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC),Thanjavur featuring Ottamtullal and<strong>The</strong>yyam of Kerala and Aragattam ofTamil Nadu.This was followed by(L-R) Us. Fahimuddin Dagar, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma,Kerala Education Minister Mr. M.A. Baby andSwami Viviktanand Saraswati at the inauguration.Prahlad Natak by Jagruthi CulturalCentre, Orissa lead by Guru KrushnaChandra Sahu. Intensives beganimmediately thereafter and everyonehad a busy time with a hurried lunchbreak. <strong>The</strong> food served during theConvention was delightful and theemphasis was to give the delegates anidea about Kerala's traditionalculinary repertoire.
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