The Seven Gems - spic macay

Sandesh9 October 2009state newsJHARKHANDThe Jharkhand state convention washeld at the Birsa AgriculturalUniversity (BAU), Ranchi, onSeptember 5 - 6. The convention wasattended by delegates from Ranchi,Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Hazaribaghchapters.In his keynote address, Dr KiranSeth spoke about the concept of themovement and how to make it moreeffective. He said though SPIC MACAYis basically a students' movement,there was a need to involve others too,in order to bring about stability.“While students are like the riverwhich provides continuity, seniorsand housewives are like the bankwhich provides support,” he said.Jharkhand state chairpersonBinay Sarawgi welcomed thedelegatges and spoke about the need tostart new chapters in order to spreadthe movement in Jharkhand. Severalorganisational issues were discussedduring the convention.A kathak recital of Mrs ShovanaNarayan was held to a packed hall inthe evening. It was like a veritablefeast for rasiks of Ranchi. The audiencegave a standing ovation after theconcert. Dignitaries present on theoccasion, included state Industries andMines Secretary Mr. N.N. Sinha andBAU Vice-Chancellor Dr N.N. Singh.On the 2nd day, Ram KailashYadav’s Biraha troupe stole the show.A large number of students and facultymembers gathered to watch theperformance and enjoyed each andevery moment of it.During the convention, it wasagreed to hold a series of activities indifferent parts of the state inNovember for which names of a fewartistes were suggested.NORWAY COLLABORATIONOur collaboration with Norway hasbeen extended for another four years.More activities will take place underthis renewed cooperation.Rikskonsertene and SPIC MACAYwill now be conducting more concertsand workshops in both the countries.Four Schools have been selectedin Delhi that will work with Musiciansand students from Norway in theseworkshops. These interactiveworkshops will last for two years. Asenior delegation from Rikskonsertenewas in India in August to meet withthe management, music faculty,students of these selected schools .Thedelegation had constructive meetingswith all four schools. The meetings willhelp them decide which school will beable to conduct workshops in theappropriate manner. These workshopswill culminate with students fromNorway coming to India and studentsfrom India visiting Norway.The delegation also met withProf. Anjali Mittal, Dean of the facultyof Music, Delhi University to explorethe possibility of a research orientedprogram between Delhi Universityand Rogaland University, Norway.Besides this new module, underthe ongoing exchange, sevenmusicians toured Norway fromSeptember 10 to October 3. Theseincluded Smt. Ashwini Bhide, Us.Akram Khan, Sh. Murad Ali, Su.Sunanda Sharma, Sh. MukeshSharma, Sh. Mithilesh Jha and Sh.Vinay Mishra. They conducted Lec-Dems in different parts of Norway.Smt. Bhide conducted 2-day longworkshop in Oslo before starting herLec-Dem circuit. In November ‘09,Rajasthani Folk group will be touringNorway for 14 days.They will also beperforming at the famous Oslo WorldMusic festival. Us. Bahauddin Dagarwill also be touring Norway in thesame month conducting Master classesin different universities in Norway.Two groups of musicians will bevisiting India between October 2009and January 2010 to conduct schooland college concerts. These Musicianshave been selected by Dr.Kiran Sethduring his visit to Norway. TheWestern Classical music group will betouring India from mid-Octoberonwards and the Jazz Group will betouring India from the last week ofJanuary 2010. Dates will be sharedwith all as soon as they are finalized.MUSIC IN THE PARKMusic in the Park series in Delhiwill resume from October 2009 withthe inaugural concert by legendaryKishori Amonkar and BahauddinDagar on October 10 at the NehruPark, Chanakyapuri. On Oct.31stUstad Amjad Ali Khan will grace thepark, on November 14 Ustad SultanKhan will perform while BegumParveen Sultana will enthrall us onNovember 21.In the Jaipur edition of theseries we've had four concerts betweenApr 2009 and Sept. 2009. The concertis held on second Saturday of everymonth at the popular Central Park. Wehad Pt Channu lal Mishra in April, PtDebu Chaudhary in May, Us. ShahidParvez in August and Smt Girija Deviin September.Delhi will witness some more concertsin the coming months. Pt. RaviShankar and daughter AnoushkaShankar will perform on Dec 5.HIMACHAL PRADESHIt was a proud moment for SPICMACAY on Sept 13, when a powerfulperformance of "Charandas Chor" waspresented at the packed hall of thehistoric, 122-years-old Gaitey Theatreat Shimla, which was recently reopenedafter many years.Gaitey Theater is one of the twotheaters of its kind in the world, thesecond being in France. The first playthat was staged here was "Time will tell"by the troupe from London in 1888.Noble Laureate Rudyard Kipling,Legendary Prithviraj Kapur andmany famous personalities haveperformed here in the past.Habib Saheb during his visit toChandigarh had expressed his desireto perform at Gaitey. SPIC MACAY wasdetermined to make it possible. Whata befitting tribute to the departed soulthat his desire is fulfilled in the yearwhen his company NAYA THEATERcelebrates its 50th anniversary. Theplay was inaugurated by the chiefsecretary who gave a standing ovationContinued on page12