About SPICMACAY

Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth, (popularly known as SPIC MACAY), is a voluntary and non-profit movement and was started in 1977, by Dr Kiran Seth. The primary purpose of the organisation has been to make people aware of the rich cultural heritage of India and to facilitate the exchange of traditional Indian values and aesthetic awareness into the mainstream of the Indian educational system. In recognition of the yeoman service to Indian art and heritage, Dr Kiran Seth was awarded the Padmashree in 2009 by the Indian Government.

From its first concert in 1978 at IIT Delhi, it has grown geographically and in content, to over 300 towns in India, and over 50 overseas, with approx. 2000 events conducted yearly. While performances and lecture demonstrations in classical music and dance are its forte, various events have also been included like folk performances, craft workshops, theatre, film classics, yoga and meditation, walks to monuments, talks by eminent philosophers, painters, writers and social workers, holistic food, and other areas of our heritage.

SPIC MACAY seeks to conserve and promote an awareness of this rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry amongst the youth of this country through focus on the classical arts, with their attendant legends, rituals, mythology and philosophy and to facilitate an awareness of their deeper and subtler values. It aims at introducing traditional Indian culture to the youth of this country with a hope that the beauty, grace and wisdom embodied in it will become an integral part of their life, whatever may be their dreams and aspirations. Classical Indian music and dance, carrying with them, generations of wisdom, dating back to antiquity, became the chief medium of creating the awareness.

While performances and lecture demonstrations in classical music and dance in schools and colleges, continue to be SPIC MACAY’s forte, but over the years a variety of events have been included like folk performances, craft workshops, theatre, film classics, yoga and meditation, walks to monuments, talks by eminent philosophers, painters, writers and social workers, holistic food, and other areas of our heritage. It has sought to increase the awareness of unique, rare, age-old and sometimes dying art forms like bharud, lavani, natya sangeet, kudiyattam, rudra veena, purulia chhau, sarangi, dhrupad, etc.

In the words of our founder, Dr Kiran Seth, who is also a professor at IIT – “Just as India today is giving importance to information technology due to which we are emerging as the IT hub of the world, we must give equal, if not greater importance to the propagation of the ancient wisdom passed on to us through centuries of experimentation and learning by the learned. This legacy of subtle, inspiring, abstract yet mystical philosophy has led to dimensions of inner growth which are unsurpassed, and this legacy can make a huge contribution to the world. But this is either getting lost or are mutating to cater to the market forces. With the onslaught of rapid change and global homogenization, our multifaceted Indian heritage is being increasingly marginalized and diluted. Civilisations such as the Greek, the Aztec and the Roman now exist only in museums. Japan, after its mad rush towards industrialisation, suddenly realised the loss of its 3 great art forms Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku, and set up national academies for their revival. But a replanted forest is never the same. It takes centuries to build the biodiversity and undergrowth.”

The movement caught the imagination of the young and began to grow geographically and numerically. While on the one hand, the idea had to be painstakingly introduced in minor doses, on the other, there was a clamouring for the programmes in schools and colleges. A combination of both has resulted in network of over 300 centers in India and 50 abroad. Over 2000 events are conducted annually. And it has done so by engaging the youth at the grass-root level of early schooling years, for the exposure as well as in the organisation of programs.

It has a central executive body in New Delhi and organises its programmer’s through a worldwide network of schools, colleges and educational institutions. SPIC MACAY conducts its programmes by raising funds through the central and state governments, public and private sectors, corporations, charitable trusts and individual donations. Apart from many well-wishers, both corporates and individuals, SPIC MACAY is supported nationally by the Department of Culture (Ministry of Tourism and Culture), Department of Youth Affairs (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports), and Department of Education (Ministry of HRD).

The movement works entirely on the concept of voluntary work, with only 3 paid employees. People from all walks of life are welcome to join us and contribute with their ideas, time, finance or any other resources. For those interested in contributing with their time and ideas, the local chapter meets once a week. The Pune chapter meets every Saturday at FTII, Law College Road at 7pm in Pune. A senior team of advisors meets every Thursday at 6 pm at PIMAR (Pune Institute of Management and Research, off Law College Road). For those interested in providing financial support, SPICMACAY was founded in 1977, as a non-profit, voluntary, non-political and participatory student movement registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and gets the benefit of Section 80(G) tax exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961.