The picturesque sprawling campus of Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IITG), with the majestic Brahmaputra flowing on one side and a number of lakes and hills all around; reverberated with the exuberating sounds of the multi-hued musical and cultural heritage and traditional art forms of India, particularly those from the culturally endowed North East. The IITG recently hosted the fourth edition of International Convention (InterCon) of the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY). The InterCon saw an enthusiastic participation of a number of delegates from all over India and the world.
Inaugurated by P. B. Acharya, the Governor of Assam and Nagaland, who is also the Chairman of the Advisory Board of SPIC MACAY Assam; the InterCon opened with the melodious flute recital by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Sattriya dance by Guru Ghanakanta Bora. There was in fact, a galaxy of musicians and dancers who not only performed during the evening concerts and the overnight treat of music on the concluding day but also conducted intensive workshops for the musically inclined students participating in the InterCon. Koodiyattam by Margi Madhu, Kathak by Pandit Rajendra Gangani, Bharatanatyam by Vidushi Malavika Sarukkai and Odissi by Aruna Mohanty represented classical dance forms.
The brilliant khayal renderings of Pandit Ulhas Kashalkar in raga Hameer and the contrasting Sohani, the soulful singing of ragas Jhinjhoti and Malkauns by Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande and the impressive Puriya by Pandit Rajan-Sajan Mishra followed by the ‘Durga Stuti’ in raga Durga composed by Bade Ramdasji were the high points of Hindustani vocals. There was also a Mohan Veena recital by Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. Vidwan T.V. Shankaranarayanan’s solemn portrayal of raga Bihag and Sankarabharanam, the Chitra-Veena recital by N. Ravikiran and violin recital by Dr. L. Subramaniam were some of the Carnatic music concerts. Vidushi Girija Devi was simply amazing when belying her age, she mesmerised the audience even without a mike due to the unfortunate failure of the sound system.
The enriching experience of the InterCon was the result of a weeklong “Ashrama-Vasa” where the day began with the practice of Nada Yoga and Hatha Yoga. “Swami Vivekananda”, the mono act theatre by Shekhar Sen, Purulia Chhau by Tarapada Rajak, Raas-Sankirtan by the Manipuri group of Guru Thanil Singh, Hojagiri dance from Tripura, Naga warrior dance from Nagaland, Wangla dance from Meghalaya and Lion dance from Sikkim were the other attractions apart from the prayer music comprising Gurbani, Zikra-Zari, choral music by the Mizo Choir and Buddhist chants by the monks from the Tawang Monastery of Arunachal Pradesh.
Prof. Bhalchandra Nemade delivered a convincing talk on nativism. A cinema appreciation workshop conducted by Nandan Kudhyadi provided a vision to watch and appreciate the finer nuances of classics. There were also a variety of crafts workshops by the National Award winning craft specialists.
